Hot Wheel Birthday Party!!

Several months ago we had a Hot Wheel Birthday Party for my dear 5 year old.  My boy LOVES Hot Wheels!  He has since he was a little baby and plays with them almost every day.

 So a Hot Wheel Themed party was a natural choice. 

 

A couple weeks before the party I made up these invitations and emailed them to his friend's Moms.

I made this card using PicMonkey-- it was so simple and turned out so cute.

The day of the party arrived and the first thing my son did was hand everyone their freshly picked out Hot Wheel car.

Then my husband took over and in his most animated voice let the boys know they were gathered for one purpose only...."To have the ULTIMATE HOT WHEELS RACE!"  He informed them they were going through series of race car track games  to see who the ultimate hot wheel race car driver is.  But first they had to come up with their cool race car name. 

Each of the boys picked a name.  We had such awesome names as:  Cloud Cutter, Lighting Crisp, Beast Hunter, King, Road Runner, Racer.

Then, the racers were off to their First Competition! 

I made this game on a large poster board with circles, crayons, and a sharpie.  

Then the bulls eye mat was tapped on the ground in our kitchen and each of the racer had three chances to race their cars to see who could get the most points. 

Up next was the Pin the Wheel on the Hot Wheel.  

No party, in my opinion, is complete without a pin the something onto something else.  Gotta have it.

I made this by drawing a hot wheel onto a poster board, colored it with crayon, and outlined it with sharpie.  Then I made the wheel that was going to be pinned onto the hot wheel car out of cardboard.

I spent days and days trying to come up with a good plan for how to tell who wins this game-- bouncing a couple of ideas off my husband he came up with the idea to cut a hole into the wheel and putting a dot in the very center.  Each kid was assigned a different colored marker to mark their dot.  Whoever gets their dot closest to the red dot, is the winner.

Then instead of the traditional blindfold, which typically falls off or is see through, we used a beanie pulled down.  It worked Great!

Next we moved over to RACE TIME!

We split the boys into teams and they decided if they wanted to be a "motorcycle" which is fast, but small or a "monster truck" which is large, but slow.  After they choose teams we set them loose and they decorated their vehicles.

Once they were all set, we lined them up in their racing pits and had them race around our house.

 Monster Trucks Won!!  They were so large, the motorcycles couldn't get around them.

After all the fun games, we sat down for a pizza dinner, cake, and presents. 

Let's take one more look at that cake.

 

It was made rather simply, but looked great.

I made it using two cake boxes and filled up a small rectangle pan and my bunt cake pan.  Once it was cooled I did a little bit of cutting to make it a five.

Then I moved my cake onto the back of a foil lined cookie sheet.  I bought some black icing color, which worked great.  I did the top black and the sides green.  Finished with some yellow strips and two hot wheels that my boy chose.  Then, being goofy, I accidentally added the cars to the same side of the road-- oops.

For party favors we made some hot wheel candies. I made a template and wrapped up some mambos on top, and some heresy's chocolate and kit-kats on the bottom.  Then I wrapped those up in paper using a hot glue gun.  Then I glued four rollos to the sides for the wheels.

They turned out SO cute!  Then we added those to the party bags, filled with stickers and their hot wheel cars.

The party ended exactly two hours after we started.  It was the perfect time with really happy, pleasant boys.  A happy day, indeed!

Urban Revival Slouchy Beanie

Hello, friends, does everyone want to stand up and give me a round of applause?

Thank you, thank you, oh you're too kind.

I actually followed a REAL crochet pattern.

I...might be a genius.

I found This Crochet Pattern from the Jo Anns website.

Then I spend the next several days forcing my brain to pay attention, count, learn new tricks...and actually follow a pattern.  I also checked out some good ideas on YouTube.

Turns out it was pretty easy and quite fun.

I made this beanie for my husband and was super excited to give it to him.

As appreciative as he was...he declared it "too hipster" for him and said he'd be honored if I'd wear it for him.

I fancy myself a little hipster.  So, here's my new hat.

Little Things Go a Long Way

This post is sponsored by P&G and Tide Pods from Target.

 Like most families, we've got a lot going on every day.  Last week, the day before Valentine's day the younger kids and I decided to spend the morning making valentines cookies together. We followed this recipe for Lofthouse Style Soft Sugar Cookies.  The recipe was huge.  We were able to make tons for us, plus six more plates for friends.

