Chocolate, chocolate everywhere!

My baby girl, Charlotte, turned 4 this February. We were having a tough time deciding on a theme. We kept throwing around idea after idea, but nothing was sticking. Then, pushing our cart through Target, we walked through the Christmas clearance section. There, I stumbled on a roll of wrapping paper covered in hot chocolate mugs.

Eureka!

We would have a hot chocolate party. Charlotte loves hot chocolate, so she was totally on board. As we started planning it, it became clear that having the theme as hot chocolate was a little limiting, so we expanded to just have all chocolate. Charlotte was still very ok with this idea. This girl loves her chocolate.

We started with the invitations. I looked on Pinterest for some ideas, then made this one:

The meteorologists forecasted a huge snow storm the week before the party, so I went to the grocery store to stock up in advance. Man, that cashier must have thought I was the worst mom ever when she checked out my cart. Nothing but chocolate junk. (Actually, I think I had bananas and milk in there, too, so that totally makes up for the massive quantities of chocolate, right?)

Charlotte with all the chocolate before the party.

I didn't really have too many games or plans. I mainly concentrated on food. My friend Sarah had a chocolate fountain that I borrowed, and I actually baked a few things. (This is a huge feat for those who know me!)

Easter in a thousand pictures

Ooofh. That is the sound of me collapsing on the couch and not moving. (Ok, well, actually I do have to get up to switch the laundry. Monday is laundry day in our house.) But, today we are spending our day getting back to our normal schedule and recovering from the oh-so-much-fun annual Strand-Lafferty Easter weekend.

So, for the past five years, my cousin Laura and her husband and daughter have been coming down to spend Easter with us. Five years. I can't even believe it's been that long. The tradition can't be broken because my girls now completely associate Easter with Penny coming to town. It's permanently locked in. (Hear that, Laura?)

As always, we had a great time, the girls had a great time, and we are already making plans for next year. The problem is, as is usually the case, fitting everything into three short days.

They got here late on Thursday night. We're talking so late that I was already in bed, and I made Cory wait up for them. Then, on Friday morning, I drag poor Laura with me to Bar Method class. And, to be fair to myself, she did say she wanted to try it. Though, I'm not sure she was thrilled that she made that comment. Especially during the class. She told me that she thought there were going to be more ballet-esque moves. Whoops. Not so much.

So, after I completely tire Laura's legs out, we decided to drag the whole family down to the Nelson-Atkins Museum. A friend of mine had told me about this scavenger hunt for children that you can print off the internet and take with you. It has pictures of different things (ie. cat, wagon, lobster, angel) that the kids can cross off as they find them in different paintings throughout the museum. I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but it ended up completely entertaining and engrossing the girls. They were totally invested in finding all the items to cross off. We started getting into it, too. But, alas, we ended the day without ever finding the damn lobster!

We decided to use some of our Bar expertise to emulate the headless statue. Jeans were a bit of a hindrance.

Working on the scavenger hunt. I believe this may have been around the time that Molly asked Laura why angels don't have to wear clothes, after seeing so many naked angels in paintings. Oh, kids. ;)

We had a really yummy lunch in the cafe in the museum.

Then, we headed outside to enjoy the absolutely gorgeous weather. It has not been warm here for spring at all. In fact, it snowed 8 inches a mere 5 days prior to this. So, we were definitely ready to enjoy the outside. The tops of my feet, however, were not. They got absolutely burned to a crisp. Darn paleness.

Family picture in front of the Nelson.

Whee!!!!

Pensively thinking about life and art.

Three giggly girls.

Laura had seen something about the giant shuttlecock sculptures months and months ago, so we took pictures in front of them.

Just cute.

Polar Bear Pajama Party

My little baby girl is turning 3 next Wednesday. So, as it happens when birthdays come around, it was time for a birthday party. And, you know how I get when it comes to birthday parties. Go big or go home.

For quite a while now, Charlotte's been obsessed with Dora. And, she had wanted a Dora birthday party. But, because I'm a glutton for punishment, I thought, "Dora? Everyone does Dora. We need something more creative."

So, along I come with my big ideas and Pinterest:. A Polar Bear Pajama party. To be fair, Charlotte does love polar bears. It's kind of a freakish attachment, and I'm not entirely sure where it came from. But, she loves those bears.

I was majorly questioning my own sanity when Target started carrying all things Dora all over the place a couple weeks before the party. I mean, it was like the universe telling me I was stupid for choosing to do something that required so much of my own work instead of just buying the pre-made Dora paraphernalia. But, I persevered. (Mainly because the invitations were already sent out, and they were Polar Bear.)

Then, today, the day finally arrived. A Polar Bear Pajama party for my baby girl's 3rd birthday!

The cake table.

Cupcakes made by Gigi.

Polar Water with labels.

Pirates and Pixies ahoy!

I know that at some point, Molly's birthday parties are no longer going to be big backyard parties. I know one day, she'll want to invite school friends. Friends whose parents we don't know. Probably mostly girl friends. And, one day, she'll insist on a Barbie party. Or, she'll want it at Chuck-E-Cheese.

One day, Molly will have incredibly definitive opinions about everything related to her party. I'm preparing myself for that day, that birthday party.

