A Totally Awsumb Little People Birthday Party

 Awsumb 2002

Decor:

Pictures of Little People such as

 firetrucks and boats

 glued them to colored paper,

 tied up some balloons, passed out hats - instant party!

Awsumb's big present was a Fisher-Price Amusement Park

First Activity - Play with Little People!

 Fish Your Prize!

Put the Frog in Eddie's Pocket

(I simply blew up clip-art I found online and pasted this on posterboard)

Awsumb's 1st Birthday Cake

Let them eat Cake! 

When you pick a popular theme

the party store will have everything you need including

 invites, decor, cups and napkins, prizes, goody bags and thank you notes.

At the time you could get one of these birthday figures free by registering online with Fisher-Price

One year olds don't need anything more than a cupcake,

but I was excited to finally get to plan a kids birthday party. 

Just remember simple is best!

Other themes I love for 1st Birthdays:

teddy bears, winnie the pooh,

farm or zoo animals,

gold fish or rubber duckies!

Totally Awesome Kids Birthday Parties

When your Awsumb it's easy to throw Totally Awesome Kids Birthday Parties.  I usually get excited to start planning my son's birthday parties when I attend my best girlfriend's parties in May. This gives me about six months to hide the expense so my husband thinks my parties are inexpensive!  I prefer to avoid large party venues, as I think they are impersonal, loud, chaotic and well, I just like that picture of all the kids lined up on the couch.

I don't understand why some people get all stressed about planning a party. Sure some of us like to go all out, but that doesn't mean you have to. A you really need are a few balloons, cake, friends and it's a PARTY! As a child I remember meeting a little boy on a camping trip and attending an impromptu party, pretty much consisting of a 2-pack of Hostess Cupcakes and a cool climbing tree - it was great!

You don't even have to pick a theme as long as there is an activity for the kids and especially if you have  a cool backyard or host it at your favorite park.  Unfortunately my sons birthday is in October, we live in the northwest and it is always rainy weather. So, we don't get to take advantage of the backyard or local park.

A good suggestion is to invite only the number of kids of your child's age... I have trouble with this because I don't want to leave anyone out. Plus, I am always so excited about my plans I want to share them with everyone.  But it's a great way to lower any stress in your party planning.

As a general rule 3 Party Games is plenty.. then just let the kids run around, play the games again or make up their own games. My son attended a spectacular Army party... the floor was covered in those little plastic army guys and although the training course and shooting activities were a lot of fun the kids could have just played with those little green army guys all day!

In my next few blogs I will share some of the simple party ideas I have used for my son...

Click on the themes below to see

Totally Awsumb Kids Parties!

Fisher Price Little People

Bob The Builder

Spider-man and Friends

Hot Wheels

Baseball Bash at Safeco Field

Lego Knights

Lego Star Wars

Pirates Pool Party

Harry Potter

Indiana Jones Adventure

Check back in the following weeks for party ideas that I hope will inspire you!

What was your favorite birthday party?

3-D

I just hate 3-D.  So I was pretty mad when we showed up at the last Harry Potter movie to find out it was in 3-D.  I am pretty sure Kenneth knew this and choose not to tell me.  At least we got these cool Harry Potter style glasses (more about them later).

Why does every new movie have to be in 3-D anyway?  It's like they are just putting it into random things now, not even just movies that go with the whole 3-D effect.  I HATE 3-D!  It gives me a headache!  And when we end up at a movie we didn't realize was in 3-D I always pout about it. I get 3-D for a campy movie like JAWS.  But in general the 3-D effect should only enhance the movie - just enough to make it seem more real... The viewer should be able to forget about the effect rather than having something pop up in their face every two minutes reminding them they are sitting in a theater and removing them from the story.

Here are some of my complaints: 3-D glasses are always too big for me.  My 3-D glasses are always crooked.  My 3-D glasses are always scratched or foggy because they have cheap lenses.  3-D glasses at an IMAX leave that dumb mark on your head.  And finally that nasty headache I end up with...

