Puppy Pawty!

Madison has increasingly become more and more OBSESSED with dogs! She absolutely LOVES them and has gained quite a knowledge on breeds, care, well EVERYTHING puppy. Currently, her plans are to become an "overnight" veterinarian while owning "boy and girl married bichons that will have lots and lots of puppies. She will not get them fixed so that they can get married!"

Of course when the time arose for her to decide on her party she chose PUPPIES (shocker lol). I figured I'd find all kinds of cool puppy stuff (haha not so much) and that I would just run with it...

Once I finally buckled down and tried to nail down all the deets, I was surprised that there is not much out there for puppy parties for GIRLS unless its a pink poodle party... Just my luck!

I did find a FABULOUS printable pack from etsy and I was able to get invites, circles, labels thank yous etc... I wanted simple but girly and these were just that...

I ordered cupcakes to match the invitations and they were so STINKING cute! The decorating was superb!

I had planned on a puppy agility course outside as well as a bone hunt, but in true casa de crazy fashion it rained so those were NIXED asap!

As the kids arrived, they were able to choose some puppy ears, they chose a collar, and had their noses painted... Once everyone arrived, we headed to the adoption center where every picked a puppy, a puppy blankie, an adoption certificate, and they headed over to the table to name their new buds and make them some collars :)

Next, we played  a puppy relay... The kids had to get from one place to another and back again without losing anything from their baskets. There was some mandatory howling, lots of scampering, and quite a few barks! I think they enjoyed it and of course they each got a gold medal for their oh so fab performances!

Explaining the rules: some intently listening others I bored to tears lol

ready set...

GO!

Next up was snack. I just had some snacky stuff for food... (fruit, pound cake bites, cool whip, paw oatmeal cookies, scooby snack grahams, and some bone shaped candies). I wont lie, by this point I was FREAKING a wee bit because I felt like we were finishing everything MUCH too quick! The rain TOTALLY messed me up!

After a quick snack, we played pass the puppy (like hot potato) and I really think the girls liked it... I was surprised NO ONE got mad when they got out! (I say girls because Anthony wooed all the boys away with hot wheels and other shiny objects as soon as they walked in the door lol)

Next was cupcakes! Mad loved them, but of course once she blew out the candle on her special cupcake, she decided she"d rather have chocolate :)

my favorite pic of the day! she looks SO happy!

At this point, I was OUT OF IDEAS! Usually, I don't get everything done so this was a FIRST! When everyone was done their cupcakes, they set out on their sugar highs and played! The boys went back to the cars and trains and whatever else they could still see on the playroom shelves and the girls barked and pranced and had a good old time playing puppies! It was a total free for all, but the kids were having a great time and that's what its all about... Right?

puppy playtime

Madison said it was her best birthday ever, so MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Now to get cracking on all the Thank You notes!

Wordless Wednesday

For more WW: A Beautiful Mess, Look at What Mom found... and Dad too,  Momspective,  Wordless Wednesday ,

Say it aint so!

Well I've been MIA in the blog world for over a week, but with good cause... I have been preparing for my daughter"s FIFTH birthday! How is that even possible??!! Five is just SO big and SO special! It seems like yesterday I was bringing Miss Priss home... I still picture her as my cute little 2 year old... I don't see her as the often sweet, always diva, precocious little lady she has become.

We spent her day playing, laughing, lunching, and waiting for daddy to hurry home so she could open her gifts and go to her birthday dinner (Outback of course... The Peanut restaurant (aka Logan's) "only gives a yee haw and (per Mad) I need some singin'!)

Cupcakes we made for school

Madison is quite amazing! Yes, she drives me BATTY... She is very MUCH my mini (the traits I would rather ignore about myself? Yup, she has them all lol). I was desperate for a girly girl and with each argument over "leggings are TO pants even under a dress and I do NOT wear pants! That is for BOYS!" I am reminded that I wanted tutus and ballet and by owls that is what I have received....

She is most definitely one of a kind and I am so glad she was given to me :) She is my snuggle bug, she is my shopping partner, and she is my project runway date. I cannot imagine my world with out her!

In the last five years she has really come out of her shell and has developed quite a personality... She is quite the comedian and Jason and I spit drinks often because of her wit, observations, or explanations. Madison looks at life in a way that makes it so much more interesting... I love seeing the world through her eyes. It is such a gift and one that I cherish...

Madison tells us often that we are her treasure, but I think the true treasure is my little miss herself! Happy birthday baby girl we love you more then you will ever know!

Wordless Wednesday

For more WW: A Beautiful Mess, Look at What Mom found... and Dad too,  Momspective,  Wordless Wednesday ,

Spring has Sprung!