And I decided to keep it real, like real, real, while we did it.  The "real, real" I'm speaking of, is the non-combed hair, the real mess, and joys of cooking with a five and three year old, with a one year old watching.

My little sou chefs happily spent their time helping me roll out the dough, cutting out the cookies and getting flour everywhere.  This was a big project and I was happy to be working with such willing companions.

After a quick 8 minute bake, and cooling we got down to the business of decorating our cookies.

Some of us thought the cookies should be equal parts cookie/frosting.

As we nosily worked side by side we talked, sang silly songs, listened to the baby exclaim her desire to help, and were intermittently interrupted by the BEEP of the timer.

  

However, once their cookies were frosted I told the kiddos to enjoy.  

Suddenly-- it was quiet.  

All I could hear was the quiet nibbling of cookies being thoroughly enjoyed. 

And this Mama gave herself a pat on the back.  The sound of happy children, enjoying their spoils is music to my ears.
 It's the little things, like a happy quiet, that go a long way.

Baby had such a good time eating her cookie-- enjoying every bite.  And despite her bib being on, she still managed to get her treat everywhere and all over her cute shirt underneath.

Busy as I was, this dirty shirt was thrown in the hamper, and not thought of again until two days later when I started the laundry.

And out came Tide Pods.  I'd seen them at Target before, but haven't gotten the pleasure until now.

The day of, when we were making the cookies, I was too busy to pre-treat or take any extra care with the messy baby clothes (as per usual).  But with Tide Pods, not only do you get a lovely smelling detergent, it also has stain remover + brightener built right in.  Brilliant! Something every mother of four messy children needs.
It's so simple, you just toss it in the washing tub and you're Done. 

These small pods pack a big punch. 

And that shirt?  Turned out perfect.  The stain booster worked amazingly.

Tide Pods and the new Gain Flings are both at my favorite store ever, Target.  And while you're running around today, remember, it's the little things in life that go a long way, not just in laundry, but in every day life, too.

This post is sponsored by P&G. Save on NEW Gain Flings and Tide Pods at Target. Text CLEAN to Target (827438) for mobile coupons*.

*Message and data rates may apply. 1 message per request. http://m.target.com/spot/sms/coupon-alrts-terms for Terms, Conditions, and Privacy Policy. By texting the key word to us, you agree to receive an autodialed text message from Target at the mobile number from which you sent your request. Consent to receive messages is not a condition of purchase. 

Of Bow ties and Suspenders

I've been a busy little sewing bee lately.  

Making darling little things, likes bow ties and suspenders that match.  

Getting ready for Spring and Easter and all that good stuff.

I got in contact with a local, darling shop here called O' Child Children's Boutique. 

And have started selling my bow ties and suspenders there.

This has always been a dream of mine to have something I made, being sold in a real store.

It's pretty much super exciting!

I'll be sewing up some more and selling more on my Etsy shop soon.

The bow ties were made following A Little Gentleman's Bow Tie Pattern, of course.

A Man's Manly Apron.

 

So a while ago... Father's day I think....?  My husband asked for a big manly apron to wear for when he cooks in the home.

Simple enough.  Time was getting kind of short and I thought, "Oh, this time I'll just go out and buy one."  So off I set out to check all my favorite stores and came home with 0 aprons.  They were all terrible.  Saying things like "Real Men do Dishes" or weird BBQ innuendos.  So not going to work.  

So Father's day came and went and my poor husband received no apron-- but received an even better gift....The promise that I would make him an apron.  Okay, that's probably not a better gift.  But I did eventually follow through and for Christmas I made him an apron.

It's simple, nice, big, and manly.  It's made from outdoor fabric, so it's thick and sturdy.

As an early Christmas present my husband gave me a serger.  Because he's super kind and thoughtful like that.  So to make him his apron I basically just serged all my edges and sewed them to the inside.

For my top piece I added a second layer so it would look nice and lay flat.

My dimensions are as follows:

And though it took him a half a year to get his apron, he finally has it and really enjoys using it.

  

And I'm always in for a real treat when he uses it.  Like the other night when we had a stay-in date night and he cooked me these delicious burritos made with real home cooked tortillas.  It was fabulous.

See? What a lucky gal I am.