An Easy Birthday Party

I've done the exhausting birthday parties for my kids. I've stayed up until it was practically morning icing Backyardigans characters on cakes, invited every family member, friend, neighbor, person I've met over the past decade to join in the "fun." I've served said people all kinds of home-cooked food, decked the house out with all kinds of birthday craziness, had a freakin' moonbounce in the front yard - the works.

This year, for Reagan's 4th birthday, I figured I'd take advantage of one last year where she wasn't asking for a certain kind of party, with certain friends - she was just so darn excited for her birthday, she didn't even think to ask about her actual party. Besides, stupid allergies have taken over my life for the past month and a half, so I was game for playing it relatively low-key.

Besides from cleaning the house (which I admit, stressed me out a ton, since I had to wait until the last minute with these 3 rugrats around here - us moms know how quickly our hard work gets undone when it comes to cleaning, am I right?), this was SUCH a stress-free party. I invited just our immediate family - both my husband and I are one of five kids, so with parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, that was plenty. I did invite my closest aunt and her gang, because, well, we're so close;). But other than that, just the immediates.

Then the food. Oh my word, couldn't have been simpler. I put out a platter of cheese, crackers, grapes, and apple slices, and my aunt brought tortilla chips and fresh salsa. DONE. I always tend to put out too much in the way of appetizers, then we're all stuffed, so this was great. And zero cooking. Again, no stress whatsoever!

the fam hanging out over munchies

Earlier that afternoon, I called our favorite pizza joint (which is up the street, thankfully) and ordered a bunch of pizzas. I told them what time to have them ready, and 5 minutes before, Paul scooted out the door to pick them up. It worked out swimmingly that the birthday girl's favorite food IS pizza;)

She ate that whole piece AND a second one;)

Served some Caesar salad bags (you know, those kits you can throw together?) in my ginormous wooden salad bowl and we had our dinner. No oven, no stressing over timing when all the side dishes would be ready, no nothing. LOVE IT.

As far as cake, I made the cake the night before, iced it that morning and we were good to go. My mom made her famous cupcakes in case we started running low on cake. Always delegate, people! I've hosted parties where I insisted on doing it all, and you know what? It's exhausting. If people want to help, then by all means, LET THEM HELP!

And for the party decorations, earlier that week we went to the Dollar Tree and picked up some cute butterfly hanging things, a Happy Birthday banner, and party plates, napkins, cups, etc. to match.

The morning of, Paul ran out to grab some balloons - gotta have balloons for a kid's party, right?!

I left out our regular Spring decorations (her birthday IS the first day of Spring, so it's kinda perfect;), and just added a plastic tablecloth for the dining room table.

I placed all the utensils, napkins, plates, etc on the buffet table, and people grabbed their stuff and headed over to the pizza and salad, and sat wherever. Easy. Peasy. Just had to put out a couple folding chairs in case we were short, but people sat here there and everywhere.

After cake, we opened presents, and she hit the jackpot!

She got everything she wanted (and her sister and brother were just as excited as she was. That's the beauty in having siblings so close in age - it's like it's their birthday too! LOL!).

When the last of the guests had left, I was shocked at how NOT exhausted I was. Usually I have that relief; that combination of happy that it went well/so happy it's over with/so incredibly exhausted feeling. But not this time. It was 100% enjoyable for me, since I wasn't stressing over a darn thing except hanging out with our families and celebrating my girl. And the clean-up consisted of throwing away some paper plates and cups. We were done in 15 minutes!

Now that's MY kinda party! And you know what? The birthday girl had an absolute BLAST. She said it was her favorite day. Well, doesn't get any better than that, now does it?

**Want to join in the Naptime fun on Facebook? Click here to visit my page!**

Yard Sale Find Turned Cutie Mug Holder!

Ok, didn't know what else to title this post, so that's the best I could come up with! Sorry;)

Just wanted to share a quick little project I did yesterday, that cost me about $2!

