Miss 3's Farm Themed Birthday Party (Barnyard Bash)

When Miss 3 turned 2 she was obsessed with animals, specifically sheep and ducks.  She use to carry around that little toy sheep that comes with the Fischer Price red barn.  She use to put it in the baby stroller and stroll it around the house.  She use to take it everywhere with her.  It was difficult to think of a theme for her second birthday because she didn't talk a whole lot and she wasn't into any T.V. shows or movies like her older sister.  But she loved that little Baa Baa...

So I went with that and decided to throw her a 'farm themed' birthday party.

I considered having at a farm...but Miss 3's birthday is in May and the weather can be so unpredictable...that would just give me anxiety.  Plus, I wasn't so sure about the farm smell while eating...or the mud...if you haven't guessed, I am also just a bit of a neat freak.  Ok, Ok, I'm obsessed with cleaning too.

Then I tried to find an mobile petting zoo with 'farm-ish' type animals instead of lizards and creepy crawling things.  No luck there.

So I decided on the local Community Seniors Centre...ok it sounds bad...but it was nice.  Let me just clarify...it wasn't a Nursing home, it was a Senior's Community Centre...not sure if that makes it any better?!  It was clean, bright and there was lots of space for the kids to participate in all of the activities.  Plus it was very reasonable to rent.  All I had to do was take this empty room designed for senior's social functions and turn it into a farm...no problem...I love a challenge!

The Food ~

Kid Friendly 'Milk Jugs'; create your own with chalk marker and chalk board label.

Pigs in a Blanket; hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls

Tractor Wheels; sandwich roll platter. Fruit Platter labelled 'Miss 3's Garden'.

Chicken Fingers, Carrot and Cucumber Sticks in a berry basket.

The cake; Farm Animal Cake Pops and a Red Barn 'blow-out' cake.







Checked Table Cloths and Munchies; Gummie Berries, Annie's Cheese Bunny Crackers and Ritz Cheese and Cracker Sandwiches (wheels).  I also used large apple baskets for chips and popcorn.

 

Loot Bags ~

 

I set up a 'Pick-Your-Own' loot bag table for our guests' loot bags.  I provided paper shopping bags, farm stickers, rubber ducks, pigs and cows with googly eyes that popped out when you squeeze them, red and white lollipops, and farm themed board books, picture books and colouring books.  The kids had a blast picking an item from each basket that they wanted to take home with them.

 

 



 



 

 

 

Decorations ~

 

Unfortunately I forgot to snap a close-up of these super cute pompom animals that I made.  But these are the designs I followed.  I bought the pom poms at my local party store and cut out the face pieces using construction paper.  They turned out great!

 

 

 

Activities ~

 

Cotton Ball Sheep (paper plate, cotton balls, cut out face, googly eyes), paint a wooden horse (Michael's pre-cut wood ornaments and paint), a toy table full of all of the farm toys, puzzles books etc. that I could find in my house. 

 

We also hired some musical entertainment.  He came with his guitar and performed the very best version of Old MacDonald I have ever heard...lol!  No seriously, he was great.  The kids loved using the instruments and dancing around.  But the best part of the party was when our entertainer asked if there were any requests.  We went through all the usual songs...ABCD, Twinkle Twinkle, Row Row Row Your Boat.  My nephew who was 5 at the time, was practically bursting with his hand up.  Finally he got chosen.   'Do you know I'm Sexy and I Know It'?  Well we all just about died of laughter.  I had tears rolling down my face.  The entertainer's response was 'Well...Umm...you start, and I'll see if I can follow!'.  It was the highlight of the party!

 

 

 

All of the kids came decked out in their best cowboy/cowgirl gear...plaid, denim, overalls, hats, boots, pigtails and holsters!!!  It was a darn toot'n good time.



 

First Birthday Food Ideas

I was asked to share some ideas on 1st Birthday Party Food.  First birthdays are hard.  Most times, the one year old is celebrating with family who is all older than them, making it difficult to make up an appropriate menu to suit all ages. 

