Third Anniversary

Yesterday was our third year anniversary and we spend it taking care of aaron, who has a tummy ache and 6 teeth coming in all at once. That is when it hit us (again) that life has really changed, but I love it!!!

so what have I learned in there 3 years? nothing! ha! still feels new (when he's not getting on my nerves). I think that's a good thing!

<3

Weekend at the National Harbor

Super A turns 1! (Loaded with pics)

Well, the kid is officially 1.

His birthday was on 4.27 and we celebrated with a small group of close family & friends on May 7.

Since we live in an apartment, we went to a nearby state park and the weather was perfect!

It was a first come, first serve situation so I was there super duper early but it worked out great.

The party was super duper budget friendly!! I spent about $150.00 Total for a party with about 30 attendees!

For my affordable menu, click here.

I saved money by starting at the dollar store first! and that is where I got all the serving pieces. Then Sam's club and target. EASY!

Now for pics & details.
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First up is inspiration.

I thought I wanted to do a dinosaur theme but when I came across this party on Hostess with the Mostess blog, I thought it was perfect! My husband is a nerd and still reads comics, so it fit us perfectly!

Luckily, Anders Ruff Etsy Store, was selling the printable pack for others to use! YAY!

So here was our invite:

Love it! She has two options, the invite & a printable pack that includes water bottle lables, cupcake toppers etc... I got them both baby!

We knew the park would keep the kids busy but we also got some super cool masks from target that the kids could decorate themselves, bubbles and superhero bands as favors. Here is the activity table all set up:

Here is the Birthday boy having fun with his birthday banner:

Like his outfit? :)

I found these plastic tubs that are pretty sturdy at target for $5.99 each and they held the water & drinks. I'll use them for toy storage now!

Cupcakes, mmmm

Cupcakes & smash cake were ordered from our local Safeway grocery store. At $8.00 a dozen, it's a great deal!

He did not care about his smash cake :(

so we tried to show him

He still didn't get it and was more concerned that we were all looking at him lol

Here's his what are you looking at face:

The adults decided to play around with the cake instead

All in all it was a great day! Kids running around the park, the ladies lounging on the field talking while the man play football, Aaron being carried by aunts, uncles & cousins and loving it! I can't wait until next year, though I hope it doesn't come around as fast as this birthday did. sniff sniff. my baby is growing up.

I leave you with my favorite pic:



<3

Birthday Party Week: Affordable Menu Ideas for a Child's Birthday Party

Aaron is 1! and we are celebrating this weekend with family. Since we are in the process of trying to buy a home we are on a budget so I needed to find affordable menu ideas.

I got lots of ideas from family & friends and here is the menu we are having. Affordable, Delicious, Adult & Kid Friendly and best of all EASY!!

Appetizers: 
Goldfish
Chips (little lunch bags)
Small raisin boxes
Fruit: Grapes & Apple Slices

Food: 
PB & J's
Hot Dog Bar with fun fixin's
Cole Slaw

Desserts: 
Cupcakes
Cake Pops

Drinks:
Water
Soda
Capri sun's for the kiddies
Iced Tea

I promise pictures after the party!!!

Stress = Mess

I have not updated my blog in a while. I have had a lot on my mind.

When things do not go as planned I feel like the walls around me start caving in. When one area of my life isn't going as I want it to go, then it starts to affect other areas of my life. STRESS.

Our lease is coming to an end in our apartment.
our first home.
but now we have a baby AND we want another child,
we need more space,
we want a house.
The process is not going as planned.
STRESS.

With the home buying process not going as planned it has just opened a can of worms. We are not where we want to be with our housing situation, we are not where we want to be with our financial situation, we are not where we want to be as parents (we wish we could spend more time with our little guy), and we are not where we want to be in our marriage. Sleep deprivation leads to mean words coming out of our both our mouths. Oh Aaron, please continue to sleep through the night. Last night was the 3rd night in a row he has, that means we're on to something, right?

One of my favorite blogger is Katie Bower, a while ago she recommended a book called  One Thousand Gifts by Ann Vosokamp. Last night in bed, I ordered it on my kindle app. I felt my life was a mess. I kept thinking that I need to be able to breathe. I know our "problems" compared to others are minuscule, but they are still stressing me out. I know we are extremely blessed, we have a roof over our heads, and food on our table so why am I letting these things affect me so much?

I am on Chapter 4 of One Thousand Gifts, and I can already tell, it will help me change my outlook on things. The book points out a verse in Psalm:

"We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothings" Psalm 39:6

I need to relax. Enjoy life more. Enjoy my Family. Get closer to God. Quit worrying and rushing cause it's a waste of MY time, it ends in nothing!!!

The book has already reminded me to be thankful because I have so much to be thankful for!

Please keep us in your prayers, that if things are God's will that they will work in his favor in his time for my family, and that we ALWAYS remember to be grateful FIRST.

Here is another excerpt from the the book that struck me:

"On every level of life, from housework to heights of prayer, in all judgement and efforts to get things done, hurry and impatience are sure marks of the amateur."

My favorite, is her reference to Genesis 28:16:

"Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it!"  Genesis 28:16

DUH!!!! I feel so ungrateful! Time to pray.

No Marriage...

"No marriage is immune from struggle - in fact, no life is either. But handled well, struggle builds character and deeper intimacy."

Source.

Perfect quote on marriage!

My weekend in food!

This weekend was very unhealthy! We didn't cook once this whole weekend. I had cereal on Saturday morning and that was the only meal I had at home.

Friday
We got home late after work and made breakfast for dinner!! I was too lazy to put a chicken in the oven lol.

Puffed Pancakes. Recipe here.  (Except I added cinnamon instead of sugar & left out egg white, still came out great!)

Saturday:
Made my way to Chantilly, VA with Diana to sell some very good brand name clothing to Plato's closet. Left disappointed! between the both of us we have good items that still had the tags on it. I can honestly say that we each had over 1k of brand name clothing hardly worn. We weren't looking to walk out with alot of money, but were stunned at what they were offering and even more stunned at what they didn't even care for. So back to the drawing board on what to do with some of our items.

While we were up there, we stopped at Willard's BBQ for some grub! They were good, but it seems like Urban BBQ still is Diana's favorite. I shared my plate with an 11 month old named Aaron lol, he loved the mash potatoes!

Saturday night
The grandparents took our little guy for the night, which was nice. The night before Aaron decided to wake up at 1am and not go back to sleep until 3:30am! so THANK YOU GRANDMA!!!

That left hubby and I some time to just go out on a date!!! YAY. We went to the historic area of Hyattsville, MD for a super late dinner, and ate at the newly opened Elevation Burger. Delicious!!!Organic Burgers & Fries -  Yes Please! and Thank You!

So now it's Monday and my goal is to eat salads for a couple days to make up for the delicious damage I caused on my body this past weekend!!!