This cute Turkey of ours is totally and completely obsessed with all things Fireman related, so his choice for a party theme was beyond obvious.  What Shane didn’t know was that a real, retired Firetruck was going to show up to surprise him and his little neighborhood buddies.  I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when that truck showed up…and well, it wasn’t exactly the look I expected!  Complete terror, ran away crying and asking to go home, go home, GO HOME!!  I think he was completely overwhelmed with all the attention and didn’t know what to make of it all.

After some hugs inside from Mama and a pep talk, we headed back out and he was ready to climb aboard that truck!  That’s when the fun started!  All the kids and parents got to ride on top of the Firetruck and we went in circles around the neighborhood waving, spraying pretend fires and making siren noises (sorry neighbors for all the ruckus).  Shane also got to sit behind the wheel, push all the different siren buttons, and yelled “it’s Shane’s party!!!” into the intercom.  They also set up a target for the kids, so they could each take turns spraying at it with a fire extinguisher hose.  I think Shane thinks it was all a dream because he won’t stop playing the videos on my phone on repeat today.

We had such an awesome day, and we thank all of you that were able to celebrate with us!  Shane is living in toy truck heaven this morning while I get to listen to horns, sirens, helicopter noises and revving engines as I type up this post.  Happy 3rd Birthday Shaney, we love you so very much and hope your every birthday wish came true!

Really though, what a milestone.  It really feels like yesterday, yet ages ago, that our tiny 6 lbs. 14oz baby burrito was in my arms, needing his mommy and daddy every minute of the day.  And now, here he is, Mr. Independent!  Playing with his friends, riding his bike and Razor scooter like a pro, building Lego creations upon Lego creations, working on art projects, doing origami (yes, he loves it!), playing golf, soccer, baseball, swimming….he is a full on BOY!!  And really, I just couldn’t possibly love him more.  His smile lights up my whole world, his singing cracks me up, his sense of humor is unreal, but his sweet and sensitive nature is what just melts my heart completely and makes him so special.

Nathan, it was so much fun celebrating you and your big birthday straight through the weekend!  All you wanted was a day with your best buds and a night away at Legoland hotel (working on that) but in the meantime we celebrated Lego-style close to home, and hope you had as much fun as your smile showed us you did.  We love you and are so very proud of our big 5 year old!

This is my 5th year in a row hosting a cookie and ornament exchange with my girlfriends.  I try to host 2-3 parties a year (kiddie parties not included), and have come up with some of my favorite items that are worth buying that will fit into any party theme and budget.  I’ve learned something new with each passing party and definitely have started to realize which items are always good to have on hand.  Here are my Monday Must-Haves: party style!

1. Ikea wine glasses

My drink-ware sophistication level has gone from red solo cups, to paper cups, to plastic wine glasses, to mason jars (also a good staple), and have realized you just need to stock up on wine glasses.  I realize not everyone can keep a fully stocked bar cabinet of 30+ matching wine glasses for the occasional party so I think these Ikea wine glasses are the perfect solution.  For under $5.00 you get a 6 pack of either red or white wine glasses.  You can buy cases of 15 too and they come boxed up in small cardboard carrying box.  Buy a few sets, in a few carrying boxes, keep them stashed away in the garage and you’ll always have wine glasses ready go for parties big or small.  And if some break, no big deal…they are inexpensive and Ikea will always carry replacements.

2.  Wine Glass Markers

Gone are the days of wine charms in my house now that I have discovered these.  I have put name tags on drinks (time consuming), added names to straw flags (but who drinks wine with a straw?), used wine charms (but no one remembers which charm is theirs)….then, I found these online.  Gold and silver metallic wine glass markers.  As each guest arrives I write their name on the base of their glass, pour them their drink of choice, and off they go with their personalized glass.  The best part is it stays on the entire party, but washes right off with soap and water.  These markers are also super cute if you want to personalize wine bottles as gifts with a little message on the glass to the recipient.  Cute right?  A total must have!

