April Fool's Day Fun

Tomorrow is April Fool's Day! Have a little fun with your family...

A slightly healthier version of KFC with Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons.

Fake them out with a condiment prank from All For The Boys.

I love that most of the treats from this darling party featured at TomKat Studio aren't really what they are! Meringues disguise as soft-serve ice-cream and chocolate candy dressed up as fudgesicles? Yes, please!

Make a few soft-boiled eggs for breakfast...I love this fun tutorial from Oh Happy Day!

Check out last year's (Not) Food For Thought for more inspiration!

Scholastic Book Fair AKA Where I've Been Lately

I'm bored.  Between being a mom, student, blogger and party planner, I'm Secretary of my boys' PTSA and chair a few events.  So I figured, eh, that's not enough, why not become a Scholastic Book Fair chairperson.

So twice a year, for an intense week, armed with a team of volunteers to help set up lots of books and displays, I show up early to get the registers going, make sure the morning shift is set, open the doors to tons of children with bags of change to buy $15 books, leave for a bit, come back for the afternoon shift change, leave for a bit, come back for the rush of after-school kids with bags of change to buy $15 books, close up, count tons of money, leave for evening, rinse, repeat the next day.

Throw in an evening event for another 2 hours, then finally close up, repack everything and settle our account.  Not to mention meeting with students for a few weeks creating posters, decorating, advertising, making flyers, prepping the library, etc. etc. etc.

This would explain my sporadic posting, and oh yeah, dealing with full on-allergies (gotta love those cherry blossoms) which developed into something that knocked me the past weekend, and pretty much all week. I still sound like Big Ang from Mob Wives.

Do you want to see what I've been up to?  Here are a few highlights from last fall's Book Fair, it was awesome with a space theme, an alien made with pumpkins, a space ship beaming up books...

5th grade students created the wall mural...my job was the front case display window.

Scholastic's One For Books program gets books in the hands of children that need them. I challenged the students to fill up our buckets with spare change, the winning grade would get a party.  We raised almost $300 that we purchased books for the Marine Corps Toys For Tots.  The winning 5th graders students enjoyed a doughnut party...

...and I invited our local Marine Corps recruiter to our school assembly to accept the books on our behalf.  Man, how I love their dress blues...

This spring's Fair, Book Fair Luau. In my manic state putting the window together, and later, drug-befuddled state taking it down, I neglected to take pictures of the front case.  It involved a piñata hula girl, tons of tissue flowers and surfboards....yes, I know.  But I did get the volcano wall mural the students created.  I gave them the idea and they ran with it...

I also discovered a great idea called Name Tiki Craft from The Party Animal and had the students create a few for the opposite wall. 

Exhausting but totally worth it! We earn books for our school and classroom libraries and our students get excited about reading.  

If there is a school-aged child in your life, chances are, their school holds a Scholastic Book Fair. Please support their endeavors...many schools depend solely on the credit earned to maintain their libraries.

Tuesday Tip - Spring Fling GNO + Party Straws

Are you looking for a way to get your gal pals together and welcome in spring? I'm thrilled to have a guest post on GigMasters for fabulous ways to pamper yourself and get those toesies ready for sandals...host a Spring Fling GNO!

And speaking of fun accents, I've been coming across clever ideas lately to making paper straws even cuter...

Jenny of Hank + Hunt is sassing them up with tissue fringe...check out her full tutorial.

Layer Cake Shop pairs them with cupcake liners, check out their fun how-to.

Adding hot accents is always a winner...Papermash's free download would be perfect for Mother's Day beverages.

The Knotty Bride shows us how to make adorable felt heart toppers...change the shape to fit your theme, from stars to clouds, the sky's the limit!

But don't let felt intimidate you...a simple paper punch will work just as fabulously! I added a cloud punch  for our Mario Party straws.

Fiesta Friday/Real Party - Robot Valentine Playdate

It's a little late, but better than never! The little one was really sick, so we had to postpone our Robot Valentine Playdate. In fact, the boy pointed out that St. Patrick's Day was the next day...but as my mom would say 'by hook or by crook' we were having this party.  The kids played hard, then sat down to a few special treats.

I made the gears by cutting Styrofoam disks and and spray painting them...

I found fun robot kits from Michael's and they made great party decor along with real nuts and bolts...

A Build Your Chex Mix Bar complete with free printables from Phyllis Hoffman Celebrate...you know I do love my paper straws!

The moment I saw these Build Your Own Robots from The Celebration Shoppe, I knew we had to have them.

Remember my marshmallow robots? Of course you do...but they are even cuter when the kids let their creativity roll...

A few goodies in our party inspiration bags from NickWillJack sent our guests home with a smile...

A fun day had by all!!

Tuesday Tutorial - Basketball Court Cookies

Are you having a sports-themed party or just an avid basketball fan? Check out how to make my easy-peasy Basketball Court cookies on Today's Mama...necessity was definitely the mother of invention.

Happy Pi(e) Day!

Today is March 14 (3.14) also known around the world as Pi Day; no, not pie, 3.1415926535....Π. It is the holy high day for us math nerds; back in college every year there was a Pi Contest to see who could memorize the most digits of Pi. First place received $314.15, second place, $31.41 and third place...wait for it...a pie, and bragging rights. Yeah, I know.

Of course, if you want to be technical, it should be called Pi Approximation Day, since it's an irrational number which means it never terminates or repeats itself. Currently, the verified world holder for memorized digits of Pi is over 67,000, but computers have calculated Pi to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal. Sorry...I drifted...

So of course in the spirit of Pi, today it's all pie, all the time! Watch out cupcakes, pies may be the big sweet on the block!

First up, my version of Bakerella's famous pie pops minus the sticks...plus powered sugar.  So I guess that makes them...pie bites??

I used a can of Lucky Leaf's blueberry pie filling and refrigerated pie crust.  You know I can't make anything from scratch. I thought it would be fun to package them in a little box and embellish with a stamp from Michael's.

If you live in the Seattle area, check out some of our pie spots that I featured on my Today's Mama post.

A fun recipe and free download for from Twig & Thistle.

Pi Day DIY Pie In A Jar recipe from Green Wedding Shoes.

Pretty pies with flags from Tara Guérard Soirée.

Lamb shank pie from What Katie Ate.

How's this for a 1st Birthday from EAD Living.

Do you know what kind of pie you are?  Lucky Leaf has put together an easy formula... I'm definitely a Cherry girl! Check out their Easy As Pie Facebook page for lots of great tips and tricks for making the perfect pie.

Speaking of Lucky Leaf, we can't forget my Sweetheart Ginger Spice Apple Pie? Some handmade touches, mostly storebought pieces, all taste.

Disclaimer - I was provided the supplies and ad from Lucky Leaf for review and no compensation was given, real or implied. This review is my own personal opinion.

St. Patrick's Day Rainbow Crafts & Pinspiration

Can you believe St. Patrick's Day is Saturday? It sure crept up fast...check out my Today's Mama post on some great rainbow craft ideas including this amazeballs wall decoration from Creative Juice for her amazeballs party!

Have you been following my St. Patrick's Day Board on Pinterest? It's got lots of great ideas from a Silly Shamrock Swim to great freebies, fun treats and party ideas.  Go forth and follow!  If you need an invite, just ask! I think I have the power to give you one.