Party Love

Veggie Tales Sweet Pea Beauty Party

noreply@blogger.com (Kathie) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:45:00 +0000

The door sign

In the entry way we have a large memo board we keep invitations or reminders. We put our favorite pics from the year with her.

Pics of favorite Veggie Tales movies on one of the columns.

The movie that inspired her party was playing.

I had these photo cubes around the house and on the tables outside.

Building Block area= Josh's (Josh and the Big Wall) Crash


Our play kitchen turned into 'Mr. Lunt's Cheeseburger Cafe'

Party hats: Queen Esther Tiaras for the girls and Little Joe Cowboy Hat's for the boys.

Larry Boy's Cars and Train Table

In action

Snoodlerella's Dress-up Fun

more of Snoodlerella's fashions

Some of the theme song courtesy of DH on our large marker board.

Goodie bags

Closer look

Sweet Pea Beauty's Cupcake Castle

She was beyond thrilled...the birthday girl with her best friend and older brother;)

I added some of the Sweet Pea Beauty characters to the castle. Can you find them?

The birthday girl's crown on top

I could never get a good pic of the banners...but it read Happy Birthday Emma.


little details

Friends and Family

Jimmy and Jerry Gourd's Pumpkin decorating table.

Inside 'Madame Blueberry's play house'

Learn to draw with Larry- coloring table

more of the gourds

having fun

Thanks for visiting our Veggie Tale/Sweet Pea Beauty

The Numbers Party

noreply@blogger.com (Kathie) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:08:00 +0000

***I have free templates available of the Numbers Party paper items...just leave me a message in the comments section or contact me via blogger and I'll send them to ya!**********

If you know my oldest child (Anthony and I sometimes call him Maestro or Professor or Chooch) you know he loves all things numbers. So while I had already had a theme in mind for his fourth birthday party...a carnival party...he had another theme in mind: a NUMBERS party and a brown numbers party at that... I couldn't really go out and pick that up at Party City. That's my boy...he is unique and wonderful and he cracks me up and warms my heart. He is quick to dance a jig or to tell you what number correlates with which letter or to sing with all of his heart an ol' Bible chorus "Alfalfa" style.

So I sat down with him and listened to his ideas and well we came up with his little number shindig with brown, orange, blue and lime green.

......................................

The invitation envelope seal---get it? Let the Countdown begin / numbers...okay you'll see a lot of that at this little party.

His invitation...Number circles and his colors of choice.

This is how I usually lay out my trio's clothes the night before...Andrew's number '4' shirt was a surprise his Daddy and I made the night before.

The Park....we had the party at our local city park pavilion.

Number '4' balloons and brown, blue and green balloons...it was way too windy to place them on each table like I wanted. But, we improvised thanks to my husband.

We had an arts/crafts activity table set up: The Cr8tion Station. The kids could make a king or queen crown and embellish with their name or numbers, stickers, etc. We decided on crowns...because Andrew is a 'counting king'...and it served a dual purpose---party hats!

The sign for the Cr8tion Station

Lots of artists

Andrew talking and making his crown

One side of his crown...the other side was covered in, what else? Numbers!

Bounce House...we have a small bounce house and brought that with us to the park.

Emma and Camren

Emma Kate

Lots of kiddos at once in the bounce house!

Justin watching baby Ryan

speaking of babies...AJ...he's not so little anymore;(

The super sweet Ryan...I just couldn't resist giving him lots of hugs!

Camren and Uncle Brandon

Grammy and AJ

Maris and Jon Dave at the swings

Patricia and her Mom and Sammy and Ryan

Maris, JD and Papo and AJ

Love this swing pic of Em

Our Dads...Anthony's Dad: Michael better known as P. Paw and my Dad: Rick, better known as Papo.

Aunt Kara and Camren

Daddy and his girl

Andrew's Number Binder. I made a "100 Things about my 4th birthday" 100 pages to be filled out--sort of a scrapbook/guest sign in...guests could sign whichever numbered page they wanted. I also had some pages already filled in like: invitation, what he wore, when he woke up, etc. I'm not quite finished with it yet....but, I know he's going to love it...it has 100 numbers after all.

Uncle B filling out a page

Have I ever mentioned that I have a super creative husband? Well look at the game he came up with--- a twist on the classic pin the tail on the donkey game: Pin the '4' on the Clock. Everyone had little '4' circles to stick on instead of a tail.

Those classic games are so fun! Jon David's turn

Nathan

Camren helping hold it up...you can see some of the '4''s placed on the board.

