It's that time again...

Time to make a come back.  It's only been radio silent for a month and a half or so... so, yeah.  Hello.

the mr and I all dressed up to see The Phantom of the Opera which toured to our local PAC from broadway!  So good! 

I'm like Cher.  Or uh... Lindsey Lohan.  Or... someone famous who takes a huge break and then goes back to doing what they were doing as if nothing happened.  Except not famous.

I do not have a good excuse this time (You know, like being pregnant and hurling all the time).  Rather life just got... full of LIFE.  You know?  I've gotta ask.  How do all of the crafty/handy/sewy mama bloggers with kids do it?!  For real?  Like how do you LIVE and blog at the same time?  I don't know if I'll ever figure it out.

So there's some stuff that happened that I didn't show you.  Halloween for instance.  (Which was technically before radio silence but I still haven't shared it yet.  Pip was an adorable octopus and mini was a clown fish with the specifications that she wanted to be a GIRL clown fish, NOT Nemo.  So bug stuck with the theme and requested... an electric eel costume.  What the... how do you make that??  So I made a tail that velcroed around the waist and sewed white Christmas lights up the back of the tail and onto the back of the sweatshirt.  I'm fairly certain no one knew what he was. 

There were a lot of park visits.  Mr. had lots of random trips for work that left the kids and I alone and needing to get out of the house - A LOT.  So. Yes.  Parks.

It was nice.  November was unseasonably warm for a while so we played in the leaves.

Some of us tried to eat them.  Weirdo.
It almost took my mind of the fact that mr was in Italy - the one country that has been on my bucket list of places to visit since BIRTH.  Almost.  No, actually, it totally didn't.  Not at all.  Italy.... sigh.

"Hello, Dad?  Yeah, uh, you better come home now.  Mom's going NUTS over here.  NUTS."  I have to be careful letting him play with my phone now... recently while he was relaxing in his crib and I was in the shower he called my mom and had an entire conversation.  Not one she could understand, mind you...

When mr WAS around we took the kids on a few day trips around the state - trying to take advantage of the nicer fall weather we are definitely NOT used to.  We went to a beautiful hilly, forested area called Quartz Hill where all the rocks are quartz.  I wanted to haul a few boulders back to the van so we could renovate our kitchen counters, but mr said it doesn't work that way...

I did manage to get a few good shots of the kids - which is a feat in and of itself...

I mean, this one smiles but never sits still and

this one never smiles.  But look at that.  Nice photos!

Oh, and more parks.  But much colder.

And THEN - and this is REALLY REALLY CRAZY - we did something completely atypical of us and actually spent money on a real family vacation.

Something we have literally NEVER done.  Because vacations are always about going to visit out of state family (which is super cool, don't get me wrong, I love Justin's family... hi guys!) But this was our first totally all fun and playing and just us kind of vacation. 
The kids saw the ocean for the first time (and yes, it was cold on November 29th, but MUCH warmer than here, so...)

And then we put on our Mickey shirts and fun sunglasses and

walked through the Mickey head entrance onto a real live Disney Cruise!

It was surreal.  Like I said, we don't really vacation, so everything was extra magical - for me too!  We had a fun little verandah outside our stateroom.  The bunk bed disappeared into the ceiling!  We saw musicals and movies and ate awesome food and had impeccable service and swam in the pool and played in the splash zone and ate more food and then we went to the Bahamas and went to an amazing little tropical island with literally the most perfect weather on the planet and we played in the sand and did I mention we ate amazing food?  We ate some more food and looked out big portholes, and dressed up like pirates and watched fireworks and ate more, and played mini gold at 10:00 at night and the kids got to play in a special "kids only" club and Justin and I ate at the fanciest restaurant of our lives and then... THEN...
we met all the princesses!!!  And Minnie and Mickey!  And Tinkerbell!  And Donald!  And Sofia the First and Jake (from "and the neverland pirates" fame) and Doc McStuffins.  Seriously.

And then we came home to this weird polar vortex where is was like 20 below zero WITHOUT windchill.  It was, searching for the right word here... ugh.

And of course there was Christmas.  Which is pretty much the ONLY good part about winter and one of my favorite times of year.  So there were magical lights strung, and

decorated pianos since we have no mantel.  I made that chalkboard.  Remember that?  I also put tied little squares of tulle around LED lights - two per bulb all down the string.  You can see it there behind the music holder thingy.  It's kind of pretty, I like it.

We decided on a "peacock tree" again this year - aptly named because it is navy, purple, green and turquoise and makes use of feathers inside glass ball ornaments.  Those globe lights?  Not globe lights.  I decided those were too expensive so I made my own.  Know what they are?  Bulk ping pong balls.  Yep.  Normal lights, cut a slit in the ping pong ball and slide it over every other light.  Bam.  Want to know a secret?  If you order the super cheap generic balls on Amazon not only are the waaaaaay less expensive, but they have no logo or company name printed in black, they're just plain white.  They're also easier to slice through with a craft knife.  So now you know.

We had my whole family over for Christmas, which was loud and busy, but fun.  In the morning it was just us.  The kids got lots of new books to read!

