A Fancy Party for a Five Year Old

The Ant Bug recently turned 5 years old and she had her heart set on having a party with friends. She enjoys the Fancy Nancy books, so we went with a Fancy Nancy theme. This theme works well for little girls, because at that age it is so fun to dress up and be fancy. I searched online and found a lot of good ideas, and here is how it all turned out.

The Invitation
Printed on fancy paper and tied with a fancy pink ribbon

Text:
Anwyn is 5 and FANCY !

You are invited to a soiree (that’s fancy for party)

Saturday, January 23rd at Anwyn’s house (address)

10:30 am to 12:00 noon

Please wear your fanciest ensemble.

Répondez s'il vous plaît {RSVP}
(that’s fancy for tell Anwyn’s mom if you’re coming)

phone and email

Ooh-la-la! We can't wait to see you, darling!

The decorations
Pink balloons and pink streamers.

The fancy welcome sign on the front door

The fancy creative art project
The girls decorated pink foam sheets with flower and heart foam stickers, markers and glitter gel pens.

The story time.
The girls all piled on the couch for a reading of the book that inspired the party.
The Shopping Spree
The girls were each given a gift card that enabled them to shop at Anwyn's Boutique, conveniently located upstairs in Anwyn's bedroom.
They were able to select one (or two) of the following accessories to wear and then take home: sunglasses, rings, bead necklaces, stick-on earrings, and a hair clip. This doubled as the favor bag.
After shopping we had a little lesson in proper posture for walking. We used plastic plates from our toy food collection to practice.
The game
Back downstairs for a rousing game of "pin the jewel on the tiara". Kudos to my husband for drawing an awesome tiara!
The menu
We served peanut butter sandwiches cut in squares, crescent rolls, ham and turkey roll-ups, carrots and dip, crackers, and fresh fruit. The girls used fancy toothpicks with flags as their utensil and were encouraged to eat with their pinkies in the air. After present opening, it was time for dessert--parfaits, of course! We laid out vanilla ice cream and all the best fixings: chocolate and caramel sauce, strawberry syrup, sprinkles and M&Ms.

The whole party ended up being about two hours, with a little free time here and there for the girls to play a little. The Ant Bug loved it, and I think everyone else had a good time. I was pleased with how everything turned out. Hopefully this will help any of you who need to plan your own posh party for your fancy little girl!

I got a lot of ideas from the following sources:
How to Throw a Posh Soiree for Kids
Fancy Nancy Birthday Party
Occupation Mommy: Fancy Nancy Birthday Party
And advice from my sister-in-law Becky, who had previously hosted a Fancy Nancy party of her own!

A 5 year-old in the house

Happy Birthday Ant Bug!

The important thing about Five and Six is that you learn a lot of tricks.

You learn how to count.
You learn how to read.
You know how to dress
and get what you need.
You can almost tell time.
You can speak in rhyme.

But the important thing about Five and Six is that you learn a lot of tricks.

Each day you grow a little more.
Each day you’re older than before.

Taken from Another Important Book, by Margaret Wise Brown.

Self-Portrait

My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

Baby #3 will be making an appearance sometime in early April 2010!

Nurture Mama turns a year old!

Nurture Mama has reached another milestone. This blog is one year old today!

Would you like to read how it all began? Read my very first post here and see why I do what I do.

When I reached my 100th post I asked for your help in creating a list of the 100 things that mothers do.
With your help we've listed 75 words in a mother's job description ! But I'm sure there are more. Feel free to send me your one-word inspiration in answer to the question: A mother's job is to...
Mothering brings me a lot of adventures and a lot of sweet moments. Thanks for reading and letting me share my moments with you!

One Lovely Blog

Earlier this week I was surprised and flattered to receive the "One Lovely Blog Award" from Alisha at Homemaking Honeys. Thanks for the recognition!

Here are the rules for the award:
1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
3) Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Now it's my turn to award some other lovely blogs. My first thought was to award my favorite daily reads list (which you can see on my right side bar), but then I decided to branch out a little bit. So here is my list of awardees:

1) Serving Pink Lemonade
2) Nannygoat
3) Piano Teacher's Retreat
4) MeckMom
5) Being Frugal Is Fabulous
6) The Bookworm's Booklist
7) ...and Spiritually Speaking

Go check them out when you have a minute!

Nurture Mama turns 100!

Nurture Mama has reached a milestone: Today we're celebrating the 100th post!

I hope you're enjoying this blog as much as I am. It's helping me keep my focus on the right priorities in these busy child-rearing years of my life.

Being a mother is the hardest thing I have ever done. Like any mother, I have my down moments when it is difficult to see past the spaghetti on the the floor, the middle of the night wake-ups, and the "mother hubbard" decor of my living room (wait, make that my entire home).

But for this blog I have chosen to focus on the good moments, and the reasons we mothers do what we do. Because sometimes I need a reminder, and I thought you might need one too.

I hope this blog is helpful and encouraging to you. I've enjoyed sharing my mama moments with you, and I love to hear from you. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. Comments are great, or email me at nurturemama2{at}gmail{dot}com

In honor of the 100th post, I wanted to come up with a list of 100 things mothers do. Because we all know that every day mothers are doing hundreds of things, and probably more than just a few of those things at the same time.

