Thank you for your texts, phone calls and tweets friends. We’re in the other half of the state from the shooting so we are all OK. A friend on Facebook reposted a status update from a relative who lives in Newtown, Connecticut today, thanking everyone for their thoughts and prayers but asking that we stop tuning in to the 24/7 news coverage so the media will leave them alone. I couldn’t agree more. I have no words for what happened and my children are too young (thank God) to be aware of what’s happened, so I’m trying to prevent it from affecting them by tuning out. Caroline’s birthday party was on Saturday and I am so, so thankful her 2-year-old world is untouched.

Sunday:

Party prep

Awesome parenting 101: don’t be afraid to use your sleeping daughter as a mouse pad.

Mr. Sparkles McBear

Monday:

Stretches during Stroller Strides

Because obviously you need a helicopter when you go shopping.

I have no idea why I owned so many creepy dolls as a child

Tuesday:

I woke up to silence & found them like this in Caroline’s room.

Buying Mormor a Christmas present in Mystic

Sharing hugs and a calculator

Wednesday:

Caroline demanded the huge car cart then refused to ride in in. Oh, 2 year olds.

Apparently they think the grocery store is really cold?

Part prep #2

Thursday:

Solo grocery shopping with a peppermint mocha = dream come true.

We’ve never been in this toy store before. We will DEFINITELY be going back.

I kind of want a monkey riding a bicycle for my front yard.

Friday:

Up before the sun, but at least he has a cat to keep him warm.

Bumpa made a joke about putting the children to work. The children insisted on following through. Note the jammies under her coat and boots. Note to Bumpa: Toddlers don’t understand sarcasm.

The last photo I took on Friday was at preschool drop off. The rest of the day I checked out of my phone.

Saturday:

Checking out the candy selection on the Frost Your Own Tree table

Someone please come over and help me eat leftovers.

A bathtub tea party requires your best necklace

For the rest of the day we’re going to eat leftover cookies and cuddle on the couch and watch Disney and play anything the kids want to without complaining. Actually, that’s pretty much the plan for every day for the rest of the year. We’re boring, but at least we are together.

Did you take iPhone photos of your week? Link up with one or several below! Please consider joining, even if you haven’t done it before – it’s really fun!

Tomorrow is Caroline’s birthday party. She probably won’t remember it since she’s only almost-two years old, but she is aware of what having a party means, who her friends are and that it’s her special day. “BIRT-DAY PAH-TEE!?!?!?” she says, “YAH PAH-TEE!” I’m hoping her head doesn’t literally explode from awesomeness when she sees the sheer volume of cookies available for her endless consumption.

I’m as on top of my 246 point to-do list as I can be at this point, and my self-induced stress level is hovering around a 3 on a scale of 1-10. At 10:30 on Saturday it will be at an 11, but that’s why I bought the BIG bottle of whipped cream vodka to put on the hot cocoa bar. Thank goodness my parents are here to help with everything. EVERYTHING. My dad has crossed more stuff off my “maybe someday we’ll do this” list than I’ve crossed out in months, including dealing with the basement freezer. I don’t even want to TELL you what happened to the basement freezer. But it’s OK now, and hopefully my nightmares will stop soon.

Besides the home repairs and shockingly clean kitchen, my parents are also kick-ass with the kids. Having them here gives me a tiny taste of what it’s like to live near family and I am wildly jealous of those of you who have grandparent babysitting services available all the time. My eyebrows would never look terrible again. I could get a lady doctor check-up without my children in the room. I might see a movie IN THE THEATER without it costing $120. The pitch black hours between 5 pm and 7 pm with no hope of my husband coming home might not seem so soul-suckingly dark.

Basically, I love my parents and I’m not letting them leave. There are a lot of ducks that still need to be fed, and doing it with Mormor and Bumpa is way more fun.

I have pretty much never been gladder a week was over. We are never getting back together, Week 109. Like, ever.

Sunday:

Football!!!! Oh wait…zzzzzzzz.

First non-screaming bath time in a week. Good thing I stopped using acid to wash her instead of water (Note: no acid was actually used)

I mostly take photos so I can play with Photoshop.

Monday:

Thanksgiving leftovers on my poor swollen face parts.

Couch potatoes

One day, this will be dining room curtains

Tuesday:

Evan made that thing at preschool and apparently it’s Caroline’s new BFF

Snooooooooow!

Catching snowflakes on her tongue. From inside the house. YOU argue with her.

Wednesday:

Insisting that it’s time to build a snowman

Good dog

Help, I’m being buried in crap you insist on buying at Target even though you know perfectly well you don’t need it!

 Thursday:

Little red goldfish hood

The house is a sparkly disaster

I don’t CARE if you like it, just wash your hair.

