Pancakes & PJS Party

We celebrated Vivian adn Aleesia’s birthdays last month with a pancakes and pajama’s brunch party – it was such a fun party to plan and who doesn’t looooove pancakes and hanging out with friends in pjs?! It was an awesome party for a newly minted 2 and 4 year old.

We used some simple decorations in pink, blue, purple and gold that were left from one of the many parties we’ve had in the past as well as a few new ones from the dollar spot at Target – super simple.

I set up a little craft for the kiddos – just some cocloring sheets and fruit loop necklaces – they honestly just played in our playroom 90% of the time but a few fruit loop crafts were made.

We also had cereal as our thank you gift.

We served pancakes (obviously! and also thanks to my stepdad!), a vegetable egg bake, bacon, fruit and yogurt. We had cookies, cake and donuts for dessert!

Check out these awesome caks and cookies – so lucky to have such a talented local baker.

We took a break from the playing and sang to these pretty birthday girls

And the big(gest) sister was a total goofball the entire morning!

We are so lucky to have such awesome people in our lives, but there were 30 kids under 8 here (yes, really) and as much as I wanted to get a picture of all of them i knew better than to even attempt it!

The only part of hosting parties that is difficult is that I can’t also photograph the party – but suffice it to say this was a simple, effective, easy to pull together party that can be “themed” any other way you want.

Arty Party: Aleesia is 3!

Aleesia turned 3 on February 1st and we had an art party! I had WAY too much fun planning this and it ended up being such a fun morning with our friends and family! A quick run-down on the party and a few pictures to share!

 

Decorations – This was actually really simple to put together.

I grabbed a pack of aprons from Amazon, put up some of the kids artwork in the entry way to make an “art gallery”, covered the tables with brown craft paper and that was pretty much it!

We grabbed canvases and paint from Hobby Lobby – all of the kids LOVED painting! And we had a face paint station, too! Everyone painted away, or colored on the tables, and it was just a really fun time.

Food – I kept it simple, again! Sandwiches, fruit cups, dip and dessert!

The birthday girl insisted on a Minnie cake, so that is what she got!

 

The girls enjoyed themselves!

 

Everyone sang happy birthday (and Aleesia refused to blow out her candles!).

And she was so dang happy about this Anna nightgown!

But she loved everything, per her usual style!

But this picture just makes me smile, best grandparents ever!

 

Three looks good on this girl, if I do say so myself!

Birthdays and clean dishes #cascadeshiningreviews {giveaway}

We had a great long weekend celebrating Mike and Jimmy’s, our brother in law, birthdays over the weekend. It was the perfect setting to hold the first of two cooking parties to showcase the cleaning power of Cascade Platinum!
This weekend we had a cookout with all kinds of yummy food, including this deliciously rib-sticking mac & cheese goodness (a la Pioneer Women).

It was seriously SO YUM! I think next time I will use two different cheeses for added flavor though.
I digress.
But really, everyone o like it!

Once we stored the leftovers it was time to put Cascade Platinum to the test on this cheesy dish.

We are pretty brand loyal to Cascade, actually, but hadn’t tried the Cascade Platinum product or the Cascade Platinum Rinse Aid until now.  Cascade Platinum is Cascade’s premium product and it works on that tough, stuck on food. But here’s the key – DO NOT PREWASH! Just get rid of any big food chunks and stick the dish in the dishwasher so that it doesn’t block the sprayer or detergent chamber. This was probably the hardest part for me since my mom ingrained the “importance” of the prewash in my head and I rarely put anything in the dishwasher that has food on it. But that’s the difference with Cascade Platinum – it’s designed to break down the stuck-on food with enzymes that are built into the detergent.
I actually had no idea that most dishwashers were made with a built in garbage disposal in the bottom so that any leftover food isn’t just stuck in the machine or pipes, it is literally disposed of!
I did know there was a right way to load a dishwasher though, I am notorious for re-loading things if they aren’t in there right! Any large dishes should usually go in the back of the bottom rack face down so they aren’t blocking the detergent chamber. Long utensils can go through coffee mug handles so they don’t move around and potentially block the sprayer.
While the dishwasher was running we enjoyed the weather with our family and swam for probably the last time this summer. And cake! (excuse the WAY overexposed pool picture!)

I was honestly impressed when I opened the dishwasher, I figured there would still be SOMETHING left on the pan. But I was wrong!

My sisters were surprised too – we come from the same pre-wash mentality after all.

Everyone that came to celebrate the birthdays and clean dishes with us left with Cascade Platinum and Cascade Platinum Rinse Aid to use at home.

I am seriously so surprised and impressed with this product – you NEED to pick this up and try it for yourself. If you do (or have) tried Cascade Platinum. Have an opinion to share? Head over to the Cascade website to leave a short review of Cascade Platinum www.cascadeclean.com/cascade/review and use #cascadeshiningreviews - one reviewer will win a Kitchen Aid Dishwasher!!
If you aren’t convinced by my review to go pick up some Cascade Platinum on your own – we are going to give some away, too!
Giveaway entry: Leave a comment telling me if you are historically a pre-washer or not to enter to win:

· Cascade Platinum
· Cascade Platinum Rinse Aid
· Whisk
· Spatula
· Cheese grater
· Oven mitts

Bonus giveaway entries:
1) Share this post on Facebook and Twitter and leave a comment letting me know you did.
2) Follow Cascade on Twitter and Facebook and leave a comment letting me know you did.
I’m looking forward to continuing to use Cascade Platinum and not pre-washing my dishes!

[[Giveaway is open until 11:59pm September 12th]]

*This review was made possible by Double Duty Divas and Cascade. I was provided the featured product free of charge to facilitate my review, but all opinions are 100% mine.*

Princess Party

In case you didn’t know, turning 5 is a BIG BIG DEAL. When you turn 5 you get to go to Kindergarten and chew gum.

And apparently, you get surprise royal guests at your party.

We decided to surprise Gianna with her favorite princesses at her princess and superhero party and I think they were a huge hit.

Cinderella and Elsa were amazing. They told Elsa’s story.

With a LOT of help from these adorable 5 year olds, who each knew the story by heart!

Sang “Let it Go” (cutest ever!)

.

Got wish stones and pixie dust

And tattoos.

Had a little dance party.

Happy birthday singing.

And a few photos.

Aleesia even loved them – she was amazed by Elsa, specifically.

We had a few kid-friendly snacks (which I think 1 of 10 kids ate – far too busy for food. Except cupcakes!).

A little treat station for everyone.

Plus we had a little photo booth fun with the kiddos.

And some present time, of course.

Overall, I think my biggest princess had a fantastic time. She talks about it every day, so I vote for a 5 year old party success!

*Princesses courtesy of Castle on a Cloud Entertainment

*Photos courtesy of Bella Rose Photography