Dollar Store Chalkboard Placemat

I love a cheap and easy craft!  That is exactly what this is!  This is a dollar tree craft, so this will only cost you $1 each for the placemats and then the cost of the chalkboard paint.

I started with one placemat to do a test, but I will be going back to get more and make one for all the kids to have at the table. 

This is a simple craft that I found here at dollarstorecrafts.com.  This website is dedicated to cute cheap crafts made from dollar store items!

Gather your materials, and start by painting your placemat.

It is best to use a sponge brush.  Completely cover your placemat painting in one direction (left to right or up and down).  Let the paint fully dry, then turn your placemat and paint in the opposite direction.  Let the paint fully dry.

As the website suggests, after the paint is dry, fully chalk the placemat then wipe with a dry cloth.  This will help with wiping off the chalk once the kids are ready to use it.

That's it!  You are ready to chalk on your placemat.  I used my placemat as decoration in my kitchen.  I am thinking of adding chalk paint and making it my weekly menu planner.  When I am ready to make more, I will make one for each child to have their own for table time fun!

What would you use your chalkboard place mat for? 

I love you because...(Simple Valentines Craft for you Children)

I wanted to let my kids know how much they mean to me since we have had some rough couple of months here and there.  I thought I could make them something for each of the kids that would be tailored just to them.  I came up with this simple craft because of all the Valentine décor floating around pinterest right now.

I took some construction paper and cut out a bunch of little hearts.  Then I cut out 3 big hearts, one for each of my bigger children.  On the big hearts I wrote their names, then wrote I love you because.

I hung each of them on their doors on a ribbon, and wrote on the little hearts things I loved about them.  For example, on some of Brayden's I wrote that he loves to cuddle, he loves monster trucks, and he is a great big brother.  I plan on adding one everyday till Valentine's day (and hopefully for a long time after).  So far I have added 4 hearts. 

 

The kids love seeing what new heart I add to their ribbon every day.  For me it is a great reminder that my kids are very special in their own way.  This is an easy thing to do for your kids to let them know how much you love them. 

 

*I didn't do one for Paisley for obvious reasons (she is 4 months old and would not understand (I will include her in the future though)).

Maddi's 9th Birthday Luau

I have been pinning ideas for Ella's upcoming Halloween party for her 7th birthday, and I realized I never posted about Maddi's 9th birthday.  Bad mommy, I know!  But in my defense, I was VERY pregnant and then had a baby, so blogging hasn't been my top priority.

Maddi had decided she wanted to do a luau, and I had so much fun planning and shopping with her for her party.  99% of the decorations and party favors came from the Dollar Tree, with a few things coming from Party City and Garden Ridge.

Maddi invited girls from her school and her soccer team and we had about 13 show up!  That was A LOT of 9 year old girls in one small house!  My husband was a smart man, and stayed in the other room.  I, on the other hand, had to be in charge and deal with all the girls, even though I was 9 1/2 months pregnant.  But the HUGE smile that never left Maddi's face throughout the party, made it all worth it.

Warning* Picture Overload is Coming!!

Let's start with the décor.  We didn't go overboard with décor, just tiki type things and lots of flowers.

 

Flowers (from Dollar Tree) and a wooden monkey flip flop (from Garden Ridge) welcomed the girls on their way in.

 
 
 

 

This wooden tiki man (from Garden Ridge) guarded the kitchen.

 

 

I made Maddi's picture number, which is becoming one of my favorite birthday traditions.

 

 

We set up a table so all the girls could get Lei's when they first walked in.

 

 

We found a tiki man/flower streamer (Dollar Tree) that was 6 ft. long and it worked perfectly over the tv, sorry the picture is so bad.

 

 

Maddi loved this her super cute hula girl and tikis (all from Dollar Tree) that welcomed her guests as they arrived.

 

Apparently I only took one picture of the food table, and it was before I put the food out (pregnancy brain at its finest).  We found a cute flowery plastic table cloth (Party City) and had tiki plates and napkins (Dollar Tree).  For the drinks, I had juice boxes, and then I made Sweet TEA-ki and Tiffany Blue punch.  I made bacon wrapped pineapple (delicious!!) and pulled pork sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls (yummy!)  I also had a plate of mandarin oranges, pineapples and cherries.

 

Maddi decided she wanted cupcakes, and I found a super cute "beach" type cupcake, but then I couldn't find any of the tiny umbrellas.  I think the cupcakes turned out cute anyways.

 

 

These were so easy to execute.  I just made chocolate cupcakes with white icing mixed with blue food coloring.  I took some graham crackers and crushed them up to make the beach for the teddy graham to lay on.  The girls all loved them.

