Something had to give

Whoa!  Where did I go?  Sunday night I told Dale we were getting up and doing P90X together and that he needed to be up at 5am.  We saw, we did, we spent the morning together working out and having breakfast together before he went off to work and the kids got up.  It was great!  Since then Jack has caught on to us having fun together in the morning and has attempted to put a stop to it.  Tuesday he woke up early and watched us while eating some fruit, no big deal.  Wednesday night he decided to get up before we even went to bed and then got up later in the night to come to bed.  Dale didn't get his work out in, he didn't get home until 10pm from a work conference.  We were exhausted last night but determined to get up and do Yoga at 5am.  I woke up at 4am to Jack snuggling me and after putting him back in bed he got up 15 minutes later and went to Dale's side, who put him back down.  4:45 and it's not only Jack but Ellie up as well.  She was complaining of her toe itching so much she couldn't sleep.  Dale caved and put Jack in the middle of us.  I put cream on Ellie's toe and re-set my alarm to 5:30.  Let me tell you at 5:30 I said to hell with it, Yoga can happen during nap time. Right now I am balancing working out, really playing and engaging my kids and keeping the house clean but throwing the blog in throws me for a loop.  Something had to give and it was my blog.  I'm still figuring out the balance of working out, keeping my house clean and my kids engaged and blogging.  I will never be one of those blogs that you wonder how she does it all, because I will be the first to admit that I don't do it all.  I remember reading a few weeks ago a blog about unplugging and how your kids will remember you.  It hit home.  I don't want to spend my days glued to the computer and just plop them in front of the TV.  I refuse to be that mom. So if I seem absent just know that I'm either working out (for real P90X'ing it), playing with my kids or running around frantically to clean up after them :).

In the next two weeks I'll be posting about:  Upcycled rain boot planters, backyard bliss and a the tree house, P90X, our toy and bed room makeovers and our family vacation.  So while I'll still be here it may not be as hard core as I've been before.

Elmo Birthday Party

This year I whipped out the Elmo cake pan.  Ethan and Ellie both had Elmo parties for their second birthday, and I know that Regan will either be grateful or resentful that hers wasn't.  I was Elmo'd out at that point.  I probably could have done any boy theme and Jack would have loved it.  If it moves he likes it!  When they are little I keep it really low key and just family.  It's easier on me and they don't really know anyways.  There were a few things I knew I wanted and I just went from there.

For decorations I wanted things to be simple and easy to clean up.  For the birthday banner I printed off flag templates at Martha Stewart and decorated them like Elmo's World with loops, yellow scribbles and blue letters.  I let go of my perfection and let Ellie color the yellow background and cut them out.  I did the loops at the top and wrote the letters.  We tried having her do the loops, but hers ended up crooked and after 3 or 4 tries and we both wanted them straight across so she let me do that part.  She was really just looking forward to the cutting part.  I used orange curling ribbon to hang it.  I went to the pet store and got a plastic (yay for plastic!) round fish bowl, rocks and "Dorothy" for the table.  I put a glitter covered "2" in her bowl, just like on Elmo's World.  Jack loved Dorothy.  It was less than $15 which is pretty cheap for a center piece!  I printed out Elmo coloring pages and out those out with a jar full of new crayons.  I also had goldfish crackers in a round bowl to snack on.  I found an Elmo shirt on clearance at Wal-Mart (I know I caved) for $5 in the junior section and  used it on the birthday chair.  I had intended to turn it into a pillow but I have been finding it harder to sew lately.  I used a red tablecloth, balloons and cups with orange plates as big "Elmo noses".

Since it was also Father's Day we made a lunch out of it with hot dogs and bratwurst.  I know I won't be able to combine the celebrations forever so I figure I better do it while I can.  Sorry for the poor picture quality, these were not my best!

Dorothy seemed really interested in Elmo.  The 2 candle will float if you try to
just stick it in, so my husband shoved some wire into the bottom of it in the
shape of an "s" so it would stay down and be covered by the rocks.

Printables, crayons and goldfish- the kids loved it!

I watched A LOT of Elmo's World to get those colors right, LOL!

His new Ferrari, here is the tutorial!

Fire Ellie! 

They had to hold him back so he wouldn't blow it out until after the song, he
had already blown it out once!

That's all!  Simple, fun and the kids had so much fun making his day special.  The big kids had made gifts for him and took such pride in giving.  Jack lighted up with his "surprise" face with every gift and each grandparent.  Love my not so little family and watching them grow!


This week:
Cozy Coupe Ferrari Tutorial
Summer Fun and the Outdoor Pirate Ship
Things I learned at The Color Run