So, here is part two of my N's pirate party: the food! I am such a sweets person. I'm a bit ashamed to admit that sometimes I will drop the kids off at school and head directly to our little local cupcake place and order the Ultimate Chocolate Cupcake. It is seriously THE.BEST.CUPCAKE.EVER! Its what gets me through the day sometimes.

So, needless to say, I try to have a lot of sweets at my parties. I fill the kids up with sugar and send them home--every parent's dream. Since I have a newborn and a limited budget, I didn't get to do all that I wanted, but my sweet tooth was still happy.

I made the banner out of burlap, cardstock, ribbon, and tulle.


I dipped marshmallows into red candy melts and then added some black sprinkles on top. It was seriously the easiest, fastest thing ever.


Here are my cookies. These take me a bit to make, but they are mouth watering good. I probably ate like 10 while I was icing them. Figured Operation Lose Baby Weight could wait until after the party.


Argg! These were so fun to make and so delicious! I am pretty sure that none of the kids got one, though because the parents went crazy over them. I am already getting moms asking me if I will be making them for Emma's party in October. I sure will! They were fun to make, but my kitchen looked like a food explostion happened afterwards--not fun to clean up.


And the cake...yummy! I told you I love sweets! I bought the cake from a mom who I had heard great things about. Her shop is called Cake it Easy Bakery, in case you are local.


I served each kid dinner in these adorable gable boxes that I bought off Etsy. Then I designed a label in photoshop and printed it on sticker paper, cut it with my paper cutter, and stuck it on the box.

The label said "Ye Hearty Grub" and then listed all the food that was inside. I had Golden Nuggets with Ruby sauce (chicken nuggets and ketchup), Pirate Booty (fun popcorn snacks that are actually called Pirate Booty), and a Ship O' Fruit with a Sword (the waffle bowls that I posted before filled with fruit and a little sword pick). The kids loved having their own boxes and I think the parents loved not having to fix a plate of food for the kids.



For the invite, we did the whole message in a bottle thing. Nathan loved giving them to all his friends. They thought he was pretty cool, which he is.

I surfed the net for a few ideas for the invite and mashed all those ideas into one perfect paper. We printed them on parchment paper, burned the edges, tied it up with hemp rope, and stuffed it in the bottle along with sand, a pirate ring and some seashells.

Nathan's 5th birthday party was at the end og August and I am just getting some time to go through the pictures--that's what happens when you have three BUSY kids!

I designed the sign in photoshop and slipped it in a frame I bought at the dollar store. All the rest of the pirate gear I bought at different places online. Then I sprinked the table with chocolate gold coins. I think those were gone within seconds! I also cut out some vinyl with my Silhouette machine and put it above the table. It reads: Pirates Only: All others will walk the plank. Loved it!

Once the kids were true pirates, they had jobs to do. I set up the kids' tables in our breakfast room. Don't be afraid to move around your furniture. My breakfast table found a new temporary home in our office for the day.

I covered the table with plastic table clothes I found at the Dollar Store. Also, I made a simple banner and hung some paper lanterns that I bought at Hobbly Lobby on either end. Each little pirate had a treasure chest to decorate. I set out crayons, markers, and foam stickers to make the chests pirate worthy.

I also had an activity placemat that I designed in photoshop. They had to make their own pirate map and complete a maze. There was a pirate joke on there, too--my best one. What is a pirate's favorite letter? Arrrrrr!

For the kids who finished fast, I had a pirate tent set up with some of my son's pirate books. We like books. I will find any excuse to buy or borrow new books, and a party is no exception. This pic was taken after the little pirates had some fun with the tent, so its leaning. Ah well.

I'll share more tomorrow! Ellie Bean needs me!

Three months old. Three sweet, precious months old. I will say, my little Ellie Bean, that you have been my hardest baby yet. You really are a happy baby, but you are mostly only happy in my arms or touching me. Things are getting a bit easier lately. You will lay on your little mat or on the couch for 10 or 15 minutes at a time. You have discovered your hands and will just stare at them in pure facination. Love it!

Your happiest time of the day is the morning. We can literally spend half an hour in bed and you will be all smiles and coos. It melts my heart to watch you with Emma and Nathan on either side of you. They both adore you!

Love you to the moon and back baby.