Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day fell on a Tuesday this year and I really wasn't planning on doing too much extra to celebrate.  Of course, there would be our traditional cinnamon rolls with green sprinkles and maybe some skittles left behind from one of those mischievous leprechauns. 

But ... with the impending school closures due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it meant that the kids would be home all day.  And this momma is not one to let a holiday go without a little extra celebration if we have time! 

I dug deep into my craft closet and pulled several things together.  (Steve sat on the couch and watched me work the night before, with minimal eye-rolling.  He knows that I live for this kind of stuff and obliges my creative whims for as long as the kids are little enough to still believe in the magic).

The kids helped me make a rainbow for our window the day before and then Jack set out the Leprechaun Hotel that we made last year.  He wasn't able to trick/catch a leprechaun back then, but patiently held onto the hotel in his closet until this year while making a few changes to his plan.  (The leprechauns left behind some rainbow-colored Trix cereal for the kids!).

Jack was more determined than ever to catch one of those pesky green guys, so he even set up a second trap:

It turns out ... that ... the leprechaun cut a hole in the side of the box and slid down the vent in the floor right next to the trap.

Jack wasn't too upset about it though because he left behind some skittles for each of the kids under the box.

There was a table set up for the kids when they woke up in the morning, all ready for cinnamon rolls.

Shamrock cinnamon rolls, either with or without green icing:

Everyone wore green, so no one got pinched!

But the best part came even later.  After breakfast, I asked Jack to please go in the bathroom and close the lid to the toilet.  I even muttered about how 'I don't like to have that lid left open and that everyone knows better ...' 

Imagine his surprise and shriek of laughter when he realized that one of the leprechauns must have used the toilet while they were in our house!  Oh, the kids could not stop laughing and immediately sent a picture to Steve and a few of their friends.

Sophia's 9th Birthday

Another birthday post ... what can I say?!  We celebrate birthdays HARD in our house! 

I know that a actual birthday is really only a single day, but it just doesn't seem like enough time to celebrate all that the last year brought -- how much they have grown, how much they have changed and how much they really are loved. 

We celebrate with family, we celebrate with friends, we celebrate the DAY OF with just our immediate family and we celebrate at school.

This year, Sophia's birthday was something to remember!  A big snowstorm blew into town the night before her birthday, canceling school for the next three days.  I anticipated this happening, just based on the weather reports, so I did not make her dirt brownies for her classmates until I was ABSOLUTELY SURE that school would be back in session!

She was able to sleep in on the morning of her birthday and then came downstairs to cinnamon rolls with candles.  Yes, it's a good start to the morning when you have nowhere to be right away and you can feast on breakfast while still wearing your bathrobe!

We spent most of the day enjoying the falling snow and the extra family time together.  The college even closed that night (which is rare!) and while I scrambled to email my students and make arrangements for a make-up chemistry lab at a later date, I really enjoyed eating dinner together as a family -- no dance classes and no college teaching that night.

Planning that I would be teaching that night, we showered Sophia with gifts the weekend before:

Officer James was more than willing to lend a helping hand, if Sophia needed him.

Birthdays make ALL of us smile!

Later, she posed for a quick picture outside while sporting a lot of her birthday gifts -- the sparkled headband was from Grammy, the flamingo t-shirt was from Grandpa, the leggings were from Aunt Chris, the shoes were from us and the hamburger squishee (I just don't understand the thrill of them?!) was from Sam.

Happy 9th birthday, Sophia Marie!

Sophia's Birthday Party with Friends

We celebrated Sophia's 9th birthday party with a flock of pink flamingos this year.  It seems that flamingos are everywhere and it was so easy to use them as a theme with a bunch of 3rd grade girls.

The main focus of the party was a painting project.  I did a sample painting of a flamingo ahead of time and then walked the girls through, step by step, so that they could create one of their own (that would be dry by the time the party was over).

I hired one of the neighbor girls and asked my mom to come and help too.  I wanted plenty of help when it came to mixing paint!  Oh what fun they all had!

