Puppy Dog & Kitty Cat Birthday Party

Sidney turned 4 earlier this month and Ava turns 6 in April.  Somehow I got away with combining their birthday parties this year!  It helped that the themes they chose went well together.  Puppies and Kitties!  To be honest, I wasn't very inspired by the themes at first.  I was content to just get some good food and a nice cake and forget about all the decorating and activities.

Then I thought to myself, "I'll just take a peek on Pinterest and see if there are any easy, cute ideas."  Of course there are!!!  What was I thinking?  Everything snowballed from there. I couldn't stop myself.  Here's what I came up with...

PART 1: PET STATIONS

Station 1: Ava and Sidney's Pet Shop

The kids got to choose a dog or cat to adopt from Ava and Sidney's Pet Shop. 

Once they found their new pet, they filled out their Certificate of Adoption.

See below for info about purchasing the templates that I created.

Station 2: Ava and Sidney's Pet Supply Store

The Pet Supply Store has all the things you'll need for your new pet including cat snacks, dog treats, leashes, collars and ID tags!

I added some cat stickers to the snack baggies filled with Goldfish crackers.

Clara couldn't care less about all the cute dog and cat stuff, but she was VERY excited to have her own giant bag of Goldfish!

And I added dog stickers to the snack baggies filled with Scooby Snacks.

I used our Rainbow Loom to make the collars and I bought the charms (i.e.; ID tags) at Hobby Lobby.

To make the leashes, I used ribbon, 24MM split rings, swivel lobster clasps and Liquid Stitch (in lieu of a sewing machine).  It was super easy - I made them one night while watching my DVR'd shows.

This is how it looks put together.

Super cute - I loved how they turned out!

Station 3: Sidney and Ava's Pet Grooming

At the Pet Grooming station, the kids got to pick a wash bin to clean their pets.

The spray bottle was empty.

I found the pink bins, spray bottle and blue sponges at Dollar Tree.  The rest of the stuff I had at home.

The kids got to take home their pets and other goodies in their wash bin.

Station 4: Sidney and Ava's Animal Hospital

At the last station, the kids got to take their pet to the Vet for an exam and shots (yikes!).

I collected all our toy doctor tools from home - stethoscopes, thermometers, blood pressure cuffs, tongue suppressors,  medicine dispensers, tweezers and shots - for the kids to use during the exam.

As the kids did their exam, they could fill out a check-up report for their pet.

The whole sha-bang:

I set up the four stations on small tables in our Sun Room.

PART 2: PHOTO BOOTH

The last thing I made was a Photo Booth.

To make the back drop, I found brown shipping paper in rolls at Dollar Tree.  Then I used circle hole punches and black card stock to make cat and dog paw prints.  I double stick taped them to the brown paper and hung it on a wall.

I used the cat ears that I made for Ava's Hello Kitty Party.  To make the dog ears, I cut dog-shaped ears out of felt, leaving a small rectangular piece at the top that I hot glue gunned to a head band.  Then I cut out small circles from different colored felt and used Liquid Stitch to adhere them to the ears.  If you need more help, follow this guide.

It turned out pretty cute!

I also made a runner for the table with the extra brown paper.

And as you can see, I hung pictures of the girls during the past year all over our kitchen.  They LOVE to see pictures of themselves and ask a million of the same questions: "When can we go strawberry picking again?" "When can we go to the beach again?" "When can we go to the Cardinals game again?"  You get it.

PART 3: OUTFITS

I got lucky and found Ava and Sidney's outfits at Gymboree on sale!  They happened to have a cat line of clothing this winter that had a matching tutu.

Purple is Sidney's favorite color too!  The tights were my favorite - there is a little cat face on the bum!

Then I went back to Gymboree a few weeks later when their spring clothes came out and they had this cute puppy dog birthday outfit with a matching tutu on sale!

Pink is Ava's favorite color - it's like Gymboree is in my head!  I bought some pink leggins to go under the skirt too.

PART 4: DESSERT

And last but not least, the cake!

I leave this to the professionals!  There is a great bakery near our house, McArthur's, and they make the most delicious cakes.  The dog and cat toys came from our Dora the Explorer doll house stuff. 

PART 5: TEMPLATES

If you'd like to purchase all of the PDF templates that I used:
1. Click the link below to my Paypal account to pay the $5 for the templates
2. Leave your email address, the name of your son/daughter (so I can edit your files) and the files you're requesting in the PayPal comments. 
My turnaround time is 1-2 days.  
I can also tailor the files for other animals if you are not using dogs and cats.

Click this link: https://www.paypal.me/CReeves/5

One last thing...

Just like last year after Sidney's Painting birthday party, we got SNOW!  In late March!  At least this year it was not as much as last year though!  Regardless, I think we are overdue for summer, or at least spring.

