Sophia's Outer Space Friend Party

With COVID numbers still still elevated and vaccinations slowly underway (but only in select groups of people -- ages and professions), we decided to continue with a "small" friend party for Sophia at our house.  Sam had three friends over for her birthday party back in November so I told Sophia that she, too, could invite three friends over to celebrate.  (I will do the same for Jack in May).  

Keeping the parties small, has allowed me to plan different party favors/games/crafts than I've done in the past.  Instead of a bunch of little favors to fill a bag, I can do one or two larger things that are maybe more expensive but more worthwhile.  The crafts can be a little more time-consuming because the kids are older and there are less of them to manage.  (Sam's Wizard of Oz party once had 22 little guests to micromanage!).

Each guest (including Sophia) received a super-soft blanket with the moon and stars on it that glows in the dark.  They were also given a beautiful and dainty necklace with the moon and stars on them.

There were cupcakes, black holes (brownie bites), Jupiter's rings (powdered donuts) and cake balls designed to look like planets.  A moment of pause here -- those cake balls were a true labor of love.  My sister helped me to make them the night before and we vowed that we would never make them again. Wow, I have a whole new level of respect for bakers that make them on a regular basis.

 

Another special surprise: the guests were served these drinks with their pizza and breadsticks.  I called them "Galaxy Drinks," and they were simply lemonade with crushed ice where the ice was "butterfly pea flower" frozen water.  Butterfly pea flower water is naturally a deep, dark blue-purple color and tasteless, but in an acidic solution (like lemonade), it turns pink.  So the drinks tasted like lemonade but looked even cooler.

The craft that I had planned was "Galaxy Jars."  The girls used simple mason jars with lids and glow-in-the-dark paint to decorate them inside.  We set the jars out on the porch (with the lids off) and then when we brought them inside, they glowed brightly in a dark room.  

They had so much fun with this, and I had plenty of extra jars, so they each decorated 2 of them.  The idea is to leave them open during the day in their bedrooms and then at night, they will glow like a nightlight while they are sleeping.

We also played a fun game (kind of like Scattergories) where I gave them a theme -- like, 'things in a kitchen' -- and they had 3 minutes to list an item that started with the letters for OUTER SPACE.  For example, O could be 'olive oil.'  The person that came up with the most answers without duplicates among the players won.  

This was so simple to do because I just made the papers on my computer and printed them out.  Sophia helped me add stickers for decoration.  We played three rounds of this and they wanted to play even more.

Near the end, we sang happy birthday to our beautiful 10-year old and she opened her presents.  

Everything was carefully chosen and perfect for her!  It was a great way to end a very special weekend of celebrating!

An Outer Space Birthday Party

For the last several years, I have opted to do a combined family birthday party for Jimmy and Sophia because their birthdays are both in February.  The past themes have been complementary -- meaning that they are two different ideas but still go together in design (for example, unicorns and dragons, penguins and polar bears, fishing and flamingos).  But this year, I chose a single theme and made it all encompassing.

I asked the kids first if they liked the idea and they were BOTH equally excited.  And so, that is how we moved forward on an Outer Space Birthday Party for my 5 year old boy and 10 year old girl.

One of the main focal points is the cake.  It goes on a table all of its own and is always baked and decorated by me.  It's often a labor of love but is truly something that I enjoy.

Sophia helped with the interior portion of her cake after I showed her an idea of what I planned to attempt.  We did a trial run on the cake balls inside first (the week before) and after making a couple of minor adjustments, I knew that they work perfectly INSIDE the cake.

Basically, we made colored cake balls that represented planets in the solar system:

But, once I cut off a thin layer in order to make it level (for the 2-layer cake), it looked exactly like I had pictured it in my mind -- complete with some milky way swirls of white throughout the universe.

Later, I swirled colors to make it look like a galaxy and even added some fine, edible glitter stars. 

For Jimmy's cake, I kept it more simple and turned his into a moon with a few craters and an astronaut.  He loved his just as much and it offered our guests the option to have vanilla cake if they wanted.

Something else that was a labor of love was this balloon arch.  I made one the year before for Sophia's Flamingo Party and it was such a hit that I decided to assemble another one.  All of the balloons were blown up with regular air -- no helium -- and they seemed to last FOREVER.  Jimmy still has some of the larger balloons hanging in his bedroom.

A simple banner in the background with some cut out planets added to our cake table.  The rocket ship cupcake holder was a favorite find and Jack was quick to help me assemble it the day before the party.

Some of the cutout planets made it into the back room to join the balloon arch:

One of my favorite things (and one of my favorite people too!).  The moon lights up and was a gift to Jack from Grandpa a few years ago.  I asked if I could borrow it and he was obliging.  Then, I strung some cutout letters on clear fishing line and added one and adaptation to one of our family sayings: "Love you to the moon and back."

A big hit for all of the kids right now is Amazon gift cards.  They can choose ANYTHING that they want -- so many options! -- and get free and quick shipping.

The most perfect gift from Uncle Z and Miss Laura for a little boy that loves watching all of the squirrels that come into our back yard.  Jack has quite a few tails from them hung in the garage from his many perfect shots.

