Sweet Addition to Newberg

A new shop opened in Newberg that quickly caught my eye. It's called Sweetest Thing Cupcake and let me tell you... they are delicious! I'm not afraid to say that I love my sweets. But I have been cursed. Not with a sweet tooth or even a salt tooth. I have a fat tooth! I love fatty foods. (Okay, maybe I'm a little afraid to say that.) I crave cookies and cupcakes and donuts (don't get me started with donuts!) So when I found this shop I was delighted.


The menu changes daily, which I like. And each month they change up the choices as well to keep everyone coming back. Today we chose to buy an assortment for my Grandparents. We can't go for a visit without bringing a treat for them. So we picked four of the mini cupcakes and had them put into a nice box. It was a great treat without it being too big (my Grandparents are little) and costing too much.


My kids had to have a treat as well. But theirs didn't quite make it to the car. They also got the mini cupcakes this visit. They aren't too big (which I like) but big enough so they feel like they are eating a special treat.


They have a large dining/entertaining area where you can have private parties. I thought the princess tea party sounded fun for my daughter and her friends. This particular party includes dress-up with their princess accessories, tiara and wand for the birthday girl or hostess, princess music and dance, craft, tea lunch menu, gourmet princess cupcakes and choice of milk or juice all in a tea party setting. Gift bags are even provided for each child. And the party is hosted by their Private Party Hostess so I can be busy doing other things (like taking pictures and eating cupcakes!)

It's definitely a must if you are going through Newberg. What child doesn't love cupcakes???

Adding Some Color to the Holiday

I have so many great memories about the holidays. And I'm not just thinking about Christmas but all of the holidays. I remember at Easter time hunting for Easter eggs with my brother and sister. Laughing and giggling about who was going to find the most or oohhing and ahhing over what treats we found. I remember sitting down at the dinner table and using the good China and silver and thinking everything was so fancy.

Family traditions don't have to be expensive or even fancy. Some of the best family traditions I remember (and am passing along to my children) are the ones where we didn't go anywhere or do anything fancy. But we spent time together and it felt special. Whether we were making homemade ice cream in the backyard or hunting for Easter eggs. I remember then vividly and very fondly.

One activity my kids and I do every year is color Easter eggs. I hard boil some of them (but since my kids won't eat them hard boiled I don't do a ton.) And we "blow" the rest. I was about rolling over watching my kids do this. It can be messy, but it's fun and then you can keep the Easter eggs out on the table and don't have to refrigerate them.

Blowing eggs is easy. You poke a small hole in one end of the egg.


Then poke another hole on the other end, a little bit bigger than the other one but not too big. Put your mouth over the smaller hole and blow! The insides shoot right out and the egg is hollow and ready to color.


We bought the cheap egg coloring kits. You can find them anywhere, including the Dollar Store. Follow the directions on the box to mix the colors and have at it! My kids love it. It's a little messy but you can line the counter with newspapers or paper towels. I use large cookie sheets to catch all the spills.


After the eggs are dry the kids can decorate them. Stickers are great and easy but some don't stick very well. I'm kind of simple. I like the eggs colored, no stickers or anything else - just bright colors.

And don't forget about all the community Easter Egg Hunts going on. They started last weekend but there are so many planned for this weekend. We're planning on going to two of them on Saturday! Most events are free so take your kids and enjoy!



Enjoy and Happy Easter!

An Important Reminder for Us All

I thought this was a great video and a fantastic reminder to us all about the importance of wearing our seat belts.

Balloons or Works of Art?

My daughter turned 5 last week! I wanted to do something special for her birthday but am constantly amazed at how much everything costs. To book at party at most places it's at least $200. And that typically doesn't include cake or food or party bags. I don't know about you but that's a little out of my budget.

So I thought and thought and tried to come up with something special, entertaining and not too expensive. Then a friend of mine brought me a business card and said "I saw this guy at Chevy's and he was great. Check him out." The business card was for Balloons Made Art so I gave them a call.


My daughter's party was amazing! (I know I'm a little biased but it truly was!) Justin (the balloon guy) did a fantastic job. He was funny and interacted with the kids. He had color printouts of the balloons that he can make so the kids could all chose what they wanted. And his creations were incredible!


Ariel even has a belly button!

Since my daughter was the birthday girl she got to pick out a more intricate design. (They were coded so you could chose how fancy or time consuming you wanted the balloon art.) She chose Belle, since her party was a Princess party.


