A Little Sunshine

It's a dreary, rainy March day in our neck of the woods. Thought I would share a special day that brought a little sunshine into our lives- my mother's birthday. This year instead of going to a restaurant with four kids under five (not fun), my sisters and I decided to cook dinner ourselves.

When I told the girls we would be having a birthday party for Grammy at our house, their first question was, "What kind of party?"  Apparently, my obsession with party planning is wearing off on them- it's not a party unless you have a theme and a pinata. They offered many suggestions they thought Grammie would like- Dora, Bubble Guppies, Angelina Ballerina. I needed to come up with a theme quick. While I was online searching for inspiration,  I ran across these beautiful paper lanterns and everything fell into place.

Since the day my girls were born, my mother has always sang "You Are My Sunshine" to them. I knew I found my theme. I set to work finding as much yellow as I could inexpensively get my hands on and the girls started coloring picture after picture of sunshines.

The day before the party I put up the decorations then picked up the girls from school. They loved seeing the room transformed when they walked in the door. I went into the kitchen to unpack their backpacks. A minute later, they came in to get me. They lead me into the living room by their little hands and said, "Look Mommy, now Grammie's party is all ready!"

They had taken all of the pictures of sunshines they had worked so hard on and put them up on the mantle. My heart melted. This was what this party was all about.

I admit there are many times when I will do something now thinking about how wonderful it will be to write about it on the blog. My crazy hunt for yellow tablecloths absolutely was because I  had blog photos in the back of my mind. It took my girls in all of thier innocence to remind me why we go the extra mile sometimes- not because the mantle will look good on a blog photo but because my mother will walk in the door and look at the decorations and know how truly special and loved she is.
I don't regret blogging- sometimes I wish I had more time for it. Most times I appreciate the ambition and focus it gives me for my projects. All of the time, I read other blogs and feel inspired- a little sunshine to my day. Today I am hoping this little post of mine spreads a little sunshine to your neck of the woods too.

Tweet Heart Valentine Party

Love is in the air.

To celebrate this past weekend, we had a Tweet Heart Valentine Party.

The girls had a wonderful time making valentines.

We even made some tweet treats for our feathered friends.



Mermaid Party

The girls' 4th birthday party was a swimming party at our local YMCA.

 Although it was the end of November, our mermaid theme got everyone in the mood to want to dive right into the water.

 

The girls had a blast at their party, singing and dancing with Ariel and then swimming with their cousins.
I hope this party is another one of their favorite childhood memories...

Party Prep: Placecards and Pearls

The girls' 4th birthday party is less than a week away now and I have mermaids swimming through my thoughts day and night. The girls themselves are giddy with anticipation and that's all that really matters.
The major components of the party have been in place for a few months, now it is time for a few last minute details. I love party details. They can make or break a party for me and they are my favorite part of planning.

Here are the placecards I just made to label all of the food. I tried to name the food to fit in with our mermaid theme as much as possible.

A little curious about this one?

First let me say, I swoon over all those gorgeous candy buffets you see in parties lately- so sweet and pretty.
Here is the beginning of what will be our own mini-mermaid version....pearls.

I picked up a few different size pearl candies for a pick-your-own pearl candy buffet.

The best party tip I have from planning this party is buying a digital scrapbook kit. I am not a digitial scrapbooker and I had never purchased one before but I am so glad I did. I used all the coordinated images for everything- the invitations,  the banner, the placecards, our Soup-er Favors  ...

I did use some of my traditional paper scrapbook supplies too. I cut pretty water paper into strips to make these napkin rings. The girls even helped assemble them by adding little sea creature stickers. 

I like how pretty it looks but it also makes the buffet easier when the cutlery and napkins are together in a pretty little package. I bought a wooden treasure chest to hold them all and some pearls to spill over the side as decoration.
Can't wait to post actual photos from the party- wish me luck,