Crazy Hair Day

Big Sis was SO EXCITED when her school announced they were going to have a Crazy Hair Day.  For a $1 donation, the students could participate.  

A grooming challenge?  Right up her alley. 

So I hopped on Pinterest, and showed her a picture I had pinned months ago.  She was game, and supplies were gathered.  And then we had a Snow Day!   

She was bummed, but then relieved when CHD was re-scheduled.  

We woke up early and made the magic happen.

Supplies:

• Styrofoam cones (Dollar Tree)
• Hair elastics
• Ribbon
• Pink spray-on hair color (Sally Beauty)
• Hair pins/ bobby pins

If I had to rate the results, I'd give myself a 6/10.  But from the reactions she got at school, I feel like I earned a gold star and a chocolate cupcake.  She even had her picture taken with the principal!  His long blonde wig had nothin' on this pink confection.  Now to plan for next year.....

Party Time!

My girl turned 8!

We've been talking up her 8th birthday for many months now, and one of the promises that was made referred to a party.  A real, in our home, with friends, party.

It's been 3 years since our last party, and now I remember why.

First, we chose the theme: beach/ luau.  Super fun for FEBRUARY, right?  Yeah, especially in the Midwest when we will likely be snowed in, iced out, or generally just trapped indoors.  But why not bring the outdoor fun inside?

Next, I spent several weeks haunting Pinterest, and gathered lots of good ideas.  I also found a great little etsy shop called Bee and Daisy where I bought a pack of party printables.  Most of the items were standard, ready-to-print, but I also bought an add-on which personalized some of the items.  At $20 for both, this was a fantastic way to personalize a lot of the decor without busting my budget.  The first thing we did was to create the invitation using a basic photo editing program.

We printed these out on photo paper through our local WM, along with the pennant banners.  And then the real work began.....

Burning up my paper cutter!

We decided to make rolled fabric flowers into barrettes as part of the take-home favor boxes.  I had all the fabric, so I only needed to purchase the clips. 

We also made flower cookies for the girls to take home. 

And most of the other decor was tissue paper flowers!  

$4 in tissue paper transformed into this: 

(there are many, many tutorials online, starting with the classic from Martha Stewart)

The flowers were all cut out using the Cricut, and I attached them to the buffet table using removable glue dots.  

Banner in the front window reads

"Happy 8th Birthday M------!"

I loved the personalized water bottle labels. 

I made fruit skewers

 "Shark-in-the-water"

(Layered Jello cups with a gummy shark)

Sunshine cookies (dipped Oreos)

and

Flip flop cookies (Nutter Butters)

Celery & carrots with ranch dressing

(which no one wanted - HA!)

And mini cups of Starburst.

After all 11 girls arrived, we got started by making paper leis.  

I used the Cricut to cut hundreds of paper flowers, then snipped some colorful straws as spacers.  

The girls sat on beach towels to string their leis. 

Fun!

Next, they ate, then moved on to 

"Toilet Paper Hula Girl". 

They broke into teams and had 10 minutes to create a "hula" outfit. 

I think they liked shredding the toilet paper more than anything.
(Best 97 cents I spent all weekend)

Next, Pin the Coconut on the Palm Tree. 

They then took a whack at the Palm Tree Pinata.  No pictures because it took 2 of us to manage everyone.... but the girls loved it.  The only bummer was that it appeared 2.5 lbs. of candy was not quite enough for everyone. 

That's OK, because we had cake and ice cream!

I know, this is a lame picture, but I am super proud of the ombre cake.   

And finally, presents!

The girls each left with a cute favor box filled with the hair clip, cookie, a pack of goldfish, and a personalized thank you tag.  

It was a great party, the 2 1/2 hours flew by, and no one cried.  

Success!

And yep, it's going to be at least 4 more years before we do this again. 

For my own posterity......

Lessons learned:

• Command hooks & tabs are the way to go.  I used them to hang the poms, attach the backdrop behind the buffet (which was just foamboard covered in wrapping paper), and attach the palm tree. 
• Too cold for a pinata outside?  Hub took a 2 x 4 and suspended the pinata from the end.  He was able to maneuver it up and down while the girls took a swing at it.  Worked perfectly, and no one had to shiver in the 40 degree weather!
• People will arrive early.  It is inevitable.  They will also drop off their kid in the driveway & peel out.  Also inevitable. 
• You can use a hole punch to make the straw hole in the canning jar lids.  Unfortunately, my straws were much bigger than the hole.  Measure & test it out more than an hour before the party.  
• Decor doesn't have to be expensive.  I purchased some items from the Dollar Tree (foam board, spoons, TP, clear cups), some from WM (plates, napkins, balloons, treat bags - all less than $1 each), and used a lot of items that I already had (serving plates, drink tub, twine for banners, fabric for barrettes).  Other than the $20 for the printables, the most expensive items I purchased were the pinata for $9, a pack of scrapbook paper for $5, and the tissue paper for $4. 

