favors...they don't have to be expensive

just thought I'd drop in because we aren't quite done with Hayley's bedroom

just a few little touches to go

and maybe something inexpensive I would like to convince my husband to do
in her room when he gets back in town

I'll probably have to make his favorite meal
{chuckle}

but I'm determined for it to happen especially since it wouldn't be expensive at all

anyhoo...

thought I'd show you that party favors

they can be done inexpensively if you really wanted to

granted these are for kids 6 and under that are coming to the party

so these things wouldn't float the boat for older kids

I'm knee deep into party planning

and the rest of life

I've had sort of an overwhelming week to be honest
I'm allowed to admit that
and be human, right?

so actually I'm really overwhelmed this week

with all that's on my plate

but what can I say...

 I'm managing
and just did a happy for me
and got something in yellow
and I'm freakin' out bc I don't wear much color
but I'm determined this spring to do so
my heart actually raced when I clicked "purchase"
seriously, it wasn't because of the cost
it was $32 for crying out loud
but apparently...it was because of color

back to the party...

I will say with the kiddos when I do a theme

I do the theme by golly

that's just me

I love to do the atmosphere part

although i'm not great/perfect at it

it's just what I like to do

so I thought I'd show you what I have put together for the kiddos

for Hayley's party this Saturday

the theme Hayley chose

was Tangled

so it's all about Rapunzel

first I started with the bags

and yes I will tell you

I about jumped to the sky when at my mom's group two weeks ago

we did a project

and there were these linen bags left over
I ran over to her and said
may I pretty please get the left overs from you

so I purchased the rest of these linen bags at fabric cost

they were already sewn too!
there were sixteen left

and I barely paid half of sixteen for all of them

pre-sewn, mind you

so heck yes I did a little gift for the wonderful mom for saving me time and money

on these gorgeous bags

and I'm not saying "woe to me" for doing something nice for her btw...

I just believe in treating people nicely and if someone helps me save time
I will be so grateful!

every year I try to do themed inexpensive favors

but I'll be honest

these did cause

a week of sleepless nights of tracing, cutting, and gluing

it may also cause you to

watch many pointless shows very late at night
and cause you to pour another glass of wine to help you
keep sane from all the cutting, printing, gluing, etc.

it also doesn't mean that you won't have skin missing
from scissor marks on your thumb

from cutting around 20 pascal lizards out

and forming them

and gluing them

oh wait...

those are not part of the favors

part of the decorations

anyway...

so I have these gorgeous linen bags

that I have tied with a dragonfly stamped tag

the cardstock paper came from Michaels

in a pack

it was on clearance

and I didn't even know it

dragonfly stamp found in the dollar section at Target last year

stamped those tags

and recruited Madison to write all of the names of the kiddos attending

she happily ablidged
because she loves to help me with anything

next

 I
{err...Bobby} printed off tangled image coloring paper from the internet

about 10 or so pages per book

and made a coloring book

obviously he didn't make the book

he just hit control P about a million times for me though

{I realize this picture is upside down...but I'm not taking the time to fix it}

purchased two 8-pack boxes of colors in the Target party section $2

so have some left over

they will be stuck in my purse because colors always seem to come in handy

when at dinner with the kids

I wanted to do a coloring book because Rapunzel is an artist in the movie

and Hayley loves to color anyway

if you've seen the movie than you know what the sun image signifies

if you haven't...

purchase the movie when it comes out

we went to the theatre twice to see it

and boys/men love it too because it's not too princess~y

so online

{it's amazing what you can find on the internet}

I found a template to make these sun image necklaces

and necklaces my girls love

since the sun is yellow/gold in the movie

I picked out different gold card stock

traced and cut out the center sun and two suns with rays times 10

{yah that's probably why my thumb is showing skin is from the suns and pascal}

anyway...

stringed the twine with some gold beads

the actual template said to do gold beads all around the necklace

I just did 11 each side

to save money
and more importantly it saved time

{duh}

second, they will probably be broken at my house anyway

because I am no the best knot maker

and I don't want 5000 beads to pick up

{100 would be better, right}

I saw at Trader Joe's a 3 pack of chocolate bars for $1 and change

so picked up a couple packs

printed out a tangled image on cardstock

wrapped and taped the chocolate bar

and done with that

and because my girls are obsessed with stickers at their age

I couldn't forget the tangled stickers

all kids love to make noise
so I purchased these party blowers
{although they were supposed to be pink to represent pascals tongue}

found a template for pascal to attach to the party blowers
cut, glued, drew the eyes and mouths

I will say...

