mario kart wii birthday party

little man is 5 years old now and waaaaay into the wii :) and especially mario kart. i used bits and pieces of other mario kart parties on the web & came up with this party for owen:

backdrop inspiration

cupcake toppers from amazon

cake inspiration

reversible mario/luigi hats

princess crowns for the little ladies

chain chomp pinata

they filled their wiimote boxes with pinata candy

favors were

cardstock wiimotes {we used hot glue to make them 

& left the top open so they could store their pinata candy inside}

homemade mario coloring book

winners medal {dollar tree}

mario kart colored pencils {party city}

super mario fruit snacks {target}

game over sign inspiration

hApPy 5tH BiRtHdAy, oWeN!

end of year teacher gifts

the last day of "school" (mom's day out) for us is this friday. between my two kids there are 5 teachers plus a school director to give gifts to. this cheesecake in a jar seems like the perfect solution. i'll use the ready to eat cheesecake filling to make it extra easy.

thinking i'll put a little tag on the jar lid that says "thanks for a 'sweet' year". and a little wooden spoon attached with twine. what are you doing for teacher gifts this year?

ribbon easter egg

this cute little craft is from el hada de papel via the crafty crow. i only had pink, white & green yarn around and since the boy is strongly opposed to being near/using/touching/looking at anything pink i didn't think green & white would make for a very fun easter egg. so the kids chose some ribbon from my enormous stash and made these cute little keepsakes. 

it's a little blurry, but they were very proud :)

so it's been awhile...

my first blog post of 2011.. lol. life got busy & i've not been inspired. but i'm back!
and here's some of what we've been up to around here:

kate's new room went from this:

to this:

owen's room before:

and after:

{he makes his own bed these days & i did not perfect his work for picture sake. 

i thought it was a cute testament to true life with this 4 1/2 year old...}

guest room then:

and now:

{i made the roman shade with fabric, glue & mini blinds! tutorial here.}

i'll have a few more rooms to show you soon. but for now i'm going for 2 in a row with a fun Easter craft to show you tomorrow!

merry christmas. 2010.

diy fabric fall wreath

my poor front door needed a little fall tlc! this simple wreath will have to do for now... at the end of the month i will be decorating a new front door at our new house! we are feeling so blessed!

this is just a simple grapevine wreath with a few different fabric flowers i made using tutorials from around the web. 

orange yoyo

striped frayed flower

red rolled fabric flower

petal pusher

small yellow yoyo w/green button

pumpkin pie chex mix

doesn't this sound delish?!

my favorite salad

this is my favorite go-to salad. perfect as a side dish when having company for dinner or as a main dish with my own family. this night i tossed in some cut up grilled chicken and called it dinner. {you could also use chicken nuggets cut into strips or chunks if you're short on time.}

feta raisin salad

butter or romaine lettuce

handful of crumbled feta

handful of raisins

chopped pecans -plain, toasted or sugared

{top with raspberry vinaigrette}

that's it! you could also throw in some thinly sliced red onion and/or cranberry raisins. super easy & so good!

preschool file folder games

my boy & i start homeschool preschool in a few weeks! the curriculum i am using calls for file folder games & includes directions of 26 games to make on your own. i wasn't too thrilled with the folder game ideas provided so i am substituting with a few of my own creations! dollar tree has a ton of these great preschool workbooks. most are in color & even come with stickers which is my little guy's favorite part!

the first game i made using this book is "color challenge" using the 9 object stickers. don't take them off the backing, just punch them out so they aren't sticky and stay sturdy.  cut the page in half & laminate each half (i used contact paper). use double stick tape to press each half onto either side of a file folder and your game is done!

the other game i made from this book is called "shape sort". cut out the shapes on page 1 and laminate. this game uses two pages from the book that are front/back so you will need 2 books or just scan and color print from your computer printer like i did.

  

your little person will cover up shapes that look most like the object. easy peasy! 

add a small envelope to the front of each folder to house the game pieces & write game directions.

another great game that i found on my search is an alphabet sequencing game from lakeshore learning available as a free printable on their website. i'd love to hear your great {& free!} file folder game sources!

ghiradelli seven layer brownie bars

my standard brownie recipe is a box of ghiradelli brownie mix {under $2 at aldi or walmart} with a half bag of chocolate chips stirred in the batter before baking- the result is amazing! i thought i would make a batch for a picnic this weekend but noticed a recipe on the back of the brownie box for seven layer brownie bars. these are just like the old "magic bars" but using a brownie mix instead of graham cracker crumbs. it was fun to change it up a little bit & they were super easy and much better than  plan ol' brownies!

  

{by the way, they will stick like glue to the pan

 so be sure to line the pan with parchment or non-stick foil first!}

seven layer brownie bars

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 box ghiradelli double chocolate brownie mix

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

preheat oven to 350. melt 1 stick of butter in 9x13 pan. sprinkle brownie mix over melted butter. top with coconut, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips & pecans. drizzle with sweetened condensed milk. bake 30 minutes. cool before cutting. makes 24, 2-inch bars.

baseball birthday party

the day of the party it rained and rained - and rained- but finally stopped about 3:30 and the sun shone for the rest of the day!  the ball field was too muddy to use, but the kids were still able to get in a game of baseball in the grass. we had a great time celebrating owen with some of our good friends. here are some pictures from the happy day!

the banner was re-purposed from the cars movie party. i just cut off oliver's name & switched out 

the checkered flag pennants for blue felt with baseball stickers.

the menu was simple ball park food- hot dogs, chips, watermelon & pop. i hoped to do fruit kabobs but was short on time and settled for watermelon slices instead. eating out of hamburger baskets (target dollar spot) added some fun! 

the birthday boy!

party favors in brown paper sacks: 

a box of cracker jacks, mini frisbee, hostess baseball cake, baseball tattoo, a squishy baseball

baseball party inspiration

somehow in the blink of an eye

this sweet {little} boy:

became this sweet {big} boy:

happy 4th birthday, owen!

he plans to spend the day with a visit to the pool, lots of time playing his new diego wii game, and dinner at t-rex cafe. sounds like the perfect way to spend #4 to me!

last weekend was a family party in wichita but this saturday is a party with friends in our hometown near kansas city. owen requested a baseball birthday party & i've had a great time planning. i've gathered lots of ideas and thought i would share some of my favorites with you:

baseball cake balls: creative party place, cotton candy cones: amy atlas,  hostess baseball cupcakes, 

baseball invitation: etsy, table scape: swanky tables, ball park menu: britssy, cake: 2bluedogs,

goodie bags: inchmark, baseball party: the sweetest occasion, party decor: couture parties

first pitch is at 5:30 on saturday. i'll be sure to share the highlights with you when the game is over! :)