"Mommy and Me" Christmas Party/Cookie Swap Review

Phew am I exhausted! Yesterday was my first annual kiddos Christmas party and cookie swap and it was so fun! We had 10 mommies and 14 babies ranging in age from 8 weeks to almost 3yrs, and it was very much a controlled (sometimes bordering on uncontrolled!) chaos. There was never not a child crying, especially when Santa came to visit! Maddie was not a huge fan of sitting on Santa's lap. She even cried when he came in the front door! What is it about a man in a red suit with a beard that freaks little kids out?!? Our santa was Mike's co-workers dad and he was fantastic! So sweet with the little ones and he definitely looked the part. If he will brave this crowd again, he's hired for next year too.
Every kid (except for the little babes) made a hand print reindeer. So easy to do, but so cute! I'm gonna do a handprint craft every year so we can see how big our little ones are getting every Christmas season.
I made curried chicken salad for lunch and a sweet mommy friend brought a salad. A lot of the moms asked for my curried chicken salad recipe so I'll post it here for all the blog readers to enjoy:

Curry Chicken Salad (adapted from a recipe in my Vera Bradley cookbook)
White meat from 1 Rotisserie chicken (I use lemon pepper seasoned chicken)
Green or red grapes quartered
2-3 sticks of celery chopped
(You can add chopped almonds or walnuts, but i didn't this time!)
1 Cup Light Mayo
1/2 C Skim milk
2 TBS Curry powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

-Combine chicken, grapes, celery and nuts in a large bowl
-In a seperate bowl whisk together milk and mayo until smooth, then add curry powder, salt and pepper
-Stir dressing into chicken mixture until chicken mixture is coated well.
-It's best when refrigerated for a couple hours.
-Serve on a salad or croissants, or if you're like me, just eat it straight out of the bowl with a spoon!

The kids ate PB&Js that I cut out to look like gingerbread men with a cookie cutter.

Every guest also brough 2 dozen cookies and we had a cookie swap at the end. The cookies were so yummy! Thanks everyone for participating!

As a party favor, I gave every kid a book on the first Christmas. Even though Santa was there and we made reindeer crafts, I wanted everyone to know that the reason for our celebration is that Christ came down to earth as a baby as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. I think we loose that in the busy commercial Christmas season. I want all of those precious little ones at my party to know the love their Savior has for them, and to know the richness of being in a relationship with Him.

I learned a lot about my self yesterday during the party too... I can keep my cool under utter chaos! I wasn't stressed out that my house looked like a tornado had swept through. I was just enjoying the moment... I have come a very long way! I thank Maddie and Jesus for that! They both have taught me a lot about letting go and enjoying the ride.

Like I said in the beginning, this was the start of my annual party... can't wait to see what next year is like!

Love you all,
Katy

DIY Christmas part 1- Maddie's headboard

Don't worry dear friends and family, your christmas presents will not be revealed in this post, that's in the works for after christmas! About 90% of our christmas presents this year were handmade/DIY, I can't wait to share with you how we did it! Since MK can't read, and doesn't know how to access the blog yet, I thought I would share part of her Christmas present from Mike and I. We are starting to get her big girl bed/bedding/room together so that when she decides that it's time to switch, we are ready! I have been doing a lot of reading and research on the signs/timing of (most obviously, climbing out of the crib) of moving to a bed. I've had several friends whose babes were 18 months old when they made the big switch, and that's almost two months away!

Maddie's big girl bedding- found at TJ Maxx over the summer for $25

So, my task was to find a headboard and footboard for MK. We had a twin mattress set (mine/Mike's from college that was nasty, I talked Mike into getting a new one for MK!) and twin frame, so all we needed was a cute headboard and footboard. I found one at Divine Consign in August. I've mentioned this consignment sale on my blog before... seriously people, if you have kids or are having a kid in the near future GO! The next sale is in March. Anyway, the headboard and footboard were in great condition, the prefect shape and only $8! The only problem, they were an ugly yellowish-gold color....YUCK! Problem easily solved with a quick sanding and several coats of white paint (a quart of white paint at Lowes was about $10, I would have gotten a few tester cans for $3 each but they were out...I have 3/4 of the can left), but it was still lacking something... So, I decided to upholster the inner section of the headboard! I've never done anything like this before, but I'd seen tutorials before on HGTV and I was pretty sure I could do it. Here is how I did it:

1. I picked up a yard of 1/2" foam and a yard of fabric that coordinates to her bedding from the local fabric store. The foam was $9.99/yard and the fabric was $4.99/yard.

2. I traced the inside of the headboard using newspaper ads, they were the only thing big enough that I had lying around.

Tracing the inside of the headboard.

