Lego Party

I've been reminiscing about the wonderful parties that I've thrown for my boys.  The guests seem pleased as they talk about it all year and await their next invitation. I must be doing something right! 

Before I begin, let me just say that I wish I had begun my relationship with Pinterest prior to this party!  It would have saved a lot of time.  However, I enjoy being creative for my kids.

It all began with the invitations!  Handmade from construction paper, they look like Lego Bricks.  Believe me, my hands were tired from all of the cutting and writing.  Inside, of course, was all of the information (date, address, RSVP...you get the idea).  I made NINE of these.  Yes, this was probably one of my smallest parties, but you'll see why soon.

Decorations included more bricks cut from construction paper, streamers, and goodie bags!

My original plan was to get some different colored bags from the dollar store and put the dots on them to make them look like Lego bricks. 

Well, that plan changed the moment I saw these beauties!  Yellow Lunch Sacks at the dollar store.  Mini figures popped into my head!  Lex loves mini figures!  These were super easy to make.  I just trimmed the tops and used a sharpie to color the faces.

Remember how I stated that I had a small party?  Well, I had NINE 6 year olds for about 20 hours. 

There was no way that I was going to handle the 20-30 kids that I normally have.

Activities for the first day included:

1. Squirting water at each other (Got these squirters at the dollar store)

I painted a line in the grass, put out some buckets and let them go!  I painted the lines in the yard so that they'd stay far enough away from each other to not squirt each other in the eyes.

2. Over the years, I've collected lots of Role Playing Costumes.  I would purchase costumes at yard sales and after Halloween sales.  Girls aren't the only ones to play dress up!!!!

3. They played a lot in the back yard as well (swing sets and forts are great for boys). 

4-6. We served Pizza for dinner, did some more dress up, and then headed outside for some fireworks!

The boys were pretty worn out and it was getting late, so they camped out in the living room and watched a few Lego movies.  Clutch Powers and Hero Factory were good choices.  Netflix helped with that. 

The next morning, I was super proud.  Lex's best friend, Timmy, was able to stay the whole night.  This was big, because every time he would try to stay, he'd only make it a few hours.

Cereal was a good choice for the boys.  I bought a few different ones and let them have at it.  When looking after nine wily 6 year olds, do you really want to cook?  Didn't think so.

Below you will notice a cool trick that doesn't require any spending for Lego toy storage.  A Blanket!  Yep, that's it.  Any old blanket will do.  Sit it on the ground, throw some legos on it and have fun!  When it's time to clean up, just pick up the blanket and pour the contents into the storage container.  My husband adopted this plan as a kid, and he still uses it today. You heard that right.  He still plays with Legos.  In fact, there's not a room in my home that doesn't have Legos. 

After building with Legos, the boys played dress up.  Again.  We also did face painting.  Nothing fancy, they were all warriors (close your eyes and think of Brave Heart).  They played with the water squirters again and ran a muck in the back yard.  :)

For lunch it was PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!.  They also had lemonade with Lego mini figure ice cubes.

Now, on to the cake!  For this I baked Four 9" cakes and Two 6" cakes.  I stacked the layers with icing in between each layer.  After putting a thin layer of  icing to set the crumbs, I put it in the fridge for a little while.  I do this with all of my cakes.   Then, I put on more icing, and chill it again.  When the icing is nice and firm, I get a warm cup of H20 and dip my fingers in it.  I then run my fingers along the icing to smooth it out.  By the way, I use Wilton's Icing Dye to make the colors.  For the black, I used a tube of Wilton's icing.  Notice how a lot of my cakes have a smaller cake added to a big cake?  That goes to the birthday boy! 

The birthday boy was trying to stack all of his presents.  They quickly fell over.  I love that boy!

Ever beat a Lego?  Now's your chance.  To make the pinata, I took a priority mail box, cut some circles in it and added some paper cups.

I used a runny glue/water mixture to paste red tissue paper on the box.

   Those Priority Mail Boxes are no joke!  It took awhile to break it, but it was well worth it!

 

Goodie Bags included:

Some Lego Candy found at the local candy store for about ($7.99 lb.)

Bubbles

Silly Bands

Homemade Lego Mini figure Crayons

A top (because Lex also loves tops)

And a Lego Mini figure key chain that I ordered from Lego.com off of the clearance section (Don't forget to sign up for the Lego VIP membership, it's free and you rack up points!~ I have $165 in Lego money for Christmas this year).

When Daddy gets home we'll be planning our next birthday party.  Can't wait!

Homemade Doughnuts!

Now, when credit is due, credit is due. So, I found this off of Pinterest, but it was more of a reminder/flashback of the good ole days.

Thinking back to the 1980's when my grandmother would make her own bread from scratch, I remember what she used to do with the extra dough that took hours to prepare.

She would roll it up into small balls, fry them, and then stick them in a paper bag with sugar. Shake & Serve!

Pinterest has given me this reminder, which by the way, I've been doing with my kids for awhile, but made it slightly easier.

