real life…..{birthday party!}

WARNING: picture-heavy post!

i realize i should be updating you on the weight loss challenge (i was horribly undisciplined last week. back on track now!) but i promised birthday party pics so here they are!

the carnival party was a huge hit! hubby built the entrance and a few ‘game booths’! we borrowed the bounce house from friends – it fit the theme perfectly! the signs were from our local party store (but i did see them on amazon), most of the decorations & prizes came from oriental trading.

 

each child received tickets and a prize bag to collect all their winnings! we had a bean bag toss, horseshoes, a ring toss and a fish bowl game – different prizes for each.

we also had a bubble station – lots and lots of wands and some homemade ‘bubble juice’….

i found tons of classic decorations at the dollar store and on amazon (remember the punching bag clowns?? love it!)………    

i warned parents ahead of time that it would be one big ‘ole sugar fest! on the menu: hot dogs, hamburgers, corn dogs, pretzels, chips, popcorn, chocolate covered marshmallows, chocolate covered oreos (didn’t get a pic of that display but it was cute – they were arranged in one of the popcorn tubs, stuck into some styrofoam & the styrofoam was covered with blue shredded paper), cupcakes & of course cake! and each child took home a goodie box filled with a lollipop, a marshmallow twist, animal crackers & a pinwheel :-)

we also did a really cute ‘photo booth’. as a thank you, parents will receive their child’s photo in a carnival themed photo frame (um, as soon as i get the photos printed and put together the frames!! another project!)

(such a silly smile!)

i didn’t come up with these ideas myself so i need to give credit where credit is due:

cap creations for the ring toss, fish bowl game & goldfish-in-a-bag soaps

karas party ideas for the decoration ideas, photo booth & goodie box inspiration

maryjanes & galoshes for the chocolate covered oreos

come together kids for the ‘bubble juice’ refill station

wants & wishes design for the chocolate covered marshmallows (never did find the original post on their blog so this links to my pin)

thank you all for your inspiration, tips & instruction!!

so what do you think? and more importantly, what’s next years theme?!?!

dear aidan…..{happy birthday!}

to my dearest aidan,

today, you are five years old. that’s approximately 2,095 days that you have been the very beat of my heart. the doctors said that you probably wouldn’t happen. and when you did, they said it would be difficult – you may not make it. yet here you are, my gift from God. you are growing up so very fast but i’m enjoying every second of it!

your first word was ‘mama’ and i love that that’s what you still call me – i hope you always will. you are such a smart boy and i’m so, so proud of you! right now, you’re so curious and you love to learn. you seem to soak it all in without me even realizing! you’re headed off to kindergarten this year – full day kindergarten! i really can’t imagine you away from me for 7 whole hours, 5 days a week. this will be a learning and growing period for us both.

i’m so happy that you call david your best friend – he and his family are our family, too. i hope you always surround yourself with positive influences – stay close to others who love the Lord.

you’re always singing or humming. i can’t tell you what joy it brings me when i hear you singing a song of praise or worship to God. you’re a big fan of the drums and you may be showing some promise on the keyboard – be it musician, teacher, baker - whatever you do, do it with a song in your heart, my baby.

you love legos, toy story (1,2 & 3) and pixars cars (1 & 2). when you choose to be patient, you’re pretty good at building the lego sets but usually, you create your own works of art. you love to draw and paint and i think you’ve the makings of a fabulous artist.

true to your heritage, you are a big boy for your age yet you’re very gentle with others. you have a very sensitive soul and, while i worry for you constantly, i pray that nothing ever happens to harden your heart.

even though you hate it when mama does your hair, you stand by me and won’t let others convince you to get a buzz cut. (thank heavens!!) you never give me a hard time about the clothes i choose for you and you’re sometimes very helpful in choosing mine!

i am so lucky to have you, aidan leigh. i wouldn’t change a thing about you and i’m so looking forward to seeing who you become, every.single.day. you are the light of my life and i love you with all my heart.

love,
mama

You asked for it......

WARNING: THE TEDIUM OF LIFE AS A STAY-AT-HOME MOM FOLLOWS. CONTINUE READING AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Okay, well maybe you didn't ask for it but I did say I was going to start sharing more of my life. And right now my life is aggravating me greatly. I don't mean to take for granted all the blessings the Lord has given me and my family and many of them have been undeserved. However. I'm just a touch grouchy. See, here's the problem..........

1. It's been a loooong summer. I (quickly) became quite accustomed to Aidan's first year of preschool absenses. We readjusted very easily this summer and it actually seemed to be going well. Until now. I think I've reached my expiration date.

2. Added to that, my little angel is potty training. Yes, it's a little late comparatively speaking but better late than never! He's doing a fabulous job 'peeing on the potty'. I feel like that phrase should be in quotes AND italicized because it's become my mantra. HOWEVER. He's always had constipation issues. To the point that regular administration of medication (read: stool softeners) is required. To say the least, these issues are not condusive to successful 'pooping on the potty' training. I'll leave the details to your imagination.

3. And finally, making matters worse, a recent minor surgery - from which I've completely recovered - seems to have altered my thyroid function again. If you have thyroid issues, you can understand how...........all encompassing they can be. At any point in the past that I've mentioned an illness, it was some sort of thyroid issue. Briefly: after my son was born I was diagnosed with Graves Disease, an overactive thyroid (linked to further info if you care). After minor radiation treatment, my thyroid was then underactive - no big deal, easier to treat and manage. However. (there's that word again!) After a blissful two years or so, my thyroid 'woke up' and became overactive once again. Must've been feeling neglected. So, more med adjustments and it went back to sleep. Now I'm not sure what's going on........ TOO underactive, overactive.....I don't know. All I know is that I'm EXHAUSTED (read: falls asleep in the middle of a sentence), I have heart palpitations, I can't walk up the stairs without feeling like I've run a marathon (okay, I've never run a marathon but if that's what it feels like then you can count me out!), I'm having a hard time finding the energy to get anything done and irritable is my middle name (I'm in the process of legally changing my first name to incredibly). Oh yeah, and my appetite??? Let's just say that any weight I (finally) lost recently is back with reinforcements.

So. Such is my life at the moment. If you call me and I snap at you, I apologize. It's my hormones. Or maybe I'm in the middle of cleaning poop off the floor. Or perhaps my son has been following me around singing "You Got A Friend in Me" all morning......who am I kidding? It could be anything. So call at your own risk. Or don't call. I'll call you. That's safer all around. All I can say is, it's a good thing he's so cute!! ;-)