The Making of Fun

In case anyone is interested in the behind-the-scenes prep of our Princess and Knight party, here it is.The princess cake was made using the Pampered Chef large batter bowl and one Pillsbury strawberry cake mix. You have to bake it for a very long time (about 40-45 minutes) to make sure the inside is completely done. The outside gets dark, but you end up cutting it off to shape the cake anyway.
You can purchase a doll "top" for this purpose or just pull a dolls legs off, like I did. I found the doll in a craft store (apparently it's meant for you to crochet some clothes for it...ha!) and I used a 40% off coupon, making it a mere $1.80 topper.
I did a crumb coat and then frosted it with homemade white buttercream frosting. I was planning to just accent with sprinkles, but couldn't figure out how to do it easily. So, the whole thing got coated in blue crystals. The bodice of her dress is just icing and sprinkles, like the cake.
The castle cake is 2 8-inch square cakes stacked. The corners are ice cream cones--one upside down and the other on top. I should have baked four with cake mix inside, but I didn't. So, I put a giant marshmallow inside, another 1/2 on top of that and then filled the top with frosting. I notched the corners so the cones would set in. Then, we used mini mallows on top and sugar wafer cookies for doors and windows.

(Asa was being silly and, at the prodding of a friend, stuck a horse in the castle.)

The wands are star shaped foam hot glued to a dowel. The girls put foam stickers to decorate, then we tied curling ribbon on the bottom. We had glitter glue but realized it was crazy messy and ditched it. It also takes too long to dry for using at a face-paced party.

The crowns are sparkly wire with curling ribbons attached at the back.

The swords are from Target's $1 bins. (Yay for dollar bins!)
The shields are cut cardboard wrapped in gold wrapping paper with handles made from duct tape. They were done completely by Joel. I cut out some shapes (including a fleur de lis I got online) from foam and the kids glued those on. They also used masking tape to make stripes.

The pinata came from WalMart and is really labeled as a T-Rex. Some construction paper wings and flames from his mouth (made by Joel) transformed him into a more fierce beast.
Lunch (never pictured) included peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and tuna sandwiches--cut small, turkey tortilla wraps, chips, chex mix, and grapes. We served fruit punch and water.

Along with cake, we had some "magic wands" on the table -- large pretzel rods dipped in white chocolate and covered in blue sprinkles.

Joel made the invitations (he uses Publisher), and we had them printed as 4x6 pictures.
To decorate and make our home more festive, I hung blue streamers, made some flags from construction paper, and hung lots of balloons from the ceiling. Balloons and streamers are a very inexpensive way to pack some punch. You do NOT have to use helium. Everyone commented on the balloons and it was 4 $1 packs attached to the ceiling using $1 of curling ribbon. Easy and fun.

My Handsome Handy Man

There are many reasons I love my husband. Many. Tons!

But, one thing that continually impresses me is my husband's ability to conquer projects around our home.
He likes to learn new things and isn't afraid of tackling projects he's never done before...like wiring the kitchen for lights, putting up drywall, laying ceramic tile, and building a pergola.
Joel started to build our pergola in November. The weather and early sunsets extended the project time to about three weeks--though the actual work time wasn't that much. He ran into some snags along the way --like 4 trips to Home Depot the first day he worked on it. But, he did a great job!
Our old pergola was one reason we loved the house. We knew it needed to be replaced, but we didn't know just how badly. We got a new roof (thanks to hail damage) in September and decided to rip off the old pergola at that point. We were glad once it came down, but were excited to get a new one back in place.The old pergola was falling apart. Visitors always liked it, but they didn't see the little pieces coming off bit by bit like we did.
The old pergola was built with the little crossbeams under the main top. We realized why after we tore it down -- the eave of the house! But, we adjusted the supports on the house to accommodate moving the little pieces to the top, where they belong. On the top of the main beams coming out from the house, the previous homeowner had put a mesh sunscreen. Actually, it had two layers of sunscreen...an older piece on the bottom and a newer piece on top. The bottom-most layer began to dry rot and with strong winds, it was coming through the underside in shreds. Not pretty.
Because the pergola was not really an "open" air structure with that sunscreen in place, leaves and debris were weighting down the top and also providing a nice place for bugs to hide. Joel said the wood was splitting apart and lots of little bugs (not termites) were in all the crevices. Eew!

We waited two months between taking the old pergola down and building the new pergola. It took me that long to finally get around to balancing all our books so we'd know exactly how much money we could spend on the project. [I think I was a little afraid the answer would be zilch.]

Joel used pressure-treated wood, which shouldn't be stained for about a year. Aside from that cost later on, the project came in well under our $600 budget.
I'm so glad to have a pergola back in place. This is the blaring sun that would greet me in the morning when that shade structure was no longer in place.