I'm not sure what the appeal is with this sweatshirt (it's a POTATO?), but Sophia loved it from the second that she saw it online and Grammy surprised her with it for her birthday.

Celebrating 10 years with his beautiful girl ...

... and 5 years with this handsome little boy.

Jimmy Turns 5!

Jimmy turned 5 on February 4th and had been counting down the days for ... well, what seemed like forever.  Turning 5 is a milestone because it signifies that he is old enough to start kindergarten in the Fall.  He is more than ready and is excited about riding the bus, eating his lunch at school and even having homework!  

We're not exactly sure what the start of the school year in August will look like because we are still battling this (never-ending, ongoing, persistent) pandemic.   Vaccinations have started in the older populations with two different trial drugs that must be given as boosters -- two shots administered either 3 or 4 weeks apart, depending on the drug.  There are supply issues and shortages of the appropriately-trained individuals to administer them.  Some pharmacies are better organized than others and some states have opened up large stadiums to accommodate the hoards of people that are desperate for the antibodies.

The local school district is continuing with half-days of in-person learning and we hope to increase to full-days soon.  The biggest hurdle is the current vaccines are only approved for adults (16+ in age).  The trials for children have only just begun in the U.S. and it is estimated that vaccines will probably be approved for high school and middle school-aged children in the Fall, but elementary-aged kids will not be able to be vaccinated until January next year.  All of this is an estimate and things could certainly change.  But, using that timeline, the partial days of instruction may continue longer than we want (because of concerns of children transferring the virus during lunch).  

We're hopeful for a more normal start to the school year than we had last year and are grateful that we are able to gather more and celebrate birthdays -- even if they are more low-key than before ...

Jimmy's preschool class does not allow parents to bring in any food (too many potential allergies), so the kids are encouraged to bring in a goody bag or a small prize to pass out.  I found these incredible cups, complete with a straw, that light up with the touch of a button.  How cool is that to drink out of cup where you get to choose what color/flashing lights you want?!  They were a huge hit with Jimmy's friends!

That day, while the other kids were in school (James doesn't have school on Thursdays), I surprised Jimmy and took him to the store to pick out 2 birthday balloons.  He chose a dinosaur and then a traditional Happy Birthday one, both filled with helium.  We also put up some balloons on the wall with our traditional birthday banner.

Grandpa came over and picked up pizza (Jimmy's birthday dinner choice) on his way.  We finished off the meal with ice cream and hedgehog cupcakes.

And there were lots of presents for the 5-year old!

And more to come because later this month, we have a combined birthday party planned with an Outer Space theme to celebrate both Jimmy and Sophia's February birthdays!

Valentine's Day 2021

The day before Valentine's, my sister came over with the kids and we planned a special day of cookie decorating, heart-shaped pizza and a fun drink.  The kids played until their "hearts were content" (pun intended!) and their bellies were full.

I baked the cookies the day before so that they were nice and cool and my sister brought frosting.  Of course, there were lots of sprinkles in my cupboard and the cookies were well-adorned!

Jimmy took his time and decorated exactly one cookie before he declared that it was time to "taste-test."

I'm *pretty sure* that Jack had already tasted one himself, based on his RED lips, by the time I took this picture.

Some of the creations.  Lots of sugar and a lots of love went into these.

The kids loved the pizzas -- homemade pizza dough shaped into hearts and covered with pepperoni that I cut into hearts, as well.  The leftover pepperoni scraps were quickly devoured by the boys so there was no waste.  

Ready to be baked into gooey perfection:

And for the Hawaiian pizza lovers in our group, we covered one side with pineapple and bacon.

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The next morning -- on Valentine's Day -- the kids woke up to a table decorated for the holiday.  Because it was Sunday, we had a leisurely morning with our usual holiday cinnamon rolls and a little package of candy for my sweethearts.  Steve even took me into town for a quick lunch while Sam stayed home with the kids (a real perk to having older kids now).

The flowers were a beautiful surprise from my sister the day before and certainly helped to brighten up the table.  These smiles did too!

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Valentine's Day Goodies

For as long as I can remember, we have been putting together special little Valentine's bags for the kids' friends at school.  Rather than opt for a cheap piece of cardboard with their names scribbled on it, I prefer something a little more useful.  I usually give the kids a few options to choose from -- they choose the one that they want -- and then I print the tag (totally inexpensive to do this at a photo printing place like Meijer or Walgreens using a coupon) and purchase the goodies to go inside a clear cellophane bag.

As the kids are getting older, they are taking over much of the task themselves and they are done in less than a half hour with the assembly.  Knowing that it would take Jimmy a little longer to put together the packages for his preschool friends , I worked with him individually setting him up in my office.  I allowed him to use a sharpie and he carefully penned his name on 11 tags that read, "You knock my socks off, Valentine!"  

It is well-known in his classroom that he loves FUN socks -- he always has on a pair with cute prints that include animals, characters and food items.  So, how fitting was it to give each one of his friends a pair of fun socks that they could wear too?!

His name was written on the back all of each one all by himself and we also put together valentines for his two teachers using an EOS chapstick.  

