Today started out with me and Brenden watching Hotel Transylvania, which he got for his birthday, while eating cake for breakfast (I'm the mom; I make the rules). Then we got ready and went to his buddy Ava's birthday party and he bounced himself silly in the bouncy castle. When we got home the sun was shining (as it has been all weekend!) so the kids played outside while I washed the cars--- the Cozy Coupe cars that is! Both kids' car got washed so they are ready to cruise this summer! It was so good to soak up the vitamin D and watch the kids play with sidewalk chalk, played on the slide, and got their toes in the grass. Next we took a walk as a family. Brielle got pushed in the stroller while Brenden rode his brand new Lightening McQueen BIG BOY BIKE (which I have not gotten pictures of yet, forgive me!). He had issues at first with the brakes engaging when he pushed the petals back, but by the end of the walk he was a pro! We walked to the elementary school and played on their huge playground. It is the kind of playground that I wish my school had when I was kid-- totally awesome! Then we got home, William grilled out BBQ chicken while I made a pasta salad. Right before it was ready Brielle started fussing and I couldn't figure out why. She then took her diaper off and went upstairs. I figured she was tired (neither kid napped today) and wanted to take a bath and go to sleep. NOPE- she wanted to use the upstairs potty! She sat down and peed then went back downstairs! Amazing! So then we ate, the kids bathed, Brielle went to the potty and peed AGAIN before her diaper got put on, we read books, ate vitamins, brushed teeth, and the kids got tucked into bed.
So as I was saying, my life has changed so much. My incredible weekend revolved around those kids and spending time with them. Oh, the sunshine didn't hurt either! Four years ago an incredible weekend involved going to and partying then sleeping in and watching movies all day!! My oh my how times have changed and I'm loving it.
Without further ado, may I present you with photos from Brenden's party....
These invites are just the cutest. A HUGE thanks to my good friend Betsy for designing them. She is a new stay at home mom and launched a graphic design business (because the twins aren't keeping her busy enough ;) ). I see very big things in her future! Her shop is Momma Cat Studio. Go check her out! She also did the food labels (you'll see those soon) and the thank you cards.
Welcome to the party! I got this great vinyl banner for free on Vistaprint. I had to pay something like $6 in shipping and handling, but I couldn't resist! I love it.
A shot of some of the spread. The iced tea & juice boxes were Robot Fuel. The water was Liquid Hydrogen. I meant to make strawberry lemonade but whoops. I guess I can still make it and enjoy it all by myself. I'm not at all opposed to that. Disregard the kitchen mess and the countdown that I abandoned pretty early on....
The cake. Oh the cake. The cake that I had the BRIGHT idea of making myself. Just like I had the bright idea of having the party at the house. I found some ready to roll icing at Sainsbury's, the supermarket in town. It seemed to be just like fondant, just not rolled out yet. Well, it wasn't just like fondant. I was planning on making rice krispies and covering them with fondant to make a robot. Thank God I found these perfect little wooden robots who didn't mind standing in as a cake topper. The icing would not have worked for all those dials and switches!! I promised William that my birthday cake making days were behind me. It's too stressful and the image in my head never matches the end result. What was the image in my head you ask? Well, it was a mix between this and this. The idea for making gears out of that icing was quickly scrapped and he got random, uneven shapes instead. It still tasted good though.
Next up we have the party favors. These were a big hit and understandably so.
Lays Kettle Cooked chips disguised as computer chips. See? Promised I'd show you the labels!
Ritz Bits for the boring people-- grinding gears for the party people!
Again, my grand ideas got the best of me. I wanted to make a snack mix of my own. Instead, the guest got Honey Nut Chex Mix Nuts & Bolts. No one complained.
There is no cutesy name for pigs in a blanket as it turns out. We also had ball bearings (blueberries and grapes) and were supposed to have spare parts (remember that pasta salad that I made tonight? Those ingredients just so happened to be on hand....).
I did not get near as many pictures of the kids enjoying the party as I intended. It was chaos and I spent a good chunk of time in the kitchen overseeing an activity. You'll see why in a minute.
The paper chain going across the ceiling was way cuter than streamers. I used robot scrapbook paper and solid cardstock. They are still hanging because they are so precious!
Brenden and Ava enjoying their lollies on the stairs. It was this Ava's whose birthday he went to today. They are only a day apart in age. Sweetness.
Brenden rocking the robot. Mommy couldn't find the pipe cleaners so there was no headband with antennas. The kids are still going crazy playing with this so I plan on still making antennas to go with it. My friend Bre came over before the party to help with everything. She completely put this together and designed it, along with so many other things. THANK YOU BRE!!! I seriously have the greatest friends who understand my inevitable unpreparedness and are there to step in and help!
Tucker being a robot. That's the Pizza Hut pal.
Activity time! Each kid got a ceramic robot to paint. I was brave and let it happen in my kitchen. Only the floors got messy! Now do you understand why I felt the need to stay in there and supervise instead of being out and being a shutterbug?
He was the first one in there painting and the second to last one out. The kid loves his arts :) I found these robots and aprons on Oriental Trading. They have the fastest shipping!
Little miss Presley Kate and her pretty blonde hair painting her robot. She was too involved to look at the camera.
Ava, Brielle, and Ella painting their robots. Shame on me for not getting pink paint!
Jamie helping her boys paint the robots.
Present time! I guess it's time for action figures. He's getting so big!
There was a major crisis while opening presents. He hit his eye on a gift bag and when he went to rub it he pushed all his upper eyelashes under his bottom eyelid. You know how bad it hurts when one eyelash gets in your eye? Imagine a whole row of thick, insanely long lashes. He was hysterical and I was quite worried that he scratched his cornea or something. We finally pinned him down and pried his hand off his eye. William got the lashes out and 30 seconds later he was fine. However, he had to sit in Dad's lap for the rest of the present opening.
I made this awesome backdrop so that each kid could put on the robot and have their picture taken. That didn't happen. I did get a picture of Brenden though right before bedtime (rocking his robot PJ's!).
I'll leave you with us singing Brenden "Happy Birthday." The joy on his face says all you need to know about how much fun his party was! The Blogger video hosting is terrible quality, hence the YouTube link. Sorry!
