Owl Birthday theme: Cakes

It was hard trying to make an owl cake, but with a little creativity I was able to pull it off.  For the head of the owl I baked a cake mix in a 1 quart batter bowl.  For the bottom I baked a cake in the small stoneware bowl that Pampered Chef sells ( it measures 9" across by 4 1/2 high).  To make the brown frosting, I used Wilson's brown  food color mixed with my favorite white icing.   The chest is white frosting that piped using a cake tip.   I placed chocolate chips on top of the white piping.  For the eyes I took a Oreo cookie, covered it with icing and put a chocolate chip cookie upside down.  For the ears, I cut the Oreo cookie in half and frosted over it.  for the beak I took the Oreo cookie and cut it in half and frosted it yellow.  

This is Little Man's own personal cake for him to tear up and eat.  I frosted it with white frosting.   I piped some of the brown icing around the edge.  The center is from a blowers, I cut off the ends of the blower to make it a circle (to see how to make owl blowers see my post,  Owl Birthday Theme: Favors and blowers).

There  is what the two cakes looked like at the party.

This is my husband with Little Man's cake.  He was so excited to blow out his candles, but he needed a little help from dad!

Check out the other post about the Owl Birthday Theme:
 Owl Birthday Theme: Decor
 Owl Birthday Theme: Favors
 Owl Birthday Theme: The Party and Game

Owl Birthday Theme: The Party and Game

Owl Birthday Theme: The Party and Game

I just love 1st Birthday parties.  Here is a photo of me and Little Man at his 1st Birthdays Party.  He was so happy, and photogenic.  He had such a great time with his friends.  I cannot believe that he is already one year old now.

The Game

The game we played is like "pin the tail on the donkey", only it was "stick the owl head in the tree".  I took a poster board and glued a tree to it.  To make the tree I took green and brown card stock and cut it out by hand.  To make the flowers I used the Circuit to cut them out of card stock.   

To make the owls I used the Circuit to cut out 2' owls then I added googly eyes using a glue gun and cut out a yellow nose with yellow card stock.  

Here is what the owls look like up close.  

Here is Little Man getting ready to play the game.  It was his turn and he really did place an owl on the game board ( he took some owls off too).  Overall it was a fun game for all ages to play.  The winner was able to pick their favor 1st followed by the next closest and so on.

Check out the other post about the Owl Birthday Theme:
 Owl Birthday Theme: Decor
 Owl Birthday Theme: Favors
 Owl Birthday Theme: Cake

Book Review: Mercy Come Morning

As a member of the blogging for books program, I am asking to read books and then to write a review of what I think of that book.  This is a book review on the book Mercy Come Morning by Lisa Tawn Bergren.  This review is my own honest personal opinion of what I thought of the book.

Mercy Come Morning

Mercy Come Morning by Lisa Tawn Bergren is a novel about forgiveness.  The story starts with thirty-seven year old Krista Mueller, a professor at a college, receiving a call from Dane that her mother is dying of heart failure.  Dane is not only the founder and Director of Cimarron , but Krista’s high school sweetheart too.   Krista has only see her mother twice since placing her in Cimarron Care Center, a nursing care facility that specialized in Alzheimer patient. Krista is reluctant to go, not only because she is fearful of her feeling towards Dane but also her unresolved feeling towards her mother. 

Krista travels back to her home town of Taos, New Mexico to see her mother one last time but her unresolved feelings of being unloved and unaccepted by her mother keep her from being able to say “good bye”. 

Among her mother things, Krista finds a Christmas carol book that her mother used as a journal in her younger years.  This journal allows Krista to see her mother as a young women with hopes, dreams and desires, not as the uncaring mother she remembers.   Dane also tries to reach pass the wall that Krista has put up to keep others far away.  Dane never stopped loving Krista, and he pursues her as he helps her to reconcile with her mother.

The book was a little slow as it developed the characters, but if you are willing to keep reading the story it is worth the effort.

 Throughout the book two questions are always on my mind; will Krista forgive her mother before it’s too late and will Krista open up her heart to Dane.  Many people can identify with Krista’s feelings of bitterness, sadness, and guardedness, and how all those feeling can washed away with forgiveness.  Mercy Come Morning is a powerful story of redemption , as it reminds us that it is never too late to forgive people. 
   

  Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Waterbrook Press as a member of their Blogging for Books program. All opinions are my own.


click to see my review on the Waterbrook Press website.

Owl Birthday Theme: Favors and Blowouts

Owl Birthday Party: How to make Favors and Blowouts

It is so much fun for the kids that are coming to the party to have something to go home with to remember the party.  I admit that I am not a big fan of favors, but when they are as cute as these, you just have to make them.   I though I would share with you how I made these cute owl favors boxes.





These are all the pieces that I need to make the owl favor boxes.  I used the "top note" die from the stampn' up big shot, while the circles I used the cricut to make 2 1/2' inch circles.  For the smallest circles I use 1/2 an inch. For the nose I cut a triangle out of yellow card stock.

I placed the pieces where I wanted them to go I used a glue stick to stick the pieces together.

For the ears I used the leaf from the stamp'n up bird punch.  you can also use a hot glue gun to get the pieces to stick together.

This is the final product.  I used the Circut to cut out a bag, but you could use a paper bag too.

Here they are all finished with goodies inside each of them and ready to give out to the kids.

To make the blowouts.  I bought some cheap blowouts at the dollar store and took off the "Happy Birthday" rings.  To make these I used Stamp'n up products. I used the Top Note and poked two holes in either end.  Then I used the owl punch to make the owl.  I added googly eye for dimension.

This is what they all looked like at the party

The kids all loved playing and blowing on these cute blowouts.

Check out the other post
 Owl Birthday Theme: Cake
 Owl Birthday Theme: Favors
 Owl Birthday Theme: The Party and Game

Owl Birthday Theme: The decorations

I had such a great time planning Little Man's 1st Birthday.  He was so excited to have all this friends over and to have all the attention on him.   First thing first I had to pick a theme for his party.  I have been to many 1st birthday and I wanted his to be different.  When I saw this invitation (on http://www.1stwishes.com/)  I thought how cute and I have never seen and own theme for a 1st birthday.
  Now that I had a theme, Owls, I had to think about the decor.  My friends let me borrow her Circuit machine to help me come up with some of the decorations.  I also used my Stamp'n up Big Shot Machine too.  If you have any questions about anything that I made, feel free to leave a comment 

Here is the plates and the napkins that I bought from 1st wishes website.

This is what the table looked like.  If you want to know how to make these you can see the "Owl Birthday theme: favors"

I made this wall hanging.  It says "Look whoo's 1"  I put it in his room when the party was over.

This centerpiece I bought from 1st wishes, but I made the little owl canister beside them.  I used the Circuit machine to make them then I filled them with candy.  

I got this Owl decal at a Dollar store.

Here is the centerpiece set up with the favors I made.  If you want to see how to make the favors see the "Owl Birthday Theme: Favors"

I made this sign and hung it up on the wall.  

Here is what it all looked like when I set it all up!

Check out the other post soon to come!
 Owl Birthday Theme: Cake
 Owl Birthday Theme: Favors
 Owl Birthday Theme: The Party and Game

A brother's gift to his sister: love

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I just had to share this video of my two youngest kids playing. It almost make me want to cry when I watch them play together. Mare bear was born with a condition call Rett Syndrome. It has robbed her of her speech, the ability to walk with out braces, and almost all of her purposeful hand movement. I worries what having another baby would do to her. How would she feel and how would her brother be around her. As you will see, giving her a little brother was a wonderful blessing to the whole family.

Happy Birthday to my Little Man

I am in disbelief that one year ago today I was in the hospital preparing to give birth to a baby boy; wondering what he would look like, and what his temperament would be.  Now, here I am waking him up with a "happy Birthday" song.  So much has happen in one year.  He went from a helpless human that needed me for his every need to an independent toddler.  Now he is walking  (and sometime running) on his own.  He can feed himself using his pincer grasp.  He can tell me what he wants either using a few baby signs that I have taught him or using gestures to communicate.  He can even play with his own toys independently, for a little while.   My Little Man is growing up.

But I think one of the saddest things about him growing up is that I am going to wean him off of nursing.  I have already started the process.  He is not as happy about whole milk as I would have liked.  We are down to only 3 nursing session a day; one in the morning when he wakes up, one as a mid-day snack at around 4pm and one right before he goes to bed.  I try to remember that this is all part of growing up, and it is good for him no to see me as a food source and his only source of comfort.

PS. I am planning his birthday party for today and will post photos of it later.