 

 

I had planned on doing a lot of games with the girls, but ran out of time finding the right objects for the games.  So we bought some cheap toilet paper and played Maddi and Ella's favorite party game, Wrap the Mummy (this will be a perfect game for Ella's Halloween party).

 

Here are some of the pictures of the girls wrapping each other.  They played this game so many times and used all 12 rolls of the toilet paper.  Each girl had a turn to wrap and be wrapped and then they had a toilet paper fight.  The best part was not feeling guilty about the toilet paper since it only cost $2!!  Best $2 spent EVER!

 

 

Brayden was lucky to have a friend over during the party, and they wrapped each other.

 

Of course she opened presents, and then one of her friends wrapped her.

 

 

On the way out, the girls were given a little goody bag that had a few things in it.  They had a shiny pencil, a flowery notepad, some stickers, a small thing of bubbles, and a few pieces of candy.

 

 

 

That smile, yeah it made it all worth it!!  Even at 9 1/2 months pregnant!

 

Brayden's Toy Story 3rd Birthday Party

Well it happened.

My baby boy, the prince of our family, turned three this past Monday.

Where did the time go?

The past 3 years have flown by, and I think each year goes by faster than the last.

 

With the new baby's due date fast approaching, I wanted to make sure that Brayden had a fantastic birthday and the best party ever.  I tried to make it special and add lots of little touches.  Thank God for my mom, who drove in a few days before the party, she was truly a life saver in helping set up.

 

Brayden has been obsessed with Toy Story this past year, so it was the perfect theme for his party.  He loves all the characters and will even tell you their famous lines, ex: Buzz says "To Infinity and Beyond."

 

Almost all of my ideas came from Pinterest.  I mixed and matched from lots of different parties.  I don't have the exact links to everything I decided to do, but here is a link to my Brayden Turns 3 board, in case you want to see some of the originals for yourself.

 

Warning: Picture Overload Ahead!!

 

Here are the decorations, most of which came from the Dollar Tree or Party City:

We hung 2 parachute men (Dollar Tree) from the ceiling



My mom strung Army men on thread and then we hung them across the wall.
As cute as these were, they were a pain!  It took my mom forever to string them, and they kept tangling when we tried to hang them.  But they added a cute touch.

I found the tiny Toy Story figures at the Dollar Tree.  For the picture, I cut up a party bag and put it in a dollar frame and added a picture of Brayden.  So simple, and I love it!  All the army men came from a Dollar Tree pack.

We set up a tattoo station and Maddi and Ella gave the guests a tattoo and a sheriff badge when they walked in.  The tattoos, sheriff badges, and the wall décor are from Party City.

The food was all Toy Story inspired.  I didn't have time to make cute labels, so we used post its, and cute Toy Story stickers to hold them onto the bowls.

The food we served was: Slinky Dog Pasta (pasta salad), Al's Cheese Puffs, Ken's Fruits and Veggies, Jessie's Juices, and of course Pizza Planet Pizza (aka Little Caesars).  For Jessie's Juices, I just used the Hugs brand of juice, and we put a little sticker on the top of the juice to make those more Toy Story looking.

 

I found a cute party bag at Dollar Tree and cut out the rocket and planets, then labeled the rocket, Pizza Planet.  It added just a little touch to the kitchen area and was super cheap!

Brayden's 3 made out of his pictures.

All the goody bags (two for a $1 at Dollar Tree) for the kids were labeled with a popular saying from the movie and held on with Toy Story stickers.  I made 10 party bags, each with a different saying.  Some of the sayings were There's a snake in my boot, some one's poisoned the waterhole, howdy partner, you are a TOY, Ride like the wind Bullseye, and To Infinity and Beyond.

The party bags were filled with what Toy Story items I could find at 3 different Dollar Tree locations.  Since Toy Story isn't very popular right now, I had to use my imagination and do some digging.  I found mostly puzzles, a few felt coloring pages, and a potato head writing pad.  Every bag had 1 Toy Story thing.  Then I added a glow in the dark bracelet, some extra tattoos, and some glow in the dark snakes.  Everything came from Dollar Tree.

The birthday boy showing his muscles in front of his 3.  I had bought him a Toy Story shirt to wear, but it only lasted about 30 minutes and he ran around the rest of the day shirtless.

 

We played a few games.  One was There's a Snake in My Boot.  We bought rubber snakes and a bucket, and I attempted to make a boot out of cardboard.  We scooted the kids back and had them throw the snake into the bucket.  Ella was a great helper!

 

Then we played Pin the Tail on Bullseye.  The game came from Party City and only had 8 tails.  My girls were both sad they didn't get to play, but they were great helpers.

