Princess & Pirate Party

Happy Monday everyone!  Although New Year's was only days ago, it seems like we are already planning for summer and fall.  School registration for the fall has already come home in the school bags and friends are already talking about how we are going to entertain the children this summer.  So I thought I would post some pictures from a Princess & Pirate Party that I did for my daughter's 5th birthday.  The Princess & Pirate theme is so fun and every child loves to be a princess or a pirate.  You don't neccesarily have to do this theme for a birthday.  You can incoporate it into a playdate or use it to plan a fun summer day in the yard.  Perhaps you will be in town over the spring break and you might want to have a Princess & Pirate playdate one day...I always love when my kids have friends over to play with...gives them something to do and me a chance to sit and watch them have fun...and thanks to the wireless world, I can even sit outside and do work on my computer!  Not up for hosting a house full of kids??  Do what I do....invite the moms too!  If you want to be creative you can serve the moms a Princess & Pirate Punch or set-up a wine bar.  A few snacks for the kids and there you have it...fun for everyone!  And there is always Domino's pizza if the children need lunch or dinner...who can resist dinner delivered right to your backyard!?!?  I made the tutu's out of tulle and elastic hair handbands but you can let the kids make their own...you can pre-cut the tulle and let them sit and tie on the ribbons.  Bandana's are always fun and you can make a scavenger hunt for them to do as well.  Have all boys coming??  No problem...older boys can play capture the flag or younger ones can dig for treasures in a sandbox.  If you don't have a sandbox, you should seriously buy one...you know those plastic ones by Step2...kids can play for hours in them!!  All the kids got bandana's to wear and I made tutu's for the girls as well.  I am not a big fan of cnady, so in their goody bags, the girls received hair bows that I hot glued rhinestones on, chocolate coins, organic lollipops and princess fuit snacks.  The boys received glow stick swords, graham cracker bones, chocolate coins and lollipops as well.  For snacks at the party, I had Buckets of Pirate Booty (You know that Cheese Doodle Snack) & Treasures of Fruit Loops.  We served fruit, grilled cheese and Pirate Face Fries (aka Smiley Face Potatoe Fries that I bought in the freezer section of my supermarket).  Cupcakes for dessert and there you have it...a succesful Princess & Pirate Party! 

 

Happy 2013!!

Happy 2013 Everyone!!  After a very fun Christmas Vacation, it is back to the reality of alarm clocks and schedules!! 
With the ringing in of the New Year, I have thought about what my New Year's Resolution is going to be.  I have Goals for the year, both personal and professional, but what is my Resolution?  I could say that it is to be more on time, but the reality is, that's not going to happen.  I seriously think I am just a person who will always be running late.  I could say that my New Year's Resolution would be to slow down, but, after food shopping today with what seemed like the entire rest of the city, I realized that slowing down is not an option and that I could never be comfortable moving like a turtle...and besides, if I slow down then I will really be late!!  I work-out 6 days a week and I run 5 miles in 38 to 40 min.  I volunteer, I try to be a giving person and I try to be a good person with a kind sole...although don't get me wrong, I definately have my rough moments.  I try to eat healthy and feed my husband and children a well balanced diet...but the reality is when you are a person who is always busy and always hurrying and always late, the pre-packaged oh so cute little bags of goldfish are just to convenient to resist.  I would like to spend more time reading to my children and I will make every effort to do that, but with 24 hours in a day and the shuttling of children to and from activities and homework, dinner, bath and 3 little kids that need their sleep, I need to figure out When or Where I can find time to read and then I will spend more time reading...I feel like I am making excuses, but I am truly just being realistic.
I am sure I could find a million and one things about myself that I could improve on, but what I realized is that these perfections as well as imperfections are what make me who I am.  As I sit here and write today's blog, it is my husband and I's 15 year anniversary....we both thought it was our 14 year and when we were telling my parents last week that next year for our 15 year we want to take a big trip and would they babysit, my dad said, that's great but you will be taking a 16 year anniversary trip because this year is your 15!!  Whoops...I guess time really does fly when you are having fun!  But seriously, in the words of my Grandmother, we have had are ups and downs, but we have made it.  At the end of the day, I can put my head down on my pillow and go to sleep knowing that I did my best to be a good wife, a good mother and a caring and thoughtful person.  If for some reason during the day I was not one of those things, I try to reflect on the issue and learn from the mis-step.  I truly beleive in not going to bed mad and always ending the day with kisses to my 3 children and one, or two or maybe even a few to my husband.  I do my best to live happy and raise a family that is happy.  I love my family and I enjoy my friends.  Whether spending time with my family at my parents beach house, helping my husband run our baseball business, a cup of coffee in the morning to keep me going, a "Happy Hour" playdate with friends in the afternoon or a night out, I like to make everyday a Happy Day. 
I continued to think about my New Year's Resolution and what would be a resonable and attainable resolution...one that I could manage and keep ALL year long.  As I checked in with some web-sites and blogs that I like to draw inspiration from, I read that there was a "One Little Word" challenge going on for the New Year.  One little word that would describe your New Year's Resolution or goal.
So after thinking for the last several days, I decided that my New Year's Resoultion is going to be to find more time to read to my children.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to do this, please post them...I think I am going to need some help!!
And SMILE is going to be my New Year's Word.  There is a lot of happiness in the world but there is also so much negativity in the world...so I will SMILE and I will do my best to instill SMILES on others. 
With the words from the Broadway Play Annie that we saw in NYC over Christmas humming thru my head, "You are never fully dressed without a SMILE"...bring on 2013!!  My family and I will start our day fully dressed and reading!! 

