Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my family to yours!
Dec 25, 2015
Nov 27, 2015
black friday goodies
Can you tell I am currently crushing on a certain color?
Can't for the little lady to wear some of her new goodies !
Nov 26, 2015
ten things
image via
Nov 24, 2015
thanksgiving class party
Today I had the pleasure of hosting the thanksgiving class party at my daughter's school. Which is one of my main duties as room parent. To say the party was a success would be a huge understatement. The kids had a great time and it truly showed as each child had a smile from ear to ear.
As room parent I was given a party fund of $90 which is $5 per child (which we pay in a general fee before school starts). I was able to get a great deal at our local KFC. Each child got a kid's meal which included two pieces of grilled chicken, side of macaroni and cheese, a biscuit, cookie and a Capri Sun.
I couldn't resist making the kiddos these adorable turkey cupcakes that I pinned years ago!
I also made them these little turkey lunch sacks and thanksgiving coloring books.
The kids made their own place mats that helped decorate the tables and I just added my little turkey pumpkin centerpiece.
So thankful to be room parent to 18 of the best kiddos around!
Sep 10, 2015
room parent binder {free printable}
school week { room parent }
The binder is divided into several different categories including:
- Parent Contact List
- Classroom Information
- Student Birthday Charts
-Yearly Calendar
- Classroom Events (Month by Month)
- Party Planning
So far my duties as room parent have included things like cutting out letters for their bulletin boards, reminding parents of current fundraisers and making name tag necklaces.
But I cannot wait for all the fun events coming up during the year!
Some of my favorite go to websites for room parent ideas are:
Thanks for tuning in to School Week !!
Sep 9, 2015
school week { bake crew }
One of the many things I was looking forward to when Cailee started school were all the volunteer opportunities. When we started our family I knew that I wanted to be as involved in their school life as I could. I am fortunate enough to be a stay at home and planned to take full advantage of that. So when it was a required that we volunteer a certain amount of hours at the school. I was eager to sign up!
One of the things I signed up to do was "Bake Crew". I like baking but when it came down to it I would always ask my sister to bake for Cailee's parties. So signing up for bake crew was something I did to challenge myself. And boy was it just the challenge I needed.
You see Cailee's school is nut free. Which means that as a member of bake crew I am to bake the items myself and ensure that they are completely "NUT FREE". Because no one in my family is allergic to nuts I seriously was stumped with this. So I took to the Internet to research the heck out of it.
I am by no means an expert but feel as if I know enough to ensure that I keep the kiddos at my daughter's school safe.
To be honest my only experience in baking was to whip out the Betty Crocker cake mix. So needless to say I really did get the challenge I was so desperately seeking.
I have to thank Pinterest for being my go to place for baking recipes(what in the world would I do without Pinterest)!
Here is a list of my favorite go to baking websites...
Brown Eyed Baker has the best ultimate chocolate cupcake
Averie Cooks has a great lemon cupcake with lemon cream cheese frosting recipe
Cake Journal has a great tutorial on how to flood cookies with royal icing
The Nut-Free Mom Blog is a great resource for learning about what "nut free" really means
I made these cupcakes for my first assignment in Bake Crew for Back to School Night and they were a big hit!
1 event down 9 more to go !!!
Sep 8, 2015
school week { first day of school coloring books }
Two things.
I knew two things leading up to the first day of school.
One...I wanted to make some sort of goodies for the kids to celebrate their first day of school.
Two...Whatever it was needed to be something I could whip up quickly.
I was not completely familiar with the school's policies on treats at this point so I knew any type of food item was out of the question.
So the next best thing was to make a fun little coloring book!
I searched all over Pinterest for ideas and possibly even some free printables. After about an hour of searching and finding nothing I really liked I decided to make my own using Photoshop (its me and you to the very end Photoshop).
It took me a good 20 minutes to design the coloring book pulling from different free web coloring page images.
The final product was adorable and completely customized for the kiddos.
The teacher's classroom theme is cute little monsters, so I definitely wanted to incorporate that in the coloring book. Each page added details like the teacher's name, the school name, what classroom they are in, and all the fun things they will learn and do.
And if you were wondering they indeed were well received :)
(insert happy momma dance here)
Sep 7, 2015
school week { first day of school }
I need to start off by saying that Cailee absolutely adores school and that first day jitters are way worse for parents.
The weeks leading up to the first day of school were hard for me. I had moments of pure excitement and then heart wrenching fear. We knew Cailee starting school would be the best thing for her. She loves to learn and especially being around kids her own age. Then my momma brain would think of every worst case scenario and I would start to rethink the whole school thing.
But August came sooner than I could imagine and next thing I knew I was laying out her uniform for her first day of school. Just like that in a blink of an eye, we were walking out the door heading to school.