Friday:

Fake candles and Ikea holders = HOURS of fun

Practicing for her job as one of Santa’s Elves

Oh no, where is Caroline?! I can’t find her!!

Saturday:

Horsies!

Spinning!!

Santa!!! I know him!!

So yeah, that doesn’t actually look so bad but I assure you the 12 hours after that Santa photo were pretty miserable. A migraine, hacking coughs, throw up, stitches, another fainting spell and a four hour drive home split up among 3 people…so…I’m pretty tired. My plan is to get 10 hours of sleep tonight and jump back in to real life with both feet tomorrow. Carefully though, so no one else ends up in the ER.

Did you take iPhone photos of your week? Link up with one or several below! Please consider joining, even if you haven’t done it before – it’s really fun!

I kind of like parties. (“Kind of” is kind of an understatement.) I like planning them, I like hosting them, I like cooking and baking and decorating for them. I really like searching for the perfect details for months longer than is technically necessary but is a great way to make the fun last longer. I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect white balloons for weeks now to turn my dining room into an arctic wonderland at Caroline’s birthday and I’ve finally narrowed my search down. Here are my top 6 websites for party planning when I’m at home watching Glee:

1. Oriental Trading Company -I’ve ordered everything from rainbow lollipops to a 4 foot T-Rex from OTC and I’ve loved every purchase. It’s sort of a one-stop-shop, especially if you’re throwing a kid’s party. You can search by holiday or theme, and it includes everything from stickers and glow necklaces to wedding supplies. Sign up for their newsletter or catalog and you’ll get discount codes and free shipping fairly regularly.

2. Bake it Pretty – A fantastic site to make your dessert table gorgeous. I’m obsessed with their cupcake toppers and selection of sprinkles. They have food coloring to make any color frosting you can imagine (including a kit to make those awesome rainbow cakes that are all over Pinterest) and paper goods and chocolate molds too. Prices are reasonable and you can get discounts by signing up for their newsletter.

3. Etsy – Obviously. Need invitations? A Happy Birthday banner? One hundred tiny paper butterflies? A custom onesie? Your wish is pretty much their command. If you can’t find exactly what you want by searching (be specific or you’ll get WAY too many results) find a shop with a style you like and see if they take custom orders. I cannot wait to show you the cupcake toppers I ordered for Caroline’s 2nd birthday. Prices range from extremely affordable to WHOA WHO DOES THAT? but I love getting to know and supporting handmade.

4. Save-on-Crafts -I found Save-on through a Pinterest link that said “Like Oriental Trading for adults!” and it’s true. Very popular among the crazy enthusiastic bride sector, they have TONS of really over the top stuff mixed in with essentials like glass vases and glitter at discount prices. Their shipping isn’t cheap (it’s hard to get cheap shipping on 5 foot tall pre-lit birch trees) but it is fast. Invest in reusable pieces – apothecary jars are good for any type of party, chalkboard markers last a while – and save your extra dollars to pay someone to clean up afterward.

5. Amazon – Search for ANYTHING on Amazon and you’ll probably find it. I’ve bought balloons, costumes, gifts, favors, food, tablecloths and books for various parties at really great prices. I have an Amazon Prime account that gets me free 2-day shipping for last minute stuff (there is ALWAYS last minute stuff). p.s. It doesn’t hurt to double check Amazon against OTC prices. I’ve found identical items are sometimes MUCH cheaper on one of those sites compared to the other.

6. Shop Sweet Lulu – Adorable packaging and decorating supplies (paper straws, vintage-style popcorn boxes, milk bottles) in bright and pastel colors. Their blog is also a fantastic place for inspiration, as long as you don’t mind feeling slightly inferior to some REALLY amazing planners.

What am I missing? Tell me so I can go shop there immediately – only 2 months and 10 days until Caroline’s 2nd birthday!

The kids call my mom “Mormor”, which is Swedish for Grandma. It’s hard to find stuff that actually SAYS Mormor on it (I can only get her so many mugs from the Scandinavian store) so we have to get creative. Take one craft apron, a cute saying, some fabric markers and a couple of willing coloring assistants and you’ve got a special birthday present for Mormor!

I set up the text on the computer and printed it on regular paper.

Then I used my window as a make-shift light box to trace the letters with a fabric pen. If you had better handwriting than me you could just write on the apron and/or make it look neater when you traced.

A couple of simple heart cut-outs worked as stencils.

My assistants needed a little help coloring around the edges so they didn’t go under the paper and to make sure the shape was clearly visible but they loved using ALL the colors.

And voila! A simple, one-of-a-kind present for Mormor’s birthday. I wrote “Happy Birthday” and “July 2012” on the sides near the ties so she’d always remember the date and occasion. It would be an a great gift for Mother’s Day too – maybe with these potholders as a set? (Those are what I DID give the grandmas for Mother’s Day!)