Adelyn's Dinosaur Party

So.... It was brought to my attention that I am a fat prego slacker and never posted the pics of Adelyn's 4th bday party.  So here they are.  I am still a slacker though and I'm just posting pics...

The Lorax Dinner Movie Night

I have come to a conclusion about this movie.  You either loved it or hated it.  Everyone I spoke to about it found no gray area.  Loved or hated.  I am one that loved it.  As far as movies that added to the length of the original text, this one did a pretty good job at keeping the core story there.  This has always been one of my favorite Dr. Seuss stories so I was pretty sure I was going to be disappointed with the film adaptation.  However, I loved the corny musical style of it and it is a huge hit at our house.  My one year old has never responded to a movie like this one.  Dancing, clapping, cuteness...

Here's the meal.

I didn't want to bake an entire batch of cupcakes so I made muffins instead.  The Truffela trees are made out of lollipop sticks and cotton candy.  The flower is made out of leftover candy melt I had from making the Lorax mustaches.

Truffela fruit (grapes), Brown Barbaloots (chocolate teddy grahams) and their favorite snack marshmallows, humming fish (goldfish), humming fish in gluppity glup (goldfish spaghetti-o's), muckity muck (baked beans), The Onceler's money salad, and a tree stump (hamburger).

The barbaloots were so yummy...

and quite possible the cutest little Lorax ever.  The mustaches are made from a candy mold I already had.  Now I know that I did not accurately portray the Lorax's mustache (his is yellow).  I only had orange on hand and after the morning I had there was no way on this planet I was taking these three wild things into the store for yellow candy-melts.  Adelyn was very upset and quick to point out my error.  Hence why she is not in a Lorax mustache picture.  I couldn't be frustrated with her though, because deep down it intensely bothered me too, lol!  So let us pretend it is yellow :)

30 the new 20?

I recently turned 30 and found myself, one not usually weird-ed out by numbers, horrified.  About a week prior, I started really dwelling on those crows feet.  They run in my family and my dad always told me they were a badge of laughter but all of a sudden they just seemed like a badge of oldness...  Three kids in four years has definitely not been kind to this bod, tiger stripes and all.  Five years of only sleeping in two/three hour increments hasn't helped either.  Things hang where they shouldn't, ache where they shouldn't and jiggle where they shouldn't.  Feel the hyperventilating starting...

I started this journey into parenthood at 25.  A good age I thought.  I definitely didn't want to be a old mom.  I was going to be young and hip.  But I find myself five years later neither young nor hip.  The only thing hip about me is my extreme hip pain, fail.  I love my little wild things dearly but for the first time I really found myself daydreaming about being somewhere else, at a swim up bar perhaps, wine weekend with friends, a cruise...  I would be tone and svelte and rested.  Anywhere but here.  My friends were going to take me out for sushi and Latin dancing to celebrate the beginning of a new decade.  Something fun and new.  Except when I went shopping to find something fun and new to wear it really hit me.  I didn't even know where to shop.  I entered this pregnancy period still on the young end of 20 and I am exiting this time warp in the next decade.  Forever 21 is now a no go.  When I entered in there with a stroller I felt like the record stopped and everyone started whispering.  I really knew it was a lost cause when I had a strong urge to tell them to lower the volume of this God forsaken music and the girl trying to help me to pull her shorts down.  Being called mam didn't help either.

I went up and down that mall twice and by the end of it I was practically in tears.  I either felt too young for most stores but way too old for the others.  I wanted to dress age appropriately but I didn't even know what that meant anymore.  Nothing fit right, nothing felt right, nothing looked right.  And then my two year old looked up at me and said, "Momma, can we go?"  "Baby almost.  Mommy has to find something to wear for this weekend." And my sweet little innocent vessel of truth responded, "But Momma!  I like you just like that.  You are a queen." And time stopped.  I'm a queen.  A symbol of graceful maturity and wisdom.  Not old but seasoned.   Why as a society do we have so much pressure to stay the princess?  Yeah things might sit on her figure where God had originally intended but she lacks prestige and insight.  I hugged her for a ridiculously long time.  Which of course thoroughly annoyed her and time snapped back again.  But I feel blessed for this lesson.  My impressionable girls look to me as their queen.  How am I leading them?  To scrutinize and critique every inch of their body or to hold their head high thankful for the temple God has bestowed on them?