At least for this week! The forecast is calling for sunshine and 70's all week long! I predict I will be the mother of 2 sun kissed cheeked, worn out, and filthy minis and I LOVE it!

Jason took the kids up to the school today to run their RC cars and they had a blast! They ran them ALL over the place laughing and running the whole time! I took advantage of the opportunity and ran a few errands, but they were still going strong, so instead of going home I joined my brood...

We ran, climbed, and played. Hard! It was fantastic! The fresh air and sunshine were just what we needed! Anthony was de-littering his school. Picking up the few bits of trash that were around. He "did not want his school to be full of litter"! I was proud of his good deed doing...

When the minis' bellies started to rumble we headed home for a quick snack before we made our way to a local park for some "train spotting" and creek playing.

I swear all my kids need is the dirt, sunshine, and water. When all three of these things are combined, I get a perfect day! They had a blast jumping in the water and mud...

Splashing, seeing how far they could go before their boots filled with water, digging along the creek bottom, and trying to catch water bugs elicited squeals and laughter! Boat races kept them busy for quite some time :) Oh how they marveled at them floating downstream and running ahead to catch them... It was really so much fun!  (I need to pick up some more ASAP because 2 were MIA buried in the mud somewhere I'm sure... They will be a delightful treasure for the next kids who come along)

A bunch of kids joined in on our fun and I think they were all content and tired when we finally headed back to the car....

Even though they had to strip to their unders for the ride home, (they were SOAKED) I would do it again tomorrow... Dirt and mud wash away but our afternoon of fun will fill out hearts for many many sunshine days ....

Sew fun...

I have wanted to learn how to sew for like, well, EVER! It was something I just never did or tried. Jason knows how to sew, how funny is that? He learned at some point in school and has proven to be useful... He made some of the curtains in my old house :)

don't mind the wet crazy hair, she just got out of the shower

I have been yearning for a pillow case dress since Madison started walking, but I never bought one. I was holding out hope that I could make one :) Well, she is almost 5 and I tried it today :)

I like the ones with the bow on only one side best :)

Jason has been going to teach me for a while now, but we just never get to it. Today, for some reason, I got sick of waiting on him so I read the machines manual and went to it... I made a few mistakes, but once I figured out what I was doing it was super easy :) I may try another one tonight since I have a TON of fabric left!

you can glimpse the new cabinets and appliances in my kitchen in this pic...  :)

I used this tutorial for the basis, except I did not do a lining... I was pleased how it turned out and I think that if I keep messing with the sewing machine, just might figure it all out!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Seuss is a lot of fun :) His books are not my most favorite, but they are some of the minis' faves :) Since today was his birthday, Anthony's class got to dress up like their favorite character... Anthony didn't know who his favorite was, so I suggested being Thing One because it was the only one I could think of that I could semi manage a costume for :) I cut a felt circle and stitched it to a red t-shirt, ironed on some letters, and wrapped 3 blue boas around a winter hat... EASY!

He loved the hat, and it suits his crazy personality quite well... Well, until he informed me that he was NOT riding the bus with THAT hat! lol I drove him to school and he was fine. Just as we were pulling up, he ripped the hat off because he was embarrassed, but once the principal opened our car door and told him about all the other kids dressed up he popped it back on his head and strutted into school :)

Anthony had a lot of fun at school today and I loved hearing all about his friends' costumes :) Madison informed me that she "will like to be Cindy the who girl next year"... I think that will be a wee bit harder :)

Switching it up around here...

We go through phases where the kids are SUPER good about helping out, and then there are spurts where I feel like there is NO TIME and its just easier for me to do... At least then its done right. Right?

We've been in the phase of me doing everything for a while now and I am so over it! The kids have been asking for an "allowance" so today I whipped up this simple, but hopefully effective chore system...

The minis will need to pick 2 chores each day. There are two that repeat every day (setting the table and unloading the dishes), but the other chore they can chose from a stack. They also have a tag with the days of the week on it. They are expected to have their toys picked up each night before bed. The toys that are not picked up go in a bin and belong to me. They can earn them back WHEN I see that they are actually picking their stuff up...

I think its important for them to take part in the household and I hope to instill some work ethic and responsibility at the same time. They are old enough to pitch in some... I know allowance can be a controversial topic, but I am not opposed to bribery... Money tends to motivate my wee ones as their favorite past time is perusing the toy aisle in Target :)

Today was the kick off and it went well, however; I know the novelty will wear off and FAST... Anthony dug vacuuming my hardwood with the stick broom and Madison thought wiping the door glass was cool... I hope that I can stick to it because as I explained to them: "The more help I have the more time I have to do fun things with you". We shall see...

I uploaded the tags I made, so feel free to use them for your family. If you do, let me know how it works out!

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