Food and Treats: Here's the 2day's Special sign that had the 'menu'

Nathan, Mimi, Emma enjoying their pizza

Andrew likes his pizza

Some other party/number details. Number magnets on the ice bucket

Extra number circles for the straws

.....so you can remember which number you had and not lose your drink;)

Number signage her and there and everywhere

On to Happy Birthday! Andrew suddenly became shy

So sweet: as they were singing to him

Almost time for cupcakes!

Cupcake stand looked sparse.....I couldn't really fill the stand all the way due to the wind...crazy Texas weather---you just never know what you are going to get.

number cupcake picks....he loves counting to 100...so I tried to add numbers 1-10 and then by 10's

Look at how nice and orderly everyone is being...picking up their cupcake

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

Let the cupcake chow down begin!

THIS is how you eat a cupcake---Andrew

Camren enjoying his cupcake

Camren attacking his cupcake

Now that's some serious cupcake eating;) --Emma

Aiden

Helena! I love this pic

Luke

Jon Dave and Nathan

Sammy!

The whole gang (most in their crowns)! Thank you Lord for dear friends and cousins! We are so blessed!

THE BIRTHDAY BOY! Happy Birthday Andrew!!

Night Owl/Early Bird Pajama Party

noreply@blogger.com (Kathie) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 23:43:00 +0000

Well, yesterday we celebrated our little one's birthday. (Our last first birthday party..sniff sniff)

It was a sweet time with family and a few of AJ's baby buddies from church. We had a full house, the weather was icky....but the party was great. We celebrated our first year of our son's life and for that I am grateful! AJ is the sweetest baby....I know I say it a lot but he really is such a joy. His eyes and face light up when he smiles......so there is a lot of light around here.

About the party: I knew I wanted to have a brunch because of AJ's nap schedule. I also thought it would be great if the kids could kind of 'roll out of bed...sleep in and just have fun'. The initial inspiration came from the Night Owl Pajama Party from giggledustparties.com/wordpress/a-night-owl-pajama-club-party/ So, the wheels started turning on how to adapt that for a boy ...a one year old boy. I want to give a big kudos to Karli at Dimpleprints ! I contacted her a while back with ideas for AJ's party and the result was a wonderfully creative custom party for AJ. She provided a pdf with party printables: invitations, party hats, cupcake picks, tshirt design, party favor boxes, banners---really you name it...it was in there...I could not have been more pleased. Go check out her site and her etsy store if you need any party invitations or printables: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Dimpleprints

Andrew and Anthony were my helpers in putting it all together and everything was all set for the pajama clad guests to arrive. My only regret was not checking the camera batteries the night before...because I wasn't able to take pics of everything until the party was in full swing. I was so busy enjoying everything that I didn't get to take all the pics I wanted....oh well...that's life, huh?

Okay without further ado...

The invitation envelopes before they were mailed "Look whooo's turning one"

The invitation in the sign in matte

Welcome sign

We have a long memo board near our entry way where we normally keep mail or invites, etc...so I put a one year timeline collage starting with newborn and went through each month.

The entry table: favor bags, some of the party hats, books, sign in frame....didnt' realize my two older kids had been reading one of the display books when I snapped this...oh well;) I rounded up a bunch of books that had to do with owls, birds, sleeptime, pajamas, etc...we'd use them later one for storytime.

Happy 1st Birthday Circle Banner and the baby table....I had AJ's highchair and 3 booster chairs for the babies coming and extra seats for their parents. I also placed their party hats, a 'teething' blocks and bowls of cheerios for them to munch on.

Use what you have....we seem to always have random letter magnets...so I spelled out a birthday phrase...couldn't find enough to spell out happy...hahahahha...must be behind a couch or something.

Some of the birthday penants and the Early Bird Brunch sign

close up

The buffet table...really the only photo I have...wish I would have taken a shot of the table skirt decor...sigh...but the food was yummy. Menu: breakfast tacos and salsa, pan de dulce (Mexican sweet bread), sausage and cheese kolaches, donuts, fruit and cheese cubes.

drink tub: OJ, chocolate milk, milk, water, coffee

Big kid table: big sister and cousin Taylor

My parents and AJ...so sweet!

The 'birdiful big sister' that's what her shirt said;)

The wise owl-der brother...that's what his shirt said

The owl-dorable birthday boy...that's what his shirt said.

We cleared out some furniture in the nursery and arranged some toys for the litle ones (Early Bird Playroom)

AJ and cousin Brady

We did the same in the big kids room...(Night Owl Playroom)

Curly Willow tree with owl/bird circles

sign to the bird bathroom...hahahahha...I know enough already with the bird talk

Because of the icky weather out..we stayed inside. I asked the two older cousins to choose some of the books that I had collected and they read a few each. It was great to get them involved. Look at the cute pajamas the little ones have on on the couch.

