Easter Festivities

Easter is almost here! We have been so busy, but I took the time to put together a few festive Easter snacks for the kids. We signed up to bring veggies for my son's Easter party at school. I thought the kids might be more likely to eat them if they were in cute chick cups.

 I found this foam table scatter at the dollar store for $.50. I just cut the orange pieces into beaks and feet. I also found the google eyes at the dollar store.

I found the cups in the dollar spot at Target a while back for 50% off. They were only $.50 for a pack of 6. I found the yellow feather boa at Walmart. It was sold by the yard in the fabric department. I cut it into 1 1/2 inch strips and hot glued it to the cups. These were so easy to make and I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out.

I wish I had taken a picture of these pudding cup treats before I put them in the bag. They were also very simple to make. You can find directions on how to make them here.

I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter!

"Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die." John 11:25-26

Mustache Bash

I know Valentine's Day was a week ago. Sorry I am just now getting to post this.

On Sunday, we had a few families from our church over so the kids could have a little Valentine Party. We were originally going to have it during the day on Thurs as more of a play date for the kids, but since we had so much snow and ice, we had to postpone it. I decided to fix lunch for everyone and have a little dessert table. I was working on a pretty tight budget, but I have a pretty good party stash, so I was able to use a lot of things I already had. Here is what I came up with...

I really didn't do too much for the decorations. I was trying to think of just a few things that would make the biggest impact. I made a banner out of an old banner I had left over from a birthday party.

Here is a picture of the old banner. I cut off the ears on the Mickey Mouse shapes so I would just had circles left. I put some cupcake liners that I already had behind the circles to give the banner a little more interest. The lips and mustaches where cut out of wrapping paper that I already had. Since the kids were exchanging Valentine's, I decided to hang the red and white chevron bags below the banner. I used black cardstock and chalk to put each child's name on their bag. I made another banner to hang above the sliding glass door in the kitchen. The only thing I had to buy was the pink glitter wrapping paper that I found on clearance at Walmart after Christmas for $1.

For the kitchen table, I just did my usual- cut shapes out of felt. I used left over scrap pieces for the mustache and just had to buy 4 pieces of pink felt for a total of $.92. I already had the fabric for the tablecloth (I have used it multiple times before) and I was able to use the flowers my husband gave me for Valentine's Day for a centerpiece.

I made a photo booth by hanging wrapping paper on the wall with painters' tape (as to not damage the walls). This picture was actually taken before I had the other backdrop set up. I just used fabric for this one. They were way too excited to get a decent picture during the party. The photo props were just made out of bamboo skewers, cardstock, and wrapping paper. I made sure the pointy end of the skewer was covered. The only thing I had to buy was some red glitter wrapping paper (like the pink) for $1.

Most of my favor/decoration budget was used on the favors. I already had the bags, ribbon, and paper shreds left over from a birthday party. For the tags, I found some free printables here.

I got a box of Valentine Fruit-by-the-Foot and some lip whistles (for the girls) at Walmart. I used my 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby to get some mustache whistles (for the boys). I also got some adhesive felt to make stick on mustaches and some mustache balloons. From Dollar Tree, I got some cookies and candy to fill up the bags. The total for the favor bags was $16.87 for 12 (we only had 9 kids at the party, but I made a few extras for some kids who couldn't come).

I thought I was done with the favors until I found these mustache lollipops at Walmart. They were 50% off after Valentine's Day (making them $.50 each), but I still went a little over budget on them. I guess there was a perk to the party being postponed. They were just too cute to pass up, although, they would have looked better if I had repackaged them and maybe added ribbon and displayed them better. Oh well, it was kind of an after thought.

I am not the best cook and I always get really nervous when I have to cook for people. I  wanted to keep lunch pretty fool-proof, so I decided on spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad. We just had sweet tea, water, and fruit punch to drink.

These fuzzy mustache straws were actually pretty easy to make. I just used paper straws, adhesive felt, and black cardstock that I already had.

 After lunch, the kids got to decorate cookies. I already had the cookie dough, pink icing, and pink, red, black, and white sprinkles. All I had to buy was some white icing for $1.29.

I'm pretty sure all the kids had a sugar rush with the dessert table, but hey, it's a party!

 I just used a box cake mix and icing that I already had to make strawberry cupcakes. I already had the cupcake liners too, I just had to get the toppers, which I found at Walmart for $.75

 Thanks to Little Debbie, I was able to put together these cute cake pops. All I did was put the snack cakes on a lollipop stick. It was as simple as that!

I know the popcorn is kind of random, but I already had the boxes and I had glued the mustaches on when we were originally just planning to do snacks for the play date. I didn't want them to go to waste, so I just went ahead and used them anyway. The "tray" is actually a picture frame that I bought at a yard sale several years ago. I just covered the back with wrapping paper so it can be changed out to match any theme. I think I have used it for pretty much every party we have had.

When we were just planning on doing a play date for the kids, I set a budget of $20 for favors/decorations and $20 for food. I stayed close (just a few dollars over with the added mustache lollipops) for the decorations/favors, but with adding lunch for 4 families, there is no way I could stick with a $20 budget for food. I just tried to keep the cost down as much as I could.

The total spent was...

Favors/decorations: $24.29

Food: $56.51

Overall, I think the party was a success. All the kids seemed to have fun, and the weather was gorgeous so they were able to play outside a lot. I think I have enough spaghetti and garlic bread in my freezer to last at least 2 meals.

