A Harry Potter Birthday

Thought I would repost THE Harry Potter Party

that I shared over at Blue Cricket Design.

Hope you enjoy it...we sure did.

banner tutorial here

Nothing is more magical than a Harry Potter party. This party theme is perfect for your older Witch or Wizard. I had a lot of fun throwing our 8 year-old this Wizarding themed birthday party. It was by far the most fun party I have thrown.

The decorations were burgundy and gold for the Gryffindor House, with a little bit of black thrown in. There was definitely magic in the air between spells class, magical creatures class, potions class, broom-flying instruction and then a trip to Honeyduke's.

Of course the whole thing started off with this very special invite.

tutorial here and here 

On party day we had everything set up to welcome our Wizards.

Once they had their robes and wands, it was time for spell class. Each wizard got his very own spell book and a magical creatures book. They learned some important spells. Then we went through the magical creatures book in order to prepare for a magical creatures hunt.

 spell/magical creatures books tutorial here

One of the funnest parts of the party was potions class.

Just looking and smelling the bottles of disgusting ingredients was a hit. Labels were downloaded from HERE. I ended up doing a bit of my own interpretation of the different ingredients. My motto-think outside the box and use your imagination!

In potions class we had three different potions that we whipped up.

The blue fuzzy potion was a mixture of Unicorn Tears, Bone Dust, Worm Juice, and a little water. AKA vinegar, baking soda, and dish detergent. This was probably the most popular potion made.

After a good time in potions class we headed to Honeyduke's for some famous Harry Potter treats.

A midst all the goodies were chocolate frogs, acid pops, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans, chocolate covered  cockroaches...AND

there were even Cauldron Cakes.

This little cupcake was my answer to a birthday cake. Individual and fabulously unique cupcakes are almost as good as a huge elaborate cake...plus there is less left over!

recipe here 

After getting all of their wizard training, each guest was officially ready to be a wizard. They left armed with books and wands in tow and belly's full of magical treats, flying home on their very own Firebolt broom.

broom tutorial here

If you have a Harry Potter enthusiast in your midst, a magical wizard party will definitely be a hit. Hope you enjoy all the fun I had in creating this party and that it gives you some inspiration!

Life Around These Parts

Around these parts there is a lot of snuggling this teeny one.

He has adjusted pretty well to our crazy life. He sleeps pretty well. He eats pretty well. He puts up with us pretty well.

You know who is not adjusting...

The Momma...Oh well I guess it was to be expected right.

This is how my laundry pile looks...at least it is clean.

The boys have enjoyed some Jammie Days. They look like they hate it, right? Hahaha.

Even though it has only been a little bit, I have not done well with not being able to be active...even though most days I am not sure where I would find the energy. I still miss exercising.

So today I decided to lace up my shoes and give it a go...a very mild go, but a go none the less.

Eh...it went okay. Let's just say I am not running or doing anything too vigorous soon. Which also means that my extra flub probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Sigh.

This is when I look back at the first picture and remind myself just how cute that kid is and how worth it he is.

Laundry will get done and get dirty again. The boys will probably have another Jammie Day or two. I might not be able to bust out my hour work outs just yet.And, hey it is all good.

I am just going to hold Bean and love it every second.

Baptism Lunch

A couple days ago I shared a little bit about our Oldest Little Man's special baptism day.

I had really wanted to make the day very special and memorable for him. I decided I wanted to set up a special lunch just for him and family. I also used his baptism lunch to display and give him the quilt that I made just for this day.

I kept everything super simple. I printed off a bunch of black and white photos of Oldest through the years. Then I strung up some gray yarn and attached some of the photos clothesline-style with clothes pins.

I hung the other pictures on the wall by the quilt in a type of collage. I also sewed a really simple pennant banner out of some of the left over fabric from his quilt.

I also added some framed pictures.

I set out mason jars for the guest drinks and threw in the ever-so-lovely coordinating stripped straws. LOVE. I chose gray to go with the quilt and banner.

The menu was super simple, but super delicious.

We served lemonade in this quite delightful glass container which was a Christmas present from Hubby.

The rest of the menu:

simple ham and swiss cheese sandwiches

spinach salad

fruit soup

chips

cheesecake

sugar cookies (made by my friend)

It was a great afternoon and a lovely lunch all in celebration for our special Little Man.

Happy Birthday Littlest

Littlest, you bring your family such pure joy. You are by far the most affectionate boy we know. You are infectious and delightful in almost everything you do. The expressions you make and the phrases you say are so awesome. We actually wish there was a way to constantly be recording you just to have those memories forever.

We love you so much. Happy birthday!

Oldest's Baptism

Remember a couple of weeks ago when we had our mono/strep saga? It all happened just days before we were to share a special day with our Oldest. We had been planning and preparing for his baptism day for our church.

We were worried that this illness was going to put things off. We had family coming/already there. Then of course there was the whole Bean was coming soon and when would we reschedule.

Luckily with a lot of prayer Oldest's recovered quickly from his illness and he was able to still participate in his special day on March 3rd. He was baptized by his dad. We were also able to have a lot of family members there to share in this day with him. Sadly Middle had to stay home with a family friend because he was just days behind Oldest in the sickness department.

Oldest was a trooper even though he was still a bit tired. We were so proud of him for being baptized. We know, like us, he will always remember this day.

Gramps and Oldest

Gramps, Nana, and Oldest

Aunt Kenzie and Oldest

Papa, Gram, and Oldest

The Family minus Middle

Those who came but were not photographed:

Aunt Natalie

Aunt Melissa and Uncle Scott

Uncle Kirk

Richelle