Puppy Party: Our Boy's 2nd Birthday

A puppy party. 

I saw the idea of a it just a few months after his first birthday.  Yes, I know. 

While there are TONS of cute little boy party themes to choose from on the grand ol' world wide web, so many seemed just a little too old for him....baseball, super heroes, Legos, camping.....all of those are super sweet and fun, but none of those are things he has an interest in just yet. 

And he loves my parent's black lab.  So it just made sense. A puppy party it was. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, none of these ideas were originated entirely with me.  Pinterest provides lots of inspiration y'all.  

When we have Sunday Family Dinner at my parent's, my aunts and uncle and cousin all bring their dogs each month, so this was another great reason behind doing the puppy party, because what fun is a puppy party without dogs, right?

I looked at lots of ideas on Pinterest for the invites and combined several ideas to come up with this:

I decided to stick with red and blue with the Fourth of July being just days after our little guy's birthday.  I mean why reinvent the wheel, right?  Stick with red and blue and then whatever is leftover can be used the following weekend.  Can I get an amen? 

Peanut has a friend in her preschool and his birthday is July 2.  I was talking to his mom and she said she's done some sort of red, white, and blue theme for all five of his birthdays.  This last year he wanted superheroes party and her first thought was, "Red, white and blue....superheroes....?.....we can do Captain America!"  I love how she thinks! 

This last winter I found the cutest little dog t-shirt for him on clearance at Gymboree.  I paid like $5 total for both the shirt and shorts.  It was in reds/blues/greens and I totally made it work. 

On the menu were hot dogs (what else, right?) with all the fixings and potato salad (homemade because store bought is just blech!) and a fresh fruit platter.  I also did Puppy Chow, because, of course.  And then cupcakes and homemade chocolate and vanilla bean ice cream.  The chocolate was this recipe, and the vanilla was this recipe.  They were both amazing.   

My mama gave me a Cricut cutting machine nearly six years ago and I had a cartridge that had a little puppy face cut out.  I used that for the treat {doggy} bags, the bunting banner, the cupcake toppers and even the paper circle garland.  To make all those crafts probably cost me less than $10.  My mom had bought me a lifetime supply of white paper lunch bags at our local restaurant supply store prior to Peanut's Elmo party nearly four years ago.  While I thought it extremely excessive at the time, those bags have come in handy each year since.  I had red, white, and blue card stock from my prior years as a Stampin' Up demonstrator, and I had white thread for my sewing machine for the paper garland.  Really all I had to buy was the red/white baker's twine for the bunting and the navy/white star scrapbook paper for the background for the bunting and red/white washi tape.  Because I've seen this washi tape trend all over and I finally had an excuse to try some!  Plus, the twine, scrapbook paper, and tape I got all on sale.  So it really took more time than anything!

For the treats inside the bags, I got dog bone shaped graham crackers (dipped in chocolate) and blue racquet balls.  So the kids could play fetch and get a treat.....get it???!?  Also included but not shown were "dog tags", whistles, sidewalk chalk, blue bandanas (which we forgot to pass out!), and bubbles.  Those were all purchased--that did not come from my stash!


I found straws and cupcake sugar pearls from this Etsy shop....and let me offer you a little public service announcement when using sugar pearls for cupcakes.   First off, it had nothing to do with the brand or where I got these sugar pearls from.  The Etsy shop owner was oh so great!

I was so disappointed in the cupcakes I didn't even take a close up of them.  Right: the one that held up.

But here goes.....because I am a planner and list maker extraordinaire, I knew I would be busy with decorating and last minute food prep the day of the party.  So naturally, I baked and iced the cupcakes the day before.  Because I made cream cheese frosting, I refrigerated the cupcakes.  And because that would be grody to leave cupcakes in the open refrigerator air, I put them all in covered containers.  All but one cupcake, because the last one didn't fit in said containers.  So there he sat in the open refrigerator air all night long.  Don't ask me why the cupcake was a he.  He just was.

I'm no scientist, but my theory is the condensation had no where to go but on the little sugar pearls and cause them to bleed all over.  The one in the open air?  Held up beautifully--and still is three days later.  I might have totally had a meltdown the morning of the party.  To the point of tears and considering using cleaned tweezers to take the melted sugar pearls off and replace them with new sugar pearls.  Then my mom suggested that was way too time consuming {which it was} and scraping off the icing and starting over would be much easier {which it would have been}.  But then, that just seemed INCREDIBLY wasteful with all those in the world who don't even have enough food on their plates each and every day (I'm dead serious).  It took nearly everything I had, but in the words of Elsa, I "Let It Go."  It was a very hard thing to do.  But like my sweet six year old daughter reminded me, "They'll still taste good, mommy." 