So, I am going to start a new trend.  Thirty is the new 20.  And so is 40 and 50 and 60... I think when I am 90 I am going to look in the mirror, unrecognizable, and still feel 20.  Actually, after some thought, I am glad I'm 30.  I've got a lot to show for it.  Three beautifully healthy girls, a supportive loving husband, possibly the world's most patient fantastic dog, a roof over my head and a body, although aching, still able to run 2.5 miles 5 days a week. 

And another perk? I got through my teen years without social media.  Cause wow, that would have been a mess.

Tangled Dinner Movie Night

This is a favorite, no obsession, in our house.  We literally have very serious intellectual discussions about how Adelyn's long hair makes her the pre-hair cut Rapunzel and Marcella's short hair makes her the post-hair cut Rapunzel.  That discovery has saved us from many knock out fights over who is the real Rapunzel.  They decided Elsie is the pet chameleon Pascal (poor thing gets no say), Chango is Maximus the horse, Daddy is Flynn Ryder and I get to be the horrible mean mommy/witch (Awesome...).  Actually, it's surprising that it took this long for me to get around to doing a movie night on it.  Daddy went back to teaching this week so my last minute idea/grocery shopping went bye bye.  So, I wasn't as prepared as I would have liked for this one.  But the girls loved it :)

 What!!!! I have to eat dinner BEFORE the cookie!

 

Rapunzel angel hair chicken Alfredo pasta, cheese & grapes sun symbol & Mother knows best salad.

 

Snuggly Duckling lemon sugar cookies for dessert.

The Little Mermaid Dinner Movie Night

I was officially devastated  this week when my little girls watched The Little Mermaid this week for movie night and it DIDN'T hold their attention.  DEVASTATED!  Every video known to mankind holds their attention except my favorite.  Typical.  But dinner was cute :)  I had the girls sort the m&m candies into colors.  Then they got to decorate their own fishy cupcake :) 

 Tonight's delicacies were "crabby" apples, fishy fish swimming in "seaweed", and mermaid shells.

Fourth of July Fruit Flag and Sparklers

I am happy to announce that for my birthday my wonderful husband bought me a new camera.  Unfortunately, it was after I took these awful pics on my phone.  So bare with me :)  I am not known for my healthy snacks.  I am in if for cuteness and that usually involves sugar and or cream cheese...  So, I decided to expand my portfolio and attempt something cute and good for you.  A novel concept I know.  So I recreated the strawberry and blueberry American Flag I had pinned a few years ago and it was delicious and easy.  But I had to put my own not good for you spin on it and added rice crispie treat stars :)  With the left overs I made cute rice crispie treat sparklers.  Everything is better on a stick!

 It's so blurry it's hard to tell, but my sister Lauren is thoroughly enjoying playing with her food.

Bolt Dinner Movie Night

Not gonna lie.  My creative juices were not flowing on this one.  Jason LOVES this movie and begged me to do it for Family Movie Night but I just was stumped.  I had already done my hot dog "dog" for 101 Dalmatians.  I was super tired (imagine that) this week and my brain had a thick coating of mommy fog so this one is kinda pathetic.  In the movie the animals follow a Waffle House map to get back home.  So, we had waffles and breakfast food for dinner.  I felt disappointed with my efforts but my kids were ecstatic to eat breakfast for dinner.  That's all that matters, right?

Hotel Transylvania Dinner Movie Night

This movie is completely under appreciated.  I laughed uncontrollably at several points in the movie and think it is adorable. My girls are strange and are OBSESSED with Halloween.  So, I wasn't too concerned with a couple scary parts because for some reason they are terrified of their own shadow but mummies and vampires evoke no emotion...  There are a plethora of kiddo Halloween foodie options so I just picked a few that I already had stuff on hand.

