Kinsey's 6th Birthday- My Little Pony Party!

This party was waaaaay back in October 2014. 

But I'm still going to share it here, and lucky you- 

I have some FREE printables to go with it!

Seeing as Kinsey will be 7 in just under a week (!!!) I need to get all caught up on birthday recaps, and after this I plan to share a quick post about her 5th birthday- which was a Lalaloopsy theme.

Better late than never, right?

Invites available here

Rainbow streamers taped to the curtain rod + homemade cupcakes on cake stands = dessert table

For parties lately I've been trying to simplify. Maybe I've wised up to the fact that more time + more money doesn't always = more fun for the birthday kiddo? Maybe I've given up trying to throw perfect parties when all the girls want is fun with their friends? Maybe it just has everything to do with the fact that the last few parties have been planned with a little baby in the house?

Doesn't really matter, as long as I keep my sanity!

Star tip piping + MLP rings (found at walmart party aisle)

Toppers available in my Etsy shop

I made up signs and activites to go with each of the most popular ponies.

 I've attached 3 signs for FREE here!

"Pinkie Pie's Party Favors" 

Download here

Download here

Download here

 I failed to take any pictures of the book mark activity!

 But basically I cut some colored cardstock into bookmark sizes, set out stencils, markers, stickers and washi tape and let the kids make fun bookmarks.

"Pinkie Pie's Party favors" set up in a basket 
Treat Bag Topper available in my Etsy Shop!

"Rarity's Hoof Painting & Cutie Marks" Nail polish (peel off kind) nail tattoos
and MLP Temporary Tattoos for 'cutie marks'

This was the first activity the girls did- and the two boys got TMNT tattoos ;)

Simple rainbow decorations +MLP party supplies
The girls wore their MLP shirts, too.

 We played - pin the tail on the pony. 

I purchased the game, but used ribbons and tape to make it easier and so all the kids could play 
(the game only came with 8 tails)

Bonus- the girls were able to pin up this poster to decorate their room afterwards since it wasn't full of tail stickers!

Time to sing "Happy Birthday"

 It was a fun time celebrating Kinsey turning 6! I'm in the middle of planning her 7th birthday party right now- alhtough we are keeping it suuuuper simple this year ( at her request!) Any guesses on her theme of choice? Or how long it will take me to blog about it?

Savannah is ONE

A year ago at this time we were nervous and excited, loading up and driving to the hospital. Again. We had been there and been sent home the night before and this time we didn't want to be sent away. I was having to breathe a little to get through contractions, and I remember every bump in the road caused my belly to have another strong contraction. It was an uncomfortable 30 minute ride, to say the least. You can read a little more about her birth here.

Feels like yesterday. But here we are celebrating our last little gal turning ONE! She just walked over, handed me a domino and said 'da!' (there). Last year at this time she was still a face unknown in my belly, kicking around waiting to greet the world. Ah.....I won't cry, I won't cry, I. Won't. Cry.

My sweet Savannah Rose. Third little daughter of mine. We didn't plan on you, but you worked yourself into our little family in ways we never knew we were lacking. Your sisters adore you. Every morning, nap and night they want to be the first to kiss you, hug you and hold you. So do I...so it's kind of a daily competition ;)

Kinsey and Malaya call you "vanny," your daddy calls you "nah-nah" and I call you just about everything under the sun.

You have a temper. From zero-furious in about 3 seconds is your specialty. It has been from the day you were born. The nurses all commented on your quick temper when you were in the hospital. I suspect you got that from your mama.

Favorite foods include avocados, popcorn, anything sweet, meats (chicken, turkey, ham, steak, ground beef among the top picks) eggs- you LOVE deviled eggs especially.

Crushed ice is a great way to keep you happy in your high chair. You will ask to drink anything that someone else is drinking....especially if it happens to be daddy's giant glass of sweet tea! You say "cup, cup....gummy, gummy" when you want something someone else is eating or drinking.

You love to dance and sing to just about anything, the radio, commercials on tv, mommy or daddy singing silly songs. You will be dancing and trying to sing the words.

Da-da is your favorite....so the count stands at 1 mommy's girl and 2 daddy's girls. If you are upset and I say 'let's go find da-da" you are instantly happier. You get mad and grumpy when he's away for work and you light up when he facetimes to talk to you.

We continuously shake our heads at things you do say, or understand. You are so smart! Probably too smart for your own good. Which usually equals a lots of trouble. Good trouble, but trouble nonetheless.

I know you are growing up fast because you try desperately to keep up with your two big sisters in every way. You want to ride their scooters and bikes already...you walked at exactly 11 months in an effort to keep up.

Please don't' loose your baby-ness too quickly. You are my last baby and if I could I would stop time to soak in every bit of this precious period of my life and yours.

When I'm ragged and worn from a long day I know that when I wake up tomorrow you (and your sisters) will be another day older, bigger, more grown. So each day I need to soak you all in. 

Happy first birthday my Sweet, spunky, silly and smart Savannah!

Friday Faves- Schools Out Edition!

They say childhood passes in the blink of an eye.....

If the rest of her schooling is anything like this year,  then I truly believe it!

I cannot believe it's summer break around here already

 and my first little baby girl is now going to be a first grader!

First Day

Last Day

Today's Favorite #1 is this big girl and all her Kindy accomplishments:

Kinsey did phenomenal during Kindergarten. No bad behavior days, no trouble being at school all day, she made lots and lots of friends, and she mostly ate her lunch :/

She's now reading at the 18-20 level (which Scholastic's website says is second grade!) and currently obsessed with the 'Magic Tree House' series of chapter books. She's come a long way- barely knowing but a handful of sight words at the beginning fo the school year!

