Mickey Mouse 3rd Birthday

My little man turned 3 this past weekend and we partied M-I-C-K-E-Y style!  He is obessessed with all things Mickey right now so we went all out... We started out with a lunch party with his playgroup buddies.  The following day, we had another set of friends and their kiddos over. 

Here's a party throwing tip...when you've gone to the trouble of crafting, baking, cleaning, and decorating, throw as many parties as you can in 48 hours!! 

 

We got this airwalker balloon for FREE because it had a tiny hole in it and they didn't have another one.  Score!  It lasted just long enough to get us through both parties.

Guests were greeted with this fun birthday balloon wreath.  You can see how I made it here.  It really wasn't too hard and we can pull it out every year!

 

We had a candy buffet and the cupcakes displayed in the dining room.  I really just worked with what I had.  The glass candy jars and round glass pieces are all from Walmart.  The birthday subway art was a free printable I found on Pinterest.  How much do we love Pinterest!?!

I'm a BIG baker, so I had to create something magical for my favorite 3-year old!  Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with buttercream frosting and Oreo Mickey's on top.  These were out. of. this. world.  Seriously. One of my party guests even hired me to bake them for her son's upcoming party!  Talk about feeling honored.  Thanks Rach!

Let's not talk about how many I ate for "testing purposes"...

In lieu of the standard party hat, I added some giant mouse ears to my little guy's hat.  It was a little big, but we got a few pics!

The kids had a blast running around and playing while the Mommies and Daddies chatted.  I think I have about 1 year left before I actually have to start planning real activities for the kids to do!  Good thing I was a teacher, right?!


We thanked our guests with homemade bags of "Mouse Munch".  You can see how I put those together here.  It was a cute way to carry the theme home.

Mommy and Daddy love you Japhet!  We can't believe you are already 3.  It has been so fun watching you learn and grow.  Keep being sweet, curious, and full of life.  We can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Mickey Munch Party Favors

I love a good theme and boy, is Mickey a good one!  There is no end to the cute things you can do with a couple of mouse ears and some red, white, and black.  In preparation for the upcoming party, my little man and I threw together these cute little "Mickey Munch" bags for all of his buddies.

 

 

I just used classic clear treat bags and filled them with caramel popcorn, pretzel twists (which look a lot like Mickey!), mini marshmallows, and red, yellow, and brown M&M's. 

I used black paper to make the ears and created/printed the bag messages in Word. 

I folded the message over the top of the bag and stapled on each side.  Then, I stapled an ear on each side of the tag.  To pretty it up, I used a single hole-punch to make a hole in the middle of the label and threaded some red and yellow curling ribbon through.

 

 

 

 

The basket I used to contain all the fun is the Pottery Barn treat basket and Valentine's Day liner.  Underneath those Mickeys are really white felt hearts.  Nothing a little tape and black paper can't fix!

Hope the kiddos like them because we sure had fun making them!

A Birthday Wreath

In honor of my little man's impending 3rd birthday, I've been hitting up Pinterest hard.  Who hasn't seen the cute birthday balloon wreath?  Well, you should.  It is adorable, pretty easy to make, and reusable.  Three of my favorite project qualities!

To do this project you will need:
   About 300 balloons
   1 package of pipe cleaners
   1 package of dress pins or floral pins
   A wreath mold (I used straw)
   A bow or ribbon
   A computer and printer to make the label

 

 

Now friends, this took WAY more balloons than I thought.  I went to the dollar store and snagged a few bags.  I knew I wanted a very full looking wreath with lots of color.

I also did not want to spend the extra money floral pins cost, so I chose to use dress pins.  They worked well, however, you have to twist the balloons a little bit so the pin is going through the meat of the balloon.  Does that make sense?

You simply take a balloon, smoosh it into place and pin it into the wreath.  Continue this process until all of the wreath mold is covered.  Your thumb will get tired!  Carry on party warrior!

When the wreath is covered, add the pipe cleaners.  I wrapped mine around a writing pen to get the twisty look I was going for.

In order to pin the pipe cleaner in, I wrapped a balloon around it and put the pin through the balloon.  It seemed to work pretty well.

After all the fun pinning, I fashioned a bow out of some ribbon I had on hand.  I then made the circle "Happy Birthday" label in Word.  I saved it so I can just change the year next go around.


Voila!

