PAW Patrol 5th Birthday

Handmade sigh saying "Welcome to Junior's 5th Birthday PAW-ty!"

My oldest LOVES Paw Patrol! Obviously that was the theme he decided on for his 5th birthday. In our group of friends we are the only ones with older kids, so we didn't do any games seeing as it would just be my kids playing. But I did all of the decorations or modified the store-bought ones to create something new. 

Turned store bought banner into 2 vertical banners for either side of our bay window 

Decor by the stairs and our PAW Patrol kids table

Marshall is our son's favorite, could you tell?

Our living room all decked out with hanging streamers

My son has a lot of Paw Patrol toys so we utilized what we had instead of buying centerpieces and stuff, I took his toy cars and place them around the house as party decorations and it worked out great.

Pups and trucks as party decor

More pups

Decor above the stairs

From the living room to the kitchen

Kitchen decor

Super Pups reminding everyone to Be a Hero, Wipe your Paws

I made sure the all the party food was properly named in proportion to the theme and it turned out great! He loved it!

Food labels made from construction paper and stickers

The party table

Used the Paw Patrol bus to hold the plates, napkins and forks. 

Pup-proni Pizza

Dessert! Pup-cakes!

When serving chips and dip, use a wine glass for the dip and put that in the bowl of chips 👌

Not really water from the toilet! I mixed together Crystal Lite Lemonade with Kool Aid Blue Raspberry Lemonade (with 1 cup sugar as per the Kool Aid packet) and filled up the jar with water! So Good and easy!

As a party favor for a puppy party and the fact that we had babies, we gave them teething toys and gave the parents small tissue packs with the Paw Patrol on them.

Party Favors!

Also big hit when we've got the Paw Patrol crew to call him through the Nick Jr. Club! Such an awesome thing, he was so excited - definitely made his special day more special! The best thing was at bedtime he hugged me and thanked me for his Paw Patrol birthday party 🤗👍 

Happy Birthday Big boy!

Both boys eating party snacks

Baby boy dressed up for brother's party, complete with a PAW Patrol cup!

OH SH!T Baby Shower Gift: The best thing to give a new mommy!

So we've all been there: out & about with the 

family having a great time and then it happens...the oldest throws a fit (he's still under 5) and spills his entire water bottle on himself and the youngest pees through his diaper...yet again 😒

One of the best things I have ever Pinned on Pinterest was the "OH CRAP BAG". Sadly the website is not longer working but the lady was a genius! Another lady made her own version of the "Oh Crap" bag but although her way is cute too, I liked the first one I saw that no longer works. Both ladies are very smart and here is the newer version: http://www.diaperswappers.com/diaper-blog/the-oh-crap-bag-and-why-its-a-perfect-baby-shower-gift

So the idea behind the bag was to have those items for your baby, kids and yourself  in your car in the event that you might need them. Items like a few extra diapers, a thing of wipes, change of clothes, etc. As a shower gift, she would place a few diapers of a certain size in a gallon size plastic bag with an outfit in a certain size, seal it and write on the bag the sizes of both diapers and clothes. Simple and easy to see in those moments you need a diaper or clothes and do not have them in your diaper bag or you have used up your back ups. This bag is your back-ups back up 👍

Inside the Oh Sh!t bag

I did diaper sizes 2 to 5, along with clothing sizes 0-3 Months, 3 Months, 6-9 Months and 12 Months. Each bag is clearly labeled for the new mommy to find what it is she needs.

Label on each bag: Diaper size and Clothing size

0-3 bodysuit with size 2 diapers

0-3 sleeper

First bag done!

3 month body suit with size 3 diapers

3 month sleeper

Second bag done!

6-9 bodysuit with size 4 diapers

6 month sleeper

12 month bodysuit with size 5 diapers

All 4 bags done! Now of course a baby in size 6 month clothing won't be in size 4 diapers but the point of this bag is to help the mom be prepared for the worst. I have a bag like this myself and I have used it so many times!

I also included some extras she may need: a pad (hey it's always a good idea to have a back up in the car!), a small First Aid kit, lotion, Clorox wipes, Germ X, lint roller, tissues, chap-stick and two pacifiers.

Everything all ready to be packed!

I put it in a cheap reusable Walmart bag but you can use any bag you like to keep everything in the car. 

Tried making the bag look cute by adding a bow in the same shade of blue

Now other items for her to add to it are things like her kids favorite snacks (non perishable, duh), extra underwear for her toddler, sunscreen, a sippy cup for her toddler, a blanket, etc. Honestly the list can go on and on depending on the needs and wants for her family.

I also made her a crochet baby blanket and put it all together in a plain blue gift bag decorated with baby stickers to make it stand out.

Chevron pattern made from Red Heart Super Saver yarn in Soft Navy, Heather Grey and Macaw

Hidden behind everything there in the back

Mommy to be opening it up.

She loved it! I was so nervous she wouldn't like it but it got a great response! It is the best thing for any mom or dad, you can never be too prepared when it comes to kids. 

