{another birthday party}

Last year when Gerard decided he wanted to have a Sonic the Hedgehog birthday party I cringed. Sonic isn't exactly a mainstream birthday party theme for 5-year-olds so I ended up making everything myself (the decorations, favors, games, cake, etc). (Also see HERE.) I actually had fun doing it even though it was a lot of work.

This year Gerard had a Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs party and we saw the movie today (the theater has a party room). It was a combined party with Ashley M, whose birthday is 5 days after Gerard's. Here's what I made:

The invitations:



The Happy Birthday banner:





We played a few games after the movie. BINGO (using pasta shapes as place markers), hot (potato) meatball (use your imagination -- I know the meatball beanbag I made looks a little more like a pile of poop), and Pin-the-Meatball-on-the-Spaghetti.






The Take-out Bags (favor bags):


The favor bags were filled with boxes of meatballs (Whoppers candy)....


....and meatball shaped bubble gum in take-out boxes....



....and magnetic bookmarks.


Each guest also got an umbrella with a tag that says "in case of meatballs":



The cupcakes:





The thank-you cards:



We had a really nice time today at the party. Gerard got lots of great presents and everyone seemed to enjoy the movie and the games and the cupcakes. Even Morgan sat through the movie and wore her 3D glasses for quite a while. I'll try to post some pictures soon!

EDITED TO ADD: You can see pictures of the party HERE and more info on the cupcakes HERE.

{busy week!}

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO Grandma Andrea, Grandpa Gerard and little Gerard!

As usual, we've had a busy week. My parents came last week and were here for Grandma's birthday, Gerard's first day of 1st grade, and Gerard's 6th birthday.
It was a bit hectic but lots of fun. They left Friday.

Gerard's first week of school has been good. He's been exhausted, but we expected that. It's a long day (he's gone from 8:10 until 4:10) and it's a lot of work being in first grade! He loves recess and eating lunch with his friends and of course says "Nothing" when we ask what they do all day.

Debbie is coming this Friday, it's Rosh Hashana, and Gerard's birthday party is on Sunday. So I'm sorry I haven't posted sooner, but there's been a lot going on!

Here's a random picture of the kids:



Some pictures from Grandma's birthday:




More from Grandma and Grandpa's visit:





Gerard's birthday. (I made the Spiderman cupcakes for his party at school and the baseball ones for us at home. He had very specific requests. And you wondered why I haven't posted?!)













And I just had to share these few pictures of Morgan. She looks like a little angel, doesn't she? Don't be fooled...she's quite a devil really. See the one where she looks guilty standing on the chair and reaching for the PERMANENT marker? Yeah. Permanent. I had already taken it away from her once. She waited until I wasn't looking and moved the chair to the counter and tried to quietly reclaim her marker. When I caught her, she flashed that "I'm so cute" face and I just couldn't be mad!!

{first grade!}

Lots of firsts today....

First day of school.
First grade.
First time at school ALL DAY.
First time eating lunch at school.
First time getting on the bus at the "big" bus stop with all the kids from the street.

I hope he is having a good day so far! We miss him here. The house is so quiet....

His backpack was so heavy with all the stuff he needed for the first day that we were afraid he'd fall over!

Check out how he has changed these last few years:
FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN
FIRST DAY OF "4s" PRESCHOOL (with pictures from the "3s" too)

{back to school}

What can I say.... Gerard starts FIRST GRADE next week! We have his open house on Wednesday so we can meet his new teacher and see his classroom. We've heard FABULOUS things about Mrs. K* and Gerard is excited. He's excited about having recess and lunch and desks and lockers and seeing his friends. I, however, have mixed feelings. One one hand I'll miss having him home and I'm nervous about how he'll do at school ALL DAY (8 to 4), but on the other hand...

{a funny}

You might not appreciate this Savage Chickens cartoon as much as I did (Gerard certainly didn't) but I think it's perfect for me.... a little poetry, some photoshop, and a bit of science. Perfect.

{the amazing technicolor....}

....DRYER? Yup, I washed and dried what appears to have been red, blue and black crayons. I never found the crayons and I'm not sure how they ended up in the laundry, but the evidence -- a brightly tie-dyed dryer -- doesn't lie. I figured I'd be able to get the dryer clean, but I had little hope for the two loads of laundry that I dried before I realized what had happened.




Much to my utter shock and amazement, I was able to get the dryer sparkling clean and save all but one t-shirt thanks to a google search and a website called Thrifty Fun. Who would've thought that WD-40 plus laundry detergent plus Shout plus dish soap plus vinegar plus OxyClean would be the magic recipe?!



For those of you who may find yourselves in my position some time in the future, I thought I'd share the fabulous solutions:

HOW TO GET CRAYON OUT OF A DRYER
HOW TO GET CRAYON OUT OF CLOTHES

{haircuts and cupcakes}

Gerard got a long overdue haircut yesterday. He fought me on it for a while, but once he realized that he had to BRUSH his hair when it was long he finally agreed to cut it. Both Gerards prefer his hair long, but I think he looks cute with it short.

Before:

After:

Tomorrow we're going to our friends' house for what will probably be our last summer "Monday pool playdate" so I thought I would make some cute summer-y cupcakes. The picture on the Wilton website is so much cuter than mine, but I'm sure mine taste just as good!

Goodnight!