Hollywood Slumber Party

 

 

Some notes on a few things for you...

The Hollywood sign was made from foam poster board. I basically just used a ruler and box cutter. Each segment of the letters were six inches wide and as tall as I could make them on the board. I screwed them into garden stakes and hammered them into the lawn. It was quite windy but they survived. Some of them came apart from their screws and had to be taped last minute so perhaps tacky glue and screws is the way to go.

The party room entrance and ceiling decorations are made from vinyl tablecloths that I cut in half length wise. I saw that idea on Pinterest, but could never really find specific directions for it.

The star molds on the cupcakes were done with Wilton candy discs made the same way I did my seashell candy cupcakes. However this time, I added the luster dust with a brush to the star mold tray, before adding the melted candy. This saved me from having to hand paint each star.

I made the VIP badges on Word and had them laminated at Staples.

The "Swag Bags" had a few girlie things I picked up from the dollar section at Target and Michaels. Some items were a nail file, make up bag I found in the party colors, sleep mask, and hair accessories.

I would definitely suggest having a schedule with plenty of activities planned. There are many great sites out there to get ideas from. And always have a back-up plan! Some of our favorite things we did were...

• The red carpet photos
• Jenga during appetizers
• A question box Chloe and I made. We all sat in a circle and each girl read and answered the question. Some were easy, others really made them think. They ranged from, If you had a super power, what would it be? How many kids do you want? If you found out your friend stole something, how would you react?
• Pajama Fashion Show- This was the girls favorite activity. They had soooo much fun and really let loose. I gave them props like boas, hats, glasses, and we played a song for each girl to strut her stuff. The spectating girls went crazy for each girl on the catwalk, taking pictures of them with their phones and screaming for them!
• Movies-I had three choices of movies and they watched two. One before bed and one in the morning after breakfast. I had on hand, Freaky Friday, Monte Carlo, and Cinderella Story with Hillary Duff.
• Breakfast was kept super simple with yogurt, granola, mini chocolate chips, fruit, muffins, donut holes, and apple juice.

For helpful links and templates I used in my planning , click here.

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Hollywood Slumber Party **Part 1** Planning and Resources

Hey everyone, thanks for your comments and suggestions for the party. With a little over two weeks to continue planning Chloe and I have become super excited. We have been working together on all the details. We were able to get the invitations out last Friday, have picked a color scheme, started making decorations, planned the food, and shopped for dresses. Here is a rundown of what we have done so far. I'm including links for some fabulously free resources we have used.

Invitations:
We made VIP tickets at http://www.printwithmypic.com/ with Chloe's picture on them. I also included a letter to the parents detailing the event. You can leave me a comment if you would like a copy of the letter to use. Unfortunately, the photos I took of the ticket and invitation have been accidentally deleted. Chloe helped word the ticket, and picked the picture we would use. She happened to be wearing her Dad's aviator glasses so she looked pretty famous to me. She wrote each girls name in a very artistic way on a regular envelope and we attached a big glittery sticker of the initial of the recipients name to seal the envelope. They were so cute, I'm so bummed I lost the pics! Go here to make your free tickets, then print them on cardstock. We used the filmstrip ticket template.

Magazine Covers:
We also designed some magazine covers also at http://www.printwithmypic.com/. We will probably frame some and use them as decorations. With one, we will glue it to an actual celebrity magazine. Inside the magazine we will replace some of the faces with Chloe's face. When you go to make your magazine you will see there are only three templates. You can change everything about them from the layout, colors, and wording. We made one called Celebrity Magazine and one called Person magazine instead of People Magazine. On the covers we wrote things like "Chloe celebrates her 10th birthday in style",  "Chloe-Spotted in L.A.", Chloe and Seacrest (her celeb crush)- Couple of the Year!", and "Chloe-Actress of the Year." That last one is actually kind of true, at least in our house!

Colors:
Gold, Black, and Silver

Photo Shoot:

On Saturday Chloe and I went shopping to Marshalls and found the perfect dresses. She got a white and silver one with silver 1/2 inch heeled shoes for walking the red carpet. We also scored a gold sequins dress on clearance for $5 that we decided to get to do a mini photoshoot of her. We figured a girl could borrow it too if she didn't wear a dress to the event. She wore the gold dress and we did her hair and applied a bit of make-up for the photoshoot. These photos are being used for the movie poster and posterboards. This is an example of how we might use one of the photos. We used Picnik to edit, but Picnik is closing soon, so you may have to use other photo editing software.

For the purposes of blog posting I have fudged the movie name a bit. I don't want to violate any trademark laws! For the party it will have the actual movie title. And of course I blurred out her face for blog posting as well. I don't need her picture showing up all over Pinterest, now do I?

