The excitement in planning March 25, 2015

I have to admit-  I am a planner.  I love it.

We have a Disney cruise planned for this August and I am in full plan mode.  This will be our first cruise and I have been reading everything I can!

Walt Disney World is our go to vacation. We go every year and I can plan for it in my sleep! Planning for a cruise that we have never been on is so different.

I have already paid in full (including our gratuities). Being able to pay gratuities in advance is a huge benefit.  I like to have as much paid for before the trip as possible.  This is something that not everyone is aware of and I think is a huge help.

I am working on our fish extender gifts and will do a post just on those soon!

We will be flying in a day before the ship leaves- this will relieve any stress in the event there are flight delays.  We will spend the night at the hotel right in the airport and will head to Port Canaveral in the morning.

As soon as available we will check in online to have that settled as well ( I will post more once I complete this).

 

 

A different kind of Valentine January 20, 2014

Even though Valentines day is a month a way, I have already finished Beans Valentines for school!  I decided to do something a little different.  I made heart shaped crayons for the kids in his class. It was very easy and they came out very nice.

I started out with a heart cookie pan.  I got this one at T.arget for $9.99.  Most people would use old broken crayons for this project but since we didn’t have old ones I used brand new one.  I used a knife to cut down the side of each crayon- this made the paper come off easily.  I was peeling them before I thought to use a knife.  I used 4 crayons per heart.  I also pre heated the oven at 300 degrees.

 

Next I cut the crayons in pieces and placed them into the cookie tins. 

 

It took about 15 minutes at 300 degrees for the crayons to completely melt.  After carefully removing them from the oven to make sure they didn’t spill I left them to cool.  Once cooled the will pop out of the pan and they are ready to use.  I still have to cut some card stock and tape the crayons with a little saying and put the to and froms but I like the way they came out!

According to Beans….. January 17, 2014

“Mama said leave the poor kid alone”

When asked if he wants us to have another baby- “No, I want to go to Disney”

“Stop it, you’re freaking me out”

“I can’t tell you- it’s a secret”

These are just a few of the things that Beans says that crack me up.  Every day he comes up with something new that I usually have to turn my head so he can’t see me laughing.

Getting ready to show my Disney Side with an @home celebration!

I love Disney!  I have been many times over the years and it never gets old.  There is a special kind of magic that can only be found there.  We have now brought Bean 3 times in under his 3 years!  We plan to make it a yearly trip for his birthday.

Anyway….. I did a survey back in December to see if I would qualify to host a Disney Side @home Celebration.  I figured the chances were slim to none- I don’t usually have good luck with “contests”.  I filled out the survey and it said they would choose by January 10th.  To be honest I had kinda forgotten that I even entered when I received an email saying “Congratulations you have been selected to be a host of a Disney Side @Home Celebration”.  I was shocked and super excited.  We will be receiving a package with a bunch of things to help us with our parties and some “special hostess gifts”   (I can’t wait to see what those are).

I’m not 100% sure what we will be doing for the party.  I want to wait and see what we get so I can have a better idea of what I am working with.  Then I will send out some E.vites and start planning.

As you know, I love to plan parties so this will be no different! I am very excited and cant wait to start coming up with ideas.  I received a shipping notice today so I am hoping to get my package by next week!!!

Arghhhh what a party! October 27, 2013

Yesterday was the first of Caisons three birthday partys.  We had a great time- the only thing that could have made it a bit nice is would have been if it was about 10 degrees warmer out.  The party was at he same place as last year, a local farm.  The kids had a blast running around, going on the cow train, the bug tunnel slide, spider web, and jumping pillow.  There were all sorts of other activities as well.  They got their faces painted and got balloon animals.  I would say it was a success.  

The theme was Pirates.  We had a lot of red, black, and white.  I made goodie buckets with easter baskets I got on clearance back in April.  I had been collecting items all year.  Each child got:  crayons, a sword and shield, j.ake and the neverland pirate bandaids, pencil pouch, tattoos, erasers, puzzle,  pirate pencils, a b.rita sport water bottle, a pirate cup a peter p.an notebook.

 

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There was a picture frame for everyone to sign so our bean would remember all the friends that were there to share his 3rd birthday with him.

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Since the party was from 11:30- 4:30 we had little lunch boxes for the kids,  each one had a pb&j sandwich, raisins, pretzels, and a juice box.  This was one of my favorites this year.  We also had a candy bar.  The bigger kids really enjoyed it!  I didnt go as crazy with it as we did for our wedding but it was perfect!   I changed the ribbon on the pails and added the names.

 

I even made tu-tus for my nieces to wear at the party-  I dont have pic of them together so here is one from the photo shoot we did 

 

 

Overall I would say it was one successful party and  I know I had a blast planning for it!   I guess its time to pick a theme and start planning next years.  This is the biggest of the 3 parties so I wont be going as crazy for the other two.

Birthday Party Planning August 24, 2013

Since I am in full swing planning 2 different birthday parties for our little guy I see it fitting to post about last years parties.  Im not sure why I never posted so here goes.

HIs New York party was held on October 27, 2012.  It was at a local farm.  It included the two families T nannies for,  a friend T has known since high school and her 2 girls. and of course MMTR.  Not a huge group but it was perfect.  The theme was Monster and I think it came out quite nice.  We rented a party cabin,  it had a little buffet bar and a table with chairs, the porch had 2 benches.  The kids had a lot of fun playing about on the farm.  There is a jumping pillow, cow train, large “hamster wheels”, animals, corn maze, and lots of other activities!   Here are some pics.  