But I need your help. I made it to 53 words before my mama-brain tuckered out. So I've decided to ask the experts in the trenches--you! Will you help me come up with a list of 100 things that mothers do? Leave a comment with your one-word suggestions in answer to the question: A mothers job is to...

Thanks to wordle for the great image. I'll post another image once I've compiled your responses.

To end with today, here is one of my favorite mama thoughts:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I've learned, to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.
- Author Unknown

Nurture Mama Reads!

There are 3 things in my life that I am quite passionate about:

1. My family
2. Strengthening and supporting families (in general)
3. Reading (novels, non-fiction, children’s books, gospel study…)
   

Now I have a blog for each of my 3 passions! Come and check out my latest project:

Nurture Mama’s Reading List

And be sure to check in here everyday next week for a special week of

'Tis the Season: The Results Post

Remember my plan for the month of December? Here's how it all turned out.

1) Focus on Christ

Reading about the Savior was a wonderful end to each day, and the Gospel Art Kit provided a great visual for my young children. I think we might incorporate more GAK into our family scripture study in the future.

2) Open a pocket everyday

3) Make paper snowflakes
We tried the paper variety, but unfortunately it didn't go over so well. I think I picked a "I'm not in the mood for folding and cutting day" for the Ant Bug. But, we did try the edible snowflake variety described in The Friend magazine with much success.

4) Take a family photo

Our family, the 2008 version.

5) Read Christmas Books
Before

After

Our favorite of the whole bunch was Drummer Boy, by Loren Long.

6) Watch "It's a Wonderful Life"
I have to admit, I got a little teary-eyed in the end.

We also enjoyed watching this movie as a family.

7) Take a walk at the duck pond and enjoy the holiday lights

7) Make Christmas crafts with my family
A very simple project, and a fun addition to our Christmas tree. I also made personalized versions for my piano students.

We ended up with a whole herd of these guys. The Ant Bug was in charge of shaping the antlers.9) Prepare for a piano performance
The recital was very lovely, but next year I think I'll save myself a little hassle and choose an easier song!

10) Make Sugar Cookies
We also made some yummy gingerbread boys and girls, with this recipe.
11) Ooops, sorry. I'm not sure what happened to this number on December 3rd :)

12) Sing lots of Christmas Carols
Yes, we did!

I had a lovely month, crossing off everything on my list. I'm looking forward to continuing these traditions next year!

'Tis the Season

Our tree is up and our home is looking festive for the Christmas season. Today I thought I would share with you a few of the items on our "Activities for the Month of December" list:

1) Focus on Christ

The December 2008 issue of The Friend magazine includes this great activity. Each night we're reading the suggested scriptures about Jesus Christ and posting the related picture from the Gospel Art Kit. It's a great way for us to remember the reason behind the season.

2) Open a pocket everyday

The first year that we were married, my mother-in-law presented my husband and I with this wonderful advent calendar. Each day we open one pocket and find an ornament with which to decorate the tree. It looks a little sparse right now, but we're only on day 3.

3) Make paper snowflakes

Since we live in Florida, this will be the only snow we will see this year.

4) Take a family photo

I know we should have had this done by now, but we always seem to end up a little late. Here is our photo from last year. What do you think we will look like this year??

5) Read Christmas Books
Since I'm always looking for great books and ways to promote literacy, I thought this was a great idea. Find 25 Christmas books (or as many as you can), wrap them up and put them under your tree. Then everyday until Christmas your children can choose one to unwrap and read together.

My book shelf is a little sparse when it comes to Christmas books, so I consulted this book list and this one too and found some great titles, many of which are available at my local library. I'm headed there tomorrow to pick them up and start wrapping and reading!

6) Watch "It's a Wonderful Life"

This is my favorite holiday movie, with such a great message. It gives me warm fuzzies!

7) Take a walk at the duck pond and enjoy the holiday lights.

8) Make Christmas crafts with my family
Don't these look so cute and fun?

From Skip to My Lou

From You Can Make It!

From Make and Takes

9) Prepare for a Piano Performance

This fall I added "Piano Teacher" to my list of responsibilities. I have six wonderful students, and we're having our first recital this month. I decided to share in the fun with my students and prepare Silent Night/ Still, Still, Still to perform, arrangement courtesy of Sally DeFord Music.

10) Make Sugar Cookies

We love to make and decorate sugar cookies for the holidays. Here is the best recipe I've ever tried (courtesy of the Family Cookbook):

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
4-5 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream sugar, butter and eggs. Add sour cream and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Roll out in flour to 1/4 inch thick and cut. Cook in 350 degree oven for 7-8 minutes. Bottoms should be brown but tops should not be brown at all. These make a soft, cake-like cookies.

Mmmmm. They are delicious!

12) Sing lots of Christmas Carols

Silent Night, Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, Jingle Bells, The First Noel, O Holy Night, Silver Bells, We Three Kings, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Rudolph, Christmas is Coming, Do you hear what I Hear?, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Far Far Away on Judea's Plains, White Christmas...

Wow! I'm going to be busy, aren't I? What are you doing to celebrate the season in December?