"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7
"And [Jesus] said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and will all your soul and with all your mind.This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-38

Thanks for reading!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day. I am so thankful that we got to spend the whole day together as a family. We really didn't do anything too special, but I tried to at least give them some festive Valentine meals. We were planning to have a Valentine party with a few friends yesterday, but we have been snowed in for the past few days, so we had to postpone it til Sun. I will share more on that later.

My kids get really excited when I fix themed meals, so they were really happy with their heart-shape food today (really all I did was get out my cookie cutters). I hadn't really decided what I wanted to do for our Valentine's meals yet when we got snowed it, so I pretty much had to just go with things we already had..
For breakfast, toaster strudels and fruit.

 And for lunch, mini pizzas and salad.

 It doesn't get much easier than that.

My neighbor was so kind and offered to watch our kids so me and my husband could go out for dinner. I think this is the first time in 4 years that we have been able to go on a date for Valentine's Day.

We tried to take a picture of ourselves...it didn't go so well :)

We really weren't sure if we were going to be able to go out for Valentine's Day due to the weather, so we really didn't have anything special planned. We ended up just going to a steakhouse chain, so I really didn't want to get too dressed up. I found this "LOVE" shirt while on vacation in Charleston, SC last weekend, and I had planned on wearing it for our Valentine Party. It was so comfortable and I think it was perfect to wear for a casual date.

"LOVE" shirt: Francesca's $9.98

White blazer: TJ Maxx $11

Pants: Belk $10

Necklace: (gift)

Gold sequin clutch: $9.99 jane.com

Shoes: Target (gift)

Total: $40.97

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Ephesians 5:25
"However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." Ephesians 5:33
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate heart, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." Colossians 3:12-14

Being Intentional... week 2

Last week, I posted about how I wanted to start sharing something different each week that I am going to be intentional about- something that I feel will help me to grow in my walk with God or something that I think will benefit those around me. For the first week, I shared that I wanted to start reading to my kids every night again, not just story books, but also the Bible. In case you are wondering how I did, I'd say that we have improved, but we did skip a few nights this week. Sometimes it is just hard, especially if little ones are not feeling well and want to go to bed early. I am going to continue to try to make it a point to read to my children every night. I'm sure when we get back in the habit it will get easier.

For this week, I have decided that I am going to be intentional about doing everything with a joyful heart. I think this will be quite a challenge. It is so easy to complain about having to do things that we don't like, but I think our attitudes can make a huge difference. For example, there are certain household chores that I really dislike, but they have to be done. Instead of grumbling and complaining about having to do them, I should be thankful that I am able bodied and I have the ability to do them. I should also be thankful that I have a house to clean.
"Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." Philippians 2:14-15 ESV

Another way of looking at is it that everything that I "own" really belongs to God. It is because of Him that I have anything and that I'm able to do anything. Everything I do should be for His glory and I should do it as if I were doing it for Him. So instead of saying, "Oh man! Today I HAVE to clean the fish tank. Blah!" I should say, "Today I GET to clean the fish tank and take care of one of God's creations."
"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17 ESV
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24 ESV

So this week, I am going to be intentional about reading to my children every night and doing everything with a joyful heart. I would appreciate any prayers and please let me know if you would like me to pray for you as well. What are you going to be intentional about this week?

Since Valentine's Day is just right around the corner, I want to share with you a few Valentine looks that can fit into almost any budget. Every item is less than $20.

This casual look makes me think of Valentine's Day because of the roses on the sweater, but it's not too over the top. I like how the necklace and heels dress it up a little.

Sweater here /Jeans here/ Shoes here/ Necklace here

Total outfit cost:$52.45

I also wanted to put together a date night look and carry on the rose theme.

Faux Fur Cape here/ Necklace here/ Dress here/  Shoes here/ Purse here

Total outfit cost: $67.75

I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for reading!

Being intentional...week 1

It has been so long since I posted anything. Yes, I am still here. And, no, I have not had a major crisis. The truth is, lately I have been going back and forth about whether or not to continue blogging. Sometimes, I feel like I am just wasting my time on something that is trivial. I want everything that I do to glorify God. Often, I quote scripture verses, but I wish there was more I could do to reach out to others and share my faith through my blog. I have decided that for now, I will keep blogging, but I think I'm going to start something new. Each week, I'm going to share something that I'm going to try to do (or try not to do) to be more intentional in my walk with Christ. I think as Christians, sometimes we are expected to be perfect, like we used to be sinners, but now that we're saved we are supposed to be perfect. Well, we aren't perfect, and there are things that we all struggle with; that's why we need a Savior. The things that I struggle with may not be the same as the things that you struggle with, but we all have something. I'm going to try to choose something different every week that I think will help me to get closer in my walk with God or something that I think will benefit those around me (could be something big or small). I would love for you to join me and share with me what you are going to be more intentional about each week.
For my first week, I am going to be more intentional about reading to my children. My husband and I used to be really good about reading to them every night. We let them each pick out a book and then we would also read a Bible story to them. Lately, we have been busy, tired, and it gets to be their bedtime and we just skip it. I think that reading to your children in general is very important, but especially reading the Word of God with them and having family prayer and devotion time. I'm hoping that if we instill in our children the importance of reading their Bible at a young age, and continue as they grow older, they will make it a priority for the rest of their lives.

I will still share outfits and other things as well. Here is what I wore to church today...

(closer up so you can see the necklace)

Dress: Old Navy (I used a gift card that I got for Christmas, but it was on clearance for $8.99) here

Faux Leather Jacket: Thrift Store $3

Necklace: jane.com $12.99

Booties: Old (gift)

Gold Sequin Clutch: jane.com $9.99

Total: $25.98

 

I hope everyone has had a great weekend! Please let me know if you want to join me in the "Being Intentional Challenge".