Weekend Review

Happy Monday!! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Ours was busy and I took a ton of pics (the weather was beautiful which just makes everything seem better). I always like to start the weekend with Friday, so here we go:

T and I started out the weekend with a mommy/son workout. I pull out this stuff a few times a week and this time he was so excited to see an extra mat. When I told him it was daddy's he asked why daddy never used it (this is where I laughed so hard I stopped working out). Then when I wouldn't let him use my weights, he ran to the kitchen to get a surprise (I was preparing to tell him he couldn't have a snack). He ran back in with ice cream cone holders! Silly guy!

It was really cold on Friday. T and I were the "mystery reader" in N's class and we snuck him out early so he wouldn't have to ride the bus home in the rain. We had hot chocolate and marshmallows the minute we arrived home and then the boys got to work creating masterpieces. 

Grandpa and Grandma drove down late Friday night because an ice and snow storm knocked out power to their house (the schools are still out there because of power issues). We shopped it up Saturday morning with some Tea purchases and spent the afternoon outdoors.

 T threw a fit no one would carry him back to our house from the cul-de-sac (N eventually picked him up, which was ridiculous and sweet all at the same time). It is a full three houses away.

 We had a playgroup Mardi Gras party Saturday night. We don't get together often, but it is fun when we do. Our playgroup met when N and his buddies were in Gymboree together at 18 months (the boys just gravitated to each other) and since then they have always had a blast. And the little ones just tag along (and soon there will be two new little ones too).

A Mardi Gras party and time change had me a little worried about getting the boys up extra early to visit a friend's church for their son's baptism (not to mention the Carolina loss, Chris and I stayed up for). The boys had never been in a tradition church service (we attend a contemporary and they never actually come with us either). I could not have been more impressed by their behavior. They were great. After the service we headed to our friend's house for a brunch and once again the boys were exceptional. The sermon was on noticing the small blessings, and well I think we'll just call the morning a small blessing.

Then the afternoon was bike rides (I'm starting to think at least 50% of my pictures are of my kids on bikes).

 Warm weather means frozen yogurt, below is T's most disgusting concoction (cookies and cream, orange and peanut butter with reesie's pieces, cups, and gummy bears).

 A little hammock time before some backyard baseball.

 And the most important part of practice, if you catch a ball daddy swings you around. 

After a bath, the boys went to sleep in record time (especially with the time change). Today we will be catching up on things that didn't quite get done (like grocery shopping) and N has his first official t-ball practice (Saturday's was canceled from all the rain messing up the fields).

I hope everyone got a dose of sunshine this weekend and is looking forward to a great week ahead! 

Friday Finds

Happy Friday!! It has been raining since yesterday afternoon (pouring) and I'm ready for a warm up this weekend. I hope everyone has had a great week. I totally goofed and forgot half of what we were supposed to do for teacher appreciate week! Although N's teacher won't notice because she's been out sick (apparently a bad stomach bug has hit our area). I missed T's teacher appreciation week as well because of snow. Maybe I'll make it up to the teachers next week (I've never not had my act together for this - I was a teacher!). Either way, it's Friday!

Here's a few of my favorite finds for this Friday:

1. The Pike bag from Krochet Kids - I really want to purchase this bag. When N was little we had a monogrammed PBK's bag we used for trips (we still use it), but I've never purchased one for T. I love the denim stripe or the highland, not sure which to choose (although we don't have any trips coming up so maybe I can think about it).

2. Emerald August - I just discovered this brand (thanks to instagram) and love their crisscross back dresses and shorts. The fabrics are stunning and the style is timeless. I may have to put in an order or find it somewhere local.

T tells me he prefers to wear his shoes on the wrong feet, however with flip flops getting them on and walking in them takes quite a bit of talent.

 3. Gap Flip Flops (toddler, boy) - Last year I bought my boys a version of the Gap flip flops (use TREAT for 25% off) and they worked really well. By the end of summer, they needed to be trashed because they were worn out, but they are a great price and look cute too. I didn't see a version like N had last year, and I'm a little hesitant to try the boy version without reviews (it seems like the straps could be uncomfortable, but I'll be watching them to see if anyone has an opinion to share).

4. Lilly Pulitzer's Multi Elephant Ears print - This may be one of my all time favorite Lilly prints. Maybe this baby girl and I need matching outfits. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Ours is a bit busy but it will be fun. Hopefully our Heels will pull off a big win Saturday night, but it will be a really tough game. And we'll lose an hour before church Sunday (although I don't mind, it just means spring is closer)!

A few sale finds

A few sales have caught my eye and thought I'd share: 

1. Badger is on Zulily (need an invite? click here). I'm really picky about the products we use and sunscreen is one of them since we use a lot of it. I'm partial to sunscreen that is mineral based (but non-nanoparticles) and Badger fits the bill. These sunscreens can be pricey (we have used quite a few different brands) so it's great to find them on sale! I'll admit it's really hard to think of sunscreen when it's freezing outside.

2. Crewcuts kills me with their awesome sales (YAYSALE will get you 40% off until tonight at midnight)! I'm trying to decide if I should hit submit on these cuties (40% off $42.50 with code YAYSALE):

And for girls, these are adorable (and a steal - 40% $29.99 with code YAYSALE):

3. Tea has free shipping on $75 or more with the code MARCHTOIT. 

Happy Shopping!!

T's Sesame Street Birthday Parties

T's 4th birthday is less than a month away! This is his first year with a party that isn't a small gathering at our house and he is very excited. Thinking about his upcoming party, I wanted to share his parties from previous years - up first his 2 and 3 year old birthdays.

