MotorMouth's Sonic the Hedgehog Birthday Party

Motor Mouth's latest OBSESSION is Sonic the Hedgehog. 

It took a bit of work but we managed to put together a special party for him for less than we would normally spend on his cake.

J made the above graphic. J took a pick of Motor Mouth and added Sonic.

He asked Motor Mouth what his favorite Sonic scene was = Street Scene. Voila!

This was posted on our TV and iPad and was shown between photos of Motor Mouth from birth to now.

Sonic Food Table

- Popcorn

- Water Bottles

- Cupcakes (notice the swirl patterns..?)

- Funions

- Blue Corn Chips

- Skittles

- Hummus (nothing to do with Sonic but J made from scratch)

- Sonic plates and napkins from Party Express

Sonic colors are blue and yellow.
Not many blue foods but there's blue corn chips!!!
How perfect is that.

Sonic Gold Rings

Sonic is always trying to get gold rings. 

Yellow is one of Sonic's signature colors.

And Sonic loves onions.

How perfect are Funions?!!

Sonic Bottled Water

I peeled the labels off mini bottled water bottles then 

used home printed shipping labels to the front

Sonic the Hedgehog Popcorn

Not only did I steal this idea from my friend, Dr. C., I also borrowed her popcorn holder!

It's just a box with wrapping paper and square holes cut out

but it saved me time!!!

I found a Sonic graphic, printed it on card stock and taped the edges. 

Chaos Emerald Skittles

Yummy and easy - Open bag and pour!

 Sonic Cupcakes

Box of cake mix, $1

Divide into equal parts and use a LOT of food coloring.

You want to get a really vivid blue and vivid yellow

We put yellow icing on the blue cupcakes and blue icing on the yellow cupcakes

J put them in a swirl pattern on a platter (covered with red tissue paper)

Pin the Tail on Tails

Motor Mouth free hand drew Tails from Sonic.

The boys were blindfolded and pinned a "tail" on Tail 

 

Sonic the Hedgehog Take Home Gift Bag

Contents:

- Blue Canvas Bag

- Custom Sonic the Hedgehog Coloring Book

- Chaos Emerald

 Canvas Bag

3/$1 at Dollar Tree

 Custom Coloring Book Cover

Motor Mouth is a great artist so I had him freehand draw an original cover for each of his friends.

He found Sonic poses on the Internet then drew them himself.

The front and back covers are card stock.

I saved (hoarded) free binding comb samples for years.

And, I just so happen to have access to a binding machine...

 I Googled "Free Sonic the Hedgehog Coloring Pages"

Then I printed it b&w 4-up on regular paper

Chaos Emeralds

Sonic is always collecting Chaos Emeralds

I found these small bags at Michaels, 175/$2.99

"Emeralds" were $1 at Dollar Tree in a pack w/jewelry beads

I wrote up and printed the inserts using regular paper

 Edible Chaos Emeralds

We could only find Easter Skittles so I covered the 

easter bunny with a Sonic and friends label

Gifts are never the goal

The Chicago Widneys are a social group that enjoys being with friends

I hope some of these ideas can be implemented at your Sonic the Hedgehog party. It's fun to see how creative other people are and how ideas are translated for different environments and people. If you do use some of the ideas, I would love to see what you did. Please comment and/or include a link so I can see your pictures. Have fun creating!

Mini Me's Peace Sign Birthday Party

Peace Sign & '70's Themed Birthday Party

Mini Me LOVES peace signs. 

Has ever since she was 4 years old. 

For her 6th birthday party, Mini Me chose the 

peace sign plate and napkin from Birthday Express. 

Birthday Graphic

J created this graphic for our TV and iPod screens. 

This image rotated with images of Mini Me as a baby.

J found the fabric and created her headband and "bell bottoms."

The funky colored hair is hers (again, done by her father).

Mini Me has been sporting the hair color for about three weeks now.

Birthday Party for less than the cost of a cake!

My dear friend, Dr. C., had a great birthday spread for her babysitter's 30th birthday. I stole some of her ideas and borrowed a few things from her. I also went online and Googled "peace sign birthday ideas." Here is how my version turned out...

 Peace Sign Water Bottles

Image found via Google and printed on shipping label paper.

I cut it out using a paper cutter.

You can get the right sized labels if you want.

I just used what I already had.

 The Food Table

 Tie Dye Cupcakes

Vanilla cake mix $1 at WalMart. 4-Pack food dye $2. 

