Buddy Bucks!

Every time we go to HEB the kids look forward to getting Buddy Bucks and playing the H-E-Buddy spin game. This summer both of the kids have hit the instant winner dial and you would have thought they won the lottery!! The prizes are not so great {Jase got a straw!}, but nevertheless they really enjoy the game. And some days we land a very generous cashier and they get several bucks to spend in the game.

Well yesterday I took the kids to HEB and like clock work I asked for Buddy Bucks and they both received 2 to play with. Jase went first and he got a total of 21 points. Next was Allyson. First spin was 10 points and she was so excited and cute that I had to catch her next spin on video!

I did not turn around to see if anyone was looking, but Ally was almost yelling, she was so giddy! Here are my thoughts as we are leaving HEB: I need to get a Buddy Bucks game at my house, I hope they always get excited over something so small and I hope I am not creating a gambling problem!

Peter Rabbit Birthday Party

Ever since a friend introduced us to the Peter Rabbit show on Nick Jr., we have been hooked. It is a continuation of the original Peter Rabbit stories from Beatrix Potter with the addition of a few new characters. It still has the same story line of Peter sneaking into Mr. McGregor's garden and getting into mischief with his friends. With that said, I just had to do an original Peter Rabbit party for Finn.

I purchased a digital scrapbook kit off of Etsy for $5 and was able to make his invitations with ease. Now I did download a sample version of Photoshop {for free} since Picasa cannot accept .png files, so it did take me a little bit to just figure out the program, but it wasn't too bad.

I included an insert about water activities for the party and I wanted to make sure it was wrapped up with the invite and did not get lost in the envelope. Below are two versions I came up with. I ran out of doilies, but I think the bottom one was just as cute.

It would be a lie if I said that I do not enjoy planning for a party, because I do. So much so, that my kids are really into it, especially Jase. I love bouncing ideas off of him during the day and hearing his input. While there are a ton of items on the table, I shopped around quite a bit and bought items at the dollar store {mason jars, banner, doilies, candy, cookies, metal watering cans}, Hobby Lobby {80% off spring merchandise: dirt cake cups for $.20 each, veggies and herbs signs}, eBay for books, and Zulily for all Peter Rabbit items outside of books.

The smash cake fit right in with Peter Rabbit on top! I bought the supplies and my sister made the dirt cake cups...so yummy and what a great fit with the theme. A couple of months ago when Finn was still eating baby food regularly, I came across some Peter Rabbit organic baby food pouches on Zulily. They were way cheaper than buying them at the store, and when I decided on his theme, I tucked some away for his party.

Since I had planned on having candy out on the tables {I wanted some older-looking packaging, so I went with chick-o-sticks, smarties, chicklet gum, werthers original chews}, I gave each family with kids The Tale of Peter Rabbit to take home as a party favor. Using the same theme of doilies and twine, I wrapped the books up with a thank you insert from Finn.  I think they turned out really cute and I was able to find someone on eBay who had a bundle of these books and sold them to me for $2.75 each and no shipping. That is not bad at all, considering that is per family and not per child. And they get a book to read together at home! Win-Win!

Look at these cute little cupcake wheelbarrow holders! I just love them! They came in a set I bought off of Zulily, along with the toothpick character inserts. The other cupcakes with the flat, circle image is fondant with an edible image. My best friend made them, along with the smash cake! :)

No picture shown, but we had chicken and beef fajitas, along with homemade rice and beans. It was super yummy and a special thanks to everyone who helped set-up and my hubby for grilling all the meat! 

As we were setting up for the party, we had a nice little thunder storm come through. I was actually surprised how many people showed up with the weather so nasty that evening. With that said, the weather did throw a kink into my plans. Me, the hubs and kids worked on all of the outdoor activities and we made stakes for each one, but we only put out a few due to the weather. Oh well. I'm still going to share my activity names, in case you're interested! Even if you're not, I will share! ;-)

*Benjamin Bunny's Blackboard - homemade blackboard with 4x4 plywood and chalkboard paint

*Samuel Whiskers' Water Table - water table we bought Finn for his birthday

*Jemima Puddle-Duck's Pool - small blue baby pool

*Squirrel Nutkin's Slip-n-Slide - tunnel slip-n-slide

*Mr. McGregor's Garden - our garden

*Peter Rabbit's Burrow - our home

*Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's Tank - large, inflated pool

*Jeremy Fisher's Flowerpot Toss - 6 plastic flower pots {set of 6 for $1 at the dollar store}, screwed them to an old 2x6 board and kids threw ping pong balls in them - remember The Grand Prize Game from the Bozo the Clown show??? Very similar idea!! Oh I used to love that show!!