Hometown Holiday

One of the fun things about small town living is all the small town celebrating that goes on.  Our city likes to kick off the Holiday Celebrations with a Thanksgiving weekend parade, complete with the high school marching band, a herd of firetrucks, lots of candy being thrown, homemade floats, and did I mention the candy?

Big Sis got to participate with her dance team, and loved being the center of attention.  We loved the fact that we found a great parking spot & got to enjoy the 60 degree sunshine!



Grandparents, ENJOY!

Back to School

Our Summer was cut short with school starting 10 days ago.  Yes, it's already been 10 days.  Although it brought an end to our lazy days (or not-so-lazy August), I was secretly humming the Hallelujah chorus as the thought of a stricter routine and fewer cries of "I'm bored".  While she dove right back into the swing of things, I am still adjusting to the dreaded Making of Lunch each weekday.  More hated than the annual school fundraiser, the Making of Lunch is my most detested of school rituals.  While she would happily eat PB&J nearly every day, I always feel pressured to come up with something more creative than the standard sandwich-water-fruit/veg combo.  Some days we win, some we lose (PB&J on graham crackers). 

She was fashionably attired, as always. 

Umbrella - the must-have accessory!

It complements her outfit, doesn't it? 

(yep, picked it out herself)

New, sparkly lunch bag!

She was excited to see her teacher again. 

We missed the school open house (held a few days before school began), but happened to drop in that afternoon.  Her teacher was kind enough to give us a tour of the school & Big Sis' 2nd grade jitters were soothed after having looked around.  

Another first: she's now a bus rider!  Although we only live about 15 minutes from school, she is committed to riding the bus.  She is picked up almost an hour prior, and dropped off nearly an hour after school.  It makes for a long day, but she swears she likes it.  My girl is growing up!

Tangled

It seems this is truly a year of changes, as Big Sis did something I never thought would happen.....

She had her hair cut!

We had talked about it for a while, but I really didn't think she'd go through with it.

Before:

(hair halfway down her back)

After!

She is adorable with her bob, and it seems to offer the best of both worlds.  Long enough to still use headbands, hairbows, and even form 2 ponytails, but short enough that 80% of her tangles have been eliminated. I think she loves her new Summer 'do!

Ballet Recital

I'm only about 3.5 weeks late in posting this, but here are some snaps from Big Sis' ballet recital:

Her class did a dance from Tangled, and she did an amazing job.  

I don't have any shots from the actual recital because I had to pick between still shots & video (they only allow filming during the dress rehearsal, and they only do one run-through). I missed the video last year, so I had to give it a try this time.  

We'll be starting with another new dance studio in September. 

Although the lack of continuity is a little frustrating (another downside to moving often), it has given us good exposure to how different studios are run & the different methods of teaching. 

At least she still loves to dance! 

A Fine Line Between Dishonesty and Cheapness

I took Big Sis to the movies yesterday.  It was an impromptu, last minute, we-only-have-20-minutes-to-race-across-town-&-make-it-there-in-time-decision.  But we made it.

In the car, she asked if she could get a Kid's Pak (popcorn, gummies, and a drink for $5).  I asked if she had her own money, and she said she didn't bring any.  My reply: "Then we're going to do it my way."

We rolled into the Meijer gas station parking lot and ran through the doors.  3 minutes later, we were back in the car with drinks & snacks for both of us.  Total cost: $4.97.

I explained that we would put them in my purse to take them inside.

And then I realized what I was telling her.

How to explain the concept of sneaking food into the movie theatre?  It's not ILLEGAL, but it's not HONEST, either.  There is a rule of "No Outside Food or Drink".  But it's not a LAW.  You can't go to jail for smuggling Twizzlers in your purse, but have you EVER seen anyone kicked out for bringing their own water?

Also, how to explain without making it sound like we were sticking it to "The Man"?  Because yes, part of why I chose to do it was so that the cost of our snacks did not equal the cost of our movie tickets.

{sigh}

I am morally just fine with sneaking a snack, but had a really hard time explaining to my 7 year old why I thought it was OK.  In the end, we had a rather long discussion about rules, consequences, choices, and treats.  I think I did OK, and hopefully I didn't warp her delicate moral sensibilities.  Too much.  No one ever said parenting was easy.

And Judy Moody was actually pretty cute.  Very light, no heavy message - just a lot of fun for the 11 and under set.

7!

My girl is 7?!  

Oh yes, and we celebrated in princess style. 

We started the day with donuts and opening presents. 

We moved on to cupcakes for the class. 

After school, she got to take a special friend to Pump It Up for some play time.  

We discovered that J is FEARLESS, and will gladly climb, jump, bounce, and hurl himself off any inflatable he could get close to.  

That grey streak above?  Is my 2yo.  

After a lovely dinner of fried rice and other Asian delicacies, 

we retired to our home for CAKE!

Yep, I made that glorious creation. It began life as a chocolate sheet cake.  

Not bad, eh? 

Happy Birthday!  It's going to be a big year!!