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Three Magee: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary. Party Planning, Recipes and DIY!
Showing posts with label Party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Party. Show all posts
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Happy Hunger Games {Free Printable PDF Banner}
Happy Hunger Games! We love the Hunger Games so much in our house that Ethan's last birthday was Hunger Game themed. You can read more about the party here. Today I am giving away the Hunger Games banner we made for his party (click on the link under the picture to download)! It is a burlap background with black letters. Simple and sweet! If you want a custom made printable burlap banner visit our Etsy shop Three Magee.
Download Here!!!
Download Here!!!
Monday, November 17, 2014
Hunger Games Party
Holy fire cake Katniss! The older they get the harder it is to theme them out, but I keep giving it a try. For Ethan's 11th birthday, we celebrated with Hunger Games. We have both read all of the books and had a really fun time discussing them and excitedly waiting for the movies to come out and going to see the movies together. Since it was going to be a co-ed party I came up with some "cool to 5th grade" Hunger Games. Really they had a blast. I am a pretty cool mom when it comes to parties.
Here is what we played:
Hungry Egg Run: Where you have to balance an egg on a spoon and run through an obstacle course.
Marshmallow Knock Down: Kind of like dodge ball but with marshmallows. Divide the kids equally and have one kid on each side balance a cup on their head (which is pretty funny in and of itself). The objective is to knock the cup off of their head using the marshmallow. You could also line cups up and have the kids try to knock the cups over and have prizes underneath (like candy, because they still are cool enough for that).
No Hands Cookie Eating Contest: Balance the cookie on your forehead. The first one who gets in in their mouth (no hands) wins.
Hide and Seek {Flash Light Version}- This is the really fun one. Give all of the kids a flashlight, or as we found out, they can use their cell phones. Divide into teams, boys vs girls (works well if its co-ed, so there are no boys and girls hiding together, lol, which didn't happen but just in case). Set boundaries (no go rooms or places). Turn off all of the lights. One team waits outside and while the other team hides. They have 5 minutes to find them and they can only use their flashlights. Super fun. We played dozens of rounds of this.
Join me later this week for a tutorial on how to make a Hunger Games Fire Cake!
Here is what we played:
Hungry Egg Run: Where you have to balance an egg on a spoon and run through an obstacle course.
Marshmallow Knock Down: Kind of like dodge ball but with marshmallows. Divide the kids equally and have one kid on each side balance a cup on their head (which is pretty funny in and of itself). The objective is to knock the cup off of their head using the marshmallow. You could also line cups up and have the kids try to knock the cups over and have prizes underneath (like candy, because they still are cool enough for that).
No Hands Cookie Eating Contest: Balance the cookie on your forehead. The first one who gets in in their mouth (no hands) wins.
Hide and Seek {Flash Light Version}- This is the really fun one. Give all of the kids a flashlight, or as we found out, they can use their cell phones. Divide into teams, boys vs girls (works well if its co-ed, so there are no boys and girls hiding together, lol, which didn't happen but just in case). Set boundaries (no go rooms or places). Turn off all of the lights. One team waits outside and while the other team hides. They have 5 minutes to find them and they can only use their flashlights. Super fun. We played dozens of rounds of this.
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| Hunger Games Banner on Etsy {Instant Download} |
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| Oh Girls. It has begun! |
Join me later this week for a tutorial on how to make a Hunger Games Fire Cake!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Ellie's Brave Party
It's February and Ellie's birthday party was a few months ago. I have found that October through March is some sort of time warp and everything seems to be moving so fast that I have a hard time keeping up with whats going on and an even harder time documenting it. I think that I enjoy planning her parties the most...so far. We usually have the same vision of where we want it to go. We both knew that we wanted it to be simple and fun and most importantly special. So here is her party in pictures...enjoy!