Some people might say it's all in your head, but they are wrong, there is a name for it:  vergence-accommodation.  And apparently the act of trying to focus can cause headache for some people.

The night after we saw the final Harry Potter movie we went to see Captain America in 3-D.  As a joke, partway through the movie when my son left to use the restroom, I swapped my big glasses with his kid sized glasses. OH MY HECK They were soooo much better!  And he was so kind he told me I could wear them the rest of the movie.  I was able to forget the movie was even in 3-D!  Then I realized that besides the fact that my Harry Potter glasses were warped they actually fit better than any 3-D glasses I had worn... The lesson- wear smaller glasses?  Maybe that will help me in the future...

Click to read What's the problem with 3-D? 

2011 Brain Freeze Rally

"SUCK FOR YOUR LIFE!"

Sadly, Summertime Lime was no where

 to be found on the Seattle Eastside,

but Watermelon Lime is a new favorite of mine!

Kenneth is so busy at work that he just couldn't get away from the office and missed Slurpee Day this year.  So I took Awsumb and his friend Trevor.  We hit 10 Slurpees in 2hrs 40min... by the end Awsumb's friend thought he was going to be sick!  So I didn't push it!

(I have to upload a snap of the boys off my other camera)

We spend the evening at a big Summer Baseball BBQ, but did manage to get Kenneth at least ONE FREE SLURPEE before the day was over... Although we went to a store that was out of free cups they let us fill a small!  SCORE! 

SLURPEE ART!

Awsumb and SEV!

Sev and Even!

By Awsumb and Wendy

My sister Katie was so anxious to get started

 she went just a few hours after midnight and turned up with

THE FASTEST TIME and

The MOST Free Slurpees

15 each - before sunrise!

PRIZES:

Reloadable 7-11 Gift Cards and

 INDUSTRIAL SLURPEE STRAWS!

 GROUP HONORABLE MENTIONS

The Lowe and Grant Families

We hope the rest of your summer is

WILD!

(click to read our KILLER UNO RULES)

Click to see pictures from 2010 Brain Freeze Rally

Did you get your FREE SLURPEE?  Don't forget to mark your calendars for next year!

Tut, Tut, Tut, Looks Like Rain!

Seattle:  Home of the 78 Minute Summer!

Yep, that sounds about right!  According to this KOMO News article we have had exactly 78 minutes of temperatures of at least 80 so far.  And even if you count temps around only 75 degrees we have still only had 18 hours of summer - that's not even a full day!

INSTALLING SUMMER.....

███████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 44% DONE

Installation failed. 404 error: Season not found.

The season you are looking for

 might have been removed,

had its name changed,

or is temporarily unavailable.

Please try again...

Although one of the reasons I love it here is because of the mild seasons... it's getting a bit annoying to be wet all the time... and I have even started toting around an umbrella like some tourist!

I saw a post card like this when we first moved here...Four Seasons?  Not so much... at least that's how it feels sometimes!

So for now, we will just keep enjoying our muddy little hikes, soggy baseball games and make sure to take  a jacket with us if we are out after 8pm!

Update: Today we went to the pool to bask in our lovely rain clouds... Awsumb decided if we just wear blue goggles everywhere we'll have blue skies!

Reminds me of my favorite series of commercials by PEMCO Insurance... Awsumb saved all his money to buy Kenneth a tent for Father's Day... I better make sure to buy a BLUE TARP before we try the camping thing later this summer!

"We don't need to check the weather report, we brought our own blue skies!"

7-11 Free Slurpee Brain Freeze Rally!

It's that time of year again! 

 Are you ready for the

THE 2011 BRAIN FREEZE RALLY?

 Each July 11th, 7-11 offers
Free 7.11 oz. Slurpee's!

THE GOAL:

10 free Slurpees!

 

That's 71.1 ounces of Slurpee per person!

