An Under the Sea Mermaid party

*warning, I just photo bombed the crap out of this post!*

Over the summer our family went on an awesome vacation to the Florida Keys.  And we drove there.  From Kentucky.  All 17 hours.  It was a wonderful time spent with my entire side of the family all on the beach together.  On the way home we stopped in Tampa and spent time with my grandmother.  The kids were awesome in the car on the way to Tampa.  So we decided not to chance it and bribed the then three year old.  What did she want? An Ariel party.  Her birthday is in December so I (being one who hates all things characters splashed all over the place) just figured she'd forget about the whole thing.  We're talking six months.  Did she you ask? No.  Not. At. All.

  

Can't have an Ariel party without a "dinglehopper"!

A hand drawn giant Ariel coloring sheet kept the littlest kids entertained while the older ones played together.

Please ignore Ariel's horrible mouth and hand, I finally realized the kids would not care so I shouldn't either.

So enter a Little Mermaid party without being oppressively Ariel-ified.  I know she wouldn't of cared either way if there were pictures of Ariel everywhere you turned, but I just can't do it, just can't.  It's my own preference and I'm okay with it, and the family is beginning to understand too (although they loaded her up with some Princess shirts at Christmas and I've even been nice enough to let her wear them, to bed).  We choose the theme of Under the Sea Mermaid, it encompasses the movie without me having to print off ten thousand Ariels.

We made some super easy and tasty "sea glass" using this recipe.

homemade salt water taffy was a big hit with the younger crowd (very sweet)

purple pearl sixlets were often swiped by the younger brother *can't say I blame him*

I let her pick the colors for the party because I'm not a complete control freak (yes I am, who am I kidding).  She picked teal and purple, which might of been because she was holding an Ariel doll at the time and that's what she was wearing.  I added gold because I am slightly obsessed with that color right now.  I took it and ran.  Literally.  These kids just follow me everywhere so I have to run away and hide a lot if I want to play on Pinterest all day.  (totally kidding, sorta.)

a tissue paper garland that was super easy to make decorated the dessert table

So I was blessed with six months to plan for this little misses birthday party (to which I only actually did any planning the last month).  Having that much time to think about pin ideas on Pinterest and then forget about, gave me time to shop cheaply.  I'm happy to say I spent WAY less on her party by planning a little earlier than I would of.  I also made almost everything that I possibly could, including the party favors and candy!

oh look I finally finished that gallery wall I've been talking about for months!

blue kool-aid served as "sea water" which the kids loved!

barnacles, get it? :)

I completely forgot to save an invitation to post on here.  They were a true labor of love and I will probably never make invitations again.  We used card stock and cut out a billion sea shell shapes.  Add some glitter and a puff paint pearl, some ribbon and you have a beautiful shell invitation.  I used this picture from Pinterest for inspiration.

I always go slightly overboard on the dessert table and this party was no exception.  Homemade candies, cupcakes, cake, chocolate covered pretzels, oreo balls.... we feasted on some sweets.

A gift table decorated with paper garlands and goodie bags.

super easy paper garland.  Seriously these are going to be a stable from now on.

 Party favors were simple but fun! Hand painted Prince Eric and Ariels all around!  And let me tell you, these took forever to make but I was lazy about it and laid in bed watching Hallmark Christmas movies while painting these bad boys.  Little Miss still plays with her Ariel (Prince Eric is not cool because he is not a princess).  Parchment paper bags with gold polka dots contained all the goodies (including the array of candy on the dessert table).

Although this party took a while to plan, I had so much fun pulling it all together.  We had a blast during the party, I never even picked up my camera!! And clean up was actually very easy compared to past parties so I was one happy momma.  And the smiles on Little Misses face were priceless.  She loved it all, especially when all her friends showed up.

Little man's birthday is in a month.  I just got started with ideas.  But he's two, he doesn't care.  He just wants to lick icing off cake and open presents (it's the little things in life ya know).  I promise I will take better pictures of his party ( it is one of my New Year's resolutions you know!) and hopefully we'll have this computer fixed up so I can actually edit them!

Thanks for making it through this long photo bombed post! Hope you have a great weekend!

xo Stacie

This is four

                          

It's startling really how much my daughter reminds me of myself. I have to stop myself sometimes to remember that she is one giant sponge, soaking up my every movement and expelling it right back at me. I remind myself daily that she is little.  

                                 

Today. Today that little girl turns four. She doesn't notice the years flying by, the milestones she's passing with flying colors, the gray hairs she's giving her father and me. No, that little sponge is just soaking up her world. Content to play quietly with her barbies, or terrorize her little brother (who at almost two still doesn't talk and thus can't tell her that he's annoyed). She has a fierce yearning to soak EVERYTHING in, wanting to know why, how, when. 

                

Four has snuck up on me. When that little girl was placed in my arms the very first time, four seemed like twenty.  I felt as though we would never make it to four. 

Moms would tell you four was the golden age. The terrible twos a thing of nightmares, the sassy-ness of three? You drank that attitude under the table. Four was the goal you dreamed about as you pulled your hair out.  But we made it. Four. Finally. 

 It's hard to look back at the past without a smile on my face. Sure, those days that she drove me to drink (not really but damn close) are there. Boy are they there.  But for every tantrum, sassy remark, or complete disregard for anything that came out of my mouth, that beautiful curly haired girl had a smile, a hug, or a remark so far off the wall I almost peed my pants laughing. She makes every bad day disappear with just one silly gesture or kiss. 

I know the attitude is far from gone, she's my daughter after all. I will struggle tooth and nail with this strong headed girl. But I'm grateful for the opportunity. I want her to be strong willed, determined, and passionate.  I want her to make herself heard, just not in that screeching tone she likes to use right now.  I can already see the woman she will one day grow into. She has a distinct personality. Sitting in her room surrounded by books one minute, the next? She's acting out The Little Mermaid, every one of the characters, all her. And her imagination? Puts mine to shame, and I'm pretty proud of that aspect of myself. 

The past four years have flown by in a blur to me. I won't get all sappy on you and say, cherish it while you can, but seriously. Do that. She's four. Four!! 

We had ourselves a little photo shoot to capture the moment, in the cold.  She was bribed with not one, but two pieces of candy.  She was a champ, and I am sadly still an amateur.

Four is a new adventure here. An adventure I for one can't wait to embark on. First things first though, a cupcake for breakfast. You only turn four once right?