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| Bear claw cupcakes: chocolate frosting and almond slivers |
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| Wisps: blue cellophane, balloons and a lightstick. I had them through out the neighborhood leading people to our house! |
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| Chocolate cake with almonds on the outside. Green coconut grass. Marshmallow fondant stones. |
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| I used an oval wood cutting base and got lucky that the number 8 was blue or wisp colored. |
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| Bear paw cupcakes and a picture of the birthday girl with Merida from Disneyland! |
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| Such a silly gal! |
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| The girls wore their favorite dress up clothes- Ellie was Merida of course! |
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Cozy Coupe Ferrari
I found an amazing tutorial on Pinterest remaking a Cozy Coupe car a few months ago. I loved it and immediately thought it would be a great birthday present for Jack. Molly at Just a little Creativity created the cutest blue and green little tykes car and I was smitten when I found it and even more smitten when I found one on Craigslist for $10.
We happen to be Formula1 fans. I love Ferrari and Fernando Alonso, the big boys however are Red Bull fans and happen to like Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. So what did I propose to make for my little guy? That's right, a little red Ferrari. When we watch the races I make sure to teach the little ones how to say Ferrari or Alonso...more fans for my team!
I followed Molly's directions to take the cozy coupe apart and clean it and tape off the areas I didn't want to spray paint. I however did not remove the door. Once it was clean and dry I spray painted it red (2 good coats using 2 cans) and then placed my Ferrari stickers on. I had Dale print off Ferrari logos onto sticker paper. I would highly recommend buying stickers specifically meant for cars if you want them to be super durable otherwise you may have some stickers come off if you don't use a ton of clear spray paint to coat them, or you have a Regan, or you leave it outside in direct contact with weather.
The sticker areas have all done really well except for the cut out Ferrari lettering it says something more like Fe ra i. Regan attempted to wash it with soap and a scrubber and of course her brute strength. The Ferrari logos on the front, back and seat are all going strong and have been through rain, mud, sun and a two and three year old. Jack could care less about the lettering and really so could I. He just drives his Ferrari car.
So go rescue a sad looking old Cozy Coupe and make it look really awesome! I really want to do a fabulous, sparkly pink one for the girls now!
We happen to be Formula1 fans. I love Ferrari and Fernando Alonso, the big boys however are Red Bull fans and happen to like Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. So what did I propose to make for my little guy? That's right, a little red Ferrari. When we watch the races I make sure to teach the little ones how to say Ferrari or Alonso...more fans for my team!
I followed Molly's directions to take the cozy coupe apart and clean it and tape off the areas I didn't want to spray paint. I however did not remove the door. Once it was clean and dry I spray painted it red (2 good coats using 2 cans) and then placed my Ferrari stickers on. I had Dale print off Ferrari logos onto sticker paper. I would highly recommend buying stickers specifically meant for cars if you want them to be super durable otherwise you may have some stickers come off if you don't use a ton of clear spray paint to coat them, or you have a Regan, or you leave it outside in direct contact with weather.
The sticker areas have all done really well except for the cut out Ferrari lettering it says something more like Fe ra i. Regan attempted to wash it with soap and a scrubber and of course her brute strength. The Ferrari logos on the front, back and seat are all going strong and have been through rain, mud, sun and a two and three year old. Jack could care less about the lettering and really so could I. He just drives his Ferrari car.
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| He was so excited! My car car!!!! |
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| Later he put his new Elmo in the back part and drove him around. |
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| Who needs to be dressed if you are driving in the house? |
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| I'm sure Alonso won the European Grand Prix last weekend because Jack was driving his Ferrari too. |
So go rescue a sad looking old Cozy Coupe and make it look really awesome! I really want to do a fabulous, sparkly pink one for the girls now!
Monday, June 25, 2012
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!
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
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!
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| 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. |
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| Printables, crayons and goldfish- the kids loved it! |
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| I watched A LOT of Elmo's World to get those colors right, LOL! |
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| His new Ferrari, here is the tutorial! |
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| Fire Ellie! |
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| 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
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Star Wars Birthday Party
It was rowdy and tons of fun. Don't ever underestimate the power of a light saber in the hands of my girls. They are a force to be reckoned with and I don't think any of the boys were prepared for their wrath and skill level. I was incredibly lucky to win a complete party printable set from Hello My Sweet. If it wasn't for Ethan having a Star Wars theme I would have chosen some really chic party and heck had a party for myself with one of their other amazing products like this Pink Vintage Parisian Romance or this Woodland Acorn Party, sigh. But their Star Wars printable set was so much fun and it really made the party!
