Grown by Dylan! He's so proud of his red pepper plant and was giddy yesterday morning when we cut off the first two. :)
Linking up to Wordless Wednesday: July 25 and Sarah Halstead's Boys & Dirt {WW #50}
Santa's Sleigh
1 day ago
7/25/2012
[almost] Wordless Wednesday: Red Peppers
Grown by Dylan! He's so proud of his red pepper plant and was giddy yesterday morning when we cut off the first two. :)
Linking up to Wordless Wednesday: July 25 and Sarah Halstead's Boys & Dirt {WW #50}
7/24/2012
Geoffery's Birthday Club
I signed Dylan up for the Toys R Us Geoffery's Birthday Club when he was an infant. Each year it has resulted in a birthday card from Geoffery that includes a coupon/gift card for a small amount. This year the card had a coupon for $3 off a $3 or more purchase and a second coupon for a free Chuggington wooden train car. We visited the Cary location on Saturday to pick out his train car.
As we were checking out, I commented to the cashier about how it was a nice surprise from Toys R Us to receive it for free for his birthday. What I didn't realize is that they do a little in-store fun too. She immediately went to the customer service desk, broadcast his birthday to the entire store and brought back a crown and balloon for him. He also got a coloring sheet she had at the register. It was a fun, simple surprise that had my little guy a bit stunned but also very excited. He's still enjoying that balloon and, of course, his new Hodge train car. Thanks, Toys R Us!
As we were checking out, I commented to the cashier about how it was a nice surprise from Toys R Us to receive it for free for his birthday. What I didn't realize is that they do a little in-store fun too. She immediately went to the customer service desk, broadcast his birthday to the entire store and brought back a crown and balloon for him. He also got a coloring sheet she had at the register. It was a fun, simple surprise that had my little guy a bit stunned but also very excited. He's still enjoying that balloon and, of course, his new Hodge train car. Thanks, Toys R Us!
7/23/2012
Blast Off Birthday Party
This year, we had a space themed party to celebrate Dylan's 3rd birthday. The idea originated from a printables set I won from Deena Rutter last fall. I used invites from the set, but changed the text portion:
Not trusting that the weather would be as cooperative as last year, we decided to book his party at a local indoor playspot - PlayNation. The kids had a great time burning energy indoors on the swing sets, in the bounce house and playhouses, and climbing up the inflatable slide. A few of the adults joined in the fun too!
Afterwards we gathered together to celebrate in one of the party rooms. I kept the decor simple and to a minimum. The food table was topped with a black plastic table cloth and scattered with glow in the dark stars & planets. On the front hung the birthday banner I made last year.
At one end we had a "planet" created from a paper lantern with a cardboard/foil ring, a space themed mailbox and subway art. The subway art was reused from last year. I updated the colors & age number and inserted it into a thrift store frame I spray painted blue to match the decor. Sticking out of the mailbox was a photo of Dylan mounted on foam board with the comment "You helped make my birthday celebration at "blast"! Thanks! Please take a favor home to enjoy."
Each of the snacks was labeled using placecards in the printables set. I added the names before printing. We had Fruit Rockets (fruit kabobs with strawberries, blueberries & grapes); Space Mix: Asteroids, Moon Rocks & Saturn's Rings (cheese puffs, Cheerios & Cookie Crisps cereal); and Rocket Fuel (juice boxes and water).
And, best of all, Alien Cupcakes!
They ended up looking a bit like a mix of Toy Story aliens and Mike Wazowski. :) [Huge shout out to my friend, Lauren, for all of her help with tips & loaning me extra cake baking accessories.] For Dylan's we added a single, neon green candle at the forehead like an antenna.
As the party ended, each child picked up a goody bag with his/her name on it. I used paper sandwich bags as I did last year, folded over the top and sealed with a staple and name label (favor tags from printables kit edited).
The older kids received bags with Astronaut Ice Cream, a glow in the dark bracelet and homemade "moon dough". To make the dough, we used the recipe I shared here, added lots of blue food coloring and some blue glitter. I packed small balls of the dough into plastic containers purchased at the Dollar Tree and topped them with labels I created in Photoshop using Deena Rutter's Rocketman digital scrapbooking kit.
The two littlest boys in the group (both under 1), received a Viking Toys chubby helicopter toy.
