Life Through the Lens of my Camera Phone

Well, I feel like it is the story of our lives these days.  We are either out-of-control busy or sick.  And for the last week it has been the latter.  And this time I have been the one down with what we think was a kidney infection.  A very painful, obnoxious kidney infection.  I did get out some when the pain was under control, and then I would seem to regret it.  But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and for that I am so grateful.

So, along with being sick comes laying in bed, sleeping, a lack of energy and a whole lot of doing nothing...including not updating the family blog.  So, here is the last few weeks in pictures from my camera phone.

 

We had a girls' day out in Rogers.  Cilla had her first trip to The Crumpet Tea Room and the Orange Roll was a HUGE hit!

 

And there you have it.  

Birthday plans are in full swing for our little munchkin!  Mommy had to get healthy.  She has a third birthday party to pull together!  I am really excited about it!

My Husband Rocks!

We survived Valentine's Day in the Harris house.  It was pure craziness in the world of cupcakes for about the five days leading up to and on Valentine's Day.  In case you are out of the loop, people love to give and receive sweet goodies for Valentine's day.  It was crazy.  But good crazy!

So, I have always had the mentality that Valentine's Day is way overrated.  I know.  I know.  And Flint and I never really get into making big plans.  I will shamefully admit, that I got more into Valentine's Day this year with my two year old than the hubs.  I know, my head is hung.  But, because my HUSBANDS ROCKS, I ate every single bad murmur I have ever muttered about Valentine's Day this year!  I have been forewarned not to set the bar for the years to come, but Flint came strong this year.  Like, Hercules strong!!!

You may have seen this not so shabby picture he posted on Facebook.  This was how I was supposed to find out about my Valentine, which is also my birthday and anniversary gifts.  Coming summer 2012: a little get-a-way to a place I like to call heaven on earth.  Flint planned a trip for our 10 year anniversary back to Peter Island which is where we went on our honeymoon!

Yes, and about me seeing it on Facebook, well it took my friend Syd dropping a few hints and then Flint knocking me over the head (not literally!) to get me to take a little looksy and see what my surprise was!

I am pretty sure I was squeeling on the inside like a tween girl and jumping and twirling in circles!  Such a perfect perfect gift!

And as if that was not enough there was more....

I woke up after the most wonderful night of sleep I think I have ever had.....because the day before was so exhausting....to the second most perfect surprise!

This bad boy.....

That's right!  My husband rocks!  My phone was literally on its last leg so this could not have been a more appreciated gift!  Siri and I are still getting to know each other, but I am pretty much head over heals and am wondering where in the world I have been the last few years.  I am sorry for all the laughing I did at all of you out there who love your iPhone!  

And since the only people who really care are the grandparents and the real reason they tune in is this reason.....

I thought I would top off of my Valentine post with pictures of our sweet girl and a few little snipits of how we celebrated this year.

We attempted a mini photo shoot in order to have picture Valentine's printed and it was about as close to a fail as it could be without completely failing.  Catch my drift?!  Here is what made the card.  The sun is a little bright and her eyes are a little squinty but she sure makes a sweet little Valentine!

 Still rock'in the squint, but pretty cute!

 And this is how most of the pictures turned out.....

 Little Miss was not happy about wearing red.  Not happy about cooperating for a picture.  And certainly not happy about walking away from the Dora episode that she was watching to have her picture taken!

We put up a few decorations this year...mostly in the playroom and they turned out cute. 

 Here is the banner I made last year.  I kind of copied something I saw in PBK.

I hope your Valentine's Day was a special one and hope you got to be with the ones you love!

Birthdays

The last few weeks we have been busy celebrating lots of special people in our lives!

Sorry it is all getting lumped together in one big post, but that is what happens when life gets crazy.

Flint celebrated his birthday on February 2nd.  Cilla thought her daddy would love a football cake, so that is just what he got!  Look at these two peas in a pod!  I just love them to pieces.  My cup overflows!

Practicing a little self control.  Cilla girl was itching to run her sweet little finger through all that yummy chocolate icing!  And she was oh so proud of her choice of the football cake!

Cilla and I are so lucky to have such a wonderful  man in our lives!  We are so thankful for all he does for us and how he loves us. 

Flint picked Mellow Mushroom for his birthday dinner, so went out for yummy pizza.  It is a Harris family favorite.

One week later, my bestie, Laura, celebrated her birthday.  I didn't get to help her celebrate, but she was in my heart and on my mind all day long!  Hopefully, we can celebrate together soon!

This past Saturday, Cilla helped her little friend Owen celebrate his 3rd birthday.  The party was at a local gymnastics gym and the kiddos had THE BEST time jumping on trampolines and playing in the foam pit.  {I may not have all the gymnastics terminology correct!}

Of course, this little love enjoyed her birthday treats!

 Sweet little friends- Anna Kate and Cilla!  Cilla kept hugging on Anna Kate.  She adores her.

 The birthday boy enjoying every second of his party.

 Doesn't this look like the perfect recipe for wearing the kiddos out?!?!  Cilla had so much fun.  I had to drag her out of the gym.