 I was never so happy to fill those linen bags with that stuff

because that meant I was done with them

and they were out of my sight

now I'm trying to move on to the cooking, baking, and cleaning

and I'm not quite motivated to start that

so thought I'd do a quick post here instead

{sigh...I'll be kicking myself for this choice when I'm up until 2 in the morning again}

oh well...

that's what a good glass of wine helps with

{smile}

really

the favors I usually do have never been expensive

but it was fun to incorporate all the ideas

I found out there on the internet

for the Rapunzel theme

that really didn't cost much at all

hopefully I'll have some party pics to show you...
I found these darling edible flowers for the cupcakes on etsy!

three...

today is a sunshine day...

my baby is three today

should I repeat that

my baby girl is three today

and today is also the day I register my oldest baby girl

for kindergarten

and Bobby is away

I'm also in full party planning mode for this weekend

and I just want to cry about it all

because it is hard

it was really hard packing up her toddler bed

and converting her to a big girl bed over the weekend

a bedroom redo I'll hopefully show you soon

about a month ago

Hayley asked for a big girl bed

and I said maybe....just *maybe* for your birthday sweetie

and before we knew it

it was all happening before we even planned
when it would happen

so I'm getting my tears out now so I can be bright and shiny for two little girls

that will come walking down stairs this morning

happy as can be that one will be registered for kindergarten and the other will now be three

we had hoped and prayed for another child when you came along, Hayley

the month before we conceived you

was a very difficult month for us ...we decided it was our last and final failed cycle
we were going to do

but when we found out about you

you gave us hope and belief that it was still possible

it was happiness and excitement

just like what we experienced with Madison
after 3 years of trying with her

from the moment we found out we were pregnant with you

I told Bobby...

"boy or girl"...

*she* is a sunshine baby

and I bet him you'd have

light brown hair and blue eyes

just like daddy

and what'd ya know...

I was right

{chuckle}

as I carried you I always called you my sunshine

and we painted your nursery pale yellow

you still love your yellow walls

{even though your walls have been yellow since you were born}

you tell us weekly how much you love them

you also love the colors purple and pink

Hayley Elisabeth, you are....

our dragonfly

a bright smiling sunshine girl with every ounce of your being

you are a lover of love

and a snuggler

physical touch I'd say is your top love language

you love to hug

cuddle

and just be close to me

all.the.time

{smile}

when you sleep

I just look at you sometimes and remember seeing you
as you looked
the night you were born

and how your features were so tiny and small then

and they still are now

I see those beautiful, long eye lashes

{sigh}
and those lips you purse

with you...

you always ask to read one more book mama

as you love to read and color

 every night you say to me...

let's bunk together

which most nights I answer no, not tonight...Hayley

but you never give up asking me
because you ask me again every single night thereafter

you are a "cover stealer" and "cover kicker-off-er" when we do bunk together

and as a matter of fact you are all over the place when you sleep
nudging and often kicking someone in the side
all accidental of course

you love vanilla and strawberry
over chocolate anyday

{just like your mama}

I give you the option

and you almost always will answer

vanilla or strawberry

 

you are as outgoing as outgoing can get

but you also have a shyness come about

if you aren't ready to show you to someone

it's all about timing with you

as with you
there is also no time but "Hayley time"

when you are done taking pictures
it means you are done
and not "one more"
even when I say pretty please to you


that is...unless I bribe you
{smile}
and the day I took these
you wanted a strawberry milkshake
I said "you got it!"

i.e...see the "no smile" in this one...

well actually this is the face you give
right before you smile when you are trying to hold a smile in

 Hayley you are a carefree little girl

every.single.time we visit Grandpa

it is really hard leaving
but when both you and Madison are with me
you two always make Grandpa and I laugh

it has me feeling grateful and so happy
about our visit with him

before we are out of the parking lot

you sometimes ask to go see him again...

or when will we see him again
at the "hosbul"

you are my non-stop talker

to almost anyone you meet

about anything on your mind....

the dentist

the repair guy you offered a valentine to

you definitely are a charmer

a lover of wearing dresses

and your precious cowgirl boots

every day...your boots are the shoes
you have to wear

no ifs, ands, or buts about it
as a matter of fact...