If your one year old is lucky enough to have lots of one year old friends...I love the idea of using ice cube trays to make up little snack plates!  Let's be honest.  It's hard for little ones to eat well at parties with all of the excitement and new things to do.  These snack plates will allow them to graze on many different things.  Personalizing them with their name would be a great idea so that they don't get mixed up with another guests.  I would personally omit the crackers, cookies and pretzels below (for one year olds) and substitute with raisins or cranberries, Cherrios, ham cubes (or other protein), hard boiled egg chunks, partially cooked baby carrots, cut up baby cereal bars, or a mini pita.

If you find that there are too many compartments in an ice cube tray, look for a 6 cube tray or a baby food making tray (shown below).  If appropriate, it could be part of their take home gift/loot bag. 
 

 

The baby food pouch did not exist when Miss 5 and Miss 3 were little.  But man, I really don't know how I managed without them!  I use them all the time with Miss 1.  It is so helpful that they can feed themselves and stay occupied while you prep their meal or when you are on the run.  Plus, they are getting a serving of fruits/veggies rather than Cherrios...which is what I use to give as a snack to tie my kids over.  I love, love, love the food pouch!

 

For parties, these reusable pouches below are a great add on to your menu.  Whip up a batch of the Birthday Boy or Girl's favourite puree and fill up your guests pouches!  They can take them home as their loot bag and refill them with their child's favourite puree.  Attaching a tag with your own puree recipe is a nice personal touch and an easy way for parents to remake if their child really liked it. 

 

Alternatively, I love how the store-bought one is shown with the snack tray above.  Another option is creating a label (similar to a water bottle label/wrap) to apply to the pouches to fit your theme.  You could get really creative with this, either by purchasing pouches in the colours of your party or 'playing' on the flavour; like banana puree for a monkey theme...and call it Monkey Mash!



 



 

The most well received party food that I have ever served to kids has been grilled cheese sandwiches!  I prepped the sandwiches ahead of time and kept them warm in the oven until lunch.  I cut them into heart shapes...my kids don't like crust anyway...and it was a Valentine's Day party.  An alternative to grilled cheese would be to fill sandwiches with cream cheese and jam or peanut butter and jelly (if there are no concerns of nut allergies).

 

 

If you are having a lunch time party, try serving a brunch.  Most one year olds love eggs, pancakes, waffles, fruit...soft items that they can pick up and feed themselves.  Consider setting up a pancake or waffle bar.  Provide all of the toppings and let the guests top their pancakes themselves.  Mini muffins, mini croissants, pigs in a blanket are all yummy additions for little ones too.  Hard boiled eggs or an breakfast casserole is an easy way to incorporate eggs into your menu.  Plus, everything can be made ahead of time and warmed up while guests are arriving.

 



 

   Please share your menu ideas from your little one's first birthday!

 

 

 

Miss 5's Fairy Tea Party

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE planning kids parties.  I had no idea that this secret obsession was hiding within me, until I had kids!  I love EVERYTHING about it.  The lists...the researching of new ideas...the food planning...the loot bag ideas, especially the loot bags...EVERYTHING.  The more detail, the more meticulous the task, the more I love it.  Ok, so we have established that I have issues...this might be by far my biggest problem.  My kid's parties consume my every waking thought for the months of May, June and July.  Who am I kidding...I've already been thinking about their next party themes!

I had a blast putting together a Fairy Tea Party for Miss. 5 this year.  This was the first year we had a 'drop-off' party with a few of her school friends.  I was a little nervous, but it all went well.

Activities:
We have a small home so I decided to set up 'stations' throughout the house.  This helped the kids to come in, get settled into an activity (and feel comfortable) and most importantly spread out throughout the house.

