Time for School

Finn started preschool this week. It's been great! Once he got in the classroom, he started playing with the toys and I don't even think he noticed when we left. Trying to get information about the school day is like pulling teeth, but from what little he says, it seems like he likes it! Yay!

School Time

Mentally, August has been hard. I have to prepare two kid's birthday parties and deal with the fact that my kids are another year older. On top of that, this year I had to get used to the idea that Finn is going off to school.
I wanted to label his backpack (still a big Batman fan, you see), so I used the Sizzix that my aunt passed on to me to make a cute laminated label. (It looks a lot cuter without the last name letter blacked out--would you believe that in a class of 10 there are TWO Finns?!)I've never done this whole teacher thing before, but I'm no dummy. I know I need to be on her good side. Therefore, I plan on bearing gifts the first day. Something for the hands, probably lotion or sanitizer. Here's the packaging that I've already made up:

Excitement to freaked out ratio: 50-50

Happy Birthday Princess Kiki!

McKinley's birthday isn't until Tuesday, but we had her Princess party today! I can't believe she's already 2!
Here's the birthday girl: Granny and Stephanie:

The birthday girl, again. Playing with toys:

Some of her many presents:

Snacks:

Cinderella cupcake cake:

Her Grumpa feeding her cake (and, yes, all the kids were dyed green afterward):

Party:

Poor girl got a little overwhelmed midway through the festivities. She needed a little break:

GrandPatty, Kiki and Mommy:

Prince Bubba:

Finn, in a better mood:

As soon as she opened these Cinderella pjs, she had to put them on:

Opening presents:

More presents:

We had such a great time! Kiki definitely got the royal treatment!

Something New

I'd been saving this charm pack (Boutique by Chez Moi for Moda) until after my friend's ultrasound. I love the girly-ness of this fabric, so I thought I would use it for something if she was having a girl. However, she is having another boy, so that gave me a good excuse to go fabric shopping for blue and brown! And it also gave me a good excuse to make a new bag for myself!

I based it off this pattern at Moda Bake Shop, but I added a few things to it as well.

Princess Kiki

In prep for my next big birthday party, I've finally finished Kiki's wall hanging. There really is no feeling like finishing a project!

Super Mario Birthday Party

I haven't been posting much lately because we've been getting ready for Finn's big party! He requested a Mario/Bowser birthday, which is kind of hard to get supplies for, so I got a lot of ideas of the internet. Here's the spread: I painted some styrofoam blocks to look like bricks and I got all the mario figurines off of ebay. We served pizza (italian for Mario), chips and sodas.

Mario-kart figurines for decoration:

I got the sign off ebay as well:

We took white balloons, colored in ghost faces and put paper "wings" to look like Boos (I got the idea here):

Bowser pinata (also from ebay). I thought the kids would like giving Bowser a good whack:

Finn said he wanted to dress like Bowser for the party, but it's nearly impossible to find a costume. So, I made him this Bowser turtle shell out of felt. However, he said it was too scratchy to wear at the party:

He got a hat as well:

For an activity, we made up an obstacle course in the backyard. The kids with the fastest time won a prize (we did an over and under 5 set):

I originally was going to get a cake with a race track and then put the Mario-kart figurines on top, but Finn kept asking for a Bowser cake. I knew that would be hard to find, but I printed out a picture of Bowser, colored it in and took it to the store with me. They said they could imprint the image right on the cake!:

Each kid got a Mario hat and mustache. I made the hats from foam and I bought the mustaches from amazon.com:

Finn opening presents with his sister:

We also had a Yoshi egg hunt that I forgot to take pictures of. I bought some white easter eggs (and mixed in a few colored ones too) from amazon.com and then got a green paint pen and drew spots on them. Then I filled them with candy. In a few, I put a gold star, which meant that you won and extra prize (mushroom keychains I bought off of ebay). I also hid a mini-Goomba in the yard (also from ebay) and whoever found it won a prize too.

Here's Finn hitting the pinata:

Finishing it off:Getting the goodies:After the party, Finn decided to impersonate a Chip N Dale dancer:

Playing with new toys:

And, finally, here's a video of the birthday song:

Modesty Makeover

Upon realizing that my current swimsuit was practically thread-bare in the back (I'm not sure when exactly I bought it, but I do know it's older than my first-born), I decided it was time for a new one. I'm not exactly flush with cash at the moment, so I dug out another suit that I had stashed away. I like it a lot, mostly because I found it at Goodwill for $1 last year (unused with the tags still on!). However, I had always avoided wearing it because I felt the bust dipped a little too low: So, I laid out the old suit:

Snipped off the inside layer:

And sewed it in! Good thing I have an affinity for blue suits. I feel much more comfortable in it. Here's hoping my stitches hold in until I have the funds for a new one! (Maybe I should go browse Goodwill again)