The last birthday party...for awhile.

I'm all birthday'd out.  BUT...
my youngest, Rosie, is turning 5 in March. 

I cannot believe it. 

After much ado, she's decided on a county fair theme.

I've made it as far as the birthday outfit {which Crystal made}, and the invites which I did in Photoshop. 

That's it. 

Let's hope the invite provides some much needed decor/menu inspiration. 

Oh, and the fonts are all from Dafont.com, the clip art is from Just Something I Made, and the tickets were a dollar store find. 

Any ideas...

I have pies, jam, pickles, kettle corn, hot dogs, funnel cakes, chocolate cake, sack race, blue ribbons, blue grass music.  A petting zoo is out of the question, but I may dress the pups up as a cow and a pig.

HELP!

I'm too depressed about my baby turning 5 that I can't get creative.  The invites may be the best thing about the party. 

And, I can't have that, now, can I? 

Adult Party?

So, we are having our second 'Grebe Fall Ball' coming up here, shortly.

Basically, it's an event we have with no kids allowed, so that our friends {most of whom are paretns}, can relax, socialize, enjoy some good food {without worrying about sharing with little hands}, and the company of friends {many of which we don't get to see all the time}. 

To say I look forward to this night is an understatement.  It is such a fun time. 

We have even had guests come in formal wear, which may or may not have included a tuxedo shirt and old bridesmaids' dresses.  I mean, we do call it a ball, right? 

Funny enough, the first year we had this soiree, I was telling some folks that they should come, and I was giving them the deets.  All I said was, "You know, it's an adult party.".  I was met with some quizzical looks. 

Apparently, an adult party to some means something totally different than what it means to me.  Ha!  I was told I didn't seem like the adult party type.  At that point, I picked up what the were puttin' down, so to speak.  I assured them there was nothing 'questionable' involved.  No strange 'toy' demonstrations, or unrated movies, or bowl of keys, if you know what I'm sayin'. 

Needless to say, I have since referreed to the party as the 'no kids allowed party', or the 'find your babysitter party', or 'mom & dad's night out party'.  But, every once in awhile I catch myself saying things, like, "Hey, Big Daddy...did you invite Bob and Suzie to the adult party?".

I must admit, it does sound a bit sketchy. 

So, the moral of the story is this, if you ever receive an invite to an adult party from me...you can rest easy.  It's not what you think.

The "Harry" party.

This was the final invitation for Rosie's "Harry and the Hendersons" birthday party. I really wanted to streamline things a bit, and not make it so busy. It is quite a departure from the original one I envisioned.  I added the red balloon as a last minute thing, and I really like the way it turned out.  The quote at the bottom was the tag line on the original movie poster way back in the late 80s.

Rosie's Harry greeted everyone at the door with a handful of red balloons.  Isn't he cute?

She drags him everywhere.  Well, let me clarify...I don't let her take him out of the house because he is made of hard plastic and he's on the heavy side, not to mention pretty awkward, but she drags him all over the house.  She pushes him in a stroller.  Brushes his tuft of hair.  Makes beds for him in every nook and cranny she can find.  It's all pretty comical.

Every little got a tagged red cup with a straw.  No confusion over who's was who's.  I got the tag idea from Better Homes & Gardens in this past months issue.  I think it's a great idea for all ages, and all parties.

The dessert table was pretty simple.  Cake, pudding parfaits, chocolate covered Oreos, and frosted

sugar cookies.  Real logs were used for risers.  Incidentally, if you want to use real nature {i.e. logs} for food service, you bake them in the oven at about 200 degrees for an hour our so.  You may need to know that in the future.  I, on the other hand, sprayed those bad boys down with every household cleaner I could think of, and let them sit overnight.  Not to worry...it wasn't anything that I don't use to clean my kitchen.  No one got poisoned or anything.  Plus, the food was kept separate from the logs by layers of fabric and cardboard.  I probably shouldn't have told you that, but it might spare you from the same tragedy the next time you use logs to serve your food off of.  Whenever that may be...

In keeping with the theme...my pal Amy made these charming Harry feet and Bigfoot foot print cookies.

They were super yummy.

Some of the chocolate covered Oreos were topped with royal icing flowers similar to Sarah Henderson's 15th birthday corsage that Harry ate in the movie.  I'm telling you, if you haven't seen this movie, you really must. Also, I totally just noticed that I spelled corsage wrong.  Wow!  Please excuse.

The Henderson's annoying but lovable neighbor, Irene, loves her roses.  Unfortunately, so does Harry.

I made some pudding parfait 'dirt' cups topped with buttercream roses that Amy made for me.

More table detail.

I made the cake.  Rosie requested vanilla and chocolate.  The inside was a layer of white, and a layer of fudge cake with vanilla and chocolate filling.  The frosting was homemade Hershey's Cocoa buttercream.  The little toadstools and acorns are made from white modeling chocolate, and then painted with powdered food coloring.  The grass is plain ole homemade buttercream made really stiff so it holds the grass shape after it's piped.  I enlarged the Bigfoot silhouette and cut it out of heavy weight shimmery card stock.  I added the glittery red balloon, and got it to 'float' by attaching it by wire for the string.  I'll have to say...that cake was pretty darn good, and not too shabby on the eyes either.  I think when all was said and done, it cost about $12.  I really like that about it, too.

