Art Party: Grace is 7!

So every year as September 19th is approaching I tell myself we're going to do something simple for my little girl's birthday. Well, when you have a daughter like Grace nothing is simple. She is so creative and certainly knows what she wants. Each year she comes up with a theme (in July!!) of what she would like for her birthday. My only leverage is that if I'm able to pull off the party she wants at home - that's what we'll do.

My mom always threw my birthday party at my house growing up and it was one of the best memories I have as a kid. Although I love the ease of having it somewhere else - no prep work, no additional hired help, no clean up, no goody bags, no staying up late to ice cupcakes at 12 am.  It must be something in me I crave, like an upcoming deadline at work (see, I'm a SAHM so this is my job and these are my type of deadlines). One drawback I will mention when having it at home is having to limit the number of friends due to space and help/assistance issues. You never want to bite off more than you can chew and at home you need to make sure you have a good handle on things so no kid is feeling left out. I tried to limit it to 10 kids total, but by the time we including the birthday girl and her siblings we were up to 14...yes, fourteen, Yikes!

Anyway, this year Grace wanted to do something with Art. She loves Art & Horses at this point - her two loves as she would say. So with the help of Google, Pinterest, & the craft store we came up with Grace's Birthday Theme! The kids will paint their own canvas, decorate their own cupcakes, and of course have alot of fun. Genius!

I set up the party in two 1 hour shifts - first shift was Canvas Painting where each girl got a blank canvas and with the help of Crayola Neon Washable Paint was able to make a masterpiece to take home. They seemed to really enjoy creating their own personalized take-a-away. After everyone was done the girls went outside to play (shift change) to play, jump on a moon bounce, and make silly faces in a characterture drawing made with love by myself and my artistic sister, Kelsey (shout out). Must be where Grace gets her crafty side from :)

While the girls were outside tiring themselves out on this gorgeous day I was changing the table into shift #2- Cupcake Decorating. When discussing this idea with mommy friends that I was going to do this I was given a fun idea to use painters palette to serve the cupcakes on. Each girl sat down to their very own cupcake decorating station with endless options of candy, sprinkles, icing, and of course laughter to see who could build the biggest cupcake. It was adorable! One girl even tried to shove the entire thing in her mouth (although not recommended, it was pretty funny). And all mommy cared about was that Grace was having a good time with her friends. And she was!

Alongside a goody bag of silly string and a Crayola Paint Palette, each girl was sent home with their very own canvas - painted by them. Party was a success and Grace felt like a very lucky girl.

Happy birthday sweet girl! You'll always be my first baby and its a blessing to see you grow. I am super proud of you and who you have become. Love you to pieces! xoxo

True Confessions: How my Blog began?

People ask me all the time how this blog started...and honestly, it was simple. I had a passion for nutrition, life, and my family and I wanted to share it with others. I've tried very hard over the past 10 years to create a happy and healthy life for me and my family. You can always read my very first post which describes a little of how it all begin or read about our family motto. I didn't know where to start, but through trial & error, reading and asking many questions I have found this blog to be a place of comfort. Somewhere I can share a little part of me, with you.

I'm passionate an dedicated to all things health and want others to know eating well does not have to mean you have become vegan or cut out everything you love. We all have our own triggers (gluten, lactose, caffeine intolerance) which we need to recognize. Have you ever heard "listen to your body?"...it might actually be telling you something you NEED to know. Don't ignore it.

Health is an overall awareness of yourself, what you're eating and what you're feeding others. Now, with kids, it can be a little tricky, but we've found ways to incorporate the best nutrition with "normal" kid foods and flavors they love. Our family isn't perfect, we love our burgers and ice cream just like everyone else. We just might eat turkey burgers with sweet potato fries or that ice cream I mentioned only on special outings or occasions. That is where my blog began - as a place for people who were interested in how I nourish my family to come and not make me feel like I was preaching to you. I've said before, I'm not a doctor, but I know enough to know what I should/shouldn't be putting into my body. And I'm learning more and more everyday -I love it!

It makes me happy when my girls want to cook with me in the kitchen or grocery shop and want to choose a new veggie or fruit to try. That is what its all about - trying new things together and figuring out what works for you.

My family is the most important component of my life, they come first. Their health and happiness is why I get up in the morning and be the best mom and wife I can each day. This blog is to enhance the well being of our family, not to take away from it. Any gaps you see in my blog posts are due to me taking some time off to spend more time with the kids (typically over the Summer when they're all home or when we have a new baby and life just shifts). Life is good right now, we're all happy & healthy. I count my blessings everyday.

XOXO

Labor Day Book Give-A-Way!!

Happy Labor Day!!!

Choices: Nutrition Life & Love is doing a give-a-way and I want YOU to win! Log onto our Facebook page for more details....  Good luck!

xoxo