Then our spoiled boy had a party in CT, this party was all my family.  It was mostly adults but he did have his cousins there.  

Not my baby anymore August 4, 2013

Its hard to believe that our baby is going to be 3 in just a few months.  He is going to summer camp, starting preschool in the fall, spells his own name.  Its all coming so fast.  If I call him my baby he promptly corrects me with I am not your baby anymore.  I always respond with you’ll always be my baby.  But it is inevitable- hes going to keep getting bigger and keep amazing us with everything he learns.  

He is able to count to 11 sometimes a bit higher, says his ABCs, spells his name, can go potty all by himself (moves the stool and gets on the toilet), gets dressed and undressed himself,  amazes me with how much he remembers, sings lots of songs, and knows when his birthday is.

He is super sweet but is also getting quite the attitude.  He is not a bit shy.  We were at a party yesterday and he asked us who someone was- we didnt know so we said you can go ask him.  He walked right over and said Hi my name is whats yours.  I always worry that he would just walk off with a stranger if we werent watching!  

We have lots of fun stuff planned for the rest of the year,  He will have 2 birthday parties.  One in CT and one in NY.  They are actually going to be at the same places we had them last year. CT will be at C.huck E. Cheese with his cousins and then he will have a Pirate party here in NY at a local farm that has all sorts of activities.   Then we are off to D.isney for his birthday and Thanksgiving.  There is just something so cool about being in D.isney for your actual birthday!  

Y is for Yummy February 15, 2013

There are all sorts of cereals for kids out there these days.  I was lucky enough to get be picked to try Post C is for Cereal.  I was given the opportunity but bzzagent and Beans and I were very excited to try it!  When the box came in the mail, you would have thought it was Christmas with how happy Beans was.  We opened the box and Beans took a pic with the two new boxes of cereal.  I opened the B is for Bananas and Beans and I tried it out.  It didnt have as much flavor as I expected but that is far out weighed by the goodness it contains.  Heres some info on it!

                                                                     THE X’S AND O’S OF A GOOD BREAKFAST

Elmo and Cookie Monster are teaming up with Post Foods to bring fun, wholesome cereal to breakfast and snack time. Sesame Street Cereal comes in two scrumptious flavors toddlers will love (Elmo Apple and Cookie Monster Banana) and parents can trust, because each 20g serving provides two-thirds of your toddler’s daily whole grains* and is fortified with nutrients iron, zinc and choline to help support healthy brain development.** And with 1g of sugar and no artificial flavors Sesame Street Cereal provides nutrition parents want and taste your toddler will love.

I think all of us with toddlers should at least try this cereal once!!!

<img src=”https://img.bzzagent.com/image/sesameStreetCereal.jpg?Type=activity&Activity=1754432564&Campaign=7665633693&Uid=503287&token=6ecddf785f96f47c17bed702c0bb82b3&#8243; alt=””/>

Disclaimer- The cereal was given to my to sample by Bzzagent. We get to try out the cereal and spread the word on how yummy it is.

Coming back, sending light February 6, 2013

Its been so long, so long I dont know where to start.

I suppose I should start with the reason I have been floating around blogland all day.  Yesterday the world lost a sweet little boy.  A little boy who was taken from his mommies too soon.  I didnt know this family in real life.  I read their blog, followed along silently grew to know them through words and photos.  Although, I only knew them through blogland, I feel their pain, I cried when I read their post, I cried when I read the other blogs that posted about the tremendous loss.  It was as if they were close friends.  I can not even fathom what they are going through at this moment nor what they will face.  Today, I send light, love, prayer, and strength to two incredible mommies.

With that said.  I will be back to post at some point but today, I post for a sweet little Croc and his mommies.

Its official we’re……. July 30, 2012

Potty trained. I know I know that was not what you thought it would say.   I can really say that our little guy is potty trained.  He does wear a diaper at night but thats the ONLY time.  No diaper all day, no diaper during nap!!!!  He really just got it.  We were trying half heartedly since 10 months. He really did just get it.  Its easier now since he can tell us he has to go.  He will even tell us if we are in the pool!  No more poopy diaper= two very happy mommies!

We had him in daycare 2 days a week for about a month.  Tree has summers off but had a painting job that she could not pass up.  So she worked 12 hour days on the days he was in daycare.  She was able to finish and made some extra cash for our upcoming vacations:  Maine (Aug) and Disney (Nov).  He loved it. The teachers were great, they couldnt believe how easily he fell into the groove and said that his 1st day was by far the best drop off they had ever seen. I was upset- he didnt skip a beat when I left. I liked the class because he was in a room with kids about 6 months older than him. He is used to being with older kids so it was nice.  He was the only one who used the potty in his room and they couldnt believe it.  It was a bit of a hassle I think for them since they had to go through another room to get to the potty, but they did it.  That was my biggest fear- he would regress. On his last day I gave the teachers a small gift and got lots of fun stuff for the classroom.  We went by and visited today, it was nice to see him with the kids and teachers, even for that short amount of time he made friends!

Oh, about the title…..  I dont think I will ever be posting that we are pregnant.  We keep talking about it and we are still sticking to an only child.  We are still debating what to do with the frozen embryos we are paying to store.  We just made a payment so we have a year to decide.  The only way I think it will change is if one day Tree decides she has to carry, then there is no discussion we will have another one!

Now dont get me wrong, I would love to be pregnant again.  I just dont want to have another child.   We want to travel and to do that with the finances we have we know having more than one would change things.  We cant have an Ooops so we this is a well contemplated decision.  Luckily, we are surrounded by children so our little guy will never feel alone!

Boy, has it been awhile since I posted….that felt good!