Cake detail.

Each little guest left with goodies that included a tiny terra cotta pot, and seed kit to grow their own 

mini rose bush.  I found them at Target in the dollar section around Valentine's day. It was too perfect.

All wrapped in red tulle, and waiting to be handed out in a big twig basket.

In the end, I wish we had more time for the game and craft.  Boo!  But Ro loved every minute of it.  Her friends had a great time, and most importantly...Rosie had a great time!  She is still talking about it.

{Rosie's "Harry" shirt is from HERE}

I can't believe my baby is 4!!!

Happy Birthday, Rosie!


Linking here and

Hooah: a boy celebrates 9.

Welcome to Jake's 9th Birthday Party.

We're so glad you could make it.

The table has been set with all kinds of goodies:

a cake made with love by the birthday boy's momma {that's me},

goodie bags with dog tags, tattoos, and candy,

pudding cups with cookie crumb topping,

candy bars, sour punch sticks, jars full of toy soldiers,

juicy watermelon, kettle corn in paper cones, Tootsie Rolls, caramels,

Army Jeep boxes filled to the brim, and canteens for every soldier.

There's face painting to get camo'd out,

and a super challenging obstacle course made by the new 9-year-old's dad.

Presents galore, too, including the coveted, 'The Clock Without a Face'.  Yippee!

But, what birthday party would be complete without an ecstatic guest of honor.

Jake had a fantastic time at his 'Army' party.

Bonus:

we did it all without guns.

The toy soldiers had guns, but you can't win 'em all, I guess.

Another party, another year...in the bag.

He, seriously, needs to quit growing.

I mean, pretty soon, he'll want to get his drivers' license.

Whatevs to that.

I love you, sweet boy.

Change of plans.

Sometimes,  if you embrace a change in your plan, it works out for the better. 

Originally, I was taking the girls to Chicago for Rosie's 3rd birthday to do the whole 'American Girl' thing.  My sister and niece were going to join us, too.  After careful consideration, I decided to scratch that idea.  It would end up costing around $500, and I just want to be able to do it when they will actually remember it.  That, and, I don't feel like walking the streets of Chi-town in subzero temps with 2 little ones, one of which, is still a bit on the slow end. 

Okay, so...we are doing the at-home-party thing.   Just some girls and some fun thrown in for good measure. 

me: Hey, Ro, what kind of birthday party do you want?

Rosie:  Pink!

me:  M'kay...what else?

Rosie:  Pink with tutus!

me:  (sigh, not being a girly-girl myself)  M'kay...anything else?  {throw me a bone, here, Ro}

Rosie:  A Spongebob tutu party...with pink...and cake. 

Done!

I'm not sure where I'll go with that, but I already found some invites from Tiny*Prints that I'll order today. I figure I'll stitch on a strip of pink tulle across his pant line to look like a tutu.   The 3D effect will be all kinds of cuteness.  The menu will definitely have 'krabby patties' (mini burgers), sweet potato fries, and, of course, cake.  Also, I've scoured Etsy and have plenty of other ideas in store.  With only a handful of girls on the guest list I can go nuts with favors, too.  Yipee!

close up of invitation detail, invititation form Tiny*Prints

I know these are not life-altering plan changes (or ones even I'll care about anymore in 6 weeks time), but I was really stuggling with whether or not to do the Chicago thing, and I am so glad she is so estatic about her pink Spongebob tutu party.   Honestly, I'm thinking I'm pretty blessed that this is all I have to worry myself about these days. 

row 1 from left: cake Art EatsBakery, birthday crown Better Than Normal,  mini burgers The Dead Poet

row2 from left: bow Lanie Bug Bowtique, pink lemonade tutu Hannah's Tutus, necklace PWS Desings

row 3 from left: pink gift boxes Martha Stewart, magnet clips Bippity Boppity Glue, tissue poms Cococupcakes 

Oh, that, and the fact that our dog just got diagnosed with diabetes.  Seriously?!?!  Add 2 insulin shots a day to my repertoire.  Because I really need something else, right?  (But, we are super happy he's going to be okay, because he's only 6, and we lurv him. Thanks, JC.  You answered our prayers.)

Halloween Paw-teeeee, take 2!

Here's the rest of the Halloween photos. 

Nothing too exciting. 

Jake surprised us with his 70s coach costume.

Wow, was it a surprise!

Rosie's gnome-on-the-roam costume turned out cute!

Oh, and the boys' parties were super fun!

We had a great 'Halloween-y' time!

Betsy's 5th...take 2.

In true 'Nie' fashion, we had a balloon release. It was magical.

Everyone wished, prayed, or hoped for Betsy, and we all released our loons to the heavens.

Betsy takes a much needed water break!

I cannot even begin to describe how excited she was to be sung to!

Present time! She L.O.V.E.D. her spinning stool from 'Mama' Mel. It was bedazzled and personalized!

A BIG thank you to all who were there!

Betsy's 5th...take 1.

Some of Betsy's birthday decor.

Homemade party bunting.

Little apple shaped cake balls.

and....

the cake!

The cake was, by far, my favorite thing that I made for the party.

Stay tuned tomorrow for 'Betsy's 5th... take 2' .

Happy birthday, Betsy!