And appropriate shirts to wear.

And isn't it funny what the favorite presents end up being when you pick and choose so carefully and in your head you've gotten the very best, most awesomest gift (like SKYLANDERS for the wii, FINALLY!!) and then they end up loving the fake shaving cream and razor that you got for like 5 bucks and stuffed in their stocking instead?  So weird.

I did NOT finish this rocking horse.  Turns out he's too short anyway, so I think it's ok if I take my time with it.

Also on the list of things I haven't shown you yet... this baby had a birthday!  Way back in September I'm ashamed to admit, but we DID have a party of sorts which I WILL be sharing at some point... oh, and there were other birthdays too...

Like this "Excellent Elephant" party for bug which we had in January although his birthday is right after Christmas - poor kid -

because elephants are his favorite animal.

Now wait, you're thinking.  That's only two parties.  Doesn't she have three kids?  And you'd be right.  I do.  But we were actually in the Bahamas for mini's birthday so she celebrated on the cruise.  Not exactly the DIY kind of party you share details about, but she obviously had a fun time.

Oh, and in that same vein, I threw ANOTHER party for my sister in law and my new niece Gemma!  This was actually a while ago, too, because she's like 4 months old, but still.

And yes, in case you're wondering, I HAVE been making stuff.  I just haven't been blogging about it...

The kids and I even decided to make some more recycled crayons... which is a story in itself, but you'll have to wait for it.  Short version?  Don't use molds from the target dollar section and definitely don't forget they're in the oven... just sayin'.

Also.  I made a wreath.

So welcome back.  Yea!

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

Frames. And what they hold.

This is not a post about frames.  

I repeat, this is not a post about frames - despite the title and the first photos.

I was "commissioned" by a friend to help with photos at her son's wedding reception/open house.  I went to church with her until she and her family moved away last year, but since they still have family and tons of friends in this area, they planned an open house here for just after the wedding and reception.  She needed help with decorations, setting up, the cake, and photos.  She also wanted a photo booth set up, and that's where my "expertise" came in.  As you know, I'm no good with cakes, so we left that to my sister in law.  My sister is an artist/photographer, so most of the photography was in her hands.  I helped making centerpieces and setting up, but I also did a bunch of stuff for the photo booth.  I'll share more about that a little later, but first up, these frames:

because although this isn't a post about frames, they are crucial to the story.  
I spray painted frames.  Spray paint and I have a long history together.  I hated it.  I loved it.  I made mistakes that turned out pretty cool.  So I decided to return the old standby for this project.
I scored some FREE art (yes free!) at a rummage sale with these giant frames.  There are actually 8 frames total, and to match the wedding colors, I painted some lavender ish and one lime green ish.  That one had me worried.  I painted it once and it wasn't quite right, so painted over it which was worse, then painted it lightly again with the first color and suddenly it was perfect.  So it was a totally custom spray paint color, a la me.  I also did a silver one, a black one, left one wooden and one white one which I don't recommend doing if your backdrop is also white - ahem.

More info about the photo booth itself later on.  

Now, to the real point of this post.

Bad art.  Due to the frames I needed and received (for free!) I became the proud owner of some pretty awesome bad art.  The kind of bad art you can't even turn into something cool.

I was taking the frames apart for painting purposes when Zoe wandered into the garage.

"What are you going to do with those?" She asked, pointing at the, ahem, ART.
"Throw them in the garbage." I said without even thinking.
GASP!! "You can't do that!!!" She exclaimed, "THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL!"

And then she rescued them.
Later, in her bedroom, I saw them on display:

With some of her more "beautiful" stuffed animals.

Which left me with some questions.  

1. Who decides what is beautiful and what is not?  Who decides what will be tossed away in the garbage and what is worth saving?  To my "experienced" eyes, these weren't worth keeping even for painting practice, but from a 4 year old perspective they were full of emotion.  They had stories.  They needed to be seen.
2. What else do I carelessly discard without a second thought?  Cards and letters that my daughter has "hoarded" for years have gone into the trash pile, only to be saved again and again with tear-filled eyes.  Who am I to say they aren't worth it?  Are there other things?  People I haven't given a full chance?  Someone who needs help that I've walked past without glancing?  My own kids when they vie for my attention but I'm "too busy right this second"?  What am I discarding without thinking of the actual value?
3. How do I get rid of something horrible and ugly that my child has latched onto with her heart and soul?  No, really, this is an honest to goodness question.  How can I sneak these out?  Will there be irreparable harm done if I do?  What have you done in similar situations?  Give me some advice.  Really.  

Because while I love that she sees beauty in nearly everything, I still don't want nearly everything in my house.  Know what I mean?

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

The whole enchilada. And burrito. And taco. Nachos, too.

So, here's where we pull it all together!  It's an a-DORA-ble Party!  This could also be called "party on a budget" since I'm pretty sure I spent like $50 bucks on the whole thing - decor, food, gifts, favors, etc.

Here's the invitation I made on picmonkey:

For the green bush I used one of the fancy pants flourishes and modified it.  Ignore the black lines, obviously.

