Birthdays Galore and a Trip to the Pet Store

Have had a lot of fun celebrating birthdays with some of the youngest of the grandlittles this week! 🎈🎂🎉

Saturday was grandson, Dante's, 4th birthday. I had planned on taking him out to celebrate on Thursday (the 7th), but we got the ice storm and had to reschedule. I took him out yesterday (on Monday the 11th) instead. 

Nana and Dante @ McDonald's

Monday (the 11th) was Dante's little sister's, Kira's, first birthday. Their birthdays are only two days a part, so their mama and daddy had a party celebrating both on the 10th.

Lil' Miss Kira

Today (the 12th) was grandson, Jed's, 6th birthday. We went out for lunch, then took some silly pictures in a photo booth at the mall. While we were there we enjoyed walking a mile together inside the mall. 

Jed and I @ the Mall

After that we went to Braum's for frozen yogurt.

Jed Enjoying His Frozen Yogurt

Then, we went to the pet store to buy live crickets for Clementine (our pet tarantula). 

Clementine

While we were at the pet store we looked around at all the animals. They had some of the cutest, fuzziest bunnies that I've ever seen and lots of birds and fish. They had a few snakes and this guy...a blue-tongued skink.

Blue-tongued Skink

(Of all the times that I've been in that store to buy crickets for Clementine, I had never once looked around until today. It was a lot of fun!) 😊

It's been a fun few days of celebrating some of the youngest grandchildren in the family. Now...to make it through Valentine's Day and our anniversary! I'm about partied out! (NOT!) 😆 

Until next time...

~Rebecca

Some recent and related posts that you might enjoy reading...

Happy Homemaker Monday - February 11, 2019

Happy Homemaker Monday - February 4, 2019

Winter 2019 Bucket List

Birthday Calendar

With having such a large family now (six children, their spouses, and 18 grands), I'll admit that it's getting harder and harder for John and I to keep up with birthdays. So, when I came across this sweet, wooden, hanging, birthday calendar from Dresslily online (for not much money), I ordered it! 😊

All the pieces are pre-cut and everything you need to assemble is included (main board, twine for hanging, wooden circles, and metal connectors). 

I used a permanent black marker to write the names, and date of birth, for John, myself, our children, their spouses, and each one of the grandchildren. 🎂

Then all I had to do was attach each circle under the proper month on the board and viola!

Now, all John and I have to do is glance at the wall to see how many birthdays are coming up in the month ahead, whose they are, and what days they fall on. No more trying to remember and figure it all out in our heads! 😟 And no more missing anyone by mistake! 😳 LOL! 😆

Until next time...

~Rebecca

Recent and related posts that you might be interested in reading...

Happy Homemaker Monday - September 24, 2018

My Autumn Bucket List 2018

Decorating For Fall

31 Days of the Joys of Autumn - October Birthdays

Several friends and relatives celebrate birthdays in mid-October. 🎂

Saturday night (the14th) we celebrated our son-in-law, Patrick's, birthday. His parents came down and our daughter made a beautiful supper with homemade apple pie for dessert. We enjoyed a fire and roasted marshmallows before the rains came. 🔥

Roasting Marshmallows Over An Open Fire
Photo Credit: Darla Pennington

That same day was my best friend's birthday, but she and I weren't able to get together to celebrate until the next day. Sunday morning before church I baked a blueberry pie. In the evening Carla came over and we had pie, tea, and a good visit. 🍵

This is not my pie, but the one I made looked similar
to this one. It was gluten-free and THM friendly.
Photo Credit

Today was grandson, T.J.'s, birthday. I try to get together with each one of the grandchildren for their birthdays and celebrate by taking them out to lunch at the restaurant of their choice. T.J. chose lunch at Tractor's in Lamar, followed by ice cream at Dairy Queen. We had a great time! 🍔🍟🍨 

T.J. With His Ice Cream of Choice - Banana Split

Celebrating birthdays with family and friends are one of the many joys of autumn! 🎂🎈🎉

Until next time,
~Rebecca

Related and recent posts that you might enjoy...