We had 25 kids there and he was able to do balloon art for all of them in an hour and 8 minutes. The kids all loved watching him twist and fold and create works of art out of balloons! And they got to take home their creation. It was well worth the money! Smiles, laughter, kids wide eyed with wonder... priceless!

Don't Forget About Community Activities

When you are wondering what to do on the weekend, don't forget about the activities that are being offered in your community. The local paper would have all of the "what's happening" news. I know in my town, the elementary schools put on big school carnivals each year. They aren't just for their students, they are for everyone in the community.

The school where my kids attend just hosted their annual school carnival. It was so much fun! There are lots of things to do: face painting...


The cake walk (where we managed to win three times!) We live in a small enough town that the baked goods were homemade! They were delicious and it was so much fun watching my kids look at all the yummy treats and pick out exactly what they wanted to take home.



There was also the much loved bouncy house!


And would it be a school carnival without a dunk tank? The Principal even sat in the tank for a little while.


And what about putting the Headmaster in jail?


There were games to play and lots of prizes, excellent food and a safe environment for kids to play and run around. My kids will remember this day for a long time!

Making Breakfast Fun

I remember when I was a child sitting at the dinner table and looking at a "mouse" on my plate. It was made up of a pear half with edible ears and eyes on it (I can't remember now what they were made of). What I remember about that was how much fun it was to see the creations my Mom made for us to eat. And how even a simple meal can become a fond memory.

My kids LOVE pancakes! I make huge batches of them on the weekends and freeze them so they can have pancakes even on school days. They freeze great. I lay them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and put them in the freezer for about 3 hours. This prevents them from sticking to each other and becoming one giant pancake mess. Then I put them in a zip lock bag and put them back into the freezer. During the week when my kids want pancakes I just take out a couple, place them on a plate and microwave them for about 45 seconds.

So far it's not sounding like anything special is it? The key... don't just make pancakes... make PANCAKES! My daughter like small pancakes. So she gets pancakes about the size of a quarter. They take awhile to make but they save time later. I don't have to cut them up for her when they are on her plate. They are tiny, bite sized pancakes.

Both my kids love it when I make faces or designs with the batter. This is easy and fun to do. First make the eyes and mouth (or any other design.) Be sure not to drip batter around it or if you do, just push it aside with your spatula.


Wait a little while until they are bubbly and then pour batter over the entire design. Your kids will love the result when you flip your pancake over and there's a face!

You can also do initials, hearts, etc. Another idea... after pouring the batter over the face, add two smaller pancakes for ears and you have Mickey Mouse!


Enjoy!

Fun at the Zoo

I can not begin to say enough great things about the Oregon Zoo in Portland. I started taking my kids there when they were tiny. It was a place to go to get fresh air. My kids could look around and see animals (or other people) and they could run around and get some exercise. They loved it! But the Zoo definitely isn't cheap. If a family of 4 is going it's expensive. But with a membership it's actually somewhere we can go that's pretty reasonable. We go at least 8 times a year (not including our trip to see the Zoo Lights). If you look at it that way, it's totally affordable!

This was the first time my kids and I have seen the newest exhibit Predators of the Serengeti. We thought is was fantastic! The lions were out, which was an impressive sight. And there were lots of hands on things the kids could do to learn about the different animals of the Serengeti.

We went on Sunday. The weather was beautiful for a February day. We're used to going to the Zoo in the summer when it's hot. This was definitely a different experience. The animals were out and they were actually playing! They weren't all hiding from the heat and sleeping.

I think I liked the polar bears the best. They were playing in the water with giant plastic balls. They were splashing around and doing flips. It was so entertaining I could have stayed there for hours!

My son's favorite exhibit is the Bats. He stands there and watches them for the longest time. We got there right after their lunch was given to them so they were awake (most of them) and eating. They really are amazing little creatures!

But I can't go to the Zoo without looking at my favorite animal - the hippos! What amazing... things??? They were out of the water on Sunday which was pretty remarkable. Most times they are both submerged in the water and are pretty hard to see.

One of the great things about going to places like the Zoo is that there are no policies about bringing in your own food. Normally I bring a back pack in (or a cooler) and we eat a picnic lunch on the lawn while watching the bird show. But with the weather being a little uncertain (and my desire to not lug around a heavy backpack), we decided to eat at the AfriCafe. They changed their menu a little bit (which I'm not sure if I like or not) but my kids didn't mind. They ordered a kids meal and thought they were on a great adventure.

And, of course we had to finish our trip with a visit to the Elephant Ear stand.


** And don't forget "discount days"!!! The second Tuesday of every month you can tour the Zoo for only $2 per person! (And, as always, children 2 and under are free!) **