Potpourri of the Week #4

Hey summer!  We couldn't wait for you to come, and now that's school's out, it's a pretty mean trick that you haven't come yet.  Please come soon and take away these dreary rainstorms.  We're bored (and driving our mom crazy!)

Yes, it's been one of those weeks.  Little Miss Sprout also thought it would be an opportune week in which to get sick and look extremely pathetic while doing so.  She and I have been embracing the night life, baby! 

So it's time for another Potpourri of the Week post - in which I share my favorite links to blog posts, web articles, books I'm reading, etc.  Let's jump right in!

1.  I love birthdays!  I admit I can get quite carried away when planning a party or family get-together.  But those fun times aren't worth the stress or crazy expenses.  Jessica at Life as Mom shares a great post on 12 Ways to Save on Birthdays.  We have already implemented a lot of these with our kiddos, and I am eager to try some of her other ideas for the multitude of birthdays coming up.

2.  God has really been doing a work in my heart lately.  I feel such a need to study and learn more than ever about the One who created me and sent His Son to die for me.  I am so excited to join in with Mandy at Biblical Homemaking in Walking Through the Gospel: Falling in Love with the One True and Living God series.   As she put it, "we're going to be studying who He is and who we are in relation to Him, and why we need Him so desperately."  So needed.  So desired.

3.  This is a cute tutorial for some adorable wall art.  I think it might be the answer to a sad-looking canvas that's been sitting in my office for the past few months.  I love the words on it, just not the way they look. 

4.  I am hoping that the weather will start admitting that it is indeed summer and warm up so we can hit up the pools and the spray parks!  I was looking at beach towels the other day and was trying to figure out what would work best for my babies' little shivering bodies when they get out of the water. (and then get back in two seconds later!)  Then I saw this tutorial on one of my favorite DIY blogs, Make It and Love It.  Ponchos made out of beach towels?  Yes please!  I'm putting these on my to-do list for the weekend. 

5.  And ahem. . . speaking of summer, this gal's body isn't quite ready.  I could pull out the excuses that "hey, I just had a baby in December" or "I can't find the time to exercise."  Honestly?  I love sweet things and eat them all the time.  I do manage to find time to nap (okay, maybe that one is a myth!), read, blog, facebook, play Words with Friends, watch Netflix, and basically sit around.  A lot.  So this post by Kris at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers was a bit needed.  Motivation, that is. 

And that's it for this week!  Maybe you actually have sunshine where you are - so get out and enjoy it! 

How to Have a Monkey Party

I debated a long time over the theme for the Spud's birthday party this year. He is an avid lover of cars, trains, and really anything with wheels; so any of these seemed natural choices for party themes. However, the Spud just happened to born at the same time as a bunch of girls in our group, and I wondered how many of his little girly friends would enjoy a car-themed party. I finally settled on a monkey party, since he wanted to have his party at the local park. (Plus, we call him "little monkey" all the time!)

The invitations were handed out a few weeks in advance, all tied up with monkey ribbon.

We asked guests to come join us at our favorite local park for some "monkeyin' around" at the playground and the splash park. All they needed to bring was some stuff to get wet in and a wrapped squirt gun or water toy for the gift exchange.

Food and treats were super easy to make for this theme. The monkey cupcakes were the stars of the show - made with chocolate-frosted cupcakes, nilla wafers, and marshmallows.

I used a simple styrofoam cone from the Dollar Tree to create a monkey lollipop tree. The little monkeys were hot-glued onto the suckers and then stuck into the tree for party favors.

The funky monkey leis made of froot loops and string were a big hit with the party guests. They could run around and play while carrying their snack with them wherever they went. These actually did not take too long to make, and as a bonus, the Beast helped me and got a fine motor skills activity in for the day.

The day turned out slightly cool and overcast - not ideal for getting wet. Still, friends buddied up quickly to tackle the slides and monkey bars and swings.

The Spud was overjoyed that his friend Pursy could come to his party. (Apparently summer birthday parties are harder than I thought - everyone is already on vacation or committed to something else when you invite them!) Pursy and Spud chased each other all over the playground, and that girl never let that balloon out of her sight.

Little friends hung out near the picnic tables with the grownups and waited patiently for snacks and cupcakes.

I tried to make the snacks not only coordinate with the theme but also with the Spud's favorite treats. Besides the cupcakes, lollipops, and froot loop leis, we had "monkey munch" (chocolate animal crackers and marshmallows), peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and fruit snacks. The tables were decorated with red streamers, colorful balloons, and an inflatable monkey. (all from the dollar store - cha-ching!)

At one point, all of our monkeys were in a huge tree on the playground property.

The gift exchange went over well. Everyone got to open one wrapped water toy - we went from youngest to oldest. After all the gifts were opened, the trading commenced until everyone was happy with the toy they received.

Later, after everyone left and we had finished cleaning up our party area, the weather warmed up enough for our three kiddos to quickly change into their swimsuits and go play in the splash park for ten minutes or so. We ended our special day by driving over to the local Burgerville, where they were featuring "throw-back prices" for one day only. Three very tired and happy littles munched cheeseburgers and fries and slurped their chocolate milkshakes before heading off to bed.

Success! I still can't believe my little monkey is three! I must admit though that this preggo momma is exhausted from all the party planning. No more parties for a while!

How to Have a Perfect Penguin Party

First, make invitations for all the little guests. These funny penguins were made out of construction paper shapes, felt scarves, and star brads for their party celebration hats. All of the party information was written on the back of each penguin.

Next, make cupcakes for your child's class to help them remember that a penguin party is coming up. I made these clever cupcakes following instructions at Family Fun; only we substituted candy orange slices for the dried apricots and mini chocolate chips for the brown m'n'm's.

Then, begin making some special treats for the party. A healthy and almost unbearably cute snack to serve are these black olive/cream cheese/carrot penguins. I found instructions to make these cuties here.

And what's a party without cake? I made an ice cream cake following an old recipe I found in a Better Homes and Gardens cake decorating book and made it look like a frosty igloo. And don't forget to make up some "penguin food" to delight your little guests! It's easy to make up some blue jello jigglers with swedish fish inside!

Hot cocoa is the proper drink for a penguin party (although we did serve up "ocean juice" for those who didn't care for hot cocoa.) I made up a hot chocolate bar so the kids could customize their own hot cocoa with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and candy canes.

Decorating for a penguin party is super easy! We made pretty snowflakes out of coffee filters and hung them from the ceiling along with several blue streamers. My daughter strategically placed a few stuffed penguins around the room, and viola! the room was decorated!

When I googled the words "penguin party games", I found several ideas that sounded like a lot of fun. However, we chose to stick to just a couple of activities for these 5 and 6 year olds. When guests first arrived, they got to play a fun interactive video game called "Start the Party" for the Play Station Move. I originally intended it to be a time-filler until all the guests arrived, but it proved so popular that we abandoned some of our game plans so the kids could have more time playing this game. :)

Then, to get some of that crazy energy out, we staged a giant "snowball fight", in which two teams competed to keep the "snowballs" (balloons) away from their side of the room. Mass chaos and crazy fun!

I personally am not a big fan of having all the party guests sit down and watch the birthday girl open a huge pile of gifts. We always try to do a gift exchange with some sort of theme instead. For our penguin party, we asked each guest to bring a wrapped small stuffed animal. The kids all drew numbers and then got to open a stuffed animal to take home.

The kids liked all the treats, but it seemed that the "penguin food" and make-your-own-hot-cocoa were the biggest hits. We sent those kiddies home happy, a little sugared up, and one stuffed animal richer.

And that's how you have a perfect penguin party!