Housekeeping

I have been following this really great blog called Having Fun at Home . One of her recent posts was titled "Things I don't do" which gave me comfort in knowing I am not the only one who doesn't have it all together! :) But it did make me think about the fact that I have been slacking in the housekeeping department. When Evan was first born I had a cleaning schedule and was pretty good at keeping up with it. Now I find that Evan keeps me so busy that when I do have some spare time the last thing on my mind is housekeeping! For the past week or so I have been working on an updated schedule to help get me into a routine. I posted it yesterday and so far, so good! I don't expect my home to be spotless all of the time but I am the first to admit that sometimes I neglet things to the point that it is a "chore" rather than doing a little bit here and there and "maintaining".

I follow another great site with some helpful hints called The Organized Housewife. She has tips on everything from organizing to cleaning to crafts. I WISH I was that organized :)

Kareen ~

A Whole Lot of Clowning Around

This year was the first year I have done any sort of theme for Evan's birthday. As mentioned before, we've always just had a backyard party with balloons and cupcakes/cake. This year we did a Circus Party. I didn't spend a ton of money. I picked up about $20 work of items from Cody Party Store, I bought supplies from the dollar store and a few things were loaned to us. It was so much fun to plan and the end result was pretty great if you ask me :) The kids all had so much fun and the adults did too. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Evan's special day. xo

Thanks to my dear friend, Gemma, for helping me design the invitations with her Creative Memories program!

The entrance to the back yard. The "streamers" were made by using 4 table clothes from the dollar store. I cut them each into 4 strips, alternating the colours and hung them from the carport.

The clown was generously loaned to us by my friend, Jeni.

We borrwed a couple of extra tents for additional shade. This one I decorated with colourful flags made with construction paper.

We had a cute little game for the kids. I purchsed a "fishing game" from the dollar stre, used Evan's old bath tub as the pond and the kids loved it! As a prize they one their own fish which was just gummy fish.

We had a bouncy castle which we borrowed and the kids had fun in.

The "Concession Booth" was an old baker's rack. I included cotton candy and popcorn.

For the cupcakes I decided to do "Popcorn Cupcakes". I made vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and topped them with buttercream icing. For the "popcorn" I used mini marshmellows. The most time consuming part was to make 2-3 cuts in the marshmellows to give it the popped effect. Then I used yellow cake decorating spray to make them look buttered. The wrappes, made by smART Creations, completed the look.

I also made a simple cake and added a "circus tent" and M&M's.

The best part was the photo booth. I had a tri-fold board from the dollar store and stapled colourful fabric to it. Some of the kids were not keen on putting on a wig and clown nose but the adults were good sports!

I can hardly wait until next year...I already have an idea in mind :)

Mr Poopy Pants...or not!

After 2 weeks of trying to get Evan to poop on the potty with no success we have decided to put potty training on hold. Getting him to pee on the toilet was a breeze! He was good at telling us when he had to go and never had any accidents at nap time or bedtime but he just wouldn't poop on the toilet. He would hold it for 2-3 days and finally just go in his underwear. He was becoming miserable and didn't want to do anything. The final straw was over the long weekend when we were at a birthday party and all he did was cry that he wanted to go home. We knew it was because he had to poop and was in pain. We feel like we tried everything but can't force him to do something he is just not ready for. So he is back in a diaper and a much happier kid! Which makes for a happier Mommy :)

Homemade Puzzle

I found a cute idea for a homemade puzzle on a great site called "Having Fun at Home" I made my own version for a special one year old's birthday. I put his picture on one side and a picture of a giraffe on the other. Super cute and so easy to make!