xo,
Heather

Weekend Fun

 

 

 

If you are looking to get your kids involved in some holiday baking, or you need something fun for them to do while you do your holiday baking, give them this super easy and super cute baking project.  You can make your own sugar cookie dough and let the kids roll and cut their own circles, or you can cheat and buy the store bought sugar cookie roll of dough...just as yummy!

I used a royal icing recipe to ice the cookies...it's the only recipe I keep under lock and key, but I am sure you can google one.  Pretzels as the antlers, chocolate chips as the eyes and a red m&m as the nose and a few extras to munch on while you decorate!

Merry Baking and may your Cookies go down in History!!

xo,
Heather

 



 

 



Rock Around the Christmas Tree

A group of friend's and I get together for each other's birthdays.  We go to lunch, get manicure's and pedicure's and have girls nights out.  Each birthday seems to be more fun to celebrate than the last.  I guess if you are gonna get older, you might as well live by the phrase, Rock On.
So since it is the holidays and my Christmas tree is up and decorated...I was on top of things this year :) ... I offered to host a Rock Around the Christmas Tree Birthday Party for our 2 December friend's birthdays.  They both love Mexican so the menu choice was easy.  And lucky for everyone, I didn't make the food!  I love cooking, but years ago I offered to have our neighbors over for dinner and decided to have a mexican night.  What was suppose to be simple turned out to be a kitchen disaster!  Although the food was good, we did not eat until 11pm and when the neighbors left, my husband and I turned to what was a white kitchen and said, "what happened to this place!"  I used every pot and pan and I think I dirtied every dish.  I have never made mexican again!  So, my friends housekeeper makes AMAZING mexican food and she offered to do the cooking.  The food was delicious and after eating her 3 homemade salsa's, I don't think I will ever buy another store bought jar of salsa again. 
Anyway, as the host, I was in charge of the "House Drink."  So I made Merry Margarita's.  A cranberry margarita made with a 100%Agave Tequila, Cointreau, Key West Lime Juice and Cranberry Juice, it was the perfect festive match for our Rockin Birthday Bash.  I like to make my drinks ahead of time and put them in ziploc freezer bags in my freezer and let them get nice and icy...a trick I learned from my Aunt in Florida.  Then, right before your company arrives, you can cut a slit in the bottom of the ziploc and pour the frozen drink into the glasses.  When your guests arrive, their drink will be just perfect. 
If tequila is not your liquor of choice, you can also make a Christmas Cosmo but substitute Vodka for Tequila. 
The evening was a night of great friends, fabulous food, delicious cocktails and a fun night of Rockin Around the Christmas Tree to celebrate 2 great friends birthdays!
Rock On and may all your Birthdays be Merry and Bright!
xo,
Heather

HO HO HOt Chocolate

 

 

Ho! Ho! Ho!  I hope everyone is doing well and getting into the holiday spirit.  I was looking for a little bit of a different idea than cookies for the neighbors and I saw this idea for Hot Chocolate on a stick.  I wanted to try it but I wanted to add my own twist.  So when I saw these adorable silicone gingerbread molds, I thought that would be the perfect way to change the idea up a bit.  So I used the Hot Chocolate on a stick recipe, (I did use milk chocolate chips in place of some of the semi-sweet chocolate chips) and poured it into the gingerbread molds.  After chilling over night, the gingerbread men popped right out.  I added a few peppermint marshmellows to the packaging and tied it up and there you have it...a fun & yummy treat to hand out to our friends and neighbors.

PS...it is getting late, so I have not made my gift tags yet, but I will probably write Merry Christmas on the front of the tag and on the back write...just add hot milk.  I will try to post a picture tomorrow!

 

xo,

Heather

Elf is arriving soon

With 3 children, we are always going to birthday parties and I am always trying to think of a creative gift idea.  Kids love to paint and I love to give gifts that are keepsakes.  So, with the upcoming arrival of Elf on the Shelf, I decided to create the "Elf House."  I packaged a bird house with paint brushes and washable paint and I attached a note that says:

Elf is arriving soon and he needs a home 

So here is a house for you to make Elf's own

Get creative and have fun painting

When you are done let the paint dry

Then perch his new house high on a shelf 

So when Elf arrives he'll know just where to fly!

 

 

Best Wishes,

 

Heather

 

 



Bat-Attude

I offered to bring cupcakes tonight to our girls night out to celebrate a good friends birthday.  Stuck in Halloween mode, I decided to make these Bat-Attude cupcakes...a chocolate cupcake with a creamy peanut butter frosting.  Hope everyone is having a BAT-ty Good Wednesday!

Heather