Why I Do My Kids' Parties

Why I do My Kids' Parties.  Alternately titled "How Being A Pack Rat Saves Me Money"

I love love love to do my kids' birthday parties.  I have them choose a theme no less than 4 months in advance.  Knowing ahead of time lets me get on Pinterest, browse clearance sections, borrow things from others, and have the time to make items.  A year before this party I needed new table clothes.  I chose two that I loved for spring/summer (our table is L O N G) that also matched Rosebud's first birthday theme.  Since then I used them for daily dining, as well as 2 more parties.  

 Pinterest is THE place to find party ideas.  There are also a couple of cute sites on my Blogroll that I consult.  Mostly I have to be willing to do lots of work myself.  Thankfully I have a mom who also enjoys creating and always helps out.

 I love coordinating clothing with parties.  I don't often buy my kids new clothes, but it is a fun excuse.  I also sometimes MAKE them.  I didn't make the actual shirt (Wal-Mart $3.88) but I did the pinwheel on the front and the crown.  I made the crown entirely (if memory serves me right) out of stuff I had from previous projects.  SO MUCH of what I use is bits and pieces of former projects.  I'd LOVE to say that all that stuff is nicely organized...it's not.  Thankfully I have a knack for remembering things I've used before.  Sometimes I do spend more than I "should" on an item.  The candles on her cake, for example, were originally $4 for the pack.  However, the pack had 24 candles in it.  I believe I have now used (I have saved some of the burnt ones that were still quite tall) these candles on over 5 cakes.  With still several unused and several re-usable.  That means in the end each party will cost less than $1 (probably in the end less than fifty cents) for candles.  I can handle that.  Is it pack-ratty to save them?  Yep.

 Although we always have close family friends (some with children, some without) at our parties, when our kids turn 5, they get an official "friend" party.  I wish I could find pictures of Snug's, but I don't have the time right now.  I spend more on these parties, but that really is their gift.  They get a small gift, but nothing much.  Again, I use, re-use, thrift, clearance, and borrow.  In this picture you can see the mast.  It is made from our clothesline, a free large cardboard tube from JoAnne fabrics, a tablecloth, and a borrowed Jolly Roger.  The brown paper making the bow and covering the table is leftover from when we moved.  The steering wheel I made out of cardboard that came when I had a large picture printed.  I always save cardboard.  So I had to buy the eye patches and bandannas as party prizes-when you consider that everything else was pretty much free that doesn't seem so bad.

 Again, I had theme dress.  The hat and outfit were hand-me-downs from a friend.  The gun and sword he had picked as his souvenir from Disney (when he decided to have a pirate party).  We all dressed in "theme" for this party,our roles were part of a "play" that was the party.  We used clothing we had, stuff we got from Goodwill, and some small pieces of material I bought from the fabric store.

 Cakes get tricky.  This one was from a Betty Crocker recipe site.  Of course I bought the cake and the accessories at ALDI, but the idea came from there.  Where I spent money here was on the small foil wrapped coins.  I got them at Party City and tried not to notice the price.  I think they were like 15 pieces for $1.  That is crazy.

 Certainly she didn't pick her theme, but it was fun anyway.  Again, Pinterest, knowing a LONG time ahead of time, and clearance.  I chose her theme for her second birthday shortly after her first one!  Her shirt was on clearance for around $2 at JcPenney, her skirt (and one to match her cousin for a subsequent party) I believe was $2.50. I had all but one of the ribbon colors in my ribbon collection and made the bows to match.  If I don't have anything to use my 40% off coupon for JoAnne fabrics, I often pick up a roll of grosgrain ribbon.  Comes in handy come party time to have lots to choose from.

 Pinterest.  ALDI.  Enough said.