Maris reading

Taylor reading

Sweet AJ and my Pop listening...Kai sitting next to him.

Uncle B and Camren and cousin Morgan

The best daddy in the world wore his PJ's with Em.

Time for cupcakes!

The orange and white ribbon was actually an owl print ribbon I couldn't pass up. I just love the way Carli designs her cupcake toppers...pics of AJ, number one, etc...great stuff!

Me and AJ..he was so ready for a bottle and nap at this point

....and then he realized they were singing to him and look at that face---priceless!

Happy Day!

Now let's try some of this cake my big brother is always talking about.

fun!

not up the nose..ugh

Brady

Connor

Gift time with Daddy

The photo booth...with the photo 'paddles'...it worked out better to just bring those to people to let them choose.

Like this...we asked are you a night owl or early bird...and they got to pick and say 'cheese'
Mimi's a night owl

Taylor is an early bird

Kara is both a night owl and an early bird.

Steve..early bird/ Morgan...night owl

The Sokolls!!!

whew......long day...but the fun continues---AJ and Emma playing under the table skirting later that day

Happy Birthday little pumpkin!

I heart the New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Kathie) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:46:00 +0000

There's something about the New Year that is so inspiring....it's like Spring Cleaning for everything.

I am working on a Home Management Binder...kind of like a dayplanner but for the family. I am really excited about it! I'll post some docs and photos to give you a glimpse soon, but I am still tweaking my Daily Agenda page. We are also continuing to tweak our budget/money management system..but are focusing on the Dave Ramsey approach.....I need goals....I like goals:)

Out with the old in with the new....one in; one out...with all the new things we received over Christmas there is a lot of decluttering going on...and I mean a lot. It's times like these when I am in a decluttering mood that everyone has to watch out....there are a lot of trips to Goodwill and consignment stores---I want freedom and a lot less 'stuff'. I get so inspired when I watch anything by Peter Walsh or The Hoarders...anyone else get like that?

Oh and I have a new blog that focuses on our homeschool adventures....albeit it's a preschool homeschool right now. I am gearing up for possibly starting kinder with my soon to be 4 year old. Not sure yet....I still want to hold off on that---but that doesn't mean we are not working on things.....so that is why I have the blog. It is an update of sorts for my friends and family with regards to how and what we are doing.

Here's the link....
http://greatday2learn.blogspot.com/

If you are a parent of preschoolers you may find some of the dvd reviews helpful.

Blessings,
K

Getting it done: dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Kathie) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 14:50:00 +0000

Getting it done: dinner

How do I get dinner on the table? I usually get an hour window where my kids are all down for nap or quiet time at the same time each day. I say usually---I should say ‘Lord willing’---because no two days are alike around here.

But, that golden hour is usually NOT right before dinner time…sooo how do I cook? Wait until hubby comes home? Ummmm, no---‘cause my family likes to eat before 6 pm and so with ‘littles’ running around and a really little one wanting to eat…there is almost no way for me to get it done at or around 5:30pm.

What has been working for me is to make dinner while the kids eat lunch. Then, I stick it the fridge and pop it in the oven or reheat when it’s time for supper. This is a life saver and usually the only way I can get a decent meal on the table without all the stress.

For instance, today I made three shepherd pies in 3 round pie plates. We had 2 for dinner and froze one for a simple lunch on a weekend.

This is how I get dinner on the table on most days.

For more Works for me Wednesday tips head to We are that family for more great ideas!

New Year...time to post!

noreply@blogger.com (Kathie) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:35:00 +0000

Hi there,

Well it's a New Year and I thought it high time to post again. Many of you know that I took a looong break---mainly due to the adjustment of our routine after I found out that we are expecting a precious little one.

Now that I am about 11 weeks away from my due date---I am in full nesting mode.

For me that means, a strong desire to clean and declutter--yay!

I thought I'd share some of our projects that we are working on here.

*completed: We recently converted our Formal Dining room into a Playroom. It is a great area now for the kids to spread out and play and also to keep their toys in one place vs. a little in every room. I am hoping to put pics up of what we did and how it is working so far. The big challenge is that we have an open floor plan in the living room and dining room and creating separate but cohesive zones were quite a challenge. Especially, because we did not want to spend a lot of money on this. In the end, I think we 'borrowed' items from other rooms in the house and I only wound up buying a few new baskets for toys and some clips and frames for our wall art project---I think the total room change cost us about $30 or $40. Which we plan to recoup by selling our old dining table on Clist.

