Little sister even wanted in on the action.

If you want your child to trace more than just “Thank You”, you can try this program. It will automatically create dotted lines to trace for whatever is typed in.

Hot dogs, veggies and chips. He was begging for his juice box all morning long. Where is it? He drank it as soon as the party started ;)

One of his requests was “black cake with black frosting.” Coming right up…

Blowing out his birthday cupcake:

My first run at making a pennant. I think it turned out pretty well. How I made this pennant HERE.

Shirt from Hobby Lobby on clearance for $1.75 + iron on number for $1.35 = one super cheap and stlyin’ birthday shirt!

Happy birthday my big boy. I love you so much!

If you are wondering where I came up with all those super crafty ideas, I got a LOT of inspiration from Ashley at THIS blog.

Using a ruler, I measured out 3 equal flags per piece and cut them out.

After I had all my flags cut, I arranged them on the floor into a pattern that appealed to me. I originally started out using one checkered, then one red, but it didn’t look quite right to me. I went back and bought some black felt to add to the sequence and was happy with the change. If you are wondering why some are cut in half, I was originally going to sew the extra pieces (produced from cutting the main flags) together to make additional flags, but later found I had enough whole pieces and did not need to do this.

When I was happy with the pattern, I took out the bias tape and pinned the triangle flags in place (sandwiched in the middle). I left about a foot of bias tape on each side for tying the banner.

Using my old, basic sewing machine, I sewed a straight line across the bias tape, and voila cute race car pennant!

Making the banner took me approximately 45 minutes to do, but will probably be faster in the future now that I have made one.

Cost of materials:
2 checkered felt sections – $1.00
4 solid felt sections – $1.00
1 package black double fold bias tape – $1.15 (on sale)

Total cost = $3.15!

Retro kid chairs. These totally remind me of the chairs I had at school when I was little. Super cute and a deal at $4 each.

Cute necklace – $6
Retro wooden building blocks – $2, bakery twine – $4, pottery barn teen duvet – $7

Kids apron. We always need another one in case a friend comes by – $1.80.
This stool was a super score. I saw it in the store and thought, “This matches our bar height kitchen table perfectly and will be great when we need an extra spot for someone to sit.” It was a great price too at $7. When I got home, I looked at the underside of it to see the maker and low and behold saw a Pottery Barn sticker. Turns out this $7 stool is currently selling at Pottery Barn for $99!

Have you scored any good thrift store deals lately?

I am thankful for so much: my husband and two wonderful kids, my health, my friends, clients, and the country in which I live.

Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy day of thanks,
Jen

I will leave you with a picture from my first birthday party. I am the one in the wooden highchair hoarding all the chocolate cake. Thirty-two years later it is still my favorite. Happy birthday to me.

First are egrips for your phone:

These are so much better than iphone covers.  It basically a big grippy sticker that you put on the back of your phone. This makes it impossible a lot harder for your phone to slip out of your hands. The coolest part is that you can lay your phone on the dash in your car and it won’t slide all over the place while you are driving.

Next up, hands down my favorite face lotion ever, is  Marine Daily Hydrator from H2O Plus.  

My issue with most face lotions is that they either feel heavy and oily or they are so light they are not moisturizing. This lotion totally solves this problem. It feels so light, yet completely hydrates my face. Check it out. You won’t be disappointed!

And finally, the Bachelorette. Yes, I am addicted!  Jillian has so many cute guys to pick from. One guy though is not there for love. He is an up-and-coming country music star and is on the show to promote his CD. The other guys have had a hunch all along, but last week he flat out told him that was why he was on the show! Sweet talker that he is, Wes has Jillian wrapped around his finger. Hopefully she will figure things out soon and KICK HIM OFF! If you love fun reality TV with lots of eye candy, it is not too late to start watching. On tonight’s episode, the remaining guys will take Jillian to their home town to meet their parents.  If you are already watching, leave a comment and let me know who you think Jillian should pick.  I am rooting for Kiptyn.

Things I learned from our conversation:
1. Jamie does not know what a taco is?!!
2. Melissa can’t eat cheese.
3. According to the girls, I HAVE to get a 50mm 1.2 lens.
4. Jasmine Star is really as cool as you think she is.
5. Twittering is the cool thing to do.  Naturally I had to get an account.  Follow me! @jenschleicher

To see how much we aged in a year, here is a picture from last year when we met (courtesy of Jamie Delaine):  Me, Melissa, Rachel Priddy, and Jamie.

And yesterday (We missed you Rachel!):