WHEN:

July 11th, of course!

12:00am-12:00pm
(at participating stores,
many don't start until morning hours)

THE RULES:

Only ONE Free Slurpee per 7-11

 You must get a different flavor than the one before
(but may repeat flavors over the course of the event)

You must finish your Slurpee before we get to the next 7-11

And of course, obey all traffic laws!

 

And that leads us to

THE CHEER:

 "Suck for your lives!"

 

Which you will find yourself yelling

as you chase other cars loads of kids

 around town trying to get the last of

 the FREE Slurpees cups
before they are all gone!

 

THE PRIZES:

THE FASTEST TIME

THE MOST FREE SLURPEES

THE BEST SLURPEE CUP ART

The Person or Group who gets

THE MOST FLAVORS

(You will need photo proof of each flavor)

Alienade, Berry Blaster, Summertime Lime, Blue Lightning Blast, K23 Battle Fuel, Crystal Light Strawberry Banana, Peach Dragon Fruit, Mountain Dew White Out, Snow Fruit, Purple for the People, WICKED Apple, 5 React Fruit, Barq's Rootbeer, Goji Berry Cherry, Coca Cola, Crystal Light Peach Mango, Dr. Pepper, Fanta Banana, Fanta Blue Raspberry, Fanta Wild Cherry, Fanta Kiwi Strawberry, Fanta Orange, Pina Colada, Mountain Dew Free, Mountain Dew Blue Shock Freeze, Pepsi

Join us to see how many
FREE SLURPEES
it takes to
FREEZE YOUR BRAIN!

Click here to read about our 2010's Epic Slurpee Adventure

Click here to read about our 2011 Brain Freeze Rally

2010 BRAIN FREEZE RALLY!

7-11 Free Slurpee Day

This sounds a little crazy, but this is typical

of the silly things we like to do around our house.

Each July 11th, 7-11 offers free 7.11 oz. Slurpee's.

So we spend the evening of July 11th

driving around trying to get 10 free Slurpees.

 That's 71.1 ounces of Slurpees per person!

Gotta have a good soundtrack!

7:11 PM

It took us about 6 hours, with a break for dinner at the lake

and we went to over 21 stores
 in our area to find locations that still had
the free 7.11 ounce cups!

The rules:
You must get a different flavor each time

and you must finish your Slurpee
 before you get to the next 7-11.

Not very convenient!

 This lead to the cheer of the night,

"Suck for your lives!"

As we chased other vans full of families and teenagers

around town trying to get the last of

THE FREE Slurpees before they were all gone!

What are some crazy summer traditions you have?

How to make your own Indiana Jones Torch

If you see this little guy lurking around in your backyard, don't worry, it's only Awsumb one on of his latest archaeological quests!

There is just something about being a 9 year old boy that makes them want to run around in the dark with flashlights.  Recently my sons favorite character to play is Indiana Jones.  And below is his most prized Indiana Jones gear!  All he needs now is a real leather jacket, "Just like Daddy's," he says.  Well, that's going to have to wait until his birthday. In the meantime, I have been keeping Awsumb occupied with more exciting things as we plan his TOP SECRET Indiana Jones Birthday Party.

Awsumb's birthday is in October and well, it's always raining... so I just might have to host this one a little earlier in the year so we can go on a real Indiana Jones style adventure!  Sounds exciting right?  But you'll need to make your own torch.  Gather an old flashlight, a paper towel roll, tissue paper and duct tape.  Use an exact-o knife to cut a rectangle out for the on/off switch... tape everything together really tight and there you go -your very own torch!

Although I am always encouraging Awsumb to learn all he can as Indy says,

"If you want to be a good archeologist, you got to get out of the library."

Look for more exciting ideas from:

Oh and I finally updated last years

Totally Awsumb Harry Potter Party with Pictures! 

Click to view!

Sunkissed?

