Peyton turns FIVE.

Two Saturdays ago, my little baby girl turned FIVE years old.

Can you believe it? I certainly can't.

How those five years went so quickly, I'll never know.

I'm sure that if you're reading this, you know of Frozen (the incredibly adorable Disney movie that every little {& big!} girl is obsessed with right now?). Well, of course Ms. Peyton is head over heels in love with anything Frozen or Elsa-related. So, naturally, when I asked her what theme she wanted for her birthday party this year, Frozen it was!

We tried to take care of some party prep well in advance, but being the procrastinator that I am, we didn't really get it done until the day before and the morning of her actual party. We did manage to get her invites written up {that my lovely sister designed!} and handed out to her classmates a few weeks before the big day.

My Momma found the Frozen stickers and we cut up un-used Frozen valentine's to "address" the invites, which worked perfectly!

Before I knew it, those weeks had gone by and it was her big day!

We celebrated by meeting Grammy, Nenna, and GiGi at Cracker Barrel for some yummy breakfast.



After we feasted, everyone dispersed and Peyton & I took a trip to the salon to get her nails painted for the first time! She loved it - (what girl doesn't?)

She got this really pretty blue-sparkly color to go along with the whole Frozen theme, of course.

We went home and snuggled while GiGi and Nenna worked on the finishing touches for her surprise new big girl bedroom reveal. {Because planning a birthday party, Nick finishing up a term for school, working on multiple other house projects, and dealing with our daily busy schedules wasn't enough to handle.} We didn't quite get everything accomplished and soon she was off to her birthday party at her dad's house, which left us with the evening to head to Hobby Lobby & Target for a few last minute room items and party supplies.

The next day, she came home and we were able to finally show her what we had been working on the past week:

{There are a few more things left to do, like paint the desk blue, change out the knobs and hang up a few more coat hooks.}

 Which was quickly followed up with a mad rush to get all of the party prep and decor finished. People started arriving and there were still plenty of things left unfinished. In fact, some ideas {i.e: the mini powdered doughnut snowmen and the hot chocolate bar} were completely thrown out the window. Which ended up being just fine, because we had more than enough to do. It was so, so wonderful having Peyton's classmates there for the party. They really were adorable and were always keeping me on my toes. I felt like I hardly got to interact with anyone but them for the whole party, haha. I was so busy that I hardly took any pictures/video, but thankfully my sister knows how much I love documentation and she went ahead and took some for me!

Here are a few pictures of the decorations, food, etc.:

 

We strung cotton balls on fishing line to create "snowfall" in the living room.
Also, these pictures serve as an unintentional sneak peak of what our new colors are in the house! :)

My momma works part time at Walmart and was lucky enough to nab the Frozen cutouts that they used as displays before they took them to the dumpster. They worked out perfectly to help give the party more decor and a more "Frozen"-feeling AND they saved us money because the cutouts that they sell online are like $35 a pop and ain't no body got time money for that. 

 Kristoff's Ice Cubes were kind of an epic fail. I would have much rather just had scoop-able blue jello than to have to have cut them up into squares like we did. It was a hot mess.

More party decorations:

Once all of the kiddos showed up (and I corralled them all into the kitchen), we started making their individual pizzas by using my grandmother's pizza dome. We had used it before for "pizza parties" at my Grammy's so we thought it would be great for the kids to give it a try and then we would have regular Papa John's pizza for the adults...

Well, these are the creations they came up with:

Celery dipped in ranch alongside apple slices, cheese cubes, and green beans? Needless to say, none of them wanted to eat their creations once they were baked.

After our attempt at eating something else for lunch, we decided to start up with the first game on the agenda! My totally amazing sister created this with 2 pieces of white poster board and some sharpies {& some twine & baby clothespins leftover from Peyton's room redo}:

 The kids loved it!

They all took turns as I held the "blindfold" and they all did pretty darn well, if you ask me!They might have helped each other out, just a little ;)

Next up: Olaf lost his nose in a snowstorm!

aka: the kids get really messy as they try to find a baby carrot in a pie plate full of whipped cream without using their hands. My Momma gets the credit for coming up with this one.

^^ This little girl, Irma, stuck her face in the plate and came back out with the carrot stuck right to her nose - how perfect is that!? ^^

The only little  boy from her class who came to the party was Hunter. And ironically enough, he was the only one who participated that didn't want to dive face first into that. So, he asked for a fork. :P I thought it was also cute that, out of all of the little kids there, he was the only one who actually sat down and watched Frozen when we played it towards the end of the party.

After we cleaned up the whipped cream is when we played "Freeze Dance". Which consisted of me playing the Frozen soundtrack as the little ones danced around the living room; until I hit pause and they were supposed to freeze! until I started it up again. Man oh man, did they love that game!

We decided after that, that it was time to open presents because some of the family members were getting a little restless. Peyton got so many cute things including a really awesome Frozen fleece blanket that I may or may not enjoy cuddling with as well.

 ^^ This is the only picture I could get of them all together and there's still one little girl missing. They were all having a serious sugar rush and would just not sit still, but what else do you expect from 6 four and five year olds? ^^

My Great Uncle Charlie (who just loves Peyton to pieces) also gifted her this really adorable jewelery armoire. I can't wait until she's old enough to fill it up with some pretty accessories!

