Pocketful of Sunshine

In one of my earlier blogs, I expressed just how much I cherish my childhood birthday parties, so when it comes to my kids’ birthday parties, I try very hard to make them special days that will last a lifetime.

The twins were coming up on their Big 3, and they were all super heroes, all the time.  So it only made sense to have a superhero themed party.  That’s easy enough; the stuff is everywhere.  But the twins like ALL the superheroes, not caring that Superman is a DC comic hero and doesn’t hang out with the Marvel superheroes, so I had to be resourceful—the generic invitations, decorations, and cakes just wouldn’t do.

I started with the invitations, which proved to be the most challenging and frustrating, yet rewarding creative endeavor I’ve undertaken to date.  I usually make the kids’ invitations, so that wasn’t what made it hard; instead, it was the fact that I had gotten it into my head that I was going to replace super hero heads with the twins’ heads, and once I get something into my head, well, my passion, stubbornness, obsessive-compulsiveness, call it what you will, is unrelenting. 

After many nights and many hours of using various programs accessible to me on my home computer—ultimately PowerPoint and Paint—and many mumbled “bad words,” I finally achieved what I had in my head.  It’s not perfect, but I was pleased, and the twins were thrilled! (Until James David decided he wanted to be Hulk instead of Captain America.  I quickly informed him THAT was NOT going to happen!)

For the cakes, I found this awesome cake on Pinterest, but I’m not so delusional as to not know my artistic limitations.  And I really wanted to make the cake myself, so I had to find other more realistic options.  

 

I had already determined to make 2 yellow cakes with chocolate icing, in my opinion, the best cake in the world.  I wanted one sheet cake for the guests and a half cake each for James David and Jacob.  (They were really looking forward to blowing out their candles, so I didn’t think it would be fair to make them share that experience.)  I searched Amazon and found edible cake toppers with images of DC and Marvel heroes, respectively.  With some colored icing and superhero figures, they were a far cry from the Pinterest cake, but they were acceptable, and the twins got what they wanted.

 

So everything was pretty much ready to go.  I didn’t have to worry much about entertainment—we have a huge backyard with loads of outdoor toys and swings, so we always have the kids’ parties outside.  That part of the party is always low maintenance.  Until this year…

With a 100% chance of rain, my luck with outdoor parties had run out.  What in the world would we do with over a dozen kids stuck in the house?  Da ta ta dah!!!!!  Dollar Tree to the rescue!  With a little bit of imagination and around $20.00, I picked up enough baskets, balls, hula-hoops, frisbees, masks, and stickers to save the day!

 

After running the gauntlet of a half dozen training activities, our guests completed the “Super Hero Boot Camp” and earned their very own super hero mask, designed especially by them.  

Thankfully, my three boys and their guests are still young enough to be wowed by such simplicity—a pocketful of sunshine on a rainy birthday!

Happy 3rd Birthday to my super Super Heroes!

Beach Baby

I'm not 100% certain of this, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the beach--any beach--is the most popular family vacation destination.  It is for our family, at least; and it is particularly so since we have a condo that Ron and I bought BK (aka before kids). 

Before kids, we'd throw a few things in the suitcase and leave on a Friday evening, no muss or fuss.  With kids, well, anyone with kids knows that's an entirely different story for any traveling destination and most certainly for the beach.  There are so many things you have to bring!

While I can't promise you this blog will help reduce the amount of things you'll need to take to the beach, I can tell you that some of these ideas I've developed and products I've come across will help make your beach trip much easier!

1.  The Wonder Wheeler

The Wonder Wheeler is truly a wonder.  And it's not just great for lugging items to the beach; it's also great for transporting all your luggage and eventual groceries to your condo.  We've had ours for at least 6 years now and have put it to use two plus times a year; it's held up remarkably well.  It folds down for storage and for transporting.  While it does take up some precious space in your car, it is really worth it, especially if you can't go down to the beach without bringing every beach toy, wake board, life jacket, chair, etc.

2. Beach Toy Bag

This is one I just tried this past trip last month--a mesh laundry bag with a drawstring.  It's super large, accomodates many sizes and shapes of toys, is light-weight and see through, and has holes to allow sand to pass through, reducing the dreaded sandy mess in your condo.  I picked up one for $1 at the Dollar Store, and it worked really well except for the durability of the material.  So I plan to pick up a more quality version for our next trip.

 

3.  Beach Blanket

 

Typically, I use a large flat bed sheet.  But it doesn't take long for that to get pretty nasty, so after doing some searching, I found the Grand Trunk Parasheet.  It's lightweight, folds up into its own attached pocket, has corner pockets to fill with sand to keep it from blowing away, and is water and sand resistant--the best of all!

 

4.  Baby Powder

 

I learned several years back that baby powder will remove sand from your body.  If you haven't tried this, you must--it's like magic! No more sandy little hands and sticky sandy bodies.  Pour some powder on the skin, give a light rub, and voila!  What makes this concept even greater is this Baby Powder Pouch.  It's washable, refillable, and reusable. 

5.  Crocs

 

I have issues with shoes and sand, yet when the sand's hot, you really need shoes!  Usually I'll wear my Teva or Reef flip-flops, but I hate it when the material on the thong gets wet and sandy.  Here recently, I quite randomly came upon a pair of Crocs at an overstock store.  I had always thought of Crocs as those ugly mule looking shoes, but these were cute hybrid sandal/flip-flops.  I've since become an avid Croc wearer.  I don't want to turn this blog into a Croc promotion (seriously, I could!), but Croc flip-flops are the way to go for the beach.  They're durable, yet super comfortable, and there's no fabric to get wet and sandy, thus reducing mess and the potential for rub/blisters. 

 

6.  Hair Care

 

I have fine hair, which, after kids, turned frizzy curly.  The least amount of humidity and rain will frizz it up.  So I've learned there's no use in trying to "fix" my hair while at the beach.  Instead, I work with its natural tendency.  Now, some of you might already know this, but I had wondered why my hair curled so nicely after swimming in our pool.  The other day, I found this product by Got 2b:  Beach Trippin' Salt Infusion Waving Spray.  It turns out, salt water--our pool is a salt water pool--causes hair to curl!  (I don't know the logic of this, but check it out for yourself.  I've been using it despite not being at the beach!)  So if you have problems with your hair while at the beach, this might be a great product to try.  Plus, it'll cut down on a lot of accessories you might normally use and bring.

 

Certainly there's so much more that's necessary for a beach trip with kids, but these finds have become absolute essentials for my family.  I'd love to hear more tips from you!