Decorate Fairy Wings - I bought one pair of fairy wings for each child to decorate (Target).  Then I got a whole bunch of sparkly stickers for the kids to decorate them with (Dollar Store).  Most of them wore them for the whole party.  Too Cute.

Make Edible Fairy Wands - I made Rice Krispie Squares, but cut them out with a star shaped cookie cutter.  I bought extra large lollipop sticks (Michael's) and stuck one in each one to make a fairy wand.  The kids had a blast decorating them with icing and treats.

Freeze Dance - We played a game of Freeze Dance with some added fairy rules.  If the 'Snow Fairy' touched you with her wand you had to freeze until 'Tinkerbell' came around a sprinkled you with (pretend) pixie dust.  Then you could start dancing again.  Each child had a turn to be one of the fairies.

Pin the Wand on Tinkerbell - I used one of our dress up wands and a poster of Tinkerbell to make our own pin-the-tail...I mean wand on Tinkerbell.

Face Painter - I hired a face painter to paint beautiful designs on the children's faces if they wanted.

 

Tea Party - For lunch we had an outdoor tea party.  I set up some large tables and used a variety of cake stands to display the food.  The fairies drank iced tea in little plastic tea cups, since it was the middle of summer!

 

Food:

Naan Pizzas - President's Choice Mini Naan circles as the crust, sauce, cheese and pepperoni.

Fairy Bread - Sandwich bread with butter (or peanut butter like My Mom use to do) and sprinkles. I cut them into fingers.

Fairy Fruit Wands - Grapes and a star cut melon on a skewer.

Sandwich Sushi Rolls - Sandwich bread with cream cheese and a long slice of cucumber and carrot.  Roll and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.  Store in fridge for a few hours and slice into 'sushi rolls'.

We also had Chicken Nuggets, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Baby Carrots.

Cake - the cake was Tinkerbell's House (a teapot) and her Fairy Friends (a set I picked up at the Disney Store).

 

         

Loot Bag - Along with their Fairy Wings and Rice Krispie Wands, I made up little fairy jars.  I used a mason jar decorated with a fabric flower and paper tag (Michael's).  Inside was a fairy (standing up by sticking it to the bottom with a glue dot), a kid friendly nail polish, a lollipop, a Tinkerbell marker with rolling stamp (Party City).  I got the idea for the jar from the movie 'Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue' (Miss 5's favourite), when Tinkerbell gets trapped by a human in a jar.

P.S. *My thoughts on Loot Bags*....
Can you keep a secret???  I usually throw out my kids' loot bags when we get back from parties.  What a waste.  I am not a fan of loot bags with a bunch of little cheap things in them.  Especially if it is one of those pre-made-generic loot bags.  I really can't stand all of those little things floating around the house that never get played with.  But shhh...don't tell the girls...or the Mom's that gave them to us!  One of the best loot bags we ever got was a couple of books.  The books matched the theme of the party and we still read them all of the time.  A very useful gift.  Plus, it kept the girls quiet in the car on the way home from the party, looking at their new books, bonus!  I love the one significant item loot bags, vs. the bag-o-cheap-mismatched-break-the-next-day-choking-hazard-don't-have-a-place-for-all-of-the-pieces loot bags.

More kids party ideas to come!

Kitchen Organization

 

Since the kids are back to school, I have decided to tackle my kitchen cupboards.  I love to cook, most days.  But I get a little rage when I open the spice cupboard to an avalanche of baking items plummeting to my head.  I don't bake often but seem to have collected a wide variety of baking chocolate!  Who knew all of that was hiding in the crevasses of  the cupboards?!  I had so many partial bags of things that I didn't even know about.  I definitely needed new way to get my 'pantry cupboard' in order.

