Super Easy Party Favor

I've had a Superman silicone mold for a while and have wanted to use it but never knew what to use it for. When I was planning Kara's party I knew I wanted to make Supergirl candy for favors! I bought some pink candy melts and started searching for a tutorial. I couldn't imagine that melting chocolate could be hard, but I wasn't sure about using the mold and what I had to do. Turns out it's SUPER easy. I never did find a tutorial, but my sister in law, Kelli, gave me some easy instructions.

There are so many awesome silicone molds out there that the possibilities seem endless. And seeing as how easy this was, I think I might have candy melt favors for every party I throw!

Gather your candy melts and silicone mold. 

Microwave the melts according to the package directions and fill the mold. I used about 2/3 of the package for one tray of candies. I think the candies would have been better if they weren't filled to the top. It was a lot even for me! But back to how I did it. I filled each space halfway with candy. Then I tapped the mold on the counter to get the air bubbles out. Then I filled the molds the rest of the way and tapped the tray again.

**There was one place on my mold (bottom curve of the S) where the candy didn't seem to get inside. After I filled the mold halfway, I would squeeze each candy to make that space bigger so that candy would fill it. It seemed to work okay.

If you have left over candy in your bowl and are going to do more candies, you can just let the melted candy harden again. When you go to make your next batch it softens right up and is good as new! Or you could just eat it straight from the bowl. You know...if you're anything like me.

Place the mold in the freezer for an hour or two. Remove the candy from the mold and you're done!

Seriously...that's all there is to it. 

She's 1!

Kara celebrated her first birthday on Sunday! We had some family over and had a wonderful time. 

It was such a nice day that we decided to have the party all outside. Usually we have some people inside and some outside, but after this winter, I want to soak up as many nice days as I can! Kara was getting a little overwhelmed with the day. During presents she just wanted to play with some of the toys for more than a few seconds, but we kept taking them away and replacing them with a new package to open. She was getting a little cranky. She got so many wonderful new things! She got an awesome picnic table, lots of new clothes (flamingo jammies and flamingo shorts!), a bitty baby and stroller and some books. She is having a blast playing with all of her new things and showing off her new clothes. 

Auntie Kelly made these amazing Supergirl cookies! The kids loved them...and ate them all before I had a chance to sample one!

Kara loved her cake. My mom and dad got her a smash cake and cake to share from Weber Bakery. This little girl needed no prompting to start shoveling that cake into her mouth. Right at the start she got cake in her eye. After a quick clean up she was back at it. I think she was more irritated that she had to stop eating to get her eye wiped out than anything. Towards the end she was getting so tired and was crying as she ate. But she didn't stop eating for a second. Atta girl!

Love her reaction to seeing her dirty face!

Happy birthday Kara! You are our supergirl!

Winter OIympics 2014

We celebrated a LOT during February. We had Chinese New Year, the Superbowl and the Winter Olympics all in the first week or so! The kids were loving all of the fun stuff we did. I was just loving the food. Just keeping it real.

I decided that I wanted to have a little party to celebrate the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. We made a paper chain out of the Olympic ring colors. I still have a bunch of strips leftover from our snake project from last Chinese New Year, so any time we can use our strips, we do. Here's what we did for Thanksgiving with more strips. And the leaves from Clark's family tree used these strips too!

For dinner we had Russian Blini. Oh. My. Goodness. Can I just say that I was instantly back in Russia when I took the first bite. The phrase for "blini with sweetened condensed milk" is one of the key phrases that I remember in Russian. That's how much I used to order them!! 

We used this recipe and they turned out so yummy. We had many different toppings to use: sweetened condensed milk (my favorite), strawberries, bananas, cream cheese fruit dip, chocolate spread, chocolate almond spread, chocolate hazelnut spread, powdered sugar, and maybe a few more things. I can't remember. It was fun to just try different combinations and see what we liked the best. I stand by my favorite of blini with sweetened condensed milk lightly dusted with powdered sugar on top. Oh, who are we kidding, you just load that thing up with powdered sugar! I won't be waiting until the next Russian Olympic games to make them though!