Now that we have cleared that up, we are also enlarging the three of the photos on posterboards at Costco. They do this and have them ready for pickup at most Costco's the next day. The cost for a 16x20 posterboard was $14.99. It comes with a white border. I figured this was cheaper than framing enlargements. We will hang all three posterboards over the food table.

Movie Posters:
At http://www.bighugelabs.com/ you can easily design your own free movie poster. We designed our free poster and saved it to the computer. I had it printed as a regular 16x20 enlargement at Costco for $5.99.

Phone Apps:
I have found quite a few free photo apps on the iphone and Droid where you can insert a photo with a famous movie star, or on a billboard, etc.

Hollywood Star Generator:
Here, you can add any name to a Hollywood Star. You can then save the photo and use it however you wish.

Decorations:
Party City did have some decorations, including two sizes of red carpet. I found that Amazon had a different selection than what I found in stores. But most didn't qualify for Amazon Prime. I plan on plastic table cloths to decorate the ceiling like I saw here.

Food:
We are still debating the food, as I'm not sure if I will have any assistants on the day of the party. So I will either order pizza, or do mini corn dogs and slider. I will also do veggie sticks in cute individual cups with ranch. Presentation is everything here and I really want the girls to feel they can play the part. I will buy plastic flutes for sparkling cider and spa water.

Cupcakes:
I found a beautiful gold and crystal teardrop Opulent Treasures cupcake stand at Marshall's. I will do red velvet cupcakes with white frosting, gold sprinkles and a gold candy star with each girls name written on it in black edible ink. I will use white candy for the molds and paint them gold as I did with my seashell cupcakes. You can find the candy mold at Amazon. It has to be the flat star mold if you plan on writing on them.

Pinterest:
My Hollywood Slumber Party Board with all of these resources.

I can't wait to share all the pictures with you!

I hope it's a day Chloe never forgets!

Chloe's Birthday.....Help!

You all know how I hate birthday parties, right? Well Chloe is turning the big 1-0 in March. This is not one I can easily dust under the rug. She is expecting a lot. Most of all she wants a party! I hate throwing birthday parties. I suggested the idea of having a slumber party and she was all over it. She hasn't had a sleepover since we moved here. At first I told her she could invite 5 girls, but then we decided to invite ALL the girls in her class. Don't worry, there are only eight other girls in her class and I figure, they probably won't all be able to come. She has 17 boys in her class. I honestly don't know what her school was thinking making a class that is so unbalanced. But I digress. I'm sending my boys away for the night of her party so it will be girls only. Last night she picked a theme...Hollywood! Now that we have a plan and I have time enough to execute it, I'm actually pretty excited and want to make it really special for her. I spent some time browsing ideas last night. I found great ideas for activities, but I really wanted to stay away from the cheesy decorations that are available for purchase at the big party stores. Also, most of the 'Hollywood' themed parties, really were decorated more like a 'Movies' themed party. I want to stay away from that as well.

Any thoughts or links would be helpful.

I'll keep you updated as well...

Out of The Box School Lunch Ideas

Enough with artsy bento boxes already. Let's be real! We are currently a little more than half way through the school year. Frustration hasn't set in quite yet, but when May rolls around I know I'll be at my wits end trying to figure out what to pack in the kids lunches. So, I'll make a list here and refer back to it later.

Let me tell you a few things about Chloe and Nash. They are really picky when it comes to lunch. Not breakfast or dinner, just lunch. They both refuse to eat the school lunches in the cafeteria and I don't blame them.  Neither one likes the same thing for more than a few days in a row. For the most part, Nash doesn't like what Chloe eats and Chloe doesn't like what Nash eats. Furthermore, Chloe takes a reusable lunch box that I can fill with a thermos or Tupperware container and utensils. She always brings them home, never lost and never late. Nash on the other hand, takes his lunch to school in a paper bag and has a poor track record for bringing home reusable items. If Chloe doesn't eat something it remains in her lunch box, where I can see it when she gets home. While Nash throws everything away, I ask everyday how his lunch was and he is more than happy to share what he liked and what he didn't like with me. I would rather know that he didn't like something and try and accommodate him next time rather than have him throw it away like I used to do. What a terrible waste. Not to mention they get home two hours before dinner and are starving. That is its own dilemma.

Tips:
I have a small chalk board in the kitchen where I jot down what I am thinking of making for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner the following day or days. I do this for myself, because  often times, I will think of the perfect lunch for them and when I wake up not so bright-eyed, I can't remember what I was going to make. This little step saves me time in the morning and makes for a more balanced lunch.

