Sugar Rush ~ Bday Fun!

Whewwww...whirlwind of a day. It began early for a 9:30am bday breakfast for Miss Maddie.

She is the bittiest little one year old I've ever seen, it's too cute! Her mamma, Nic & I made the adorrrrable "ONE" letters, complete with round wooden 'ears' & a bow to resemble Minnie Mouse (the party theme).

And per mommy's request I made her a big fluffy, 2-toned pink tutu...and was going to make the headband - but then I found one with matching 'shoe' socks at Ross for basically cheaper than I could make it - so that was perfect!

Happy Birthday Madeline Grace!!

Unfortunately, Kapri had started sneezing yesterday....which got me worried...and for good reason. By 11ish, she had used up what little energy she had and her body gave in to this oncoming cold...I'm sure all the sugar from the doughnut holes, fruit, juice & a cupcake surely did not help. It was time for a nap.

After her nap...she felt 'okay' - so we decided with our original plan & headed to another friends house for to celebrate Arden's 6th birthday. Kapri has known Arden her entire life, starting with weekly beach walks when she was a baby, to being cared for once a week for a few hours at their home at 4 months old... and play-dates in-between, and seeing each other dressed up on at our annual Halloween party at work.

how cute are they?!

Upon arrival K definitely did not seem 100%...so we gave it an hour, snapped this really cute pic somehow, then had to go...her little lungs get so irratated with an oncoming cold...and lucky us, we didn't have her inhaler. When she started complaining that her chest hurt, I panicked and I drove as fast as I could home. Thank goodness for the nebulizer & albuterol meds....though I hate how much we depend on it during sickness...it really is a life-savor.

Happy Birthday Arden Rose!!

Later, we were all supposed to go to a THIRD party - for James' dad's retirement party...

CONGRATS ANDY!!!

But with K's condition not improving, I knew she wouldn't be able to make it through. We thought about having my sis watch her while James & I went...but she got worse, so I stayed home while he went. We were definitely sad to have missed it, especially since her cousins who she loves tremendously, had made the trip out from AZ to be there as well....and since I had made him the above photo collage.  But the most important thing was to get K rested & feeling better ASAP.

Oh the ups & downs of parenting...

First Official Haircut/Style!

I cannot believe we've gone FOUR years without one single hair cut for this kid!! We did do one teeny tiny one around her 1st bday, but that was more of a clean up to the weird, long-ish mullet thing, that started growing at the nape of her neck, so I don't count that as an 'official' cut!

It took a few weeks of persuading... of course James that he'd be funny & say "yeah, go get a hair cut so you can look like daddy!" Mind you, he shaves his head.... needless to say, she was a bit apprehensive after that silly comment from dad.

But finally, after I reassured her for the,  415,837th time, she agreed to "just a little 'twim' mom!" haha, love it!

So with the recommendation of a friend, I made an appointment for her the next morning at "Chloe's Carousel", which is a good 30 minute drive away from our house, but it was SO worth it! This place was so enchanting & verrrry kid-friendly. Tons of toys in the waiting area (though we didn't have to wait at all!), fun chairs that looked like horses from a carousel, pretty mural paintings on the walls and DVD players at each station...they've thought of everything!

Our hair stylist did a wonderful job, as she put a Dora show on for Kapri, she was patient and gentle. She even made sure to compliment the colors of her black/white/pink outfit, with the little flowers & ribbon she selected for her hair:

Afterwards, Kapri was in LOVE with her hair and the wrap-around braids...oh and the "fairy dust"!! We opted to do the light sprinkle of glitter along the top of her head, which she just thought was awesome!

See - just a 'twim':

I'd love to go back around her 5th birthday for another trim, but also maybe have a small party there for her as well! They have a little room that can accommodate up to 10 girls and they all get their hair styled and nails painted, with a special themed craft & activity - that sounds pretty fab to me!!

