{Super Sweet} Ice Cream Social

The month of January is filled with birthdays! Every weekend we have someones birthday to celebrate, and I'm no exception. Last weekend we celebrated my 31st birthday. It was great, except for the fact that I had a cold. Boo. But I still managed to have fun! Friday, the day of my actual birthday, I was well enough (and able to taste my food) to go to dinner with the hubs, nothing super special, but it was just the two of us. I also celebrated on Sunday with the rest of my family. And, I got lots of $$$ to buy some items on my birthday wish list. Yay!

Anywho, onto the ICE CREAM! We recently celebrated my niece's 18th birthday! Eep! I said 18. Wow, I feel old. Anyway, she wanted to celebrate at a local ice cream shop that had just opened, however the lines have been redic lately, so I asked her about an ice cream party. She agreed. And I helped plan!

For Jasmine's social, I found an adorable and FREE ice cream printables set. Yes! I said FREE AND ADORABLE! I got it from Emmy + Gabbie Paperstyles and it's the FREE Ice Cream Social Printable Party Pack in Rainbow Sherbet!!! Using the party pack, I made a banner, cupcake toppers and tent cards for the ice cream toppings. To bring the party together, we made ice cream cones from balloons and construction paper. All other supplies were purchased from the 99¢ store. I'm sure you could find similar at the Dollar Tree. We bought pink and neon green ice cream bowls, matching balloons, utensils, paper plates, table covers, and napkins. I also used some leftover items from Isabella's Sweet Shoppe like the paper lanterns, cake and cupcake stand, and plastic ice cream cones.

For dinner, my sister served up Hawaiian food, and of course ice cream for dessert. We had vanilla, strawberry, java and chocolate ice cream along with chocolate, strawberry, and caramel syrup. Toppings included chopped Oreos, chocolate chips cookies, toffee, walnuts, sprinkles, Reese's Pieces, bananas, strawberries, whipped cream, and cherries. We even had ice cream sandwiches dipped in sprinkles, brownies, and cones. Yum! And we couldn't forget the cake and cupcakes! EVERYTHING was delicious! And I think everything came out cute. If I do say so myself ;0P

Here are some pics...

Isabella's 18 months!

It's true! My baby girl is becoming a toddler more and more :( Nah, I'm not sad. Okay, just a little. She's such a firecracker! Totally and completely different than Jacob. She talks...A LOT! She is a mocking bird. She repeats EVERYTHING! Her vocab is so big I could not list all the words she says. Crazy, I know. Jacob barely spoke at this age, and now he can't be quiet. Speaking of Jacob, Bella loves her brother. Ever heard of that saying, "Monkey see, monkey do!" Well, that's Bella, everything Jacob does/says Isabella repeats! She is such a handful. Forget about the talking, her tantrums are hilarious. Whenever she doesn't get her way, you can find her sprawled on the floor wailing, wiggling and kicking her feet! Despite it all, Isabella is so much fun. She still is a girly girl, and she'll sit still to paint her nails, to put on lipstick, to wear her purse, or to put on her sunglasses. She is all over everything. Touching, feeling, grabbing, pulling, she's on it! But, I know she's learning, so I let her do it as along as she is reasonably safe and won't destroy anything too badly. LOL!  And one of my favorite things she is doing at the moment is, she will hug and kiss you and say I love you! Makes my heart melt every time. She gives big tight hugs :)

We've also had Isabella's 18 month doctor's appointment. She got 2 shots, and in less surprising news, she's a BIG girl! Eh, what's new?! Bella is currently 35.25 inches tall and is weighing in at 29.7 pounds (100%tile for both)! She's the size of a 2 year old! Where did my little baby go? She's still right here being her rambunctious self. I'm sooo looking forward to the next 6 months and all they have to bring. We're on our way to Isabella's 2nd birthday!

{ DIY } Play Kitchen

It's been awhile since I started this project, and I can now say it's *almost* finally COMPLETE! I finished it the week before Christmas, just in the nick of time. And I am in LOVE. I love the way it came out, and honestly, I'm sad I'm done with it. I had a lot of fun finding the pieces, and deciding what theme I wantedd for it. My dad helped out, and he even asked if we could do another one and sell it. Hmmm??? Maybe?! Anyway, this was a labor of true love. I'm going to give a break down of price and what I did to make the kids' kitchen. BTW, this is my dream kitchen. I love the classic yellow & white look. An all white kitchen with yellow accents...One day. However, once we saw the kids using it, we realized that they needed a cutting board/prep area, and I might be making a shelf that extends out from the side of the kitchen by the burners. But for now, this is what I used for our kitchen.