I always do my shopping on Sunday or Monday. I like to buy fruit from Costco, it's one stop for the whole week. I wash it, slice it, and store it in the fridge so it's ready to go in the mornings.

I searched Pinterest this morning for some new lunch ideas. I typed in "Kids lunch ideas". Mostly what came up were tons of impractical artsy bento boxes. First of all, food cut into a star shape is not going to persuade my 9 year old or high-schooler to eat it. I didn't find any of these lunches to be practical. I'm not an artist and I'm not going to wake up 30 minutes earlier to color coordinate their fruit and turn their sandwiches into funny faces! I already make a hot breakfast and two completely separate lunches. I usually have 4 dirty pans in the sink by the time we leave for school! You will get a few different ideas by searching "school lunch ideas" instead.

Our Unbento Lunchbox

Today Chloe had soup and crackers with an apple. She eats the Gripz cookies at snack. I can't give her much more than that because they really don't have all that much time to eat. She is a pretty slow eater to begin with. If I give Chloe pasta for lunch and fruit, I always put the pasta in a one-cup container, and the fruit in a one and a half or two-cup container.

I'm going to attempt to separate this list into three parts. One for Chloe, one for Nash, and one for both.

Chloe's Lunches

Soup
Teriyaki chicken and rice (in thermos) this is her favorite
Tortellini
Plain pasta w/evoo
Nutella sandwich (occasionally)
Carrots
Apple (sometimes sliced with a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar because it masks the browning)

Nash's Lunches
Grilled cheese
PB with no J
Quesadilla
Wraps
Peanut butter and cracker sandwiches

Both
Salad with croutons and chopped meat (Glad salad containers with snap in dressing cups. At Target.)
Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches
Cream cheese on a bagel (on Bagel Thins)
Turkey, salami, or roast beef sandwich
Strawberries, hulled
Pineapple chunks
Melon chunks
Kiwi quarters
Orange wedges
Shelled edamame

They both get water everyday and one pantry item each day. A pantry item is anything that comes in a bag, ,box or wrapper, IE: granola bar, pretzels, etc. I use the small snack bags to maintain proper portions. Chloe gets an organic chocolate milk two times per week.

Here are some ideas I got from the web:
Milk in a thermos with a side of cereal
Hot dog in boiling water in a thermos with a bun and condiments on the side.
Waffle sandwich? Hmmm, I'll have to think about this one.
Muffins

I know my lists aren't very long. I would love your ideas!

What do you pack in your kid's lunches?

The Importance Of A Good Thank You

Photo source: About.com

For a minute I lost sight of why this blog was originally intended. This is supposed to be a place where my kids can learn from me. Of course, I teach our kids everyday, but I just wanted them to have something more concrete to refer to after I'm gone. That brings us to today's lesson about thank you cards. I am a huge believer in the act of writing thank you cards. And not just after you get married or after a baby shower.

Me and the kids write and send them all the time. I believe a thank you should be written, or sometimes called, to anyone who has gone out of their way to think about you. Of course, I don't think thank you cards need to be sent for Christmas presents. I'm not sure what Emily Post's point of view on that is. I suppose there are some other instances where a thank you card might not be necessary, and you will have to use your own good judgement to decide if and when that is the case.

Today's lesson was sparked by a few people I know who are notorious for not saying thank you. I like to do nice things for people, I like to let them know I'm thinking about them. One day I became a little bitter and resentful that the favor was never either A.) repaid, B.) appreciated or C.) acknowledged. With the exception of the USPS, there is absolutely no excuse for reason C. So I stopped for the most part and for those particular people who I felt were ungrateful. It was no longer bringing me joy, so I just stopped. Problem solved.

I think I learned the importance of thank you cards from my in-laws. They send and expect thank you cards for everything. My family, not so much. Some of them do. I just don't think it was something that was heavily ingrained. Maybe it's more of a Southern thing.

A thank you card is the best way to show someone you appreciated their thought. If someone goes out of their way, they take the time to make, purchase, or send you something, you should take the time to thank them or at least let them know you got it. Sometimes a phone call, email, or even a text message is enough. I'm sure Miss Post would highly disagree with sending a text, but I'm really reaching for anything here people! Of course I understand, you didn't ask them to do anything nice for you, so why should you be burdened. But that's not the point. Just do the right thing, get off your lazy, "busy", or whatever butt and say thank you, preferably in a handwritten card! And if you can't do that, you just graciously decline their niceness. Got it kids?

