Cedric is 5! {and 4 too}

I just spent a few hours looking through old posts of my kids growing up.

Doing so gave me a renewed sense of just how important documenting a few of our moments is.

I do love sharing but love reflecting even more.

So here we go, I'm documenting Cedric's 5th birthday.

Which was at the beginning of March. 

Not too bad, only 1.5 months late.

{But wait for it.}

 I was determined to dial back with the themed parties.

Then Cedric asked for a lego birthday and I just couldn't stop.

The cake was fun to make but the candle holders put it over the top if you ask me.

 Dollar store plates made for good lego blocks and dollar store cups were easily made into lego heads.

The kids got those lego storage heads for Christmas and they became the perfect snack bowls.

 Ced has long dreamed of an outdoor party which proves challenging with a March birthday in Edmonton.

We decided, however, to commit to the idea and ended up with a beautiful balmy winter day.

We loaded up the wheelbarrow and headed down to the creek to roast hotdogs.

We also took our piñata down.

We usually buy one at bulk barn but this year had a homemade lego block.

 I made it by gift wrapping a box that I had weakened a little and putting card stock circles on it.

I was a little worried that we'd end up having to rip it open but on the second round it literally exploded and sent the kids running and screaming to the candy, perfect.

 After lunch, the party was moved to our house for cake and more birthday fun.

 Cedric stated after that it was the best birthday ever.

But he said that last year too of course.

So here's what you've been waiting for, Cedric is 4!

{And was for a whole year, in which I neglected to share.}

Last year was hands down a Paw Patrol theme.

This one I did keep pretty simple with minimal decor {streamers and balloons not pictured}.

Dog bowls filled with puppy chow naturally.

And my kids have somehow decided that it's not a party without a piñata.

They are a nerve wracking part of each of our parties but who am I to deny this dangerous fun?

Happy birthday x2 buddy!

Fiona is 7! {Today!}

 {Oh but this post is also about her turning 6.}

I'm feeling super on top of it today.

I am posting about this amazing girl's birthday in a timely fashion.

{There is that little matter of needing to share last year as well though.}

This year there was no doubt that Fiona wanted a fairy birthday.

We've done the fairy theme before but she has a new-found love for fairies.

She recently built a fairy house you see, and has been getting occasional visits from her fairy pal named Fliona who leaves messages and a trail of fairy dust behind.

So of course her cake needed to be a fairy house.

This baby needed six layers to get the desired shape.

There was no shortage of cake for this party.

 Last time we did the fairy theme it was all about floral and vines.

We even made floral crowns.

This time we found other ways to make the room whimsical mostly involving twigs, yarn and beads.

Below is actually Fiona's hundred day project for school and served as our inspiration.

This hanging will stick around for a while.

For the "craft" the kids made wands/fairy sticks but many ended up making fishing rods.

I use the word craft loosely since I don't really direct them, just put out supplies and let them at it.

Ok now for catch up time.

Last year Fiona wanted a woodland theme so we dreamed up a sweet little cake.

This was take one.

We ended up cancelling Fiona's party since Daddy was stuck out of town in the hospital.

He ended up coming home 2 weeks later and missing the actual day.

In an attempt to keep it special we still had a celebration with family and close friends, all the while knowing we would reschedule once Jeff made it home.

So here's the real deal.

We turned this into a birthday/thank you to all who helped me stay sane while Jeff was gone.

The weather was fantastic {not like this year's snowstorm} so a BBQ felt just right.

 Happy birthday twice over my sweet babe.

Welcome Baby Frankie

I'm home with a pukey Cedric today so have a little unexpected blogging time in between laundry and Konmari'ing our dressers.

It doesn't get much more glamorous than that folks.

Our dear friends added a fourth to their family in June.

And she is a doll.

We had a situation with a proud Auntie here from England for a short time period so ended up throwing together this party in 8 short days.

Thank goodness the kids were in yoga camp.

 In an hour at Fabricland I acquired most of the decorations.

These fabric covered balloons hung with fishing line added some whimsy to our plum tree.

 Never underestimate the power of ripped fabric strips and twine.

I also gave my Gram's tea cart a real workout as the drink station.

We kept it simple with some pink lemonade punch and lemon water.

I can take credit for about 10% of the food.

My co-host Grandma Shirley was amazing at putting this spread together.

I did, however, bake that cake for the sole purpose of using that Hello World cake topper from Confetti & Sparkle Shop.

 Ribbon and fabric served as drink identifiers but also ended up looking very sweet.

 I have no pictures of Mama and Mom but found this one of Prince Charlie in his shower throne.

 We had a second food table with quick grab kids food which gave me an excuse to hang these lace curtains that I purged from the cabin.

 You always need bike parking right?

Instead of a guest book we had everyone write a message on a strip of fabric (I had ironed a small piece of fusible interfacing on each for this purpose).  

Afterwards we tied them all on a stick and the resulting art piece is now displayed over Frankie's crib.

The guest of honour was the sweetest little thing through the whole party.

And has been ever since.

A Spring Shower

We have been spending the last couple of days outside.

It's finally felt like spring and I have had a hard time convincing myself to do any indoor activities ie: blogging.