3.I traced the pattern onto the foam and then cut out the shape with scissors.I also cut the 90 degree edge off with the scissors to give the upholstered part a less boxy shape.

Tracing the pattern onto the foam and cutting out!

4. I set the foam inside the headboard and stretched out the fabric. I folded the fabric in half and doubled it up so that the green foam wouldn't show through my fabric and to make the green pop a little more. Be careful if do that using a pattern, because it might show through the top layer, but with my tiny polka-dots it wasn't an issue. Next, using a staple gun, staple the fabric and foam to the headboard running your staple gun along the edge of the headboard as close as you can. I spaced my staples pretty close together (a few centimeters) so that the fabric wouldn't pull and rip.

Stapling is very cathartic! 

5. Next, cut the excess fabric as close as possible, but don't rip the fabric!

No ripping!

6. Lastly, hot glue a decorative trim on the inside of the headboard to cover up your staples. This trim was $5 for 4 yards, and I have about 1/2 a yard left to make a pillow with!

Hot glue gone in hand, and ready to go!

 That's it, as easy as it sounds! Here are some final pics and some out-takes from our photo session! 

Bedding, pillow sham (green, blue,pink flowers),  curtain and headboard all together!

Someone had to get in on the action! 

You turn your attention to taking pics for one minute and it looks like a category 4 hurricane has swept through and she's putting on her dirty clothes! Oh to have eyes on the back of my head!

So, all in all we paid about $29 for the whole project, not bad for a custom upholstered headboard!

Merry Christmas Maddie Kate!

Love,
The Vogs

Christmas events + Dates with hubs + sweet Maddie= Great weekend!

Hey all,
We've had a fun weekend around here, so I wanted to share what we did!

Friday:

Baby doll getting a diaper change!

Maddie  rocked and rolled on her new doggie guitar, and changed her baby's diaper NUMEROUS times! She would get so mad when it fell off. I don't think baby wears size 4 diapers!

Rocking out with her guitar!

Friday night we babysat a good friend's little girl and Mike and I cuddled up on the couch to watch Mission Impossible 1. I haven't seen any of the Mission Impossible movies (I grew up with 3 sisters- no surprise there!) so Mike is making it his personal mission to make me watch all of them so we can go see the new one in theaters soon... YAY! (Sarcastic!) I did love snuggling up with my man and watching a movie though, it's been way to long since we've done that! At home dates are the best!

Saturday:
Mike, Maddie and I went to the Buiding Blocks Christmas brunch at Watermark. We are so blessed to have such an amazing church with great programs for young moms and kids. Our two Watermark besties were there too! These three little girls are going to be trouble in a few years!

Maddie in front of a tree at Watermark

The girls and their daddies! Maddie & Mike, Mckinley & Matt, and Lilleigh & Brendon.

They had PRC (our worship leader) play christmas carols and we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. It was so fun! Afterwards we attempted to get a picture of the girls in front of the Christmas tree, and lets just say they were not wanting to cooperate! Here is the best one!

Lil, Maddie and McK- the three musketeers!

Saturday night we had "Vogelaar" Christmas with Mike's sister since she is flying out to Prague next weekend. We celebrated with homemade BBQ chicken pizza, presents and RGIII's heisman win! So proud to be a Baylor Bear, and may have cried a few tears during his acceptance speech.

Sic 'em RGIII!!!

Sunday:
We went to 9am church as usual, and then Mike and I went on a date to a couples massage class. It was so fun! We learned how to give an hour long massage of the back, neck and shoulders using proper massage technique and posture. Definitely the most unique date we have even been on, but it was a blast. Mike says I have a future in massage therapy, I think he was just inflating my ego so I would practice more on him! Maddie hung out with Caleb and Sallie our sweet down the street neighbors and community group members. They took her to the park and wore her out! She didn't want any dinner, just her bed after her play date with the Deans. She slept from 615 to 715! Thanks Deanos! Play date next sunday? ;)

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! It wasn't long enough for me... we've got a busy, fun week ahead of us including a "Mommy and Me" christmas party and cookie swap at our house on weds, community group Christmas dinner weds night, finishing up Mike's christmas shopping (it's impossible to shop for him!), and another day date this weekend!

Love,
The Vogs

Maddie update: 15 months!

I thought I would start updating on MK for family and friends who aren’t on facebook that we don’t get to see all the time!

MK at our Christmas Card Photo-shoot!

 My baby goobie girl is growing up so fast! I can’t believe she is already 15 months (actually almost 16 now!). She is moving towards toddlerhood at a rapid pace!

Stats:

Weight: 25lb 6.5oz (90%)

Height: 33in (>95%)

Compared to her daddy at 15 months: 32in and 28lb

Compared to her mommy at 15 months: 32in and 23.75lb

*so, basically, she’s going to be HUGE, I am starting to pray for a tall husband now!*

She is walking, climbing and has started running in place when she’s either really angry or excited.