But, this year, Molly still let Mommy have her fun.

So, for her 5th birthday, we planned a Pirate and Pixie party!

I still like to have big outdoor backyard parties with all our friends and their kids. These kids include a lot of boys, so I knew we needed a more gender-neutral theme than Barbie (Molly's original idea for a party theme). I just didn't want to overload the poor boys with pink frou-frou and hooker heels. I was blocked, trying to come up with something fun for boys and girls (last year's superhero party was a big hit, so I had a lot to live up to). Finally, a friend of mine told me about a theme she saw, and I loved it.

Pirates and Pixies.

It pleases boys and girls, and I could already imagine the cute pictures!

The planning was rather rushed and haphazard, but it still managed to come together pretty well.

Treasure chest full of goodies for the kids to wear during the party. For the girls, I had wings, crowns and pixie wands. The boys had hats, pirate bandanas and eye patches. I ordered the wings, crowns and wands online, found the pirate hats and eye patches at Hobby Lobby, and the pirate bandanas online here.

The deck. I was trying for a pixie forest whimsical feel. We draped pink, green and white tulle across the roof of the deck, then hung lanterns in the middle. 

Cory turned our canoe into a pirate ship, complete with flag and plank for walking.

The cake table. I looked and looked for a good idea for a pirate and pixie cake. Couldn't find one. So, we had to do two separate cakes. And, when I say "we," I actually mean "my mom."

First up: the Tinkerbell Pixie cake. Molly thought it was beautiful.

And, the pirate treasure cake. It was awesome looking and delicious!

Molly's Aunt Sarah came in town and provided beautiful face painting for the party.

Even I got in on the act.

Pixies Wands or Harry Potter Wands? You decide.

The food spread.

The trick: finding a creative pirate or pixie name for all the food.

More food.

And more.

We held a treasure hunt. All the kids had to complete an activity, then they got another piece of the map. The first game was to rescue the pixies from the pond by throwing them rings.

Next up: Shoot the pirates with straw wrappers.

And, of course, walking the plank.

Catching the pixies from the tree.

And finally: the buried treasure!

Happy Birthday, Molly!

I got one last big, fun, outdoor hurrah! I will prepare myself for the future parties in which I get no creative control, but at least for this one, Molly let my imagination (and Pinterest) go crazy. Thanks, Molls. And, happy birthday to my first baby girl.

Vintage style

So, a few months back, I got a phone call from a girl who works at my old company. She prefaced the conversation with, "I know this seems weird, but ... " She then went on to explain that for this year's company Christmas party, the owner of the company had an idea. He wanted to invite some former employees to attend the party. The theme of the party was "vintage" both for dress, and, apparently, for guests. Seeing as how I am already having a tough time with the whole getting older issue, I had to gulp a couple times before accepting that I was considered "vintage." But, once I got past that characterization of myself, I thought it could be pretty cool.

Considering it has been 4 and a half years since I worked there (I just have to add one day to Molly's age in order to figure out how long I've been gone), I wasn't sure if it would be weird or awkward. But, Cory and I both worked at PlattForm, and we still know people who currently work there. So, we thought it would be fun to get a chance to catch up with some of those people. Cory's company doesn't have a big holiday party, so there was no competition there. Plus, it was free food and drink, so you know Cory was on board.

Now, because my current job involves changing diapers and finding lost blankies, I don't get a whole lot of chances to get all gussied up. Every once in a while, it's nice to put on some heels and sparkly jewelry. And, there was the added bonus of the party having a theme. Vintage. I could totally roll with that. I love me some vintage style. Not that I wear it on a regular basis. I am definitely not hipster enough to do that. But, give me the right opportunity, and I am all about it.

Luckily, I had a connection. But, it's a secret connection. So, I can't tell you where I got to borrow my gorgeous dress from. But, it is truly vintage. 1958 Dior. Yes, you read that right. Amy got to wear a designer dress. Considering The Gap is about as designer as my everyday wardrobe gets, this was pure heaven. And, don't worry, I avoided the red wine and marina sauce. There was no way I was going to risk spilling anything red on the cream silk.

Cory went for the Mad Men vibe with a skinny tie. And, yes, that is a hat on me. I LOVED it.

What's in a neighborhood?

Tonight, our driveway was covered in chairs, tables, people, food, and children laughing and running. Tonight, we played host to the neighborhood block party.

When we first moved into our house 8 years ago, we had no idea what we were getting in to. And, I mean that in the best possible way. We were young, had been married less than a year, and had had only lived in apartments. We went house hunting with the concrete knowledge that we would only live in our starter house for 5 years. Tops. Ha! I laugh at our silly younger selves. Because we weren't planning to stay that long, we didn't really look into the schools that much. We didn't care that the house was on a cul-de-sac. And, we definitely didn't consider what kind of neighbors we were getting. Man, did we luck out.

In good weather, people are almost always outside. Kids run up and down the street. Molly and Charlotte have lots of other children to play with. We've gone to block parties, Christmas parties, pumpkin carving parties, Easter Egg Hunts, and wine tastings. My running partner lives right across the street from me. It's been 8 years, and frankly, we are scared to move. I can't imagine moving to another neighborhood.