Saturday, July 31, 2010

First Birthday party - Taylor- Oh the Places You'll Go

Oh The Places You'll Go!

Decorations:
  • I got the Cake- of course
  • I'm going to use various solid color tablecloths
  • I've ordered a few poster-sized pictures from the book.
  • A sign post with arrows pointing in various directions- with different life stages printed on each (i.e. going to Kindergarten, high school, college, get a job, etc)
  • I found a picture of centerpieces for a wedding that are hot air balloons-- I would love to do something similar to this, but I'm having trouble figuring out how they made the weaving that goes over the balloons to hold them in place (look below):
  •  I've also got pencils, mini storybooks, and bookmarks that will be spread around and given out as party favors
  • bright colored streamers and possibly balloons- it is in an outdoor picnic shelter, so I'm not yet sure about the balloons

Here's a few activities I'm thinking of:
  • Give each child a "passport" made from several rectangles of paper stapled together as a booklet. The kids can write their names and draw self-portraits on the first pages, then collect stickers or stamps at each party station they visit. 
  •  I'd like to have two different craft tables with themes from the book- 1) Taking Flight: kids will make and decorate cut outs of paper air planes and hot air balloons (that they can take with them) and 2) Oh the Place's Taylor will Go! where each child (and adults if they want to) will be asked to pick a place they think Taylor should go and color a picture of it or write about it- At the end I will put them all into a book I have made for Taylor to keep.  I will have the Oh The Place's You'll Go! pencils at each of these craft tables for people to keep after they do each activity.
  • Oh, and of course- this will be a family cookout with Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, fixins and CAKE!

Friday, July 30, 2010

What?!? It's not on the internet???

OK- I've picked a theme for Taylor's 1st birthday party, but I'm coming up short on ideas for decorations and activities...

So, I do what I always do when I need more info-- I search the web... what do I find--- NOTHING (at least nothing particularly helpful).  So, I'm coming to you:

The theme is "Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss.  All that I find in internet searches is ideas for graduation parties- and a few baby showers.  Nothing really for a child's first birthday-- but, if you've ever read the book.. it makes for a great theme for a one-year-old.  Life's possibilities are limitless, you'll go where ever you want, do what ever you wish to or dream of... that sort of thing...

If you've got any ideas to help me out-- decorations or activities (most of the children there will be from 2-8) so I'm trying to gear towards them... please post in the comments section
Thanks!!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Phlegar Farm Old time music jam weekend (Saturday)

Hwy 100
 Saturday, July 24, 2010- I packed up the car, loaded up the two kids and set off for Giles County, Virginia (almost to West Virginia). With the exception of a small traffic delay on the interstate, which led to a beautiful detour on the backroads of Virginia. After about 3 hours of driving, we arrived at Phlegar Farm. 




We set up the lawn chairs- Jackson made several friends,
and spent hours playing in the sandbox...
Taylor joined him for a while (until I had to rescue him from himself). 
He ate handfuls of sand... after each one he'd grimace, then grab another and shove the sand into his mouth.


 

and Taylor took to driving the car like a pro...
He had each of us pushing him around the yard... even several of the older children took turns giving him a spin around.
I was amazed at the amount of time he sat in that car- whether it was moving or not.  He turned the wheel as if it actually steered the car, a smile on his face the entire time!




 With the music in the background (as I do not play...) we settled in for a peaceful afternoon.  There were groups of players set up in various nooks of the yard and overflow parking lot. The dinner was chopped BBQ (Yum!!) with a huge variety of potluck sides and desserts. There was a funny version of Old MacDonald that I'm struggling to remember now.. but it had a stuttering horse, a narcoleptic pig, and a split-personality chicken/duck... had us laughing! Below is a video clip from one of the groups playing on Saturday:

Music and dancing after dinner
Thank you to Tom and Barbara Phlegar and the many other Phlegar family members for hosting this music weekend!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Only the good ones





So, I give Taylor his routine breakfast-on-the-run... i.e. a handful of cereal.  Today's choice Lucky Charms. (usually I try to have some semblance of health and balance to breakfast... ok, really it's usually Cheerios-- but, whatever). This morning I was particularly busy, trying to gulp down at least one cup of coffee, while fixing bottles for daycare, loading the dishwasher, feeding the dogs...








All of a sudden Taylor starts crying...



I run in the room and he's still got cereal in front of him... so, I try a sippy cup... 
he shakes his head "no"... 
then I grab the box of cereal and he smiles.
So I give him more cereal...




As soon as the marshmallows hit the table he starts stuffing them in his mouth. Jackson and I both laugh and Taylor throws his hands in the air... like he's saying "what???"

And, again, I put more down... then he eats only the marshmallows...