I got a ton of ideas from Just Jenn Recipes. Seriously her Ultimate Star Wars Party was Jedi-tastic, really true genius! Her recipes look delicious as well. Girl can cook!
I had nothing planned as far as games or activities. I simply set them loose with homemade light sabers until it was time for Han Burgers, Smores Troopers (smore style cupcakes, yum!) and Yoda Soda. The biggest hit was the Thermal Detonators aka Whoppers. They had so much fun eating them before they were deactivated and blowing themselves up. Boys will be boys.
The Menu:
Smores Troopers Cupcakes
Jawa Juice
Leia's Buns
Yoda Soda
Thermal Detonators
Han Burgers
Wookiee Cookies
Bantha Milk
Carbonite Jello
Vader Taters
I got a ton of ideas from Just Jenn Recipes. Seriously her Ultimate Star Wars Party was Jedi-tastic, really true genius! Her recipes look delicious as well. Girl can cook!
I had nothing planned as far as games or activities. I simply set them loose with homemade light sabers until it was time for Han Burgers, Smores Troopers (smore style cupcakes, yum!) and Yoda Soda. The biggest hit was the Thermal Detonators aka Whoppers. They had so much fun eating them before they were deactivated and blowing themselves up. Boys will be boys.
The Menu:
Smores Troopers Cupcakes
Jawa Juice
Leia's Buns
Yoda Soda
Thermal Detonators
Han Burgers
Wookiee Cookies
Bantha Milk
Carbonite Jello
Vader Taters
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| Homemade Light Sabers! Cut a pool noodle in half and wrap one end in duct tape! Send them home with the kids as a party favor! |
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| Smores Troopers Cupcakes- Graham cracker crust on the bottom, chocolate cake and marshmallow filling topped with chocolate frosting. Super easy and so yummy! I had my hubby print the cupcake toppers on sticker paper so the kids got to keep their cupcake sticker! |
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| Leia's Buns- these went really fast! Who knew so many boys liked honey buns! |
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| I used one blue pack and one purple pack of jello. Han Solo came in a pack with C3PO and Chewbacca which I picked up at Target for $23, I also used a $5 off coupon from Target.com! |
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| These were also printed on sticker paper! Crush and Sierra Mist! |
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| What's a party without blue Bantha Milk, Wookiee Cookies and Thermal Detonators. I also used that Blue Bantha Milk to go in the Wookiee Crisp cereal the overnighters had for breakfast. Dale made Blue Bantha Milk pancakes too! |
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| Watch out! Vader Taters may be dipped in ketchup and used as dark side light sabers! |
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| Sliders were easy to prep and went fast! |
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| C3P0 freed Han Solo at the Jones House! She wore her Halloween costume! |
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| The birthday boy with my Mom. She is so cute! |
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| He had no idea he would be wearing his new jersey to a game against the Miami Heat on his birthday! Thunder won! |
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| See that tiny little girl, she whooped them. Girls are way better Jedi! |
The party prep was so easy. The printables made the party look so cool! Such a fun party and the boys and girls had a blast!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Snow White Birthday Party, Regan turns 3!
I love this little girl. When asked how old she is her reply is "28." Which fits her personality. She had flip flopped on what party theme she wanted but this was the main request so that's what we did. I love celebrating with my family and friends. Regan gave quite a birthday girl performance smiling and posing for the camera, what can I say she takes after her mother.
I made the cutest little apple cupcakes. While they were a bit more time consuming than say frosting a cake, they were totally worth it and easy too. I found the idea on Pinterest and a cute little blog Design Dazzle. Seriously the best ideas. The day before her party was Dr. Seuss's Birthday and a local bakery happened to be giving away free cupcakes to kids that told them what their favorite Seuss book was. So I picked up some cake doughnuts to make the apple cupcakes with and birthday breakfast, making it easier on myself for the next day.