As we headed home after the party, I asked Dylan if he enjoyed it and immediately got an excited, "oh yeah!" in return. That right there made my day. :)
Not trusting that the weather would be as cooperative as last year, we decided to book his party at a local indoor playspot - PlayNation. The kids had a great time burning energy indoors on the swing sets, in the bounce house and playhouses, and climbing up the inflatable slide. A few of the adults joined in the fun too!
Afterwards we gathered together to celebrate in one of the party rooms. I kept the decor simple and to a minimum. The food table was topped with a black plastic table cloth and scattered with glow in the dark stars & planets. On the front hung the birthday banner I made last year.
At one end we had a "planet" created from a paper lantern with a cardboard/foil ring, a space themed mailbox and subway art. The subway art was reused from last year. I updated the colors & age number and inserted it into a thrift store frame I spray painted blue to match the decor. Sticking out of the mailbox was a photo of Dylan mounted on foam board with the comment "You helped make my birthday celebration at "blast"! Thanks! Please take a favor home to enjoy."
Each of the snacks was labeled using placecards in the printables set. I added the names before printing. We had Fruit Rockets (fruit kabobs with strawberries, blueberries & grapes); Space Mix: Asteroids, Moon Rocks & Saturn's Rings (cheese puffs, Cheerios & Cookie Crisps cereal); and Rocket Fuel (juice boxes and water).
And, best of all, Alien Cupcakes!
They ended up looking a bit like a mix of Toy Story aliens and Mike Wazowski. :) [Huge shout out to my friend, Lauren, for all of her help with tips & loaning me extra cake baking accessories.] For Dylan's we added a single, neon green candle at the forehead like an antenna.
As the party ended, each child picked up a goody bag with his/her name on it. I used paper sandwich bags as I did last year, folded over the top and sealed with a staple and name label (favor tags from printables kit edited).
The older kids received bags with Astronaut Ice Cream, a glow in the dark bracelet and homemade "moon dough". To make the dough, we used the recipe I shared here, added lots of blue food coloring and some blue glitter. I packed small balls of the dough into plastic containers purchased at the Dollar Tree and topped them with labels I created in Photoshop using Deena Rutter's Rocketman digital scrapbooking kit.
The two littlest boys in the group (both under 1), received a Viking Toys chubby helicopter toy.
As we headed home after the party, I asked Dylan if he enjoyed it and immediately got an excited, "oh yeah!" in return. That right there made my day. :)
7/19/2012
Three!
My happy, energetic, sweet little boy is three today! Last week we visited a greenway near our house for a little photo shoot in the rocket t-shirt I made for his party (details on that soon!).
This one was all him - where & how to pose. The best smile too. :)
Holding up 3 fingers can be tricky:
Benches are fun for swinging your feet on while posing for mama:
And simply taking a stroll (admittedly, he was walking away and I only got him to turn & come back to me at the promise of frozen yogurt afterward!):
My world changed in the most amazing way on this day in 2009. Dylan, it's a joy to be your mama and watch you grow & change from day to day. Just don't grow up too fast - I'm still enjoying my "little" boy and all the adventures that go along with it! :)
This one was all him - where & how to pose. The best smile too. :)
Holding up 3 fingers can be tricky:
Benches are fun for swinging your feet on while posing for mama:
And simply taking a stroll (admittedly, he was walking away and I only got him to turn & come back to me at the promise of frozen yogurt afterward!):
My world changed in the most amazing way on this day in 2009. Dylan, it's a joy to be your mama and watch you grow & change from day to day. Just don't grow up too fast - I'm still enjoying my "little" boy and all the adventures that go along with it! :)
7/18/2012
Nightstand Revamp
I inherited a few pieces of furniture from my maternal grandmother. Growing up, I had the full bedroom set in my room. Today, only the dresser, mirror and nightstand. I love these pieces. They are sentimental and well made, solid wood. Both pluses. The only dislike - the cream/gold finish and how aged they have become. For quite a while I've debated painting them but something else was always taking priority. Now that we're staging our home for sale, I decided to bite the bullet and attempt the nightstand. Better to test on the smaller piece and have a little experience (plus a sure fire plan) before playing with the dresser and mirror.
A partial "before" photo of the nightstand and corner of the room:
I searched online for ideas and tips about spray painting it. I came across this detailed post on the Tip Junkie and referenced it throughout.
