Rory turned 3!

Rory turned 3 on May 6! I can't believe I never blogged about it. It was a wonderful day. She has a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party. Today I'm going to share with you the decorations! We'll talk about food and guests another day...mostly because those pictures are one my Dad's camera. ;)

First thing in the morning! She was so excited to be THREE!!

In front of Grandma Beth's (Gaga) and Grandpa Jim's (Baba) house! My mom is super talented and made all the cute Minnies you will see.

A view of the main party area. I made the puffs. I got the polka dot balloons on Etsy.

Close up of the puffs! So easy. So cheap. So cute.

Minnie Mouse Centerpieces! Cheap. Easy. Thank you Pinterest! I got all of the decorations, with the exception of the ba

I want to go to church.

I am between a rock and a hard place. Rory and Trace are not church friendly right now. What I mean by that is...Early service is during breakfast time, 11:00 service is half lunch/half nap. Saturday night service doesn't provide nursery workers so either I end up in the nursery with them or I persuade a dancer who also happens to be a Methodist to go watch the kids. I hate doing this though because if a high school kid is actually at church, then they should be listening to the message!

I want to go to church.

I like my church. The pastor is nice and super passionate about the Lord. The secretary is fanastic. There are some very nice people that attend.

But.

There's virtually no outreach for families. There's no Moms group. No baby Sunday School class. Very little kids programming.

I'm at a cross roads. On one hand, I want to stay at our church because I like it. It's comfortable there. But I never get to actually GO to services. I'm a member and I tithe but actually walking in the door for service right now is darn near impossible. When we do make it to Saturday night service, it's not relaxing. It's not refreshing. It's HARD. I crave the hour of peace that church services should bring me, not the sress of keeping Rory and Trace quiet, occupied and happy.

On the other hand, I'm feeling it's necessary to branch out and try a new church. Here in the fores there aren't a lot of options for family oriented churches. This might get stressful.

Words I Never Want My Kids to Say

I spend a lot of time with kids. My kids, other people kids, lots of kids. I overhear a lot of their conversations. I've compiled a list of words I hope I never hear my kids say. I'm not listing the obvious swear words here, people. :) Some words are just words I don't like the sound of, others are words I think are hurtful or mean.

1. Retarded.
This word makes me cringe. I hope my kids know the difference between someone being mentally challenged and the slang usage of this word. It's an ugly, awful word. The conotation this word has in our day and age is one of hurt, insult and embarrassment. Ugh.

2. Gay
Again, if they use this word, they better be using it properly. I take serious offense to people referring to something as gay. Gay has two meanings: joyous/happy or homosexual. I will often stop my students when they say something is "gay." I'll tell them I had no idea that  the shirt they called "gay" dates other shirts of the same sex. They usually laugh at my explanation but I hope it sinks in a little. Using gay in a derrogratory manner is the same to me as calling someone a dumb blonde or stupid Pollock. It just makes non sense.

3. Crap
I dislike the sound of this word so much! haha

4. Slacks
UGH. Loathe this word.

5. Shut up and Oh my God.
Two phrases I would prefer my kids not to say. I might be overreaching here, but I really don't like these phrases. Hush up or zip it is much kinder. Oh my goodness is just as easy to say. Be aware. Choose wisely.

6. Fart
I think it is so distasteful when little girls in my 3 or 4 year old class scream out I FARTED. So impolite! Please at least say you had gas and excuse yourself. Or bette yet, just politely excuse yourself and stop there. Yuck!

7. Mom, Dad. I want to go to Ohio State.
HAHA Kidding....sort of. ;)

At the park.

First of all, my apologies for being the world's worst blogger lately. I'm beyond consumed with dance right now. It's all dance, all the time for the next two weeks. I apologize in advance for lack of commenting, replying to comments and posts here on the old blog. I'll be back in the swing of things by June 4!

