Samantha's Birthday Parties

 

We celebrated Samantha's 7th birthday with friends at our house two days after her actual birthday.  Experience has taught me that it is easiest to celebrate with friends on Saturday and then have a family party on Sunday.  Most everything is all set-up and I typically spend the afternoon following the friend party prepping for the next day.  The kids take nice naps and I have some quiet time to do what I love doing ... reorganizing, decorating and baking.

 

It snowed on the day of the party (it seems to do this every year!), so I put a simple sign on the front door to greet our guests among the blustery winds and snowflakes.

 



I also strategically placed the Wicked Witch tights that Sophia had stuffed under the house to look like it had landed on the witch.  The ruby red shoes were left over from my Dorothy costume two Halloweens ago.

I carried through with the green Oz and rainbow theme in the decorating, keeping a lot of it simple knowing that we would have a lot of little guests in our house -- there were 16 girls that came, in addition to my two girls.  And Jack.

 

 

The favor bags were purchased (cheaply) and filled with some rainbow tissue paper to give them a little boost.  The guests were then able to choose whichever color bag they wanted and we wrote their names on them.  They continued to add to the bags with their game prizes throughout the party.

 

I set up the dining room table as our craft supply area.  As the guests arrived, they were able to make a bookmark using the background of their choice, a movie quote of their choosing and a pair of witch legs (that I made over the course of two evenings).

The idea was that the witch legs would then stick out of the book and hold their page.  They loved this! 

They also loved the second craft, which was stringing together beads to make their own personal Emerald City bracelets.

We had just enough time to clean up from the crafts and wash their hands before the pizza arrived.  Yes, I made this easy on myself by ordering pizza and breadsticks.  The kids all loved this (pepperoni and cheese) and then I filled in with some veggies, rainbow fruit skewers (of course, Sophia helped with these) and pink lemonade.

Chowing down on their food before the games began:

 

I had two games planned for after lunch -- Wizard of Oz Bingo and Pin the Heart on the Tin Man.  The kids played Bingo first, and had a blast as I called out various details of the movie.  Each time, I made sure to ask the girls questions so that they understood the plot completely.  We played until everyone got a bingo and was able to choose a package of candy (Skittles or Starburst) to put in their favor bags.

 

 

Pin the Heart on the Tin Man was a huge success.  The girls took turns tying to pin their heart on the huge printout (thanks to Steve for taking care of that for me) and cheered everyone on.  

Then, everyone was able to come and choose a prize for their hard work -- Rainbow pens and light-up rings.

The girls, minus one who wasn't really in the mood for pictures ...

Soon, it was time for cupcakes and ice cream.  Rainbow cupcakes!  (I like to make cupcakes for "friend" parties and cake for the "family" party).

They looked incredible inside.

Singing happy birthday to myirthday Girl:

Opening presents:

And last on the agenda?  A piñata.  Yes, Samantha specifically requested this for her birthday and I am not one to disappoint.  So, Steve cleared an area in the basement then we watched as everyone had a chance to hit the piñata, beginning with Jack.

And then the Guest of Honor, followed by everyone that was interested in having a turn.

Everyone ended up with some candy to take home with them in their favor bags and chatted excitedly about the party as the parents began to arrive.  So much fun!

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For the family party, Samantha requested a rainbow cake.  I set to work baking the night before and frosting on the big day.  I added in a few other decorations and we celebrated with burgers (Sam's choice), chips, pasta salad, beans, fruit ... Lots of it.

After our meal, Samantha opened her presents and kindly let her sister be a part of the action.

Making a wish:

The rainbow cake:

 

And now ... more celebrating with family this week as we welcome the Thanksgiving Holiday ...

Party Prep

Sophia has always been my little helper -- if I need help in the kitchen, she's the first to offer.  And if it involves crafts or any kind of party prep, she is the first in line every time.  I love this about her. 

And I especially welcomed her help this time around when it seemed like I was running just a wee bit behind ...