 

 

So I took a trip to my local Solutions for a little inspiration.  I purchased a step-like spice rack to organize large spices and all of the ones that were in different shaped containers.  I used some little plant pots that I already had to label and organize candles, icing tubes and sprinkles which I don't use very often.  The top shelf of this cupboard used to house all my baking stuff (flour, sugar etc.).  Instead of crossing my fingers each time I open the cupboard in hopes nothing falls, I bought some shoe racks from Ikea to store all of my pantry items in glass jars.  I do not have a built in pantry in my kitchen, so this was a perfect solution.  They are ultra narrow and tilt to open taking up very little space.  Here are some photos of my now-not-so-troublesome cupboards. 

 

 



 



 
The top drawers are 'Mama's' and the bottom drawers house...YOU GUESSED IT...toys, colouring books, homework books, etc.

So now...I am obsessed...obsessed with these shoe racks!!!  I can think of a million ways to use them in all areas of the house.  They take up such little space and could hold pretty much anything with a little imagination.

How are you going to use yours?

Another Obsession - Organizing

Among my other obsessions, I am obsessed with organizing.  I have to admit, I get a bit of a 'high' after organizing a cupboard, closet or toy shelf!  We live in a small house, so organization and optimizing space is key.  I can not tell you the amount of times I have rearranged Miss 5, 3 and 1's playroom, just for the fun of it.  I can't stand clutter.  When things are left laying around I get a tightening in my chest and I go on a daily rampage to get it all put back in it's place.  I can not leave the house if it is a mess.  I will be late to wherever I need to be, just so I can tidy the house up so I don't have to come home to a mess.  De-cluttering is weekly occurrence.  I am always looking for an excuse to get rid of things.  When The Children's Wish Foundation or Diabetes calls to let me know 'that there will be a truck in my area' picking up household items, clothing and toys, I literally hang up the phone, grab a garbage bag (or two) and walk around my house looking for things to get rid of!  If it hasn't been worn, played with or used in the last few months, it gets donated.  When my husband can't find something...guess who he blames?  And...he's usually right...but ssshhh...don't tell him I said that!

Hi.  My name is Vanessa.  I am an obsessive compulsive putter-awayer, re-arranger and de-clutterer.  I have problems, I accept that!  That's the first step, right?
 
Here are a few of my little tips for organizing small homes with young children.

Hair Accessories - With 3 young girls, we have collected A LOT of headbands and hair clips.  To organize hair clips, you can purchase a frame or canvas and hot glue ribbons of various widths and colours onto it.  My hair clip board is hung on the wall of my girls' bathroom and they get a kick out of picking out their own hair accessories for the day.  For headbands, I used to shove them all in a pail.  When I pulled one out, they all fell.  My good friend Tammy (Secret Life of a Stay At Home Mom, Houswife Hacks Part 2) gave me the idea to cover a paper towel roll with fabric and place it back on the holder, decorate it with your own special touches (ribbon, fabric flowers)...and
VOILA...the perfect headband holder!

 

Art Stations - My daughters love to colour, draw and create so I like to have art materials available for whenever the creative juices are flowing.  I purchased kitchen utensil holders from Ikea to use as marker containers and an extra rod to hold a roll of easel paper.  Miss 5 and Miss 3 have their own stations to eliminate fighting and to give them their own space...although they usually squish together and work at the same table!  They also use their tables to create with play-doh and paint.

 

More Labels -  I love these hanging chalkboard labels (from Target) to organize our toy bins on the main floor.  Every cabinet has toys in it.  I can't stand looking at toys all of the time, so the playroom is in the basement and we keep some favourite items upstairs in our main living area...discretely hidden in pretty much every piece of furniture!

Baskets on Stairways - I often keep a basket on my stairway going up to toss things in throughout the day that need to go back upstairs.  The girls like to bring things down from their rooms.  A book, a stuffy, a toothbrush, a taken-off-headband.  At the end of the night, I carry the basket up with me and put everything back in it's place.  This saves me having a complete anxiety attack due to all of the little bits and pieces being scattered around the main floor.  The same goes for going downstairs.  I have a mail-type basket there to gather drawings, artwork and other keepsakes to be taken down to sort out into the girls' art boxes when I have a few minutes.  I take photos of the Art I am not keeping and save the photos in an App called Artkive and file the rest into their memory and art boxes.