I have, however, been looking forward to sharing some pictures of my niece's shower. 

She is Feefs and Ced's first cousin and simply gorgeous.

Sisterly love is big right now {thanks for that Frozen} so Fiona just adores her baby-sister-cousin.

She is eager to hold the baby and does so timidly at first, preferring a helping hand.

It doesn't take long for those maternal instincts to kick in though and she's quickly as confidant as can be.

 The spread at this event was beautiful.

How cute is this rubber boot vase?

And this fruit baby in it's watermelon basinet? 

The cake at top of the post was my small contribution {bought, not made}. 

I did, however, make the topper consisting of a mini-easel and flower from the dollar store.

 The guest of honour was truly spoiled. 

As any princess should be. 

 We had a great time and my Mom commented afterward what a lovely group of people were at the shower.

 Of course, none could top the owner of this sweet hand and her beautiful Mama.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party {Of One}

We've been under the weather lately.

Everyone's still functional but coughing and pretty sniffly.

Because of this we made the decision to lay low this Saturday instead of heading out to our first Christmas party of the year.

This was not an easy decision because this party we missed was an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.

Those who have known me for a while know that I love a good Christmas sweater.

About 5 years ago we started hosting an annual upside-down-turkey-ugly-Christmas-sweater-cabin-party.

It hasn't happened since the kids came but we still have our sweater collection.
Here's a small sampling from 2007.

Fantastic right?

These weren't even the worst ones but I can't track any more pics down right now.

I was bummed that we didn't get to show these beauties off at the party so decided to use this platform instead.

You're welcome.

First, this is my gorgeous frock.

 You can't really tell from the picture but my sweater was lousy with pom poms.
And here's Jeff's.

Yep, that's Uncle Sam Santa and his friend the patriotic snowman.

This one was so special we had to highlight it with lights woven through and run off of a battery pack.

If you have your own personal collection I would LOVE to see some more.

Pinterest: Keep it and Kill it {Take 3}

Bridal showers.

Am I right?

They have become a whole different ball game now thanks to Pinterest.

There are so many good ideas at your fingertips.

We decided to throw a "Pinterest" shower for Jenna a while back.

We would peruse her boards and take ideas from them for the decorations, drinks and food.

 {Except the wedding board of course that would have been cruel.}

The funny part was that Jenna didn't remember pinning many of these things.

That's my issue with Pinterest.

I pin away and rarely go back to look at said pins.

{Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy pinning.}

These are a couple of projects I did for the shower.

 Keep it:

This was an idea for house numbers.

                                                                 Source: ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com via Jenna on Pinterest

Jenna has actually done this and it turned out great.

I decided to take an old piece of baseboard (6") and twine and do one with her wedding date.

I was really happy with it and she now has it in her home.

 Kill it:

I'm really not being fair to these poor doily lamps.

                                                                               Source: shexists.com via Jenna on Pinterest

The actual pin looks great.  My adaptation, not so much.

I didn't have a stash of crochet doilies and with no rummage sale in my near future didn't know how to acquire any.

I used paper and these are the pathetic results.

I put them up anyways and wish I hadn't because they looked even more pathetic hanging at the party.

This is the Halloween That Never Ends

Did anyone else just try to sing that?  

Are you annoyed that it doesn't fit with the tune?

No, just me?

What a great Halloween week.

Last weekend we went to party #1 in Sylvan.

It was fantastic.

 I wish I had more pics but I was single-parenting it so had my hands full.

Fiona gobbled up the "mummy-dogs" and of course loved decorating cupcakes.

On Sunday we went my parents' house for party #2.

My Mom is the holiday queen and had decorations, gifts, candy and pumpkins.

Dad even added the finishing touch with some spooky music. 

My Mom is also the picture queen so I'm depending on her to have this well recorded.

Hence the no pictures.

Update:  I knew she'd come through.

Our own house was definitely lacking.

I have to admit Halloween is not my favourite holiday.

{You'll soon see which is.}

This sign is our lone decoration.

We didn't even do the obligatory pumpkin-carving.

I left our pumpkins outside and this is what happens when you thaw them.

Finally the actual day came, cue party #3.

This is where I really get my neighbourhood pride on.

A couple of Moms decided to throw a little pre-trick-or-treating party.

We got our little turtle and lion bundled right up and off we went.

{Daddy met us there since he was waiting for a customer.}

There was a pumpkin toss, crafts, a mystery box and of course treats.

I offered to contribute the mystery box and it was fun to watch the reactions.

The maggots{rice} and brains{spaghetti} were good but the winner was definitely the 

eyeballs{canned lychee} .

{Bonus: no grape peeling involved.}

 

We hit about one street which was the perfect amount.

Again, we have the best neighbours.

There's really high involvement and they get pretty into it.

Many houses had halloween lights and one topped it off by offering the parents a choice of coffee, wine or Baileys.

 Yesterday we got another chance to dress up for a potluck at my work.

{I was especially glad since I forgot Fiona's make-up on Wednesday.}

Whew, that was a lot of celebrating, and it's not over.

The Mom's group that I joined when Fiona was born is getting together on Saturday.

{I always love seeing those Moms so am looking forward to it.}

And it goes on and on my friend.