My Birthday Party Inspriations

Party day is almost here!  

Of course my boys would end up getting sick 48 hours before their party :(  We'll be pumping them full of liquids, slathering on the Vicks, and firing up the humidifiers to try and get them better ASAP.   We're keeping our fingers crossed that we have good enough weather to have some of the festivities outside.  I'm prepared if it needs to be indoors but it will be so much more fun outside.  

Here's hoping!

Thought I'd share some of my inspirations and tutorials for the party details.

The birthday banner I made was inspired by Megan at Our House of Pink.  See her tutorial here.

 She in turn was inspired by someone else.  Isn't it great how the inspiration chain works!  And we all add our own little something to the idea.  Love the vibrant pink she's using for her party for her little girl.  Wouldn't I love to have a little pink in the house! Luckily I have a sweet niece that I can be girly with.

Natalie at The Busy Budgeting Mama has inspiration for so many different amazing party ideas.  She has made cupcake toppers for many different occasions and designs and sells them on Etsy.   

See her Etsy shop here.  

Her cupcake toppers are way more chic than mine but I love making cupcakes for birthdays and decided to give these paper toppers a shot this year.  Since I was spending more time on the other details, this was an easy way to spruce up the cupcakes without having to create a decoration out of icing for on the top.  Aren't Natalie's valentine's cupcakes adorable?!

Can't wait to share the details of our Old West Mining party with you.  Hopefully I'll have that post sometime next week.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Starting off Monday right

So this weekend was one of those rare weekends that actually felt like I had a weekend!  Gotta love them when they come along, just the right mix of getting errands and such done but still having time for fun.  And all the snow melted too which definitely lifted my mood!

Being Monday and back to work can make you a little grumpy though.  Here are some of the ways I try to beat the Monday workday grumps.  I'm lucky enough to work for a relaxed company that allows me to enjoy all these little things that can get the day started right.

Me actually happy on a Monday morning!

1.  Light a candle.  Nothing helps create a feeling of serenity like a candle.  The best brand I have found is "Our Own Candle Co.".  These babies are amazing.  They burn for 100 hours and their yummy scents will permeate your entire house...or office building in my case :)  And the 16oz mason jar is only $7.00 - totally worth it!

2.  Turn on my digital picture frame.  My husband presented me with this gift two Christmases ago and I think it is the best present I've ever received.   
It's like watching a version of "This is your life" everyday.
Although it only has the last 10 years of my life since buying a digital camera ;)  But it's a great way to stay focused on what is important in life as you watch pics of your wedding, babies, vacations, and family flicker across the screen.  All those good times serve as a reminder of why you work so hard in the first place.

3.  Listen to a little Pandora acoustic soul on my iphone....or any music that lifts you up.  I think music is the single most powerful mood elevator ever.  Anytime your feeling down you can turn on some music that speaks to your soul or even just something with a great beat to serve as a little pick-me-up.

4.  Lastly, get a cup of coffee.  They say those that start the day with a warm beverage tend to be happier people.  Something about the warmth...well I know this is probably true for me.  I'm not a strong coffee drinker, I tend to like a light roast or flavored varieties.  Lately I've been drinking French Vanilla coffee with French Vanilla creamer, yum!   
Overkill?  Not for me, it's like dessert in the morning!
I also like Chai Tea Lattes.  I like a variety but some people are fiercly committed to a certain brand or brew.

What's your beverage of choice?

One of my favorite radios stations K-Love does a great thing on Mondays.  Its called Make a Difference Monday.  They make suggestions of small things (or big things) that you can do to make a difference in someone's life and people can call in with something they are doing or something someone did for them.  It's just a great way to start off the week and try to remind us all to help each other out now and again.  So many radio stations make fun of each other, callers, celebrities, etc.  I find K-Love's approach quite refreshing, can you imagine what the world may be like if people concentrated on building each other up instead of tearing each other down?  I want to live in that world.  I too get caught up in judging people sometimes but this reminder always helps.

K-Love is also helping to raise funds for Friday's earthquake/tsunami victims in Japan.  If you'd like to give, click here.

I'm linking up with Carrisa at lower case letters today!  Please check out her blog!
And Happy Monday!

Lower Case Letters

Yes it's beautiful but ENOUGH ALREADY

I can't take any more snow!

My street

The scenery that greeted me this morning was actually quite beautiful but 
I have had ENOUGH. 
 I need sun.  I need color.  I need painted toenails and peep toe shoes, kayaking, long walks in the woods.  I need spring.