Apple Cupcake How To:
You will need: Red cupcake liners, cake mix, red frosting, red sugar, regular tootsie rolls, green fruit tootsie rolls and doughnuts (you need 1/2 doughnut per cupcake). You will also need a cutting board, scissors and a toothpick.
Bake your cupcakes and once cool slice the top off. Attempt to not eat all of the cupcake tops. While they are baking you can cut your doughnuts in half, like how you would cut a bagel, mix your red frosting. When cooled and cut dab a bit of frosting on the cupcake to hold the doughnut half. Frost the doughnut and then cover with red sugar. Once they are all frosted and sugared its time to make your stems and leaves. For the stems take a pair of scissors and cut a piece of the tootsie roll off, lengthwise. You can bend it, twist it, roll it to get a stem look. For the leaves you will want to roll out the tootsie roll and then cut out a leaf shape. Use a toothpick to make patterns on the leaf.
The Decor:
I decorated our wreath with tulle and a spray painted "R" tied on with red satin ribbon. I made a bunting from scrap vintage red and blue fabric and vintage yellow bias tape, I love being able to use up fabric scraps and upcycle something. I hung red, blue and yellow balloons from the ceiling using push pins and clear string. We decorated the table with a plastic blue tablecloth and red ribbon. I also did the birthday chair with the excess tablecloth and larger ribbon (I just hot glued that ribbon on to make it stay up!) I got some dirt and sticks from outside and hot glued some little birds on the "branches." That along with her Snow White doll and a stuffed deer we already had were the table decoration.
Snow White couldn't walk around in just anything so I made her a yellow tutu and embellished it with a red satin bow. I dyed one of her shirts blue and sewed some tulle onto the arms, another way to upcycle and use something we already had. I also make her a red head band to complete the look. I used the same ribbon for her tutu and head band on the table, chair and wreath. The tutu was so easy to make, it was my second one ever! I'll be giving a tutorial later this week!
It wasn't the fanciest or poshest party but it was perfect for our family and for my sweet and feisty Regan.
I made the cutest little apple cupcakes. While they were a bit more time consuming than say frosting a cake, they were totally worth it and easy too. I found the idea on Pinterest and a cute little blog Design Dazzle. Seriously the best ideas. The day before her party was Dr. Seuss's Birthday and a local bakery happened to be giving away free cupcakes to kids that told them what their favorite Seuss book was. So I picked up some cake doughnuts to make the apple cupcakes with and birthday breakfast, making it easier on myself for the next day.
Apple Cupcake How To:
You will need: Red cupcake liners, cake mix, red frosting, red sugar, regular tootsie rolls, green fruit tootsie rolls and doughnuts (you need 1/2 doughnut per cupcake). You will also need a cutting board, scissors and a toothpick.
Bake your cupcakes and once cool slice the top off. Attempt to not eat all of the cupcake tops. While they are baking you can cut your doughnuts in half, like how you would cut a bagel, mix your red frosting. When cooled and cut dab a bit of frosting on the cupcake to hold the doughnut half. Frost the doughnut and then cover with red sugar. Once they are all frosted and sugared its time to make your stems and leaves. For the stems take a pair of scissors and cut a piece of the tootsie roll off, lengthwise. You can bend it, twist it, roll it to get a stem look. For the leaves you will want to roll out the tootsie roll and then cut out a leaf shape. Use a toothpick to make patterns on the leaf.
The Decor:
I decorated our wreath with tulle and a spray painted "R" tied on with red satin ribbon. I made a bunting from scrap vintage red and blue fabric and vintage yellow bias tape, I love being able to use up fabric scraps and upcycle something. I hung red, blue and yellow balloons from the ceiling using push pins and clear string. We decorated the table with a plastic blue tablecloth and red ribbon. I also did the birthday chair with the excess tablecloth and larger ribbon (I just hot glued that ribbon on to make it stay up!) I got some dirt and sticks from outside and hot glued some little birds on the "branches." That along with her Snow White doll and a stuffed deer we already had were the table decoration.
