My Big 2 Year Old.

Deuce turned 2 on April 22nd and we were going to have a nice afternoon party at the park.

But then it rained. A lot.

I had been watching the forecast in the days leading up to the party so that I could make a decision about what to do and it was inevitable that there was going to be rain. We thought we would hold out until Saturday to make a decision but once we saw the 90% chance of showers we decided to move it to the house. This meant we would actually have to clean the house. Like deep clean. It was in absolutely no shape to have guests over. There were clothes thrown around in every room. About 20 loads of laundry that needed to be done {no exaggeration there}, dishes that needed to be washed, carpets to steam clean and floors to mop. Not to mention toilets and sinks that needed to be scrubbed. The house was pretty much a pig pin.

With Saturday being Aja's birthday party, we didn't have much time to clean. We got home from Aja's party about 8pm Saturday night and I was quick to make lists for each room in the house of what needed to be done. TJ was responsible for his room and his bathroom, which is also the hall bathroom that everyone would be using. I must say, he did an excellent job cleaning his two areas. Ed and I cleaned like mad men. He fell asleep around 11:30 and I was up past 2 cleaning away. Then I was up again at 7 running to Walmart and grabbing breakfast. We literally cleaned up until the 1st person showed up. The good part is that since we all worked our butts off to clean the house, we have managed to keep it very clean! Well except for TJ's bedroom, but that's another story, lol!

Because of all of the time I spent cleaning that I hadn't planned on, I didn't get to decorate like I wanted. I only had the time to make some cupcake toppers and put the gift bags together. But considering the party was in the house, I thought the set up looked very nice. Thanks to my mom & sister who brought the snacks, I didn't have to worry about that part. I also had my girlfriend from Zumba who works at Maxie B's bakery in Greensboro bring me the cupcakes.

Here are a bunch of pictures of Deuce and his friends from the party!

Erika & Jeremy were lucky that Laura gave Olivia back.

When it was time to sing Happy Birthday, Deuce clammed up just like he did last year. I truly think that he doesn't like all of the attention. All throughout the song he kept saying, "NO!" He wouldn't even eat his cupcake.

But you can bet that once he got down out of this seat and away from everyone, he crushed Elmo.

Everyone else enjoyed the yummy cupcakes too. Weston even decided to eat his just like his 3 dogs eat their food. And he smiled at us in between each bite.

I know this picture is blurry but Hailee loved her some TJ. She stuck to his side the whole day. And affectionately called him "PJ."

Zoe got Deuce a drum set that he is obsessed with. Inside the drum were enough instruments to pass around to all of the kids and they had a major jam session. It was great!

Thank you to everyone that came out to Deuce's 2nd birthday party and braved the weather. We had a house full and all of the food was gone. I cleaned the house again after everyone left and was glad that we made the decision to have it at the house.

The following week I took Deuce for his 2 year well visit.

He is still growing like a weed and continues to be at the top of the growth charts.

And PS.....

Two years ago today was my first Mother's Day.

And it was my Due Date.

Office Bridal Shower

A few weeks ago I was approached by a coworker and asked if I could help throw a surprise shower for another coworker who is getting married in July.  {Thanks to my blog and some leftover baked goods from Deuce's party, I have become the local go-to-girl for all things crafty here at work.}  Anyway, the "would you be interested in helping?" turned in to "here is the $$, go for it!"  So I basically had free reign to do what I wanted.  Fortunately for me, the bride-to-be and I have similar tastes so we had been chatting a lot about her upcoming wedding already.  I knew her new last name, her colors and pretty much anything else I needed to know so I didn't have to ask her & create suspicion.  I was given $160 and away I went.  I challenged myself to create an atmosphere where everyone would feel like they had left work and not just stepped into the nearest conference room.  The final product consisted of dim lights provided solely by lamps in the room, giving a nice soft glow where you could still see everyone but weren't being sunburned by the awful, neon overhead fluorescent lights.  However, I had to have those awful lights on to get halfway decent pictures so you don't get the effect of the soft glow...sorry peeps.

The Cupcake Table

We had the cupcakes made but I made the toppers.

I made each topiary along with a wooden plaque displaying the bride-to-be's new last name complete with a fabric flower using leftover scraps from the rosette headbands.

 Her fiance loved this!

Want One???

Email me! rach36293@hotmail.com

 I got the photo of the couple off of their wedding website and added their wedding date to it.  The other toppers have an "A" and their names on them.

 Another coworker brought in this adorable pineapple-kabob that was so yummy and we positioned it on some burlap with some paper flowers I made.

 I added an element of the outdoors by borrowing sticks that my mom had spray painted and put in these milk containers.  I made large tissue paper flowers that were hung from the ceiling all over the conference room.

 The Food Table

A view of the other side of the conference room.

 The tissue paper flowers that hung over the food table.

 Doughnut Pops and Marshmallow Pops that I made.

For the centerpieces I used mason jars and wrapped them with burlap and twine.  Then I added small tissue paper flowers that were held together with floral wire.

 These decorative balls were purchased at goodwill and were used to decorate the center of the food table.  I made a smaller wooden plaque for the couple with their initial and names and the date of the wedding.

 This was the boutonniere that I made for the bride-to-be to wear.

Overall the shower came together really well.  I had a lot of help from some coworkers the day of to get the room all set up and get the bride's fiance in the building, all while keeping the surprise from her.  She was completely shocked and had no idea.  It was a success!