Scoobs & the Party

Believe it or not, this was our 'first' birthday party. By first, I mean the first for invites, friends & the whole shabang. And it was really fun...once it was over!

No really, it was fun, but lets not kid ourselves & pretend like we weren't dead tired after the fact. So tired, I think Scot & I put the kids to bed & were in bed ourselves 30 minutes later.

So onto the party details. Truth be told, Scoobs initially wanted a super hero party...ironman, batman, spiderman...all those guys. And frankly, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Call me mean, but I had no creativity in that direction. So instead, I stole my neighbors idea & we did a 'camping' party, with 17 three and four year-olds.

Here are the details in photos...
We did hot dogs, chips & juice boxes. And 30 seconds after I took this picture, Scoobs threw a Frisbee & knocked over one of the jars filled with water & real goldfish. It was awesome. I got the 'happy birthday' banner at Old Navy for $3...love when that happens. Made the tissue balls & the rest was just stuff I had around. The apothecary jar is filled with marshmallows in different sizes.

The main events of the party were hunting with nerf guns & fishing for goldfish, which they all took home as party favors & every mom was beyond thrilled about. Trust me...mine are still alive & I am looking for a way out!
We opened presents in the tent & it was complete mayhem. Remember there were 17 kids there. Yeah. My mom asked why we invited so many, but believe it or not, they ALL {with exception of 1 cousin} live within walking distance and that is what I love about where I live...so we embraced it. All 17 of them...even though I really felt like this.
We capped the party off with happy birthday & s'more inspired cupcakes, which I have to admit, were mighty tasty. I love a tasty treat that can look cute too.


it is safe to say, prior to her black eye...the Lady thoroughly enjoyed herself, and her cupcake.

and I am pretty sure the birthday boy was please as punch as well. All in all...a success.phew. Happy Birthday to the Scoobs.

To the One. The Only.

Scoobs.

Happy Day to you. We are so happy you are ours. Really. You made us mom & dad & that is incredible to me every. single. day.

Details of the big day to come...I'm pooped.

Lots of fun. Lots of friends & this:


It was awesome. Except that that part wasn't awesome. Except that Scot's reaction was awesome. You see he is the freaker-outer when someone {ie, the Lady} gets hurt. Instead of picking her up & comforting her, he picks her up & screams in her face.

That was awesome.

and yes, I left out some parts & maybe it wasn't a full-fledged scream. But the actual truth is, she fell & he yelled, "Oh no" and I replied, "it's okay, she'll be okay" and then he picked her up & held her at arms length saying "No! No! No!" as in, 'no, she will not be okay.' And then I took her & removed her & myself from the situation. And since the truth is being told...it did look gross right at the start...all white & Scot said he thought her face was caved in. Again, he is a freaker-outer and that is awesome.

And coming up...the details of Scoobs' big day...cause we did it big this year {and that may not ever happen again!} haha.

xoxo Scoobs. you rock.

Ice Cream Cupcakes

Like everyone else I have been a bit infatuated with cupcakes of late & wanted to make something cute, fun & EASY for Zack's birthday...and this fit the bill. They are cupcakes cooked in ice cream cones and while it may sound all fancy dancy & thus difficult...they are NOT. Soo easy, which I love. I had contemplated making Bakerella's Cupcake Pops but frankly, they are a little too time consuming & I just wasn't up for the task. I also thought about this yummy looking brownies...but brownies just aren't too birthday-ish. Anyway, I found these gems over at Baking Like Betty & they were perfect. Easy. Cute. And most importantly...fun.

So how to...

Make your cupcakes like normal...being certain not to fill the cups more than 2/3 of the way full. Before placing in the oven put ice cream cones over the batter {upside down} so that the cupcakes will cook up into the cones.

During the first 6-8 minutes of baking check regularly & reposition the cones as necessary so that they stay straight.

Remove from pan once they are done baking. Let cool. Remove the paper cups & frost to your delight.

Enjoy.