 This was probably my most challenging, and least favorite cakes to make.  But he LOVED it.  The Transformers were very hard to use, broke after a couple of weeks, and were a huge disappointment.  I wish now I had just bought some sort of cake topper ones.  I didn't,  thinking it would be more fun to give him Transformers he could actually PLAY with afterwards, but that wasn't the case.  Fail.  He had Transformer plates, cups, and napkins that a friend gave me for the kids to just use.  She had them left after a party.  I saved them and when he said he wanted Transformers, I brought them right out!

Our boys have summer birthdays, so often we are out of town and don't do as much of a planned "party".  Instead we're swimming, hiking, at camp, or doing other fun things.  They don't seem to mind.

 This is Rosebud's most recent party.  It was really fun as I remember having at least one Strawberry Shortcake birthday myself.  I was even planning on bringing out my vintage Strawberry Shortcake dolls (because, being a pack rat, I naturally still have them) but TOTALLY forgot.  The plates and napkins that have character print I paid $0.68 for.  That was shipping or tax or something.  Because I had ordered something for my Sunday School class from Oriental Trading Company they called me to do a survey.  Do phone surveys.  They usually come with a reward.  Mine for this was a gift certificate for their online site.  Thus the practically free character serve ware.

The cute buckets/silverware rolls were from a birthday my sister-in-law did for her daughter.  She was kind enough to give me what she had left and I put them to use!

 I love dishes.  When I buy dishes, I buy ones that I like, and that also will be useful for other things.  My "Fiestaware" plates are certainly not.  They're Wal-Mart knock offs.  But I bought them in several festive colors that I can use for different party themes as serving platters.  My cake plate?  $2 at a garage sale.  The green placemat on the table under the cake?  Still from Rosebud's first birthday party and has been used in several.  Sometimes something as little as a placemat makes your table pop.  Many of the other dishes were wedding presents (clear glassware looks nice with pretty much anything) or things I've picked up at garage sales.

Balloons?  Pinterest.  They're red balloons that have cardstock (which I of course have tons on hand from former projects) glued to them and permanent marker "seeds".  Make them the night before, the glue takes a LONG time to dry.

Her apron is a bit droopy here, but she was happy to BE Strawberry Shortcake.  My mom got her the dress at a resale shop and made the apron.  You can't see them in the picture but she has green and white striped adult knee socks that I had bought on clearance after last St. Patty's Day.  I sewed the heel out of them, and on her they were way up her thigh giving the illusion of tights.  Her hat was more money than I'd usually pay for a birthday outfit, but the dear friend who made it sells them for their adoption fund*.  I consider it helping them to adopt AND getting a fun accessory.  Halloween costume for Rosebud?  Check.  

So WHY do I do my kids' parties big?  Because I LOVE it.  Birthdays are special no matter if you have a big bash at a kids' party location, do a simple dinner and cake, or a theme birthday at home.  Every family is different.  I know several people who see my parties as a pain in the neck. Something they'd never ever ever want to plan and do.  Some people think my parties are too expensive (trust me, as I've shown you they are WAY cheaper than they appear), too time consuming (probably true), or too excessive.  I don't think celebrating my kids once a year is too excessive :o)  Overall it is a creative outlet for me and how I show each one they are special.  

Happy Creating!

*If you'd like to order a hat (she has SO SO many styles to choose from, anyone remember LMM's Sock Monkey party hat?) please contact me or leave a comment.  I'll hook you up!

Rosebud The Author

We are homeschooling Snug and recently Little Monkey Man started Kindergarten.  However, he still attends preschool three days a week (we do more school with him in the PM) and Rosebud goes two days a week.  

We love our preschool; they always do great things with the kids.  Hallway art and creative writing pieces to go with them always are fun to see.  It's interesting to read both your child's "writing" (it is really dictation) and see what their peers have to say.  It gets better throughout the year as you actually get to know the other parents and children.  Sometimes we all have a good laugh at a particular piece while waiting in line for pick up.  One child was going to give his mother vitamins for Christmas-that got a chuckle.  

