An Elf on the Shelf Proposal

What a momentous night for our little elves, lol!!

An Army Themed Birthday!

Here's a little recap of my son's Army themes 7th birthday party we held at our house. It was an absolute blast for all of the guests and most certainly for the birthday boy!

Each guest became a new recruit as they arrived at the party. They were issued dog tags, a helmet, had their face painted camouflage, and were ordered to complete the obstacle course. The obstacle course was a complete hit and filled the bulk of the time of the party as the kids all wanted to do many of the challenges multiple times. 

Pics from the obstacle course: 

All of the kids LOVED the cardboard camouflaged tank we made. They all enjoyed going inside it and especially shooting various things through the turret! 

Face Painting:

Lunch was served in true Army fashion: MRE's! 

Instead of the usual cake/cupcakes, we decided to stick fully to the Army theme for the cake. Each guest received a "cake in a can" cake ration in their MRE. These were an absolute hit with the kids! 

The party favors each child received upon visiting the "Out Processing" table before leaving the party. Each child received a "Basic Training" certificate of completion and were promoted to the rank of Private First Class:

A very happy mother and son celebrating his special day: 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Party

I thought I'd take a minute to finally post a few pictures from my son's TMNT party that we had WAY back in October (yes, that's how sporadically I blog). I thought I could give some of you planners out there a few ideas for your upcoming party. Enjoy! 

A few of the decorations: 

Some of the games and activities:

                (Knock out Shredder)

      

                    (Dig for prizes)

                  (Pizza frisbee toss)

            (Make your own nunchucks)

Cupcakes:

Water:

Goody Bags:

Washing Easter Eggs

I don't know about your Easter eggs, but after being hidden outside and then manhandled by my kid's candy-laden hands, our plastic Easter eggs get NASTY! I save the eggs year after year and some get filled with jokes, some get filled with money, but some get filled with candy...and I don't want that unwrapped candy touching those nasty eggs, especially perhaps the ones that have perhaps been filled with the world's filthiest item...MONEY! 

Having the work smarter not harder philosophy, I figured out the easiest way to wash our Easter eggs...in the washing machine! My sister asked me why not the dishwasher, but I figured the washing mashine would be best for two reasons. One, I thought the eggs might fall through the racks and melt on the washer coils. Two, if you put them in a mesh bag to prevent this, they nest together. The spinning of a washing machine will be sure to slosh them around and ensure all the eggs get washed. 

I purchased a mesh laundry bag at the dollar store (my favorite place on earth), put all of the opened eggs inside, and knotted the end so it wouldn't come open. I set the water on warm (I figured hot might ruin some of the paint on the eggs) and set it on the gentle cycle).

 All the eggs came out perfectly clean with all the candy goo and dirt washed off! 

I then laid out a large towel and spread out the eggs so they could dry....you want to make sure you don't store anything even the slightest bit wet at all! It will destroy everything in your storage bin with mildew! I've learned that the hard way unfortunately! 

Voilà! Perfectly clean eggs that are all set for filling next year...the EASY way! 

Math game - Decomposing Numbers

Here's a game I've created that you can easily make at home with just index cards and 2 dice. My son and I play all the time and he LOVES it, but what he doesn't realize is that it's also a game that is great for practicing number decomposition. 

Set out cards labeled 1-9. Roll 2 dice. Add the numbers of the dice together. Whatever the total of the die are, you must flip over cards in the same total in whatever variation works. For example, in this picture, I rolled 12 so I flipped over the 8 and 4. The goal of the game is to flip over as many cards as possible. Your turn ends when you roll a total in which you can not flip over any combination of cards that will amount to your rolled total. The numbers on your cards are then added up as points and then the next player begins their turn. The player with the least number of points wins. 

My son and I will honestly play this over and over and play "winner of 5 rounds" or "first to 100 loses". It's a fantastic way to reinforce both addition as well as number decomposition in a fun and positive atmosphere. 

Give it a try and let me know how it goes! 

I'm A Plumber Too!

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm all about efficiency. I absolutely LIVE by the motto "work smarter not harder". In doing so, I've created numerous ways to easily problem solve. One of my most favorite solutions I've come up with over the years is how to easily unclog a slow or clogged bathtub drain. My bathtub drain ALWAYS gets completely clogged due to having long, thin hair. I absolutely REFUSE to a) call a plumber or b) use Liquid Plumber (or any other variation of such). It barely works, but more importantly, it is 100% lethal if swallowed. Having 2 little ones in the house, I'm completely unwilling to take that risk. So, in my many attempts to unclog drains, I've figured out that a simple hemostat will completely unclog a drain that is filled with hair. If you don't know what a hemostat is, it's a metal pair of scissor looking things that are used by medical professionals to put in sutures. They have dull ends (unlike scissors) that have ridges for gripping and also have a locking handle so they don't open up and can maintain their grip while pulling. So, if you or someone you know works in a medical office, make sure to snag yourself a pair. Otherwise, you can purchase them on Amazon for a few dollars. 

Take your hemostat, stick it down the drain, close it, and then pull up. You will be ASTONISHED at how much hair you pull up. Set the clump of nasty hair to the side and repeat the process until you can feel all the hair is gone. Use a paper towel to clean up all the hair that you pulled out and throw it away. Simple as that! Try not to get too depressed at how much hair you have lost in the shower, LOL! Anytime I see that my drain is draining water slowly, usually ever couple of months or so, I do this and it completely works like new again.

Try it out and leave a comment if it fixed your problematic drain! Good luck!