Birthday Fairy

I had to share this....

A friend of mine just posted this picture on Facebook:


The birthday fairy visited her birthday girl during the night! What a great idea!! I am a firm believer that birthdays should be super special days. We have signs, special breakfasts, elaborate feasts, parties done all out, and all kinds of other activities. But I have never thought of the birthday fairy.

She hid 4 single dollar bills inside 4 balloons and left pixie sticks, some "homework" books, and other gifts around her room all courtesy of the birthday fairy. I know it made the day super special!


I am definitely doing this on the next birthday!!!

Backyard Water Park

Every year, starting in May, the weekend rolls around and we pull out the Slip-n-Slides, sprinklers, and blow up pools. Our children are entertain for hours while we relax and enjoy some frozen beverages. We affectionately call it "The Redneck Water Park".

So when my oldest child turned 7 last year, we decided to put our weekend fun to good use. We threw a party at the "Backyard Water Park". It was so easy and the kids loved it!

First I started with the invite, which I pieced together with things I found online. All though I think I could have drawn it myself (maybe next year).

Then I started planning decorations. Banners, signs, streamers...

I even did a table with beach towels and sunscreen.

Next it was time for the food. We had pigs-in-a-blanket, sandwiches, sausage balls, pretzels sticks dipped in white chocolate, and cupcakes.

I made sponge balls using sponges from the Dollar Tree that I cut up and then put together using rubber bands. The kids had so much fun throwing them at each other. 

These are the best and only water guns I will ever buy. They are from the Dollar Tree and are so super awesome! We have had some fro a few years now. 

Instead of spending a ton of money on party favors I just for these water bottles from .... wait for it....The Dollar Tree and painted the kids names on them. Now they can use them and use them again!

After the set up and clean up, this party was so easy! The kids entertained themselves and we enjoyed their fun. Some of the parents even got involved with the fun!

We're Going on A Trip In Our Favorite Rocket Ship...

When my middle child turned 2, a few years ago (sniff,sniff) she was totally in to Disney's Little Einsteins . Therefore, there was I did not even have to think what to do for her birthday party.

First I worked on the invitation. I always start with the invitation because it can guide you in your party planning. I also always design and print my own invitations. Sometimes this means making it completely by myself, or using clip art, or even using an invitation I found somewhere and modifying it (I know...). So here is the invitation I made for the party. Just found the pic in the web and then used Microsoft Publisher and Paint to make it.

Then I found the cake.

I searched online for a Little Einstein cake and found a similar picture. Then I took it to a girl in my town that makes cake. It was her first really elaborate cake, so I got it for a steal. It was so delicious and Rocket was made totally out of Rice Krispie treats! Needless to say, Rocket was an adult only treat...I mean come on...it was way to much sugar for the munchkins. We are all about decreasing childhood obesity over here. (now as for adult obesity...).

Then I planned the decorations.

Starting with the sign, which I painted. Of course, we hung a multitude of streamers, which my husband usually cusses at me for.

In fact for one recent party, he tried to forbid me to hang streamers. Hmmm....that did not work out well for him.





Then my sister had the awesome idea of making life size paintings of the characters and hanging them in the living room, and we couldn't do that without painting their clubhouse, too.

For food: cheese puffs, pigs in a blanket, little sandwiches, and a fruit platter.
Drinks: Capri Suns and water

The Little Einsteins is all about teaching children to love and appreciate the arts, so all of the activities centered around that. When the children first arrived, I had a huge roll of paper, stickers, crayons, markers, and stamps and they were asked to create their own master pieces.

Then we sang like Annie to traditional children's songs like The Itsy Bitsy Spider and I'm a Little Tea Pot.

Next we broke out every instrument in the house and played like Quincy and conducted like Leo.

After that we, "dancey, dance, dance, danced" like June.

After that we ate, had cake, opened presents, and played outside. And finally it was time to go home. For their party favors, I found Little Einstein cups for $1 each and filled them with candy and trinkets.

It was an awesome party and with the multitude of activities the kids always had something to do!

Fashionably Four

I do up some birthday parties! I try not to go overboard but inevitably it happens anyway. It could be my obsessive personality that believes if you are going to do something you should go all out or go home.

Anyway, birthday parties have become a thorn in my husbands side. I plan and order and make and create and decorate for weeks before. He thinks I do to much and that it causes unnecessary stress. He just doesn't understand! Yes it is stressful, but I also love doing all of it.

This year we put on a Fashionably Four birthday party (I love alliterations!). It was perfect for my little DIVA!

We have a plethora of dress up clothes as does my sister-in-law who has two little girls. So we

set up a "dressing room" by lining every hangable item with dress up clothes.














In the living room, we set up stations. There was a station for getting your nails painted. There was a makeup station and a hair station. There was also a section for accessorizing, complete with boas, crowns, jewelry, and shoes.

After dressing and accessorizing, we had a fashion show complete with a runway that I made out of a folded up gymnastics math and covered with a black sheet. And the paparazzi went crazy over the new models we unleashed into the world.

We even had fashionable cupcakes and fruit.

The whole party was relatively easy. The Dollar Tree provided cheap accessories and I got Fancy Nancy gift boxes from Celebrate Express.Everyone also took home a crown and boa so they could be fancy and fashionable away from the runway. It was so much fun!