3.  Glass carafes 

I Amazon Primed these puppies right to my house for this past cookie party and loved them.  At under $5.00 each including shipping I was shocked by their large size and awesome quality.  Line a few up for a mimosa bar, pour white wine in one and red wine in another, use them for cocktail mixers…put the juice-filled carafes on ice and instantly looks like you tried a little harder than putting cartons of orange and cranberry juice on your tabletop.  I plan on buying several more of these!

  4. Ice bucket set

Speaking of putting things on ice, I can’t thank my Mother in Law enough for buying me the nicest stainless steel drink tub set last year (from Ballard Designs but since discontinued).  I used to just fill my kitchen sink with ice on one side and shove all the white wine and champagne into that.  This is what I mean by learning things as I go along.  It seems like an obvious item to have if you like to throw parties, but I went years without ice buckets and tubs.  This is a definite must-have if for some reason you haven’t added this to your party throwing supply collection.  I have an ice bucket, a smaller stainless tub (that I put the carafes in), a large stainless tub for all the wine/champagne/beer bottles and then if you need something for extra big parties a friend turned me onto THIS.  For $20.oo The Home Depot carries giant galvanized buckets that make the perfect over sized beverage tub.  I actually use the same bucket to hold our Christmas tree instead of using a tree skirt, but that’s a whole other topic!

5. Slate Cheese Board

Ok so I don’t own this yet, but I will.  I always just use a large cutting board and a cheese knife set to display my cheeses at parties.  This has always worked just fine, but yesterday I realized how often people would ask me “Is this bacon cheddar? OMG it’s so good!”…so while I would love to stand next to the cheese board all day and describe (eat all) the cheese, I think this is going to be my next staple party purchase.  Not to mention I’m obsessed with all things chalkboard so this just seems like the obvious choice.  Sold!

6.  Paper Straws

Paper straws seem like another obvious choice, but what I think is fun to do is collect all different colors and styles over time (especially when you see VeryJane.com is doing a paper straw sale which they often do).  Keep a whole stash ready to go, and then when you decide to throw a party you can mix and match what you have to whatever theme your party may be.  They are also just nice to have on hand for an impromptu girls night in, or even if you just feel like drinking your morning smoothie with one.  There is something about them that makes you and your guests feel special and girly.  Plus don’t they just look cute mixed in with my hot chocolate bar from this weekend?  I especially like the seller listed above because she does the mix and matching for you!

7. Disposable Wooden Cutlery

Lastly, I will never buy plastic utensils again for any larger parties.  For not much more money you can stock up on cute wooden cutlery.  Not only do they look way better than plastic ones, but they are so much better for the environment, are sturdy, and go with any party decor.  Although it’s a small detail, it’s definitely one your guests will notice and appreciate.

I don’t have it photographed because there are so many styles out there, but I definitely recommend slowly adding to your serving trays and bowls collection too.  Stick with simple, white ceramic and you will be surprised just how many uses you will get out of them.  I have about 6 white trays and several white serving bowls of various sizes.  It’s worth investing in some nicer ones, you will be surprised how often you will find yourself using them!

Don’t you just want to go throw a party now?  New Year’s Eve is right around the corner and if I decide to throw an impromptu party I can do so panic-free knowing I have all these party must-haves on hand and ready to go!  I hope you found some of these helpful.  Now go stock up on your supplies, call some friends and get to celebrating!  Hope you have a festive and fun-filled week!

Two years ago I took Nathan to his first huge egg hunt that one of the local churches held.  There were hundreds of kids there, baskets in hands, being held back by the neck of their shirts, ready to pounce as soon as the horn sounded to start collecting.  Nathan literally got trampled, and when I finally found him coming up for air, he had one measly little plastic egg in his hand.  Granted he thought it was the best egg in the world, but I was horrified by the rudeness of the some of these parents pushing kids out of their way and hoarding eggs for their kids.  As far as I was concerned I would be more than happy to never take my kids to one of those events ever again.

That year I decided I wanted to start having our own egg hunts for the boys and their friends as a yearly tradition.  When I was younger our neighbors always threw candy and eggs in their yard for their children and friends.  It was something I always looked forward to, and thought it would be fun to continue this for my own boys.   All my mama friends bring a Springy snack to share, and I throw a couple hundred plastic eggs in the grass with goodies inside.  Here are some pictures from this year’s fun!

