Preston's third birthday par-tee

This little stinker turned three on Saturday. Three! My chubby little baby is now a curious, goofy, smart, cuddly boy who is obsessed with golf. So it's only fitting that we celebrated his birth with a golf "par-tee." While it seemed crazy in the midst of its planning, execution and clean up, the party itself was lots of fun. The weather was perfect, Preston wasn't sick (after battling ear infections for the past six months), and no one was hit in the head with a golf club, which was a big concern of mine when you mix three year olds and golf clubs.

For months, Scott had been planning, plotting and stressing about how he would make a golf course in our backyard. All of his research (he actually watched YouTube tutorials) and Lowe's visits paid off, I think, because the one-hold golf course he created in our backyard was perfect. And it wasn't just for the kids because Scott and my dad had a great time playing on it after the party. I have a feeling the hole will be there for the rest of the season because Scott and Preston both enjoy having it around.

Meanwhile, I got a Chandler Mrs. Pacman claw hand from cutting out the banner, flag, cupcake toppers and the rest of the decor from an Etsy printable I bought.

The party was more like an Oprah's Favorite Things but for Preston. We had golf, his favorite people, his favorite foods, and his favorite music. This was Preston's first birthday party with friends his age in addition to the adults who play such a huge part in helping us raise our precious boy. We integrated lots of Preston's favorite foods into the party. While we had chicken salad and pimento cheese sandwiches, we also had chips and crackers of all kinds, guacamole, veggie straws, pickles and fruit salad in the style of Chick-fil-A.

As party favors, all of the little golfers got their own plastic set of clubs to play the course with and a foam visor to decorate with stickers. At our craziest, Scott and I had pitched the idea of getting caddy bibs for each kid's parent with the child's name on it or finding a tiny green Master's blazer to put on Preston at the end. But we had to winnow down or else risk being those parents.

We had a great weekend celebrating our boy. I love him to pieces!

As a bonus, Preston's party mix, in case you ever want to throw a party for a boy who loves golf, funk, Disney and Jack White.

Preston turns two, part 2

I guess when you turn two, you have to have two parties to make it official. That's at least how Preston celebrated turning the big two with his second party this past weekend. We (obviously) went with a Cookie Monster theme, Preston's favorite among the Sesame Street gang. This made it extremely easy to decorate for. We didn't buy any of the Cookie Monsters for the party. I just grabbed them from the toy bins while Preston was napping before the party. We even had the glass milk jug sitting around, and Scott filled it up with water and a little acrylic white paint to look like milk. I got the rest of the decorations from Oriental Trading, which I had heard of but never ordered from. Afterward, though, I wondered why I hadn't used them sooner. I got plates, napkins, bunting, paper straws and paper snack cups for $17! Super easy and affordable — just like I like it.

Preston's grandma made his Cookie Monster shirt and a local bakery made the cupcakes and cookies. I'm not good under pressure, so I can't bake or even think about baking the birthday cake without feeling incredibly anxious. So I was glad to give that task to someone else. They turned out much cuter that way.

All of that paled in Preston's eyes to the balloons that were floating in the kitchen when he woke up from his nap. I think we could get him a balloon next year and he'd be pleased as punch.

It was a simple party but definitely a good one. There's nothing that warms my heart more than celebrating this sweet, goofy little boy with the people who love him as much as we do. That's reason enough to have two birthday parties!

Planning an Oscar party

As I've noted before, Scott is a huge Oscar buff and subsequently got me into them as well throughout the course of our relationship. Every year we print off ballots and compete to see who can correctly guess the most award recipients. We've had watch parties of varying scales in the past, and while having a bigger scale party is fun, I've come to prefer a lower key gathering with a smaller group.

Here are a few of my suggestions for hosting your own little Oscars get together (red carpet optional).

"Low key" is really just code for "I get to wear pajamas." OK, maybe not straight up pajamas, but comfort is definitely important. Let the stars wear the long gowns, tuxes and jewels; I'll stick to a cozy shirt and pants. That doesn't mean you have to feel frumpy when you see Jennifer Lawrence looking awesome, though. A chambray shirt, some a-little-fancier-than-regular sweatpants or a simple T-shirt dress will make Katniss wish she were wearing what you are and not the other way around.

Everything is better when there's an element of competition involved (and the promise of rubbing my winning in the faces of others). So a ballot is essential. For those who care more about what everyone is wearing, this rating card can turn everyone into Joan Rivers so they can decide who was a hit and who was a miss. Red carpet Bingo is another fun pre-show game — the winner can even give a heart-felt acceptance speech before being played off stage. 

