birthday streak. done!

this precious girl is.....10! Yup, its a double digit birthday.

And she's something special...

As I am celebrating my middle child turning the big 10.

I am also celebrating because I have a hit the end of my birthday streaks!! 

which means. October December January March April May I have birthdays in my house to plan. 

dats a LOT.

but...

from May 28-Oct 15. nope. 

ahhh....I made it. 

{don't read that as I don't like a good party, all of it. BUT when you hit home stretch, and like I'd said about May....well. I'm glad they are behind me}

ON to the CRAFTing!

So I took the cute invite 

[see last post]

and ran with the colors. 

No "theme" because we did movie with few friends & out to dinner. 

Colors rule at 10 anyway. Right?

 cut cute little pennants for a flag/banner

 sewn on to good ol string. 

made a few flags of fun patterns & colors...just for the table at dinner. And the token "theme" element. Popcorn box for them!

sweet girl is honestly, easy to please. she loves everything!

and was happy-surprised at her table. 

 movie was great! Kung Fu Panda 2! then they walked while I drove to the other end of the mall to set the table. Some balloons, on either end. 

 she's a keeper. Love you Abbie-snail!

 some fun straws...out with the white! in with the festive pink ribbon-y one! 

 friends, brothers, sisters=LOVE

 little spot for her invite and it acted as a banner holder for the table. 

between the flags..

 her pals

 they make dessert. done.

after all this wasn't her birthday day....

 thinking of a wish.... 

 I know all her wishes will come true. She's precious.

 oh that Hollister smell. they love it :[

and then that wrapped up the party. Abbie gave her thank you's, a pair of purple sunglasses & panda bear necklace. ha! [thanks 4ever21!]

next came class celebration: low key teacher. just bring a snack. 

chocolate chip cookies with sprinkles. still warm, YUMMM.

 another wish...

first dibs to teachers...

ON her actual birthday we had morning routine of lessons & driving...

and then quick bite at chipotle. 

THEN off to get her birthday present! 

her very own bike. 

she has been hoping for for a while!!!!

and just the right one..

LOVE IT.

 when she got home, her sister had wrapped a present! And it was Huge & heavy!

 well. with bricks inside!

 and another bag

 and a box

 and a bag

and tissue.... was a charm bracelet her sweet sister made for her. 

I love my kids.

THEN off to dinner. 

 Daddy cooked :)

and all her favorite things flew out of the kitchen....

and then came

 the biggest warm chocolate chip cookie in a skillet with gobs of ice cream on top! 

that's my girl!!

 and a call from her BFF that was MIA for the festivities. 

she was happy. celebrated. loved. and 10.

we love you to the moon & back.

May always kicks my B*TT!

always. 

In fact I said no to several things that I'D LOVE to have done before summer...

all good things but honestly, I knew better. 

EVERY year May is SO SO busy!

all the end of year stuff- Open House (I have 2 schools 4 classes!), fundraisers, end of sports events/coaches thank you's/ scouting thank you's/preschool end year parties/ good behavior bashes (our school does them over 3 days!)/ Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for good grades/ not to mention all the summer camps stuff that's all due for sign ups. etc etc etc. 

Also in May there is Mother's Day, my anniversary (17 years this year....how?) and see 10 year olds birthday too! See what I'm saying? Oh and then to top off this year. 

dun dun dun dum duh dun...dun dun dun dum duh dun...(Star Wars if your dense & don't know)

Graduation. 

UGH. 

Yup, my littlest one is now the biggest one & days are counting down til she's a high schooler. 

In fact she started her own blog! And its quite inspiring for me to see her in this way...

check it out!

SO all that to say. Its time for me to organize myself. 

 see this? Its my "board" which is really my brain. If its not here, I don't remember it exists.

And on the right: that is just 8 upcoming birthday parties invites.

see what I'm saying about May.....

ordered the cutest invites for Abbie's BD at tinyprints.com 

did you know Costco members get 20% off now??!! 

consider that my hot tip of the day.

aren't they cute? sometimes all I need is a little color palette to provoke creativity! 

As for gifts, here we go....

and hopefully inspire some creative year end/ teacher/ grad/ coach gifts. Or at least make you laugh.

 seriously? HAHAHA-well. Might not be the best thing to "use" at work...but I'm thinking sitting on your desk just might take the edge off a bad day!

 LOVE this. Its a pencil sharpener. Old world camera style....

who doesn't need sushi stapler? a necessity if I've ever seen one!

I think this one might be exactly what I want!  A camera camera case, in shiny silver (or bright pink)

all these found at Paper Source or papersource.com

of course I love this too

thinking I might make it into a clipboard for teacher gift...whatcha think? 

Found it at one of my favorite blogs for great ideas!

eighteen25.blogspot.com

here is a list of their great teacher gift ideas.

last but not least my plan. 

I'm taking a bunch of new metal colanders I found at Sur la Table on sale the other day...

and making them into Salad Kits. 

something fresh...

maybe bright green leafy lettuce, 

a recipe for my favorite Salad that's a meal.

and a bottle of homemade dressing along with some olive oil. 

that's the plan for now....

pictures to post soon. 

now. back to work.

Mother's Day.

I must say, I don't think a day is enough...

Mothering is something so much more & bigger, although appreciate-I wish it took more recognition than just A day. 

Just few days have passed....well, more than that but with all the mothering going on its been a blurrr....

 they made me cry. 

Parker in his homework had written a poem!

Abbie had gotten me a button/badge

Kenzie wrote how she appreciate all the things I did to keep our family running. 

Madeline had hearts & SO SO SO SO much written big ;)

and Mr. B was just himself, wonderful.

 oh potatoes, how I love the. 

thanks Toddy for an amazing breakfast...

 with my FAVORITE- Hollandaise sauce!

 quick stop by See's Candy to drop by my grandmother for Mother's Day. Love you Grandma!

 Then we were off to Point Lobos. 

 Lots of looking around...climbing rocks.

 finding treasure.

 and then of course-EAT. We stopped by Whole Foods and got some picnic items, "Fisher style". 

chips, salsa, amazing cheeses, bread, olives, roast chicken, roasted garlic spread, pears, pirate bootie & drinks. 

wonderful!

 These little people just make he happy. 

Each. 

Every.

one of em!

Baby seals were on the shore...learning from their mommas! 

 a nice long walk after our feast, around a couple paths along the coast. If you've never stopped into Point Lobos, its fantastic bit of true coastal california

 beautiful wild flowers & succulents growing in the cliffs.

 lots of running.

Parker & Kenzie found a path down to a beach.. 

 This view makes me feel home. 

I grew up around these parts and seeing just green ranch with Carmel in the foreground has always been part of me. I love it.

 The reason for the season- KIDS!

Thank you all for making me who I am.

For the gift of being a mother & having you with me every day, 

your all my favorite.

 And then a show-off otter. 

It played in the water and loved having an audience. 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. 

let make it a week next time around.