As if the sugar high from the sweet treats and the whipped cream wasn't enough,

we had cake & ice cream next!

My momma had this vision and created this wonderful cake all by herself:

 We used blue raspberry cake mix, but it would have been better if we had just used blue dye and vanilla cake. The Olaf and Elsa came from one of Peyton's toys. The snow/ice covered trees were simply waffle cones covered in icing and sprinkles. Lastly, the stairs were made of those strawberry wafer cookies covered in icing and pushed into the cake. It was a really awesome replica of Elsa's ice castle and turned out much better than any store bought cake would have. 

We ended the party with popping in the movie for the kids to watch, especially since I was just plain exhausted from it all. It was nice to just sit and listen to them all interact. Soon enough, guests started to disperse and we were all happy to just be able to relax and reflect on a crazy hectic, but well enjoyed fifth birthday party for our little lady.

The kids (& adults!) had all signed our chalkboard in the kitchen to wish Peyton a Happy Birthday, kind of like one big giant birthday card & I just love the way it looked when it was all said and done:

The weather for the whole day could have been a heck of a lot better. I mean, it was seriously like a torrential downpour for the first couple hours, but then - THEN the coolest thing happened!

It snowed. A Frozen themed party wouldn't have been complete without it!

Thanks, Elsa! {I mean, Peyton} ;)

Overall, it was a great success and we only had a few minor issues: like Peyton crying because another little girl wanted to play with one of her birthday presents. If that's the biggest issue, I'm alright with that! I would like to extend a HUGE thank you to my momma, Jenna, and Nicholas - because without you guys, this party wouldn't have happened or have been even half as wonderful as it was.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

xo,

Sara

Five on Friday

Hallelujah! It's Friday.

This week seemed to go by pretty dang fast, though. Which is always a bonus in my book.

If we could have a five day weekend and a two day workweek {& still get paid for those 5 days}, I would be a happy camper.

Here's five things I am lovin' about this week:

1 - I had the chance to paint my nails! A nice bright coral & gold glitter combo. The best part? I was able to paint them at work! Today was a nice relaxing Friday in the office, so when we had some downtime I would throw a quick coat on them and before I knew it, they were done. Talk about being productive ;)

2 - That painting up there. It was the inspiration for the entire re-do of our downstairs decor. We chose paint colors and pillows and window panels based entirely off of this piece {that Nicholas bought for me for our 4 year anniversary, because he knew how much I loved it! Of course, it's from Pier 1.}  and we've slowly been working on getting this whole level complete and I am loving every bit of it. I can't wait to see the finished product!

3 - Peyton is so beyond excited for her Frozen-inspired fifth birthday party next week! Nearly all of the RSVPs from her classmates were "yes, we're coming!" which will be fantastic. Today, my Momma gave her Elsa's castle to play with and so that we would have it for decoration when it's party time. She's spent the entire time since we got home singing along to the soundtrack and playing with her new toy & I have been so content with just listening to and watching her imagination come to life. I have to come up with our main dish, the rest of the snacks, games/activities, & decor ideas... any suggestions are appreciated! :)

4 - Our Save The Dates arrived today!! As far as I knew, they weren't coming until next week so I was super excited when Nick said he found that little blue box on our doorstep. I wanted to get them out around April 4th {6 months before the big day!} so a head start on addressing them will be wonderful. Once I mail them out, I'll share what they look like.

5 - Yesterday, Nick stayed home because he had a severe headache/neckache that quickly turned into a full on backache and he said that lack of sleep and stress with school just caught up with him. So, he slept away most of the morning and then worked on homework for the rest of the afternoon. Luckily for me, I was able to leave work 2 hours early and when I got home we just snuggled and spent the whole evening together. I love Peyton to death, but sometimes just having some "us time" with my man is really nice. It allows us to connect and catch up, which we really needed lately.

I am looking forward to a weekend full of party planning and crafting; as well as making a new recipe {Spanish Chicken and Potato Roast} and just spending time with my loved ones.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and that these next 2 days don't fly by so quickly for us!

xo,

Sara

My Grammy turns 90.

This year, my Grammy turned 90 years old. To think of all of the things she has witnessed in those ninety years... I just can't even fathom it all. She is such a wonderful and amazing woman and I am so beyond lucky to call her my "Grammy".

Technically, her birthday was back in July. However, we were on our vacation when she turned the big 9-OH (we're awful people, I know). Thankfully, this weekend we finally got the chance to have a big party for her and celebrate her day of birth properly.

 

Peyton had her not-so-little cousins wrapped around her finger. They are such young gentlemen that they went to pick flowers with her {from that giant wildflower field in the background}, kick the football for her... and then go retrieve the football to do it all over again, etc. Needless to say, Peyton had a great time, haha.

Peyton helped Grammy open all of her presents, of course.

My (& Jen's) Uncle Dan and Aunt Janice came down for the party- all the way from New Hampshire! It's a shame that we only get to see him every few years or so, if that. However, he did invite us to stay up at his place sooo we may be taking him up on that offer soon!

