The boy

I started school in the fall with the kids this year and boy oh boy have I been busy. I forgot all about my blog, the to-do list, Christmas cards and little things like the basement which was used today for the first time in months. I have had to stick to the basics.
It is wonderful to be in school. I'm using my brain! And thank god- it looks like it still has a little energy left in it. Its also wonderful to have my own 'thing'. I have been mom for so long and now I get to do some thing for me. It will also be for the family but by in large its mine to do and my success. Its busy but we're all getting thru and tomorrow.. out of no where... J turns four. What?!? FOUR? When did he get so big? When did he start wearing size 5 shirts and start talking about the girl he likes? He's a bonafied expert on corn snakes and anything Ben 10. When did he stop being my toddler and become a boy? Apparently it happened last night while he was sleeping because today he is a boy. And tomorrow when he wakes up he'll be a four year old boy. We celebrated him this weekend and tomorrow I'll pick him and his sister up at school and we'll do something special just us three.

My day..
..today I was able to sleep in.
..today all the laundry is clean.
..today the children are clean.
..today we put up more Christmas lights. (Who doesn't love Christmas lights?)
..today I didn't make lunch or dinner and dinner was so so good.
..today my kids got new toys to play with for J's birthday.
..today I had the chance to stay hello on my blog:)
..today I was able to talk to family and visit with them.
..today I finally found an invite I really needed to respond to.
..today is the last day my boy is three years old.
..today I'm prepared for my last full week of school before the new year.
..today was a good day.

woodland theme party

When E asked for a 'forest' themed birthday. I have to admit, I was completely stumped. Ba dum bum... But seriously folks.. I drew a blank. So I turned to Pinterest in my time of need for some inspiration. Of course.. since Pinterest is awesome personified, I found inspiration. So our woodland theme took shape.
We fashioned trees, pine-cones, nuts and seeds for our decor and even a few gnomes...
I bought a wonderful party package from the Etsy shop Itsy Belle. And off I went.
We did Gnome Freeze Dance, Pin the Beak on the Owl, and a Bee pinata.. that unfortunately was too quick and brutal to photograph.
We had toad stool cupcakes and a ribbiting frog that was a perfect lure for hide and seek.
I had a lovely table set too, with a bird nest complete with eggs, and the girls had a great time playing with the Gnome Costumes. It was a wreck by the time I considering taking pictures of it.. but it was a fun two hours.. and we are still enjoying the decorations till E's actual birthday this week. Who knows whats in store for next year;)

mushrooms and forest things

I'm starting preparations for E's party and here's a little of whats happening. We have lots more planned and I can't wait to show it to you!

preping for a party

Ever feel like you are going to kill yourself pulling a party theme together? Ever wonder how you are going to do it all, so the party will be perfect? I suppose it might just be me but I'm going to tell you my secret. ItsyBelle. Christy from Itsybelle has been designing away and has some wonderful birthday themes. All you have to do is print and go. It just pulls it all together!
If you are looking for more help she also has a wonderful blog packed full of great party ideas. E's birthday is fast approaching and I'm using a Itsybelle theme. It's given me some great ideas and we are all excited for party day.

randomly yummy

When we had dinner guests yesterday, I knew I wanted to try some new appetizers. So I embarked on a little internet searching and happened upon the McCormick Seasonings Website. With little more than Brie and a loaf of sourdough bread, our guests were raving about the Bloomin Brie Bowl from the website. The only change we made was adding chopped sun dried tomatoes to the mix, but it worked. Loved this and have to make it again! Definitely a website worth checking out!

fun birthday party ideas

(Salad dressing on J's face at Brown's Independent)

The kids were lucky to be invited to several parties lately and all were at great businesses in our community. If you have little ones and are looking for something out of the house this year I recommend these fun spots.
E had a great time at Corona Gymnastics.
J & E had fun at Playtime4kids and also had a great cooking class at Brown's Independent. You might even remember we had E's birthday at Saunders Farm which is also a great spot for those summer babies. If you prefer having the gang at your house, one of my first posts was about the Princess we hired for E's 4th birthday. Another wonderful party the kids really enjoyed. Thanks to all the kids who invited E & J out- they had a blast!