Nightstand (Craigslist) - $10
Plywood back 1/2 sheet (*HD = Home Depot) - $6.25 TIP: You can buy scrap pieces really cheap. Roof Shingle - magnetic chalkboard (*HD) - 98¢
Pull for the oven (*HD) - $1.99
Magnetic catch on oven door (*HD) - 98¢
Black oven paint sample (*HD) - $2.94
Chalkboard spray piant (*HD) - $4.67
Shelf Brackets (2) (*HD) - $2.58
Hinges (2) (*HD) - $2.47
Tap light $5.97
Wood soccer balls - burners (4) (Michaels) - 49¢ each
Scalloped Molding (Michaels) - $2.99
2 Frames - window & magnetic chalkboard ($ Tree) - $2
Contact Paper - Line bottom storage (99¢ Store) - $1
1/2 Yard fabric (Jo Ann's)- $3.50 SALE

Accessories:
Salt & pepper shakers ($ Tree) - $1
Colander ($ Tree) - $1
Measuring spoons($ Tree) - $1
Yellow bowls set (2) (99¢ Store) - $1
Yellow Kitchen Towels set (2) - (99¢ Store)
Yellow Baskets (2) - (99¢ Store)

Had on Hand/Donated:
Sink cake pan
Shelf
Shelf Hooks
Paint
Black spray paint
Acrylic paint
Faucet
Stove/Oven knobs
Tension rod
Popsicle sticks
Bamboo skewers
Printed picture
Piece of molding
Velcro

The very first thing I did, was take apart the nightstand. Kind of. I took out the drawers, and kept one drawer face. Hubby sanded off almost all of the paint. I filled in any holes I didn't want (including the drawer face), and let it dry. We then dusted it off, and measured for the sink. I had my cake pan sink on hand, so that was easy. I also had my dad make the holes for the faucet. Once that was completed, I primed the entire outside. I wanted to be sure the paint was going to stay. I  let it dry, and then began to paint starting with the oven, which I painted black, and moving to the outside using regular paint we had on hand. I gave the kitchen about 2 coats. I also painted the plywood backing, and the moulding. I did not paint the bottom storage area because it was going to be hidden behind a curtain, but I did use contact paper to line the bottom. The oven door, which I thought was going to be difficult, was easy. We nailed it in with hinges, and added a magnetic catch. It works great, but we might add a chain. Not sure about that yet.

For the burners, I used 4 wood soccer balls that I found on clearance at Michaels. I just flipped them over, spray painted them, and had a smooth side to work with. My niece gave me some popsicle sticks that I cut to size and painted grey, and glued them on with Liquid Nails. For the curtain and valance, I had some help from my mom. And the rod, for the valance above the sink, is held up by two white bamboo skewers taped together and placed on hooks. The "window" is a frame painted yellow, and I printed out a picture that I would've liked to see when I looked out my window. As for the magnetic chalkboard, it was made using a dollar store frame painted yellow, and a roof shingle painted with chalkboard paint. I had to cut it down a bit to fit it in the frame, but it worked.

Once the kitchen was dry, I started assembling it. I glued the scalloped moulding to the top of the back splash and regular moulding where the nightstand and the backsplash met. I screwed in the faucet, put the sink in, nailed in the shelf and the burners. The knobs were nailed in using washers so they could still turn. The chalkboard was also nailed in, however for the "window" I used Velcro just in case I wanted to change the picture out. Hooks were screwed under the shelf and onto the side of the kitchen to hold dish towels.

After everything was put together, and all items were added up, the total for this kitchen came out to just under $60! I thought that was pretty good since it's so durable, and well, it was personalized!

If you have any questions leave a comment and I'll try to answer as best I can!

Here she is...

I'm linking up...

