Quarantine Weekend Theme- Superheros

When the kids were picking themes my son came up with superheros, and my daughter readily agreed. But when it came to planning it I realised I knew very little about them. So my husband took over– and I was happy to have a weekend off. I’m not sure he enjoyed it as much as I do, but it was really fun and super creative.

After some outdoor time on Saturday, the kids, Rush, 3, and East, 5, were ready for snacktime. We started with watermelon cut like Wonder Woman’s logo. We did check my daughter’s shirt for the placement of the star!

We then did a superhero matching game that I think my husband made from scratch with images from google. (Here’s a printable one but not the one we used). Once each match was made, we learned about their backstory and each superhero’s ‘favorite food.’ Magically, those foods all showed up in our Superfood salad for lunch! (good touch, Papa, good touch.)

He kept it action packed, with a superhero puzzle perfect for toddlers. Rush loved it.

Then the kids dressed up as their favorite superheros (thankfully our costumes from Halloween last year), and we did a mini-photo shoot in front of a “green screen.” Sadly, I threw away Ti Fiti last weekend- as it was amazing we got to use it even twice- but would have been perfect for this use. So we used a blue-green duvet. My husband took a few minutes to edit a little video that the kids loved!

Here’s the video, if you want to take a look!

Then it was time for the Superfood Salad. Yummy and healthy- and the kids mostly ate it. The kids were better at remembering the Superhero’s favorites than Papa!

After a short nap (mostly for Mama), the kids had a quick Spiderman snack of strawberries.

it was time for spiderweb toss. Papa put masking tape in the doorway in a spider pattern, and the kids used tape balls wrapped in saranwrap. We tried the kids standing on the floor, on stools, and later throwing balloons.

Next was the laser maze. I saw this here and thought it was amazing. We got some 3M hooks and used red string in our entryway (hence the mess!). The kids went through it a couple of times (although I may have liked it more than they did!) .

After all of that activity, we did a couple of superhero dances we found on YouTube before watching The Incredibles (while the adults had a cocktail class).

The next morning we started early with green foam painting on the balcony, then spraying off and played in water. Always good for more than an hour of play!

Once they dried off, the kids made cookies to decorate later (gluten free for Mama). Then they created their own superheros out of pipe cleaners, paper straws and beads. I will say my husband ordered the beads for the joints and the head, so it wasn’t entirely made with things found around the house, but close.

Another naptime (mostly for Mama and Papa) and another cute snack when the kids were up. Guacamole and chips in a Hulk face and we were good to go. Usually Rush doesn’t like guac, but even he tried some.

Then it was time for Superhero bingo! Papa let me help him so I found an online printable bingo that looked cute. We already had some chips made from an alphabet bingo we did in English class (home based learning for the win!), so we were ready to go.

We were ready to decorate the cookies after that! I found some circle superhero logos for us to use as inspiration. While the adults got a bit serious about it, East made a couple of logos for her ‘Super Intelligent Girl’ that she invented that morning.

Afterwards we were going to do a dance video, but we were tired, so we moved up the schedule to watch The Incredibles 2 before eating pizza, like any normal Sunday. And we got the cookies for dessert!

It was fun and Mama’s not entirely exhausted (although Papa might be!). We also had a vote on our last two (we hope!) weekend themes… so a few more of these to go! I hope you will stick with me!

Red Carpet Ready

Do you get excited for the Oscars? I do. I enjoy watching movies anyway, but with the added challenge of seeing the top movies before the Academy Awards airs, it gives it a sense of purpose to the past time. And I love having friends over to hear what they liked and loathed that year. I’m proud to say that I’ve nearly seen all of the best picture nominee this year, with just one hold out {and I’m hoping to see Captain Phillips in time!}.

Here’s some fun ideas if you want to have a red carpet party this Sunday…

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These black and white popcorn containers are so cute, they could be centerpieces.

Gotta get the right cookie cutter for this, but the results are amazing.

I love the glitter and tickets to spruce up these cups.

The Hollywood sign really takes the cake here.

Downloadable one page ballots here.

These ballot envelopes are so cute.

Popcorn boxes are great for show munching.

Beautiful Cupcakes and More

When we were in Australia over the Christmas holidays, we were lucky enough to take a side trip to Newcastle and visit this perfect little shop that recently opened.

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After reading Naomi’s blog for years, drooling over her beautiful cakes and cookies, it was such a treat to try her goodies. And believe me— they were as good as they are cute!

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And we got to meet Naomi herself! It was a bit like meeting a celebrity– I’m sure my face was bright red. But she couldn’t have been nicer. It may have been one of the highlights of my trip!

If you are nearby, you must visit Naomi and her bakery. I read her menu to my husband daily (it changes regularly) and even he has pondered when we are going back– or if we should move closer. 🙂 And if these cupcakes aren’t enough, the town of Newcastle is full of wonderful delights, definitely making it a must- destination.

If you go, tell Naomi I say “hi!”

Gold and Red Love Party

A couple of girlfriends got engaged recently so I thought I’d put together a pre-drink and snacks before our brunch plans. Since this set-up was intended to celebrate love, this could easily be used for Valentine’s Day.

As we were headed out for a meal directly after, I kept the drinks and food light– but big on style and theme. DSC_0490

I used my favorite gold polka dot plates with gold napkins tied with red twine and created seating cards with a “lucky in love” motif.

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I added a little guava juice and a mint sprig to the prosecco to freshen it up a bit, and give it that “love” color. Some chocolate heart shaped cookies in a gold polka dotted glass added to the fun.

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Apparently, finding flowers after CNY is an impossible task, so I went with the edible centerpiece instead. The cookies were really tasty with the strawberries and raspberries from red striped and polka dot bowls.

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Lastly, I put together little take away {with little chocolate} that fit the theme.

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The girls were really touched and after some snacks we took off for a yummy brunch. Maybe I’ll have to recreate this in a few weeks! 🙂