Three Months of Planning

I usually start birthday planning for Clover in January.  Even though her birthday is in March.  The extra time gives me an opportunity to brainstorm, bounce ideas of my party planner consultants and conduct extensive internet research.  

I love it though.  I love the creative process of party planning.  Since she has been able to talk she has picked her birthday theme.  I got the first two.  We did a blues clues bday for her first and Tinkerbell/Fairy theme for her second.  The rest she picked out.  Mickey Mouse was her third since she she was very into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Last year she wanted a Bubble party so we bought a ton of bubble stuff and it rained on us.  There was a twenty minute reprieve where the storm cleared and we rushed outside.  The kids were wet and soapy by the time they left so I'm sure the parents loved me.  

This year I took out a little insurance and booked an indoor venue.  A local gymnastics gym that does birthday parties on the weekend.  When I booked the indoor venue I also had to limit the guest list.  I wasn't able to invite as many people as I wanted.  Clover also wanted to invite her dance class this year.    I then had to think of somehow to work it into the whole Hobbit Theme.  Yes, my daughter wanted a Hobbit theme for her fifth birthday.  She loved it.  I already acknowledged that it was a weird theme but it was funny to get some of the looks we got when I told people.  Having a unique theme gave me the opportunity to think outside the box.  We took the kids on and Unexpected Journey.  It was a lot of fun gathering ideas from different sources and then brainstorming and pulling everything together.        

Some of the links I picked through

Loved the idea for treats at Mommy's Little Peanuts.

Lot's of pictures of decor and food at Catch My Party.

Made some Hobbit/Elf like flower crowns from Sound Your Horn.

Cute invite ideas from Zakka Life.

More Hobbit Party Ideas.

Here is a shot of the stuff before we took it to the party.  

The journey bags were filled with gummy worms and goldfish crackers.  I picked up the bags at Discount Mugs.  They were very roomy and are able to hold lots of stuff as the kids head off on their journey.

All of that for a two hour party!  

Lack Thereof

I apologize for the lack of posting.

Here I am in the middle of March and there are hardly any posts.  That makes me a little sad.  I have thoughts swirling around in my head of stuff to write but I need to make the time to sit down and write. I just finished up a week solo while Hubby was away in training for work.  Clover and I kept ourselves occupied but also left time for a late night My Little Pony marathon.

I have grabbed some time here and there to work on the Hobbit Party for our almost five year old Clover.  I have a few things I need to work on but it is all coming together...

I am also working on brainstorming something for a giveaway to celebrate 10,000 views.  I know that's kinda cheesy but I want to celebrate our tiny milestone.  So that's coming up.

Basically I was checking in to let ya'll know that I'm still around.

I'm a Doctor, Jim

Okay, maybe I'm not.  But to an adorable almost five year old, I am.  Or at least that's what she tells me when I patch her up.

Being a normal kid that plays outside she gets banged up sometimes.  Today she scraped her knuckle and came inside screaming that it was "an emergency!"  She then shoved her knuckle in my face.  I dodged it don't worry.  

I'm amazed that I can make her feel better by preforming first aid.  That is what we call it too.  She tells me that she needs first aid on whatever boo-boo she has and we go into the bathroom and wash it out together.  Then we dry it off and apply a band-aid.  The band-aid seems to be what seals the deal because once one of those suckers is on, she is fine.

Not bad for the daughter of a nurse.

I even thought I wanted to be a Nurse.  The thought had popped in my head after my dreams of being  Marine Biologist kind of fizzled.  Actually that dream never really got off the ground.  Although I did write an exceptional essay on the subject in the 8th grade.  Turns out I'm afraid of fish.  Really, I am.  I can't swim in water where I can not see my feet.  It sends me into a panic.  Which is weird to me because I basically grew up on a river.  I think in the end I just really liked dolphins.  Really what 8th grader doesn't?  But I had convinced myself that I could go into an entire occupation based on that love.  So needless to say that didn't work out.  So for about two months I thought I wanted to follow in dear ol Dad's footsteps and be a nurse.  Then I went to an orientation for an occupation school and was told I would have to dissect a pig.  Enter NopeVille here.  Standing there at the nursing booth I couldn't stomach it.  My Dad was pretty honest with me about the down and dirty side of nursing.  Knowing that I couldn't go into that field makes me all that much more appreciative of those who did.  I have been blessed with knowing quiet a few nurses personally and having a few great nurses.  I would rather have someone who loves it take care of me than someone like me who might throw up at the sight of a dissected animal.  