I think they are adorable on you

and fit you and your personality quite well

you love to run and play outside

and dine al fresco in warmer weather

you are a lover of pigtails, ponytails

pizza, macoroni, mahi mahi, strawberries, yogurt, protein shakes, bars from tj's, and cookies

it's sooo hard to say "no" to those big blues of yours
and I often find myself laughing when I'm supposed to be putting you in timeout

you are as stubborn as stubborn can get

but you had no chance with that

as both your daddy and mama are stubborn

you make us laugh with your silliness

and like to sing and dance with Madison and I in the car

you love your strawberry shortcake friends,

princess and the frog, and rapunzel characters

you are so witty and have the best comebacks

that just make us laugh and smile

you love to call people

"tootie" and "stinky pants"

and love to tease daddy by calling him"Robby"
when he is Bobby

you are so sweet and thoughtful

always thinking of others whether it's an

"I love you"

 hug

or your artwork gifts you present to us from school

you are a sensitive little soul that gets her feelings hurt easily

you look up to your big sis so much
I'll catch you just studying and watching Madison's every move

and repeating what she says

because you love to be a part of what she is doing

you two are so close

two peas in a pod

and inseparable

we really have been blessed with two very special girls

and you are such an important and beautiful part of our family

I love you my sunshine girl

you're our little dragonfly

you love life with all of your heart and soul

happiness is just all around you

I'm so ready to spend the day with you

and celebrate with family this evening

thank you for all your love and all you do even at age three
that inspires me to be better

Happy Birthday Hayley Elisabeth

many hugs and kisses to you sweetie

xo

jumping in the rain...

no this will not be some profound post today

with hidden meaning
{not that I'm a profound person by any means}

simple as...

the girls wanted to jump/play in the rain with their rain boots

I agreed

got a few pictures

{perhaps blurry pictures}

and now I'm a sitting wet dog

that needs to finish painting a dresser and bed

for my daughter's birthday next Tuesday

okay maybe not a wet dog

but just soaked

I'm drenched since apparently my jacket I

so smartly

wore did

not have a hood on it

anyhoo...

my Grandma W's 80th birthday was over the weekend...

special little celebration with family

also realized for every celebration

I seem to wear purple

date night last fall

got a new shirt

purple

got a gift certificate from my sis-in-law for Christmas

what do I purchase with it?

a purple shirt and blue dress

received another gift certificate from my parents recently

what'd I pick out

shoes/headband for my daughter

and a purple shirt

what did I wear to a girls night in February

a purple shirt

you think now that I'm actually starting to wear more color

I'd pick something other than purple occassionally

note to self:

need to be a little more conscious of what color I wear

especially since purple isn't my favorite color

a likeable color I'd say

but no more purple

for celebrations

at.least.for.awhile, right?

{smile}

on the way home from my Grandma's party

we stopped at our favorite pizza shoppe

in Columbia

Shakespeare's Pizza

to get dinner to go for when we got home

it was super busy and a 45-minute wait

so we got some drinks

sat with the girls

the girls had their stuffed animals doing lunges

yes...I said lunges

they had several restroom breaks

because checking out the restrooms in restaurants

seems to be the big-thing for my 3-year-old

right now

so both girls are wearing a St. Patty's head band my Grandma gave them

we are washing our hands for the 4th time

{or so it seemed}

and a lady behind us started talking with us...

I get asked...

well actually Madison got asked...

about the fact she was wearing a St. Patty's headband

apparently it's weird to wear one in March I take it

needless to say we felt a little questioned

then she looked at us

{a lingering look}

and asked

Are you Irish?

huh?

apparently

two dark-haired girls can't possible have Irish in them

right?

no way....

I said

uh.....ummm...yeeeees

seriously, I can't seem to get over why people question my ethnicity so much

but whatever floats their boat you know

St. Patty's day is only 8 or so days away

so to me,

I think it's pretty natural to see St. Patty's day things

err...especially on kids

yes, I get that I don't look an ounce Irish

but I've got plenty in me

and so do the girls from Bobby's side too

one of those moments

that you ask yourself

did that really just happen?

moving on...

we are doing a little bedroom redo for Hayley's birthday

and I have four 84" curtain panels for sale if any of you are interested

dark pink and white gingham

they are in great condition

just a little fading on one from the sun it looks

they are washed in my fav lavender detergent

 and ready to ship

is $25 fair for all four + $5 shipping

they are originally $20+ for each one from Pottery Barn Kids

price is negotiable

*winner*

short and sweet today

 

thank you all for entering the dress give-a-way

 

winner of the Shabby Apple dress

 

is #6

LuLu from LuLu and Co.