I have strawberry blond hair and blue eyes. I never really tan, I mostly just burn... and I've had some nasty burns over the years.  Shoulders and back were pretty regular summer burns.  One summer my nose peeled all summer and through the winter - yuck.  Another year my hands were severely burned after spending a cloudy day on the lake.  And don't forget all those times the tops of my ears were burned and at night they would bubble up and my hair would stick to them, them I'd have to rip it off the skin as I pulled my hair back in the morning - ewww!!!  I spend many years as a teenager trying to "tan" and even went to a tanning salons for a while when I was 19.  Then we moved to the northwest and everything changed for me. I began using heavy sunscreen and decided to just accept my glowing white skin. 

This spring was unusually cold and cloudy. We didn't have many of those famous warm Seattle afternoons. Then out of nowhere if finally hits over 70 two days in a row and I end up spending over 8 hours in direct sun both days for a baseball tournament.  I started out the day with sunscreen and even sat under an umbrella. I was mostly worried about my face... but I seem to have that pretty much covered these days and rarely get nasty sunburns on my face because I use Bare Minerals make up, which is SPF 15.  I usually only need to apply full sunscreen if I am going to be a full day in the sun, at the pool, etc.

Just a few hours in I was so red that people I didn't even know would come up to me and spray me with sunscreen. (incidentally, the sunscreen industry now says those spray on sunscreens may not be as effective as they once thought - duh!) By day two I was an official lobster.  For the next day, I had a bit of heat stroke and I realized the sunburn was getting worse. I was bathing in aloe and lotion and trying to drink extra water...  And 4 days later the above picture is what I looked like. I was actually quite a bit more red overall that really shows up in this photo, but certain areas on my chest and scalp really started looking different than the rest of my skin and that worried me.

As my arms and legs peeled, these extra red patches blistered up to look even worse!  This second picture was taken 1 week after the initial sunburn. I didn't even take photos on it's worst day because it was just so gross. My family doctor wanted to treat it as a 2nd degree burn with antibiotic ointment... but by dermatologist prescribed Biofine, which is often used for cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment.

Things you may not know about sunscreen - It takes 1-2 ounces to completely cover your face.  That's at least 1 shot glass!

A typical bottle of sunscreen is good for about 2 full applications (face, shoulders, chest, arms, etc..)

Sunscreen needs to be reapplied about every hour. Some ingredients break down when exposed to UV (that's how they work) and sunscreen is also easily sweated, rubbed, wiped and washed off.

Look for UVA and UVB protection.  UVB Rays penetrate the outer layer of skin and are the primary cause of sunburn. UVA penetrate into into the layers of the skin.  Neutrogena has been my sunscreen of choice for years.

SPF (Sun Protection Factor) helps measure how long you can stay in the sun with sunscreen before getting burned. SPF measurement is quite arbitrary and does NOT measure either wrinkle protection or skin cancer protection. Consequently, ALL manufacturers of sunscreen have recently been sued for false advertising.

Notice, too, that the amount of sunscreen needed to achieve the results quoted is impressive: generally, a hand full of sunscreen is used to cover a body. In other words, a standard tube is good for TWO (2) applications! Which takes us back to were I began...

And here I am on my soapbox reminding you all to use handfuls of sunscreen and cover up this summer!

Blister Block

BAND-AID^® Friction Block™ Stick has a lubricating formula that glides on smoothly to instantly reduce rubbing on skin. It forms an invisible barrier, making it ideal for open shoes, and provides an easy, non-messy application.

I found this stuff a few years ago and simply LOVE IT!  I have very tender feet and have such terrible time with blisters.  I have been known to get blisters just from certain patterns or type of socks.  I mostly prefer shoes that I can slip my feet into.  Before I found this I carried Moleskin with me at all times.  And now I can't even remember the last time I used Moleskin!

Blister block works best when applied as soon as you feel and area which may develop into a blister.  You must apply before blister forms.  Check it out!