Everyone was so focused and into details.  And I just loved seeing their creations come to life.

All lined up to dry -- each with their own little added details at the end.

After painting, the girls took a little break and enjoyed all of the goodies that I had put out by the chocolate fountain.  They gathered around and giggled with their faces full of chocolate.

We had pizza delivered -- it is so easy for me that way -- and then afterwards, the girls spent some time playing a ring toss game.  This is definitely going in the front yard this summer!

I decided on a "flamingo bingo" game early on and printed the bingo cards on my printer ahead of time.  The girls played until everyone won a prize each round (bathbombs, a flamingo bracelet and a flamingo change purse), covering their numbers with pink starbursts.  I love that idea (and they were on sale that week!) because the girls got to take all of the starbursts home with them that night.

(Her shirt was a present from Grandpa for her birthday the week before -- perfect for the occasion).

The gift bags: ready to fill with their prizes.

Afterwards, the girls headed into the living room so that they could shower Sophia with gifts.  This picture makes me chuckle because no matte how far back the girls sit from the Birthday Girl, they always end up moving closer and closer as they lean in to see all of the gifts.

These guests KNOW Sophia so well!  They gave her so many things that she loves -- just seeing that genuine look of love on her face in this picture makes me smile.

Finally, we ended the party with dessert!  Flamingo cookies, cupcakes and some starwberry glazed donuts.

The sign above the table, left over from Jimmy and Sophia's family party the weekend before, was modified by taking James' name off it.  I think that it fit just perfectly.

 Happy birthday again, Sophia! 

Daddy-Daughter Dance - 2020

The Daddy-Daughter Dance this year was extra special for Sophia because this was the first one that she would be attending one her own with her dad.  In the past, Sophia has always gone to the dance with Samantha too.  But, last year marked the final year that Samantha would be attending (she was in 5th grade), so Sophia had this date all to herself. 

We picked out her dress online -- that is so much easier than going from one store to another and the possibilities are endless.  Her shoes still fit from last year too :)

And she surprised me by choosing a RED dress; she usually goes with something pink or purple.  It was absolutely gorgeous on her!

Steve came home from work a couple of hours early so that he could get ready and take a few pictures.  And then, they met up with one of the other dads and Sophia's friend for dinner before heading to the dance.

She is so tall (in the 80th percentile for her height).

Pausing outside to take a picture on the front porch with the Valentine decorations in the background.  Oh!  And her nails -- I painted them for her and finished them off with a tiny jewel on each one.

All dressed up and ready to go to dinner with her friend, Scarlett.

Sophia and Jimmy's Birthday Party

I decided to combine Sophia and Jimmy's birthday parties into one again this year, celebrated with close family, in the middle of their actual birthdays.  We settled on a theme -- fishing and flamingos and topped it off with a fiesta of sorts -- serving Mexican food.

As I am planning parties (and it really is a favorite of mine!), I start way in advance.  I jot down ideas, sometimes scribbling them out, and try to improvise with items that I might already have.  Part of the joy for me comes from fashioning one thing into something else.  One weekend, when I was feeling antsy and needed something crafty to do, I worked on the picture to put above the cake table.

I used the same canvas that hangs there on the wall and covered it with wrapping paper.  The wrapping paper was actually some that was left over from years ago and I used the underside of it  because it was plain white.  Then, I printed out a flamingo and a rainbow trout, and made a bobber out of red and white card stock from my craft closet.  I mixed up some paints and spent a little time creating a water scene.  Once it was dry, I glued on the printed items and then used some letter stickers (again, in my craft closet!) to put the kids' names on it.  To be honest, this painting hung there for weeks before the party!

Another focal point for any of the parties that I plan is the CAKE.  The kids absolutely love seeing the creations that I come up with for them.  And this year, was particularly special.  Based off of the rainbow trout that I had printed out earlier, I designed and made a cake for Jimmy.

It was 100% edible, even the sand (graham crackers) and the rocks (chocolate pieces).  The cattails and weeds were shaped fondant, painted with food coloring.  Oh, how he loved that cake! 