The ghosts are bananas with chocolate chip faces.  I peeled oranges to make "pumpkins" with a gummy candy stem.  The guacamole and chips were monster toenails and fungus (mmmm... yum... I love fungus).  The hot dog mummies are made out of hot dog wrapped in crescent rolls with mustard eyes.   Lastly, cheeseburger jack-o-lanterns.  My kids are picky and don't like their cheese melted.  Otherwise I would have melted these pumpkin faces a little over the hamburger.  This was one of my favorite themed nights yet!

101 Dalmatians Dinner Movie Night

This weeks viewing was 101 Dalmatians.  I had pinned this cute hot dog "dog" a while ago and couldn't wait to find an excuse to try it out.  I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here.  She has a great video tutorial on how to make them.  Work smart not hard... The peas I have no idea how they tie in I just couldn't come up with a creative veggie to go.  The mash potatoes are the snow and the Oreos are black and white Cruella Deville cookies.

Any thoughts on themed veggies?

Elsie's Big Numero Uno Monster Bash

Go big or go home, right?  Everyone has an area in their life this applies to.  Mine just happens to drive my husband crazy and exhilarate my toddlers to no end... parties.  I LOVE planning kiddo parties.   Starting months in advance, gathering ideas, making lists, hounding deals to get the most bang for my buck, crafting, thinking outside the box on how I can make what's going on in my head a reality on a tiny budget.  The latest extravaganza was my sweet baby Elsie's big number one.  My three year old Adelyn insisted on being my planning assistant and decided Our Little Monster must be the theme!  This time around I really encouraged my big girls to get involved and they helped pick out the menu,  make decor and come up with games.  We did nothing but dream and talk about monsters for months and we loved it.  Here's some pics...

 Watermelon monster

 Orange Dream Monster Cake Pops

 Candied Monster Mouth Favors

 Birthday Girl's Personal Monster Cake

 Monster Cupcakes

 Ham, Turkey and Cheese Monster Sandwiches

Monster Bones

 Monster Toenails and Dip

 Monster Cutlery Holder made out of a tissue box

 Girls Monster Art and Handmade Birthday Sign

 Sign for our bounce house

 Pin the Eye on the Monster.  The girls and I made the eye magnets

 Monster Puzzles I found at Michaels on clearance

 Make Your Own Monster Station with pre-cut eyes and teeth.  This was Adelyn's idea :)

The favors.  Clearance monster masks, bath toys for babies and notebook for our older kids.

 First Year Birthday Banner

 This guy was the girls favorite.  Made him out of foam board and acrylic paints.  They named him Gobie (see the nametag...) and the kiddos took pics with their face in his mouth.

Don't you just want to eat her up?!?!?!?!

However, our outdoor party was quickly thwarted the night before to Missouri Bipolar weather.  We had to quickly improvise to an indoor venue (which included garage space because of our lengthy guest list) and Daddy surprised the girls with a Little Tykes Bounce House that could fit inside since our big rental was going to be a no go.  They were ecstatic and since we are practically a daycare center I figured it was going to be a great investment on those rainy/cold days that have me daydreaming of being shipwrecked on an island completely isolated and loving it... 

 

It's blurry because they refused to stop bouncing for a photo op...

The garage, however, really bothered me.  I couldn't have my guests eating in a garage after all this careful planning!  So I spent four hours with 150 balloons, ribbon and thumbtacks.  All hung from the ceiling to disguise where we really were.  A wave of color.  Bright table cloths, corresponding galvanized tins with hand sanitizer, napkins and cutlery as center pieces.  It was awesome and I have no pictures of it... You heard me.  There are very few things that make me want to cry anymore and the fact that the party came and went and not one single pic was taken of that space makes me want to hurl...  So if you attended and happened to snap a photo I will sing your praises forever.  Until then I will have to fervently hold onto the memory and you will just have to trust me on it's awesomeness...