I used:
Refrigerated biscuits in a can
Vegetable Oil
Sugar

I placed the biscuits on the count and had Lex, my son, punch holes in them with the edge of an icing tip. I placed them in the oil, flipped them, and then stuck them in a lunch bag with sugar. Shake & Serve!!!

They weren't gorgeous, but they sure were tasty, fast, and easy!

Pizza Chicken!

Low Carb Pizza Chicken in the Crock pot!

Today, I wasn't being very domestic, or so I thought!  I had to take allergy medicine that made me quite tired.  I did not feel like going shopping for groceries (although I really need to do it).

So, that left me looking in the fridge/freezer to see what I had.  This is what I came up with:

Two Frozen Chicken Breasts

Italian Salad Dressing

Ragu Pizza Sauce

Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese Block

Oh and some lovely seasoning from Tastefully Simple ( Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix~ I add this to a lot of stuff!)

Here's what I did:

1. I sprinkled a little of the Italian Dressing on the bottom of the crock pot ( I didn't cover it).

2. I placed the frozen chicken in the crock pot.

3. Sprinkled the chicken with a little of the pesto mix.

4. Cooked on LOW for 6 hours (the house was smelling divine)!

5. A half an hour before serving, I topped the chicken with about 1/4 cup of the pizza sauce and sprinkled the shredded mozzarella.

Let me tell you, I got a lot of "MMMM" and "This is Awesome, Mom".  The juices from the chicken made it melt in your mouth yummy!  They asked me to remake it this week! 

So here's the lowdown on why I call it Low Carb.  Please note that this meal served my two boys and I (hubby wasn't home to help today~ Yay for the Military Lifestyle :).  The chicken is a great protein.  The Mozzarella had less than 1 carb.  The Pizza Sauce has 5g of carbs.  The Italian dressing (about 4 Tbs) had about 6 grams of carbs.  Add those three together and you get 12 Carbs.  Divide that by 3 and you get 4 Carbs!

I wasn't necessarily looking for a low carb dinner, but I got one!  I was domestic after all!

Homemade Ice Cream Experiment

The boys and I were at the store one day, thinking of something fun to do.  We decided to make Ice Cream!  I knew how to do it, but I needed the specific ingredients for the actual ice cream.  I used my phone to look it up.  Some sites said to use milk, but I thought that Half & Half would be better.  So, I used the stevespanglerscience.com to get the ice cream ingredients (giving credit where it's due~ there's lots of other fun experiements on there too!)

List of items:

Half & Half

Sugar

Vanilla Extract

Measuring cup/spoons

ICE

Rock Salt (I pulled some from my water softener)

Gallon Size Storage Bag

Quart Size Storage Bag

Gloves (it gets cold)

For the Ice Cream we used this recipe:

(per http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/homemade-ice-cream-sick-science)

1/2 C Half & Half

1Tbs Sugar

1/2tsp Vanilla Extract

We poured these into our Quart Size Bag and closed the bag with as little air as possible left in it.  We didn't want it to explode or leak.



 We filled our Gallon Size Bags half way with chopped ICE from our refridgerator.

We then put in about 5-7 Tbs Rock Salt (I may have lost count).

 Shake It.  Roll It!

The boys were so excited to see snow on the bags!!! 

The whole process took about 8 minutes.

This was his Super Excited Face when he took the Ice Cream Bag out!

They said it was the best Ice Cream EVER, because we made it.

Next time we're going to add some flavors!

You're the Poo, Dad!

My husband has been complaining about flies entering the house this year. So.....

The boys got him an electric fly swatted/zapper for Father's Day.

I also made him a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. I used some Wilton brown icing in a tube to make the poo and added a fly from the Dollar Tree.

I had the boys sign my portable cake tray with a wet erase maker.

PS. I'm proud of this because I the thought came from my brain while I was in the car. Oh, and the swatter/zapper really works! The boys found it in the garden section at Walmart!

Crystal Light + A Can of Cake Frosting

It was super simple!  I added a Pink Lemonade Crystal Light packet (single) to a can of regular frosting.  It was a very light, yummy taste.  We made it for VBS.  To make the sprinkly cross, I gently placed a cookie cutter on top, added lots of sprinkles and then gently removed the cookie cutter.  It was a hit!  I think I'll have to try some other flavors too!



Cub Scouts Corn on the Cob Cake

For our Blue & Gold Banquet this year, I volunteered to bring a dessert.  This cake was super easy.  I made a regular (from the box) 9x13 cake.  After it cooled and I got it out of the pan, I trimmed it into a corn cob shape. I iced it with regular (from the can) icing.  I topped it with mini marshmallows.  I then sprayed the marshmallows and icing with Wilton's Icing Spray.  When the cob was nice and golden, I put green icing in a Ziploc bag with a flat tip coming out of one of the corners.  I use this method often.  I made straight-ish lines starting at the bottom and ending on either side.

I'm already thinking of what I can do next year.  I'm thinking popcorn!

I am, after all, the Popcorn Kernel.