 

happy dance for you LuLu

 

 

you may pick one out of these three dresses

 

{select betweeen Marseilles, Bali H 'I', or 45WPM}

 

to view again please click here to go back to the original post

and I'll e-mail you with the rest of the details to get to Shabby Apple

 

thank you all for entering

if you'd like to make a purchase with Shabby Apple please use discount code

butterfliesdragonflies10off

at check out

xo

crocodile smiles...

sometimes it just takes the smallest gestures

 to let someone know you are thinking about them

or missing them

and for these girls

that came in the form of a crocodile these past two days

in our house

we are all known as something

Butterfly...Madison

Dragonfly...Hayley

hence the name of my blog

 to us there is special meaning for Madison and Hayley

with the butterfly and dragonfly

but the girls about a year or so thought Bobby and I should have a name as well

it made me laugh when they thought of ours

me... I'm a bird

daddy

be ready for a little smile or laugh with this...

a crocodile

{not sure where they came up with that}

took a bit for daddy to accept why he was a crocodile

because he asked them...

"why do I have to be a crocodile?"

in his pouty voice

but now he lovingly embraces it

{I think it's pretty cute}

so in between three of his travel trips this past week

Bobby managed to find

two crocodiles to bring them

and they haven't left their sight since

I thought it was the perfect idea for them

now they can think about daddy each time they hold or see their croc 

sometimes it's the little things...the little gestures

to make someone's day

and I love that their day was made with these

please don't forget to enter my Shabby Apple give-a-way

I don't want you or your little one, perhaps to miss out on a new dress

please click here to enter
give-a-way ends tomorrow at noon

you may also go ahead and take advantage of their 10% discount
they are offering all of you
by entering
butterfliesdragonflies10off
at checkout

a spring sparkle with *shabby apple*

we all love a little spring sparkle in our eye

I feel like I need and want that little sparkle in my eye

for spring and summer

last night as I picked my little girls up from my parent's home....

my dad told me...

well the farmer's almanac says one more snow in March

I said

"I can't take it dad"

{obviously I can...I just don't want too}

he said "me neither"

and he grew up in Wisconsin winters

so it didn't quite make me feel so bad for not liking this cold

yes...I realize many live north and have it way worse

for those that live north of me

bless you

bless you

bless you

because I honestly wouldn't survive

I do appreciate how beautiful the snow and mountains look

I really do

but I'm honestly over it in a day

one day in the snow

and I'd be saying

"where's the beach?"

the warm sun?

sand between my toes?

my family and friends in tow...

relaxing and sitting together with me on the beach?

so before I bore you away

with my thoughts of spring and summer

I've got a give-a-way for you

to add a little sparkle in your eyes

I was contacted by the *Shabby Apple website*

a website of women's & children's dresses

accessories

maternity 

 and casual wear

they are going to be offering one of you...a dress!

 after viewing some of their dresses...I agreed

what fun it has been to peruse their website

Shabby Apple gave me a pre-selected list of give-a-way dresses to choose from

so from their list I've picked three

2 women's/vintage style dresses

and one child's dress

the winner will be able to pick one out of those three

{named below}

and for those of you that need a little retail therapy and want to go ahead and start shopping 

 Shabby Apple has also offered you all a 10% discount

use the following discount code during checkout

"butterfliesdragonflies10off"

I found so many dresses that caught my eye

so I wanted to share my personal favorites

first with you all



 all are linked to the Shabby Apple website

and then at the end I'll show you the three give-a-way options

my personal favorites:

{Ingrid}

please click on sequoia to view that dress

as it wouldn't allow me to link a large enough photo for you to see it

{Sequoia}

{Aloha}

{Consultant}

{Champs Elysees}

{L'Opera}

{Black Oak}

{Bette D}

{Mauna Kea}

my absolute favorite children's dress by Shabby Apple is

{Garden Party}

a few of my other favorite girl's dresses are:

{Fields of Gold}

{Jardin}

{Ruffle my Feathers}

{Pistachio}

the three dresses you may choose from for the give-a-way are noted below

I think it is so much fun for the winner to pick one of the three

{Marseilles}
okay...so I wouldn't wear the collar up...but of course I love blue:)

{Bali H 'I'}

{45 Words Per Minute}

one winner will be selected to pick one of the three dresses
directly above...per request of Shabby Apple 

{select between Marseilles, Bali H 'I', or 45 WPM}

To enter the give-a-way for a Shabby Apple dress

{and no you don't have to do all of these...it just helps your chances the more you do}

