Wordless Wednesday: Back to School

Neither of the boys were into my photo shoot this morning, but they had a great first day! 

(And mommy enjoyed some much needed quiet time.)

Smitten.

We're at the beach this week, 

digging our toes into the powdery white sand that the kids adorably call "snow."

Jack is warming up to the water & Liam is smitten with the sea.

We're slowing down, 

enjoying spending time with family,

leaving our worries at home,

breathing in the salt air,

And taking lots of pictures. 

Wild Thing.

This space has been quiet for a month.

We're transitioning.

I'm not quite ready to post pics of the new house yet-- it's a work in progress.

Rob & I are doing just fine-- co-parenting peacefully & even working on our friendship.

The boys are struggling with the change (L in particular) but we're doing the best we can.

I'm staying very busy.

Single mama-hood is no joke, dude.

But I know we're going to hit our stride soon-- we have to.

So here we are, seven weeks away from Liam turning THREE.

(I know, I can't believe it either.)

Time to get going on birthday party planning-- I'm behind!

This year's theme:

Super excited to do another classic book theme-- We had such a great time with The Very Hungry Caterpillar last year.

So, as I've been poking around Pinterest deciding on decorations, I saw these cookies and I knew I had to try them. (Her entire party is stunning-- it's definitely the main inspiration for my party!) I'm no expert on decorating with royal icing, and I've never worked with fondant before, so I thought that it would be best to give these cookies a try long before the actual party. This weekend, I was in serious need of some craft time, so I decided to give them a shot.

 

I'm so happy with them!

They're not perfect, but they're monsters-- they don't have to be. I used store-bought sugar cookies for my test to save time-- for the party, I'll make my own & make them slightly larger so that the features aren't so crowded. Also, I'll start early-- the royal icing base needs a day to dry, the fondant features need a day to dry, and the fur needs a day to dry. I was rushing through these in less than 24 hours because I knew if I didn't finish them before Liam came home from Rob's, they weren't going to get done.

While this year's party needs to be scaled back from last year (single mama budget), I have lots of plans for personalized touches that I can do myself, without breaking the bank. I'm also looking forward to having the party at home-- it will be nice to set things up the night before, so that I'm not in a rush the morning of the party.

Can't wait to celebrate my Wild Thing!