During the opening ceremonies, we played a little bingo game that I found online. It didn't last long. We really just liked talking about the different countries and guessing how many athletes each one would have. We had the globe out so we could find the different countries and we had google out so we could answer any of those tough questions Clark asked!

Clark really enjoyed the Olympics this year. Everyday he would follow the US on the app and see how many medals we won. He loved watching the videos of all of the new (to him) sports. He thought curling was hilarious. It was so fun to see how much he enjoyed the games. Made me love them more too!

The Year of the Horse & Improv Games

Way back at the beginning of February we rang in the Chinese New Year. We had our usual Chinese fare: sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, egg rolls, pot stickers, Chinese chicken salad and mu shu pork. We had a few other things too, but I can't remember what they were! Jason and I have finally figured out how to work our sweet and sour chicken frying extravaganza. It's quite the ordeal, usually three hours of frying chicken into little bite size pieces. Yum. Details are for another post.

Oh...seaweed! We've had seaweed before and every year someone new seems to want to try it out. The kids in Taiwan used to prefer seaweed strips to candy bars. This year was obviously Cana's turn! She was brave and tried it out and then quickly spit it out! I would have done the same thing!

We kept a few things the same this year for decorations - same tablecloths, same table decor, same lanterns and Taiwanese souvenirs and red envelopes of course. Clark helped me put together a Chinese zodiac banner. I want to make it look a little better for next year, but it looked festive enough. The chocolate bars were the prizes for our improv games. More on that if you keep reading...

We decided that we wanted to play a game this year with everyone instead of just sitting around and talking. Jason and I put together some improv games a la Hollywood Game Night and Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Here are some of the ideas that we used just in case you want to host a game night of your own! It's really fun to prepare because so many of the ideas could be from inside jokes or common experiences. And these can be tailored to any age group or interests!

1. Party Quirks - for an idea of how to play the game click here

Scoring - We timed each team and the team who guessed the quirks in the shortest amount of time won the points.

The quirks we used...
-all four teenage mutant ninja turtles hungry for pizza
-wwe wrestler (hulk hogan)
-peyton manning's #1 fan (it was superbowl weekend too)
-someone who keeps stepping in dog poop
-kid in a candy store
-fruit fly in search of a banana
-ninja trying not to be seen

2. In Other Words - for a video of how this game is played click here

Scoring and Game Play: We played two rounds of this game. That meant each person got a chance to say the clue twice. Their team had 60 seconds-ish to guess the answer. If they guessed it, they got a point. If not, no point.

Some of the quotes we used...
-fish are friends, not food
-i see dead people
-may the force be with you
-i'm the king of the world
-e.t. phone home
-there is no crying in baseball
-go ahead, make my day

3 & 4. How Do You Do? and Show Me the Music
These are different games, but we just created one big pile of song titles and sorted them to what we thought would work best. For an example of How Do You Do? click here and for Show Me the Music click here. We modified Show Me the Music into just charades with music titles since we didn't have noise cancelling headphones and such. We used quite a few Disney songs since we thought that some younger kids would be playing.

Scoring and Game Play - we gave each team 2 minutes to guess. They were awarded one point for each correct answer.

Some of the song titles we used:
-waiting for a girl like you
-edge of glory
-mr. roboto
-rocket man
-dancing queen
-america
-it's a small world
-mickey mouse march
-bibbidi bobbidi boo

5. Timeline - for a video on how to play click here
We thought it would be fun to do one round with our favorite Asian actor and another round with Horse movies for the Year of the Horse.

Scoring and Game Play - Each team was given two minutes. They received one point for each correctly placed movie poster.

Jackie Chan movies we used:
First Strike, Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, The Medallion, Kung Fu Panda, The Spy Next Door and The Karate Kid

Horse movies we used:
Wild Hearts Can't be Broken, Black Beauty, Horse Whisperer, Spirit, Seabiscuit, Flicka, Secretariat

6. Celebrity Name Game - for the version we played, click here
We decided to keep our list of celebrities to tv, movie or sports figures. You could do this with anything though to tailor it to your group's likes.