In past parties, we (meaning "I") have looked for ways to incorporate the movie titles into the foods themselves. For instance, this year I'm pushing for Dallas Buyers Club sandwiches. They don't all have to fit that mold though (my brain is bending itself into a pretzel trying to incorporate "Her"). Caramelized onion and shallot dip and proscuitto-wrapped pears are simple yet seem very Martha Stewart, and chocolate-dipped potato chips are movie snacks at their finest.


So, who gets your pick for best movie? Best actor? Best sound mixing? (Can you tell I need some help with my ballot?)

Fourth of July wishing

This year, I'm really in the Fourth of July mood. I would love to have people over for a festive get-together with food on the grill, lawn games to play and maybe even finding a fireworks show nearby. However, since we're in the middle of The Great Move of 2013 (the "we're in the new house, but everything is still in boxes and, oh, have you seen the [fill in the blank] anywhere?" stage), a party is not in the cards. However, if it were, you can bet this is what I'd be doing ...

I love this linen T-shirt dress from Gap. Paired with these red Target sandals, it's patriotic without being too much, and both you could definitely wear all summer long without feeling like Uncle Sam.

The Fourth is really all about the food ... and independence. Burgers and hot dogs are pretty standard, but I think this grilled pork tenderloin looks yummy. Plus, you pretty much have to have corn on the cob. It's in the Constitution. And the lobster roll looks delicious (we substitute lobster for shrimp in my house, and it's still very tasty). And the berry dessert adds red, white and blue without being rage inducing and difficult like the 11-layer, red, white and blue ombre cake I found. 

I love summer days and how the sun doesn't set until 8:30. Lawn games are a great way to soak up that extra daylight — corn hole and bocce ball being two of my favorites — and cooling off with a sprint through the sprinkler is always a welcomed relief. Once the sun sets, bust out some sparklers!

How are you celebrating the Fourth? You're always invited to my house to unpack boxes!

Preston's first birthday

Last Saturday, we celebrated Preston's first birthday! While Scott initially told me not to let it get too out of hand, once he joined in the planning, it got a little crazy. But, hey, you only turn one once, right? 

I love the nautical theme we went with. The flags were so cute and will go great in Preston's room, and it seems like anchors are the new mustache because they were on everything. It made it easy to shop for party decorations. 

(Just as a note: We found the invitation on Etsy, and it came with the "Dress nautical" prompt. We didn't purposefully mandate a dress code for our baby's birthday. Everyone participated, though, and it was pretty cute!) 

The set up on our buffet; Preston's gift pile, along with a few photo books of his first year; You can't have a birthday party without birthday cake; Party-themed bibs

The cake, though, was really the icing (haha) on top of the day. Many searches on Pinterest resulted in an anchor-printed cake with rope detail and an anchor logo Scott had found (originally on a canvas for a kid's room). When I took the idea to the bakery, I wasn't expecting the detail from the photo to be literally translated onto the cake. I mean, it was pretty complicated anchor. So when she opened the box to show the finished product, I was extremely surprised. It looked awesome. It was almost painful to eat it. Almost.

Time to open presents! Preston quickly picked up on what to do.

The day started a bit more hectic than we had previously planned. Our house is currently on the market, and we had gotten a call Friday that someone wanted to schedule a showing for 11:30 on Saturday. The party was at 12. 

We tried to reschedule, but they were coming from out of town and that was the only time they had. Additionally, we were their favorite house after looking online. We couldn't say no to that. So Scott and I scurried around Saturday morning to get the house clean and in a show-ready state. We put a few decorations out but saved the rest until after the prospective buyers left. I went to pick up the cake and get a few last minute party needs. Then our families hopped in their cars, and we sent them and Preston on a little drive while the buyers came to look. Once the front door clicked close behind them, we once again started scurrying around to get the party ready. Since they looked for such a short time, we were skeptical anything would come of it.

Later that afternoon after the party, we got a phone call that they had made an offer! Within a couple of days, we were under contract with them and had sold our house! Preston doesn't know what a great present that was.

He got very shy when it came time to sing "Happy Birthday;" Talking with his people; A happy birthday boy; Peek-a-boo!

Preston had a great day, though. In addition to our families, we invited his babysitter who watches him while I'm at work — his beloved Mrs. Jan — and our friends Morris and Brenda, who often find themselves with babysitting duty, too. It was a wonderful celebration of our boy's first year, surrounded by the people who love him just as much as we do. We've been truly blessed to be encouraged and supported by such a great group of people.

Happy first birthday, sweet Preston! We love you so and have thoroughly enjoyed this past year with you!