Vanilla icing $1.50. Paper cupcake cups $1.

Make cake mix per instructions.

Divide cake mix in 4 bowls.

Use a LOT of food dye to get dark, vivid colors.

Use a teaspoon to scoop approx. 1/2 teaspoon of each color (1-by-1) into paper cups.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

Bake per instructions. Let cool.

Use icing bag to make Peace Sign on cupcakes.

We happen to have a professional server tray that I covered with pink tissue paper $1.

Arrange on tray in Peace Sign (took 21 cupcakes)

 Skittles 

'70's colors, right...?

'70's Fabric

$3/yard fabric from Wal-Mart left over from Mini Me's outfit

 Peace Sign Popcorn

Dr. C. loaned me her popcorn box.

It's just a box covered in wrapping paper w/square holes cut out.

I messed up the popcorn logo.

The logo was supposed to go inside but I couldn't get it right.

J was sleeping and I didn't want to wake him to get help on it. 

The girls are 6 years old - they didn't notice or care!

16 popcorn cups = 2 bags of microwave popcorn

Use card stock paper and clear tape.

 Water was chilled first

Also, I used multi-colored Sharpies to write the kid's names on the bottles

Brownies

These were "kid friendly" brownies

It was a Brownie mix. 

I normally make things from scratch but I was kinda busy.

Wii Dance Party

Dr. C. loaned us the color changing lights that moved to the beat of the music.

This kept them busy ALL evening.

Most of the time, ALL of the girls were up dancing with or without Wii remotes

70's Party Games & Outfits

I remember playing Hot Potato and Musical Chairs when I was a kid in the 70's.

The guests were invited to dress in 70's/Peace Sign outfits. 

The girls were all so very cute and creative!!!

Hot Potato Game

I found multi-colored tissue paper at Dollar Tree for $1. 

I also found glow in the dark bracelets 15/$1 at Dollar Tree and Michaels. 

I wrapped one glow stick in each layer of paper, enough layers 

so each child at the party got a glow bracelet. (see it on the wrists above?)

Each time a child was eliminated, they peeled a layer and got a glow bracelet.

Musical Chairs Game

We only invited 6 friends (6 years old = 6 friends) 

so we had enough glow bracelets for everyone to have 2.

I had them play musical chairs. Each child eliminated got another glow bracelet.

Bracelet Making

This was BONUS!!!

Mini Me's brother is having a Sonic Birthday Party. We found "Chaos Emeralds" at Dollar Tree for $1/bag. There were so many non-Chaos Emeralds left over, I bought stretchy bracelet string ($3 WalMart) and let the girls make their own bracelets. J helped the girls.

Birthday Gifts

Gifts are never expected - 

Widney's like to have fun and spend time with friends!

Peace Sign Gift Bags

Canvas Gift Bag

Purchased at Dollar Tree. 3 for $1!!!

They had pink, green, blue, red

Peace Sign Take Home Gift Bag Contents

- Pink Canvas Gift Bag

- Custom Coloring Book w/peace sign pages

- Celebration Packet w/tie dye confetti

- Pet Rock

- Pet Rock Care Instructions w/Extra Eyes & Nose

Coloring Book

Okay, so I have access to a binding machine and I always get sample binding combs from office supply stores that I saved (hoarded) for the perfect opportunity. 

I Googled "Peace Sign Coloring Pages" 

then printed them black & white, 4-up on 8.5x11 paper.

Same with the cover, only that was in color and

 on card stock. The back page was blank card stock.

All the same size. 

I cut one long binding comb in half so it was even cheaper.

Bound the book and I was done.

Coloring Book Back Page

I had extra stickers so I stuck them on the back of the coloring book.

I also gave one to each kid as they arrived.

Celebration Packet

I received a "Thank You" card from Kendra Smiley (parents, buy her books!) 

that had a "Celebration Packet" in it. 

Flat out stole her idea. 

"Toss contents in air and celebrate!"

I don't know how or where I got tie dye 

Sticky Notes from but I found them sitting in our living room

 about two weeks before the birthday party.

I got out my trusty 3-hole punch and made confetti.

Each packet contains about 7 regular size

Sticky Notes hole punched.

Note: I cut off the sticky part first.

Mini bags from Michaels, $2.99 (for 175!)

They can be found in the bracelet/jewelry section

and are about 2"x 3" (give or take).