Yesterday, the kiddos and I spent the morning working at the studio. More accurately, I worked. Rory played baby dolls and Trace made a giant mess. :) Afterwards, we went to the park. My town has a beautiful playground in our municipal park. It's called the Evergreen Enchanted Playland, technically. Growing up we called it the Creative Playground. It's located right across the street from the old elementary school (and 2 blocks from the new one!) so it's always a big deal to get to spend recess at the Creative. :) It is a intricate wooden structure with lots of tunnels, towers, slides, swings, ladders, poles, tires...it's really a great place to play. Rory and Trace love it there and would spend hours upon hours exploring if I'd let them. :)

Some pictures from our park excursion yesterday...

p.s. I'm aware there's only one pic of Ro and way more of T. She never stands still! :)

It's Okay Thursday

Linking up with my girls, Amber and Neely, for It's Okay Thursday. Grab the graphic, tell us all what's okay with you this week then link up!



http://www.brunchwithamber.com" title="Its Ok Thursdays">http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac293/munchkin_land_designs/BlogDesigns/Buttons/ItsOkThursdaysButton.png" alt="Its Ok Thursdays" />

It's Okay...

to put off finishing editting the music. It will get done.

to give yourself a massive (like the size of a quarter!) burn on your arm with hot glue. Honest mistake.

to be jealous of your sister's size 4 body. Every wedding dress in the world looks good on her.

to be incredibly ready for Rory to go to preschool. She needs discipline from someone who isn't family. Three year olds are cra-zy.

to love when Trace wakes up singing. :)

to think your dog is cuter than everyone else's on the planet. Sorry, it's true.

to over order by 2 dozen the number of cupcakes you need for a birthday party. RSVP people. Use it.

to have liked not having a debit card. It's much harder to buy things when you have to go get cash from the bank or write a check. I'm maintaining this way of thinking!

to really hope nothing expensive is wrong with your very cool, very mom, mini van. This car is too new to have SO MANY PROBLEMS. #moneypit

And lastly...

Source: google.com via Lora on Pinterest

Yep. That's Rory in dance class. It's okay. I'm the teacher.

Rory Undercoffer, You are 3.

Rory, My Rosie, My daughter, My princess,

You are three. Right at the moment this blog post publishes, you are three. THREE. I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday, Daddy was waking me up from my C-section and telling me that, yes indeed I was the Mommy of a little girl.

Your name has been Rory for years. You were Rory before I even met your Daddy. Rory is special. Rory is unique. Rory is one in a million.

Sweetpea, the world is yours. As you dance and twirl your way through this rumble bumble journey called life, I pray that you will always know peace. You will find true love. You will find true friends. You will rest safely knowing your family is behind you. You will find passion. You will always be compassionate. You will desire to be educated. You will become a strong, independent, Jesus loving woman. My dear Rory...the world is ready for you.

I could post lots of pictures from the last year here. I could post funny stories or update the blog world on your statistics and accomplishments. But I dont need to. I remember it all. I tuck it away in my heart and I will tell you the tales whenever you want. I'm your Mama, Rory, and that's the best part about my life. Being Mommy to Rory and Trace. Thank you Jesus.

My wish for you this year Rory? It's simple. I want you to stay just as you are. Inquisitive. Snuggly. Effervescent. Rory.

One in a million.

Love is in the air!

My baby sister is ENGAGED!  She and her new fiance are getting married in Summer, 2013. Last night, a dear friend of my family got engaged too! She met her fiance at Penn State and I'm already requesting lots of PSU touches. :)

All this got me thinking...if I got married again (to Dave, natch) I'd have the worst time choosing colors now. Here are some combos that I'm loving on Pinterest lately.

Source: google.com via Kate on Pinterest

Shades of purple and pink. I'd do black dresses and ivory linens. Gorgeous!

Source: weddingflower-s.info via Kate on Pinterest

Blue and orange. Different and unexpected!

Source: glamourousgowns.co.uk via Kate on Pinterest

I'm obsessed with this peacock color palette. I'm secretly hoping my sister will pick this one!

Source: wedding.theknot.com via Kate on Pinterest

The navy and deep pink are so classy. I really like the groom's striped tie, too!

Any Wedding trends catching your eye lately? I'm sure there will be lots more wedding posts around here in the next 15 months or so. :)

Want to see my whole Wedding Things Pin Board? Click here!