It's G-Mama's birthday and we gonna party like its her birthday

A BIG Happy Birthday to my mom today!!!

(Can you guess which one's me and which one's Aunt Corndog?  Hint: I'm a big sister.=])

(Also, whatever happened to TreeTop juice boxes?)

Today is my mom's birthday, and we're spending the afternoon celebrating her by going to a walk to support her three year old neighbor who has spinal muscular atrophy.  It's a blustery day, so I dug out our winter coats this morning, and my mom and dad will be here soon to pick us up.  The money they raise at the walk-a-thon will be used to buy this sweet girl (whom my sister nannied for years) a special piece of equipment to help her stand and get around.  We are so excited to join in the fun! I can't describe how fitting it is that my momma would want to celebrate her birthday by jumping in to encourage someone else- loving others well is just what she does.

I am so blessed to know this incredible Jesus-loving woman as my mother.  As a little girl, I adored her, and now, I admire her. If I can be even half the momma to Newbie that she was to me, I'll consider my life a success!  I love the way my mom loves my husband as if he's been a part of the family for the 26 years I have, and I count it full joy that Newbie gets my mama as a grandmother because in my mind there is no treasure sweeter than a grandmother like my own sweet Mutte, and I know my mama will be just that to Newbie!  

I wish I could bottle up in words all that this woman means to me.  ...She is kind.  She is smart.  She is important.  Just kidding. (If you haven't read or seen The Help yet, DO IT- its fabulous and that last sentence will make more sense.) Not really.  She is all of those things.  And also, she just has the sweetest, most tender heart.  I admire every, everything about her and just love the gift I have in being raised by her and having motherhood modeled so well by someone I consider to be my best friend.

In addition to being all-around incredible, she puts up with phone call after phone call after phone call from me each week where I spill my guts about diapers and dogs and dinner- and she still sounds happy to hear from me at the end of each call.  This woman is my rock. =) 

I love you, Mom, and I hope you have a fabulous day!  Can't wait to celebrate tonight!  

All I wanna do right now is pinch some chubby baby cheeks

Today should probably be a park day because Weatherman says the cold is just a day away.

But my bed is just so cozy and looking through old pictures is such fun.

 

 I think its time for a 9-1-1 McDonald's dollar Coke caffeine jolt and a serious seize-the-day attitude adjustment.

I'm on it.

Playground and grocery shopping, buckle up, cuz here we come!

Y'all have a happy Wednesday!

 

(oh. my. CUTE!)

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Grandma's Birthday, with Candy Canes and Silver Lanes Aglow

 

You know what's great about my MIL?  She loves both my boys to pieces.  And I love love love her for that.  Also, she's got incredible fashion sense, which is a total bonus. =)  

I'm so grateful to my Mom-in-law for the huge part she played in shaping the Hubs into the incredible husband and father he is today and for all the ways she helps the family village raise my sweet little baby boy.  A big thank you and LOTS of HAPPY to the birthday girl!!! We love you!

October 11 is the turning point in the year when my MIL pulls out the Christmas music, so we're singing Jingle Bells in her honor today! And since I'm always up for a good excuse to enjoy an Oreo Blizzard...Its my MIL's birthday: go out and celebrate!

Happy Tuesday!

Another Pajama Monday

Last week Newbie pulled a late-nighter, refusing to go to bed at a decent hour.  After many tears, he hitched a ride downstairs to hang out with Daddy while Momma packed away all kinds of baby supplies that have been begging for organization.

Then this happened:

We're having a climb on top of the big Sterlite tub and own it kind of Monday, and in our jammies to boot.  I've had some sort of allergy monster plaguing me the past couple days, so we're having a pajama day, but I've climbed an Everest of laundry and worked through some pantry paper pile demolition to make up for the lack of get-it-together this morning.  It feels good.  It feels stand on top of a box with your arms up in victory good.  If I had the energy to climb on top of the washing machine and punch my hands in the air, I totally would.

We had a packed weekend, and I think I'm on fun detox today.  That would explain the laundry and the pantry sorting.  We're going to low-key it for a bit to make up for the go-go-go of the weekend.