Her penmanship is great- she even practices cursive at home because she 'wants to write pretty like mommy does'. I think the area she most needs to work on is spelling and sounding out words when writing. That's one area I plan to focus on withe her during summer homework.

We sent her off this morning fro her last half day of the year! She wanted to wear the same dress as her first day...which makes for good comparison pictures, too. (mama-razzi approves!)

Favorite #2 was part of her teacher gifts:

She took some necklaces for her teachers, along with a handwritten card including drawings of their favorite things by Kinsey.

I know plenty of kids still have a few weeks of school- so I'm attaching a link to this cute little notecard I designed for her teachers. It's FREE and prints two to a page.

click here for MediaFire Free Download

Favorite #3 is this FREE printable Summer Schedule from my last post!

Favorite #4 is one simple word: SUMMER

We will be making our summer bucket list soon- the girls and I are ready for days spent in swimsuits, barefoot and eating popsicles on the porch!

Linking up:

A Little Bit of Everything Blog

Grace and Love Blog

Momfessionals

As always- please leave a comment or pin my blog image if you download the FREE printables! Thanks!

Free Printable: Summer Schedule

Summer with kids out of school. You either love it or fear it. 

My plan is to love it this year, so I've got some tools up my sleeve to help summer be smooth sailing. 

Plan #1 is simple- a 'daily theme' to give each day something to center around

Don't worry- it's not anything crazy that requires loads of planning, effort or stress. Just a basic theme for each weekday, so that the kids can look forward to a certain activity daily. 

Here's the summer schedule I came up with for our family.

It's filled with pretty low key, cheap and flexible options for each day. 

The best part is- I have 4 different versions available as a FREE download today!

Anchors                                                                                   Arrows

Scalloped Teal                                                                           Scalloped Grey



Just click on the link under the version you like to be taken to the MediaFire download!

I'll keep ya posted on how this works out for my little tribe of gals.....only 3 more days of school!


I'm also working on a daily 'timeline' of events to help our days run smoothly. 
Hopefully I'll be back with a peek into that soon.

Do me a favor and Pin or comment if you download! Thanks!

Friday Faves- What I Want Edition

Today I'll be sharing 'Just A Little' rambling assortment of my wants, wishes, and desires lately.

    

#1 Tombow Dual Brush Pen: I've been trying my hand at lettering things lately. Mostly for fun, although I decided to add a few prints to my Etsy shop to see if there was any outside interest in them.  Right now I have this Faber-Castell Pitt Brush pen, and it's ok, but I don't feel like it is super fluid and can't get the downstrokes as thick as I would like. I've been reading blogs and reviews and the Tombow seems to be a pretty well liked choice. I've yet to pick one up, mostly due to the fact that none of my local craft supply stores sell this brand. I need to bite the bullet and just order one online already!

Here's a peek at some of my current practice:

'

Switching gears to a fashion desire:

Spot the common item in these cute outfits

 

Did you figure it out? 

#2 Converse - I know these are nothing new, and possibly I'm just being influenced by the current trendiness of them, but I'm pretty sure I NEED some in my life. Soon. 

As I get older I am finding the need to be pickier about the shoes I wear. I need support, I need function. But I still need cute! (What gal doesn't?)

I tend to wear pretty comfortable, yet polished looking outfits on the daily.

 I would wear any and all of the above outfits any day of the week.

I love to be comfy,

 but I just don't feel my best when I'm wearing yoga pants and a frumpy t-shirt all day. 

Therefore, regular sneakers are in my closet for  workouts and yardwork only. 

I wear flats or sandals all. the.time. but I've been finding a need to wear something casual on my feet without wearing actual tennis shoes....

Enter my desire for some converse kicks. 

I'm thinking white? But my oh my how I love grey, too.

Decisions!

(BTW, love the blogs of those last two women)

The Pleated Poppy & One Little Mama

Totally Random- but everytime we read this Pete the Cat book I think of my desire for white converse and how they might not stay so white. 

We love Pete the Cat around here, and apparently he has some lessons for a mom that wants white converse to learn, too ;)

#3 Ampersand Pillow - I think this would look nice on our bed, 

 currently we have all white bedding that needs some accessories.

 Roy might think otherwise when he has to move another pillow to get into bed at night!

I'm on the fence if this is a good one to DIY or just go ahead and buy.

Burlap/Linen Fabric + Fabric Paint + Freezer Paper + Pillow Form or Batting + TIME

or Just $$$ and wait for UPS ;)

I'll keep ya posted.

#4 Vinylux Weekly Topcoat or Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top Coat 

Not sure who will win in a down and dirty test of changing diapers, washing dishes,

 mopping floors and general mom duties. 

But I want to look polished doing all those chores without constant chipping!

I love the look of polished fingernails, but I'll admit I have given up the fight since having kids.

Actually, I gave up the fight pre-kids when I was a Veterinary Tech.

Miracle workers or all hype? 

I'm not sure which to try first. 

#5- A Beach Vacation- Need I say more? 

I'm going to go ahead and say this one is a total wish that isn't going to happen anytime soon,

 but a gal can dream!

Warm sand, blue water, a cold margarita in hand. 

I'll drift off to sleep tonight with that mental picture!

What do you think of my wish list? 

I'm sure we could all use a little of #5 during these last weeks of school!

 Linking up with Friday Favorites At these fun blogs!

A Little Bit Of Everything Blog

Grace and Love Blog

Momfessionals

*Post contains Affiliate links- you click & I might get a little reward ;)