Chocolate Toffee Cake

I baked a cake for Sidney's birthday that she couldn't eat.  In my defense, I asked her if she wanted her "Sidney Cupcakes" for her birthday and she said "No, I want 'Sidney Ice Cream' and a 'Sidney Cookie'!"  Sidney Ice Cream is Purely Decadent Dairy Free Chocolate Obsession Ice Cream.

And Sidney Cookies are the vegan chocolate chip cookies the Whole Foods bakes daily.  Yum!

The rest of us enjoyed this delicious goodness:

I first discovered this cake when my friend, Yen, made it for me and my family along with a delicious dinner after Sidney was born.  Yen called it "Better Than XXX Cake".  It lived up to it's name!  When I made it last month for the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon during Catholic Schools Week at Ava's school I called it "Chocolate Toffee Cake".  Apprope.

This cake is great because not only is it super tasty and a crowd pleaser, the best part is you cannot screw it up!  You dump so much sweetened condensed milk and caramel on the cake that it can't help but be delicious.  Here's how you make it.

Ingredients:
1 pkg. of devil's food or dark chocolate cake mix
Cake mix ingredients
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk 
1 (8-10 oz) jar caramel topping
1 container of Cool Whip, thawed
4 Heath candy bars, chopped (Skor bars or Nestle's Heath bits will also work)

Instructions:
1.  Bake cake in a 9x13 pan according to package directions.  

2.  As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke holes all over it with a fork or the handle of a wooden spoon.

3.  Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the cake, followed by caramel sauce (microwaved about one minute until warm and easily pourable - I use only about 10 oz of the jar).

4.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Shortly before serving, spread whipped topping over cake and sprinkle with chopped Heath bars pieces.  I had some helpers for this last part!

Nice work ladies!

Even though Sidney couldn't eat the cake, she very much enjoyed blowing out her candles!

And then she enjoyed her own birthday treat - Triple Double Oreos from Papa Reeves dunked in Sidney Ice Cream!

Love that sweet chocolate face!

Be sure to check back to see pictures from Ava and Sidney's Puppy and Kitty birthday party!

It's just a phase.

That's what I keep reminding myself these days.  This wisdom was passed on to me from my good friend, Miquelin, when I was struggling as a first time mom.  I don't think she realizes how much this advice meant to me, but it seems like I refer back to it regularly.

Ava was an exceptionally tough baby and toddler and to call me inexperienced as a new mom was being generous. Everyone else seemed to have their act together and their little ones were well behaved and smiley and typical.  Ava, on the other hand, was a force to be reckoned with. 

While other parents talked about how their babies fell right to sleep when the car started moving, Ava screamed and cried from the moment we put her in her car seat until the moment we got her out.

Other parents could enjoy a nice, quiet meal at a restaurant while their baby sat quietly in a high chair chewing on toys.  Tim and I took turns walking Ava around the restaurant while the other quickly inhaled their food.

Other parents bring all their kids to church and I watch them sit quietly and read a book or color a picture for the entire hour.  I am currently letting Ava's kindergarten teachers train her to sit quietly during church.

At the time when Ava was my only child, this really weighed on me.  Was I doing something wrong as a parent? What book can I read to "fix" this? Did Tim or I pass along some bad genes to Ava that would forever curse her and hold her back in life? (PS - Tim HATES it when I project how things will affect our kids in the future, but I can't help it!)  

Then one day during a casual conversation with Miquelin, she told me the "It's just a phase" advice that her mom had passed on to her.  She basically said that when your child is continually doing something that is frustrating and tough to handle, know that it's just a phase and they will grow out of it eventually.  Unfortunately, there will likely be a new, frustrating phase to follow.  But that too, will be just a phase.  As parents, we are here to help our kids navigate these phases and learn from them.

Knowing that everything was a phase was comforting to me.  It helped me realize that things (good or bad) wouldn't always be this way and while I didn't know when the bad phases would end, I could rest assured that Ava would eventually poop in the toilet and not in a diaper.

I now have 3 little girls and my youngest, Clara, is giving me a run for my money in her effort to ensure that she will be the baby of the family.  I can hardly remember the days when our families would say what a "perfect baby" she was.  So sweet and easy.  We have have entered a new phase.  One minute she will be climbing on top my desk chair to reach my cell phone and launch it across the kitchen and the next minute she is shrugging her shoulders to her ears, tilting her head and smiling like and angel.  She will have you seething while at the same time, wrapping you around her pinky finger.