Yesterday in a nutshell:
-The Hubs and I subbed in Newbie's nursery where we got to meet a few of his regular Sunday buddies. 
-We high-tailed it over to my parents for a quick corndog lunch before Newbie napped and I went with my mom to the baby shower of a dear friend of ours. 
-We zipped home to host our first small group meeting where we grazed on baked potatoes and a wonderful dessert. 
-Uncle J and Aunt Corndog babysat Newbie for us through dinner and hung out for a while when they brought Newbie home.  (I love it when my bro-in-law hangs out for a while because it usually ends in him fixing something very broken on our computer.  I'm glad I married into a family of fix-its and handymen. =])

Whew.  Even the list wears me out.  It was a busy day.  So for the rest of today, its cuddling and reading and "bubble"...not to be confused with bubbles.

 

Newbie hasn't mastered the "p" or "z" sound, so he's dubbed this his "bubble".  I found this puzzle at a kids' consignment shop for a dollar fifty last week, and Newbie has LOVED playing with it.  I set it in front of him at the table then went to get dinner started, and when I stopped back to see how he was doing I found the puzzle like this!  I hadn't shown him how to piece it together- he just figured it out on his own.  What a smartypants! =)

 

We are now obsessed with the bubble and we like to carry it through the house and make pit stops to try and fit the pieces together.

 

 

The bubble is always more fun with a sippy cup in hand, and baby hair is always more fun with a little bit-o-style:

 

BAM.

I'm off to catch a snoozer with Newbie before I remember something else I'm suppose to get done today instead.  I hope y'all have a great start to the week!

Happy Monday!

PS- Did you see the Texas game on Saturday?  Ouch. We didn't watch, but we saw the score and heard it was brutal.  YOWzers. I think if we can teach Newbie to "Hook 'em Horns", we might have more luck next time.  We'll work on it this week.

Counting...

I hope your day is full of counting gifts.
*Mute the music in the player at the bottom of the blog to hear the video

Happy Sunday. =)

Cider, Crafts, and Crocodiles, Oh My!

There's a lot of things in life that I love, and Girls' Night is definitely one of them.  Last night a few ladies came over to bust out some crafts, laugh 'til our eyes watered, and eat all kinds of fall yummies.  I am so thankful for the incredible girlfriends God has placed in my life, and I love it when I ask the Hubs for a Girls' Night and he always, always says: "Go for it!"  I think my man knows Girls' Night is good for the soul.  He took our little man out on the town and then brought him back home and tucked him into bed while I hung out with the girls downstairs.  No question: the Hubs is a keeper! =) 

We had a ball and promised to do it again soon.  I love when Girls' Nights end with do-it-again-soon's. 

(Dontcha wish I could have figured out how to turn that mason jar-o-lantern right side up?  Yeah, me too.)

Our fun Friday poured into a Saturday morning that started with pumpkin pancakes and tumbled into a trip to the zoo.  We loaded up the lunch box, the diaper bag, and the wagon, then hit the road.  Newbie has been to the zoo several times in the past, but this was the first time we've been together as a family.  He came to the zoo with me a lot lot lot last summer while we planned Aunt Corndog's zoo wedding, and he's been with his Aunt Corndog and Uncle J because his aunt and uncle rock, but he'd never been with Momma and Daddy-O just for funsies. Today we made it happen.

You might be wondering why Newbie's got some face furniture. Right before we left the house, Newbie took a right hook shot from Opie, which landed him in a rad Lightening McQueen Bandaid just in time for the 114 pictures Momma took of him at the zoo. Total buzz kill.  But the good news is, Little Man rocked that Bandaid and took it like a stud.   He's such a tough guy; he just punched out a few tears before saddling up in the wagon and heading out for the zoo.  I'm telling you, the man would not even accept the ice cold help of the Boo Boo Bunny who's been living in the freezer for the past year.  Like I said: STUD.

We spent the morning checking out the petting zoo then had lunch and explored the aquarium and the monkeys and bears and lions.

