Minion Twinkie Valentines!

My son's kindergarten class is having their Valentine's Day party Friday (February 13th). We have to have our valentines turned in by then, so my son can pass them out to his class. I saw an image of an idea for a birthday party in Google images, and I wanted to do it for valentines!

The idea?

Minions!

I wrapped Twinkies in minion wrappers and attached them to valentine cards. They came out adorable, I know the class will love them as much as my son does! :)

Here's what you'll need:

• Twinkies
• Printer and paper
• Scissors
• Red construction paper
• Glue stick
• Valentine cards (store-bought or homemade)
• Pen
• Paper clips or heavy stickers

1. First, you'll want to visit Tonya Stabb's blog. She has a free printable on her Despicable Me 2 Party post for minion push-up cupcake wrappers. These fit perfectly around a Twinkie. Print out as many as you will need. Cut out your wrappers.

2. Next, take your glue stick and apply glue to the section of the wrappers that says "Glue here". You might also want to apply some to the inside of the paper on the other end that will wrap around. Just for a little extra "stick". Then wrap a wrapper around a Twinkie and lightly press the glued edges together.

What your Minion should look like so far :)

3. For an added touch of love and affection, take red construction paper and cut out small hearts. Glue one heart to the front pocket of each minion twinkie.

4. Have your child write his name on the valentine cards, and the name of who it will be given to. If you are making your valentines homemade, here are a few cute phrase ideas that were on our store-bought cards:

• I've got my eyes on you
• I've got my EYE on you
• EYE'm stuck on U!
• You're one in a MINION!
• Falling for U

(One in a MINION was my favorite!)

If your valentines cards fold up, go ahead and do that now. Our store-bought ones folded up and sealed with small heart-shaped stickers.

5. Attach each valentine card to the back of a minion twinkie either with a sticker or a paperclip.

To take them to school, I stacked them in a small box inside of a grocery bag. The box makes sure that between picking the bag up and putting it down repeatedly, it won't slowly detach the cards from the twinkies. Anyways, that's all it takes, and it makes the cutest little valentines ever! :)

Now share this post, and go make some valentines!

Pimsleur Italian Lesson 9--A Comedy...?

For the past three weeks, I've been listening and speaking along with Pimsleur Italian lessons. I listen to it every morning on the way to take my son to school. Sometimes I'm not sure I learned a lesson well enough, so I repeat it the following day. It's not a bad way to learn (we'll review a few different language learning methods in a later post). One of the great things about Pimsleur is that it starts you out with words and phrases that will help you get around a bit if you visit a country that speaks the language you are learning.

A few years ago, I was doing Pimsleur Japanese, and it was made very clear how humble and modest the Japanese are in their conversations. They are polite; conversation topics started out with family and work and many different ways to be polite through modesty -- talking them up while talking yourself down. It's like constantly bowing through speech. It's actually  a very nice change from the way people typically talk here in America, where you never know if the next person you talk to will be polite, outspoken, shy, rude, etc.

But these Italian lessons so far are very much centered around food, eating, drinking, getting to restaurants and hotels, and asking others to come along in a big social day out with food, wine, and beer. Not that I'm being stereotypical; that's just the way Pimsleur seems to show it. It makes for some really amusing conversations!

For example: Today I finished Lesson 9 (introducing hours of the day). The last 10 minutes of this lesson, where you are made to act out a conversation between two people, is HILARIOUS. I swear, I was cracking up. A guy keeps asking a girl to drink with him, and not picking up that she definitely doesnt want to. Maybe its funnier in Italian, and when you don't know what he is going to say next. But anyways, it went like this:

GUY: Would you like to drink something with me Miss?
Girl: Not Miss... Mrs.
GUY: Sorry, Mrs... But would you like to drink something with me?
Girl: No thank you.
GUY: Not now?
Girl: And not later.
GUY: But at 1 o'clock, okay?
Girl: It's not okay with me!
GUY: ...at 2 o'clock?
Girl: No thanks--I don't want to.
GUY: Later, at 8 o'clock?
Girl: No thank you.
GUY: Or at 9 o'clock?
Girl: Certainly not!
GUY: Tell me, at what time? At what time would you like to drink something with me?
Girl: No, I do NOT want to drink something with you!
GUY: Ah, I understand now.
Girl: Great, you understand now!
GUY: Yes. You don't want to drink something with me.
...But you would like to eat something with me. [Note: I felt like I could literally SEE her facepalm here.] At the restaurant. At 8 o'clock, or at 9 o'clock?
Girl: Not at 1 o'clock, and not at 2 o'clock. Not at 8 o'clock, and not at 9 o'clock.
GUY: At what time?
Girl: You don't understand, sir.
GUY: What don't I understand?
Girl: You don't understand Italian, sir.

It's especially funny because in a previous lesson, a guy asked a girl to have a drink with him, and she said yes. So he asked what she wanted to drink. She says some wine, and then he asks "Would you like to drink some beer?" (Ummm no, I just said wine?) She says sure anyways. He asks where she wants to get that drink, and he says, "At the restaurant?" But she replies, "No, at your place." She knows he has a blatant disregard for her wants and yet she still goes home with him.

