More Penguins!

Sophia celebrated her birthday again with her friends the following weekend.  I moved the party time to 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm this year (instead of the usual lunchtime) and it made it seem more grown-up and special.  It also worked out nicely because it gave me more time to set-up and allowed Jimmy to have a nice nap beforehand.

All set up for the guests:

Jack helped me make these penguins out of a clearanced puff-ball (I had everything else in my craft closet):

And how cute are these penguin cups?  Black cups, some google eyes and cardstock paper.  As a side note, I jokingly told Steve that if I moved to an isolated item and could only take ONE thing, I would likely take my glue gun.  I use it for EVERYTHING.

And his response?  "Well, that would be great ... if you had a generator for power ..."  Yup, of course.

For the dessert table, I used waffle bowls (the girls were in awe over the fact that they could actually eat their bowls) and put a piece of cake inside.  A scoop of ice cream later and they looked like real icebergs.

The guests began the party by making bracelets with beads and a clay penguin charm that I had made and baked ahead of time.

We played a dice game where the girls rolled a number and each number corresponded to a part of the penguin that they could glue on (wing, belly, foot, eye, nose, etc). 

Almost done with her penguin:

And then afterwards, the girls glued them onto their favor bags.  I LOVE how everyone personalized theirs and made them a little different.

After their dinner, the girls made penguin ornaments.  I couldn't be more pleased with how these turned out.  I filled plastic ornaments (left over from a Christmas craft) with small foam balls and glued the wings and feet on ahead of time.  The girls then chose their eyes, scarf ribbon, cut out a nose and made the cutest hanging (or sitting) ornament.

Each of the guests received a pair of warm, fuzzy penguin socks and a key chain with their name on it.  Later, I saw that many of the girls put the key chains on their book bags for school!

Blue Hawaiian Punch in an "ice bowl" surrounded by snowflake lights!

And jello with penguins "fishing:"

 Sophia received so many nice gifts from her friends and I couldn't be more pleased with her small, close group of friends.

Her friends know that she LOVES unicorns.

And the color, pink.  And accessories.

Happy birthday to my 8-year old birthday girl!

A Penguin and Polar Bear Party

We combined the family birthday parties for James and Sophia again this year and chose a theme that would coordinate well.  It was perfect, actually.  Sophia LOVES penguins and polar bears (even though they reside on opposite poles of the earth) was a great choice for Jimmy.  Plus, decorating for a winter-themed party in February is absolutely ideal.

We chose a date in the middle of their actual birthdays and I set to work incorporating little details along the way.  There were probably many more penguin decorations than polar bears, but that was because I would be using them again the following weekend for Sophia's FRIEND penguin party.

We hung tissue paper pom poms around the house to simulate snowballs and and blew up white balloons and black balloons using a left-over helium tank in the basement.  Jack helped me turn those balloons into polar bears and penguins and the kids had an absolute blast running around the house with them throughout the party. 

I bought some simple white carnations and baby's breath flowers to use throughout the house and they lasted for more than two weeks!  The evergreen branches and pine cones were leftover from a Christmas wreath that I had just disassembled the week before.

A winter-themed party would not be complete without a few powdered donuts!

Sophia chose strategic locations for the balloons before the party started.

Obviously, she loved the penguins ones the best.

The penguin and polar bear picture was a special find online for only $4, which I then framed and used a a focal decoration on the usual birthday canvas.

Polar bear paw cupcakes!

I made a large igloo cakes for Sophia (she chose the pink candle):

And a smaller one for Jimmy:

The snowflake lights (on clearance after Christmas) were the perfect addition to the snowscape.

The SNOW wreath for the front door was made using leftover snowflakes and a pair of the girls' old tights.  I stretched them over a form and then painted glitter letters on them.  The look on Sophia's face while she waited for the guests just set the mood for the event.

We feasted on homemade mac and cheese with ham and bacon, a large salad, fruit and the most delicious pineapple frothy punch ever!  With full bellies, we migrated to the living room so that the guests of honor could open their gifts.

Notice that we used the homemade penguin wrapping paper for Sophia's gifts:

Grandpa gave Jimmy this stuffed sloth, that we later named Simon, and Jimmy has slept with him every night since ...

The firefighter costume from Aunt Minnie was a HUGE hit!

A mermaid tail blanket and a #8 tiara for the birthday girl:

Ready to sing happy birthday!

I hope that all of their wishes come true!

Valentine's Day 2019

The kids made an early decision this year regarding their Valentine cards for their friends and it was pretty stream-lined.  Jack was insistent on doing dinosaur eggs that "hatch" in water, just like he did two years ago.  Easy, peasy -- I used a free printable from online that was already saved on my computer and orders a box of the eggs.  We cut out the cards and Jack signed his name before stuffing the eggs and a small note with directions on it inside a cellophane bag (I keep lots of these in my craft closet).

This ritualistic task is something that Jack thrives on; write, stuff, staple, repeat.

All ready to go ... 24 of them for all of his friends.

I was inspired by some adorable (and very reasonably priced!) unicorn bracelets that I found online.  They were adorable for the girls to give to their female friends and the card that they came on was perfect to simply sign their names on.

And then for the remaining boys in their classrooms, I printed a piece of paper that read "Cupid's toots" and they slipped it inside a cellophane bag with noise putty (known for making farting noises).  It was a big hit!

On Valentine's Day morning, the kids woke up to find new sheets for their beds (such fun patterns!), a box of candy and cinnamon rolls with red sprinkles.

And a quick picture of my growing babies before they headed off to school to get filled up with lots and lots of sugar!