Out of the mouth of babes, right? 

Anyhow, after that little spoiled sob story, here is my PSA: if you make cupcakes ahead and use sugar pearls and feel the need to refrigerate, DON'T cover the cupcakes.  There.  I feel so much better having shared that with the masses.  


Oh, and then the weather.  What a blessing THAT was.  Ten days ago it said the day of his party was forecasted for rain.  And rain it was up to the day of the party.  Even several people who came to the party said they drove through downpours and showers all the way to my parent's house.  But my parents house?  A slight sprinkle the morning of and even slighter sprinkle that afternoon.  That was it.  It even ended up being slightly sunny for the better part of the party.  To the point of all the older kids swimming in my parent's pool!  In 68* weather no less!!!  But that's another story for another time....  All that to say: we were blessed immensely.  Praise the Lord!

So finally:  Our boy had such a fun time.  And he didn't say a word about the cupcakes.  He loved seeing his cousins and aunts and uncles and over of course, his Papa and Gamma.  He was a big fan of the fruit platter (he loved on mango for the first time!) and he generally didn't. stop. moving. for nearly six hours.  He enjoyed all there was to enjoy and then some. 

He had a blast at his pawty--no pun intended, as he can't quite say his R's yet. 

Next up?  He is so excited for the fow woks {fire works} because what boy doesn't like explosives? 


 

A Tisket, A Tasket

Our little Peanut (who's getting to be not so little anymore!) had her end of school year voice recital tonight. 

She did really well.  And quite honestly, I was a teensy worried, as she had a small part of the song where she seemed to get tripped up and forget her words every so often.  But in the end--our girl rocked it.  While I know I am very biased (I am her mother after all!), please know I'm not saying she's the next Carrie Underwood by ANY means.  I was just very proud of our girl. 

Oh, and a funny little story of how Peanut's solo choice came to be.   Her instructor played A Tisket, A Tasket for Peanut at her lesson in late March and Peanut didn't seem very big on it.  Truth be told, neither was I!  Which is funny because I typically LOVE anything that is 30's and 40's--I think it was that I wasn't very familiar with the song.  I mean, I had heard it, but I didn't know it really well.  Anyhow, I digress.  I asked her teacher if there was anything else she had in mind.  So she pulled out several other songs (at least three others?) and played each of those for Peanut.  Nope, she didn't like those either.  So Peanut then told her instructor, "I would rather do the first song you played."

I guess her instructor knows Peanut better than she knows herself!

And let me tell you--this song really, really grew on me these last three months.  In the end, I ended up loving it!!!  It was a very, very sweet song.  I also love it that her instructor seems to know her students and his/her abilities so well and what each of them are capable of.  I have loved every song that Peanut has done.  Her teacher just seems to pick the songs so well for the child and their age.  It's very clear she knows what she's doing!  Which is good for this no musical talent mama!!!

And yes, while I can seem to take a semi decent photo, apparently I'm as blind as a bat when it comes to taking a video.  It's TERRIBLY out of focus, but the audio is good, so there's that. 

Pool Time

My crazy kids.

We get over to my parents the other night and my dad had started getting the pool ready.  The big pool, that is.  Not the dog's pool.  He's taken the winter cover off, starting cleaning it, and starting putting water in it.  Once all that is done, then he'll have to get the pH balanced so it's all good to swim in.

Then the weather has to cooperate.  And let me tell you we've really had a GORGEOUS spring, so know that I'm not complaining.  We've definitely had some rain, but lately it seems to be all at once.  We'll get some doozies (read: torrential downpours) over the course of several days and then it clears up and it'll be dry and warm for a week at a time.

This is not typical for the Pacific Northwest.  It's actually quite a bit more common to have 76 rainy days in row.  Of course, it never rains non-stop for that long, but to have 76 days in a row where it rained at some point during each day?  Pretty common.  So this weather we've been having?

So, so nice.  

But not quite warm enough to get that ol' pool warmed up.  We need some HOT days to get it all swimable {yes, I just made that a word} if we hope to get in it prior to the 4th of July.

And while I know my little Peanut is very impatient for that pool to be ready, if our whole summer was this way?

I'd take it. 

In a heart beat.  



 

Silly Girl!