And look at his school picture from this year, framed in a fishing/tackle frame.  (He now has that in his bedroom).

For Sophia's cake, I opted to make a strawberry one (she LOVES strawberries) and blend bright pink and vanilla frosting for an ombre look.  I finished it off with the most adorable flamingos and a pink candle.

The tables were covered in blue tablecloths (I love disposable table cloths because it makes the clean up SO EASY.  I filled in with some netting, bobbers and hooks  from Jack's tackle box and some goodies.  What fishing party would be complete without goldfish crackers and swedish fish?!

The birthday kids stopped for a quick picture before the guests arrived.  Can you tell that they were excited?!  (The birthday banner on the fireplace was made using the same flamingos that I had printed out earlier for the cake table backdrop and the handmade bobbers). 

I love this picture because it epitomizes everything about this day -- my two February birthday babies, celebrating together with Sophia being the perfect "Mother Hen" for Jimmy.

His smile was the biggest that I have ever seen!

And his most prized gift?  The policeman costume from Grandpa!

Later, we headed into the dining room to sing "happy birthday" and watch the birthday kids blow out their candles.

Four years old!

I love her smile!

Nine years old!

Valentine's Day 2020

This year was extra special for Valentine's Day because the holiday fell on a Friday -- specifically, the Friday of President's Day Weekend, when the kids were already going to be off of school.  Steve was gone on a special Guy's Dove Hunting trip in Mexico, so we really celebrated the day up from morning to night ...

We began with a PINK and RED breakfast, thrown together the night before with random items that I already had on hand.  In fact, the tablecloth was leftover from Sophia's 3rd birthday party (6 years ago!) when we celebrated with an Olivia the Pig themed party. 

I made cinnamon rolls with sprinkles for breakfast:

Cut up some fresh berries:

Set out some cards that had arrived in the mail the day before ...

And added two special things from me at each of their place settings ...

One of the items was a package of candy, chosen specifically for each one of the kids (mint chocolates for Sam, Starburst for Sophia, Skittles for Jack and Gummy Life Savers for Jimmy).  The other was a cute pair or socks or sunglasses.

And this, right here.  This is why I put the effort in to make each holiday a little something special.  The smile that it brings to their faces is worth all of the extra fuss.  And, besides, I love the thought and creativity that goes into it!

Later that day, I surprised the kids by picking up pizza and breadsticks in town for dinner ... Jack went with his friend to the MSU hockey game that night (he had a BLAST!) and the girls watched the very classic movie, "You've Got Mail" with me after Jimmy fell asleep on the couch.

Later when Jack was returned, I made his day even better because I allowed him to have his first sleepover (at our house) with his friend.  It was definitely an impromptu idea, but that made it even better for him!

Jimmy's 4th Birthday

Jimmy's 4th birthday -- a highly-anticipated day for him for months now -- fell on a Tuesday.  That meant that it was a school day for him and he was so excited to be able to share it with his friends!  In my usual fashion, I started the big day with cinnamon rolls and candles.

We sand "happy birthday" and watched him blow out his candles:

And Jack made him his own special birthday hat!

I dropped him off at school, with his party favors for his classmates, and then hurried home to wrap his birthday gifts from all of us.  As soon as I picked him up, at 11:00 am, I surprised him by heading to the bakery in town.  He LOVES going there and he ordered his 'usual' -- a blueberry Mickey Mouse pancake with orange juice.

Later that day, Steve arrived home from work an hour early so that we could celebrate the birthday boy in style before I needed to leave to head into work.  Can you tell that he was excited?!

For all birthdays, I usually choose the presents (unless there is something specific that one of the kids wants to purchase for their sibling) and then let them choose which gift they want to give before I wrap all of them.  It works out really well ...

Such seriousness amid all of the birthday excitement:

Sunglasses are always a great idea because we seem to be forever losing them.  And if they are Spiderman ones, they are even better!!!

Chocolate chip muffins and MORE CANDLES!

Happy birthday, James Michael!  I hope that your 4th year is everything you hoped that it would be!