Airplane Busy Bag for a 7 Year Old

One of my favorite parts about traveling when I was a child was the bag full of surprises my mom packed for me! Whether it was a flight to Texas or Virginia (from California) for a family reunion, a road trip business trip with mom a few hours away or a trip to Disneyland - my mom always had goodies, non tablet or DVD goodies, for us.
My friend's stepson was visiting for a few weeks this summer and I decided to make him a Busy Bag for his direct, 2 hour flight from Tennessee to Missouri so he wasn't hungry or bored. Older kids are easier than toddlers and babies when it comes to traveling; they don't need things like diapers, wipes, baby formula or baby food. But even though they are easily entertained by their fidget spinners (seriously, what is that all about?!) I took it upon myself to create an inexpensive, yet entertaining Older Kid Busy Bag.

The bag itself is from Wal-Mart, they had a few backpacks on the sales rack at $2.50 - just perfect for this! Then we went to the clearance section (always need to!) and we found a Spider Man puzzle and then my oldest picked out a Hot Wheel car for him. And they had some school supplies already out and on sale, so we picked up some color crayons.
Next we went to the Dollar Store to find some snacks and toys. We got a magnet doodle thing, a coloring book, Silly Putty, one of those dollar grab n pack character coloring packs in Sponge-Bob, then some of his favorite snacks and the lollipops are from my pantry.
The whole thing cost me less than $20 and I made the kid's airplane ride better. Simple, inexpensive and effective 👍

Surviving Eating Out with 2 Under 5

My hubby and I love going out to eat! We enjoy it but...not with our kids with the ages they are right now (18 months & almost 5). They get impatient, they don't want to sit at the table, they're distracted by everything going on around them and the other people other tables. They each have a Kids Tablet & I have a Kids Mode on my phone (such a lifesaver!) But they tend to get loud and messy, and then once it's time to eat they don't want to turn off the games, so we try to avoid using Electronics and save them as a very last resort.
I'm a huge follower on Pinterest of all things "Mommy Hacks" and both my mother and myself are huge into Organization. A lot of Pins come up when you type in "restaurant busy bags". I think it's a great idea to have a bag in your car that is filled with items to help keep your kids happy in a restaurant or anywhere that you're really waiting for a long time. We even used this bag when we were buying my husband's second car at the dealership because it took like 3 hours for us to sign all the papers and these little toys really came in handy. 

So this is my version of a restaurant kit for my kids:

Okay first and foremost this is the newest item for my restaurant kit; it stays in the car and I use it so much more than I initially thought I would when I purchased it off Amazon. It is a walking harness, a portable high chair, and a cart harness for when the straps in the shopping carts are broken. It's a Lucky Baby/ Yochi Yochi brand 3 in 1 baby/toddler safety harness. 

I absolutely love this and I have used it at least 4 times a week in the past 3 weeks. We went to the zoo before we purchased this harness and my youngest screamed his head off when it was time to eat lunch! He didn't want to sit in the highchair, he didn't want to sit in his stroller, he just wanted to sit on my lap and try to get my food from my hands as I was trying to eat it. I placed him in the chair next to me but he kept moving and I was afraid he would fall off of it, so my meal was not enjoyable.  

This harness has a permanent place in my car! I went to my friend's house the other night for dinner and used it as a high chair! Absolutely love this product! A must have for moms! It lives in my Thirty-One Utility Tote in the trunk of my car along with a Deluxe Utility Tote with my other must have car items (for another blog) and a laundry basket for groceries. 

Okay time for the bag part of the restaurant bag. The bag I use was gifted to me for my oldest when he was about 2 years old. It's a usable type bag with short handles with Cars characters on it so it's really rather perfect for this kit. 

Inside I have a sketch book with stickers, A felt Travel Busy Book from the dollar bins from Target (it has a road with cars & signs, a map of the US with puzzle pieces, and Tic Tac Toe), Color Changing Markers, Spot It Jr. Card game, Disney Eye Found It Card Game, Fruit snacks, Melissa & Doug blocks, Gerber Place-mat, 2 sippy cups, and wipes. 

(Inside the Gerber Place-mat I always have utensils and a disposable bib)

Here's my youngest sitting at the restaurant, in his portable high chair, eating from his place-mat. We decided to go to Buffalo Wild Wings because of the TVs and the noise level is already louder than at normal restaurants so if the kids got a little loud, it would be okay. Our youngest stayed in his seat and played; our oldest went thru the toys fairly quickly but eventually settled down and played with the stickers until our food came.

Another way we personally survive eating out is we bring food for our kids so we don't waste money on new foods they will either throw a fit not to eat or just completely ignore altogether. Our oldest is extremely picky when it comes to food and our youngest is going through a phase of trying new foods, some he loves and some he throws on the floor; so we brought with us pasta for the oldest, cheese sticks and fruit snacks for both, and Gerber yogurt, cereal bar and Gerber Grabber for the youngest. When our food came, we asked for carrot sticks along with our wings so they could have a veggie with dinner too. 

Both kids did a great job behaving! Definitely planning on eating out more often with the help of this kit to make it less stressful and embarrassing for us, as well as less boring for our kids.