*in progress: Hall closet home office. We are going to sell our lovely World Market desk/office set and thus move it out of our Master bedroom. It takes up a lovely nook and valuable real estate in our room. We plan on having our new arrival sleep there for the first 3 months. So before we bought or brought in the baby things...we are concentrating on setting up the new office spot. After deciding that, our hallway linen closet really was not essential (became a catch all) and had a electrical outlet already installed and a top and bottom shelf installed to work with.) My handyman hubby began drawing up plans of how to maximize that small space to house our office essentials. We are both excited about this and have already purchased a few items to finish this project up this weekend. Woo hoo! Thanks to a forgotten giftcard...I believe we will spend $30 on this project.

*coming soon: De-clutter overhaul....4 zones in our home need some attention: garage, kids rooms and pantry. During our wacky seasons or lack thereof (a few days warm, a few days cold) our clothing situation is in need of order---especially the kids rooms. (All of their summer and fall/winter clothes are still together and both kiddos are growing out of things) So this will be a big project to sell, store and remove out of season or outgrown clothes. Garage---needs work, lots of work and if I am feeling really brave I will go take pics and show you before and after pics. And finally the pantry--I love our pantry...but I keep noticing there are items in their that I never use and probably never will....so that needs some attention.

*coming soon: Freezer cooking...I did a bit of freezer cooking before my due date of both of my kids. This really, really, really helped me in meal preparation in the weeks/months after our new arrival comes. So, my goal is consign clothes and other items we are not using any longer and use that money to buy a freezer. The things that help me are: cooked ground hamburger meat or ground turkey and cooked/diced chicken and we will also add in pancakes and waffles to this list.

Quite a tall order to get done in 11 weeks...11 weeks or sooner I should say.

Stay tuned for pics and project status updates in the future.

Blessings,
K

Saving money on clothes

noreply@blogger.com (Kathie) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:00:00 +0000

I decided since I always check on Biblicalwomanhood.com for the Frugal Friday posts---that I s hould post a frugal thought, too! So here goes....

There are a few ways that I have found that save us money---especially when it comes to clothing for our little ones.

Clothing:
I would say about more than half of our clothing comes from consignment, thrift stores, garage sales or free from Freecylce (I'll get to freecycle in a minute). After going through infant clothes faster than I don't know what with DC (dear child) #1---I started looking at wardrobes in a whole new way. Now my husband and I also buy 2nd hand clothes---but because we don't need things as often---I'll just post what we've done for the kiddos.

- I usually know what it cost per item at my fav retail stores: Children's Place, JC Penney, Target, etc, etc...and so I know what a good deal is if I find an item in good shape second hand. I try not to spend over $7 on a clothing item NEW, unless it is a special item we are in need of want. So I like to keep things waaaay under that price point if I buy second hand.

- Second Hand is my first place to go: I have 3 Goodwill's, 1 Salvation Army, and many consignment places in my neighborhood/area and I try to stop in to check what is available in all of our sizes only if we are lacking in an area: size/season---or if we have a little extra room in our budget. I have to go in prepared that it will be a hit or miss. Sometimes there is nothing at all...other times it is like a gold mine. Salvation Army usually has 50% days where I can buy clothes for half off what the 'normal' price is...at my Salvation Army I have found many gymboree, children's place and even Zutano clothing for like .50 cents....50cents people:) **Please note that I am not 'brand' crazy---I just mention them because of cost reference** Oh and because getting a good deal, for me is like eating chocolate--oh so sweet:)

- I use Craigslist garage sale listings and map out where I should go the next morning. I am blessed to live in a community where garage sales abound and for most of the year:) I also try to get out of the house on the day I go Garage Sale-ing 30 minutes before the first garage sale opens and then move quick. I have found that if I am one of the first to arrive than I usually get the good stuff (like Little Tikes outdoor toys for less than $5, etc). I recently bought a coat and a windbreaker for DC #1 for like $5 and $3 a piece both in extremely good used condition--one was Carters' the other Children's Place. Also, I desperately needed fall and winter clothes for DC #2 and I scored about 15 complete outfits for under $1.25 each---that is pants and tops together...the majority were Green Dog (Macy's) and Carters.

- I also use Craigslist to buy DC #1's shoes...he has wide feet like his Momma (poor thing) and Stride Rites in W are pretty much the only thing that fit him right now...so I can usually get them for a fraction of what they cost new--and since he usually goes through them pretty quick---I don't feel bad that I am only out $5 or $10 vs. what they would have cost retail---yi!