Clothing and the Never-ending Laundry Pile -  Just this summer, I decided I would only keep clothes that were a complete outfits.  Every top had a 'matching' bottom.  This allowed me to sort through Miss 3's hand-me-downs quickly, because there seemed to be a lot of random tops and mismatched bottoms.  I began purchasing Miss 5's new clothes only in complete outfits.  This also helps her when choosing an outfit.  This top, goes with these bottoms.  They are pulled out of the closet as a set.  When I am doing laundry, I take a couple of extra minutes to match up the outfits and I stack them in their closets this way.  Not only does it help Miss 5 pick out an outfit, it also helps Mr. 34, my husband, dress the girls when I am not around.  He once showed up to a party with my (then 1 year old) daughter dressed in pants and a dress with an overall dress over top, and a sweater!  I guess he tried...lol...maybe a little too hard.  For me, I am too much of a control freak to allow my daughters to have full liberty in choosing their outfits and apparently my husband needs my guidance!  So this seems to work for all of us.

Coat Rack at Child's Height - Nothing drives me more crazy than the dumping of jackets, shoes and backpacks upon entering the house.  Unfortunately we do not have the luxury of a second entrance or mudroom in our house.  So I have taken a little corner in my house near the front door to create an area where they can hang their own jackets and backpacks and neatly put their shoes away.  Now we just need to teach Miss 1 not to touch the neatly put away shoes!

Ouchie Basket - Every time I go to grab a Band-Aid (which has become a bit of an obsession with Miss 3), I cringe at my over-flowing medicine basket.  I recently re-organized the items into a drawer system and OMG, what a difference!  To grab something in the middle of the night (for teething Miss 1) is SO much easier.  I took everything out of their boxes to make it more compact and easier to store.  It's the little things in life :).

 

I hope some of these ideas help you to get organized and save you time, so you can take a minute and go to Starbucks and get a grande-half-sweet-non-fat-no-water-chai-tea-latte...without the kids...and sip it very, very, slowly...in the car...listening to anything but 'If you're Happy and You Know It'...that's what I would do!

 













 

Miss 5's Fabulous 5 (favourite lunches)

Miss 5 is going into SK this year.  Last year was quite the learning curve to figure out what to pack for her for lunch.  She was used to hot lunches at daycare, didn't really like sandwiches (although would eat most sandwich ingredients if it was deconstructed), had a classroom with nut and egg allergies (eggs being her most favourite food), and of course the constant battle of her 'ever-changing' taste buds!  I wanted to be sure to pack enough food for her, but not too much that she would get discouraged.  By about June, I had it all figured out!


I am not a nutritionist or food expert, just a Real Mom trying to pack 'mainly healthy' lunches.  If I see another 'back-to-school lunch packing post' on facebook with various salads as a 'kid-friendly' options, I think I may scream.  I mean what real kid eats salad?  Unless it is Caesar Salad...which is actually just lettuce with dressing people!

Miss 5 is not a sandwich lover.  Nor does she love dips or sauces.  If I would agree to feed her a vegetarian raw food diet (with the exception of bacon), I believe she would be very happy. 

Here are Miss 5's Fabulous 5 (favourite lunches) from last year.

Top Left: Banana Sushi - Whole grain wrap, spread with no-nut butter (or alternative), roll around a whole banana and slice into 'sushi' pieces.  Sometimes I put in kid-friendly chopsticks for Miss 5 to use!

Top Right: Snacky Lunch - Cheese and Crackers, veggies/fruit and dip, ham rolls...any healthy snack-type foods.  Small amounts of a variety of foods that your child can 'pick' at.

Middle: Quesadilla - cheese, peppers, chopped chicken folded in a wrap and oven baked.  Miss 5 is not a sauce or dip lover, but salsa for dipping is Miss 3's favourite.