It all started with this wooden something - it was just one of those things I spotted at a yard sale last summer and decided I'd figure out some use for it. It was a buck, so I went for it.;)

Then I was at Michaels yesterday. I spotted THE CUTEST scrapbook paper - I mean, I seriously fell in love with this and grabbed a couple sheets, not even knowing what I would do with it! It had blue and red in it, with kitchen-y shapes, like pitchers and mixers, measuring spoons and colanders. Adorable! Then at naptime, I went down to my stash of yard sale goodies (that are slowly taking over this house), and it hit me: Spray paint this wooden thing-a-ma-jig aqua, attach this cute paper to the back, and stick it over the stove! I wasn't sure if I'd place mugs in the openings, or spices (which I think I might try at some point, just to try it out), but I liked the concept.

To hang it, I attached some little teeth guys - one on each side:

And that's it!

I do plan on getting some of those acrylic sheets and cut them to place on top of the paper, so they're protected from splatters and such, but that's easy enough.

So there's my yard sale find turned mug holder/spice rack! Not bad for a couple bucks!



**Want to join in the Naptime fun on Facebook? Click here to visit my page!**



and Thrifty Decor Chick's Spray Paint Linky Party!

On Becoming a Mom of Two...

Today is not just the first day of Spring in our house (can I get a HALLELUJAH?!), it's also a very special girl's birthday. Our Reagan turns 4 today, and last night, while doing dishes (anyone else daydream while doing dishes? I feel like I have so many things going on in my head while I wash and load!), I was reminiscing a bit on this night 4 years ago. I was induced with her, so I knew the night before that I would be going to the hospital bright and early to deliver our second baby girl. SO many emotions were running through my system - and I couldn't help but think how enormously things would change with our family. Going from 3 to 4 - would it be easier this time? Or harder? Would Reese (our oldest) be jealous? Or love her to pieces? Would I be able to juggle an 18 month old and a newborn by myself? I'm pretty sure I slept oh, about 15 minutes that night;). I have quite a few friends who are expecting their second, or just had one, so I thought it might be fun to share some of the things I've learned since this day in 2008.

1. Guess what? I'm NOT perfect. *GASP!* Now, of course I knew I wasn't a perfect mom, but I have to say, I'd toot my own horn from time to time (in my head of course, not out loud;) about our first born. She was one of those freakishly good toddlers - never a meltdown, like EVER - I'd take her anywhere, she'd play with something, and I'd say, ok, time to go, put it down. And she did. Smiling. If she had a toy someone wanted, she'd offer it to them in a heartbeat, even if it was her favorite. I didn't even need to babyproof this house, it's like she just knew and wouldn't dare break a rule. And veggies? The girl will gobble up ANYTHING you put in front of her, and asks for tilapia, wild rice, and edamame for her birthday dinner. It's bizarre. And when this is all you have to compare to, you kinda tend to think it's because WE'RE such good parents, obviously! Ummmm...turns out, it was sheer luck and our baby girl number 2 taught us that real quick. Meltdowns are now an hourly occurrence, and that kid won't touch a veg with a 10 foot pole. Don't even try to puree it and stick in the spaghetti sauce either. Sister is ON to those kinds of games. So Kid #1 had nothing to do with our stellar parenting skills, and everything to do with God just blessing us with a well behaved, veggie eating, rule-following child. Ah well, nobody's perfect, right? ;)

2. Having a second baby can sometimes be easier than one. Those days (although brief), of being a mom of one were great. Pack one kid up, strap one kid in a seat, more room for groceries - all good things. BUT: when baby #2 is old enough to interact with the first born, WOOHOO! I'm no longer the sole playmate (which wasn't a bad thing of course, but all day every day, it can tend to get a little old;). Now I'm second fiddle to her sibling, and they play and play and play. TOGETHER. And it's delightful. (Until they fight, but you get the point;).