The worst is her ear-piercing SCREEEEEEEAM that is used far too often for reasons that do not warrant such a shriek in my opinion.  
Ava takes her back pack from Clara while getting ready for school - SCREEEEEEEAM!
Sidney won't move off the tiny space that she's occupying on the huge couch - SCREEEEEEEAM!
I won't let Clara take everything out of the seven drawers in my desk - SCREEEEEEEAM!
Tim won't let Clara eat chocolate chips for lunch (again) - SCREEEEEEEAM!
Some random kid at the library wants to play with the only toy...and so does Clara - SCREEEEEEEAM!

The examples go on and on.  We are all sick and tired of hearing Clara scream.  I try to think on the bright side...maybe she has a future in "voice over screaming" work (constantly projecting as I do).  But then I'm reminded of the little yet important piece of advice from Miquelin: It's just a phase.  Never-the-less, I'm still going to let Clara's future kindergarten teachers train her to sit QUIETLY during church.  ;)

It's just a phase.

It's just a phase.

Love you Beans! xoxo, mom

Daisy Scout Meeting - Orange Petal

I got to lead another Daisy Scout meeting for Ava's troop.  I had to throw it together last minute (the mom who was supposed to lead the meeting got the flu two days beforehand), but I think the girls enjoyed it.  They earned their Orange petal from Mari the Marigold who teaches us "to be responsible for what we say and do".  

I structured the meeting much like I did the last meeting that I led despite the fact that the girls were SO wound up.  We've had some pretty bad weather this winter which means the kids have not been outside for recess in months.  So I had to do some activities to get the wiggles out throughout the meeting.  Here is what I did with the girls:

FIRST we did our Kaper Chart and recited the Girl Scout Promise.  Our troop doesn't have a fancy Kaper Chart so I just wrote down the girls' names and their jobs on a dry erase board. If you want to make a Kaper Chart to use at your meetings, click here for some ideas.

SECOND, while the girls had their snacks, we talked about the petal that they'd be earning and I read the book "Being Responsible" by Mary Small.

After reading the book we did some jumping jacks and ran circles around the room.  That helped (temporarily).  Then we talked about what it means to be responsible.  Here are some good examples  you could discuss:

It is important to remember that what I say can have an impact on others.
-- If I say something nice to someone, it makes them happy
-- If I say something mean to someone, it can make them sad
-- I can make someone sad even if I say something about them to someone else.

We have a responsibility to do the things we promise and to help when we see someone that needs help.
-- If I promise to put my plate in the sink after dinner, I am responsible to do that.  It helps mom and dad and it is a nice thing to do.
-- I am responsible to wear my seat belt in the car every time I get in.  It is the law and it keeps me safe. 
-- I can also be responsible for things no one asks me to be responsible for.  I am responsible for things around me, like nature or pets or even a baby brother. I am responsible to help keep all of these things safe. 

THIRD we did our craft.  This is the one I made as an example:

The supplies you'll need are:

- colored paper/construction paper for the hand prints and leaves

- wood sticks (you can find these in a big pack at the craft store)

- green paint to paint the wood sticks

- Styrofoam cut into squares for the base

- green tissue paper to cover the foam base

- colored printer paper for the "I am responsible for ..." signs

- tape

- Elmer's glue

- scissors

Before the meeting, I cut out the leaves, painted the wood sticks green and wrapped the Styrofoam in green tissue paper.

I had a couple of helpers at the meeting.  We traced the girls' hands and they cut out their hand prints. We helped them write their responsibilities on their hand prints and then they taped them to the wood sticks.  Then we did a glue-tape combination to stick the leaves on the wood sticks.  Lastly, the girls taped the "I am responsible for ..." sign to the green base and stuck their hand print flowers in the base.

FOURTH I handed out the Orange Petal Certificate to the girls.

FIFTH we played a game while the girls waited for their parents to pick them up.  We played "Petal, Petal, Daisy!" which is just like "Duck, Duck, Goose!".  The girls love that game!

This is FOUR

Throughout my life I've met people my age or older than me that I admire. People with more life experience, people with hindsight that challenge me to be a better person.  It's hard to believe, but my four year old is one of those people.  All of the things that I am trying to improve about myself, Sidney seems to have mastered in her four short years. 

She is eternally positive.  
She wakes up in the morning with a smile on her face ready to conquer the day.  
She loves with her whole heart, even if that makes her vulnerable.
She is the first one to rush to your side and comfort you if you are sad or hurting.  
She says "I love you" with ease and at times when you need to hear it the most.  
She doesn't hold grudges and accepts others for who they are.  
She genuinely wants to make others happy. 
She will gladly let her sisters play with any of her toys or pick her best toy to share.  
Sidney is truly selfless and everyday I feel so blessed to have her in my life.

Happy Golden Birthday to my little ray of sunshine!

xoxoxo, Mom