The past two years T has asked for a Sesame Street birthday party (technically the first year he asked for an Elmo party and last year he asked for a Cookie Monster party). For his 2nd birthday we invited our playgroup over and had a few special activities set up along with pizza and cupcakes.

 One thing I've learned about birthdays - balloons are very important.

Here are a few of our activities (some ideas are from pinterest):

Oscar's Trash Toss

This was a HUGE hit and was played many times (and even after the party was over). We purchased the can from Home Depot and the rest we already had. We crumpled up construction paper (we used enough colors so each child could have a color to collect) and dumped it all over the living room. The kids then ran around collecting their color and putting it back in the can (tossing if they wanted). The first person to pick up all their paper won. 

Coloring with Elmo

This was an easy-peasy activity: crayons, paper, done. Recently I've added stickers to the coloring station when we have it at a party, making it more of a create a scene.

Cookie Monster Cookies

My mom and I made a batch of Real Simple's Sugar Cookies (it's my go-to recipe) and a batch of Martha's Royal Icing (another go-to). We colored the icing red, yellow and green (coloring icing is a PAIN) and placed them in Wilton candy making squeeze bottles (from Michaels). Before the party, I kept them turned upside down with the cap on in a bowl of warm water to keep the icing from hardening. Royal icing is runny, but the kids really liked it.

Big Bird's Egg Hunt

A lot of our activities were supposed to be outside, but it rained all night so we moved most indoors. This was a basic egg hunt and it worked just fine indoors. I purchased almost everything for it at the Dollar Store (and filled the eggs with stickers).

Counting with the Count

We did get the chance to do one outside activity (there wasn't room inside, so we were lucky). I connected six hula hoops from the Dollar Store with tape and then wrote numbers inside (I messed up and should have but the 1s at the bottom and a 3 at the top). The kids stood behind a line and threw bean bags (from amazon) at the hoops and tried to count up their score (obviously lost on a two year, but the throwing bean bags into a circle wasn't).

Ernie's Rubber Duckies

I ordered the birthday ducks from Oriental Trading (they are smaller than normal ducks so you can get a lot for a good price) and used a Sharpie to write the kids names (or initials) on the bottom. I placed them in a beverage tub (from Target) with water. The kids then had to find their ducks. This would have been more fun if it had been outside. It was also the most popular in the 2 and under crowd. 

The cupcakes were Martha's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes recipe with buttercream icing and Wilton Elmo Toppers. The Sesame Street sign is just a big sticker from Michaels.

The favor bags were from Target and I just added a sticker.

 For his family birthday celebration - I made an Elmo cake (pan can be found here). I'm glad I did it once, but it wasn't something I wanted to do again. (Martha's One Bowl Chocolate Cake is the base).

 For his 3rd birthday, we kept it simple - balloons, family, and cupcakes. We spent the day at the playground, we visited the toy store and ate his favorite foods. It was a much easier birthday, and I think the Cookie Monster cupcakes turned out pretty cute (marshmallow cut in half with dark chocolate eyes). 

T's first birthday was a dinosaur theme. Maureen of AndersRuff just did an amazing dinosaur themed party for her son, see it here. Mine isn't quite as involved, but I'll share the details next week. 

What to Wear for Spring Training

Yesterday my big guy was out of school with a bad headache (his second day of a headache) so not much was done around here (and I'm catching up on my blog reading this morning). He's feeling better and is back at school and hopefully headaches will stay far far away from him from now on. 

The boys are starting their spring sports this weekend! It is back to Saturday morning games for us, although this time we'll be juggling two games. We did a little shopping this weekend for new cleats and other gear and I put together a list of my favorite athletic wear. 

I'm going to go ahead and apologize for all the pink in the girls section. For some reason I'm drawn to it (and my boys wear pink, so it's not like it's been missing from my life). I do love the looks though - and would gladly wear them if they were available in my size!

Nike Tempo Shorts, Old Navy Active zip top , Under Armour VNeck, Navy Nike Tempo Shorts, Old Navy Active Tee, Pumas (toddler version), Saucony Shoes

I had a hard time shopping for my boys. We are lucky in that we receive a lot of athletic hand-me-downs, but there were a few items they needed and it took awhile to hunt down something we liked. The blue Nike's are only available in size 2 and are on super sale, but I've been eyeing them since Christmas. 

Old Navy Zip Up, Gap Grey Shorts, Adidas Pants, Nike Shirt, Blue Adidas Pants, Blue Toddler Nike Tee, Adidas Shoe, Nike Shoe

Is anyone else gearing up for spring sports? I'm excited for the boys to play and have fun, not so excited about losing our fun laid back Saturday mornings.

Weekend Review

Happy Monday! We are having a slow start this morning. It's rainy and cold (and getting colder), but it makes for a nice day at home (destroying whatever cleaning was done earlier). Did everyone have a good weekend? We decided not to paint the nursery yet (might as well put it off as long as possible), but we did pick up the crib (it's been sitting at PBKs for over a month, apparently we move in baby steps). The boys rode bikes and played with neighborhood friends. The grandparents drove down for Sunday dinner. It was even warm enough for us to have Sunday lunch on the patio - and it's also my one picture from the weekend.

he looks thrilled doesn't he?

Any fun plans this week? It's pretty usual for us this week. Soccer and Tball start soon which will throw us into a busier schedule so we are going to enjoy the quiet before the crazy!