Plan Of Attack: Jackson's 5th Birthday

Super cool shark cake by Creative Cakes (wtdcreativecakes.blogspot.com)

The cutest octopus cake pops by my talented mom of Creative Cakes!

Blue Jello with Swedish fish

Gummy "fishing worms"

Marshmallows dipped in white chocolate 

Little ham/cheese sandwiches cut with a shark cookie cutter

My shark piñata! 

Chevron plates from Hobby Lobby

Inflatable shark

If you have ever tried to find shark themed party supplies, you probably know they are few and far between. So, my son and I made these adorable shark goody bags from simple brown paper bags from the Dollar Tree. Getting creative can be a lot of fun!

I'm already looking forward to planning the next birthday party!

Thanks for stopping by!
XOXO

Smokin' Awesome Firefighter Birthday Party

As usual, celebrations are big in our family! Reid's 2nd birthday was no exception. Luckily, my sweet husband is a volunteer firefighter and was able to convince the Chief, (rather easily) to let us use the fire house for the party. This was really great for many reasons. One, being I didn't have to get the house spic and span for the big day, and two, the fire house was a fantastic back drop for the party. 

The new fire truck, Rescue 15, was the backdrop for our food table. 

Mom and I (Creative Cakes) made the fire truck cake. Although it was too bright in the fire house to see the glow stick head lights and tail lights, the cake was a hit! 

I used my Cricut to make the Dalmation centerpieces and attached them to dowels. I put a little floral foam in the bottom of the metal buckets and stuck in the centerpieces, white chocolate "2" s" were crepe paper, hot glued to the inside rims. 

The candy buffet was super simple to put together. I just used glass vases found at the Dollar Tree ($1 each), wrapped them with coordinating ribbon, and labeled them "Stop" (Gobstoppers), "Drop" (Lemon Drops), and "Roll" (Tootsie Rolls). The tall vase held the "flaming fire hoses" (licorice), which was inspired by several Pinterest pins.

These red velvet cupcakes were just adorable wrapped in the DIY fire truck cupcake wrappers I found on Etsy. 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/94256713/fire-truck-birthday-cupcake-wrappers?ref=shop_home_active

Mom outdid herself once again with the cake pops! These little Dalmatians went fast at the party! To display them, I wrapped a round floral foam (Dollar Tree $1) with some black crepe paper streamer, found at the Dollar General. 

Reid was scoping out the sweets!

The tables were decorated with red paper lanterns purchased at Michael's, and plastic fire hats found on Amazon. 

 Unfortunately, I didn't have a picture of the gift bags and presents, (which were on the fire fighters gear shelves) but behind fireman Cooper and his sweet great Granny, you can see the banner I hung over them (made with my Cricut). The balloons were simply strung together with a needle and thread.
 

I am super proud of the piñata I made!! It was my first one and I did it one night after the boys went to bed. I will post a tutorial soon! 

 

 Kids, big and small, piled into the fire trucks with excitement as they were taken for a ride!

A few of our favorite fire fighters dressed up in their gear for the kids to see!

To say the very least, the party was a huge success! Mostly because we have the best family and friends in the world! Thanks to all who came, helped out and for my clean up crew! :) and I can't forget the firefighters who came out and the chief for letting us use their building!

Until the next party!

XOXO

 

Salt painting

So, today has been a very busy day!

We woke up early and went to McDonald's for pancakes and headed over to Dinosaur World. 

 

After the dinosaur walk, dig and playing on the playground, we headed home for naps. 

Unfortunately that did not include me.

 After naps, we headed to the post office, to Dairy Queen for shakes and smoothies, to the bank, and then to Fred's.... Not fun... Thy didn't have formula so I had to drag the kids back out at the dollar store just to get formula. 

I can't explain how challenging it is to take three kids under the age of five into a store. First getting out of car seats. Then getting them back in again... Not to mention the 95 degree weather! 

So, Cooper can't sit up good enough yet to sit in the cart, so I carry him. Reid sits in the front of the cart, and Jackson gets distracted by toys and such, so I put him in the basket of the cart. Needless to say, holding an 18 pound baby and pushing a cart with two kids is difficult. :) 

 Okay enough complaining! ;) After supper we decided to just forget about the laundry piles and dishes in the sink and we searched trusty ole Pinterest for something fun to do. That's when I came across salt painting. 

 Here is the link to the pin I found: http://pinterest.com/pin/235594624230038057/

 It was so simple and I had everything we needed to do it! Here are some snapshots of the boys during our "craft time"!

Supplies needed: 

White glue

Salt

Construction paper

Food coloring

Water

Paint brush

Cookie sheet (optional)

 

First have the kids dray a picture with the glue on a piece of construction paper. 

 Then put the paper on a cookie sheet and sprinkle salt on the picture, covering the glue. Now shake off the excess salt. The cookie sheet makes cleanup easy!

Now have your child dip their paintbrush into the colored mixture of 1/8 cup water & 6-7 drops of food coloring. 

Tap the paint brush on the glue/salt painting. Watch the amazement in your child's eyes as the color begins to spread! 

Now admire your child's artwork!

Happy Crafting!

XOXO

 

Giveaway!

 Miss out on the last giveaway? Well here is another chance to grab your own burlap flag! 

Simply share the link to this post on twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, etc. and ask your friends to follow my blog. They just need to follow me and put your name in the comments. Whoever refers the most followers will receive a monogrammed burlap flag! 

The new followers will also be put into a drawing to win a burlap flag as well! 

Contest ends on August 1st! It's a win-win situation! ;) Now go get those followers! Good luck! 

 

Life as a fire wife...

Those of you ladies who are married to a firefighter, know that feeling you get when your husband is at a fire.... Sitting there, listening to the pager to make sure all is going well. Wether it is a small dryer fire, like tonight, or a fully involved house fire, the worry sets in. It is the unknown, I think, that is the worst part. Then, after they get home, they proceed to tell you all these "exciting" things that happened. However, I don't get quite as "excited" about hearing that one of the guys fell through the second floor, or that he ran out of air and had to run out if the house... It just makes me worry about him that much more. Will he make it out of the house next time? Will he be the next one to fall through the floor?

It has definitely taught me a few things. I have to have faith that god will watch over him. I have to be patient. And I have to be positive and excited for him.

Last time, my husband got home at like 4:00 am and I was asleep! Lol. I guess I know if I go to sleep, I don't have to worry and he will wake me up when he is safe at home. He thinks I go to sleep because I'm not worried about him. He is wrong because I am CrAzY about him and worry about him all the time. 

So here's to all my fellow fire wives! Hang in there and just be proud and support your spouse in his heroic endeavors! 

Good night! 

Burlap Flag Winner!

I had a very unbiased little guy do the honors of drawing a winner! :) 

As you can see, we did it the old fashioned way! 

And the winner is......

NATALIE! Email me at ashley_a_edwards@yahoo.com with your choice of bow style (see options below), monogram color, and initial. 

Bow colors available:

Natural burlap

Blue-Gray chevron

Yellow chevron 

Teal chevron

Royal blue burlap

Those of you who participated but did not win, thank you so much for your comments! Still want a flag? As a participant, you can order a flag with $10 off! (They are regularly $28) You must order by June 10th to recieve the discount.

Just email me with your order and I will send you a PayPal invoice (for those of you who are local, we can do a check or cash)

Thanks again and congrats to NATALIE!