#31 of 365: Offsides!

My husband is a soccer ref and the little girls were having a blast playing with his flags this afternoon!

#30 of 365: Dinner with a Vegetarian

I made lasagna for dinner tonight. I tried for the first time to make a section of it meat-free. Despite it being a little lower in height and loosing a little of the cheese (far left), it worked pretty well.
Grace decided a few months ago to become a vegetarian, and to my surprise, had legit reasons for it. I'm impressed by her following her values. I couldn't do it. I HEART meat too much! Especially homemade lasagna! ;-)

#29 of 365: Dance is Back!

Ellison has been waiting since last year for her dance to resume. There was a big break between semesters and then last week was called off due to weather. She was super excited to go back today!

#28 of 365: Sisters

I love watching the kids teach their younger siblings! So precious! 

#27 of 365: "All the World's a Stage"

Yes, I am quoting Shakespeare.
Well today, the stage is Grace's world to flip it around a little bit! ;-)
She just found out she got cast in a play she really wanted to do! She is SOOO excited and I am so excited for her. So, although I used free clip art instead of taking a picture myself, this is my pic for today! :-)

#26 of 365: Souvenirs

A couple dear girlfriends took me out of town this weekend for a pre-baby shopping (and eating!) getaway. I got the kiddos a stuffed animal at The Disney Store and a new t-shirt from J.C. Penny's. 

I think they like them! :-)

(Grace was too cool to be photographed holding a stuffed animal.) ;-)

#25 of 365: Best Pregnancy Item

It only took until my 5th pregnancy to find out about this! I cannot believe I lived without it until now!
My new favorite pregnancy item is this Boppy Pillow Wedge! It is so great! It fits under my belly while sleeping on my side and has eliminated my hip and back pain I always got with pregnancy sleeping. If your prego or know anyone that is, I recommend this pillow wedge! LOVE IT!

#24 of 365: The Monster at the End of the Book

This is a sentimental picture for me because my grandpa used to read this book to me when I was the kids' age. He would make it so fun and make the book really come alive. When I saw the app for purchase I immediately thought of him and bought it for my kids. Grover is animated and tells you not to turn the pages. It's not as good as my grandpa as narrator, but it's pretty darn cute!

#23 of 365: Selfie

I'm not a big fan of getting my picture taken! I'd much rather be behind the camera! I love to "paparazzi" my kids... not so much of me. So this is a rare selfie. I got a free photobook from Shutterfly for this pregnancy and I needed a 7 mo photo, so this is the selfie that resulted. At least I got a cute haircut yesterday!
Hey, if Pope Francis can pose for a selfie, I guess I can. :-)

#22 of 365: Ellie and Thomas the Train

I found this on clearance online and was so excited to find something "girly" for my little Thomas the Train fan:

"ALL ABOARD!"

#21 of 365: Bob Books

This past week has been a Zoe marathon, so I thought why not one more day? ;-)
Here she is reading me a Bob book:

#20 of 365: Little Miss 5 Year Old

Zoe had this crown in one of her birthday cards. We put it together today!

Zoe's Little Pony Birthday Party

For Zoe's 5th Birthday, she wanted the theme "My Little Ponies."

Above was a welcome sign I made for the front door. It says, "Welcome to ZOE's Little Pony Party."

Party hats for her guests

Zoe's birthday hat

Goodie bags for her guests

 These are the items I bought for the party game winners (top left), bingo cards I made, rainbow straws, cups and Skittles for games, craft lace to make rainbow Fruit Loop necklaces, and tails and a mask for pin the tail on the pony.

The DECORATIONS

Zoe in front of the decorations

I thought the My Little Pony plates and napkins were too cute!

 The CAKE

The cake!

 The GAMES

First, the kids made Fruit Loop necklaces. You can see Grace turned hers into a crown!

Then, the kids were given rainbow skittles and had to use the neon straws to see who could get their skittles into the rainbow muffin wrapper first.

The next game was Zoe's Little Pony Birthday Bingo:

I made it with free clip art off the web and a free bingo template.

As you can see, Cian takes Bingo VERY seriously. :-)

The shy bingo winner! 

The last game we played was Pin the Tail on Pinkie Pie: 

 The GIFTS

 This was a great idea I borrowed from another friends' birthday party. You take a photo of the gift they receive with the kid(s) it is from sitting by them. This is great for writing thank you's later too!

Time to eat some CAKE

Happy Birthday, Zoe! It was a my little pony perfect party!

#19 of 365: Pressure Cooker Roast

My favorite all time meal: roast beef, potatoes and carrots made in the pressure cooker. My little vegetarian spent the night with a friend tonight, so I made it for dinner! YUM!

#18 of 365: Birthday Pancakes

Zoe's birthday food request: PANCAKES!

#17 of 365: Zoe's Birthday!

#16 of 365: Last Day as a 4-Year-Old

My beautiful girl! Last day of being "4" today!

Check out the blonde hair! LOL!

#15 of 365: Baby Zoe Easter Bunny

#14 of 365: The Little Princess Who Will Soon Be FIVE

This Friday, my little Zoe will turn FIVE! For my 365 pictures this week, I have decided to post some of my favorites of Zoe. Here is one on the day she was born:

Zoe Micah  7 lbs 6oz

#13 of 365: Snow Fun!

#12 of 365: Zoe Longstocking

#11 of 365: Tea Party

Zoe and Ellie were having a tea party with their "friends." Zoe's 1st American Girl doll she got for Christmas and Ellie invited her BFFs Cleo the dog and Robin the dog.
I'm not sure why Zoe is doing such a weird smile! ;-)

#10 of 365: My Van

My minivan was hit a few weeks ago when it was in a parking lot and nobody left a note. It knocked the bumper out of place (smashing it in multiple places), dented the liftgate and caused the power doors and liftgate to stop working. :-(
It has been at the shop for a week, and was to be ready 2 days ago. Due to weather, it took longer than expected. I got the call that it was ready today, but they closed at 5. I made it there, literally, at 4:56! However, I got it! Here is my pic for today, my van, home in my garage! Yippee!

Fried Ice Cream Surprise

Today we went for lunch at a Mexican restaurant since we were studying Mexico this week. My husband pulled a little surprise on Zoe. Her birthday is a week from tomorrow, so Brian secretly went and told the staff! They came over and sang to Zoe and she got the wear the sombrero! What a fun pre-birthday celebration and a great field trip for our homeschool studies this week!!

The almost birthday girl & big sis behind her

Here are a few more fun pics:

Yum! Mexican food!

Yum! Ellie's "not so Mexican" food- papas fritas and El "grilled cheeso"??

Cian stealing a fry- he wanted to try on the sombrero also!

Not to be left out!