Her favorite word is “Jesus” which sounds like “Cheezit” and she likes to say “Hi” to everyone she meets.

Her favorite toy is anything that looks like a phone, which she puts to her ear and talks into like a phone saying “hi” and some other babbles that I can’t understand. She also really loves the piano, both our baby grand in the living room and her Fisher Price toy piano.

I think MK is in “big sister training” mode (although there is no news to report on that subject!). She has started trying to put diapers on everything! Nutcracker man, baby doll, her stuffed animals! She also tries to “feed” her animals and baby doll her sippy cup. Oh, I hope she’s that helpful when she’s called up to the big sister big leagues!

She has also started to give snuggles and kisses a lot. Oh boy do I love those!

Last week in Florida for Thanksgiving, she fell in love with Poppy (aka my dad). She would only go to him, hung out with him in his office for hours and when they dropped us off at the airport, she cried for 15 minutes after he gave her a hug goodbye and left (she has NEVER done that with us!). It makes my heart melt! MK received the sweetest note in the mail from him this week telling her how much he missed her. Thankfully the two will be reunited at the Fields' Family Reunion in Cali after christmas! 

She is so much fun! 

Goobs- I love you stinky! You make me proud to be your momma. I pray that Jesus will continue to reveal Himself to you and that you will fall in love with Him one day!

Love yall,

The Vogs

Trying something new!

So, my last thankful post was from the iPad... And although I put spaces between the lines, they obviously did not show up! So now I am updating my blog from my new iPhone (thanks to my parents for this early Christmas present!) I am hoping this app will help me keep on top of the blog. I have so many things I want to post, but finding the time to log into the desktop with.a busy 15 month old is hard! So I am going I really try a lot harder to make more of an effort, while not sacrificing any of my previous time with mk during the day or mike at night!

Speaking of iPhones, how did I ever live without one? This thing is awesome and dangerous at the same time. Should I really be this connected all the time? I am currently battling with that one! An iPad at home is one thing, but this attached to my hand everywhere is a different story! Don't get me wrong though, I am not complaining!

Here are some iPhone pics to show you what we've been up to!

Stay tuned for a couple posts this week on what the Lord is teaching me and one on our thrifty DIY Christmas!

Love y'all,
The Vogs

Thankful day 4&5

Day 4- ice cream! I know this is so shallow, but i love ice cream...and so does my dad. so we are enjoying having a partner in crime to indulge in some mid day icream with! Love u dad! Day 5- new life The past few weeks two of my baylor friends announced that they were pregnant, and both of these babies are miracles! One mom has a genetic condition and was told that she had a very small chance of getting pregnant, she is having her second this summer! The other is a dear friend who struggled with infertility and underwent several rounds of fertility treatments... She is due in early june! It is so clear in scripture that God is the author of life, just check these out: Isaiah 46: 3-4 "...and you whom i have upheld since your birth, and have carried you since you were born. Even to your old age and grey hairs i am He, i am He who will sustain you. I have made you and i will carry you; i will sustain you and i will rescue you. Job 10:10 "you guided my conception and formed me in the womb." I am so thankful for his hand on these dear friends and giving them new lives! We had a wonderful thanksgiving with complete with a turkey bowl, a turkey feast and 4 generations of Johnson/Fields/Vogelaars! Happy black friday! We arent going anywhere near any retail stores today! Love, The Vogs

Thankful day 2&3

So, I missed a day... does traveling to FL on a 6:15am flight with a 15 month old buy me any grace?

Day 2- 6am flights!
Actually, If we didn't have to wake up at 4am to catch our flight, I would take a 6am flight every time! They had 15 extra seats on our flight, which means that MK got her own seat! She slept the whole flight and did great! Thank you Lord for that tiny blessing that started our long day of traveling off well.

Day 3- the Fields Family...get ready for some awesome old pics!

Fields girls Christmas pictures 2007.

Fields girls in Vero Beach, FL summer of 1996

3 generations of Fields girls at Baylor Homecoming 2010

My mom and dad's christmas card picture 2010

We are here in Vero Beach visiting my parents for Thanksgiving. I have the best parents in the world! I am so thankful that God allowed me to be born into the Fields Family! This is the first time in 3 years of marriage that Mike and I have been in Florida without my sisters, and although we are loving the one on one time with Mom and Dad, I miss my sisters! I can't wait to see them in a couple weeks for our California christmas/new years celebration! 

Today we are in thanksgiving meal preparation mode, so i've gotta go make myself useful!

What are you thankful for today? Thank the Giver of every good thing today for the blessings in your life. Reflect on James 1:17 this Thanksgiving holiday!

Love,

Katy