Sunday, April 21, 2013

A Karate/ Martial Arts/ Ninja Party!



So....I thought about *not* having a party for Toby's 6th birthday, what with a new baby and all......but soon found out that I am in wayyyy too deep with the parties to just simply not do one! 

ya right, mom!

hah.

Not only were we to have a birthday party, but it was, once again, a very specific type of party....with many "custom" requests from one very enthusiastic Toby boy ;)

It would involve ninjas and martial arts....and weapons. Oh my. 

Let me just tell you that I do not love weapons. They're just not my style. I tried to avoid any sort of weaponry in our house for a long time, but sigh....I've given up.  I decided that if we were to have weapons at the party, they would have to be made of foam. 12 boys in a room with foam weapons is bad enough...trust me! ;) So...I headed to the hardware store and picked up a whole bunch of "pipe insulator", duct tape, and electrical tape. Toby requested that they each had a "bo" and nun chucks, so I got busy. I used zap straps for the nun chuck "chains", which I poked through the foam handles.   

They were definitely a hit :)


I figured that theere was no way we'd be able to host 12 little ninjas in our home, so we rented a room in our local rec centre, which worked really well!





The invitations were made using PicMonkey with a photo I took of Toby pulling his fiercest look ;) I just added the wording, etc and had them printed on photo paper, then glued them to black cardstock. Nice and easy.


;
The cake was completely basic, and it just wasn't my proudest moment....but the boys thought it was the best thing they'd ever seen...and that's all that matters, right? :) I just made three 9X9 square cakes and layered them, then iced it with buttercream. I cut out the fondant silhouettes and stars a few days earlier, so that they'd be hard enough to stand up. I bought some ninja weapons at the dollar store (washed them really well!) and jammed them randomly in the top of the cake. Done. 




I kept the food very simple, and decided that having everything in individual portions would minimize any germs from little fingers :) I served grapes, carrots, raspberries, blueberries, Pirate's Booty, bunny crackers, Smarties, and chips in little shot glasses, cupcake wrappers, mini muffin cups, etc. I used chopsticks to make strawberry skewers as well...and that was about it. Nothing fancy!




The red mesh bags were found at the dollar store, and were the perfect size to fit the weapons, a white karate belt, headband, etc. Everything a little ninja would need ;) 
















Wee man Rory taking it all in !







I found some balsa wood strips at Michael's, which were perfect for "breaking boards". I bought the 3/32 width, but could have probably gotten slightly thicker ones to make it a little trickier (I just didn't want any little ninjas to feel embarrassed/frustrated if they weren't able to break their board!) Better to err on the safe side, right? ;) 

They boys were awarded "medals" for breaking the boards.













Dustin was a good sport and donned a martial arts uniform to be the "sensei" :) He set up a simple obstacle course, which involved kicking the target, etc.


Didda (my dad) arrived, and was instantly attacked by about 10 little ninjas! 





Fierce!






Our little Finny ninja :)






I used plastic tablecloths to make a quick backdrop because I figured the wall at the hall would most likely be somewhat unsightly. I made 4 big chinese lanterns with poster board as well as the TOBY banner. I bought the Happy Birthday banner on Amazon for $4 :)








Part of Toby's plan was that he would cut the birthday cake with a sword. Oh my. 

Whatever. They're only little once, right? 










All in all, it was a gong show. But a fun gong show :)

Toby could hardly get to sleep tonight, going over it all in his mind, and thinking about every little bit of fun that he had. 

Thanks to all of his wonderful friends for coming to celebrate with us!! 

I still can't believe our little man in 6.

Where does the time go??


xoxo








Friday, April 12, 2013

Rory Heath....our newest little man!



So...once again....I've disappeared from my blog for AGES!

But there's a very good reason :)






Our new little baby boy, Rory Heath,  arrived on February 23rd after an amazing whirlwind 2 hour labour. He was finally ready to appear, and seemed to be in quite a rush to get out! He weighed 9 lb 11 oz, which is actually smaller than I expected (but I'd been so good at cutting out all sugar in the last 6 weeks of the pregnancy because he was measuring big!). I know....I grow huge babies....but our bodies are unbelievably amazing, and know exactly how to get them out :) My little Finn (2nd boy) was 10 lb 6 oz, and another quick labour (3.5 hrs), so I was expecting something similar with this one.....just maybe not quite so quick and crazy. I unfortunately haemorrhaged after the birth, and developed a uterine infection immediately afterwards, which wasn't any fun, but I had amazing midwives who took great care of me :) I came home from the hospital and stayed in bed for a week because I had a lot of pelvic pain...but I feel so lucky to have been able to have that time to snuggle my little Rory boy, and really get to know him, as well as let my body rest and recuperate! I didn't actually leave the house for 2 weeks, and really took it easy when I did go out briefly. My mom came over every day to help with the boys, which was so, so wonderful...and Dustin really kicked in to "mom"  gear and kept the house under control while I was out of commission :) 







 The big brothers are completely in love with this little man, though (as we all are!), and it is the cutest thing to see them snuggle and love him :) It of course gets a little bit much for Rory at times....all the snuggles and kisses...haha...but he's getting used to it!

 Whoever said that going from 2 to 3 kids made no real difference at all was a liar! ;)  It definitely makes a difference....in a crazy, wonderful, completely hectic way....and I love it :) 

And yes....I'm sleep deprived (even though this little Rory boy has the sleep thing pretty well figured out), run off my feet, and completely exhausted by the fact that everyone needs their momma...and I'm only one momma! That's the tricky part. Only one of me, and 3 of them....and I'm pretty sure that there isn't one moment in the day or night when at least one of them doesn't need me for something ;)  It's nice to feel needed.....but there's a little part of me that's freaked out by being so in demand all the time. But really.....what's life if it isn't a little overwhelming at times, right? 







We are so lucky with this little pumpkin. He is a very content, easy going (for the most part) little baby. He's been smiling real big smiles since he was one week old, which has been so cute (and the boys LOVE it when he smiles at them). As I write this post, he's snuggled up next to me in the bed...just so happy to be next to his momma (with food available on tap) ;) 


3 boys.....I have to admit, it's a little bit crazy! The thought of what my life will be :) And the funny part is that I'm actually a pretty "girly" girl. Ok...well...I guess can ride a dirt bike and fix the car...but I love spa days, and shopping, and Sephora ;) And pink. I love pink :)  When I was pregnant, everyone always asked me if I was hoping for a girl. Surprisingly, I really wasn't. I would have, of course, been so excited to have a little girl, but I was every bit as excited to have one more snuggly little boy. I'm pretty used to boys now, and I love the thought of the three of them all playing together (as rough and tumble as I know it will be!). And then, they'll all go camping with Dada, or golfing, and this momma will head to the spa for the day ;) heehee. 






I feel so blessed to be their momma :) 





These AMAZING photos were taken by Ali of Bella Photography. She is a seriously talented photographer, and I am so happy to have these beautiful photos to remember this precious newborn stage :) Ali is an absolute delight to work with, and I would recommend her without hesitation. I honestly had my doubts about whether or not we'd have any success getting shots of him sleeping, but she was a complete pro at positioning him/moving him that he just stayed asleep! :) Check out her portfolio...and Facebook page :)
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