Snow White couldn't walk around in just anything so I made her a yellow tutu and embellished it with a red satin bow. I dyed one of her shirts blue and sewed some tulle onto the arms, another way to upcycle and use something we already had. I also make her a red head band to complete the look. I used the same ribbon for her tutu and head band on the table, chair and wreath. The tutu was so easy to make, it was my second one ever! I'll be giving a tutorial later this week!
It wasn't the fanciest or poshest party but it was perfect for our family and for my sweet and feisty Regan.
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| The back view, I love this tutu! |
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| The Apple Cupcakes! |
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| The decor. |
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| The wreath. |
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| Such a happy girl! |
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Surprise! We're having a ...
Vasectomy! Everywhere I turn people are pregnant or have newborns. I'm sure it has always been this way, I'm just aware of it more. I am not. We are done. I am only 28. I still have the drive to have more kids, my biology is in overdrive. Thankfully my brain has evolved and I can overcome the drive.
The best thing about being 28 and knowing that you are done having children is knowing that you can be there for all of your friends that aren't finished. I can enjoy their pregnancies and labor pain free and enjoy their sweet bundles of joy and give them back without the staying up all night and engorged breasts. I get to focus on me and my body again which has made me a better mom and hotter wife :).
I get to cut the cords, that is I get to do the snip. I'm more than thrilled! I've been instructed that I am not allowed to have my phone in there, not by the doc, but by my husband. Rumor has it wives have taken pictures!!! I'm still going to have him take my pic with the scissors in hand and I'm going to let out a "muahaha" when I do it. I wouldn't be myself if I didn't make a joke!
So raise your glasses and give a cheer! Baby free days are almost here!
On a blog note, I'm hoping to get the Snow White Party posted tomorrow (it was really cute) and I'm working on a "Green Week" for later this month. Get ready to save some green! I'm also co-hosting a baby shower this weekend, so I should have some cute baby shower ideas/gifts for you too. I told you there are babies everywhere! So excited for my dear friends to have theirs!
Here is a sneak pic pick of Snow White!
The best thing about being 28 and knowing that you are done having children is knowing that you can be there for all of your friends that aren't finished. I can enjoy their pregnancies and labor pain free and enjoy their sweet bundles of joy and give them back without the staying up all night and engorged breasts. I get to focus on me and my body again which has made me a better mom and hotter wife :).
I get to cut the cords, that is I get to do the snip. I'm more than thrilled! I've been instructed that I am not allowed to have my phone in there, not by the doc, but by my husband. Rumor has it wives have taken pictures!!! I'm still going to have him take my pic with the scissors in hand and I'm going to let out a "muahaha" when I do it. I wouldn't be myself if I didn't make a joke!
So raise your glasses and give a cheer! Baby free days are almost here!
On a blog note, I'm hoping to get the Snow White Party posted tomorrow (it was really cute) and I'm working on a "Green Week" for later this month. Get ready to save some green! I'm also co-hosting a baby shower this weekend, so I should have some cute baby shower ideas/gifts for you too. I told you there are babies everywhere! So excited for my dear friends to have theirs!
Here is a sneak pic pick of Snow White!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Easy Valentine Craft for Kindergartners
So with my last post I felt I was really slacking in the Valentine department but my boring craft was a hit. Apparently glitter and stickers is the key to any Kindergartner's heart. So if you find yourself in the position of entertaining 20 5-6 year olds, pull out the glitter and watch their eyes light up!
What you'll need:
Doilies- I found packs of 20 at Target for $1 in their bargain area
Glue Sticks- I was skeptical about the glue sticks working with the glitter, but it did
Glitter- it doesn't really matter what color but I used red, pink and white
Stickers- I got some great ones at Target in their bargain bin with cute little sayings, we also used the kids picture stickers from picture day.
What to do:
Give each kid a doily and their face sticker and have them put it wherever they want. Have them put any other stickers they want on their doily. Apply glue to the places they want their glitter. Have the glitter in a container (plastic cupcake containers work really well) and have them put the doily in glue side down in the glitter, shake and voila!