J's mini cupcakes

I'm taking these cupcakes to preschool in the morning. I kinda wish I was duty parent just to see them all sing Happy Birthday.

J's birthday is this weekend.

3 years old. I can't believe it's been three years since I had a baby.

Three years our family has been complete.

Now that J's three we no longer have a high chair, bibs, infant seat, rocker, crib, bouncer or exersaucer. No play-yard, wraps, slings, bottles and baby foods. We no longer buy diapers and change tiny sheets and blankets. Wow.

There is a part of me that wishes I could have these years forever. I can pick my kids up, cuddle them and fix all of their problems. I can surprise them with treats and new adventures every day. I am their favourite person and the one they call when they are upset. Their perspective on the world is endearing and beautiful. I already know how much I will miss these years.

On the other hand its a miracle to see them grow each day. To see the progression of a childs artwork, to see them think through complex problems. To see there reaction to new social norms. When I see my son tell a joke and laugh I am fascinated by his intelligence, his vocabulary and the energy, interest and dedication he has to learning new things everyday. When my daughter comes home from school speaking a new language I am stunned by the ease with which she picks this up.

I just need to soak in every minute. And a cupcake now and then to wash it down.

chalkboard paint

Is there nothing chalkboard paint can't do? From the marvelous The Crafts Dept. A chalkboard paint change-able banner.

fairy garden party

Fairy Garden Cupcakes with butter cream icing, fondant flowers and butterflies

Greetings!
You are invited to a special gathering of fairies to help E celebrate her 5th birthday! The games and festivities will be held at Saunders Farm on [insert address here] From 11am till 1:30pm on [insert date here]. Please RSVP the head gardener [insert name here] at 555-555-1111 or by email [insert here]. We really hope you can make it!
A copy of the invite sent out this year

As you can imagine I was quite happy E consented to a Fairy Garden Party instead of the indoor gym. It was a perfect day for the farm and the kids had a great time.

As each guest arrived they received wings and a wand. They played for quite a while in a barn type play structure before heading off on a wagon ride, and when they returned they were greeted by their Garden Fairy Host.


She led them to a very charming party room to have pizza and cupcakes. The kids were also quite happy to get a visit by the resident kittens and everyone got to pat Hocus before we headed off to find the pirate park and the 'big' slide.

Inside the Garden Fairy Party room

After sliding and playing at the park we retired to the ice cream stand and from there all the little fairies returned home.

I was pretty happy with how my Garden Cupcakes turned out and they were pretty tasty too. I made white and chocolate cupcakes and bought a Wilton icing tip that created the 'grass' look with green butter cream icing, then I made butterflies and flowers from coloured fondant and layered the flowers for fun!

We gave out giant lollipops as loot as I am trying to reduce our carbon footprint and I find most loot bags full of BPA filled plastics and single use toys that go straight to the landfill.

I can't believe my baby is 5 years old! It's been an amazing five years and I want to cram as much fun in as I can before she heads back to school in a few weeks!

party pooper

Well wouldn't you know it? After coming up with some great birthday party ideas for E. She has decided she wants it held at the local indoor play-yard..

ho hum

They provide there own modest (and tacky) decorations and require you use there egg and nut free birthday cakes.

ho hum

And adding to my irritation.. she had her 3rd birthday party at this facility and we were planning on having J's 3rd there later this year.

I'm tempted to go party-free this year and just get one of these. Lol.. well not really.. but I hope I can find a place to throw a party that will agree with us both.

so many great blogs!

I have been following blogs for close to 2 years now and my love for them grows and grows. Just today I found two more wonderful blogs to mention. The wonderful nyctaxiphoto blog. I love looking at nyc though this guys (and his taxis) eyes. Not suprizing, this blog has been a Blog of Note with blogger.

And second, The Stories of A to Z. I've been racking my brain for a birthday party theme for E this year. We've done princesses, play centers and I'm leaning towards a garden or flower themed party this year. On Stories ofA2Z I found the most wonderful flower pot brownie cakes (pictured above) which would be perfect to have after planting your own flower, or making your own crafty flower bouquet. It would also match the flower invites I've blogged about before... I think I have a plan:)

cutest birthday invites

I will have to file this away for E's next birthday. Wonderful idea from Inchmark.