(The other side of the white confetti has tie dye colors too)

Pet Rock

Michaels had everything!

Bag of about 15 stones, $2.47.

Neon Eyes, $1.97.

Fuzzy Noses, $1.97. 

Hot glue gun and voila!

Be careful gluing the eyes. You have to bend them down so the pupils are on the clear plastic. THEN dab on glue. Otherwise, the eyes can get melted on to the back and not move around. No one wants their Pet Rock to have a lazy eye. Or maybe you do if you or kid has a lazy eye.

 Pet Rock Instruction Packet

I had SO freaking many eyes and noses left over and sometimes they fall off easy. So I put an extra set of the same color eyes and nose in a dime bag with instructions. 

The "dime bags" were purchased at Michaels for $2.99 (for 175!). They can be found in the bracelet/jewelry section and are about 2"x 3" (give or take).

Pet Rock Win!

I have to tell you. 

P slept over and he wanted to sleep with his Pet Rock in bed with him. 

Made my week!

There you have it. I'm sure we did a few other things but well, that should get you started. If you take any of these suggestions, I would LOVE to see your version. Please leave me a comment if you do and a link to your site so I can go check out your photos. Have fun!!!

Belated V-Day Post

I made pancakes for lunch. Yes. Pink hearts.

I love my kiddos!

Pretty in Pink

It is permanent. It was professionally done. It covers her whole head. It is pink. She loves it.

No Words

Okay, maybe a couple of words. J did it.

Head Lice Infestation!

Mini Me got head lice. I never thought it possible. We are a curly headed family. And we use a lot of product in our hair. Didn't think we could be afflicted. But alas, we have been.

In all honesty, it has not been as bad as everyone has made it out to be. Everyone in Widney Loft was lice shampooed and nit checked (to be safe). Sure, it took me 2.5 hours to comb through Mini Me's hair with a nit comb. I made sure to section her hair off in small chunks and went over each section numerous times from each angle. Then when each section was done, I went over the whole thing a few more times. If my daughter had fine, straight hair, it would have been even easier. But it wasn't that bad.

Even the house de-lousing everyone complains about was not that hard. We put all of their stuffed animals away for two weeks. We washed all of our most recently worn clothes (J had just washed everything so we were in a pretty good place). We washed everyone's bed sheets. Finally, we vacuumed the living room sofa and carseat headrest. But honestly not hard.

Maybe we did something wrong. Everyone makes it out to be the most horrible, horrific experience ever. That you should drop a couple grand to have some Lice Fairy hair salon go through your family's hair with - literally - a fine toothed comb. Or that you should use all these specific products to get your child's hair and your home cleaned. I don't know. Maybe I did do something wrong. But it's gone from Mini Me's hair and we survived.

Have you ever had head lice in your family? What did you use?

Knowing Me Knowing You - February '12

My friend, The Fairy Blogmother FINALLY posted a new "Knowing Me, Knowing You" so I am happy to play along.

1. What is the one thing you wish you were better at as a blogger?I used to blog every day. And I used to miss reading my blog friends' sites every day. I miss that. I miss my blog world.

2. What is your favorite way to treat yourself/pamper yourself?I like my alone time. I like to go get a pedicure and my waxing done by myself. A massage and alone time is divine.

3. Do you (or have you in the past) work outside the home?  If so, what do you do?I do marketing and admissions for a private school. I LOVE what I do. I LOVE where I do it. 

4. What is your favorite thing about blogging?I can get my thoughts and feelings out and that is therapy for me.

5. If you could magically be anything you wanted to be (without needing additional education or childcare) what would you be?
I'd like to be a psychologist. Have a license to tell people how to run their lives instead of now - I tell them but I don't have a license.

6. Do you like to travel? If so, what is your favorite destination?Yeah, I like to travel but I don't want to waste money on it. Meaning, I want to rest on vacation. I don't want to spend a bunch of money traveling somewhere to lounge at the pool reading when I can curl up with a good book in my pajamas in my bed. That said, I've traveled a fair bit and seen a bunch of stuff and have rather enjoyed it.

7. Are you an adventurous eater?Yes. I've eaten things other people would not eat like alligator, cow testicles, rattlesnake, shark, all manner of sea creature, etc.. Doesn't mean I would eat it twice. What doesn't kill strengthens, right?

8. How would you describe yourself? Type A-/B+ personality. I come across as an A-type until you put me next to an alpha female and then you realize that my shy side is there and I no longer dominate the room. But without the other alpha female, it's my show, my friend.