Scoring and Game Play - Teams had 2 minutes to guess as many celebrities as they could. They received one point for each correct answer.

Some celebrities we used:
-Harrison Ford
-John Travolta
-Natalie Portman
-Adam Sandler
-Lucy Liu
-Jennifer Aniston

I wish I had some pictures of the event. Maybe next year. I really need to be better about photographing a Chinese New Year celebration. It's one of my favorite parties. There's always next year!

We really loved the Game Night except that Jason and I wanted to play instead of just hosting. So next time we may have each family be in charge of bringing an improv game that they would host and then we'll get to play too!

It's Christmas!

Huh? Christmas was last month? Where does the time go? Christmas was lovely. I wanted desperately to buy Christmas pjs for us all this year, but I couldn't find anything that I even remotely liked. I had 8 yards of fabric from last year that I never used, so I pulled it out and made us some quick pjs pants. The kids' pants all turned out pretty good. The adult pjs had issues. Whatever. Slap a smile on your face and it's all good, right? I used this tutorial for the pj pants this year. It was super easy, but I have yet to find a decent method for making adult pj pants.

Christmas Eve we have a pajama party over at my parents' home. My dad had set up the train that he got for Christmas in 1957. The kids had a blast playing with it. It's amazing that it is in such great shape and runs well too. My mom made an amazing prime rib for dinner. I still think about it often it was so good. My iron must be low...dreaming about red meat! The kids played a left/right game with this story where we passed gifts around in a circle. Poor Kent was so confused and just wanted to open a present. After the game we watched the video that came with the book Christmas from Heaven. I would recommend the book, but now it's selling for $233! I certainly didn't pay that much!!

Then the gifts poured! It was certainly a football Christmas for Kent. Check out how excited he is for a chocolate football. Touchdown!! Clark loved his Kid Tough binoculars. I love the Kid Tough stuff. It really is tough.

A few more favorites...

We came home and the boys went right to bed. They did say they were going to stay up all night and listen for Santa. We told them that Santa wouldn't stop if they were awake. They weren't willing to risk it!

Santa came! Clark got a bean bag chair, diamond sword and pick axe, Lego Minecraft The Nether, Minecraft plush Creeper and Enderman, and some Minecraft guys. Kent got a bean bag chair, iron sword and pick axe, Bears football jersey and helmet, Minecraft plush Creeper and Enderman, and Bears Teammates. Kara got a Disney Princess Songs Palace. All of the kids got a Lionel Scout electric train set too. I can't wait to set that up each year!!

Look at me - I'm going to shoot my eye out! Opening gifts was a lot of fun. I just love seeing their faces get so excited about things. The best is when they actually stop to put it on, open it up, try it out. Then you know you picked out the perfect gift. Clark was very efficient at opening gifts. He stopped a few times to check things out, but knew that the ultimate purpose was to open things up as fast as he could and then check them out. Kent was v.e.r.y.s.l.o.w. at opening gifts. He wanted to open everything. Total overload. I felt bad rushing him at the end, but we had a busy day and had to move on!

Amidst the wreckage

Our next stop is over to Jason's parents house. We have a nice breakfast while we're there and then all migrate to the front room for gifts. Jason claimed his spot on his "sick chair."  I was handing out gifts most of the time, so there aren't many pictures from this presentfest, but it was fun! Cam made Wendy a beautiful shelf for the family room and he also got her wedding ring fixed. She was in tears! Such a fun morning!

We headed back home to get the sweet potato casserole in the oven and to meet my mom and dad. They came over with another one of Kent's gifts that was too big for Christmas Eve. They made him some PVC uprights for the backyard! I can't wait to try them out when it warms up a bit! They also brought over Jason's Thundercats Lair. Seriously. I could tell he was pretty bummed on Christmas Eve when he didn't get the Lair. He KNEW that my mom was going to get it for him, but he didn't open it up. He was okay with it and decided that he would just buy it with his Christmas cash. My mom likes to make him sweat I think, so she waited until Christmas Day to bring it over. He was very happy!! Like a kid on Christmas?! Clark also took a few minutes to try out his snowboard from Jason. He's since tried it on a lot of snow and loves it!