I want to make this cake

just sayin'

as good as its gonna get robot cake

After all the dreams I had of buying an icing spatula and making fondant, as well as trying to create the perfect shade of grey icing. I completely bailed and made up a batch of Butter cream icing and used my trusty butter knife to do the job. We must have bought 10 different types of candy at Bulk Barn the other day and in the end.. used 3 of them.

So I need to say that's not at all what I expected our robot cake to look like.. but hey. It's a cake.. and it should be edible.. so I'm done and very happy I've rinsed out the icing bowl and can start to recover from the self induced sugar high.

I guess I should sign up for the Cake Decorating class at Michaels before my husbands birthday in February and try all my fancy ideas then. Right now, I'm off to bed.

Robots

With J's second birthday right around the corner I needed to decide on a theme and cake.. which came at last to a battle between Batman and Robots. Now if you ever need to choose between the two I'd love your thoughts but in the end Robots seemed to win. So I'm about to embark on a new adventure. The challenge of The Robot Cake. For inspiration I found these amazing cakes by typing 'Robots' in the search at Google Images.



This white cake with the chocolate wafers is my favourite so far but I'm hoping to incorporate bits from all three. If I succeed I'll post the outcome. If you enjoyed these Robots I found some great Robot Party accessories at a wonderful blog called Wendolonia. She's amazing!



This calls for a trip to the Bulk Barn and I know just the 4 year old to help me!

A new tradition

I suppose I didn't notice the first year or two, but it seems I've started a Holiday tradition for MY little family and I love it. But first.. I've got plenty of posts planned for the holiday season- some I'm so excited about I can't help but spill the beans a bit. First I have some great crafts planned including Fingerprint snow men. Then I'll be posting about the newest baking and decorating ideas I've come across.

Today's post is one of my favourite! Our family likes to seal the memory of Christmas in ceramic at Gotta Paint. Every year since my first was born, I've been going to Gotta Paint and making something with the kids hand prints to commemorate the year. This year I'm thinking of a plate with the kids hand prints as the antlers. I've done hand and foot Christmas ornaments and plates. Here's last years plate- E's hands are on the bottom and J's hand is on the top. Then E decorated the tree with ornaments. She got a little crazy with the trunk and I always smile when I see it.

party ideas...

Several posts ago I mentioned that I would be sharing with you some of the great products and ideas I came upon when researching for my daughters 4th birthday party. Weeks later.. I'm finally getting back to the task and want to share a wonderful Esty shop that makes the cutest birthday stuff out there. The Polka Dot Tot Spot has these wonderful birthday shirts and matching birthday banners that are reusable for years to come. How cool is that!

Throwing a Princess Party

If you've read my blog.. E's Princess party included a cardboard castle, an Etsy style birthday banner, cupcakes and what I haven't mentioned yet.... a real live Princess! It was wonderful to see 9 girls completely entertained for an hour and a half by someone- other than me, so I loved the experience. I would recommend Princess Parties and Pirates too to anyone with a four year old in Ottawa.
Our Princess arrived with her own music, balloon animals, face painting, magic tricks, craft activity and a picture with the princess - printed out on site! She was wonderful and all the kids & moms seemed to really enjoy her. I'll be looking them up when J turns 3 and I'm sure Batman will rock his world!

A Princess For A Day Part 2

This yummy picture is from the fabulous Blue Cupcake blog.

E turned 4 last week. Wow- that was a fast 4 years! I have spent most waking moments thinking about her well being before my own. Trying to make sure she gets a well balanced and happy childhood. Part of a happy childhood means birthday parties and this year I decided to throw E a Princess Party. I researched for months on the web, going from Blog to Blog and found so much inspiration along the way.. so here are a few photos and there blogs.. I hope they inspire you too. It may take me a day or so to find all my favourites for you... hope you have a good day!

A Princess for A Day

I have coveted these birthday party banners on Etsy for some time now.. so I took a stab at it myself.. I like it- but would make improvements next time around.