I knew it was going to be a hot one, I mean we are in Texas and it is July, but not much I can do! I knew I needed to keep people hydrated. Instead of messing with cups and pitchers/2-liters of drinks for this party, I wanted to keep it simple with bottled water and Capri Suns. I felt like I needed to add a little flavor in there, so I thought of buying some soft drinks and bottled ice tea. But then my sister told me that her husband suggested having some of the Crystal Light drink add-ins. What a splendid idea that was! I found some little tin flower pots with an oval chalkboard on the front {Target dollar section} and wrote a saying like "add some flavor to your water" on them and put the individual drink mixes in them. And instead of a plain ole ice chest, I put the drinks in 2 wheelbarrows. My hubby placed them in the flowerbeds out back and it was perfect!

Some of our guests visiting inside, enjoying the AC! {Oh and since we're not moving to Africa, I've put decor in the living room! I'll have to do another post and show you what all I've done, but for now here is a teaser!}

Even though the weather started out yucky, it did not stop us from having a good time!

The kids really had fun with the water activities. I'm glad it all worked out.

After the trial run on his actual birthday and him crying when we sang happy birthday to him, I wasn't sure what to expect, but he did great!! LOL! And he also had no problem finishing off his cake!!

Of course he got a little help! :-)

Finn got so many cute outfits and toys. He was spoiled for sure on his first birthday. Since he is the 3rd child, we really have not bought him many toys at all. And while I've bought him some clothes, I saved all of Jase's old clothes, so it was nice to get some new things.

We loved having family and friends over to celebrate Finn's birthday. Blessed for sure!

Birthday Surprise

Where have June and July gone? We have not had a normal school routine here at the house, but yet we have managed to stay super busy. And Mr. Finn has kept me on toes, especially now that he is mobile! Don't get me wrong, I love it, but I notice that as he becomes more active so am I!

With Finn's birthday party planning underway, I really did not want to do anything for mine. {My older two don't understand why I do not have a full blown party with a theme...love them!} And for those of you who do not know, Finn's birthday is July 23rd and mine is the 25th.  Last year I was released from the hospital, taking home the best gift possible!! So sweet! 

Anyway, we did not have anything planned at all.  I woke up on Wednesday, the 24th and Finn and I were in the kitchen making breakfast.  I look down on the counter and see this:

As I was waiting for the bread to pop out of the toaster, I could not stop grinning!! The note was so sweet and thoughtful. He told me that I would be picked up at half past noon for my birthday mission. He said that we would spend a night at the park seeing a righty vs. lefty duel! {funny story...we had just watched "Here Comes the Boom" with Kevin James the night before and it has MMA fighting in it, so my first thought was that he was taking me to a boxing match...yikes! Moments later I clicked!} The letter also said the the kiddos would be taken care of and the place of our stay would take care of breakfast and our sore muscles!! Massage baby!! Then reality settled in and I thought about Finn's party at our house on Saturday and got a little antsy. But oh well, I knew it would all work out, it always does.

Traffic was crazy getting there, we hit rush hour so that slowed things down a bit and there was also a soccer game going on at Cowboys Stadium just right down the street.  But we made it in time.  :)

I really enjoyed going to the Texas Rangers' ballpark.  Always fun to see how other teams run things. For example, they had a TON of workers, mainly college-aged kids and they only had a few people selling alcoholic beverages in the stands.  The vendors were selling food items like hot dogs, churros, cotton candy, bottled water, frozen lemonade. I just thought it was neat how they mixed it up.

Shawn had spoke to Andy a while back and asked which game he was going to pitch, so that was really neat to be there at his game.  While the Yankees did not get the win, we enjoyed being there and supporting him!

After the game, we picked up a couple of Frosty's and headed back to the bed and breakfast. Shawn picked out the perfect little place.  It was so quaint and very relaxing...just my speed.

He had a massage set up for me the next morning at the spa across the street {which was still affiliated with the bed and breakfast}.  I enjoyed it so much, it was so relaxing.  I have only had a handful of massages, so this was a nice surprise from him.  I also got a spa pedicure...what girl doesn't like being pampered, especially on her birthday!?!  {Can you tell I was a little worn out?}

What a wonderful surprise from my husband. While we are running 100 mph with life, he took time to think of me and plan this trip. And if he would have asked me to go, I probably would have said no since we had just went to Austin earlier this month and Finn's party was only a couple of days away. But, I'm glad he didn't ask and planned it himself.  And also a big thank you to my sister and mother-in-law for watching the kiddos! 