So while Samantha was at school and Jack was napping, Sophia spent a couple of hours with me down in my office happily performing every task that I assigned her.

Samantha's Wizard of Oz party centered various aspects of the movie/book, but I also chose to incorporate the rainbow details from Dorothy's famous song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Stuffing the piñata with candy leftover from Halloween.  (We had a lot of candy left over because there were not very many trick-or-treaters this year due to the nasty weather, and this was the perfect excuse to use up the candy!).

Sophia had helped me last week to make poppy flowers out of random pieces of red and yellow tissue paper that I had on hand in my wrapping drawer.  I also had the pipe cleaners in my craft kit already.  Then, she set to work assembling them in tin cans (Tin Man!) that we had saved over the course of the last week.  They made the perfect (cheap!) table setting and tied together the idea that Dorothy had traveled through a field of poison poppy flowers in the movie.

Frankly, Sophia did a better job than me actually displaying them in the cans!

Using newspaper to stuff an old pair of tights leftover from a Halloween costume to look like the Wicked Witch of the East outside of our house.  Right before this, Sophia had arranged the rainbow candies (Skittles and Starburst) in a bowl to use as prizes for one of the games.

I was finally able to talk Samantha into helping out a bit tonight with the layering of the cupcake pans for her Rainbow Cupcakes.  Sophia was quick to join in, as well.

Whew!  Almost everything is done ... I can't wait to see how the parties go this weekend.  I just know that Samantha is going to be so pleased!

Samantha is 7 Years Old

Seven years ago today, our little girl entered the world at 3:05 am ... more than 2 weeks before her due date, surprising us and forever changing our world.  It has been nothing but a pleasure watching her grow into the little girl that she has become.

She is told so often how much she looks like me -- she's my little twin (except for the small detail that she has hair the exact color of her dad's).  And she doesn't seem to mind one bit; she takes that comment in stride, beaming from ear to ear.  She also has my determination to succeed, especially in her academics.  In fact, she is so proud of the fact that she has not yet missed a single spelling word on her weekly tests to date.  She is reading at 111 words per minute (and the school system would like the students to be reading at 58 wpm). 

She has the kindest heart.  And with that, there isn't a single person that isn't her friend.  She is a wonderful big sister ... so patient with her younger siblings and so excited to meet her youngest little brother in just a matter of months.  I can't wait to see them together.

And so, we made sure to celebrate this special member of our family in a big way on her special day. 

We began with the traditional cinnamon rolls and a candle in the morning before school.  (Steve had blown up a bunch of balloons before he left for work and left them at her spot at the kitchen bar area).

Sophia, Jack and I sang happy birthday to her and then she blew out her candles.

For her birthday treat at school, I gave her a couple of options and she chose turkey cupcakes.  Apparently they were a big hit today!

After school, I had snacks ready for the kids before we needed to pack up and head back up to the elementary school for Samantha's Parent-Teacher Conference at 4:15 pm.  The kids were so well-behaved and it wasn't long before we were back in the van and heading to the other side of town to meet Steve for Samantha's birthday dinner.

Earlier in the day, I had asked Samantha where she would like to go for dinner.  She chose Red Robin -- as in, a restaurant about 40 minutes from our house.  When I questioned if there was any place else that she might like to go, she looked at me with the straightest face and replied, "So, what you're saying is that I don't get to choose where we go for my birthday dinner?"  I couldn't argue with that.

So, Steve met us there at 5:00 pm, as it made no sense for him to come home from work first.  What a wonderful surprise because he had a table for us, complete with balloons and a small cake.

It was a great time and the kids cheered when the waitresses came out to sing for Samantha ... and brought her an ice cream sundae to go with the cake.

After we arrived home, Samantha was finally able to open her gifts. 

Of course, Sophia was right there ... in case Sam needed any help.  Ha!

And now ... this weekend, we will be celebrating her birthday again -- twice!  On Saturday, we have a lot of friends coming over and then family will be joining us on Sunday.  The theme this year?  Wizard of Oz ...