Bottom Left: Pancakes.  We sometimes have pancakes on Sundays.  If there are leftovers, which there always are, freeze them and pull a few out for a quick lunch.  They can be defrosted in the toaster or microwave.  Miss 5 likes hers cut into 'fingers' for easy dipping.  The same can be done with French Toast or Waffles.

Bottom Right:  Egg Muffins.  These are an absolute favourite in my house.  Shortly after school started, Miss 5 could not bring them due to classroom allergies, but I am sure she would have if she could.  Cut 3 wraps into quarters.  Press the pieces down into a greased muffin tin.  Mix eggs (5) with milk as if making scrambled eggs.  Fill 'cups' 2/3 full with egg mixture,  Sprinkle with shredded cheese, peppers, ham, whatever you like.  Bake at 350 for 15min or until eggs are set and edges of wraps are crispy.  Store in fridge and reheat in oven for lunches...yummy! 

More yummy ideas coming your way soon.  Enjoy!



Getting 'School Ready'

There can be a lot of anxiety surrounding getting your child ready to start school in September.  When Miss 5 started JK last year, I nearly had a nervous break down in August.  Although she and I were excited, there were so many unknowns.  I became obsessed with finding the perfect backpack, lunch containers, food ideas, labels etc. because it was the only thing I had control over.  It was the one thing I could do to help her day at school be a good one.  I am a bit of a control freak, so the thought of dropping her off at 'big school', not knowing what she would be doing, who her teacher was, what time she would have lunch, when she would have recess, when she would have snack, or if any of her friends would be in her class, kind of freaked me out!  Up until then, I had chosen all of her programs.  I had chosen her daycare and I was able to spy on her in her preschool setting via secured webcam for goodness sake!  But, bringing my then Miss 4 to the large elementary school doors and waving her off into the 'unknown' on her first day of school became a little bit more tolerable, because I knew that I had packed her one hell of a good lunch!!

Here are a few things that I purchased to help make packing lunches a little easier.  Miss 5's school requires a litter-less lunch.  No wrappers or garbage.  So investing in some good quality containers is key.  Remember they that your child needs to be able to open everything independently.



• A Bento-style lunch box from Easy Lunch Boxes...LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this container.  It was super easy to pack, prepare food ahead of time, and easy for Miss 5 to open.  They are also dishwasher safe.
• Silicone cupcake liners (from Bulk Barn) to divide the Easy Lunch Box container even more and make it pretty!
• Drink Thermos if you are planning to send milk or juice.
• Food Thermos if your child doesn't each sandwiches and has been spoiled by a hot lunched at daycare up until now, like mine!
• Reusable Ziplock bags. These ones are 'Lunchskins' brand from Target, are dishwasher safe and close by velcro.  Great for snacks and the environment! 
• Large cookie cutter to cut sandwiches into fun shapes...not sure why but kids get a big kick out of this.
• Divided snack container.  I love, love, loved these too!  Miss 5 had a really late lunch last year, so I always gave her a 'big' morning snack.  I was able to pack a fruit or veg and snack in the same container.  Miss 5 knew which container to eat from first and the locking lid was easy for her to open.  I found these ones at Solutions.

• Ice packs to keep lunch boxes and drinks cold.  I found these ones at the Superstore.
• Indoor shoes, Large Ziplock bag with a change of clothes, extra undies and socks, sunscreen, hand sanitizer and a good quality lunch bag that will fit your 'Easy Lunch Box' container.  
• As you know, I love my labels.  I used Mable's Labels to label everything Miss 5 is taking to school.  Thanks to a good friend, I stole her idea to order the labels with our last name only so when Miss 3 is ready for school, she can use them too!
• Lastly, invest in a good quality backpack.  Miss 5 went through 3 last year.  She had a very crowed cubby area, especially in the winter, and the shoulder straps riped... twice.

Happy packing!!!