31 Days of the Joys of Autumn - An Autumn Quote by George Eliot

Happy Homemaking Monday - October 16, 2017

31 Days of the Joys of Autumn - Bath and Body Works Soaps, Lotions, and Sprays

31 Days of the Joys of Autumn - Working The Bison

Birthday Parties on a Budget

We have lots of summer birthdays in our family so I thought it would be fun to share some super fun birthday ideas with all of you here. The following ideas were taken from Emilie Barnes' 15 Minute Home and Family Organizer. Are you ready? Put your party hat on and let's go! 

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* Keep the party small. A good rule to follow is invite the same number of children as the number of years in your child's age.

* Get a family member (or friend) to help (let grandparents be guests, not helpers).

* Have a backup plan for an outdoor party in case of rain.

* Use color comics for decorations and cartoon bedsheets as tablecloths. 

* Crayons make nice party favors, and kids can use them to decorate white paper tablecloths and paper plates. 

* Children's toys make good decorations: stuffed animals with party hats, a dump truck holding chips or cookies.

* Use creativity with party favors. Wrap peanut-butter play dough or homemade play dough in a plastic bag, tying it shut with a ribbon. Kids can decorate lunch bags and then fill them up as they go a candy, peanut, or penny hunt.

* Don't plan the party at mealtime; it's more expensive. From 2 to 4 p.m. is a good time.

* Plan activities, but don't expect the children to play all the games. If the kids are having fun, don't interrupt. If they're bored, bring in a new game.

* Have your cake and be able to afford it, too. If a homemade cake has frosting and the child gets to pick the flavors, he's happy. 

* Licorice, candy, or animal crackers make good sheet cake decorations.

* Don't serve blue icing, red punch, or other things that stain or make children overactive.

* Pick a party theme. Some ideas: beach party, tea party, costume party dinosaur party, frontier party, scavenger hunt, backyard camp out, detective party.

*An artist party can be fun. Get five or more large boxes for the children to paint or color and make into churches, homes, or cars.

* For children ages five to seven, try a soap bubble party.

* Invite a storyteller.

* Remember that a party for a child's first couple of birthdays is really for family and friends to celebrate a new life. The child doesn't really understand what's going on at this point.

* Don't make your children share their presents.

* Save opening the presents till the end. It's a good way to slow down a party.

* Have a specific ending time for the party. Playing a video is a nice way to keep stragglers who are waiting for rides home occupied. Once everyone is gone, take a few minutes for some hugs and talk about the party. Save the cleanup for later.

* If some members of your family live far away or can't come to the party, make a video recording and send it to them. They will love seeing the party, and it will help your family stay in touch.

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Well, that's it for this time! I hope that some of these ideas have inspired you as you think about planning your next birthday party!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

Other recent posts that you might enjoy:

Celebrating America's Birthday

Dollar-S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, Cabinet-Cleaning, Clean-Up-The-Food Project Plans For July

Five Minute Friday - STEADY

Please read Rebecca's Hearth and Home Blog online @ http://rebeccashearthandhome-proverbs31heart.blogspot.com/ and, if it has touched or inspired you in some way, please, leave a comment and let me know. I love hearing from my readers! 

Question About Princess Castle Cake

Someone wrote in wanting to know where my daughter got the idea for the beautiful princess castle cake that she made for her daughter's birthday. Well, she made it using a Wilton cake kit. We were on the way home from one of her son's medical appointments last month, and had stopped at a Walmart outside of our usual shopping area. She found the cake kit located in the party isle next to the cards. There's no way for me to know what places carry it, but I did find the kit on-line. If you're interested in making your own beautiful princess castle cake, here's the link that can help you:

http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=2AAE04F0-423B-522D-FD9974A4926ACCA3

Princess Audrey's 4th Birthday Party

This evening we attended granddaughter, Audrey's, 4th birthday party. Our daughter did a beautiful job, and everything was so nice. There were a lot of family members and friends in attendance, including friends visiting from England. It was so good to see everyone!

Princess Abby's 4th Birthday Party

Today was granddaughter, Abby's, 4th birthday, and what a wonderful party she had! Her mom did a great job with the cake and decoration, and everyone that attended had a great time! It was fun having all the kiddos together in one place. What a joy and a blessing each and every one of them are!