Only the good stuff for my baby!!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Anagrams

Came across some interesting anagrams today... thought I'd share:

  • Actions Speak Louder than Words = Talk or Airs can not show up Deeds
  • Life's Aim = Families
  • Couples = Up Close
  • premeditation = at times I ponder
  • separation = one is apart
  • Presbyterian = best in prayer
  • the married man = I'm her darn mate
  • Grand Finale = A flaring end

Monday, July 12, 2010

Party planning

The official party planning is under way for
Taylor's 1st Birthday 

1) Location- Joanie Moser Park ... check! (almost, I found out it's available and I'm going to call to book it tomorrow)





2) Date and Time...check!-- on Taylor's BirthDAY: although it's a Wednesday, I've found with Jackson that I feel the need to do two parties (one for him and one for his actual birthday) if I don't plan his party right on his birthday
 
3) CAKE! I'm so excited, Should be a beautiful cake by Christina's Cake Creations not going to tell you the theme just yet, but check out her site-- she's great!!

4) Invitations... half-check!-- I posted a few pictures before... got 10 invitations done now... they're looking better and better with each one!

5) Menu...umm... been thinking about it... check-- Hot dogs, Cheeseburgers, and all the sides from a cookout ... might be one of the last one's before school starts back, so I chose this for selfish reasons (I love, love, love, a good cookout)

Nothing yet on the decorations... but going to follow the cake theme, so I'm going to start looking... I'll keep you posted!
Hmmm... what am I forgetting?

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Who knew? I have a bit of a creative side...

I started planning Taylor's 1st birthday party today (details to come).  And decided to make his birthday card (as I have realized I am overrun with Scrapbooking supplies). 

I used a variety of supplies... the outer cover is card stock (12"x12") cut in half (to 6"x 12") and then folded in half. I decorated the front and inside covers.  I added one sheet of 6"x6" paper decorated and the binded the seam of the fold with tied ribbons.
Take a look at my efforts:

On the cover of the first one (to the left), I tried my hand at rub-ons.  Now these look simple, but I found that I had to rub much harder and longer than I expected to get them to transfer
the binding is one ribbon threaded through a hole punched near the top and bottom.  I simply tied off each end on the back side.


The first page (inside cover) of each invitation is a picture of Taylor-- dressed up a bit.  I added a frame to the picture (see right) and then cut strips of the frame paper for decoration on the remainder of the page and a wide strip added to the second page so that the insert page has consistency with the cover.





 
The cover of the second one was much easier as I decided just to glue on the rub on-- paper and all, and it looks great (the picture doesn't do it justice).  I used corner pieces only to hold the picture on the inside cover.  On the insert page of each is small memory tracker cards that I had in my scrapbooking supplies.  The titles on the cards were "Who, what, when, and where" which worked perfect for the invitation details... I plan to include a matching card on the inside of each invitation.
I have several other designs I'm working on, if anyone's interested, I'll post more pictures later.

I have a few others, if anyone is interested I'll post pictures-- slightly different binding ideas...

Saturday, July 10, 2010

It's in the bag(s)


Ok... I'll bite,
What's in the diaper bag?

Dumping it out also gives the boys something to play with- not to mention I'm long overdue to clean out the various receipts and other "trash" that sneaks it's way into the bags when I'm not looking!!

It's a Baby Boom diaper bag (not new like my bag- see below)- started as Jackson's and has held up surprisingly well through both kids, although one of the velcro pocket closers is ripping-- as most diaper bags do, it's got lots of nifty hiding places...

warning picture this: you have a screaming infant and you're digging for a pacifier or a certain "special" toy, but which pocket did you put it in???-- having a LOT of cool pockets... only great if you put things back in the same place each time

On to the items in the bag:
Starting at top center and clockwise from there-- Wipes, disposable diapers--the really cheap ones for daytime (8), immunization card (that hasn't been updated since the three-month check up- good intentions to start with...oh well), OOH... there's my Belk coupon!!, some cards from Taylor's baby shower with all of his stats (in case I ever forget how much he weighed or his length at birth-- believe me it gets harder to remember after the first one!!), Shorts, two pairs of socks... hmm, I guess I need to add a shirt to the bag, scented diaper trash bags, A toy for Taylor to play the "UH-OH-watch-everyone-pick-up-my-toy-for-me game, a formula packet (only makes 4 ounces, but it's for a real- Mommy's shopping and the sale is too good to leave right now- emergency), Milicon- which is probably full because that stuff doesn't work, two pacifiers, nail clippers, lotion, Burt's bees (again from the Jackson era), athlete's foot creme, Neosporin, and Butt Paste.