My mom and sister came over and surprised me with a fruit arrangement...super yummy! We nearly ate the whole thing in one sitting.  And then we went to Baskin Robbins!! #dietprobs!

Finn is 1!

My baby boy is 1! So hard to believe this...I can remember the day he was born!

He is such a sweet boy and his smile is contagious! He started taking steps at 11 months and now at 12 months, he is a full on walker! {Jase started walking at 13 months and Ally was 14 months.}  He says a few words: Momma {first word}, Dadda, JJ, Ally, and no-no. Just like his brother and sister at this age, he really enjoys to be outside. Finn still has 6 teeth, but I think more are on the brink of coming through because boy oh boy does he like to teeth...on you and anything he can cram in his mouth!!  He is already a biter! I'm not sure if it started off because he nursed and was used to the feel of skin, but hopefully this is short-lived! Aside from the biting, he is a sweetie! ;-)

Tonight we had family over to celebrate his birthday and it was a great time.

After presents we sang Happy Birthday to him.  Poor guy, he was not a fan at all.  About half way through the song he broke out in tears.  I'm not sure if it was the dark, everyone staring at him or the song, but it scared him. After the lights were turned on and the song stopped, he was ok.

He scarfed down his pound cake with whipping cream and fruit!!

It was a nice and relaxing evening and glad everyone came over to celebrate Finn turning 1 with us!

Oh and Allyson was quite the entertainer! She found herself quite comfortable on the fireplace and put on a little show for us! #priceless

Homemade Pizza

Last week I bought ingredients for homemade pizza, but life happened and we never made it.  I thought this afternoon would be a great time to do this with the kiddos.  I found this whole wheat pizza dough in the frozen section at HEB and thought I would try it out.  It was super easy to press out {my rolling pin is MIA} and tasty too, and and for less than $2 I will definitely be purchasing again.  The kids thought they were big time making lunch all by themselves and I had fun watching them!

It turned out super yummy and all 3 kids ate it up!  It was a nice change from our sandwich routine!

Austin

Over the 4th of July holiday we traveled to Austin for some family time.  We left late Wednesday afternoon and arrived there later that evening.  I've been to Austin before, but I don't think I have ever toured the city like we did.

We started off our trip on Thursday, July 4th at the State Capitol.  It was awesome. The details were unbelievable and it made you have a lot of pride about being a Texan! And to go inside the Capitol was free and they also had different tours (free as well) that you could go on.  Very neat.

The Senate and House of Representatives Chambers were just awesome!  The big, chunky furniture made the place feel so grand.  And the chambers still contain the original walnut desks that were purchased in 1888.  Amazing!

After the Capitol, we drove around the UT campus and had to get some shots of the football and baseball field.  Jase said he wants to play baseball here! You never know! :)

Later that evening, we headed out to the ball park to see the Round Rock Express.  They are the AAA team associated with the Texas Rangers.  I was very impressed as to how nice the ball park was. The only drawback to our visit there is that we bought lawn seats a couple of months ago when we first planned our trip.  On the internet the picture of the lawn seats shows this cute scene with families all spread out on their blankets, enjoying the game.  Not the case on the 4th! The lawn area was jam packed and there was absolutely NO where for us to sit.  We ended up sitting in a flower bed...not kidding.  Lesson learned: buy seats next time!

A month or so before our trip I decided to look on Groupon for any Austin deals. I came across a place called Pioneer Farms. It's a historic area with different areas set-up for exploring. Super cool place and so glad we went.

The man that showed us around at the Stage Coach Barn demonstrated how they would shave and shape wood with a drawknife.  Then he asked if Shawn wanted to try it out! Next thing we know he gets his hat from inside the barn for Shawn to take pictures with!! Hahahaha! Shawn very kindly put on his hat for the pictures!! Nothing like someone else's sweaty cowboy hat!!

This next home was the actual home that was on the property back in the 1800's...pretty cool!

Next we drove out to Cedar Park, which is just north of Austin, and stayed at a good friend of mine.  We have been close friends since junior high, and it was great to spend time with her and her husband.  They had a wonderful home and a great piece of property!

We spent some time at the play ground one afternoon.

On our way back home we stopped at Round Top for lunch.  I just love small towns and the cozy feel they give.

We ate lunch at Royers Round Top Cafe and it was packed!! We actually had to call ahead of time to get on the waiting list. The restaurant only seats 40 people and from what I have read is always packed. They have been made famous for the pies, which were delicious!!

Such a great time spent this past weekend and many memories made.  I love taking road trips with my little family and look forward to many more!