But that doesn't mean I can't rock applying a band aid!

As I sent Clover back outside to wear Granny out she shouted back "Thanks Doc"!  Obviously she thinks I did a pretty darn good job.

  

The Smallest Smaug Ever

I need to pay more attention to the description box on Amazon.  I love that I can order anything and have it sent to my door but sometimes there just doesn't beat looking at stuff in a store.

Last week I ordered a red dragon to use at Clover's Hobbit Party.

He's only about 5 inches tall.

I am going to hide him around the birthday party but I think I might have to buy more than one because he is so tiny that I don't think anyone will find him.    

Do or Do Not, There Is No Try

Every now and then I get a hair to try something new.  I have dabbled in painting here and there but I do not think of myself as an artist.  I do not have that ability to create something by drawing or painting.  I am a crafter.  I can re-create things I have already seen.  I think that is why I spend so much time looking for pretty things on the internet.

I found this picture awhile back on Pinterest.  I tracked it down to Quite Contrary.  It was from her Star Wars Room Version 2.0 post.

Minimalist Star Wars

 
I figured that if I break it down to simple shapes I should be able to pull it off.  I used my Cricut to cut out the shapes and then I used painters tape to tape them off.

The day I painted outside.

Start to finish it took me about two weeks of work.  I had to stop and finish a few times because of life and what not.  I painted them for a friend's birthday present so I had a deadline.  

8x10 canvas painted with acrylic paint

I added Leia and Yoda.  The set just didn't feel completed without them.  Vader came out a little art deco-ish.

I am happy that I finished them on time but I think because it's not something I do all the time I had a hard time being confident in my ability.  But even when I knit something I never know how it's going to be liked so maybe it's just a hand crafted confidence thing.  But I am happy that I gave it a go and I tried.  

Our Monster Problem

We have always been in the imagination phase.  Normally I LOVE it.  I love hearing about what's inside my almost five year old's brain.  She comes up with the most fascinating things.  Lately, however she has been scaring herself.

We have had a monster problem.

We have explored many avenues.  We have tried explaining that there are no such things as monsters.  She has a nightlight.  We have tried books.  We came up with a Monster Spray.  We mixed up some essential oil in water and squirted it around her room.  The Spray worked for a little bit but she still seems scared in her own room.  That part makes me sad because even though I know there is nothing in there to be scared of, she has frightened herself.

She asked me the other day why I wasn't scared of monsters and I told her it was because I had a baseball bat and I beat one up so he told everyone to stay away from our house.  The next day she asked for my baseball bat.  Here is the part where everyone that knows me has a chuckle because I really do have a baseball bat by my bed.

So that night we had a Target trip and while we were there she picked out her own baseball bat.  It's pink and has Hello Kitty on it.  At this point I just want her to feel safe and if she feels safer knowing she can kick some monster butt then I'm okay with that.

So I will just leave this from Dr. Seuss

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!” 

    

Clover's Animals

I keep forgetting to write about our latest addition to the family.  A few weeks ago we were talking about Coffee (our imaginary cat) and Soda (our imaginary dog) when Clover informed me that we had an addition to the family.

I figured that she was just going to keep up with the pet theme.  Nope.  She decided to throw me for a loop.  So I asked her about the new animal in the house.

Her name is Luna.

She is a cow.

Seems like we add another animal every year.  Soda is two and Coffee is about a year.  It will be interesting to see how our house fills up.