Can I get just a little sprout somewhere in my yard? My favorite is our weeping cherry tree that flowers in the spring.  Can't wait until those delicate white flowers with just a touch of blush come peeping out.  Hopefully we're just a few weeks away but you'd never guess it from looking out the window!


I'm not the only one with cabin fever.   My boys have been running around like crazy and extra bouncy lately....which seems to be leading to more bumps and bruises.  I'm looking forward to letting them loose in the sandbox or riding bikes in the driveway to wear off some of that endless energy.


At least we turn the clocks ahead this weekend, one of the signs that spring is around the corner!

A mining we will go...

My babies are growing up...I can't help but get emotional.  My youngest will be 2 and my oldest will be 5 in a few days.  They were both born on the first day of spring, 2 years and 364 days apart.  

We did separate parties last year because I wanted my baby to have his own 1st birthday party like his big brother got.  But this year we're doing a combined party.  So far the boys both seem to be OK with sharing the day.  We decided on a old west kind of theme.  My oldest likes the show on Discovery Channel "Gold Rush Alaska" and thinks gold mining is way cool.  And anything my oldest likes, my youngest thinks is cool too.  He's such a little copy cat :)

Here's a snipit from the invitations I did.

Wanted

"Bubba" & "Eagle Eye"

Gold Thieves

Grab the next stagecoach
and 'giddy up to the _____ Homestead
to search for the missing gold!
We'll have a rootin' tootin' good time!

Help us celebrate the _____ Brothers birthdays!

Saturday, March 19th 2011

3-1/2 hours past HIGH-NOON (3:30 pm)

at the _____ Homestead

We're going to do some gold mining with little aluminum pie pans that I'm going to punch holes in.  Each kid will get a bag of sand with rocks and "gold" in it.  They'll then get to sift out the sand and rocks to get their "gold".  Once they have their gold, they'll bring it to the trading post where we will weigh it and exchange it for some goodies they can take home.  Each kid will get the same amount of gold and basically I will be assembling their treat bags from the Trading Post goodies.

 I took a lot of time to draw the wood grain on these cardboard boxes that will serve as our Trading Post.  I still need to add the sign at the top.  My oldest said "Mom, I can still tell its cardboard".  Sheesh!  Give a Mom a little credit!

We'll also have a Saloon for some beverages.  We got some cute plastic mugs from the party store that are actually for coffee but look like they could be an old style beer mug.  And their the perfect size for our little guests. 

I'm making a banner and cupcake toppers too.  Ideas inspired by some fellow bloggers.  I'll share their details and tutorials once I post all my finished party props.

These will be cut out and strung for a banner

Cupcake Toppers

I ran out of colored printer ink so was limited to a small color pallet.  Printed everything in black and hand coloring in some parts.  A less insane mom would just go buy more colored ink.  But alas it's not in the budget (remember what I said about learning how to decide where to spend your money from my last post?)  I actually kind of like the way the colored pencil fill is looking, adds a little to the old time effect but is still colorful.

I'm enjoying the planning and trying to add more details than usual since this is the only birthday party we'll be doing this year.  I'll keep you posted on how it all turns out.

 Linking up with the Busy Budgeting Mama!

Toy overload?

This weekend we took our 2 boys to Toys R' Us.  Now we normally do NOT shop there, for several reasons... but they received some gift cards so we took them to pick something out.  My oldest was so excited (imagine high pitched screaming) when he saw the size of the store, 

and we hadn't even gotten in there yet.  

As we walked through the doors we were greeted with major toy overload.  There's so much to look at, even I was overwhelmed let alone the kids.  Uuugh, I was starting to get a little nervous about this.

As it turns out I was pleasantly surprised at how well my kids did.  We tried to steer them away from the pricey stuff (which in our book takes most of the store out of the running) but they did really good at asking if they had enough money for something and didn't even throw fits if the answer was no.  The funniest part was my oldest son's comment  

"Wow, there's so much here that I don't have and I didn't even know it!"

  He doesn't yet know that ignorance is bliss.

He is usually a marketers dream, if it's on TV he wants it.  But he really started showing some maturity in understanding that things cost money and all the different aspects that go into choosing how to spend it.  This is a tough lesson for an almost 5-year-old (heck even a 33-year-old like me) but he did really well.  Luckily my youngest found a Thomas toy that was on clearance (he is obsessed) so he was easy to please.  What could have been a recipe for major child meltdown ended up actually being a fun trip....thank God for small favors! 