Yummy Bisquits!

I've been loving on Bisquick lately. I used the biscuit directions and used cookie cutters to make heart and cross shaped biscuits. I cooked some bacon (we didn't care for this brand and will continue to buy Smithfield from now on). I also made homemade country gravy with the bacon grease. The boys loved this idea.

RC Car Battle

My husband got creative with the boys. He taped action figure weapons to the remote control cars. They thought it was hilarious.

Biscuit Pizza!

I used Biquick to make one large biscuit per biscuit instructions, added Ragu pizza sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni. I baked it on a stone for about 10 minutes.

Very Filling and the Kids loved it!

Any Readers Out There?

This would be a great idea for a book group too!

Our Local Library does a Summer Reading Special every summer for the kids.  This year they've added something a little more for adults as well.  If you fill a line, you get entered in a prize drawing.  If you fill the whole sheet, you get entered in the Grand Prize Drawing.  I'm challenging myself to do it this summer.

The kids get a Kid's Bingo Sheet if they read 50 hours (you also get points for attending free classes and such ~magicians, lego builds, story time...). 

I seriously encourage everyone to find out what's going on in your community for family activities.  I HAVE FOUND AT LEAST ONE FREE EVENT PER DAY THIS SUMMER IN MY SMALL TOWN! Last year, I started a facebook group for people to post kids activities in the area.  It has definitely blossomed!  You should try it!

Lucky's Luau!!!

Going through pictures brings back memories!  I have a ton of pictures, but I'll try not to post too many that have other children in them.  For my son's tenth birthday, we held a pool party/ luau. Of course, it rained.  Of course, the party went on!  The kids had a blast and they're already talking about the next party!

 Our Centerpiece:  A vase from the dollar store, a balloon from the dollar store, and skittles!  We counted how many were in there.  The kids all guessed how many were in it.  The closest to the amount won!  There was another vase behind it with luau themed straws for drinking out of the coconuts.  Straws from the dollar store, coconuts from Amazon.

 Birthday Boy Hat!  From the dollar store!

 They loved this game!  I got aluminum pie pans, added a stick of gum (bubblegum), and lots of whip cream!  The first one to blow a bubble won a prize!

 Anthony's Island cake!  We used Wilson's Icing Dye (Blue) to make the blue (duh).  The island was a small mound of cake that was iced and had graham cracker crumbs sprinkled on.  We added chocolate rock candy around the island.  I then put out two sticks of gum for the beach towels and the teddy graham bears were adorable! I used a Lego fishing pole and a piece of floss for the fishing accessory!  My son loves fishing!  Twizzler pull/peel candy made great rafts.

Beach Umbrellas and plates also came from the dollar store. I have already seen a lot of stuff for this summer at the Dollar Tree. Everyone got a flower necklace from the dollar store as well!

 I printed my own invitations with a cute little poem.  I rolled them up and stuck them in the MAILABLE bottles!!!

These were the mailable bottles that I bought from Amazon.  I usually print my invitations because I can't stand writing them out.  So, I didn't use their actual invitations.  

Skylanders Cake! (And some Legos and a Pig)

 I started off with Confetti Cake Mix (I got sick of making cake that kids didn't like).  I made two, just in case something happened to one of them. These cake pans were 6 inches.  I also used them as the pedestal to help while decorating.

 I "Sealed the Crumb" by putting a thin layer of icing on the cake and then sticking it in the fridge (if you're in a hurry the freezer will work~ give it about 10-15 minutes).

 I used Wilson's icing dye in Black.  That stuff is inexpensive and lasts a long time!

 I needed the top to stay white, so I stuck a piece of aluminum foil on it.  Yes, I could have used something else, but it was about an hour and a half before the party and I was in a hurry and out of parchment paper.

 The icing went on pretty smoothly.  I didn't want it to be too smooth though.  It needed to have a rocky appearance.  The icing color was a dark gray/purple because I didn't use too much of the dye (just what I wanted).  I then took a butter knife (Ikea kids' utensils are amazing and I use them for everything), dipped it in the dye and drew some lines on the icing to make the brick appearance.

 Glad Press & Seal worked wonders on the bottoms of these REAL Skylanders Figures!  I trimmed it, of course.

 My baby is 7!  I used the cake pan as a pedestal, but used a knife and spatula to place it on a piece of cardboard wrapped in aluminum foil.

It was a surprise AND a hit! He loved it! It was a personal cake. All of the other kids got cupcakes with Legos on them. He wanted Angry Birds, Legos, and Skylanders for his birthday theme this year. Something simple, and because I had soooo many kids this year, I didn't go all out!

 Super easy Lego cupcakes.  I bought the candy from a local store that sells them.  I had about 30 kids running around my house that day, so please don't mind the un-makeup'd face. 

Here, Piggy Piggy Pinata!

After the broke the pig open, they all started chanting, "Destroy the Pig".  And then, "Burn the Pig".  So, we did.  I made all of the kids back up though.  I think the entire neighborhood heard the thirty of them.