Some Sweet Faces

The month of March came and went so quickly! In fact, I was just typing this and started to say "February" when I realized, March was now done!
We began the month with Joel traveling. He went to two conferences, almost back to back. He was missed by all of us. The kids made signs to welcome him home.
Upon return from his second trip, we took the kids to the Nature Preserve in McKinney. We bought a membership pass on Groupon. We weren't all that impressed with the Nature Preserve here, but the pass gives us reciprocity at lots of places we want to go when we visit family and friends (SciPort in Shreveport, Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, and museums near other friends)
That evening, my sweet friend Kristin and her hubby Chris took our three big kids for an overnight playdate with their four kids (yep, they had SEVEN kids for the evening/morning; they are wonderful). Joel and I enjoyed a wonderful date--dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse, a quick visit to Kohl's to return something, dessert at Panera Bread, and walking/music at Watters Creek.
This place, Watters Creek, is fabulous. It's in Allen, TX (just up the 75, to the east of us). We passed it earlier in the day when we went to McKinney. We sort of "happened upon" it during our date. We were looking for a place to get dessert so I could nurse Jett. I looked on Joel's iPhone and Panera came up as being close.
As a bonus, we enjoyed walking around this place. For locals, it's similar to Shops at Legacy. It was dark, so the photos are edited by me and a little weird. But, I like 'em. They had a band playing cover songs (classic rock, mostly). There is an outdoor fireplace, trees are all lit up, a creek, kids playing, couples dancing, some restaurants with patios overlooking the area where the band played... it was great!)Since that next week was Spring Break, I tried to do fun things with the kids. Jenna was sick the first day, but we figured out it was an ear infection and she was good by Tuesday! yeah for amoxicillin. I took them to Chuck E. Cheese's on Tuesday. We don't eat there and I buy coins when I have a super coupon. We rationed the coins and on this trip we just used the 1/2 we had saved from Christmas-time.
On Thursday we checked out a zoo (new to us) in Gainesville, Texas. It was a special celebration day so it was just $2 admission and there's no charge for parking. A packed lunch, all the work of my amazing hubby, made for a cheap day of fun!
On Friday, Joel took the three big kids to a flight museum nearby.
As you can see from the pictures thrown in here and there, Jett was still snuggled up sleeping through lots of the action. He's so cute! When he isn't sleeping, he enjoys watching his siblings try to make him laugh.

Hosting a Thrifty Birthday Bash

Like many moms, I want my kids to have a fun birthday party to celebrate their life. After all, I'm really glad God chose to give me my kids. I want them to know they are celebrated.

However, like many moms, I don't have a lot of money to spend on a party. Well, I choose to not spend a lot of money on it. We all choose what we spend money on...but that's another topic.

So, how do you have a fun party and not break the bank?

I'll just share a few things I did for Jenna & Asa's party that I thought added to the fun and excitement but didn't take a lot from my budget.

First, we decided to do a party at home. This was a big debate in my mind this year. After all, turning 5 years old is sort of a milestone birthday to me. It marks the end of your toddler/preschool years and most kids start school when they are 5 (as mine will). It's a big year.

But, due to the cost (I called several places and found that I'd be spending at least $150 if we went to any of the fun spots my kids wanted) and the fact that I'm 9 months pregnant, we decided we would do a party at home. (It would have been much easier to postpone a home party than one planned at a venue with a deposit and date booked.)
Second thing, we decided on a theme. Each of the twins got to pick their own theme. It was quite easy. Jenna has been loving Strawberry Shortcake lately and Asa asked all last year when he could go tour the fire station with his friends (I think this came because his sister had a fire truck come to school and as a consolation I told him he could go take a tour with friends one day; while they forget a lot of things I say, some things stick FOREVER).

So, we would have a Strawberry Shortcake and Firefighter themed party. Yeah--red goes for both. That was a big help!

How do you celebrate two individual people's lives when they are born on the same day? A combo party! We spent the first hour with just girls, the second hour with boys and girls, and the third hour with just boys. The guests came to a 2-hour party that had games for their gender and food. We did the eating all together.
So, frugal tips:

• treat bags: I got plain red bags and printed a label for each using graphics I found online. I filled the bags with items I purchased last year on clearance or this year on after-Christmas clearance. I found firefighter army guys at the Dollar Store and split the package amongst the boys. Jenna just happened to get firefighter tattoos from the preschool treasure box last week and let me have some for the boys.
• cake: I bought a box cake mix and tub of icing and made my own. I made Strawberry Shortcake decorative picks using the same graphic I found online and toothpicks. I stuck a firefighter army guy in each of the boys' cupcakes. We had strawberry ice cream along with the cupcakes (and bonus of cupcakes...no cutting required).
• games/activities: I found a Strawberry Shortcake coloring sheet online and printed one for each little girl. We used crayons/markers from our craft cabinet. I painted the girls' nails using pink/red paints I already had in my stash. We watched a short video I borrowed for free from our local rental store. The boys toured the fire station and it was free (plus they got a badge sticker and plastic hat)!
• decorations: I pulled toys from my kids' rooms. Asa has 2 firefighter dress-up outfits, a big book with a fire truck on the front, and several fire trucks to play with. Jenna got a big Strawberry Shortcake toy in the morning, so I set it up on the table. I set out her Strawberry Shortcake coloring book. I bought 2 red plastic table cloths to cover the tables in our front living room, pulled the 3 red balloons I had from our balloon stash, bought streamers at the Dollar Store, and got red plates, cups, napkins, and utensils from the Dollar Store.
  