I was always told going from 1 to 2 kids was the hardest, but I'd say 2 to 3 was more of a shock. Course, that probably has a lot to do with the ages of my kids, and the fact that the oldest of the trio was still only 2 when #3 arrived. They all still pretty much needed us for everything, and man to man was a lot easier than playing zone. Baby's crying? I'm on it - while Paul tended to Reese or vice versa. Throw another baby in the mix and it got a little more chaotic! But 2? Totally doable, and you'll pick up so quickly, the time when you only had one will feel like a lifetime ago!

3. Each kid is different. What worked for your first, might not for your second, and what never EVER worked for your first might work like a charm for #2. Our oldest was such a rock-to-sleep baby. Reagan, we'd put her in her crib and she'd fall asleep on her own. The girl loves her sleep, and took awesome naps. While Reese was queen of the power nap and would stay up all night long if I let her. Reese is our quiet, super smart, artsy girl, and Reagan is our hilarious, class clown, take-nothing-from-nobody firecracker. It's amazing how the same two parents can raise children and how incredibly different they turn out to be!

4. Love multiplies, it doesn't divide. While I was pregnant with Reagan, I knew I'd fall in love with her just as I did her sister, but you wonder, how is it possible to have THAT much love? I mean, Reese was my world. I had never known love like that before and it's something that until you have a child, you just can't fully wrap your brain around. It's like you'd literally do anything for this person - anything. Would I be able to love another that much? Trust me. The answer is a resounding Y-E-S. The second they laid her in my arms, I couldn't believe that feeling was here again, and how much I adored this little person already.

5. You are not traumatizing your first born; it's quite the opposite. I went through a period of guilt when I got pregnant with our second. Our first was 9 months old, and a part of me felt like I was somehow robbing her of being an only child. All of a sudden, she wouldn't be the only star in Mommy and Daddy's life, and she'd have to share the limelight with a younger sibling. I felt like she needed more time to be our only. I could not have been more wrong.

They were BEST FRIENDS from the very beginning. They stick up for each other, get excited for one another, and are each other's biggest fans. It's pretty remarkable. Didn't take me long to realize that not only was I NOT traumatizing Reese, but I was giving her one of the greatest gifts: a sister.

If there's one thing I've learned about motherhood, is that it's full of surprises and will throw you for loop after loop. Just when you think you've figured it out, you quickly learn that couldn't be further from the truth. Kinda like how we found out right after this family vacation that we were expecting ANOTHER gift!

9 months later, we would welcome our sweet Noah!

Never a dull, right?!

So here's to my sweet, sweet Springtime Girl, Reagan ~ you have brought such color to our world, with your constant funny faces and jokes, your spunk and your style, and the way your hugs can make everything all ok. You are the most awesome, unique 4 year old and I can't tell you how proud and happy I am to be your mommy! I love you to the moon and back.

**Want to join in the Naptime fun on Facebook? Click here to visit my page!**

Kitchen Makeover Part 5: Cabinet Molding

What a difference a week makes! Last weekend, Paul and I attempted to get the molding above the kitchen cabinets done (we have our original very box-y cabs from the 60s). We had the molding, and the tools, and yet kept coming up short when trying to get the corners to match up. It was frustrating to say the least. We knew we'd eventually figure it out if we kept going with our 'trial and error' method, but we didn't want to waste our molding. So we called it a day (I was feeling oh-so-awesome with a sinus and ear infection at the time too, so my patience was quickly going out the window), thinking we'd do some googlin' and figure it out later. Through the beauty of a status update on my Facebook page, our friend Andrew offered his services to swing by and give us a hand one evening after work. Of course this kitchen makeover has been all my idea, yet poor Andrew and Paul were down there putting their brains together to get the right angles so the pieces would all match! Sorry guys. But they figured out the magic formula, and come Saturday morning, Paul started measuring and cutting, and within an HOUR, he had all the molding not only cut, but nailed up and D-O-N-E. Andrew, you are a lifesaver! (And sanity saver;). These power tools are all still pretty new to me (us), and a whole heckuva lot more complicated that I thought! Beveling?! Never even thought about beveling?! And I am so proud of my rock star husband for becoming such a handy tool man pretty much overnight;)

We started off measuring the lengths of ALL the ins and outs of the cabinets, so we'd know how much molding to buy. We needed about 21 feet, so we picked up three 8ft long pieces of crown.