 To my surprise, I got a text about 7 o'clock Saturday night from my friend Candice informing me that she thought her little mister would be arriving that evening.  You may remember the shower for All-Star Baby Luke one one week ago.

Well, here he is in person!  I was so excited to meet this precious little guy!  He is a little peanut, but perfect in every single way!

 The newest Schulte family member......

 How precious is this one?!?!

We have been busy celebrating lots of people we love!  We are incredibly blessed!

Crazy Bliss

One of the many reasons for my lack of blogging lately is these two babies.....

AND this little Miss.....

Although, if you call Cilla a baby she is quick to correct you and let you know that she is a "big girl" now!

I call Bliss one of my babies because it just like one!  It requires care and nurturing.  It has to be fed, we have to spend time with it and it requires a lot of love!!!  But it is so rewarding and we love it being a part of our family!

We are in the process of opening a second store near the Northwest Arkansas Mall, which we are super duper excited about.  But that will not be happening until the beginning of May.  So, since we are staring our busiest time of the year in the face, we have opened a temporary location just down from what will be our permanent location.  We would love for all our NWA friends to come out and see us and get your Valentine goodies from Bliss!  

The Fayetteville Flyer wrote a great article about our new location. Check it out here.  

A Little of This...A Little of That...

Our weeks have been so full and I have just not been able to post as much as I would like.  So, here is a bunch of randomness with just a teeny tiny bit of what we have been up to!!!

One night last week, Cilla woke up crying, almost a scared cry, so I got up with her and rocked her.  All this to say, we ended up on the couch and she ended up asleep so I ended up back in my bed and she ended up like this the next morning!!!  Doesn't look too comfortable to me, but she was passed out.  Not even all the stirring in the house woke her up!

 We had to make a little stop at Home Depot getting ready for daddy's birthday (a whole separate post!) and the little munchkin knows that at Home Depot she gets to ride in the race car!  So, there is no twisting her arm to make that stop.  She loves the race car!  

 Saturday, while mommy was crazy busy with baby shower stuff, Cilla and Flint helped our friend, Will, celebrate his 4th birthday in superhero style!  Notice the blue icing on her face! 

She was in full force Saturday night!  I wish I had all the energy this girl has at bedtime!  My house would be much cleaner and my life would be much more organized if I did!

Love love love this smiley face!!!  

She was hiding in the closet trying to avoid getting ready for bed.  She is getting really good and hide'n'seek.

Sunday, after church, these two snuggled on the couch before nap time.  We had Super Bowl plans Sunday evening, so we had a lazy afternoon.  A much needed lazy afternoon!

We went to our friends', the Carney's, house to watch the Super Bowl. 

It was pure craziness and as you can see there was more blue icing involved!

I told you it was a bunch of randomness! 

All-Star Baby Luke

This past weekend I had the honor of helping to host a baby shower for my dear friend, Candice and her future all-star, Baby Luke!  It is no secret, I have a deep down desire of being a party planner one day.  So, I love all the frills and details of planning.  I have to admit, this was one of my very favorites!

The inspiration was obviously Candice and Tim's love of the Razorbacks.  But we were aiming for a southern chic tailgate party and I think it was all of that and more.

 The invites were red, white and gray with pennants on them.  So, we carried that throughout the shower.  I loved the colors.  Contrary to some beliefs, there is such thing as over the top Razorback, so we added subtle touches throughout the shower.  The Arkansas fight song was written on the chalkboard on the dessert table.

 The food table.  

The menu consisted of BBQ Pork Sandwiches (yes, we eat pork here in Razorback country!), Sweet Potato Fries with Sweet Butter dipping sauce, Asian Coleslaw, Fruit Skewers and of course Cupcakes- Red Velvet, Apple Cake and Marshmallow Brownie.

Cute little pennants.

 We used pennants to label all of the food, too.

 The Sweet Potato Fries were served in cups with the Sweet Butter at the bottom.

 And this was one of my very favorite details of the entire shower.  I saw a similar idea online and copied it.  They used Mason jars from a tree at a wedding, but Mason jars would have been too much.  So, I found little glass bottles at Hobby Lobby, added a wire handle, added flowers and hung them with ribbon.  Viola!  It was the perfect baby shower decoration with the silver baby cups added.

There was Strawberry Lemonade, Sweet Tea and Water to drink out of what else but- Mason jars!  Each jar was adorned with twine and a an "L" for Luke.

 His name on a banner of course!

 The mantle.  

This did not go according to plan.  As part of the hostess gift were were giving the month labels with Razorbacks!  But, the labels did not make it in time, so it looked more like a plain ole clothes line.  Still, cute, I guess, but not as we had planned!

 More flowers hanging.

Guests.

Little Cooper tried to sink his gums into a red velvet cupcake.  Apparently, he already knows a good thing when he sees it!  Look at those eyes!

 A little sussie for Baby Luke and his family signed by all the guests.  It will be perfect hanging in Luke's room.

 The door wreaths with Luke's initials made out of diapers.

 Razorback cookies for the guests to take home with them.  The perfect ending!

Hostesses.

My dear friend, Candice.

Ready to pass out!  

Showers are hard work!

It was such a fun day so it was worth it all!