Happy Birthday, Jimmy!

Jimmy turned 3 on February 4th, the day after the Superbowl.  It was special this year because it was technically his 4th Superbowl and he was only 2 at the time.  Not too many people can boast about that ... and it was made even more special because the neighbors that threw the Superbowl party that we attended surprised us by having a cake for Jimmy (complete with candles and singing).  Yes, he is one loved little boy.

We started the morning with our traditional cinnamon rolls and birthday candles.  We all sang happy birthday to him before the big kids headed off to school.

Then, Steve, Jimmy and myself loaded up and went furniture shopping for our bedroom.  We are in dire need of a bedroom makeover, something that we have put off for too long, and this was the perfect day to peruse our options.  I think that we might have made our decision and now we just need to order it.

Afterwards, we took Jimmy to lunch at Bob Evans.  He was the perfect little angel and the food was very good.  It't not often that we are able to go out to eat with just one of the kids and I know that he felt pretty special.

That evening, we gave Jimmy his gifts and his genuine excitement was contagious.

As usual, the kids chose their own gifts for him out of a pile that I put in the middle of the room.  Once they have made their choice, they wrap them and put the tags on the gifts themselves.

The look on Sophia's face is priceless. My two blue-eyed babies are my most expressive ones in the bunch.

We ended with brownies and more candles.  (And Steve close by to remind Jimmy that the candles are HOT).

Birthday Month is off to a great start!

Daddy-Daughter Dance

This was Samantha's last year to attend the Daddy-Daughter Dance at the elementary school and she was eager to pick out the "perfect dress."  In the past, we have gone shopping and looked at options and eventually chosen one that is her favorite among the group.

But this year, she had exacting ideas about what she was looking for -- black, long, sparkly and maybe some tulle.  And of course, in her size.

Sure.

I decided that if we were going to try to meet these expectations, it would be best to shop online.

Armed with a warm cup of tea and an open mind, we set to work one snowy afternoon.  At some point, I think that I had no less than about 14 internet browsers open.    We finally found one that met all of the expectations ... and was reasonably priced.

The excitement in her voice as she called her friends and sent pictures to Grammy was worth it.  Every last minute.  And when it arrived on our doorstep two days later with shoes that fit perfectly ... well, I said a silent prayer to the Man Above and then mentally calculated how many years I have until we are shopping for a prom dress.

Without further ado -- my two, beautiful girls all ready for the dance:

Both are wearing "heels" and "dangle" earrings.  And lipstick. 

And Samantha looks like she's 15. 

They both had the best time at the dance with Steve!   And soon, it will be my turn to begin taking the boys to their dance.  I'm looking forward to it for sure.

Winter Crafting

This winter has been one for the books.

Frigid temperatures resulting in a FULL week off of school, high winds and blowing snow, followed by icy roads -- all of which made for 14 Snow Days in between the regular days off for MLK Day, President's Day Weekend and teacher record days.  As a mom that works from home, I needed to find ways to keep the kids entertained so that I could still accomplish my normal, daily tasks.

The kids still spent a lot of hours playing outside.  And we did meet up for a play-date at the bowling alley one day when the restless feeling of being cooped up spurred my friend and I to make plans for the eight kids that we share between us.  It was good for the kids ... and for us mommas.

My 'go-to' for activities is CRAFTS.  I love the creativity and it's no secret that I could probably open my own craft store with all of the random items that I have tucked away in my office closet.  I like to provide some direction and supervision, but let the kids draw from their own imaginations.

Salt dough ornaments

Steve actually suggested this idea after remembering making these when he was a child.  They are so simple to make with exactly 3 ingredients (salt, flour and water).

We came up with an idea for each kid and they set to work kneading the dough and making their design.

Jimmy was more than a little excited to get his hands dirty.

Using a cup to make a circular cut-out:

Sophia's design involved using her FOOT to make a penguin ornament.

I backed the ornaments in the oven on low heat for quite some time depending on the thickness.  Once they cooled later that afternoon, we used my acrylic paints to finish them off.

Jack made a few "bonus" ornaments using his recently "excavated" dinosaurs.

They ended up looking like genuine fossils.

All done and packed away to be put on our Christmas tree this next holiday season -- a penguin made from Sophia's footprint, a ninja turtle made from Jack's handprint, a couple of emojis (one of Sam's favorite things right now), a dinosaur for Jimmy, some fossils and an apple.

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Polar Bears

The boys helped make a craft to be used at the upcoming Penguin and Polar Bear party.  I cut a polar bear out of BLACK paper and then we talked about how the skin of polar bears is actually black.  Then, they glued cotton balls on for fur.

Whenever he is concentrating, Jack bites his tongue and focuses deeply on the project in front of him.

Later that day, Jack and I put the polar bears on background paper and he painted snowflakes on them.  Again, I used this as a learning opportunity to talk about how no two snowflakes are ever identical and how he can use the paintbrush in different ways to make some more detailed than others.

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Canvas Painting

Sam had a friend over one day and they needed something to do, so I pulled out three leftover canvases that I had in my closet (from 2 years ago when Sam celebrated her 8th birthday with a Painting Party).

We taped them off in various patterns and then the girls chose their colors to paint them.  (Note that purple must have been the color shirt for the day!).

Sophia's design surprised me -- it was more abstract and less precise than I would have figured for her.

Sam went with a near-perfect geometric design with three colors.

I lined them up by the fireplace to dry (it took very little time!) and then carefully peeled the tape off to reveal some very neat creations.  Sam's friend was so excited to take hers home that day and the girls' canvases are hanging in their room above their beds.

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