-Freecycle: Freecycle is fairly new to me---but I must say in the past 6 or 7 months I have really scored some great items and for free. Freecycle is not available everywhere but you can check if they have one in your area. I sign up for emails in real time and because it is only specific to my area of town and not the entire city---I am not bombarded with emails of 'offers' of free stuff that is across town. Freecycle is where if someone has something they are looking to get rid of--instead of throwing it away or taking it to Goodwill--they first post it on Freecycle to see if anyone needs/wants the item. If you respond with a pick up time and are first or the giver approves---they will give you the address and where to pick up--usually easy front porch pick up. I have received kids clothes, maternity clothes, carpet cleaner, books, strollers in great condition, etc all from freecycle. And considering that kids clothes to me cost $3 an item when you average what I spend new and 2nd hand....when I can get 14 pieces for free---that is several dollars we did not have to spend from our budget. I say 14---cause yesterday I pick up 18 items in a bag for DC #2--in her size. 3 of those items were the wrong season/size and one was too stained. All the rest were in great shape ---majority from Carters. So I say Praise the Lord for Freecycle!

-Know when to stop---I am trying to have enough clothes for the days of the week with a few extra outfits and a few special ones for church, and also pajamas. I am trying to scale back in the actual amount of clothes we have....meaning when they have about 7 - 10 everyday outfits, and 3-5 sunday outfits, etc...we stop buying. That quantity may sound like a lot for some and not so much for others....but I have found that it works best for me if I have enough sets for them everyday of the week with a couple of 'cushion' outfits (for the really bad spills, soak throughs, etc). This has saved me from and will save me from doing laundry alllllllllllll the time and to keep their closets/drawers in order and because I like to buy easy 'sets' for the kids I can just pull together what they are wearing for the day super quick.

Ya know I never bought second hand like this before....but it has worked for us and helps us stay on track in our budget.

There are many wonderful posts with more frugal ideas at http://www.biblicalwomanhood.com/ ---check them out!

Simple Sundays

noreply@blogger.com (Kathie) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:08:00 +0000

Do you look at the above title to this post and chuckle? Simple Sundays? Are you saying to yourself, if you only knew what it took for me and my brood to get out of the house and on to church. Well, since Sunday afternoons are typically when I coupon clip, blog, etc.---I thought I would ask a question for you:

What do you do to make Sundays simple? Do you go out to eat so you don't have to cook? Get everyone's clothes ready the night before?

I loooove getting your ideas so post one or some ways you make Sundays simple.

Here is my tip. Although, I have probably told you this especially if you have a toddler:

I have a toddler and a baby. Sooo, time is precious for us when we get out of church. Our toddler is usually in need of a nap so we skip going out to eat somewhere. We also have a bit of a commute from church to our home. Because of this we try our best to pack an insulated lunch bag/box with his lunch. Just like we would if he were going to Mother's Day Out. So as soon as he gets in the car we give him his cold milk, sandwich and raisins. By the time, we get home he is done eating and all we have to do is change his diaper and plop him in bed and he goes down for a nap. That is one way we make Sundays a little simpler:)

Okay...now for you...what do you do?

Great Tips from you:)

noreply@blogger.com (Kathie) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:46:00 +0000

Okie Dokie folks---I have received some great emails from several of ya'll and wanted to pass these great tips along:

Kelly told me about the free book offer on Billy Graham's site. This month's offer is:

https://www.billygraham.org/freeoffer.asp?f=0&

Shari gave me this tip about Walmart: Walmart honors competitors' ads. Did you know this? I don't think I did. And seeing as how I go to Walmart about once a week or more...I may just try this out soon---that way, I can cut down on an extra trip. She tried it out and got produce at a better price due to a competitor's ad.

Elysia gave me a 'heads up' on a community garage sale in RR a couple of weeks ago. Which leads me to a reader question...

- Do you garage sale?
- Do you plan it out? Map it out? Or just go riding around?
- What is your best Garage Sale find?
- Do you have any tips on how to make the most out of garage sales?

*Post your comments on the blog so other's can read, too...of course you can always email me and I can pass along. Thanks

Hiya!

noreply@blogger.com (Kathie) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:05:00 +0000

Well, not since Facebook doesn't have a great blog section..I decided that I wanted to blog more...really just about stuff from the day and as an outlet with kiddos and all.

I always find some really interesting links and blogs so I hope to share those and also to be able to get some great links, recipes, etc from you, too!

Later,
K