As for yesterday, we had a nice, quiet Easter at home as a family and Auntie Marissa.  Nathan and Shane dove head first into their Easter baskets, had another little egg hunt in the backyard, and then decided to go for a run as a family since it was so beautiful out.  When we came back the boys played outside in their new Power wheels Escalade.  Well, new to them….our neighbors are moving and asked if we wanted it since their daughter had outgrown it some time ago.  Score for the boys!!!  They love it so much!

I put together brunch and mimosas and we sat outside and ate in the beautiful sunshine.  Not too long after finishing brunch I popped a ham into the oven that we enjoyed for dinner.  Just like every other holiday we spent the whole day eating and enjoying one another’s company.  It was a great Easter week/weekend!  Hope those of you that celebrate had a wonderful one too!

]]> http://heylaurenrene.com/uncategorized/513/feed/ 15 http://heylaurenrene.com/uncategorized/weekend-recap/ http://heylaurenrene.com/uncategorized/weekend-recap/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:14:53 +0000 http://heylaurenrene.com/?p=457 [...] ]]> I’m pretty sure most people recap their weekends right after the weekend happens, but we do things late around here.  I think Sunday nights would probably be a good time to catch up on what we did over the weekend, upload some photos and write a new post…however, I was in bed asleep by 9:30 Sunday night from a full day of fun (and too many mojitos!).  At least that is evidence of a good weekend right?  And then of course I could always try and write a quick post on a Monday, but the boys were in rare form yesterday.  I’m almost positive Shane is transitioning to only one nap a day.  That would be fine if this one nap lasted more than 45 minutes.  Needless to say I chose eating my lunch instead of getting on the computer during my “break”.

Anyway…I personally like to think the weekends start on Friday, especially when Daddy was traveling all week for work and was flying in during the early afternoon.  Before he got in, we met our friends at the mall to try and get a photo of our kids with the Easter Bunny.  To say Shane was scared of the Easter Bunny would be  the understatement of the year…he was petrified!  Shaking, screaming, inconsolable and wouldn’t even look at him (it was a pretty creepy looking bunny so I’ll give him that).  I thought his phobia of Santa was bad!!  At least with Santa I could get the funny photo of the baby crying on a strange man’s lap….but this time I couldn’t even get within 5 feet of the bunny.  My friend’s oldest daughter Ella also isn’t a Santa or Easter Bunny fan so she sat this one out too.  Oh well, Nathan got to take his photo with Ella’s new baby sister Lilah.

Saturday I made it to Turbo Kickboxing in the morning.  I’ve been doing TKB for over 8 years now and still love it as much as I have from the very beginning.  I actually get excited to go, which I really can’t say for any other workout I have ever done.  After I got home Nathan went to his swim lesson, and hurried home so we could walk down to the neighborhood Spring Celebration.  We ended up meeting several of our friends there and had an awesome time.  Here are some photos from the day.

Yes, that is Nathan pictured with his best bud Carson instead of his own brother with the Easter Bunny.  Despite there being a less scary looking bunny Shane was definitely not interested!  After the festivities the boys went down for naps, and I ran out to The Home Depot with Nana again.  I am now obsessed with our tiny little garden and just had to get out for more supplies.  We bought some hanging flower pots, got a large pot for my tomato plant, and added a kumquat tree!  I really hope I can keep everything alive!

Sunday we woke up early and met our neighbors for our weekly run.  Our neighborhood has a facebook running page and we reluctantly joined it a few months ago.  I would always see them meet for a run on Sunday mornings and never thought I would actually join them let alone, ENJOY going.  After the run we went out for brunch, and then got ready to head to our neighbors house for another fun-filled Easter afternoon.  The parents indulged in yummy drinks, March Madness and a BBQ while all the kids dyed eggs, decorated cookies, and tossed around water balloons.  We actually ended the evening with a huge water balloon fight in our driveway….adults included.  It was such a fun way to end an awesome weekend!  Already looking forward to the next!