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Jack and Sophia settled on the same goodies for their classrooms, which made things easy to assemble.  

The girls each received the softest cat puffball keychain (they are perfect to clip onto bookbags) and the boys all received small electronic basketball games that make noise whenever you make a basket with the ball.  I am pretty sure the teachers just LOVED me by the end of the morning!  Ha!

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Sophia took her time carefully writing her name on each and every one based on the list of names that the teacher provided.  She also took great pride in individually choosing the particular color cat puffball for each girl.  She even ended up with one for herself that she promptly added to her bookbag.  Purple, of course.

While Jack and Jimmy made their own valentine bags in their classroom to hold their stash, Sophia's classroom was instructed to make their own special box and bring it into the classroom on the day of the party.  Luckily, because Sophia is my 'packrat/hoarder,' she had saved her box from the year before in her closet and we were able to just pull it down from the shelf and re-use it!

With Sam in middle school, there are (sadly) no more structured classroom parties like this anymore, but that didn't stop us from still putting together some special goody bags for her closest friends.  I love an opportunity to gift someone with something -- even if it is small -- and I hope that I am imparting that on the kids too.  A little bit of effort goes a long way.

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New Year Randoms

We turned the calendar this year with hopeful hearts that 2021 would bring big changes to our world -- the start of COVID vaccinations here in the United States, schools being allowed to open up again for full-time face-to-face instruction, team sports with spectators allowed to attend, businesses of all types (including bars and restaurants ) opened to full capacity again ... and the list goes on and on.  While we have enjoyed the extended time spent together as a close-knit family this year, we also find ourselves longing for the freedom that we used to have to go places and spend time with friends "outside of our bubble."  We are missing a true sense of normalcy.  

We spent our New Year's Eve at home -- just the 6 of us -- with a GOLD decorated table filled with snacks and special drinks.  We watched football, played games and after putting Jimmy in bed at 10:00 pm, we stayed up to watch the (completely lame) BALL DROP in NYC.  It was a very muted event and lacked the usual excitement and hype because of the understandable social distancing that was necessary.  And then, by 12:02 am, we were all tucked into bed.  Ha!

And now a bunch of randomness:

With the fire going nonstop in our back Family Room this time of year, we roasted hot dogs for dinner.  Kind of like a good old-fashioned campfire, and Jimmy was pretty excited about that.

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Over Christmas Break, my sister and her kids came over for a day of playing, nail painting, pizza and ice cream sundaes.  There was a lot of laughing and everyone had such a fun time!

Samantha has the longest nails ever (just like my sister) and was happy to have a fun pattern done on hers. 

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A snow storm moved into our area on January 1st, dumping lots of fresh-clumping snow (perfect for building snow forts) and left the trees covered for the most gorgeous backdrop.  The girls and our neighbor (whom we affectionately refer to as our "adopted daughter") spent hours outside the next day.

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And while the girls were hard at work constructing snow forts and sledding down the back hill, the boys were out front firing up the snowmobile.

My brother let us borrow his old snowmobile that was not running to see if we could get it running.  Steve and Jack spent a great deal of time working on it -- taking it apart, ordering a few new parts, changing out the oil, putting it back together.  It was a perfect project to work on inside our heated garage and I think that Jack learned A LOT from the whole process.

Is there anything more fun than throwing snow up in the air and watching it fly?

Jimmy pushed the snow all by himself into this big hill so that he could be "king of the Hill."

Just two brothers who love camo and snow.

Jack's "happy place" is buried deep in the snow.  He is truly an outside boy at heart -- Winter, Spring, Sumer and Fall.

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My kids have all been good "nappers."  They would consistently, without fail, take afternoon naps up until they went to kindergarten.  They always needed that time to re-charge and were in better spirits and ready to take on the world afterwards.  

With Jimmy preparing to start all-day kindergarten in the Fall, I was been letting him skip his nap once in a while.  Sometimes, he can handle it and make it until bedtime (8:00 pm) without falling asleep.  But there are some days when I find him like this by the middle of the afternoon:

It's tiring being an active preschooler:

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At school, Samantha had to dress up as an "old lady."  They were celebrating kindness and the idea that "kindness never grows old," so Samantha asked me what we had at home that she could use to dress up.  A long skirt, some knee-high socks, a turtleneck sweater (which she told me that she 'would NEVER wear a turtleneck sweater in real life!'), a shawl, a broach, glasses and her hair in a bun.  Yup, she nailed it!

Also, it should be noted that the kids continue to go to school face-to-face after Christmas Break, but only for half-days.  The arrive home by 11:45 am every day to eat lunch with little/no homework.  It is upsetting because they are truly only receiving half of the learning that they should be and we are anxious to get them back in school full-time.  Maybe after Spring Break?

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Jimmy is still going to school for half-days Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  They are truly the best days for him and he is more than ready for kindergarten in the Fall already.

I ordered this shirt for him that displays his Preschool name and all of his friends.  Each of the kids had to draw their own face on the shirt and then they were printed.  I plan to hold onto this and put it on display for his high school graduation in 2034.  2034!!!