These lessons are so amusing. Definitely keeps me entertained, and wanting to do more. Good job, Pimsleur! Haha :)

New Year's Resolution 2015

Well, it's that time of year. Time for a New Year's Resolution!

I always set such high standards for myself, then talk about how deep and important it is and how I know I need to stick with it to better myself.

Last year's resolution failed miserably in every sense of the word, starting from the first bout of morning sickness three weeks in.

Something about knowing it's a new year just showers people with motivation. Short lived, typically, due to the realization that the calendar might have changed but life is the same. But I'm going to try once more to grasp that motivation and take it for the blessing that it is. A chance to start something.

This year's resolution is to keep moving forward. This means... well, before I say anything, what does it mean to you? Take a minute and think about it. Keep moving forward.

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Keep moving forward means that I won't let myself get stagnant and that I will find ways to be better. I've been learning Italian. I'm not going to promise myself to speak it fluently by the end of the year, but I will keep moving forward and try to learn as much as I can. I had a baby this year, and I'd like my old body back. I'm not going to promise myself that I'll be 120 lbs by the end of the year, but I will keep moving forward and try to be more healthy, and with a little effort maybe weigh less than I do now. I want to be more in touch with my family. I'm not going to promise myself that I'll call everyone once a week for at least an hour, but I will keep moving forward and pick up the phone once in a while for more than just Facebook games.

What is your new year's resolution? How will you keep moving forward? :)

Top Ten {Personal} Highlights of 2014

2014... There are only two weeks left in the year, and I've only made two posts. ALL YEAR. It's sad, I know. But this year has been SO exciting. So much has happened, and for one reason or another I haven't gotten around to blogging about it at all. Well, here I am! And here is a quick look back through 2014, to catch you up on the 10 events that I feel sum up my year. :)

Oh, and these aren't in any specific order. :)

• I got pregnant! In January I took the wonderful test that said I was going to be a mom (again). The funny thing is, last December during the full moon I prayed. I prayed for a little girl. I woke up the next day to find that my period started, and wouldn't you know it, it was the last period I had. And what did I find out at my ultrasound? ...it's a GIRL! Huge thanks go out to every corner of the Universe for this one. My little family is complete. :)

• I got a shiny new (well, new to me) 2009 Toyota Sequoia. I'm especially excited about having third row seating. I love this thing, and sometimes I wonder how I got around without it.

• We went to Yellowstone! Talk about exciting. We love to travel, and each year we try to go somewhere new. We finally made it to Yellowstone National Park, and we are more than ready to go back. It was beautiful, and unique, and we saw all kinds of animals. And we only hit the bottom half of the park! It's huge. It's near impossible to choose only one picture to sum up the trip, so I went with a traditional sign picture. :) Old Faithful, by the way, is definitely worth seeing.
  

• I got a new kitty. :D Her name is Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds -- Lucy for short. She is one of the sweetest and most protective cats I've ever had. And like her namesake, her eyes are like diamonds in the sky and she LOVES to sing (meow loudly and frequently).

• Doctor Who. I dove into the fandom this year, letting go of my self-consciousness and enjoying Doctor Who for the amazingness it really is. Tennant is my doctor. The Doctor in all his regenerations makes me laugh and cry all at the same time. And my hubby not only knows of my DW obsession, but fuels it as well (as evident by the birthday cake he got me).

• Kindergarten! My oldest started school this year, and it has been amazing. It was such a milestone in not only his life, but mine as well. He has been doing so great, I am SO proud of him! 
  

• Cakes, cakes, and more cakes. It has taken me a very long time to figure out what I want to do with my life, and I think I finally found my calling. CAKES. I am slowly gathering the tools to really make them look professional, but let me just say, I love it. Every cake, every ounce of frosting, every decorating tip and every color. I hope one day I can make them look amazing. 

• I had a little girl! And she's an angel. Her name is Alyssa. Her big brothers love her to death, and she looks just like me. :) There's way too much to say about her to put into a single paragraph. 

• The boys met Santa Claus for the first time. Santa just happened to be making his yearly mall visit, and we decided to stop on by. David was very well behaved and asked Santa for trains. Levi got scared at the last minute, so I had to hold him, but in the end Santa knew that he wanted trains too, lol. 
• I got happy. I know this seems like an odd thing to say, but it's the best description I can find. This year, I started breaking down the wall I've managed to put up around myself. I started getting closer to my hubby, started spending more time with my in-laws, started talking to my family and friends more, started getting out of the house, and started taking the kids to events/kid parties. And even though I sometimes need to force myself to get out of the house, it's always worth it in the end. 

Well, that was 10. There is one more thing I'm definitely excited about, and it's definitely been a highlight for me, and that is the fact that my brother is going to move out here to Texas! I have been too far from my family for far too long, and I was always close to my brother. So I am ECSTATIC to finally have him closer. :D But technically he doesnt come out till January, which is next year. ;)

Do you have any special moments in 2014 that highlighted your year?

There are still two weeks left in 2014, plenty of time to figure out what my New Year's Resolution will be. And plenty of time in the future to show you everything I've been doing and all about our newest family member. Till then, Merry Christmas!