 

I made a white cake with white icing, and chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing.  I wasn't too worried about making a fancy cake, since I knew it was just going to get devoured.  The best thing I have started doing is cupcakes.  It is so easy to hand out cupcakes to every one of the kids and send them on their way to eat them.  There is no cutting or waiting.  I will have cupcakes at every party!!

The whole cake actually made it all the way to Monday, and we were able to use it for Brayden's actual birthday!

He did great blowing out all the candles!

Messy boy!!

I made marshmallow aliens for the kids to enjoy!  So easy and the kids loved them!!

 

We opened presents after everyone left and Brayden loved everything he got.  He got some guns, 2 Woody's, a Buzz Lightyear, puzzles, bubble things, and Mommy and Daddy got him his own Bulleye to ride :)

 

One thing that I worked forever on that didn't make it to the party was the Etch a Sketch.  I used a cardboard box, and cut and painted it.  So sad I missed getting all the kids pictures with it :(

At least I got my kids pictures with it the night I finished it.

 

It was a great party, and Brayden had a blast, which is all that matters.

 

Next up, is Maddi's birthday party in a week, then the baby is due to arrive anytime before September 19th.

The girls trip

I am writing this tonight, sitting by the tub while Brayden plays in his bath. 

The girls are cleaning their room before their week long trip to my mom's house.  This will be the first year that both girls are going to my mom's together.  I should be very sad to see them go, but as of tonight, it is the opposite.  They have been fighting, arguing, and just not getting along, and I am so ready for a break from them.  I know that sounds terrible, but it is the truth.

I am sure after a few hours of the house being quiet and having to totally entertain Brayden, I will miss them.  He loves playing with them, even when they don't want him too.

There are many pluses to them leaving like less laundry, less groceries, less mess, less fighting, but the negatives will be less laughter, silliness, and hugs.

I am excited to spend a week with my baby boy and I am sure he will love having mommy all to himself for the week.  That boy is attached to my hip and very dependent on mommy.

I would love to surprise the girls with a room makeover, but I am a slacker (and a cheapo) so it probably won't happen.

I hope they have a mega blast with my mom, and they cherish the memories that they are making.  They always have a good time at her house, and I know this time will be the same. 

Another plus of this trip is my step daughter, Savannah, will be driving into the area and will be spending the week with the girls and my mom, and then will be with us for the summer!  We will have a house full most days, but I don't think I would want it any other way. 

Ok, I need to wash and get Brayden out of the bath.

Till next time!

I Must Confess....

• that I really have had bloggers block for sometime now and cannot think of what to write about most days.
• that my bloggers block is really me avoiding writing a post about how I really feel about this pregnancy like I said I would.
• that I am already mentally planning Brayden's 3rd birthday party.  He is obsessed with Toy Story (or Woody and Buzz as he calls it), and it is an easy theme to plan.  But I will probably still be scrambling at the end of August to pull it all together.
• that I really need to make a schedule to follow during the summer since I am babysitting 2 kids on top of my 3 and my step daughter.  It will be a crazy kid filled summer!!
• that I really want to do some decorating around the house to update it, but I have no idea where to start or money to do it with.
• that I am beyond excited that my favorite reality shows are back on.  MasterChef started a few weeks ago and Real Housewives of New Jersey comes back on tonight!
• that at our garage sale yesterday, Marco and I sold off every one of our grown up movies.  We have not watched movies from our collection in many years.  We always have to pack them up and move them, and then they sit there, taking up space and collecting dust.  With Redbox and Netflix now, there is no need for a movie collection.
• that our garage sale yesterday was the best we have ever had!  I advertised on Craigslist and Facebook and that was it.  We didn't put out signs, and we made a killing!
• that this pregnancy has brought out an OCD side that I didn't know I had.  I cannot stand for the kitchen or the living room to be dirty.  I was getting stressed, moody, and short tempered for no reason and I finally figured out that if the kitchen or living room is messy, it sets me off. 
• that the girls' room is a bad place for me too.  I try not to go in there too much, because it just drives me crazy.  I have to remind myself that the mess they have is them playing and to not go bananas on them, but then I get so frustrated that they don't clean up after themselves when they decide to play with something else.

What do you confess??

 

Till next time!

Oh How Pinteresting

I am linking up with the Vintage Apple for this week's Oh How Pinteresting.

Feel free to link up with her as well.

 

Funny Pin:

 I laughed so hard!

Yummy Pin:

Helpful Pin:

I have been doing these stretches the past few nights, and they truly help!! 
It's a MUST read!

Crafty pin:

I hope you like my pins, and check out my pinterest page!