9. Have you ever met your online/blogger friends in real life? What was it like?I think the first bloggy friend I met was The Fairy Blogmother. I knew her well enough from her blog that I knew she was shy and it would take some prodding to get her to come meet me - even though it was with a mutual real life friend, NAMK and her family. 
And I met A2EatWrite in Ann Arbor, MI in 2010. She made me the most delightful cookies. My mom and sister thought I was going to be killed by her. They were so wrong. A2EatWrite was like hanging out with my best friend that I had not seen a couple of years.

10. Do you have a best friend? How long have you known them?J has been my best friend for 15 years. This is both good and bad. Good because I have a "built-in" best friend. I've never been best at nurturing female relationships. So having a built-in bestie makes it even harder for me to put forth the effort to connect. I have many good friends but I don't talk on the phone with anyone nor do I go out shopping or to lunch with the girls often (every really).

11. Do you still live in the same town where you grew up?
Nope. That ship sailed at 18 years of age when I took the first opportunity to move back to Toronto. I always think I can live a small town, small city life but I really can't. I can do it for a little bit until the novelty wears off but I need concrete under my feet and skyscrapers above my head to feel comfortable in my own skin.


Okay, so head on over to The Fairy Blogmother and play along...

Madonna Strong

Everyone has an opinion on Madonna's performance at the 2012 Super Bowl. This is NOT yet another arm chair quarterback critique. In fact, I read a great blog post that talked about how Madonna has always been a fighter. It's true. She has.

Madonna was always different. I remember seeing interviews with her former roommates and friends about when she was starting out. They all say that Madonna was talented, hard-working and different. Say what you will about her, you have to admit she is hard-working. That she is a fighter. That she demands perfection from herself and others. And that she doesn't give up. I admire that about her.

In my life, it seems like we get over one thing and start to feel like we can walk on sure footing and then we are smacked in the face with something else. I'm tired. I don't want to do "it" anymore. I just want to have a chance to rest and relax. For years it's been immigration, infertility, adoption, unemployment, etc. The list goes on. I try not to look at other people's lives because I know it is all surface perfection. I know we all have our struggles. When you go through infertility, you ask "why is it so easy for some people?" Is it worth fighting for? The past year, and especially the last few months have been trying. At times, I just feel like, "God, can I please get a break?"

Then I read a great blog post about Madonna and how she has been fighting from the beginning. At 53, Madonna should be able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of her labor. But that is not how the woman is wired. And that is not how her life - or mine, or yours - is wired. We are in a constant struggle and battle. There is always something on the horizon. Some "bad news" or some "hurdle" we need to overcome. It's life.

Now, there is a difference between "struggle" and "drama."  Martin Luther King, Jr. had struggles. Rodney King had drama. Martin Luther King struggled for a purpose. He had a means to an end. His struggle was justified. No, I'm not about to compare Madonna's struggles with the greatest civil rights leader of the 20th century's struggles. The point is, in our lives, do we have struggles or do we have drama? Is it our struggle or is it someone else's drama that we are allowing to be our struggle? Some people took Rodney King's drama and made it their struggle when they burned down parts of L.A. Is it your struggle? Is it your drama? Or is it someone else's?

One nice thing about being over 40 is that I am at a stage in my life where I feel like I can really say: "I'm not taking your crap on." While I may not say that to someone's face, I am saying it to myself. I can distance myself from what I don't want to be involved in, including other people's drama.

Another nice thing about this stage of my life is that I know myself. I know how to read my own language. So the other day when I was feeling like I wanted to slap everyone around me silly, I realized my hormones were ramping up and I needed to step back and chill out. Otherwise, the drama created would have been mine. Created by me.

Ultimately though, we all have our own struggles. I think the difference is in how we approach it. Do we embrace the struggle, learn and move on? Or do we curl up in a ball and run from it? We need to know when to stand strong and when to run. When I did crisis pregnancy counseling, I often asked the girls to imagine what is the worst thing that could happen if they told their parents they were pregnant. And then I asked them the best thing. Usually, the reality is somewhere in between - parents typically don't kill their daughters for getting pregnant. What's the best thing that could happen if you go for it? What is the worst thing? Sometimes, we don't know the answer to that question. We just know we are in the struggle and we have to see it to the end.