1,2,3........uh where was I?

So things are getting serious at Behind the Moon BEADWORKS....seriously organized that is.  Largely with the help of my husband, I am getting some major organization underway.  He got me some new software to help with inventory, ordering, invoicing...... the whole enchilda.  It is going to be a great tool for me but it takes SO MUCH effort to get all the starting data loaded.  

So we're currently working on inventory.

A small sampling of all my pretties

Counting all those tiny little beads...uugghh!  The nice thing is it has become a family affair.  I count the tiny ones, my 4-year-old counts the large ones, and my husband inputs the data.  We only do it for about 20-30 minutes a night before we all get burnt out on it (remember my husband and I have full-time jobs too) but hopefully we'll be done soon.  My son is so sweet to want to help but he can only do large beads that I don't have a whole lot of.  It helps him practice his counting too which is an added bonus.  His teacher will be proud!  Although his counting out loud makes me lose my place sometimes!

Then its on to continuing to organize my workspace and inventory storage.

 We're converting this old computer armoire into my workspace. My husband is adding more shelving and some hooks for wire and chain.  It actually makes a pretty nice workspace with the extra arm that swings out on the right hand side.  Once I have more shelves and neater bins to store my beads in, I think it will run fairly smoothly.  I also got a label maker that I just can't wait to start using for some reason.
I may just go label happy on the whole house ;)

I'm also trying to find some way to store my stock of completed designs so that I can easily carry them to craft shows/fairs but keep every piece easily visible and accessible.  Once I have all my designs solidified and completed, I'll be designing my displays for my first home showing!  Can't wait to get that part underway.  All this start-up work can be daunting but hopefully everything should flow much smoother once I get to my home party.  Then I can just refine things here and there. 

Do you have a favorite organizational item/tip?

A day in the life....my "go to" meal

As a full-time buyer, mom, business owner, and wife, I need fast meals that my family will like.  Unfortunately, I have 2 picky eaters at home so I often have to prepare
more than one meal.   
I HATE to do this and try very hard not to.
We try to make the kids at least TRY whatever we are having but it is often met with sour faces.  My oldest is a little strange in that he won't eat noodles, not of any kind.   
What kid doesn't like noodles!
My 2 year old likes basically bread and fruit.  He's also just finicky, one day he'll love something and the next he refuses it.  Flat out spits it out....drives me nuts. 

Thankfully I have a few "go to" meals that never fail to make us ALL happy.  I received the "Cheap, Fast, Good" cookbook as a gift and have found several good recipes in there but this one is my favorite.

Bayou Stew

I usually make it in the morning or even the night before.  It just seems to have an extra bit of flavor if it has "sat" a while.

Bayou Stew
from Cheap, Fast, Good!

1 cup long grain rice
2/3 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
2 large onions
8 ounces kielbasa sausage
1 medium sized green pepper (about 1 cup chopped)
2 cans (14 oz each) beef broth
2 teaspoons Cajun blend seasoning
2 tablespoons flour

For Rice: Bring 2 cups lightly salted water to boil in a covered saucepan. Add the rice. Stir and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
Melt butter in 4 ½ qt Dutch oven over medium heat. Peel onion and finely chop them, adding to the pot as you chop. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces adding them to the pot as you chop. When all the chicken has been added, raise the heat to medium high. Cook stirring until the chicken is almost cooked through, about 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile cut the sausage in half lengthwise, the slice both halves into roughly ¼ in pieces.
Add broth to the pot, raise the heat to high and add the bell pepper, cover the pot and bring the soup to a boil.  Add Cajun seasoning and cook at a moderate boil until the green pepper is tender, about 3 minutes. (Uncover the pot partially if pot begins to boil over.)

In small jar with lid, mix flour with 3 tablespoons cold tap water. Cover jar and shake well until the mixture is combined and the lumps have disappeared. Gradually add the flour mixture to the soup stirring constantly until the soup has thickened slightly. Remove the pan from the heat. Divide the hot cooked rice among four large soup bowls and ladle soup over the rice and serve at once.  Four generous servings.

For more great recipe suggestions and just plain good-reading visit Sprigs of Rosemary.

Happy Eating!!

Also swing by The Busy Budgeting Mama where I am linking up today.