Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Oh yes, it was a great day for the IRISH! In fact, it was just a great day for St.Patrick's day and a parade! We had every intention of attending the more "manageable" parade on Sunday, in Shawnee. More "manageable" meant that the parade was much shorter, and much more "bladder friendly" for the wee folk! The problem was that the night before this cute little parade was to take place, it snowed...good grief! So, the next morning it was cold, wet, and muddy, with a layer of snow on top. Not a good day to be sitting outside, watching a parade, any parade! Well, I decided then and there that we would be venturing downtown for the BIG parade on the BIG day of St. Paddy's Day, the very next day! The weather was beautiful. We parked in the perfect place. We found a curbside spot to view the parade, set up our chairs and wagon, and stayed there for 3 hours, watching almost the whole parade, leaving just shy of the end, as I mentioned before, to accomodate the wee folk's bladder. It really was a fun time, from start to finish!
Here we are arriving early to stake out our spot...

I couldn't resist getting some green cotton candy for my sweet pea...

the crowd was getting bigger and bigger by the minute...

we were all ready to begin the parade...

and here they come...

this pooch just cracked us up!

Kayli was really enjoying the parade...

back in the car, we had a little picnic with the food we purchased at the huge deli/salad bar in the grocery store where we had parked. We will have to make the same plan for next year!

back home, and naturally we had to have a photo session in our IRISH garb!

Princess Sprinkles is saying "Just take this bow off my neck and let me run through the mud while I bark at the neighbor's dog!" 

Ok, I'll pose for one more picture, and that's it! Say "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"

The American Girl Doll Birthday Party!

Kayli and I have been plotting and planning and shopping and crafting to prepare for our themed birthday party for this year...the American Girl Doll ! (I must mention, though, that I use the term "American Doll" loosely, because there are so many great 18" look-alike dolls out there, that almost every little girl has a different version, acquired at a different store, and each and every doll is precious to it's owner!) In my opinion, every girl in America that is carrying around a doll, has her own precious version of an "American Girl" doll! I had to assure that each girl in Kayli's class actually owned an 18" look-alike doll before I could move forward with this plan. With the help of Kayli's teacher, during a fractions math lesson, she took a poll to see what "fraction" could be made by finding out how many students in her class owned a look-alike doll,(some of the boys just couldn't resist raising their hands, haha!) she went on to find out other things about the class, but my requested information was secured, thank-you, Mrs. M.!
So, on with the plans for the party...
Naturally, I perused the pinterest website for ideas, then chose our own color scheme (Kayli insisted that we include turqoise because it reminded her of the blue diamonds from her current favorite obsession, the Ipad game, Minecraft!) So, we decided on the "All American" colors of red, white, and blue, using a turqoise blue. This was an easy and pretty color scheme to work with!
While perusing the pinterest website, I came across some fabulous ideas for invitations, one of which I set my sights on right away, and this was the result...

Kayli wanted me to make her an outfit for this party, just like I did for last year's themed birthday party. When I say "make" I should clarify that the term should really be "assemble & craft", as I am not starting with yards of material and matching thread, but instead gathering clothing of colors, then purchasing a bright colored t-shirt for $3.00 at the craft store, some matching ribbon, and after a few snips with the scissors, a few punches with the hole punch (yes, I used a hole punch, ha,ha, and it worked) I had a FABULOUS vest to top my consignment store purchases from half price day. Then, we took some tulle and made a tutu for a little embellishment, and VOILA, I present the "All American Birthday Outfit!"...

Oh, and by the way, I took the sleeves, that I had cut from the t-shirt, to make a shirt and skirt for one of the dolls. The red top is a stretchy headband! Ling already had clothes to match our color scheme, bonus!
Another great idea I found and chose to make was the super sized American Girl Doll box to be used as a photo prop at the party. We would take each girl's picture in this box and print them as "thank-you" cards: "Thanks for helping me make my birthday an extra special day! You are a DOLL!"
So easy to make. Such a fun idea...

So, next we headed for the dollar store and the dollar bins at our favorite craft stores. There were so many great possibilities for party decor! The great thing about putting on a theme party is that the plotting, planning, gathering, crafting, and creating for the weeks leading up to the party is just as much fun as the actual party itself!

Our decorations...

(Our digital frame was on a continuous loop of American Girl and other 18" doll photos that I had put on an SD card)

I borrowed magazines from our school library...

I found candy in our color scheme...

every doll will be welcomed with a tiny comb tiara...

the birthday girl has a "big girl" tiara...

I couldn't resist pulling out Kayli's "Bitty Baby" (A baby American Girl Doll) that she got as a gift when I first adopted her. I framed a picture of tiny Kayli playing with her bitty baby! Wow, where did my baby go?!!!

this is the entry table...

the strips of tulle are ready to make mini doll tutus. Mary Lynn is modeling the finished product, as well as wearing the necklace all the girls will make for themselves and their dolls...

the table is set for the dolls with mini drinking glasses and straws, plates and napkins...

the photo prop awaits our guests...

the "present table" was decorated with a small version of the American Girl Doll box...

the jello cake is ready...

Kayli can't resist the candy...

Ok, Ling & I are ready and waiting...

and waiting...

The first guest arrives! She came early because she cannot stay for the party. She and her doll brought Kayli a nice gift, and Kayli gave her some cool party surprises. We made sure to take her picture in the prop box before she left!

the rest of the girls begin to arrive, and start the introductions to each others' dolls...

the girls got busy at the table making necklaces and rainbow loom glow-in-the-dark bracelets!

then, we moved into the living room, where I showed everyone how to make a mini doll tutu...

everyone got busy making theirs...

Lily's little brother, Graeme entertained himself by running back and forth to the kitchen getting more candy to eat! Ha!

while the girls were making their tutus, Kayli put on the soundtrack to "Frozen" and they all sang along with the songs at the top of their lungs in their very best voices!

in the meantime, the dolls were hangin' out in the front room, chatting and laughing, at their own party...

time for the "big girls" to sing "Happy Birthday" to Kayli...

there was a little craziness going on with the leftover tulle as the girls went back into the living room to watch Kayli open her presents...

Oh, the silly, giggly, squealing, screaming girls had reached the height of excitement at this stage of the party.

I had one last activity planned, to get everyone seated before presents were opened. Everyone was instructed to get their doll, and come back and sit in a circle on the rug. We were going to play "musical dolls!" Kayli wanted to control the music, using the song "Hear Me Roar". The music played, the dolls were passed around...

there were 4 rounds and 4 winners! Now it was time to open presents!

so many wonderful gifts, such a fun time had by all!