Tryin' to Beat the Winter Blues!

Saturday we celebrated CNY with the Familes with Children from China group. We feasted on some good Chinese food including dumplings!

Tori really enjoyed the craft stations this year...

And was really excited about the dragon dance! She loves the Kai Lan episode when they move like the dragon..."Up like a dragon, down like a dragon, flap like a dragon, wiggle like a dragon..." is what she can be heard repeating around the house.

Friday was her CNY party at preschool. I ordered a free packet of goodies from China Express, and her teachers were thrilled to incorporate this into their curriculum this month. Thursday night, we made "good fortune" cupcakes and white chocolate dipped fortune cookies with red sprinkles. Her friends loved them! Thanks Kim K. for all the great ideas...They were certainly a hit!

They decorated their door at school with oranges and red envelopes. In the classroom, they had lanterns and fans everywhere. It was awesome!!! Before I left that morning, the kids also surprised me with a CNY song that kids sing in China. Wow! Was I impressed!

Monday through Wednesday, I went to the Beta Convention with about 40 Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors. As you can see, the Opryland Hotel has fully recovered from the flood damage last May. They still don't know were all the water came from that caused millions and millions in damage to the hotel, mall, and the Grand Ole' Opry house, not to mention all the homes and other businesses in that area.

This is one of my favorite places in the Cascades section of the Atrium.

Grey, yucky, and mild is what our area looks like and feels like right now. We are enjoying above average temps, but I want to see some sun and some sign of life around here. I am so ready for green trees and the colors of spring! To me it's hard not to get a bit blue...Spring come soon!!!

Well, another week is ahead. At least we had today off in celebration of President's Day...so it's only a four-day week! (Hooray!!!) AND this weekend my friend from Oregon is coming to visit friends in Memphis, so Chris and I will head that way on Friday. I can't wait to see her!

Hope your week is a good one!
Cindy

Happy Valentine's Day and A Bit of Family Fun

Celebrating CNY at P.F. Chang...

Well. the kids said it looked more like a mouse. I guess I should have made the ears a bit bigger by using constuction paper like my mom used to. Here it is anyway...The Bunny Cake! My mom used to make this for us at Easter, but with white coconut. To make simply take a round cake and half it. After icing, coat with coconut and use colored icing and licorace sticks to decorate. I had marshmellows on hand, so I used them for ears.

A comfy spot at the Home and Garden Show...

The award-winning train garden...

Tori at the Asian inspired garden...

Getting ready for tomorrow...JJ's Valentines are inspired by Mad Libs...An after season find last year!

Tori had to have Tinker Bell...Found those on clearance, too. I had a feeling that Tink would be the pick for this year.

And she signed her name to all eleven for her preschool friends!

We had a fun Saturday and today has been spent getting ready for tomorrow. Not only is it Valentine's Day, but I am leaving for the Beta Convention, too. Yep, it was really bad timing this year, but this was the only time that the organization could schedule it.

So I will be taken away from my blog and blog friends for a few days...I hope that your Valentine's Day is full of lots of sweetness and tender moments!

Valentine's Party with Neighborhood Friends

The cupid cutie cupcakes were a hit last night...I let them put on the icing and decorate them with the help of the adults. But, I did have the wings done already to make it go much smoother, and I helped them with the eyes, mouth, and fingers...So all-in-all, they looked pretty good, and the kids thought that they had completed a masterpiece!

Besides also exchanging Valentines, the kids made princess and prince crowns with just a white paper plate, glitter and hearts.

Getting together with friends was the goal last night. The younger crowd really enjoyed all that the moms had prepared, and the older boys (JJ included) enjoyed the game room at the youth center. One mom has organized a "secret pal" event. The kids have their "pals" now, so each month we send them a little gift or card until our summer event. Then, they will reveal their secret pal's name. We all thought this was a great idea...our kids love to play together, but with every one's schedules it's hard to see each other. This way they can "remember" their neighborhood friends between events.

Thankfully, everyone in the Whaley household is doing better! JJ went back to school yesterday...He is almost caught up with his school work! Tori and I have a touch of a cold, but we are doing fine. Today we have our CNY dinner at P.F. Chang, but before then, we are heading to the Home and Garden Show. (If everything works out as planned we hope to redo our kitchen this summer!) Anyway, I am preparing a New Year's rabbit cake to take with us. Check back soon!

Have a beautiful Saturday!

Sweet Cupid Cutie Cupcakes

You will need:

• A cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe)
• Pink- or peach-tinted frosting
• Large marshmallow
• Thin pretzel stick

• Crisped rice cereal (a handful)
• Decorators' gel
• Candy heart

Preparing your Cupid Cutie:

1. Frost a cupcake with pink- or peach-tinted frosting.

2. For wings, use kitchen shears to cut a large marshmallow in half vertically, then snip each half widthwise a few times for a feathery look. Press a thin pretzel stick against the sticky side of each marshmallow half, then stick the pretzels into the cupcake.

3. Press a handful of crisped rice cereal along the top of the cupcake for Cupid's curly locks, then add a decorators' gel mouth and eyes. Finally, set a candy heart in place and pipe on frosting fingers, if you like.

Tonight was the experiment round. Tomorrow afternoon the neighborhood kids are getting together to make these among other Valentine goodies. Check back this weekend for the results!

By the way, JJ is doing much better. He wants to try to go to school tomorrow for at least a half day. Thanks for all the prayers and get better wishes!

Diagnosis: Flu and Strep!

I wanted to start on a positive note, so let's begin here. Thursday evening it was just T and mom. When those American Girl catalogs arrive, you can guarantee that she will study each page and make notes of what she would like to have next. We are still waiting for the bake set to arrive for her birthday!

No, no glasses yet, but she does look awfully cute in these. These were a "gift" from the head of the optical program from RSCC. Mom had gone to pick out and order new frames that afternoon from their optical department, and she came away with new frames, too. I can't wait to get my new ones...They are really stylish!

Speaking of American Girl, T and I finally got her CNY felt food done for her dolls and the kitchen set we are waiting on. The idea for this came from a new blog friend from let's go fly a kite. She has some great ideas for CNY and Valentine's Day crafts.

She is finally wearing these cute Mulan shoes I found TWO years ago at a Disney outlet for a steal. Mamaw Teina painted her nails on Tuesday, and she wanted to try these on to show them off. She has the cutest little feet!

This outfit was my favorite of all that we found in China. It came from a White Swan shop and was just a bit more that what others charged, but I had to have it for her. Her bitty baby is wearing the outfit that I purchased at "A Gift from China" shop on Shaman Island that donates some of its proceeds to China's orphanages.

Ah yes, it has been interesting around the Whaley house since Friday afternoon. It all started with the phone call from school...JJ was about the fifth student in his class to show symptoms of these raging illnesses. With an immediate phone call to his pediatrician, we were soon on our way with a "work-in" appointment. So here we are today with JJ suffering with a double whammy on Tami-flu and antibiotics and the rest of us on Tami-flu, too. Tori has been shipped to her grandparents at least until Tuesday, so that hopefully we can prevent her from getting it from her brother. Of course, we realize that she can get it anywhere because it is highly contagious. But, we want to keep her from direct contact. To say we miss her is a complete understatement! Please keep JJ in your prayers. He has been in bed since Friday afternoon...That shows you just how sick he is right now.

Well, this may be the only post for the next few days. We are hoping that he will be better by next weekend because we have some CNY and Valentine's celebrating to do!

Hope everyone is well in your household!!!

Happy Year of the Rabbit!

Create your own free greeting card