As we were leaving, she was desperate to play with all the toys in the waiting area...so I gave her a few minutes to hang. I just wanted ONE good pic of her hair to send to grammies & aunties...she likes to tease me a bit:

Ahhh finally...a smile! Pretty girl :-)

Then we went to surprise dadda at work...he was a happy camper & she was so proud to show off her stylish hair to all his employees:

To end our mamma/daughter day...I thought we'd try out a local 'gluten-free' bakery called "2 Good 2 Be" for some adorable mini-cupcakes....they were actually pretty tasty! Great way to end the day & reward a very brave little girl, who was a bit scared to loose any length of her beautiful hair!

Officially FOUR

Although we had a great big birthday party the weekend before K's birthday...I knew we should send her to school the day of her actual bday with a special cake to celebrate with her school friends:

The evening, we also decided to have a simple dinner out - just us 3.

Happy Birthday Munchkin...we love you more than words can thoroughly explain. 

Over these past 4 years, your incredible light has brightened up our existence and taught us SO many things...

About appreciating life. 

About finding patience. 

About sheer exhaustion.

About never-ending fears. 

About immense joys.

About quality time. 

About astonishing strength. 

About unwavering, unconditional, pure love.

Kapri's little hand at 2 months old

Happy 4th Birthday Princess Kapri

Finally...our countdown on the kitchen chalkboard has come to an end - and literally ALL. MORNING. LONG. she was asking about every 2-5 seconds if it was time for the party... her very own "Princess & Pirates" themed birthday party:

As if I didn't have enough things to check off on my self-imposed 'to-do' list...I had to cope with a seriously anxious little girl...oye.

My helpers & I got there 2 hrs early to set up...though there is NEVER enough time...I felt insanely rushed....and sweaty. I ran home 15 minutes before the party was supposed to start, changed Kapri into her tulle dress...and she decided at that very moment to tell me how itchy it was...o...m...g.

{{CLICK HERE to see the post about making her tulle tutu dress, picture overload!}}

It was now the time the party was to start...and we were there yet...whooops!! So I slipped on a pink tank underneath, changed into my dress...and off we went. Little princess was about 20 minutes late to her own party...ah well - she looked beautiful!

coral ladies - seriously not planned!

Pirate James & Princess Steve

Food & Treats table: princess & pirate cupcakes, "royal PB&J's" (were supposed to be in a crown shape, but the cookie cutter I had wasn't really workin with this bread...I think I should've refridgerated the bread overnight so they didn't just break when I went to use the cutter), "sword kabobs" (salami, cheddar cheese & gouda cheese), and "fish-n-chips" (literally! haha):

More food:  blue & pink swirled lollipops from Oriental Trading (HUGE hit with the kids), "pirate jello sails" (idea HERE), "wish upon a star" cookies (vanilla yogurt cookies from Trader Joes), and "pirates booty" cups:

Saw these Fruit Wands on Pinterest (HERE) - and knew they'd be perfect!! I love how they turned out!

I found these 'lace' style plastic table covers at Walmart for less than $2 each... they were actually really pretty! The drink containers were filled with "Pirate Sea Water" and "Princess Punch"...scored those from Kirklands Home store (I added a chalkboard sticker in front to name them).

I can't seem to find a picture of it...but next to the gifts I had an 11x14 framed image of this...I made it using PicMonkey:

all 11 Disney Princesses - so stoked I found this image!!

The goodie bag station... love the little tissue paper tassel garland my sisters & I made to hang on the table (tutorial HERE)... took a little time & finesse, but turned out great I think!

The goodie bags were filled with fun toys I bought from Oriental Trading... stickers, necklaces, rings, chocolate coins, & stamps... I made ones for both girls and boys:

Kid activity tables... make your own foam pirate hat and/or princess crown (with sticker embellishments), treasure hunt list & easy-to-assemble paper treasure boxes to store their loot in, a tattoo station, and a coloring/bubble station:

The girls were obsessed with the 'poster' princesses - they got to pose with them & take pics... too cute. I didn't buy this... my sis did during a last minute Party City run...it was maybe $6 and came with 2 pieces that you tape up together...and a separate "Happy Birthday" sign...pictured above...between 2 pink balloons on the outside/doorframe of the rec room.