Grocery Saving Lessons 8 - Warehouse Shopping

I am quickly coming to realize that big warehouse stores will never be a better deal than couponing done right. If you are a Sam's, Costco, or BJ's member, please hear this warning!!! Just because it is in bulk does NOT always make it a better deal! Check prices the next time you're at the grocery store and see if a bulk package (6) of Jiffy Cornbread mix for $2.99 is really a better deal than the .40 it costs at Kroger (before coupons).
That being said, there are some techniques to shopping a warehouse store. Your coupons are good here too, and many stores send out monthly booklets with house coupons. Remember, you can double up. I am a BJ's member and they send out quarterly magazines with money saving deals (buy 5 participating items, get $10 off). I go to town on these when they come around by piling house and manufacturer's coupons with them. I also recently learned that you can use a manufacturer's coupon for every item in the bulk package.  For example, a 3 pack of graham crackers includes 3 regular sized boxes of graham crackers.  You can use a .50 coupon for each box.  But remember that most warehouse stores don't double or accept competitor's coupons.

You have to be careful. Always price check.

Fun Friday! - Bring on Spring

Spring is a'comin's folks!  Well, at least it is in my dreams.  I'm so ready for green grass, Easter eggs, birds chirping, and the dogwoods to bloom.  How about y'all?

I found this fun craft on my 2nd home (Pinterest) over the weekend and I've started collecting supplies to make it a reality for my Easter mantel.  Who's with me?!?

Pop on over to http://easter.tipjunkie.com/button-egg-diy-easter-decorating/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TipJunkieAllSites+%28Tip+Junkie+%7E+Creative+Inspiration%29 to see more!

Happy weekend!

My Life - Mommy Dirt

Two-year olds. We love them, while simultaneously letting them slowly drive us crazy. Now that my son and all his playmates are in the 2-3 year range, all the mommies are on their 2nd lap of parenthood. New babies are popping up everywhere! So, I've reluctantly had to explain that Gavin's mommy has a baby in her tummy, he's going to get a sister, yadda, yadda, yadda. The only thing my child took away from this exchange was Mommy has a baby in her tummy. Which, friends, I do not.
These little morsels of "Mommy Dirt", as I like to call them, are like ticking time bombs. Or maybe they should just be called toddler ammunition, because when those little nuggets of skewed information start rolling out, take cover! My husband and I experienced this last night.

The three of us, tucked into a cute little pizzeria. Livin' the dream...until Little Guy chooses the dinner rush to let everyone know, "Mommy has a baby in her tummy!" I smile and shake my head, letting him (everyone) know this is not the case. Too late. All the patrons are already looking at my belly. So maybe I had an extra slice, but 2 pieces of plain cheese does not a baby make!

We survived this one by the pure fact that we knew no one in the restaurant. Let's hope we're so lucky next time LG drops his ammo.

Anyone else have a good "Mommy Dirt" story?  Let's share!

I know it's over, but....Valentine Hugs!

My son had his first little Valentine's Party last week and I couldn't resist making some cute little treats for his buddies.  I know the holiday has already come and gone, but pin it for next year, or, better yet...change out the m&m colors and make yourself a St. Paddy's Day treat!

What you Need: (for 2 trays of hugs)
3 bags of Hugs
1 bag of chocolate m&m's
1 bag of pretzel snaps

My beloved jellyroll pans are at it again!  Line them with parchment paper for a quick cleanup, then lay the snaps out.

Get to unwarpping those hugs!

Place a hug on each pretzel.  You can enlist a cute helper if you have one handy! ;)

 Preheat the oven to 250 and bake the trays for 7 minutes apiece.  Here's a tip though...you have to get the m&m's on immediately after removing the pretzels/hugs from the oven, so I like to do one tray at a time.  Once I have the m&m's on the first tray, I pop the other tray in the oven and fold some laundry for 7 minutes...you know you have some laundry.

Once they come out of the oven, take 2 m&m's (preferably different colors) and plop them right on top.  Your fingers will get chocolatey!

Refrigerate the trays for about 30 minutes so everything sets. You can stop there and munch away, or, you can wrap up a few for friends.

What you Need:
Curling ribbon
Hole Puncher
Valentine Message
Clear pretzel rod candy bags

I made little labels for my son's treats in Word and printed them out.  Easy-peasy.  They say "A hug from me to you!"  how cute!

I also cut out a red heart to place the name of each recipent on.

Put 5 hugs in a plastic pretzel rod bag (I found mine at Party City).  Fold over the top and hold the label and the name tag on either side of the bag.  Punch through all 3 layers.  Thread curling ribbon through the holes and tie to secure.  Voila!  A cutesy treat for your kids' cutesy friends!

Beware...these little guys are addictive...