Our little girl's sense of humor is developing more with each passing day.  She cracked. me. up. the other night when I suggested I get a picture of her and her brother with their grandma and grandpa.  She smiled sweetly for the obligatory posed pictures and then she pops out with, "Let's do a silly face picture!"  It just made me laugh, because that's not something we've really ever done in my family.

Me?  I like to have the perfect smiling picture of myself.  Probably 'cause I don't think I am very photogenic, and those good photo occurrences are so few and far between! 

She's got her daddy's sense of humor {and his confidence!} that's for sure.




 

To Mama and Dadbert

Thank you both for your love for the Lord, your dedication to your marriage and each other.  Your children and grandchildren are so blessed to have you setting a thirty-nine year example of what love and commitment look like in a society where marriages fail more often than they succeed. 

We are so grateful. 

I love you both dearly, 

 

SFD and Driver's Ed--Part Deux

A fun little activity we've been blessed with since we've been back home is Sunday Family Dinner.  My mama is blessed with the gift of hospitality and she loves to entertain.  She does it so well too.  So for the past year and a half she hosts (hostesss'?) what we call Sunday Family Dinner or SFD.  It's always the first Sunday of each month and we all go over for some good food and even better fellowship with all my favorite peeps. 

This time of the year is the best because we get to enjoy our time outside....and today turned out to be a beautiful day!  It was a little cloudy this morning, and I was a little hesitant.  But being a native here to these parts, I should know better.  Those clouds usually burn off by after lunch. 

And so they did around 1:00 pm.

After we ate, the kids got to enjoy burning off their endless amounts of energy.   They played on their play structure and played in a tent my dad set up for them in the yard for at least an hour.  You always know it's a winner when they are entertained for that long.  The Peanut even played croquet with some of the adults. Don't know that she really gets it yet, but hey, it was fun for her, right? 

Grandma and Grandpa have blessed my littles with a battery operated kids car and the Little Brother has enjoyed riding shot gun to his favorite girl for several months now.  {That would be Peanut, in case that wasn't obvious!}   He just thinks riding shot gun is a grand ol' time.  

But today?

The gloves were off and he got to try his hand at driving.   With Peanut guiding his every move.  You think I'm kidding.....but that's what big sisters are for, right? 

By my estimation, he should be a great driver by the time he is Peanut's age.   As I look back, it looks like he's got about a 10 month lead on when she started driving.  

I guess that should be expected when you have an older sister to keep up with!


 

Uncle

So said potty training? I cried "uncle" on Thursday afternoon.  Like I said before, you sort of know what you are doing the second time around.  

Maybe I tried too soon. 

Maybe I didn't try long enough. 

Maybe he likes the idea of the potty, but he isn't ready.  

Maybe he is ready but he is stubborn and I need to be more stubborn. 

Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe.....
 
Given the fact that he is not even two (but will be soon!) and summer has just begun, we are shelving it for now, but rest assured we will try again soon. 

That dear, sweet husband of mine has some time off at the end of June, so we are going to attempt it once again in about four weeks. 

I'll keep you posted and you keep me in your prayers!


 

Butter

Although, I don't eat it by the finger full, I have this self-admitted, irrational fear of running out of butter.  There is no explanation why, except that I'm weird. 

I buy butter in bulk at Costco.  I almost always have a full four pounds out in our garage fridge.  But then a few weeks back, there was a special on Tillamook butter, combining store coupons and manufacture coupons, making it only $1.50 a pound, which with today's skyrocketing food prices, is a STEAL.  So I went and picked up my limit of two.

Three times.

Does anyone else do this?  




 

Thousand Island Dressing

Well, h*e*l*l just might have actually frozen over.  'Cause I'm posting a recipe here, folks.

We won't even mention just how long it's been since I've done that.  (It's been since November of 2011.)

This one is just too good not to give mention to, and I have my mama to thank.  She's pretty awesome like that. 

We have our family favorite homemade ranch dressing and it's awesome.  I seriously haven't bought salad dressing in a sweet forever.  Although I'm not nearly on the whole foods bandwagon as I was three years ago (but certainly should be!), I still don't buy salad dressing.

Like ever. 

I've heard it's one of the worst processed foods out there, with all the preservatives and junk that manufactures put in them.  I know for darn sure that my homemade salad dressing isn't good for like six months after I make it.  It's probably good for two weeks, tops.  Not that it ever lasts that long--because it's so much better.   