A few pics of our fam & friends enjoying the day...loved seeing all the kiddos dressed up as either a princess or pirate...what kid doesn't like to dress up?!!

Outside play time... Tinkerbell boucy, treasure hunt in the sand, slides & swings...oh what fun!

She LOVED her special Cinderella cupcake (scored for $7 at Ralphs of all places the day before!!):

Here's a vid of everyone singing to her (she was shy, but it was adorable!):



One quick family shot (only one pretty much), as we finished cleaning up the rec room & headed home after a long day of fun!

Oh...and here's a photo collage of her last year... I make one for every birthday...love looking back at these:

Cannot believe we have a FOUR year old!!

Linked up to:

Chef in Training

Someday Crafts

Ginger Snap Crafts

Mama Buzz

Sugar & Spice

Happy Day of Love!

My sweet Valentine was a step ahead and sent me some beautiful flowers yesterday to enjoy at work... such a loving hubs:

A little photo editing fun in PicMonkey of me & my love:

Woke up a little early today to make my loves some banana heart pancakes...like last year - only PINK!

Then I dropped her off at school with her valentines & cookies to share... I love the little hair clip I made her... red & teal ribbon - such a pretty combo:

I snapped a few pics of the Vday crafts she's been working on, so cute!

And I'm freaking loving my new orangy-red, lace-back shirt I scored at Kohls... by Lauren Conrad, on sale for $18!!

HAPPY DAY OF X's & O's!!

Healthiest Cookies I've EVER Made (but so yum!)

Since Kapri is sick again, today she asked for cookies around mid-morning. Of course I had to say YES to my little sickie...anything to make her feel better...or at least help her to not think about how ickie she feels!! But over the last week I've been trying to be better about exercise & eating better (more on that in another post). So I jumped onto my "Banana-Mania" Pinterest board....and was drawn to these Banana Cookies from Chef in Training that I had yet to try. Love her recipes!!

Then I researched what I could substitute to make them a tad 'healthier'. Here are Nikki's ingredients compared to my substitutions:

• 1 3/4 cup oats
• 1-1/2 cups flour --> sub'd 1 cup whole wheat flour & 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1 cup sugar --> sub'd 1/4 cup honey & 3 tbsp of white & brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (I only added a few shakes)
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup shortening -->  sub'd1/2 cup coconut oil (per this site, it said to use a bit less than the original ingredient call for when substituting...and learning LOTS about this oil's benefits here!)
• 2 mashed bananas
• 1 egg --> sub'd 1 tbsp flax-seed meal mixed with 3 tbsp water (stir & let sit for 2 min before mixing in with everything - got this idea from the package!)

I also added:

• 3 tbsp of mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbsp Chia seeds (I've recently discovered that these are quite amazing little 'super' seeds!)

I have to say they came out amazing!!! They definitely taste 'healthy' but I just feel SO much better eating 2 or 3 when I've made the effort to substitute whatever I could for a better option. I need to get Stevia or a healthier sweetener in place of sugar though. They came out so moist and flavorful...this batch made 20 cookies.

I tried out the Recipe Analyzer (SO cool) at CalorieCount.About.com to get a better idea of calories - which I think I only reduced the original recipe by 12 calories or so, haha...check it out HERE: 

Nikki's recipe also called for a frosting...though these are so moist I felt like they really didn't need it. But just to try something different, I found this recipe for a Greek yogurt 'frosting'.

It's not nearly as thick as a regular frosting, but adds a little something to these cookies! I didn't add it to them all, just mixed it up, put it into a Tupperware & have it in the fridge - that way we can only add it if we really want it!