I used Valspar primer & paint (color: Indigo Streamer). Then sealed it with Minwax Polycrylic spray. The nightstand had a gritty feel to it after it had dried. On a whim, I took an old washcloth and gently buffed it in a circular motion. It smoothed it out nicely.
I originally planned to replace the hardware, but not finding any I liked and wanting to save money, I followed a suggestion from Scrap Me Baby blog and simply spray painted the existing handles. I used a silver, hammered finish spray paint by Rustoleum that we already owned.
The end result ...
I am thrilled with the way it turned out. Like a brand new piece. My only regret is not doing this sooner! I will be refinishing the dresser & mirror to match but, for now, am waiting until we move. I have a lot of packing still to do and that needs to take priority!
A partial "before" photo of the nightstand and corner of the room:
I searched online for ideas and tips about spray painting it. I came across this detailed post on the Tip Junkie and referenced it throughout.
I used Valspar primer & paint (color: Indigo Streamer). Then sealed it with Minwax Polycrylic spray. The nightstand had a gritty feel to it after it had dried. On a whim, I took an old washcloth and gently buffed it in a circular motion. It smoothed it out nicely.
I originally planned to replace the hardware, but not finding any I liked and wanting to save money, I followed a suggestion from Scrap Me Baby blog and simply spray painted the existing handles. I used a silver, hammered finish spray paint by Rustoleum that we already owned.
The end result ...
I am thrilled with the way it turned out. Like a brand new piece. My only regret is not doing this sooner! I will be refinishing the dresser & mirror to match but, for now, am waiting until we move. I have a lot of packing still to do and that needs to take priority!
7/17/2012
Packing & Staging
If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram, you already know that there's been a lot of this ...
a little of this ...
And a whole lot of this ...
going on. After 9 years, we're getting ready to put our house on the market which means clearing out, packing up and staging. This is our first home which means our first time selling. Got any tips?
a little of this ...
And a whole lot of this ...
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| Labels source: The Nest Effect |
7/16/2012
Cars Party layout
Hard to believe a year has past since we had our Cars party for Dylan's 2nd birthday:
What a fun day celebrating with his playgroup! This past Saturday we hosted a space themed party for this 3rd birthday. I'll share pictures of that fun soon! It was a "blast" to say the least. (oh, terrible pun! LOL)
Supplies: Recollect kit by Sara Schmutz; Toolbox - Mist v1 and Favorite Things 2 papers by Gennifer Bursett; Scalloped paper by 2paws Designs; Digi Essentials by Karla Dudley; I Love Boys by Robyn Meierotto; Magneto and Come Unto Me fonts. Scraplift of "Game Face" layout by Shannon Zickel shared here at Scrapbooksetc.com.
What a fun day celebrating with his playgroup! This past Saturday we hosted a space themed party for this 3rd birthday. I'll share pictures of that fun soon! It was a "blast" to say the least. (oh, terrible pun! LOL)
Supplies: Recollect kit by Sara Schmutz; Toolbox - Mist v1 and Favorite Things 2 papers by Gennifer Bursett; Scalloped paper by 2paws Designs; Digi Essentials by Karla Dudley; I Love Boys by Robyn Meierotto; Magneto and Come Unto Me fonts. Scraplift of "Game Face" layout by Shannon Zickel shared here at Scrapbooksetc.com.
7/13/2012
Blast Off Party prep
Where does the time go? Tomorrow we're having a party to celebrate Dylan's upcoming 3rd birthday! Here's a little peek at the preparation going on ...
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| Favor label credits: Deena Rutter Designs |
7/12/2012
backyard pool fun
One of my photos from Shoot & Edit last year was this one of Dylan playing in our backyard. He had the best time dumping water on himself using that dump truck!
It was a perfect fit with pieces from this week's 4 Play challenge at DHD.
Supplies: Linen Line #3 papers by Agnes Biro; County Fair Part 1 by Sara Schmutz; Secretary Stamps & Brush set by Shannon Hegarty; She Is elements by Audrey Neal.
It was a perfect fit with pieces from this week's 4 Play challenge at DHD.
Supplies: Linen Line #3 papers by Agnes Biro; County Fair Part 1 by Sara Schmutz; Secretary Stamps & Brush set by Shannon Hegarty; She Is elements by Audrey Neal.
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