Winds of March Breezing Their Way into July

March brought lots of excitement!  My cousin, Jill, from Colorado came to live with us for a few months.  Her momma dropped her off.  My momma decided to come in for the drop off too!  That weekend was certainly a world wind of fun because Swish had its 2nd annual H.O.R.S.E tournament.  It was a huge success!  We even had a celebrity bracket this year that included the kicker from the Bengals! How cool is that?      

Our Little Miss celebrated her 4th birthday with a Soda Pop Party.  As usual, there was so much that didn't get done.  I think it still turned out pretty adorable.  Not as cute as our little miracle.  When we were looking back through the pictures, she said that is so cute...I want to do a party again.  That is what makes it all worth it.

Mother's Day Tea Party

It's all about creating memories in this house.  Brian and I cherish all of our childhood memories, so we are constantly reminiscing and recreating.  We really love to set up traditions that remind us of our favorite memories.  One of my favorite childhood traditions was going to the Mother/Daughter Tea (Banquet) at our church.  I am not sure what it is exactly that made this so fun.  Was it getting dressed up?  Was it that my mother planned it?  Was it going with my mother?  Was it socializing with everyone from church?  Was it all of the amazing food that we got to eat?  I guess it is a combination of all of these!  When I got married, I was devastated that I wasn't able to go with her anymore.  I was even more sad when I had a little girl!  I want so badly to be there, just one year, with Little Miss P.  It would be so fun if we could all go together.  

A few years ago, I tried to recreate this tradition here in Ohio by having a tea party with the kids.  It has been a hit ever since!  This year, Little Man had a huge part in setting up which made it so special.  While I prepared the food (mini sandwiches, sugar cookies, and kool-aid), he set about the details of the table.  

He had to have a tablecloth...a bit wrinkled, but p-r-e-c-i-o-u-s. 

The MENU:

His Place Setting...notice the silverware is wrapped in a paper towel with our initials written on it:

Looks like the goal of making a special memory was achieved!  Look at those faces:

           

STREET BALL BIRTHDAY PARTY

Little Man is 6!  Yikes!  My baby is getting so old.  Last year, LM wanted to have a basketball party.  I went with it and did something very simple.  This year, LM wanted to do a basketball party.  What?  Again?  It's not like basketball isn't a part of our everyday life!  Ha!  What can I say?  The kid loves basketball.  I had to think of a way that we could both be happy.  I didn't want a repeat of last year, but wanted my baby to get what he wanted too.  I tossed around all kinds of themes just hoping he would change his mind.  NO LUCK!  So, that is when my wheels had to start turning...BIG TIME.  On a trip to the Nike Outlet, I found a shirt that had "basketball" written in a graffiti, spray painted font.  This is all it took for the "STREET BALL" theme to click.    I tried to mix the idea of basketball and hip hop.  Check out his party...

{INVITES}

So fun to do...sorry the print is so hard to read!  Originally the plan was to have the party out in our driveway, but it rained on that parade!  :)  Good thing, Brian is the basketball coach!  That freed up the high school gym for the festivities!  So much room for the kids to run!  Brian played a couple of games, but the kids mostly just wanted to be free to shoot!
{On the invite}
Little Man is SIX
Come over for a while and hoop it up street ball style
Court: Little Man's Driveway
Tip-Off: 6-8 PM
Concessions Included

{REGISTRATION}

"Ballers" had to "register" by signing a keepsake basketball for Little Man.  He wanted to make the sign...I could not resist...PRECIOUS!  See the ball with the fire shooting out of it?  

{LET THE PARTY BEGIN}

{BRICK WALL}

We created the brick wall using black butcher board paper, gray paint, and square sponges.  After that dried, I "tried" to graffiti his "Happy Birthday."  It works for a 6 year old!

{GHETTO BLASTERS}

We filled "ghetto blasters" with goodies to provide an extra boost for the "street ballers." I used the larger boxes for the kids that were Little Man's age and the smaller ones for their siblings.  I wish now that I would have had all the small ones...I loved the bold colors!  

We included Gatorade, trail mix, gum, tattoos, and a CD to get them fired up!  The CD had 6 of Little Man's favorite songs.  The CD label had a thank you on it too!    

{FOOD}

We went super simple and focused on food and drink that would be at a street ball event. 

 

{TIME TO OPEN PRESENTS}

{PHOTO OP}

All of the kids got their picture taken with the headphones and basketball in front of the graffiti wall.

{CREATE YOUR OWN GRAFFITI}

Everyone got the chance to create their own graffiti artwork by using Crayola's GEL Markers.  

Little Man loved his party and we had a blast working together to dream up the party.  Of course, we had help from our friends and family too!  

From "TUTU" Three!!!