1. please leave a comment on this post below to enter

if you don't have a blog please leave your name and way for me to contact you}

2. if you check out their website and tell me a favorite of yours

...please leave a separate comment if you are listing your favorite

3. if you like Shabby Apple on facebook...please leave me another separate comment

4. if you share this give-a-way...leave another separate comment with the shared link

or just tell me you did

if it's shared via twitter....I don't tweet so I trust you if you did :)

5. the winner must have a US shipping address

although Shabby Apple ships internationally with a purchase so

you may place an order

with the 10% discount of butterfliesdragonflies10off

winner will be picked Friday afternoon

 deadline to enter is

Friday, March 4th at noon

xo

*I was not compensated in any way for this give-a-way*

just wanted to share that

lately...

this past week...

has been interesting to say the least

but eventually manageable...

a few happenings

first thing Monday my car had to be fixed

I gulped at the cost

swallowed it

moved on...

but taking a positive from it

I seriously and weirdly thought

hey...at least I get 500 reward points from my bank

and then I got excited...only slightly

okay not really

but 500 points you know rack up eventually

but I did learn quite a few things waiting for my car to be done

which the guys knew my husband travels and this was my only transporation

for my family

so they stayed late out of wonderful niceness

ahem...almost 7:00 late {2 hours late}

just to fix my car for me

now that's customer service

but in the mean time

I read a magazine as I sat in the waiting room the last two hours with my dad

since thankfully this was on president's day so he was home to take me

so a few things we learned reading the magazines...

 a website that tells you the best part to "tinkle" or pee during a movie

they tell you the exact minute and the cue to listen or look for....

for example...

{bc I saved the website in my phone

only lord knows why I did that?....}

so the movie

"The Fighter"

the best times are:

@ 34 minutes {you can be gone 5 minutes}

cue: After Mickey and Charlene kiss for the first time

@ 60 minutes {for 5 minutes}

when Charlene comes over to Mickey's during the HBO show

@ 114 minutes {for 2 minutes}

for the credits...

do you think the credits might be a good time?...lol

that made me laugh they seriously listed the credits

I also found a link to a website that calculated the best time to take a nap

based on when you get up in the morning

I told my dad...

"yah that would be useful if I actually ever took a nap"

which is never

went to the website anyway...just to see...

she gives you an example of one scenario

but that wasn't the time I got up...

so to see "my time" I needed to buy her book

yah...right!

but since my dad and I had some time

we sat there calculating for us

2:00 in the afternoon would be my most optimal time for a nap...

the deep sleep time

that's when my natural energy drink just starts kicking in...

so no way that's going to work:)

not giving up that burst of energy I need that gets me through the rest of my day
and evening with kiddos, family, and work things

moving on...

because Tuesday night

was a very fun girls night

super fun time to spend some time with some besties...

love these girls

as we watched our show
and ate way too much

topics of conversation before watching our favorite show

things we'd like massaged

and I'll go no further on that

we were kidding
completely kidding

{perhaps not for me}

but had some good laughs about it

I swear...pinky promise I'm not meaning anywhere that is tmi
do you all pinky promise or is that waay outdated now?

so Wednesday made my week with career day for the girls...

I asked the girls a bit ago to get prepared

and it turned into a lot of fun for all three of us

Madison likes to design outfits at home after school sometimes

so two weekends ago I took her for some special Mommy and Me time

and I let her pick out an outfit head to toe

and I think she did fabulous

she's my color girl who likes to add white

and she got her look down perfectly

she called it her "fashionista" outfit

when I asked her what a fashionista did

she said "...designer of clothes," of course

when we asked Hayley...

she wanted to be "Marfa"
{me}

but she says my name with the "f" instead of "th"

and that made me smile

because she sees what I do

and wanted to dress in something of mine

so I put her in one of my casual {logo} business tanks
with a shirt underneath it for her 
tied the tank in the back with ribbon since it was big for her
and added my name tag

yes...the tank top has shrunk a bit for me personally
not one myself would wear by itself anymore, ya know
since I don't really like sporting "showing the mid-section style"
of wearing clothes

and she went as "Marfa"

of course she wanted polka-dot leggings...

I said "Hayley...do I wear polka-dot leggings?"

she giggled

but it turned out her version of "Marfa"

and that was perfect

*****

Tuesday...I'm a bit excited as I have a little give-a-way to announce

I'm hoping it'll put the springtime sparkle in your eye

xo