Thrifty Decor Chick February Before & After Party

New Year, Crappy Beginning

It's only been a few weeks into the new year, and they've already started off with a bang. A pretty crappy bang. On January 7th, just a little before 1pm, Isabella had her first febrile seizure. And this time, I was alone with 2 kids, kind of. Jess wasn't home but the rest of my family was near by. So, it had already started off as a crappy day. Jacob woke up throwing up. First in my bed, then in the hallway, and all over the bathroom. So, I spent my morning clean up and disinfecting everything. Turns out, I think he had an upset tummy 'cause he only threw up twice. That's it. So, I thought my trouble maker was going to be Jacob, but oh no, it was still early. Turns out, Isabella was going to be my sick baby. She had her seizure and it was almost deja vu to Jacob's first seizure. It happened in her sleep. And it happened exactly likes Jacob's in that I heard her breathing weird in the monitor. I didn't even look at the monitor, I just heard it and ran right into the room where I saw her shaking. Everything after that point, felt like an eternity. But it was only minutes. I picked Bella up and held her as I called my sister to come over. She ran to my house and was there in seconds. I then called 911. They told me what to do, and we followed their directions. The ambulance was there in about a minute. From start to finish, Bella's seizure lasted about 3 minutes. And she was burning up. The medics did their thing and loaded us up where we headed to the nearest hospital. It took us over 20 minutes to get a room, and during that time Bella was crying. We finally got a room, and it was another half hour before we got any meds. She also had an xray of her chest to rule out pneumonia. It was negative. But it took Isabella 1.5 hours to return to normal where she could drink and move more. After 3 hours at the hospital, and an antibiotic shot, we were released. Turns out, Bella had a fever off and on for 3 days before it broke and she broke out into a rash, aka ROSEOLA! She had a minor rash on her chest and her forehead for about a day before it went away. It took about a week for her to get back to complete normalcy, but I'm back on high alert with the seizures. Jacob has not had one in just over 2 years, but now I have to be weary of Isabella. I'm hoping this will be her last one, and I'm very optimistic!

My sick baby. Keeping her cool & hydrated.

Jacob's New Preschool

So, it's a new year, and for Jacob, that means a new preschool. A few months back, I had enrolled him in a local program, but it was only 2 days a week for just a few hours. It was great as an introduction for him. He learned quite a few things, but there were a few drawbacks like it was far, and there were 34 kids in his class. Yes, I said 34. So, I started looking for a new school, and what better place than our very own neighborhood. Actually, the preschool Jacob goes to now is the one my niece and nephew went to as well. It's a little different from the time they went, but that was also 15 years ago. However, I love that there are not too many kids. Hello! There are 10 kids in his class! It's super duper close, and it just seems so quaint. But, he's only been there for a little over a week, so we'll see how it goes. If you ask Jacob, he loves it. He now goes 3 days a week for 4.5 hours. And he eats lunch at school now too. The first few days at school wiped him out. I had to bring back his nap! Yay me! I'm sooo happy for him, and sooo proud :0)

Happy New Year!

The month of December, as I predicted, was super busy. The last two weeks of the year were absolutely jam packed. We had a cousin visit from out of town, so we showed her around California. But let's start with Christmas. We went to look at Christmas lights 3 times! We visited this local neighborhood here in the OC, and almost the whole neighborhood participates. This was also the first Christmas Jacob understood the concept of Santa, and according to him, Santa delivered. This year Jacob asked for a rocket ship. That was it. And he got one. Bella got a little bit of everything. It was a good Christmas for them, and me too! The week after Christmas was crazy. We decided to go on an impromptu trip to San Francisco. We left Tuesday and came back Wednesday night. We did a lot on that little trip. We had dinner at Boudin Bakery at the Wharf, had chocolate at Ghirardelli Square, and then headed to our hotel for the night. It was super cute. It had a retro motif throughout the place. The next day we woke up and headed out for breakfast, and out to the Golden Gate Bridge vista point to take some touristy pictures. Then we started our trek back home. On our way, we stopped at the elephant seal beach near San Simeon, and had a delicious dinner at the Firestone Grill in San Luis Obispo. After that, it was straight home. Tons of fun, despite it being Isabella's first car trip. They both did exceptionally well. And unfortunately, the hubs couldn't come with us, since it was so last minute. But we all had a ball.

Our New Year's weekend was very low key. We celebrated at my parent's house with a little alcohol and a few games of Loteria. However, we did make it out to the the Rose Parade. It was Jacob's first time, and Bella was still a little small. It was fun seeing all the beautifully decorated floats and the huge marching bands. I think we'll hold off going for another 5 years. I thought we had a pretty great end to a pretty great year.

During 2011, we went on our first family vacation. On a Disney Cruise, no less. We celebrated Isabella's first birthday and Jacob's third. I entered my 30s and haven't looked back. All in all, 2011 was good to us, and I can't wait to see what 2012 brings! Here weee goooo...