What were we thinking having two babies with birthdays within two weeks of each other AND so close to Easter?  Not only that, we have like 6 family members to buy presents for too!  CRAZY, I say, CRAZY!  This year, we decided to have a low key party for Little Miss Peanut.  We invited our family and friends we are really close with.  I have to say that it was so nice...I didn't feel too crazy.  :)  My clothes are still not put away from our trip to Oklahoma...that's not bad...it was only a week ago.  Right?  Back to the party details...

A few months back, my mom suggested a tutu party because Little Miss wears her tutus EVERYWHERE!  I got to thinking and came up with the FROM "TUTU" Three theme.    

Little Miss sat at a desk welcoming her guests and then asked them to sign her book, The Yellow Tutu!  Let me tell you this book is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!  It is about a girl that opens a tutu for her birthday and decides to be an original by wearing the tutu on her head.  A must read!

This area was set up for the kids to do crafts and eat their food.  The little vase at the back with tissue flowers had glittered foam stickers.  The kiddles didn't even touch any of this!  They were happy just to play house together!

Goodie Boxes...I love putting goodies together for our guests.  I always try to include items that parents don't feel like have to be thrown away the next day.  The glitter boxes (for girls) and buckets (for boys) were in the $1 section at Target.  We included Mr. Sketch thin markers...they smell good enough to eat.  I use them to grade my papers (I will use anything to make it more pleasant!)  Scratch 'N' Sniff stickers...the smell reminds me of being in elementary school!  A couple of pieces of candy! Last, but certainly not least, CRAYON RINGS!  So cute...we used them as bracelets for the girls, but they are super easy for smaller ones to grasp and color!  My cousin made them for me...you can find the business she shares with her mother here and here.  Check them out!            

Usually, I fix some sort of meal, but this time I only served salsa and chips and cheese puffs.  The only real things that I made were the cupcakes and the punch.  The frosting was to die for and from the Pioneer Woman's recipe site...you should try it.  I used a huge tip and piping bag for the frosting.  Way fun to do and not too bad for my first time!  The punch was a jello punch recipe!   Super refreshing.  If you want, holler!      

Do you see the gorgeous poms in all of the food photos!?!  Aren't they great?  So incredibly delicate and vibrant!  I won them from PomLove during a giveaway on Polka-Dots and Pirates.  They were cute for me and then I just poofed them up!  So simple!  Both girls are great to work with and super talented.    

Oh, the OUTFIT!  I l-o-v-e Etsy.  I was cruising through and find this adorable shirt from Paisley and Posies.  The tutu was included!  This saved me a lot of time because I usually make all of Little Miss P's tutus!  As you can see, we curled her hair with sponge rollers too...for the first time...so fun!

Okay, so I have to admit...

there are a few things that drove me crazy that I didn't get to and have to get it off my chest...

• BIRTHDAY SIGN...had all the supplies, but just ran out of time
• TABLE CLOTH...I hate the plastic!  That is just my preference.  I am having a hard time finding material that will fit the surface of my table.  I am going to end up making one!  
• WRAP PLASTICWARE...I wanted to wrap up and tie it with tulle.
• TUTUS for all the girls to wear at the party!   

   SILLY THINGS, but it drove me crazy and still does!  :)  What is most important is that Little Miss P got to be the princess for the day and had a blast.  I am so proud of her...ahhhhh...she is 3!!!

   

TUTU PARTY

I have tons of photos to post of Little Miss's party, but need to edit them.  The theme was "FROM TUTU THREE."  It was cute, but I didn't get to everything that I wanted to do!  Do I ever?  Thought I would leave you with a couple that are my favs as of right now.  

Little Mr. and Miss Christmas Brunch

As I am sure you have noticed, I love to have parties. We usually have a little Christmas Brunch for a couple of families. This serves as our gift; making it easier for me in the long run and it is a great way to create memories. It is pretty small, but huge fun! This year I went with a simple version of Mr. and Little Miss Christmas theme. Do you remember these books? TOTALLY 80's...bringing it back, ya'll!

MENU:

Egg Casserole

Lazy Chile Rellenos with all the fixin's

Fruit Salad

Sausage Egg McMuffins

Yogurt with M&M's

Muffins and Scones

Banana Bread

Powdered Donuts

French Toast Sticks

(Little Miss Peanut loved the Sugared Pecans that Stacy brought...delish)

GAME: We put on a Mr. and Little Miss Christmas Pageant.

The kids dressed each other up with tree decorations.

CRAFT: We made our own version of a Mr. and Miss. Look closely, really closely...you can see Little Miss E's version. I am basically too lazy to run and take a picture and download it!

GOODIE BAGS: LM dressed up as Santa to deliver presents. We gave everyone a Mr. or Little Miss Christmas picture book, a Christmas Cup, scratch'n'sniff stickers, jellie candies, and some little tattoos!