 

(He went scrambling back to cling to his daddy's leg when the big wave came through the tide pool...I love that his daddy makes him feel safe.  His daddy makes me feel safe too. Number 465,343,328 why I love my man.)

Turns out there's a reason why zoo admission is cheaper in October...half the animals are MIA, a lonely "Seasonal Exhibit- See you next year!" hanging from the cage where cute little Lemurs or boingy Wallabies should be.  Ah, well.  Its the money we saved on the Lemurs and Wallabies that bought Momma and Daddy a package of Snickers and Candy Corn tonight.  Totally WORTH IT.

Tonight I'm plowing through the early Halloween candy while the Hubs is catching the Tigers vs. Rangers game after jimmy-rigging our rabbit ear antenna outside a downstairs window with- I KID YOU NOT- duct tape. No doubt about it: we are classy with a capital "C". 

Hope y'all are enjoying your weekend and have a blessed Sunday!

October's Motorboats...and a PAR-TAY up in HUR

***UPDATE!*** 

Updated to add that this is our 600th post together at Sprinkles & Wrinkles!!! That's a lotta posts! A lot of rambling about Lucky Charms and pregnant cankles and crazy puggles and adorable babies and talking toddlers and the best Hubs ever. A lot of writing about the incredible faithfulness of my God and the amazing depth of Jesus' love for us. 

I feel like we should have a party...let's celebrate, shall we?

A big thank you and [hug] to those of you who've been with me for years...

A big welcome and high five to those of you who have just started reading...

A HUGE thanks-a-bunch-for-stickin'-around to everyone in between!

And a big double thumbs-up to those of you who "follow me" on the right sidebar- I love seeing your beautiful faces and know who's reading! Come on over and join the party if you haven't already! =)
If I could get all of y'all an Oreo Blizzard to say "thanks for reading" and to celebrate #600, I would.  Or better yet, I'd throw us all a party with apple cider and pumpkin spice donuts with cream cheese icing and some Frances England music. I really, really would.  But it ain't in the budget, so I'll send you all lots of bloggy love and thanks, and we'll stick with what we know: a true-to-form Sprinkles & Wrinkles post. 

Thanks for hanging out and reading- you guys are da bomb-diggity.
 *****
Happy Friday! I just stepped on a wayward binkie land-mine, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to cry a little.  YOWZERS.

Friday's to-do list is intense this morning.  There's lotsa cleaning and cooking and grocery-getting to be done.  I've got a couple friends coming over for some fall-crafting tonight and then we're hosting our small group meeting Sunday afternoon.  Something about having people over makes me so so happy and also compels me to scrub a few toilets because MANNERS.

Speaking of happy, last night my FIL came over and fixed our leaky fridge that had been oozing icky water for 7 years strong.  Now all I want do is fill my sparkly, non-leaky fridge with fall delights.  We've had two crisper drawers I haven't been able to use since we got married 4 years ago, and now I am dreaming of going to the store and filling the drawers with apples and lettuce.  Que angel chorus.

Wow.  Yes.  My fixed refrigerator makes me THAT happy.  A BIG thank-you to Newbie's grandpa!!!

Newbie got in on the fix-it fun last night when Grandpa came over.

 

I love raising a boy.  He is too. much. FUN!
*****
A few days ago Miss L and I took the boys out for a day at the gardens.

It was awesome.  I love Miss L and her little family.  It was a harvest garden party complete with scarecrows and a beaver den and, of course, some fountain play because what's a 80 degree October day if your jeans and t-shirts aren't soaking wet when you leave?

Check out that motorboat face.  That boat is cruisin', baby. I'm so happy Miss L talked me into letting my guy get all wet and soggy before we left the gardens.  Sometimes you gotta let 'em be boys...even if it means a wardrobe change in the back of the car before strapping him into his carseat.

I'm off to conquer the insanity that is my to-do list.  I know I promised a giveaway this week, but things have gotten busy busy busy (eep!). The giveaway is in the making and will debut some time next week-  Stay tuned!

Wishing you all a fabulous Friday, and watch out for wayward binkies- they're not a good time.

Happy weekending!!!