Pajama Jam Birthday.

We are finally done with our two week long birthday celebration. The girls Pajama Jam was the last hurrah, and it was great! Here are a few images of the party detals, although I didnt photograph everything I wanted! You can see my very homemade attempt at the beautiful confetti system streamers.

Is there anything cuter than a bunch of little ones in their jammies?!

The rice krispy treat cake was perfect for a morning party, fit with the pajama theme and it was a great way to deal with that fact that Olivia is allergic to eggs and nuts. Tricky when it comes to birthdays because you cant just go out to a bakery and order up something. It is just not safe for her. I will definately make it again. So easy. All you have to do is form your krispy mixture into the cake pans of your choice!

I love these party hats. I am keeping them, i think we can use them for New Years? See my tutorial here.

I really liked doing a morning party because serving breakfast foods is easier in my opinion, the girls didn't have to wait all day for their party, and after the party was over we still had a full day! Ps I am a little obsessed with balloons on sticks. I think that they are so cute :)

Make your own Pillow case with fabric markers, stencils, and bulk pillow cases I found off Amazon.

It was great to see how much the kids liked decorationg their very own pillow case.

The hours I spent with my hot glue gun and scissors paid off when all the girls friends decorated their very own sleep mask with felt stickers. To my delight many of them have been sleeping with them since the party! Makes me smile.

And a good old fashioned sack race. I raced. And I almost jumped thru a bag. Not good. The kids however, did a fantastic job. Even little livs at age 2 was hopping around. It was precious.

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All the time  I spend obsessing of the details of their and any party for that matter, is just my kind of thing. And even though my girls wont remember how well I stuck to a "theme", or how long I spent glittering the party hats, the smile on all the kids faces make it worth it. Especially my two special girls.....exhale...all the birthday party planning is over until next year....I guess I should start on Valentines Day <3

xoxo

d

proud mama.

Hi. Should I introduce myself or what? I have missed you friends. During the holidays I kind of lost control, there seemed to be no time for this little space. Which was a major bummer because this is my favorite spot for stress free creativity and fun. Needless to say I am happy to be back and cannot wait to catch up  . ... I had some motivation to pop in to say hello. Well two reasons really. Yesterday my two girls turned 2 and 5. YES they have the same birthday, and NO I have no idea how that happened.... crazy right? All I can say is that I am one lucky mama. They are both the sweetest and most loving girls.... I love watching them grow and just wish that they could grow just a little slower :)

We spend a weekend celebrating them and it is not over. We still have a daytime pajama jam this weekend. It should be great! I will be sure to share some of the details with you this week. Happy Monday!

xoxo
d

After being gone for a week, it takes me a week to get it back together. Laundry, messy home, no groceries in the fridge, catching up with friends.....I cant even function until I have accomplished all of the above. Since I have been away I thought I would distract you with some pictures of cuteness from our trip. And I will promise to show up with something yummy tomorrow. OK?

Sweet sisters.

Angels.

Have a lovely day!

xoxo
d

DIY : "A" frame.

This little blog world is amazing. Before I started on my journey here, every time someone mentioned a blog I thought: blahhh blahhh blahhh blahhoooog. I had no idea that so much inspiration were just a few clicks away.  That is exactly how I found this sweet little tutorial from Cakies. C The A frame tent. You can view it by clicking here.

We are always building forts in our house, and I knew that this would bring a sweet little pretend/reading/resting spot for my girlies. I love it, and they do to. Big thanks to the hubs and his skills with the power tools { insert other praise and sucking up here in order to get the next project done }.....

xoxo

d

I Spy...

I spy with my little eye...We play a ton of eye spy with little e, in the car there is always fresh material to spy. At home, you can only spy the brown chair so many times. Right? Problem solved. An at-home eye spy jar for e that I can change the contents here and there. It is such a simple thing, but has provided hours of fun. Cost = free. I just used stuff around the house.

The first thing you need to do is collect a variety of clean and clear bottles or jars with lids. I used an cleaned Veganase jar. Then collect things to put inside.

Some Ideas:

• Small plastic animals or people
• stickers
• change
• tiny balls
• bottle caps
• drink umbrella
• paper clip
• jelly beans
• Swedish fish
• spool of thread
• cotton ball

Keep a list as you add items so that you know what you are looking for. Once you have finished adding items, fill with uncooked rice. About 3/4 full. Using a funnel if necessary. Now the bottle can be twisted and turned till the treasure is found! I think these would make an excellent little gift or a cute way to theme a children's birthday party.

What do you spy with your little eye?

xoxo

d 

Remember to laugh...

In light of Mother's day and how mine panned out, I wanted to remind you all (and myself) that sometimes you just need to laugh..... It is so true. A good laugh can cure any stress, sadness, and make your true happiness shine. Mother's Day started off at 5:30am with one sick baby, which continued after my shower. Shower #2. Then the big girl wet her bed. Ugh. By 8:30am I had done 2 loads of laundry, taken 2 showers, and given 2 baths. Next the hubs was held over late at work. I just figured that my girls were pulling out the big guns and decided to show me who is boss on Mother's Day. Laugh it off right?

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. We had a nice brunch, I watched a movie, and joined my mom, sister, and friends at the casino for a little fun. Just what I needed after said morning.

Laugh and shine. That's what I plan on doing all week. Hopefully there will be no more barfing involved.

How was your weekend?

xoxo

d

Dear Santa, the "up seller".

Just take a listen. Santa is "up selling" Ella's request for new barbies to a BARBIE DREAM HOUSE!! Listen Santa, I think that is against some kind of "Santa code" never make a toy suggestion. And Santa....you weren't bringing a barbie dream house this year....sheesh...now I must look up such a house online. So take it easy Santa and don't make any suggestions unless you are really gonna deliver!


xoxo
d

apple picking and pie.

Let me just say today was quite the adventure. We started off a normal Saturday morning breakfast as a family, giving the dog and kids a bath (not together, although that would save time), watering the plants, and waiting to see how hot of a day it was going to be. When we could wait no longer we (e, o, and I ) loaded into the car heading to Julian. We were off to pick apples and eat pie. One minor problem: I had no idea how to get there. After a few wrong turns and long "hands free" conversations with my dad on the phone and we were there. Whew. Oh and we almost hit a deer or Bambi as E was screaming. When we finally arrived at the orchard the place was packed. However, when we went down a row it was peaceful and seemed as though no one else was there. It was fantastic. We walked along picking .. sampling.. sampling.. sampling...until our bags and bellies were full (and it was hot). We stopped back into the town for some famous pie and headed back home. Now we just need to decide what to do with all of our yummy apples. I'm thinking pie, canning a homemade chutney, apple chips, and snacking. Any suggestions? What would you do if you had 10lbs of apples? Think on it and let me know. Here is our day in a nutshell...



orange french toast with homemade bread



naked cutie o getting a bath





 







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love this pic.









mommy & e





        



xoxoxo

d
























Whats in my cookie jar?

When my cookie jar is empty my kitchen feels incomplete. I'm serious. So I thought I would share every week "whats in my cookie jar"? This week it is filled with yummy homemade granola bars (It's simple I promise!)

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup honey

1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup dried raisins (i prefer golden)

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish or sheet pan and line it with parchment paper. Toss the oatmeal, nuts, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dates, apricots, and cranberries and stir well. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

Kid tested and approved by E many times!

                                            

I think baby O wanted some too.

Enjoy! Whats in your cookie jar?