I was worried that the boys wouldn't like the glitter, but they did in fact they loved it. I think I've been spending too much time around a certain 8 year old :).
Now go find all this stuff on clearance for your Valentine craft for next year!
What you'll need:
Doilies- I found packs of 20 at Target for $1 in their bargain area
Glue Sticks- I was skeptical about the glue sticks working with the glitter, but it did
Glitter- it doesn't really matter what color but I used red, pink and white
Stickers- I got some great ones at Target in their bargain bin with cute little sayings, we also used the kids picture stickers from picture day.
What to do:
Give each kid a doily and their face sticker and have them put it wherever they want. Have them put any other stickers they want on their doily. Apply glue to the places they want their glitter. Have the glitter in a container (plastic cupcake containers work really well) and have them put the doily in glue side down in the glitter, shake and voila!
I was worried that the boys wouldn't like the glitter, but they did in fact they loved it. I think I've been spending too much time around a certain 8 year old :).
Now go find all this stuff on clearance for your Valentine craft for next year!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentine Slacker
I have been a serious slacker in the Valentine department this year. We did a few crafts earlier in the month and that was it. I didn't decorate my wreath or my house. I even wrote out Ethan's Valentine cards. His teacher never sent home a list, so he spelled all of the weird names for me and I wrote them for him while he was at basketball practice. Kids have some weird names and even stranger spellings. I did help Ellie make a fab mod podge tissue paper covered box but I didn't even take a picture of it.
I am the homeroom mom for Ellie's class. We are doing quite possibly the lamest craft ever. The kids will put their picture sticker (aka the picture they use if you are a missing kid) on a paper doily and decorate it with glitter. That's it. Some other more enthusiastic mother is bringing cookies for them to decorate. I am the stick in the mud that insisted all the other snacks be healthy. The last thing I want is my kids coming home pumped full of candy and sugar.
Dale and I already celebrated last weekend by going to the ballet and out to dinner with friends so tonight we're having a normal dinner. Regan spent yesterday throwing up and I spent it attempting to get caught up on all of the bodily fluid laundry. My dad visited this last weekend and in the whirlwind of everything that was going on I got all off schedule and now I'm catching up on my routines. The difference between now and say just a year ago is that I'm not stressed out about getting back on track and getting things clean. I cannot begin to express my gratitude towards the FlyLady.
What am I really looking forward to this Valentine's Day? The clearance section at Hobby Lobby. I just want some bad ass decorations at 90% off. Maybe next year I will have the house perfectly decorated and we'll make handmade Valentine's...maybe.
Friday, April 1, 2011
M&M Cake! Ethan's 8th Birthday
Boys and sugar are quite a combination. 8 is an age where they are growing out of wanting anything character like on their things. They still play with those things and their friends do too, but we are over character themed birthday parties. Which is okay with me. I was given free reign to do pretty much whatever I wanted. Ethan is pretty laid back when it comes to stuff like that. I asked him what flavor cake and frosting he wanted and he also picked out what went in his party favor bags.
I took the little ones to Target and was totally inspired by some multi-colored large polka dot wrapping paper I found. So I bought it and went from there. It had red, blue, green, yellow and orange and I used those colors as my "theme." For invitations I used colored construction paper and stamps to create the invitation and hand wrote the details. It would have been too boring to just leave it that way so I attached a clothespin magnet so that the recipient could put it on their refrigerator and it wouldn't get forgotten. I also created an email invitation on Punchbowl. It was really easy and it even would tell me when/if people had viewed the email.
I love how Ethan's cake turned out. To go with my multi-colored polka dot theme, lets just call it my dot theme from here on out because this might get long otherwise, I got a family size bag (I didn't even know they made this size) of regular M&M's. We ate all of the brown ones. I made a 3 layer chocolate cake and then put the M&M's on, layering them and creating his name on the second tier. If you ever make a cake with M&M's be sure to not put it in the refrigerator, about 20 minutes after you pull it out they will start to lose their color because of condensation. Boo chemistry, boo! But now you know.