So Chloe, Nash, next time your out, pick up a package of blank cards, some stamps, a nice pen and a little basket. Put that on your desk and don't forget the importance of a good thank you card. I love you kids, don't ever forget that. Love, Mom

10th Day of Christmas Gift For Teacher

This is a cute little wooden tree, about 6" tall adorned with glitter and sparkles. These pictures are about all I have time for except to tell you that I made an amazing braised beef stew (ish) tonight. Unfortunately, I was too busy eating it to snap a picture, but I may post the recipe later. It was loved by all and as usual, the hubby complained, "Mom is such a good cook, only she never makes enough!" I heard a whole show on braising this week on Martha Stewart XM Radio. So, I didn't have a recipe, I just went off their general instructions. They mentioned you could go to MarthaStewart.com and type in the keyword "Braising" for more information. There was lots of information there and a helpful video, but it was not the same info from the radio show. Good luck!

Week In Review

The week is coming to an end and can you believe I haven't been to Target one time???! Absolute madness, I tell you. Anyway, I really wanted to post some pics of Halloween, I know I am a bit late, but oh well.

My Zombie Cheerleader

Zombie Cheerleaders Pumpkin

Get this! Honey had to go get some new pumpkins on Saturday, because the ones I had gotten to carve had turned to mush. As we are carving them we notice they are green pumpkins, spray painted orange! Look closely at the star eye. What's up with dat?

Nash's Pumpkin (Grim Reaper)

Lil's Pumpkin

In other news, Chloe had a swim meet this past weekend. She did quite well. But...they don't really compete against each other. I mean they swim against one another, but times are only meant for personal growth. Each child receives a participation ribbon with their time. They really just want them to improve on their own time each meet. I get it, but for someone who is competitive, like Chloe, it really took a lot of the fun out it.

Other than that not too much going on here except that we are taking a break from piano for a month. The weather is cooling down, nights in the 30's and days in the 60's. And, I have found out that I am hosting Thanksgiving for my in-laws. Pretty funny, since I haven't cooked them a bowl of cereal, much less a freaking turkey! Should be interesting. My guest room is almost ready. I have been working on it for about a month and it is becoming a beautiful, romantic retreat. I don't have any guests scheduled, and I'd be surprised if I ever get one, but it's there if any miracles should happen. I will be posting pictures soon, I just have some finishing touches to make.

Have a great weekend!

Graduated and Guilty {Personal Reflection}

I know it sounds so cliche, but it really does feel like not so long ago I was walking Nash into kindergarten. He is just as sweet now as we was then. He is still way too smart for his age, and is still just as clumsy. Yesterday I attended his 8th grade promotion ceremony, cap and gown and all. I can't believe in just a couple short months he will be starting his first day of high school. I too started a brand new high school in a new city where I didn't know a single soul. I was so nervous I actually had my first ever period on that day. I guess I was a late bloomer but it made a nerve wracking day just a bit more traumatizing. Luckily, leggings and really long shirts were really in style that year and that's what I wore that day! It ended up being the best year and the best high school ever. I remember I had made friends with people in every "group". I would just walk around lunch mingling with each clique. Nash is pretty independent and outgoing and I know he will do just fine. He is the same height as me now and I know it won't be long before he shoots past me. It's bittersweet watching them grow up, isn't it?

With both my kids, I just try and constantly teach them and give them information they will need in life. You send them out into the world and hope that they remember those lessons when you're not there. I'm happy to report that most of the time my kids respect those lessons. Sometimes they falter, but Chloe proved this week that even though she makes mistakes she redeems herself and those lessons come right back into play.

On Thursday, the day before school let out for summer break, I picked up Chloe as I normally do. We walked back to the car and before we even got there she confessed she did something at school she felt really bad about. She quickly informed me that some girls had been in the bathroom, wetting toilet paper and throwing it up to the ceiling. She told me she tried it once too, even though she knows she shouldn't have. She hadn't gotten caught doing it, that's not why she was telling me. She told me because she was ridden with guilt over it. I told her we would talk about it more at home. We talked for almost an hour. She said as soon as she did it she felt terrible. She said she asked one of the girls who also did it if she felt terrible too. Apparently the girl told the teacher what she herself had done but the next day when I asked she was didn't know anything about it. When I informed her we were going to talk to the principal, she asked, "Oh, Chloe knows who did it?" I whispered, "No, Chloe is the one who did it." Of course there were several other girls who participated, but we weren't going to rat them out!