My Grammy, Jen, Momma, and our Great Aunties. The Aunties come to stay with my Grammy this time of year and they laugh, and laugh, and laugh and play cards all day and night. They each come from different states: Florida, Texas, and Arizona. They celebrate Christmas on a Tuesday (in September) so they can all "be together for Christmas". They go to the "Cousin Crab Party" which is practically a family reunion and a crab feast combined into one. I love each and every one of them and I am so thankful to consider these happy, happy women members of my family.

I do believe that Grammy had a wonderful time at the party. There were numerous people there to celebrate with her and to enjoy her company, of course. There was tons and tons of food, which was nearly completely finished by the end of the night. Seriously, I didn't even get to take a picture of the appetizer set-up (I made the bacon-wrapped-brown-sugar weenies and some spinach artichoke dip in a bread bowl, yum!) before it was completely annihilated by the swarm of party-goers, haha. It was a super successful event and I am so glad we got to throw Grammy a birthday party full of laughter, catching up with family, and great food.

 

Grammy, you mean the world to all of us. I hope this year is filled with much joy and happiness. Here's to 90 more fabulous years! I love you.

Happy Mother's Day!

For Mother's Day, we celebrated yesterday with brunch:

 

 

 For eats there was:

 Pecan Praline French Toast, Southwestern Egg Casserole, bacon, sausage, and a fruit tart.

 

 

And of course, there was Mimosa Punch and Iced Coffee for drinking.

 

YUM!

 

We all had marvelously stuffed tummies by the time the party was over and we just really enjoyed being able to spend the time together. Whenever my Aunt is involved, there's almost always a round or two of Catchphrase to be played. And I love it.

 

My cousin's little boy. He's getting so big!

My baby, Me, my Momma {GiGi}, my Grammy, and my Aunt.

 I hope that everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day today and that you each get at least a backrub or enjoyed a nice cup of coffee in peace this morning!

 

Much love to you and your little ones!

 

 

To my Momma:

 

 You are so amazing. Truly, you are. I can not thank you enough for always being there for me and for everything that you do for me, Jen, and Peyton. You are the most caring, selfless person I know and if anyone deserves breakfast in bed, a thousand foot rubs, and a bouquet of flowers {EVERYDAY, not just Mother's day} it's you.

Thank you for being the best Momma I could've ever hoped for. 

I love you to the moon and back.

xoxo

 

 



Peyton's {Fourth} Birthday!

*whew*

This past weekend was so intense. Like, really intense.

I have never had such a crazy time trying to plan one of Peyton's birthday parties.

Then again, I haven't attempted a full-on, Pinterest-inspired, ocean-themed party before.

Ps- can we just take a moment and acknowledge the fact that my BABY really isn't a baby anymore! Gah. I can't believe four whole years have gone by already.

{Cheesin' before we went out for dinner on her actual birthday.}

Okay, back to the party:

I was literally shaking the whole morning/day from the adrenaline pumping through my veins while running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to prepare all of the food and set up everything. {I really do need better time-management skills.}

I couldn't have pulled off that day if it wasn't for the help from Nick {extraspecially him}, my sister, and my Momma. Thank you, guys.

1- The food spread included:  Goldfish bread sandwiches with tuna salad, ham/swiss and turkey/american  ;  Broccoli  Coral Salad  ;  Watergate Salad {dyed blue}  Ocean Fluff  ;  a Goldfish Bar  ;  and assorted chicken.

2- There were Hot Dogs Octopus & Beans

3- "Sea Punch" {which had blue ice cubes with swedish fish frozen in them}, Sea Salt chips, Barbecue chips {because who can pass up Martin's Barb-B-Q Waffle Chips?? Not this girl.}, and blue jello with a swedish fish Fish Bowls.

4- Lots of balloons, gifts, and handmade {read: Pey-made} fish/shark/ocean creature decorations.

5- A close up of the Deviled Fish Eggs.

6- The beautiful sea turtle carved by my sister that held the fruit salad.

7- Another shot of the feast we had going on.

Then, she opened presents:

& of course she made out like a bandit, per usual. {Tons of cute new clothes for spring/summer!}

After which we moved on to...

CAKE!

** Sidenote: This whole "ocean" theme came about back in January when my sister and dad went to Curacao. Papa Ron and Jenna travel a lot {lucky turds} and are always going somewhere tropical and coming back with thousands of pictures from their underwater adventures with snorkeling and scuba diving. One night, while they were in Curacao, Peyton said to me "Momma, I want a Papa Ron diver on my cake!" Thus, we went all out with the underwater/ocean theme. And you can bet your bottom dollar that there was a Papa Ron diver on top of that cake! {along with her most favorite sea animal - a hammerhead shark.} The little ocean figures that decked out her cake even came from Dad & Jen's Curacao trip. :) **

Overall, it was such a wonderful day and I could really tell that Peyton loved every minute of it. She has grown into such a sassy, hilarious, brilliant, independent, beautiful, inspiring, wonderful, and loving little lady. I am so blessed to be her mother and to be a part of her life.

I love you, babygirl.