I used the wrapping paper on the table and created a runner and got coordinating paper ware. For a banner I used my protractor (I really haven't used it since geometry class) and made 4.5 inch circles from construction paper. I bought reusable vinyl letters from the office section in walmart to spell out "Happy Birthday Ethan" and I used tape to attach them to the patio door in the living room. For treat bags we put candy and little toy soldiers into clear bags and tied them with ribbon. The kids sorted and put everything into the bags and all I had to do was tie them up. I let them blow up some balloons and that was it!
We had pizza from Papa Murphy's, which made the house smell soooo yummy, pop and the kids all sat on the floor in the living room and watched E.T. while they ate their pizza. No one made a mess and there were lots of laughs. We did presents and cake and then they played Wii and scared the girls. I was amazed how much fun they had hiding in the girls room so they could scare them.
I used to stress out about parties and try to make them perfect. I'm finding that the more simple they are the better. I do still like them to be somewhat cohesive and I can't help but have a "theme" but kids really just want to play with each other and play with all the new stuff. I can't remember my 8th birthday. I've been trying really hard but I have no idea what it was or who I invited or if I even had a party for goodness sake. Now for a few months off from party planning...
I took the little ones to Target and was totally inspired by some multi-colored large polka dot wrapping paper I found. So I bought it and went from there. It had red, blue, green, yellow and orange and I used those colors as my "theme." For invitations I used colored construction paper and stamps to create the invitation and hand wrote the details. It would have been too boring to just leave it that way so I attached a clothespin magnet so that the recipient could put it on their refrigerator and it wouldn't get forgotten. I also created an email invitation on Punchbowl. It was really easy and it even would tell me when/if people had viewed the email.
I love how Ethan's cake turned out. To go with my multi-colored polka dot theme, lets just call it my dot theme from here on out because this might get long otherwise, I got a family size bag (I didn't even know they made this size) of regular M&M's. We ate all of the brown ones. I made a 3 layer chocolate cake and then put the M&M's on, layering them and creating his name on the second tier. If you ever make a cake with M&M's be sure to not put it in the refrigerator, about 20 minutes after you pull it out they will start to lose their color because of condensation. Boo chemistry, boo! But now you know.
I used the wrapping paper on the table and created a runner and got coordinating paper ware. For a banner I used my protractor (I really haven't used it since geometry class) and made 4.5 inch circles from construction paper. I bought reusable vinyl letters from the office section in walmart to spell out "Happy Birthday Ethan" and I used tape to attach them to the patio door in the living room. For treat bags we put candy and little toy soldiers into clear bags and tied them with ribbon. The kids sorted and put everything into the bags and all I had to do was tie them up. I let them blow up some balloons and that was it!
We had pizza from Papa Murphy's, which made the house smell soooo yummy, pop and the kids all sat on the floor in the living room and watched E.T. while they ate their pizza. No one made a mess and there were lots of laughs. We did presents and cake and then they played Wii and scared the girls. I was amazed how much fun they had hiding in the girls room so they could scare them.
I used to stress out about parties and try to make them perfect. I'm finding that the more simple they are the better. I do still like them to be somewhat cohesive and I can't help but have a "theme" but kids really just want to play with each other and play with all the new stuff. I can't remember my 8th birthday. I've been trying really hard but I have no idea what it was or who I invited or if I even had a party for goodness sake. Now for a few months off from party planning...
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| I can't believe he's 8!!! There are many Star Wars battles on our block... |
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
I'm a Sucker
by Gyo Fujikawa. She is my most favorite childrens author. Her work is sweet and beautiful. So here is my theme and I can't wait to execute all of the ideas I have in my head. I will attempt to bring this book to life for my sweet little girl. Isn't Betty Bear adorable with her little red dress and flower hat? This year I will show you all of my kids birthday parties so that hopefully you will be totally inspired in your own birthday planning ventures. Tomorrow is going to be really fun...I can't wait!!!!
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