The decorations were fairly simple:

On the "treat table" I placed our piano bench in front and covered both with a white vinyl tablecloth.  Then I covered that with purple and white striped fabric and put some purple and white tulle all around the very top of the table.  I bought some super bright, happy flowers and put them in matching vases on the sides.  I borrowed the ferris wheel cupcake holder from my sister and made a "cake stand" from a glass jar and a plate.  I put out Zoe's hand me down plastic backpack backpack as well.  Then I used the cute, colorful alphabet rocks the kids and I made a long time ago and just placed them around in groups.  

There was a jar of them on the food counter, and I spelled out Zoe's name in a cheese dome.  Here's a tutorial for the alphabet rocks.  The food counter also had a "striped" tablecloth which I made by layering vinyl tablecloths that I got at the dollar store.

I also reused the pom pom garlands that I originally made for El's golden birthday.

I decided not to make any of the treats/food.  I didn't need the stress:

I bought two small cakes and put one on top of the other to make a small tiered cake (white and chocolate so everyone would be happy).  I topped it with a candelabra birthday candle holder that I got at Walmart.  It looks a little ghetto, but it worked well!

I bought cupcake as well.  They didn't have Dora cupcakes, but I wanted to make colorful toothpick flags anyway, so I bought My Little Pony cupcakes (since they were purple) and took the ring toppers off.  I made the toothpick flags with my every growing collection of washi tape.  On the food counter, there were glass vases: one with grape jelly flavored licorice (weird, huh?), one with gold Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, and one with Dora fruit snacks. 

I also filled a large jar with animal crackers (she helps animals right?) and one with oranges because the counter needed a little color.  Zoe and I made our own rock candy in varying shades of purple.  (You can see my other rock candy creation here and get the recipe.)

On those gold platters we put tacos and burritos (both from Taco Bell - told you I didn't want to make anything...) We also set out tortilla chips, salsa and guacamole.  

After everyone ate, we opened presents:

Then we played games and pulled the pinatas.  

And then we ate cake!

Zoe was thrilled with the whole thing, the kids had fun, mr saved dough, and, well, I chocked the whole thing up to a win!

You can see the presents I made Zoe here - Backpack Backpack, and Map!
Check out the Party Favor Cinch Bags (Dora Style) here!
And get Dora Party activity ideas here, including a Dora style Treasure Hunt and Pull-String, Paper Lantern Pinatas!


And that's how you do Dora on the cheap and easy!

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

It's just not a party without a piñata.

Today I thought I'd show you the Dora party activities we did!  There were only two: a treasure hunt and some Pull-pinatas.  I set up the treasure hunt like a Dora adventure!  

Here's how we did it!  Before all the kids got here, I set up the three stations (Babbling Brook, Singing Gate and Treasure Island).  I taped up little instruction cards at each station so the kids could read them and know what to do in order to move on.

Once the kids arrived, they each got their favor cinch backpack and looked inside to find their own personal map (I made them on the computer with clipart and printed them on normal paper).

The first stop was babbling brook.  I laid down blue fabric on the floor for the brook.  I used red, white and yellow construction paper for "stepping stones."  The kids had to use the stepping stones to cross the brook, but they were all messed up, so first they had to complete the color patter by laying the paper stepping stones in the right spots.

It was pretty fun seeing them hop on from "stone" to "stone"!

Next stop was singing gate (which was the baby gate we had for when the kids were tiny).  There was a piece of card stock taped up with a bunch of tiny clip art pieces all mixed up on it.  The kids had to help singing gate sing the right words to his song by putting the pictures in the right order and then all singing together.  

Too cute!

Finally, the gate opened so they could go down the stairs to treasure island.  I put our ottoman in the middle of the room and put a chair on top of it, then covered it with a sand-colored blanket.  I attached different sand-colored shapes all around the ottoman by taping them to the blanket.  The shapes were "keyholes".  The kids had to look through their backpacks and find the correct item to help them "open" the locks.  In each backpack, there was a different white shape - a key.  The kids matched their shapes to the keyholes and taped their keys up.  Then I lifted the blanket off to reveal...

A treasure box!  Inside were awesome gold and silver chocolate coins!  (I found them for cheap at Aldi)

Once the kids had divided up the treasure into their backpacks, my hubby jumped through the door and pretended to be Swiper!  The kids all joined in keeping him away, which was adorable.  Don't tell mr I used this photo, he'd be all embarrassed.

After the treasure hunt was over, we did the pinatas!  I bought a 3-pack of paper lanterns in the party section at Target.  They were bright Dora-esque colors.

Then I cut out three pieces of card stock to fit inside the lanterns in the bottom.  I punched a tiny hole in the middle each piece of card stock, put a piece of cotton twine through, knotted it and taped it, letting it dangle down through the small hole.  Then I placed it in the bottom of the lanterns and put some small candy and trinkets in each one.  I had the kids work together to pull the three strings at the same time and as they pulled the card stock popped out and all the goodies fell!  It was pretty much the only way we could have a piñata in our small house!  You can see a full tutorial on how to make a pull piñata like this here.

The kids really seemed to love the activities and have a blast!  I had fun watching them!

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*