Sometimes our struggles make us stronger. Other times, it puts us one step closer to the prize. If we had not struggled with infertility. If we had not ruled out reproductive options. If we had not stumbled through the adoption process. We would not be our son's parents. People all over the world would not have been touched by our son's story. We could have decided to remain childless. Nothing wrong with that choice. Some days I regret not going that route. But there was something inside that made us move on and keep going. Keep fighting.

It's that drive and desire inside that keeps us going. That keeps us moving from struggle to struggle to victory. It's knowing that we can do better. We can be better. That "thing" inside us that won't let us rest. That won't let us quit early. That even when we are at the top of our game, like Madonna has been, that makes us keep going. Keep reaching.

Where will today's struggle take you tomorrow?  What prize is waiting to be unlocked in your life?

The Value of Books: Children and Reading

I am a book LOVER. I would own every book imaginable if I could. If I were Oprah rich, I would buy a library and sit there and read for hours and days and weeks on end. At one point when I was in grade six or seven, I had read all of the books in the Bookmobile that came to our neighborhood - and could tell you what each was about.

I love the smell of books. I love the feel of books - hardcover or softcover, it doesn't matter. I love reading books on my iPad. I love listening to books as they are read to me. I. Love. Books. I love reading newspapers and will read anything I can. Even upside down on your desk...

And I want my children to love reading too.

While I want my children to love books that mean something, I realize the value in "garbage reading." What is garbage to me is often a gem to my children. Case in point: the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series. I don't like the meanness, bullying, and irresponsibility portrayed in the books. However, my boy loves them. My goal is to get my son reading so I have purchased several in the series for him and we have listened to them on audiobook in the car. I just have to follow up with life lessons so he doesn't treat others that way.

Our son's principal recognized the love he and several boys in the class had for all things Titanic when they were in first grade. She purchased new library books on the Titanic at their reading level. This helped to bring a heavy topic to a child's comprehension level. My son is an artist so he draws everything he is reading. It's a double benefit for him.

What holds your child's interest? If it's Barbie then let your daughter read Barbie books. If it's Sonic the Hedgehog, buy some Sonic cartoon books. Personally, I believe that what gets your children reading is what is important. You can work with them on the content later.

My children are ages 9 and 6 right now. I still read to them. I thought I should be phasing it out, especially for the oldest. But then I read a few articles that talk about the value of reading to your children well beyond middle school. Reading to your children helps them to understand the cadence/rhythm and pronunciation of words. It helps them develop and improve literacy skills such as increasing their vocabulary, improves attention span, nurtures emotional development, stimulates imagination, and improves problem-solving and analytical thinking.

Children listen on a higher level than they read so listening to adult readers stimulates growth and understanding of vocabulary and language patterns. It enables them to "read" books beyond their literacy level. Plus, it builds memories and bonds with your children.

I will tell you that reading with your child need not be drudgery. Once, our local librarian said her daughter hated "Alice the Fairy" but I was convinced my daughter would love it. I put on a "fairy" voice and so began my children's love affair with Alice. We bought the book for our home library. I even read it in that crazy voice for my daughter's classmates - and they LOVED it!!!

When I read a "Series of Unfortunate Events" to my children, I use a British accent. And when I read Elephant and Piggy books by Mo Willems, I use a politically incorrect southern African American male voice. The point is, have fun with the books. Find the voice of the book that works for your family.

Well, I must end this now so I can go live what I just preached. I am getting ready to read "The Littles" to them right now. What are you reading to your children?

The Littles

Do you remember reading "The Littles" when you were a kid? I LOVED the Little family. I used to wish we had tiny humans with mouse tails living in our walls.

In fact, one time, we had a 2"x2" hole in a wall by the baseboard and I told a friend that the Littles lived in the walls and used that hole to get in and out. In hindsight, she probably thought we had mice. No mice. Just my very vivid 10-year old imagination.

I'm always in search of book series' to grab my children's interests. (I got them hooked on Lemony Snickets "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and Motor Mouth hooked on "39 Clues.") Needless to say, I was extremely happy when the children jumped on board and got excited about me reading The Littles to them. Did you know that there is value in reading aloud to children right through middle school and beyond? Reading to your children should no stop once they can read to themselves.

I found the first Littles book in the series at a Barnes & Noble in town. I found 6 more in the series while hanging out in-store at www.Open-Books.org (great organization, check them out). I ordered two more from Scholastic through school. Now I'm on the hunt for the final 3 titles I'm missing.

We are an excited family!