Our final Christmas stop is by Jason's Gram's house. We went and a lovely dinner and gifts. The boys were playing after dinner near the pool table. They weren't really being rough or anything. Kent bumped into the pool table and started crying. Jason went over slowly to see what was the matter. He looked kind of shocked and took him to the bathroom. I figured it was just a bloody lip which is pretty common with these boys. A few minutes later I went to the bathroom to check on him and there was blood everywhere! His gums were all black and blue and then I wiggled his tooth. It was loose! I was hoping it would just be kind of loose, but by the time we were done with presents it had fallen out. He was a trooper through the whole thing. I was probably more of a wreck than he was. My little hillbilly!

After a few phone calls to dentist friends, we realized there was nothing we could do. We took him to the dentist the following morning and they said his remaining teeth looked fine and that there was no damage. He was kind of excited to get the first visit to the tooth fairy in our house. She even brought $5 since it was knocked out! I guess we have to get used to this one tooth wonder!

Merry Christmas - a month later!!

Holiday Highlights

I thought I might take the rest of our pre-Christmas photos and compile them into holiday highlights reel instead of them each being their own post.

The Christmas Lights Polar Express

This was so much fun! When Clark and Dad got home (and Kara was fed) we gave each of the boys a ticket for the Christmas Lights Polar Express. I punched them with my favorite teeny paper punch just like in the movie. We made a stop at McDonald's for drive thru dinner and set out for Elburn, IL. Seriously, it seemed as far as it would have to go to the North Pole. 

We watched a few episodes of The Great Christmas Light Fight and saw the Larsen's house on the show. They won the prize for the night and we knew we had to go see it. In the long drive, we had enough time to eat dinner, read a book, fall asleep...you name it. The lights did not disappoint. I was hoping we would have been able to see more or do more, but Kent kept saying that he had to go to the bathroom. We don't mess around when he says he has to go to the bathroom. We're hoping his bladder control gets a little better for next year's show! After the lights we of course had to have some hot chocolate while listening to the song from the movie. That was Clark's idea. He's so funny!

Clark's Class Christmas Party

Clark's teacher is so nice to invite all of us to school events. Kent, Kara and I all went to Clark's Christmas party to have cookies and take pictures by the fireplace. I'm so glad he loves his class. Kent loved hanging out at his school too. He found these little blue papers that you could see through and was checking out how they made the everything look. Clark even made us a Christmas card - love the spelling on the card. I used to sign my name "Merry" on Christmas cards, but I think his version of "Mary Christmas" works too!

Our Christmas Tree

I didn't hate our Christmas tree this year as much as last year. It looks so sad though. It's no longer pre-lit and the extra lights that we put on this year just weren't enough as you can see on the bottom rung. But we're holding out to buy a new one after Kara goes through her toddler years. I'm just hoping this tree is going to make it!

Kara's Christmas Dress

I was so glad that I was able to make Kara's Christmas dress this year. With the way things were going, I thought I was going to have to buy one. That wouldn't have been a terrible thing. But I just really wanted to make one for her. I even found this shop that sells cute dress patterns for infants. I made the Ella Dress. I figure the boys just have to deal with having a silly picture here. This one showed off Kara's dress the best.

A Season of Excess

I have seriously felt the excess this season. It's everywhere. Smeared all over Kent's face in the form of cake batter and on Clark's plate for Sunday lunches. His new favorite sandwich...the triple decker. I am so grateful for a January of Simplicity after the December of Excess.

The Loyal Order of the Water Buffaloes Christmas Party

I should have declined the work of putting together a Christmas party for Jason's friends, but I always love a good party. And to be fair...Jason did most of the work despite having to work crazy long hours too. Dave was even kind enough to wear the shirt I made the group for their first Christmas party 3 or 4 years ago. I think he's the only one that still fits in his shirt!

Next up...Christmas!

#miracleon75thst

My mom and I were in charge of decorations for the Ward Christmas Party this year. Everything looked really festive. Our favorite part was the photo booth. Clark had such a fun time making the props with us.

Some favorite photo booth shots...love Kent's "American Gothic" pose in the first one.