Then we measured each individual piece again, and Paul headed downstairs, marked a line on the molding so he knew where to cut, and mitered away.

I promised I wouldn't get a shot of the gag gift Homer Simpson pajama pants, but I slipped;) Sorry hon!

Once he cut the pieces, he placed them in the spot on top of the cabinet where they belonged so he could keep track. And did all this while our little artists painted at the kitchen island...yep. Sounds about right.;)

He held them up, and nailed them in (with a nail gun) just low enough to nail into the cabinets.

Coming along, huh?!

Here's the boxy before:

And now:

What a difference a little molding makes. Still have to caulk and give them a coat of white, but wanted to share the progress with you anyway!

I've also got a few changes I'm going to make to the cabinets that I'm excited to show you! Hope to get to them this week, but we have a very special birthday girl turning 4 on Tuesday, and her party on Saturday, so we'll see! ;)



**Want to join in the Naptime fun on Facebook? Click here to visit my page!** 
I linked this up here ~

Fabric Covered Kitchen Island Stools

Last week I tested out one of those 'middle of the night ideas' that come to me. My eyes will open at oh, I don't know, 1 am, with some totally random idea for the house - and then I get so pumped about it that I can't fall asleep for a good hour. It's both very cool and very annoying. It also means that I have no idea if it's going to be a total bust or total success until the VERY end. Good thing I never spend a lot of money on most of these things, or I'd be in trouble! And these days, pretty much all of these wacky ideas revolve around the kitchen. Which I cross my heart will be completed one of these days! I thought we were really making some progress this weekend, when we finally got the compound miter saw from my brother, bought the molding, were all set to go, then realized cutting crown molding - or should I say cutting and MATCHING crown molding around cabinets ain't easy. My bro needs his saw back in a couple weeks though, so sometime in the not too distant future we'll finish those stinkin' cabinets! Wow, I can go off subject, can't I?!

Back to this issue at hand: our kitchen island stools. They had those wicker tops before:

Which were fine and all - but the wicker was starting to wear, and I eventually want to get a much darker (butcher block) island top, and the light wicker wouldn't look too awesome with it. I thought if there was a way to inexpensively alter these in a fun way, let's go for it! I thought it might be fun to play some red in these guys, and thought it would look cool against the aqua island. Cover with fabric perhaps? Yes, let's try it! So here's how the 1 am idea became reality:

I picked up one of those foam cushiony things from JoAnn's -

It's a bit bigger than the stool, so I cut to size -

Then I turned the island upside down and took a good look.

I decided to grab some foam board that I had bought like a year ago for something and never used it -

I thought this would be a good material to staple the fabric into. I cut a piece to fit the underneath, and got 4 nails to hammer into those angled pieces -

Then I flipped the stool over, and draped a piece of fabric over the top -

I'm not sure how much - but I think you'd need about 3/4 of a yard. I flipped it over again, and started stapling away.

And just keep stapling and stapling away. The corners are kinda tricky, but you can maneuver the fabric to make it work. I kinda pulled/bunched it/stapled it -

Now, it's not the prettiest underneath, but really, who's going to come over and flip my stools upside down?!

When you're all done stapling the poor thing to death, flip it over, and you have a MUCH softer, cushion-y fabric covered stool!

Now, I should also add that they have passed the 'kid test.' I made these a week ago, and the kids have climbed up, climbed down, climbed up, climbed down about a gazillionty times and they're still holding up! I was a little concerned about that, but if they can withstand these crazy monkeys doing that all day long, they can withstand anything!

Now, I've got to run...still naptime here and I just had a wacky 1 am idea last night that I'm dying to try;)



**Want to join in the Naptime fun on Facebook? Click here to visit my page!**