The Rowselettes First Birthday Party

I initially wasn't going to throw a big first birthday party for my twin boys.  I figured they didn't really care if it was a big party or just family as long as they got to eat cake.  But then I went to my friend Amanda's daughter's first birthday party.  It was gorgeous!  The kind of party with beautiful decorations and fancy touches that I love.  The kind of party I would want for myself.  And that's when I realized, sure, this was a party to celebrate a baby's transition into toddlerhood, but it was also a fabulous way for mom to celebrate surviving her first year of motherhood.  Which trust me is a tough journey.  An amazing, wonderful journey, but a really bumpy ride with the most emotional ups and downs you'll ever experience in your life.  So I figured, screw it!  I'm throwing a big, fun, over the top party to celebrate my surviving an entire year with twin boys. :)

I made almost all of my decorations since I didn't want to spend a fortune, which you can absolutely do on themed party decorations.  I decided to also base the party theme on the colors and fox theme of the boys nursery, since I figured I could then do a little decor update in their room.  I have the most amazing friends and family who helped make the day special by crafting decorations, making food, printing letterpress invitations, baking amazing cakes, and helping me tablescape.  I couldn't have done it without them.  It really does take a village.

  I decorated mainly with homemade puffs and balloons in grey, turquoise, and orange.  They added a big pop of color and flare without having to do too much work.

 My lovely and talented mother helped me do my tablescapes for the food and drink tables.

  I made this pennant banner using scrap book paper and printed letters.

 I happened to have these turquoise frames on hand and used photos from the Rowselettes newborn and 6 month photo shoot in them.

 This is their amazing invite made by my good friend Jenny over at Painted Pony Press.

 She also designed and hand lettered these awesome chalk board signs for me.

 These wonderful cakes were made by my good friend Kelly.  They were incredible!  I keep trying to convince her to make a business with her mad baking skills.

 I made collages using photos from the Rowselettes first year and printed them at Costco as a poster.  I hung their premie sleepers next to their first year collage to show how much they had grown.  It still amazes me how tiny they were when they were born.

 Another amazing tablescape courtesy of my mother.  I made Spicy Cucumber Margaritas and Pink Lemonade Champagne in large drink dispensers, so guests could help themselves to fun drinks.

 I got these awesome marquee letter kits from Michaels.  They're completely customizable, which worked great for my party decor.

 Archer with his daddy.

 Xander with Mama.

 My beautiful, talented friend, Kelly, with her amazing cakes.

 Can you tell the Rowselettes loved thier birthday cake?

It was an amazing day, a wonderful party, and great celebration of all of us making it through our first year together.  Can't wait for all of the years to come. :)

Back In The Saddle

Hello again!  I feel like it was this time last year when I finally had a chance to start blogging again.  Things had reached a level of normalcy around our house with my twin baby boys that allowed me to do the things I like with my free time.  Oh, wait!  That's because it was this time last year when that happened.  And things were great up until walking happened.  Then things got really exciting and really crazy.  But once again, I'm back, and boy do I have so many recipes, crafts, etc. to share with you all.

First off, here are a few of the things that have kept me occupied, besides two rambunctious little boys running around my house:

• The Rowselettes tuned one!  And I had a huge party to celebrate their birthday.  Well, really, it was a party to celebrate me surviving my first year with twins.  And I did survive, had such a blast with my babies, was amazed over and over again at all the things they learned to do in their first year, and most importantly no one died.  I call that a win. :)  Here's a couple photos of the party.  I'll be posting all about my homemade decorations and decor in the next week.

  

• My dear friend, Nora, is having her baby in early September, so my friend Kelly and I decided to fly her back to MT and throw her a baby shower.  I was able to use a lot of the same decorating ideas and left over supplies from my birthday party stuff, which was really nice.  Her nursery theme is frogs with the colors being yellow and green.  I tried to incorporate this into my decorations, so that she could re use them in her baby room. We had a wonderful visit and shower, and I can't wait to meet her new baby boy when he arrives!

• During this same time, we decided to start phase three of our backyard remodel.  With the help of my talented brother and my awesome friends, we put in two patios over the Memorial Day weekend.  Then all of June was spent adding beds for planting, finishing two flagstone walkways at each of our backyard gates, and designing and planning our pergola.  During the last weekend of June, again with the help of our amazing friends, we built and completed our pergola.  We still have a little bit of detail work and one more major step before the backyard is complete, but it feels pretty amazing right now!  I've definitely been thoroughly enjoying my backyard oasis this summer. :) 

As you can see, I've had a lot on my plate.  But I'm glad I'll be able to carve out some time for blogging from here on out.  I'm excited to be back in the blogging saddle, and can't wait to share lots of great stuff with you!