Anyhow, thousand island dressing.  Seriously NOT my favorite dressing out there.  I mean, if it was the only dressing available, I would eat it.  Begrudgingly.  I would never choose it from a restaurant  when eating out.  It's simply is not my go to dressing. 

Until now--at least when eating at home!

My mama added several things to give this some kick, including horseradish, Sriracha hot sauce and cayenne pepper. And it is yum.

It definitely gets 10 stars in my book! 

1,000 Island Salad Dressing with a Little Something Extra 

3/4 cup mayonaise
1/3 cup to 1/2 cup of ketchup
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp prepared horseradish
2 Tbsp Worsteshire sauce
2 Tbsp pickle relish
2-3 tsp Sriracha hot sauce (I don't like things super spicy, but I seriously had to add a fair amount to give this some noticeable kick)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt, to taste


Mix ingredients together thoroughly.  All of these ingredients are approximate.....that's how I (and my mom) both roll in the kitchen!.  Feel free to add additional of any of the above ingredients to suit your tastes! 

Refrigerate until ready to serve. 



This recipe is linked to:

Flour Me with Love's Mix it Up Monday
Premeditated Leftovers Hearth and Soul Hop



  

I Know This May Take Longer Than I Think

The benefit to having more than one child is that you sort of know what to expect the second time around.  Key phrase being sort of.

This week I am attempting to get the Little Brother potty trained.  I know "they" say that boys always take longer, and that very well may be true, but this little guy has been asking to go in the potty for probably the last month or so.  And he will actually "go" in the potty.  Each time.  When Peanut was that age, she asked too......and she just smiled sweetly and sat there and didn't do anything.  So while we've definitely encouraged it with the Little Brother, I haven't pressed it with Peanut still being in school.

What does Peanut being in school have to do with it?   I learned the first time around {much to my surprise!!!} that it takes just as much discipline on the parent as it does on the little one.  I had to just get down to business when it came time to potty train her.  No random errand shopping, post office visits, limeade fixes in the middle of the day.  I figured out not so quickly that you just have to been done with diapers.  Put 'em underwear and you'll be cleaning up lots of messes and doing lots o' laundry for several days.  No Pull Ups....because let's face it, they are just like diapers in that your toddler won't feel wet.  And they need to feel wet.  Makes them cold and uncomfortable...makes them figure out that hey, maybe I should be telling mommy.  All this to say, that with Peanut, I stayed home and stayed put. While it took about a week....I finally had her potty trained. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I am talking about potty trained during the day.....it took about another year until she was potty trained at night.  But again, the night potty training?  Mommy and Daddy discipline as well!  Changing lots of wet sheets, but within about three weeks....she started being dry all night long.

And I know that many will argue who are you really potty training?  Me or the toddler?  Because sure, I wasn't comfortable letting her "go" completely by herself until probably about a year and half later (she was just over two when we potty trained).  It's hard for little ones to get their pants down, do their business, wipe well, get their pants done back up, and wash their hands to mommy's satisfaction.  They need some help to do all that.  And to be perfectly honest, some kids still can't do all that even at age seven!  But the way I figure, if they can tell you that they need to go, then they are ready.  So what if you're helping them with all the logistics for some time after?  You still are helping them with everything else when they are just two years old anyhow, right?  Bathing, getting dressed, meals, drinks, laundry.....obviously the list is endless! 

And even still, if all those logistics take a year (or two!) to get down....the savings on diapers alone are so worth it!  I estimate it's anywhere from $500-$1000 in savings--and for this tight budgeted family?  I'll take it!  

Plain and simple.  
 

Anyhow, all that said, I am attempting it with the Little Brother this week.  I did all my shopping, running errands, etc., and we are staying home this week.  Got him a potty seat (Peanut's was pink, of course!) and a set of training pants.  I actually already purchased some underwear for him awhile back because they had them at Costco a few months back.  So today when he woke up from his nap, the training pants (the thick cotton Gerber ones--they absorb more than underwear!) went on.  No pants/shorts, just the training pants.  And for the next four hours?  He told me probably 5-6 six times that he had to go--and he did, each time!  I only had to change him out of wet training pants twice.  That's a huge victory as far as I'm concerned because Peanut didn't go down that easy.  I changed her out of wet bottoms probably that many times in the first hour! 

But we will see....for the rest of the week, we will be at it again each day.  Hopefully we will have victory by the end of the week?   If not, I am not going to sweat it.  (Can you say second child???)  We will just try again in another month or so and do a repeat of this week.  But by the end of summer? 

Definitely hope diapers will be a distant memory!