Back In The Saddle Again

We arrived back at our little casa late Wednesday night and parting is such sweet sorrow. The morning we were leaving town my two old, sweet friends, Lillian and Samantha, stopped by to see us off and let my children play with their lovely daughters. Joe and I do not get back to our hometown too too often and seeing friends while we are there and balancing our families is tough. It was AWESOME these friends took the time to come over and say goodbye.
Samantha is lucky because she got to move back to our hometown with her husband and lives there with her hubby and adorable daughter, Blake Sophia. I still do not see Samantha and Blake Sophia enough!  Lillian lives in Paris. She married a handsome and sweet French boy, Guillaume, and had her sweet baby girl, Willamina, in Paris, and they live a really neat life there. Seeing Lillian and Willamina is extra special since it takes them a 13 hour flight just to land back on the good ol' USA soil.
Lillian and Samantha are old friends who were in my wedding and I have known for a long, long time. There are so many fun memories that spring to life in my mind when I see them and it is awesome to grow through life's different stages with friends from your past. Seeing us grown-up, married, and getting our children together is really awesome to watch and very, very special. It was a quick visit and we are trying to plan another trip to get back home to see them ALL again soon. Thank you so much for our awesome send off! Au revoir, Lillian and Willamina! Adios, Samantha and Blake Sophia!


The Flack Children and Miss Willamina. Mary Ellie and Bear were obsessed with her. Mary Ellie was doting and entertaining. Bear was flirting and loving on her. There is nothing that warms your heart like loving your dear friend and watching your beloved children be so affectionate to their little ones.




Bear took a quick liking to Lillian as well. He was not deterred by Willamina in her mommy's lap. He decided to move on over and join the cuddle.




Hugs and Kisses to our sweet Parisian friends




Lunch date between Bear and Willamina. It looked pretty romantic!




Blake Sophia is fashionable and a hoot! She had on jeggings, leopard and a bow to make Blair Waldorf green with envy. So cute! Her momma is quite stylish too so I love to see these two fabulous ladies and their fun frocks.




This is what it looks like when you feed 5 children under 2 years old. The twins were born November 2008. Blake Sophia was born August 2009. Bear was born November 2009 and Willamina was born March 2010. Thank goodness my Dad and Tammy were good sports because it goes without saying that the children were crazy and messy! They had a wonderful time running around together.




I got to cuddle little Willamina. Awww....sooooo precious. It was hard to say goodbye to my dear friends and their adorable daughters. We got on the road right after lunch and a nap. My poor, poor father rode back with us and it was awful. Bear hates to be strapped down and the twins talked in twin language and were nuts the entire ride back. But, we had to get back because Mary Ellie and Fenley had their last day of school until January and their class Christmas Party.
I was supposed to bring cookies. Um, I have not gone to the store in a long time. I was fixated on my chocolate ball recipe and not making class cookies. Joe dashed out and bought us milk for our fridge and cookies for the class party. I am a terrible mother, I know. Store bought cookies for my childrens' first Christmas while I was making other treats for the neighbors. The good news was the class loved the cookies and they LOOKED homemade. I, of course, told everyone the truth that I did not make them but no one seemed to be too mad and gobbled them up! The twins had fun at the party and that is what really counts.

Mary Ellie enjoying the party treats. See the cookie with the candy cane, they look pretty homemade, huh?

Mommy and Mamie. A very nice other mother offered to take our picture and seeing as I have zero pictures with my children, I leapt at the chance. If only Mamie would have been as excited at her 100th picture in 10 minutes, it could have been a real keeper!

My little man, Fenley, enjoying the not-so-homemade cookie with enthusiam

So enthusiastic about the cookie he decided to not take the hand nor cookie out of his mouth for the once in a lifetime photo opportunity with his mother

In my MAD DASH to get back in the saddle again, I had 12 hours from the home arrival to school departure time to remember and assemble the teacher Christmas gifts. We love Miss Allie and Miss Elli but we were told to keep their gifts "small and humble" from the head of school. Mommy decided cranberry and orange biscotti and cute holiday mugs in faux paint cans with holiday tinsel would be a good way to package Starbucks gift cards and instant Starbucks coffee. I figured I keep a constant stream of caffeine going all day with my 3 little ones, I cannot even imagine 12 little ones under my care. Merry Christmas, Miss Allie and Miss Ellie. We love you! See you in January.

The little stickers we attach on everything to make them personal. Emily makes these for me and she did a lot of my party items as well. I need to give her proper credit and make sure everyone knows how to order from her website and get in touch with her. She is fabulous, great to work with and has some cute, cute stuff. We give lots of gifts from her, use her all the time for our personal stash, she made Christmas Cards for us AND she made our gifts for friends this year that I need to drive around and deliver. Look her up!
http://www.prettypaperprettyribbons.com/

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree. The twins LOVE to see their "artwork" displayed. They are so very proud, and I love to display their latest work. Their Christmas present to me at school was salt dough clay with their hands and names on it. Sadly, since we missed a day to go to our hometown, their gifts were not ready to take home yet, and I will get them when we get back to school in January. Their teachers do the neatest projects with them, and I cannot thank Miss Allie and Miss Elli enough for taking the time to foster their creativity and love of art, school, and music. Plus, I mean, how stinkin' cute are these trees with little presents! Thanks, twins!

Back in the Saddle means I should probably finish the Christmas Cards. I dragged all my stuff back home again and have more to do. This is the project that will never end!!



I am off to cut more ribbon, tie more bows, and glue more pictures!