Another braces picture...

She'll have to wear them 18-20 months. Getting bottom set tomorrow. We had found this tshirt at justice this past summer, for about $3. So glad we went ahead and got it!

She was so excited to get braces! We had known since last October that she would get them once she lost her last baby tooth. A

t the orthodontist Monday (2-23), Dr. Ridder put his hand on the tooth and it came right out. We made an appt. for 2 days later. She didn't tell anyone, not even Shane. I took her out of school to get them and then took her back. Shane was at lunch then sonwe walked down to ahow him. So fun that everyone made a big deal about them, which was just what she wanted! :).

She only ate milkshakes, apple sauce, white bread and a protein shake from smoothie king those first 2 days and we had to alternate Motrin with Tylenol for the pain. By day three (her birthday), she could eat small bites.

On a side note, we also took Shane this week and learned that he'll need 2 phases of braces. Lovely! One set probably in 9-12 months when the tooth on each side of the front 2 teeth come out and then another set at age 10 or so.

My little brace face

Minute to Win It party secrets...

So in planning this party, I did a lot of goole searching, youtube video watching, and surfing on NBCs website for ideas.  I was trying to make it crazy, chaotic fun, but not spend a fortune.   So, here's what I decided on ...  the blue links are to the NBC website.  Our games took about 45 minutes.  I have a handout of this I can send you with suppllies needed and directions for each game.

HANKY PANKY -- cut slits in the back before the party.  After the boxes are emptied, run your belts through in time for junk in the trunk.
PAPER DRAGON  -- pull paper from the MIDDLE of the circle

MOVIN ON UP -- I only used 26 cups

DIZZY MUMMY -- we had the holder person, hold a pencil with the tp on it, so the roll would spin

JUNK IN THE TRUNK -- take the plastic off of the box opening; I couldn't find ping-pong balls, so I used plastic golf balls.  $1.89 for a 12 pack at Walmart.

SEPARATION ANXIETY -- use a circle punch to punch out circles for the colors

MARSHMALLOW HEAD -- One girl held a large bowl on her head, others on team sat about 6 feet back and threw one marshmallow at a time into the bucket.  At the end of 1 minute, the team with the most won.  My girl's team had 90+
FACE THE COOKIE -- we used oreos...hilarious, but hard for them!
DEFYING GRAVITY -- this was my tie breaker game, but I din't end up using it.

**Another important hint is having someone run in and collect all the debis/stuff for the game so that you can move on to the next game. 


**To separate my TEAMS, I bought 99 cent bandanas at Hobby Lobby in four colors.  I had girls choose them randomly and tie them on their bodies as their team "buff."

**I planned for 4-6 girls per team so each girl would play 1-2 games each.  I only ended up with 4 girls per team, so they ended up playing 2 games each.  I would have run face the cookie and separation anxiety two times each if needed (because they didn't cost any extra to play multiple times).

**I had each team number off from 1-4.  Then I drew a number out of a hat to determine who would play the game.

**For SCORING...I wrote each game's title on a white board and then made a chart for teams 1-4.  I did use a 60 second clock and had my timekeeper count backwards when it reached 10 to add to the stress of finishing.  Each team that finished before the timer went off got a point for that game.  If no team finished in 60 seconds, then I let them all keep going and then ONLY the first team to finish got the point.  Really my girls were able to do all the games in one minute except, face the cookie.  Younger kids would need more time.

**For dizzy mummy and paper dragon, if they finished in a minute and their paper NEVER ripped, I gave them two points.  If the paper ripped, but they still finished, I gave them one point.  I had little 99 cent gum ball machines from the valentine aisle as the prize for the winning team.

This was loads of fun.  I kept my supplies in case my son decides to do something like this, or perhaps we could do it again at a girl scout sleepover.

Turning 7...Skylanders

Shane is into ALL things Skylanders, so that was his theme this year. I also found his things on Etsy. Here is a link to the company I used.  I got the digital invitation, designs for the cupcake toppers, and the candy bar wrappers for his favors.  (As I just went on Etsy, there were many more choices than I had 2 weeks ago when planning all this.)

My mom and mother-in-law did a great job at changing everything over from pink to blue in the short time between the parties.  THANK YOU!!!

Shane's friends were singing a funny version of "Happy Birthday" and he was so tickled.

 

That boy loves his brownie. (Just like his Daddy.)

Here are most of the Skylanders in case you are not lucky enough to know them.  Sadly, I know their names and powers.  We have the Wii version of the game.  When you place the critter on the portal, the thing appears on the screen and it is your character in the game.  You can change the characters based on what is going on.  He got many of the critters for Christmas, but having a Jan 16th birthday, made it hard to find them once the craze caught on.  I put many of miles on my van running around town looking for the new ones.  (We found a brand new set in Utah at a Best Buy!)

Here is the colossal bounce house that we had.  We rented from K&B rentals, which had a really good price.   It had an obstacle course, a bounce room, and a slide.  In order to get the bouncy, my kids had to agree to have their parties on the SAME day (different times).  It was a crazy, busy day, but once it was over, I was really glad we did it this way.  Now I have 11 months off before planning next year's parties. ;)

Turning 10...Minute to Win It

Sarah turned 10 this past week.  She wanted a carnival themed party, but I didn't want to find enough adults to run the booths, so I talked her into a Minute to Win It theme,  instead.  A few of the 4th grade teachers at our school used this theme for their Christmas party and it sounded fun.  It was!!! To get ideas I just googled "Minute to Win It" birthday party ideas.  I tried to pick games that 10 year olds could do successfully.   I will give more details in another post.

 

 I ordered the invitation and cupcake circles for toppers and cookie pops from a lady on etsy.  She was able to customize the colors for my girly-girl.  Click the link to see her stuff. MTipsy.etsy.com

 

Love, love, love Wilton food coloring for vibrant icing colors!  If I were buying a new color, however, I would go with AmeriColors because their lids have a flip top and you can squeeze the drops out.  Would be less messy!

I made these cookie pops as her party favors, using Wilton cookie pop pans .  As shown here.  I then decorated them using Royal Icing.  My friend Autum suggested using the University of Cookie website for how-tos on using royal icing.  You can see that website here.  The blog Bake at 350 had some great video tutorials.   

Man, I did a  lot of baking.  My feet and back were sore the next day.  Maybe I need some of those rubber mats that are used in commercial kitchens.  Not only did I make the cupcakes and the cookie pops, but I also made a brownie "cake" for the candles to go on.  Best parts were 1) I got white cake in January, 2) Shane got a brownie instead of cake, and 3) there were a few cookie pops leftover. :)

Snow Writing

Here was mine...

Here was Shane's... (I <3 him)

Piggy

Look at this cute hat we got Sarah from "The Store."  Her favorite animal is a pig and she still loves all things PINK.  Love it!  She often wears this hat selling Girl Scout cookies at stores; she gets a lot of compliments.