Today I read Rosebud's on the way IN to her classroom.  I'm going to share it with you, but it means more to #1 and I than anyone else really.  I literally had tears running down my cheeks I was laughing so hard.  Rosebud's teachers thought something was wrong.  I choked out that I had just read her latest writing piece and they started busting up as well. Because they know her well.  Because, really, her piece pretty much sums up life with Rosebud at this particular junction in life.  

I will try and explain some of the more...interesting parts...and will (put my words in italics).  Her lead teacher wrote down exactly what she said, but prompted a couple of times to get the story moving example:  how did it feel? what did you do?.  She had to ask Rosebud to slow down as her words were just tumbling right out of her.  Here goes.

My Snowy Day

On my snowy day I played with my brothers and my sister Sweet Pea (obviously she used her real name) and my mama and dada.  We played and I build a snowman.  It was little and tiny.  And it was Baby Otter.  Belle Otter...Belle Otter that what the name was. (Belle Otter is what she insists we call HER these days.  Belle as in Beauty and the Beast, and Otter as in...the animal.)  I wore a hat and boots and a scarf and I weared a coat.  My feet felt cold in my boots (note to self...).  The snow felt cold and I ate it!  It was salty.  I got boogie in it and I love it like that! (GAG.  GAG GAG GAG.)  I saw snow outside and our house and our neighbors.  And our other neighbors.  (Just in case you didn't know that when it snowed the entire neighborhood is affected.)  I heard Belle Otter.  (This part confuses me as she is normally Belle Otter, but now the snowman is and she can HEAR it?) She was swimming at the museum where we go and see the otters. (We do have otters at our children's museum, but she has some stellar hearing as it is about 15 minutes away-also wasn't it a snowman?)  I love the otters!  I heard mommy and daddy talking to each other outside too.  (I'm not sure but I think that the teacher may have cut her off at this point...it was getting a little off topic.  And perhaps it wasn't best to post on the hallway wall a private conversation she apparently overheard between my husband and myself.)

So there you go.  It was quite an...interesting...piece.  But such an insight into her life.  From her alter ego, to her recent snowman building (hers had a ton of sticks protruding from it...eyes, nose, arms, belly button...a very scary looking beast it was) to our trips to the museum, and apparently her eavesdropping skills!

 A side note, mostly for my own records, she now weighs a whopping 28 1/2 pounds and will be 4 in April.  She is just shy of 39".  Maybe by her birthday she'll be ready to not be rear facing.  (She isn't, they changed that recommendation from 2 years to 30 pounds after we had already switched her)

First Haircut

Not who you were expecting?  Well, Sweet Pea hardly has enough hair to talk about, so we won't be cutting it anytime soon!  Rosebud had never had a haircut before Saturday morning.  We've cut out a couple of tangles that just couldn't be undone, but never trimmed or styled her hair.

 I was going to take her to the salon where the boys had their first haircut, but when they had their trim the other day, she stripped off her shirt and declared herself the next in line.

 We discovered what she was really after wasn't a haircut after all, but the sucker that goes along with it to help keep little people sitting still.

This is the closest I've seen it down and cut as I french braided it right after and had it that way today also.  Next time I wash it I'll let it dry straight and hopefully her stylist got it right!

Our Summer Vacation-Rosebud View

 Hey everyone! Last week my family went CAMPING!!!!  What a lot of fun I had!

 The best part about camping is eating.

 On the first night my daddy helped my roast a hot dog.

 He also made me a s'more.  Mommy would NEVER  make me a big one.  In fact, all she's ever done is handed me a graham cracker.  Go camping with daddy-he's the best!  Pretty much all I did all trip was eat.

  And eat.

 And eat.  Oh, and cry.  When things didn't go my way.  Like having to eat carrots.  That is NEVER my way. But all that eating paid off.  When I went to the GI doctor today I weighed in at 22lbs even.  I think that is my highest weight yet!!!

 We also went swimming and out on a friend's boat.

 I really liked the boat.  And I liked getting to hang out with daddy. Cause he's cool.  And he feeds me stuff.

Sunday morning mommy gave me a bath in a bucket before church.  After church we came back, packed up, and went home.  I had a great time!