NOW... My bag...
Got it on SALE at Belk this week, 75% off (the coupon above wouldn't work on it)-- Told Mike (the husband) that I was saving money by buying it now... Love It!!
  • Snack cup- no spill lid
  • Little spikey plastic toy (for Taylor)
  • Action figure from McD's (for Jackson)
  • screwdriver- flat head (I usually have a phillips head too-- nice to have with you!)
  • MAC lip gloss
  • lotion
  • gum
  • wallet
  • keys (car, mike's car, home, and MVP card)
  • NOT SHOWN- various receipts and a real estate guide-- I took this opportunity to throw them in the trash
Thanks for looking and prompting me to clean these bags out!!

Friday, July 9, 2010

It's been a great day!

I had today off work (yay me!). Not by choice though- Taylor got sick at daycare yesterday and due to the 24-hour rule he couldn't return today (although he was just fine by the time i arrived at the daycare to pick him up and has been fine ever since!). I went with a friend to get a pedicure at lunchtime-- then lunch at Panera bread (why don't I eat there more often-- it's yummy!!).
Then off to the mall, for four enjoyable hours of shopping, where-- surprisingly-- I found several things that fit well (hid the still present post-baby fat) and were on sale (I love a good sale!). I had dinner with Jackson and Taylor at TJ's (always yummy!).
We got home to find that we have new neighbors, who have two little girls, (Jackson is in heaven right now). It's like I'm entering a new phase of motherhood- this week alone, I've met the parents of several neighborhood children. And Jackson has finally gotten to an age where I feel comfortable letting him play at their house (It's like a short vacation!!)

Monday, July 5, 2010

KOA Camping- Friday, July 2nd


We left early Friday morning, met dad in Statesville and drove together to the KOA campground in Crossville, TN (that's about half-way between Knoxville and Nashville). We watched for Hannah Montana from the time we crossed the TN state line, as Jackson was convinced we would see her since she lives in Tennessee. I booked a cabin at the KOA, described as "rustic" but it had AC...

We went fishing and swimming, fed the ducks, and Dad took Jackson on several walks... Dad, Taylor and Jackson fed the ducks (not pictured). There were three ducks that were residents of the pond near our cabin... they kept coming around looking for food, but would run away when Jackson tried to catch them. The rest of the weekend, Jackson told the story of catching three fish, each time the fish got bigger (boy, they learn early to tell the "big fish" story!!)


Jackson's favorite part was the cookout- roasting hot dogs and Smores. In between, the two we went to an ice cream social held by the campground.
He realized that catching the marshmellows on fire, is much more fun than simply making tasty treats!!




Thursday, July 1, 2010

Missing child

Yes, even social workers lose their children.

It's happened once before, about 1 year ago ...
I was washing dishes and... next thing I know Jackson is no where to be found. I called for him downstairs, then up... no answer. I went into the back yard, then the front. Each time calling out his name. I started to get frantic and ran back through the house, calling his name over and over. I called in a "nice voice", then made promises if he's come out. I finally called Mike at work and told him that I'd lost Jackson. I was out of places to look! I was crying and in-through-the-front-door walks Jackson! "Hi Mom!" with the innocence of one who didn't know he was lost. Turns out he was playing hide-n-seek with me... but failed to let me know. Turns out Jackson, even at 3 was a great hider... He was behind the AC unit on the side of the house.

Tonight...
He went into the neighbor's backyard and was playing on their swingset. Of course, he didn't answer because he knew he was going to be in trouble. So, he's in his room for the rest of the night. I explained to him that he has lost the freedom to play in our back yard since he abused my trust and left without asking or telling anyone. (Although I wanted to spank him!-- Ignore that last comment mom)

Holiday here I (we) come!!!

The long weekend starts early for me (and the boys). We are westward bound tomorrow morning. We're meeting my dad in Statesville in the morning. Our first stop-- Crossville, TN, where we are staying at a KOA campground (in a cabin, with AC). Then, Saturday morning we'll go on to Western Kentucky. I'll blog some more details when I get back.

So, it's 9pm, the bags are packed. The kids are in bed (well, Jackson's upstairs, at least). I feel like a young child, I'm so excited!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Why am I wasting my money?

Why do I waste money on cable, the newest Transformers, Sketchers ("they make me run faster"), and the numerous noisemakers for infants... [insert all of your own toys for big kids and small HERE]?? It's amazing how many of these things never, EVER, get played with... they get stacked in the kids rooms and make it out to the next yard sale.

Tonight I turned off the tv and kicked the 4 year old out into the backyard... Guess what? Through the chain link fence-- he made a new friend. We've lived here 8 years (okay he's only been here for four of those)- how many neighborhood friends does he have? nada, zip, zilch...

Okay- I do take some, if not all, of the blame. After work, picking up the kids, feeding us all (even if it's take out)- it's 7:00. Not exactly the time that I want to go outside and "play". Guess tonight I'll take a hint from him... and go meet some parents. That way they won't think I'm ditching my kid on them.