Cailee was nothing short of excited while I was sitting in the passenger seat fighting back the tears. You seriously would have thought I was sending her off to college. But I had a game plan you see! I was not going to let myself cry until she was safely inside her school and we were back in the car heading home. HAHA! Ya as you can guess that did not happen.
The kids were lined up waiting to walk into school and the second they did walk away the ugly cry started. I swear I tried to hold it together but the tears just flowed. As I watched my little one walk away with nothing but excitement and pure joy in her heart all I could do was cry. Needless to say I was pretty damn embarrassed but another mother walked up to me with arms wide opened reassuring me that I was not the only one feeling that way. Her hug and words were exactly what I need that moment and I will always remember that kind gesture.
Rest assured I had plenty to do with Charlotte as we waited to pick up sister. Thanks to laundry and reruns of the real housewives pick up time came around in a flash.
And what would you know, while I was at home worried about my kiddo...she was having the time of her life at school.
I couldn't be more excited for her in this new journey of hers.
And now as I write this three weeks into school I can confidently say we made the perfect decision for our child.
Sep 6, 2015
school week
| image via Etsy |
Mine says "Schools Days" instead of "Back to School" !
P.S. Don't tell the hubby but I may be a little obsessed with door hangers now!
Aug 15, 2015
little mermaid inspired {free printables}
* I printed these out on regular computer paper but they can be printed on any type of paper!
** The bottom three printables are 4x6!
Enjoy!!
Aug 12, 2015
paperless post finding nemo invitations
This past weekend I had a few people ask me what invitations I used for my daughter's Finding Nemo Party. Sure enough I decided to write a post about it in case anyone else was wondering the same thing! Trust me it was hard finding invitations I liked for this tricky yet popular theme. So I am glad I can help other mommas!
I found the perfect online invitation at Paperless Post. As luck would have it they actually had a nice selections of Finding Nemo invites that were just my style :)
This was my first time using Paperless Post so I was a little confused on how it worked exactly but I got the hang of things pretty quick!
You can email everyone in your party the invitation and they RSVP right thru the email! Easy! I could keep track of all the RSVP in one location!
What I did find a little difficult was the pricing of it all! When you sign up for Paperless Post you get a certain amount of free coins to use towards your invitations. Once you run out of free coins you must buy more coins.
Luckily I didn't have a large guest count so I had just enough coins.
You can also purchase a single invitation that will be mailed to you! I bought one to keep as a keepsake for my little one!
This is the invite we used for the party!
And these are some other options that I think are equally as adorable!
*All images are from Paperless Post*
Aug 10, 2015
monday favorites {first day of school reads}
Our bedtime routine always consists of reading books to the girls. There is something so relaxing about finishing the day cuddled in bed reading the little ones favorite books.
With Cailee starting school for the time first time ever I decided the best way to introduce this is of course with fun books. I rounded up my top four favorite "first day of school" books!!
Aug 9, 2015
a birthday banner just for you {free printable}
finding nemo party {free printables}
This weekend we had ourselves a Finding Nemo themed pool party for my almost 4 yr old.
My daughter just recently saw the movie and it has been her absolute favorite these last few weeks.
So obviously when party planning started all I kept hearing was pool party and nemo.
I really thought this would be the easiest thing to pull off until I hit up my party decoration go to places (Target and Party City) to find absolutely nothing with Nemo on it. I did find Nemo products online but add in shipping and it was more than I wanted to spend on decorations I didn't really care for.
After hours of scrolling thru Pinterest for ideas I decided to go the route many other woman before me had done. Make the decorations myself and hit up Etsy for anything else.
Thanks to my photoshop and Etsy I was able to put together a fun little party that my kid absolutely loved and was kind to my wallet! Win and Win!
I made this tissue fringe backdrop using the tutorial found here. The backdrop was so easy and cheap to make! Helpful tip: I bought 2 foam boards at the 99 cent store and taped them together to get the size I wanted!!
Sister if you are reading this Thank you so much for making the cake and cupcakes!!
The favor bags were sweet and simple. I was determined to use whatever I already had on hand. The bags themselves were your plain old paper lunch bags. I just slapped on some Thank You stickers and voila instantly pretty! I made the coloring books on photoshop and the kids loved them!
Because I had such a hard time finding nemo goodies, I decided to lend a helping hand! If you find yourself throwing a nemo party use these free printables!!
Helpful tips: I printed the tags on regular computer and just cut them out (you can use card stock as well).
For the thank you tags I printed them on sticker paper and cut them out and stuck them on baggies!
Super easy and will add the Nemo details your kiddo will love!
Party Details
- "Happy Birthday Cailee" nemo banner - I made on photoshop and will be sharing it as a free printable here!
- Tissue Paper for backdrop was purchased at Party City
- Nemo cupcake toppers from Etsy
- Number 4 candle from Party City
- Nemo and number 4 cookies from Auntie Apple
xoxo
Jocelyn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)