• food: I ordered 6 pizzas from a local shop that had a 3/$9.99 deal. We served it along with chips and fruit punch (one big gallon was plenty).

My total cost for the kids' party was around $50, which divided by 2 kiddos is a mere $25 each. I'd say it wasn't bad. They had lots of fun and so did their friends. (You could easily save more money by not serving a meal or choosing an even less expensive option, like hotdogs. In addition, treat bags were my fun splurge. I enjoyed putting them together, but it's the first time I've ever done them. When my kids attend parties, I consider that treat enough!)

What's your favorite frugal way to celebrate an event?

Food and Feeding

In typical Fletcher fashion, we headed over to one of our local Chick-fil-A restaurants last night for dinner. I say typical fashion because the kids dressed as princesses and a pirate. The location near us does Family Night each Tuesday and this week they offered a free kids meal to any child dressed as a pirate or princess. Hey, hey...of course I'll be there!
Even better--they also offer (every Tuesday) a free kids meal when you purchase a combo. So, Joel got a combo and I got a free kids meal for dinner too! You simply cannot beat eating Chick-fil-A for dinner when you can feed your family of 5 (or 6, depending on how you look at it) for under $6!
Yep, call me cheap. I choose to say "frugal" or "thrifty".

And, speaking of eating...

I just finished sewing up a nifty little nursing cover for myself.
With little man's due date just 10 days away, I figured I should prepare to be feeding him! I used a simple baby's blanket with Rylee, but I've heard that was so "yesterday" when it comes to being a cool mama. With the twins...yeah, there was no covering up when I was nursing them. Actually, I tandem nursed at home and then did one-at-a-time if we were out somewhere. But, given that I only nursed them for 10 weeks, we weren't 'out somewhere' very often. And, again, I used the "so yesterday" blanket.

So, now I can feed this little man with style. Isn't the fabric pretty?
Wanna make one for yourself or someone who's expecting? Head on over to Freshly Picked and use the tutorial; it's free! {I might come back and say never mind, but right now I'm thinking I would have made this about 3-5 inches less wide and not used such a large space between the straps and such a long piece of boning for the 'peep' top. But, as I said, I might like it just the way it is once there's a wiggly little one under there.}

Chocolate Lover?

I'm not that great of a writer. So, today I'm pointing you to several other blogs and writings. First, I read about chocolate on Heather's blog. Then, I watched the trailer to the movie "The Dark Side of Chocolate" (also on Heather's blog). Then, I hopped over to Mama Manifesto to read her post on chocolate.
Basically, the chocolate we know and love is largely produced by child labor. I'm not okay with that. Heather's writing today really challenged me. I can say "I'm just one person" and go on buying my chocolate as usual. Or, I can realize that every voice counts--including mine.
One commenter on Heather's blog referenced the tuna industry and how some companies were killing dolphins until the public uprising caused the companies to change their policies after they were boycotted.
I know Hershey's well. We lived in Harrisburg, the town right next to Hershey. I've taken their factory tour (a little simulation thing), gone to Hersheypark (an amusement park there), gave birth to my first three babies at Hershey Medical Center, and worked for Milton Hershey School. And, I happen to really like their candy!

But, can I keep eating it? This is hard. I really like chocolate. I like cheap prices. I've been doing couponing for a few months now and sometimes I get stuff FREE. Give up free chocolate?
But, Heather makes a very compelling argument. Now that I know can I just ignore reality?

I think the statement I like most from Heather's blog is this:

I've read a ton about Halloween lately...who is for it, who is against it. Blogland fills up with posts taking sides on this issue. Halloween is as hotly debated as predestination. But I just wonder, if maybe Christians are totally missing the point. Here we are arguing about whether dressing up like a cowboy is satanic when the real issue might be that Christians everywhere will be buying chocolate in mass quantities this month, and the groans and the cries of enslaved children will be filling the heavens. God promises He hears them when they cry out. And who has those children's blood on their hands? Us. We can lick the chocolate off, but the blood is still there. God have mercy on your people, we can be so incredibly stupid.

Thoughts? You can lick the chocolate off, but the blood will still be there. WOW!