I had told Chloe that I was very proud of her for telling the truth but what she had done was called vandalism. I even looked it up for her and showed her the definition. Then I read her the California Penal Code, Section 594. It talks about the fines and jail times associated with vandalism. She was pretty convinced she was going to jail. I assured her it wouldn't be jail, just juvenile hall. She was sobbing pretty hard. Harsh right? But I really wanted her to know the real world punishment for her actions. I also thought it was really important for her to know that someone, probably the school janitor had to clean it up and she just made his job harder. I was concerned that she did something even though she knew it was wrong and gave her plenty of examples of how this could happen when she's older.  I presented situations of girls smoking in the bathroom, or drinking and driving. In those situations one mistake can equal a lifetime of pain. We decided the best thing to do would be to write a letter to her principal. I sent her to her room to write it and this is the letter she returned with:

Dear Mrs. ___________,

Today when I was in the bathroom I saw people getting toilet paper and putting water on it and throwing it at the ceiling. I did it once and I felt guilty and bad. I started crying when I got home and I told my mom. Then I knew I was breaking the law. I felt even worse. If you want me to do anything I will do it. I will clean the ceiling and pay ANYTHING. I feel like I am a horrible person. I am very, very sorry. I learned from my mistake and I promise it will never, EVER happen again in 10,000,000,000 years. I truly am sorry.

                                                                     Sincerely, Chloe

She drew a picture of herself on a ladder in the bathroom cleaning the ceiling with a speech bubble that says, "It's what I deserve."

We delivered the letter the next day right after school, which happened to be the last day of school. As the principal read the letter she seemed to groan with sadness, I thought she was going to cry, because both Chloe and I had tears in our eyes. The principal simply gave Chloe a giant hug and thanked her for her honesty. She made her promise she would go home and be a good girl for her mom. She then went on to tell me what a great mom I was (something I never get tired of hearing). She said most parents would have never done that, they would just brush it off, or reward them by taking them to Disneyland. Her words.

Even though I hate punishing her for it, she is grounded from the computer (her favorite thing) for two weeks. I continue to praise her for coming to me and for her honesty. I hope she continues to confide in me and trust me. I have a very special relationship with both kids and I never take that for granted.

Bragging {Personal Reflection}

Sometimes I get so annoyed at those bragging moms. So, I'll keep it short. This week Nash had a brief conversation with the owner of the San Diego Padres, Jeff Moorad. He gave him some advice on who we should draft. I heard Mr. Moorad say, "Wow! You really know your baseball." Jeff....You have no idea, and I believe it was really your pleasure to meet him!

Last week, Chloe was selected to be in the school spelling bee. She came in second. She went back and forth with PTA mom's daughter for quite some time before she missed "busness" or as you know it, and she will never forget, "business." She got a certificate and a really cool medal.

How I Taught My Child Multiplication

Chloe entered third grade this last fall and I knew this was the year they would start learning multiplication. I wanted her to know her multiplication tables before they started learning them in class for a couple of reasons. One, I wanted whatever she learned at school to be extra practice and two, I thought if the tricks I taught her didn't work, she would surely learn different ones at school. When Nash was in third grade he attended an amazing charter school. I remember that his teacher used stories and pictures to help the kids remember the facts. I had no idea what lesson she used, so I began Googling.

I found Multiplication.com 

I purchased the book, Multiplication In A Flash.

It's actually on sale right now for $21.95.  

The book starts with several schedules. You can choose one to fit your needs and desired pace. I picked the 3 day schedule. When it was time, Chloe and I would sit down at the table with a white board, our printouts, and some m&m's for motivation! I would talk her through the short lesson and whatever else.  I used the whiteboard during the lesson, then she got to use it, to show me what I just explained. The book walks you through everything and it is VERY EASY to follow.

The best part about the book is that it has different teaching approaches for each kind of learner. It teaches with funny stories that are easy to remember, pictures that tell the story, games, and cookie graphs.

Here are a few snapshots from the book:

Teacher Gift Idea

See the eight and skate picture below? I printed that and all the others like it off onto white cardstock. I printed the story that goes with it on the back. Then, I had Chloe color the photo. We did this on a few cards each week. When they were all done and we completed the book, I had them lamenated. We gave the cards and the book to Chloe's teacher.

At times, we struggled to start the lessons, but we got through it. The m&m's helped. So did the bribe. I promised Chloe that after she was done with the lessons, I would get her the Marbleworks toy from Discovery Toys. I'm so happy I took the time to do this with her. It definitely gave her an edge. She never had any trouble when she did multiplication in class. In fact, she was the best in the class, scoring 100% on every timed test before any of the other children. Aren't those bragging mom's so annoying?

*I was not asked to write a review for this product, nor did I receive any compensation.

I'm just sharing something with you that I really loved!