Playing Catchup

So.  Between the Flats Challenge and my computer being dead (hard drive is failing...be ready for me to be out of blogging for quite awhile at no notice) I have been a bit behind on our summer events!

 First up was strawberry picking.  We found this great place not too far away thanks to Jenilee.  Although these aren't organic, the farm uses minimal chemicals in their crops, much less than what is in strawberries you buy in the produce section at the grocery.

 I swear my kids each ate a quart of berries.

 I snapped this cute picture and then got that berry out of Sweet Pea's mouth.  It was her "first solid", although she didn't ingest any of it.  Strawberries are a high allergen...so probably not a good thing.

 The boys literally walked out of that place with handfuls of "free" berries.

 Little Monkey Man finished preschool.  This is his FIRST day of school...

 ...and this is a picture of his last.  He had a great year and we continue to see improvements in his speech, adaptation to new situations, ability to transition, and with his sensory issues in general.

 Ah.  Potty training.  Sassy McLassy has been doing great, terrible, and everything in between.

 She has days and days where she is fine.  And then she decides she isn't going to use the potty.  So we convince her otherwise.  Cause we're not going back to diapers.  Much.  There are times where her bowel is so messed up she can't help but have accidents.  We do have a date to take her to a GI specialist this month.

 We got to see some friends who we haven't seen since she and he were only a few weeks old.  He wanted to be friends.

 She wanted to tattle.  Tattle. Tattle.

 We all "ran" a 5K.  It was for the FOP that #1 belongs to.  #1 and Snug ran it.

 Mommy had Sweet Pea in the sling.

 And two in the double stroller.  I didn't run.  But I got MUCH exercise.  I also don't recommend babywearing and speedwalking with a double stroller.

 Here he is after the race, very proud of himself.  After all, he beat five people.  Mommy, Sweet Pea, LMM, Rosebud, and some lady he didn't know.  What a race buddy.

 Rosebud loved the race.  She got to eat.

 And eat.

 And eat some more. And what goes in must come out.  So that is loads of fun when she can't control it.  We kinda let her pig out because at nearly 26 months old she is barely hitting 22 lbs (on a good day-often closer to barely 21).

Here was Snug on his first day.

And here he is on his last day on Tuesday.  He loved his teacher.  I think he thought she walked on water.  She was cute as a button, so can you blame him?  He had a great report card.  The only things he didn't get perfect were that he makes the number "3" backwards and a couple of letters incorrectly.  However, he writes sentences on his own, reads on a beginning 2nd grade level (with fluency), and has great comprehension.

Watch out summer, here we come!!!!!!!!!!

Rosebud's Second Birthday

Rosebud turned two yesterday!  So hard to believe.   Her party went well, and in her own two year old way I hope she enjoyed it.  Sometimes she was a bundle of tears and had a hard time with all of the attention, cameras, presents, and general hub bub.

 I have a post to do about how I made the Hello Kitty pom pom, if you're doing a Hello Kitty party, it is really fun to do!  The balloons were both decoration and party favors for small guests.

 A rare smiley picture from the day.  I made her a banner to go behind her chair where she opened presents.  I used my same template from the place cards/plate decorations.

 We did a brunch, and alone with two egg bakes I made a variety of muffins, and had fruit.

 These muffins were the BEST.  I made them in both gluten free and "normal".  I can't post the recipe because I got it out of "Cooking For Isaiah" but if you have anyone in your life who can't eat wheat, it is worth buying. Tons of great recipes.

 The adults must have been getting their food because all I got was a picture of the kiddos.  We had grandmas and grandpas, and some close friends over.

 When it came to blowing out the candles, she had no trouble.  We "practiced" a bit throughout the week, but never with candles.  I'd just sing to her and then blow.  I think she got it!

I will also do a post about her cake, which my mom did a beautiful job on.  So many posts, so little time!  Happy Birthday Rosebud!   (21.4 lbs, 31 3/4")