Birthday Fun

Birthdays are awesome! They're days you get all to yourself (unless you're a twin😁). In our family, birthdays are to be celebrated. Today was Client One's birthday and the day was mostly all about her. 

Apparently, it is a tradition in my husband's family to have a "birthday waffle" for breakfast. We have continued that tradition. Ever since her first birthday, Client One has started her birthday with a waffle with a candle in it. This year I made her birthday cake waffles using a bit of confetti cake mix in the waffle batter. She also always eats her birthday breakfast with a birthday Mylar. 

After breakfast we had to head to the doctor for her annual check-up. She's always a good sport at the doctor. Plus, they had this awesome, giant horse they let her play with. 

After the doctor, we swung by my old workplace (an awesome little bakery) and Client One got to pick out a special treat. Then, we headed home to feed Client Two and drop him off at Frandma's so we could have girl time.

Our first stop was lunch at Zaxby's. She's part of their Kidz Club, so she had a coupon for a free meal. I even let her get a cookie for dessert. 

After lunch I told her we would go anywhere she wanted. She chose the zoo. So, off we headed to look at animals for an hour. I even used some of her birthday money to sign her up for a membership since the zoo is pretty much her favorite place.

The zoo wore her out and she actually fell asleep in the car on the way home. At the end of the day, we ended up at her Nanny and Poppy's house where she got to blow out candles on a Hello Kitty chocolate chip cookie. Yum!

And that was her third birthday! I can't believe how quickly it got here! I swear, it was just yesterday that she was a tiny little baby no more than a few hours old! She's even changed and grown so much in the last year. Part of me misses my baby girl, but the other part of me is excited by watching her turn into the smart, beautiful, sweet girl she's becoming. 

Pirate Birthday Bash

Okay, so Client One's birthday party was yesterday, and, if I may say so myself, it was awesome! We had lots of budget-friendly fun.

Now, I'm a planner and a bit of a perfectionist, so I start planning shindigs like this a month or five in advance. So, when Client One announced a few months back that she wanted a pirate birthday party, the wheels in my head started turning. I stalked Pinterest for all the best pirate ideas and came up with some awesome ones of my own. 

(This guy hung outside the door, but I forgot to get a picture of him up! I used the template from this website to make him: http://www.thecraftycrow.net/2011/06/a-book-a-craft-funnybones-paper-skeleton.html)

First, the invitation. Of course, it was a message in a bottle. Simply a piece of paper stained with tea, edges singed with a lighter, tied with a piece of twine, dropped down into a bottle with sand and topped with a cork. 

Then, of course, I had to make opening activities. There is nothing worse than having a bunch of 2-5 year-olds running around wild with nothing to do. So, I made sure there were activities set up for  them to do while we waited for everyone to arrive. They could choose to play with photo props cut from cardboard boxes, get their faces painted (thank goodness for willing, artistic friends!), or decorate a cardboard sword. 

I even made sure to include a guessing game for parents with a prize of a $5 giftcard to Barnes and Noble! (Hey, just because the party is for kids doesn't mean the parents can't get stuff too!)

Once everyone arrived, we were ready to set out on our pirate quest! But first, we had to dress like pirates. Each guest got a pirate hat, eye patch and a piratey tattoo. 

Then, we played the games. There were three tasks that they had to pass to become real pirates. For the first, they had to outsmart Captain Hook by playing Hook's Ring Toss. Next, they had to feed Tick Tock Croc by tossing balls into his mouth. And lastly, they had to "walk the plank" without falling into the water. Then, they were all real pirates and got to go play in the pirate ship playground that just happened to be on location. :)

Then, of course, came the food! (The best part of parties, right?) We had hotdogs with pirate ship sails, a pirate ship watermelon (thanks much to my aunt!), seawater (blue Koolaid), Pirate's Plunder Popcorn, and "Fish-n-Chips" (Goldfish crackers and chips mixed together).

 Oh, yeah. And my incredible cake! Client One wanted a treasure chest cake with doubloon cupcakes, so that's what she got. I made the cake with four 9X9 square cake layers covered in homemade marshmallow fondant. The doubloons are vanilla wafers dipped in melted down yellow buttercream with a simple skull and crossbones piped on top. The sand is a mix of brown sugar and ground vanilla wafers and the map is a sheet of sugar paper drawn on with edible markers!

 

Last, but not least, Client One opened a slew of awesome presents. Then, of course, we handed simple goodie bags filled with activities, a little spyglass, gold chocolate coins, pirate silly bands, tattoos and a couple pieces of candy. All in all, I think it was a success! Thanks to everyone who came out! We had a blast! Hope you did too!

Pee Sticks and Periods

Let's just be honest. One of the best things about being pregnant is the fact that for nine glorious months "Aunt Flo" doesn't come knocking. It's a perk that helps to make up for all the other discomforts you face. And, as a bonus perk, if you breastfeed, your period may not return for a few months and if it does, it's usually lighter. That's awesome, right? Well, yes and no. 

While I don't enjoy those few days of my uterus throwing a hissy fit because I'm not knocked up, it's nice reminder that I'm not preggers. Granted, I'd rather receive a nice card in the mail, but, hey, it's good to know. But when breastfeeding keeps my period at bay, I get a bit nervous and paranoid. After I'm officially "late" I start considering the pee stick.

Now, I HATE buying a pregnancy test. When I slink into the store I can feel the pressure of the judging eyes. It's even worse when you have a baby in tow. I usually go to Bilo because they have a self-checkout so that way I don't have to deal with the cashier and her judging eyes. (Yes, "her" because there is no way under heaven that I am buying a pregnancy test that a guy is ringing up!) I crawl through the store, finding other things to purchase before finally slinking down the feminine hygiene aisle where the pee sticks are kept. After carefully checking my surroundings to make sure no one is within a 5 mile radius I flick a box into my cart and hide it amongst my other purchases. Then, quick as a rabbit running from a fox, I race to the self-checkout to pay for and hide my purchase in a grocery bag. Then I make out of the store like a bandit.

Of course, peeing on the stick is a whole other story. They test the best first thing in the morning, so, of course you wait. That means that first thing the next morning you're racing to the bathroom. You know it's going to be negative but it's still nerve racking. So, half asleep you fiddle with the stupid thing, trying to free it from its bullet-proof wrapper before you explode. It's a rough way to start your day, but the relief that follows is great. (But back when you were trying to get pregnant, what joy when you got that positive sign!) 

So, yeah, no periods while breastfeeding is pretty nice. I'm not complaining. Not really. But not having that monthly "Congratulations! You're not pregnant!" notification is a little off-putting.

(And for the record- nope, not pregnant! Thank goodness!)