The kids also sang Christmas songs during the program. Here for your viewing pleasure...

First up, Clark singing.

Next is Kent not singing.

Christmas Party at Luigi's

Each year Jason's work puts on a Christmas party at a pizza place/arcade. The food isn't awesome, but the kids absolutely LOVE going to the party. They love laser tag and the arcade and then picking out fun prizes with their tickets. It almost seems like a big family party when we go since Jason works with his dad and one of his brothers. Such a fun time!

2013 Costume Parade and More

More Halloween posts! There might be a few more Halloween memories in my back pocket. Just so you know!

Clark wanted to be a devil this year just like he was last year. I was so sad that he didn't want to be something new, so we took a trip to Menard's. Isn't that where you go for all of your Halloween inspiration? We were there on other home reno business and love to check out the Halloween decor. I introduced Clark to the Grim Reaper and his Halloween costume was decided.

Kent was a harder sell. He didn't want to be anything for a long while. Then he decided on a football player werewolf. We had a few rough patches with his costume (including a night time parade of 6 different JoAnn stores) but in the end, we love the way it came out!

Kara didn't have to hide behind a costume and could be Supergirl without anyone being the wiser! We also love how her costume turned out! She's SUPER!

We had an awesome time at Trunk or Treat this year. Clark went around twice and then came back to help hand out the candy. He told me he wasn't interested in getting more candy. Then I saw him pick through the bag of candy that we were giving out and sneaking it into his bag...nicely played.

Then we went over to my brother's Halloween party. It was a Villain's theme which was awesome. Dave went as Syndrome from The Incredibles. My dad went as Gru and my mom went as his minion. Love that!

There are more Halloween posts to come! Stay tuned!

34 Years and Counting

Schedule of events...

-Clark's football game

-Egg, Inc (the BEST pancakes in the world)

-Presents

-Cleaning, cooking and shopping for the Minecraft party

-The Patio (my favorite BBQ chicken)

-more cooking and cleaning and shopping

-Ice Cream

-Bed!

Birthdays as an adult are funny things.

Jason did great on the presents as usual! He did an Internet search for "interesting gifts for her" and came up with some random things from Uncommon Goods. I am now the proud owner of a glass milk carton, a footed bowl, and...

this strange water faucet!

My yummy ice cream sundae for dessert!

Minecraft Madness

Clark loves the game Minecraft so naturally he wanted a Minecraft party. I wasn't really going to put much work into his family party since we were going to throw him a friend party this year...still thinking on that one! Anyway, I started looking at Minecraft ideas on Pinterest and things sort of snowballed. I still didn't do too much, but we tried to make it as Minecraft-y as possible given our time restraints of 2 days.

The Minecraft Cake. Jason modeled this one after the one that is in the game. We looked at the picture a little closer AFTER he had already frosted the body of the cake. Next time we would leave the bottom the color of the cake. Clark didn't care though - he loved it!

One of his awesome gifts - he loved his Clark bar! I think it might be his new favorite candy bar.

A new camera for our budding photographer! Now you'll be seeing pictures from both my perspective and Clark's perspective. How cool is that?

And of course an awesome creeper doll!

He got lots of other cool things like books, shirts, a cool Razor tricycle thing, TMNT Legos and more - thank you everyone!

The food was really the only place we did the Minecraft thing. We tried to match everything to a food or item from the game. Then I made food labels using pictures from the game and the Minecrafter font. We made TNT for favors by covering a set of 3 Rolos in red construction paper and wrapping it with a ribbon and label.

I was really excited about our Potion Brewing Station. Potions are a big part of the game and Clark loves mixing his own flavors of drinks when we go out to eat. I bought a bunch of Jelly Belly sno-cone flavors and little beakers and pitchers for them to use. Then we had a chart telling them what the potions were and what they looked like. The concept was great. One big problem - the potions tasted horrible. Bust. I think the kids actually needed to add more syrup to their drinks. Or maybe we should have started with a 7-Up base instead of just water. Another thought I had was to use those Kool-Aid juice things. Oh well.

Regardless, I had fun celebrating with my big 6 year old!