#DisneyKids Preschool Playdate

 

*I received free products in order to host this Disney Kids Preschool Paydate. The opinions expressed here are my own.

We got back from Walt Disney World Resort almost 2 months ago, and we are in withdrawal! After the fun we had at our last #DisneySide playdate, we couldn't wait to share some more Disney magic with our friends!  This time we invited Jake and the Never Land Pirates fans for some swashbuckling fun.  The kids ate healthy snacks, like gluten & cholesterol free Crunchmaster Grammy Crisps  (cholesterol free is very important in our house), enjoyed some new toys and games (Who Shook Hook was my favorite), and talked Disney! The kids had a blast, and I got to spend some quality time with friends before my return to work.

JD and O enjoyed burying doubloons in the Kinetic Sand . This is going to be great all winter while we are missing the beach. 

My boys are currently using those Mickey chore charts on the left to earn new MEGA Bloks sets.

A was able to dig up the treasure without putting down his Clif Kid ZBar  

O became a crunchmaster finishing off these crackers.  (The boxes in the back are the supplies to make our wedding favors.  Major crafting posts coming soon!)

The bigger boys couldn't be pulled away from the MEGA Bloks.

The boys were rockin their Jake gear!  Some were happier than others to stop playing to pose. 

Everyone went home with a bag full of Jake goodies and Disney Side luggage tags for their next trip!

If you are interested in hosting your own Disney-themed playdate or party, tons of ideas, recipes, and printables can be found here.

*Thank you to Walt Disney World Resort and MomSelect for providing free products for our playdate.

Wordless Wednesday: O's Scientist Birthday Party

November Update

Apparently it's November.  Mid November.  And we packed so much in the past two months, that including it all in one post will be a challenge.  

We celebrated K3's baptism.  It was the first time we had all our friends and family over to the house, and thankfully we had some great help with set up and food!

We went to Disney and Great Wolf Lodge.  Traveling with an infant is a lot easier than it looks, and K3 was certainly the easiest to please no matter where we went.

O turned 4!  We celebrated by going to the aquarium with our family and then hosting a scientist party for his classmates and friends.

I had a tough time handling my emotions when my baby turned three, but four has been pretty awesome.  He's grown into such a thoughtful, sweet, and silly big brother, and so far I'm loving this age.

We enjoyed Halloween. I bought their costumes as soon as Party City put them out in August to make sure they had their favorite turtle in their size.  I should have bought out all the Elsa costumes they had at the time and sold them on ebay. 

This baby is growing and growing and growing.  He started rolling over the day of his 2 month well visit and hasn't stopped.  He is constantly trying to roll, no matter where we put him or how he is restrained.

And the biggest time suck of all is that I've been dealing with some health stuff and had open abdominal surgery last week, which required fitting in lots of doctor appointments and scheduling help with the kids.  
After birthing three kids and thinking that I'm pretty much a super hero, I vastly overestimated my pain threshold and underestimated the seriousness of the procedure.  I still cannot wrap my brain around how much my incision hurts.  We planned to bottle feed K3 during and after the procedure until anesthesia was out of my system and I could switch to safe-for-breastfeeding pain meds.  It seemed like a sensible plan- for someone who didn't understand exactly what I would be feeling like after surgery.  I didn't know how hard it would be to sit up, (I HAD to pump. WHY can't the pump do it's job while I'm lying down?) and the okay-while-breastfeeding pain meds made me woozy and the baby drowsy.  So I chose stabbing pain over nausea and guilt. The mom guilt never ends.
I'm still technically not supposed to be lifting more than 10 pounds, but with a 14 pound baby, that isn't realistic.  I'm very thankful for the awesomeness of my mom and Keith for keeping everyone alive and entertained and clean, and hopefully I'll be walking upright by my return to work this month.
There will be a lot written about this return to work, but that's it for now.

Showing our #DisneySide

A couple months ago, I found out I was selected to host a Disney Side @Home Celebration, and we decided to make it a brunch play date while I was off from work.  In this house, we really enjoy any excuse to show off our Disney love, so we had a great time decorating (the decorations are still up now with no plans to take them down), planning snacks, and sharing some Disney fun with our friends!

We decorated T-shirts

winner winner!

Disney BINGO

Thanks so much to Disney, American Tourister, HP, Ocean Spray and most of all Maria Bailey and the BSM Media team for providing the opportunity, products and support that made my Disney Side @Home Celebration so much fun!

(I received free products in order to host the Disney Side @Home Celebration.)

O Turned Three (a couple months ago)

I was recently chosen to host a Disney Side @Home Celebration, so that's really kicked my butt to post more of our #DisneySide here on the blog.

Back in October, O turned THREE (3!!! I assure you my baby turning three did not pass without shock and some tears), and we celebrated with a Mickey Halloween party.

Party day started with an early morning costume party at the Disney Store!

There are so many Mickey Mouse Clubhouse sayings that were easy to incorporate into the party. (The other side of this sign read "See ya real soon!" for people on their way out.)

I bought Target out of every Disney pumpkin kit they had. We also used a big pumpkin with tiny pumpkin ears to make Mickeys.

Orange Mickey party hats from Henson Creations and sign from Pamela Renee Designs. 

I got the template for these Mickey bats at Spoonful.com & spent every waking moment cutting them out to use around the house and yard.

We had a pumpkin painting station.

And a Mickey pinata of course.

We rented an awesome hot dog cart & served up Hot Diggity Dogs with every fixin we could think of.

My mom has a great Disney Side! (This sign is also from Pamela Renee Designs.)

Mickey cupcakes with orange frosting and big & mini Oreos

Chocolate dipped orange rice krispie treats 

 We all had a great time celebrating and showing our Disney Sides!

Mickey Trick-or-Treat bag favors were a hit.

Mickey cut out from Oriental Trading.

Sooooo many cool Mickey gifts.

The party was so much fun that JD is asking for a Mickey party for his next birthday too.  The Mickey cutout is still in our living room, and I don't see it leaving any time soon.  We are so excited to host our Disney Side @Home Celebration, so stay posted for even more Disney on the blog!