Halloween 2015

This year, I was thankful that Halloween fell on a Saturday.  It is starting to become such a busy day for us -- celebrating with separate classroom parties (both Samantha and Sophia) and a parade, followed by an early dinner at our house with extended family and then trick-or-treating.  Whew!

On Friday morning, I went to help out in Sophia's classroom with her "Harvest Party."  There were snacks, games and a craft ... but the kids did not dress up in costumes.  Strangely enough, Sophia didn't seem to mind one bit -- especially because she was able to sport her sparkly Halloween shirt!

Probably my most favorite moment of the whole event was watching/hearing the excitement from the kids when I brought in my contribution to the party -- witch hat cookies and reeses bats.  Ooooh, they couldn't stop touching them and smiled brightly when I told them that they could have more than one!

Sophia and her friend, Teagan.  (Sam went to kindergarten with Teagan's older brother).

Pumpkin bowling.  Sophia got a "strike" on her first attempt and told everyone about it.

A bean-bag toss game, appropriately themed for the holiday.

Pin the stem on the pumpkin.

Making an ear of corn as a craft project -- again, keeping with the theme.

And then some wind-down time with a Fall story.  (I love how they are all just in awe of the story).

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Shortly thereafter, Sophia and I raced home for a quick bite of lunch and then headed up to Sam's school with her costume and more witch hat cookies and fruit.  (Steve was home with Jack during all of this).

A quick photo before the kids lined up for the parade that takes them downtown and then back around to the school.  (Last year, the weather was so cold and rainy that the parade just had to take place inside the school gym).

I noticed that Sam is looking a bit tired already, and I am not even sure what she was doing with her seaweed boa in this picture!  Ha!

Sophia met up with one of her good friends, Gabby, in the classroom.  They are only a month apart in age and Gabby's older sister is one of Sam's good friends.

Lined up and waiting for the parade to start:

Watching all of the costumes come by ... Jack was in awe.

We then decided, after meeting up with friends, to walk the opposite direction and catch up with the parade on the last leg back to the school.

Just killing some time before the parade rounded the corner again:

Isabella, Sophia and Jack:

Sam caught sight of us and was surprised to see us again:

While the parents were prepping the classroom for games and food, the kids got to have outdoor recess for about 20 minutes.  Jack and Sophia joined right in before heading home with Steve for an afternoon rest.  I stayed at the school to help with the party.

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After I brought Samantha home from school, I quickly packed up and drove to Flushing to meet up with my friend, Jennifer.  We had tickets to an awesome country concert down in Detroit that night.  We stayed in a hotel and then headed home on Halloween in enough time to prep for company coming over.

Grammy and Papa brought Halloween gifts for the kids and they had a blast opening all of them.

I had suggested some more crafting supplies for the girls, and it was a definite hit.

Ready in make-up for the trick-or-treating (in the rain!) that would take place in a couple of hours:

Part of their Halloween gift was a "Halloween costume" for each of their dolls. 

Such a great idea!

After feasting on spaghetti and meatballs (along with bread, salad and dessert, of course), the kids put on their costumes and prepared to brave the not-so-nice weather elements -- I am sure that this is at least the 3rd year in a row that it has rained.

A chef, a mermaid, a lady bug and a pirate:

And as for me?  Well, this year ... I wasn't planning to "dress up."  But Steve bought this shirt for me and insisted that I wear it.  It was good for several laughs from the neighbors. 

(And, I feel the need to explain that my warm weather ensemble makes me look a lot "fuller/heavier" than I really am right now.  I had several layers on under my shirt and jeans, knowing that we would be walking in the cold rain and wind)!

 

 

We made it to at least a dozen houses on foot (and back again) before jumping in the van to travel down the opposite direction of the subdivision.  A few houses later, we called it a night and drove home for warm baths -- and a single piece of candy each -- and a movie before bedtime.  An extra bonus this year?  The time change that gave most of us an extra hour of rest ...