from the blue shed

pirate party

A few snaps from the weekend...

Our friend Francesca turned 4 this weekend. Her parents threw her a pirate party. The setting was storybook, the tree house was straight out of a homes and gardens mag and all the pirates were edible in their unplanned matching navy red and white stripes. I had to exercise restraint with my camera. They visited the pirate tattoo parlour, searched for buried (chocolate coin) treasure and walked the plank. 

Thank you for having us matey. Happy Birthday Frankie.

mud glorious mud!

When was the last time you not only splashed in puddles but really got in there and rolled around in the mud as well? Honestly, I can't remember the last time, if ever, this nature lovin' girl has let her kids play with complete abandon in the stuff. That was of course until today!  Our wonderful and slightly mad with hind sight friend invited us up the hill to her block for some wild mud fun. Nature Play Solutions came with a trailer of special clay dirt and a pile of buckets. The children with water and no rules piled, slathered, molded and squelched in mud glorious mud. 

As much as some of us (ok I'm talking about me again) think that we really get out there and appreciate all nature has to offer, if mud isn't on the list, we need to rewrite the list. It's messy, filthy fantastic fun. We all need a little mud oozing between the toes now and again. 

Thank you Jus and Sara. Completely loved it. 

a queen's 4th birthday

I usually run out of steam by the time Rowen's birthday rolls around, just 6 weeks after Piper's. Piper usually has elaborate ideas for her party and with it being almost a year since the last one, I'm always up for the madness. I think I actually create most of it.  With Rowen's this year and most years really, it was all rather simple, subdued and really rather enjoyable. Funny that. 

This year Rowen just wanted to be a Queen. Pink, sparkly and regal. I made a few party suggestions that she liked and with a handful of friends very casually invited over an email, a fourth birthday was had. 

Rowen wore a sparkly dress made from fabric of her very own choice. What a good gran.

 

A few games were played and crowns were decorated with all sorts of sparkly bits.

We ate cucumber sandwiches - naturally

And the queen had her pink palace

Apart from the 3 day hunt for dragons for the treat bags (there is a hole in the market there people) A very stress free party. Mantra to self 'Simple is stupendous!'

Happy Birthday Queen Rowen. We love you very very much.

rock star party

We awoke, a little groggy from late night party prep, to a 42 degree party day. Whoa. Our very excited party girl was dressed (sweating) and ready by about 8am. 10am, the guests arrived, looking fabulous. with sequins and rhinestones to pearls and mohawks. Who wouldn't want to go all out in this heat? 

The stage was set for our 15 VIP guests to rock out. Song requests had been emailed to us during the week so everyone had a song to sing. As the morning sweltered along, we amped up the music to get everyone in the mood. Did I mention how hot it was?? Although only a few were courageous (or conscious) enough to get up onstage and do a number, everyone had a little boogie, with mics in hand to their favorite songs.

The ice cream cone cupcakes practically worked. There was enough black icing to hid any undesirable bits. We had made a little hole in the bottom of each cone and added a licorice cord. I will try these again and post the results. I just need to find the right recipe!

To wind up the party, each child was given an autograph book and pen to take home. There were a few 'where are the lollies' looks but once we explained what the books were for, all of these new writers got right into it, practicing their signatures. A fun time was had by all considering, well, the heat!

On the eve of turning six, my mum taught Piper this poem;

When I was one I had just begun
When I was two I was barely new
When I was three I was hardly me
When I was four I was not much more
When I was five I was just alive
But now I am six and as clever as clever
I think I'll be six for ever and ever

A.A. Milne

Happy Birthday Piper. We love you. 

rock star party prep

Our eldest daughter will be turning 6 in a couple of days. The last twelve months have seen her go from adoring pink to loving black. From wearing dress ups to wanting a bra - seriously. From wanting to be a Snow Princess to wanting to be a Rock Star. I wasn't expecting the 'maturity' level to progress so quickly! Oh dear.
I am usually fairly prepared when a birthday approaches but this heat, oh the heat, has made it hard to get my rear in gear. Thankfully my mother arrived from Canada just in time to help with the preparations for the Rock Star's party. With a beautiful new stamp set in hand, we set about stamping our guts out and personalising everything from VIP passes to autograph books. I think our Piper may be expecting a fully lit stage, with amplified speakers and a smoke machine but hopefully the homemade microphones will do. 

We are attempting ice cream cone cupcake microphones for the cake. As it stands, they just aren't cooking. Once again pulling a night-before-party late one. 
11:45pm, one last egg, wish me luck.

Halloween weekend extravaganza part 1

We held our annual Halloween party for the kids this weekend. It all started as a way for the kids to trick or treat in a non trick or treating culture. Over the years it has become a big event with 8 stations, each run by a different family. Every child brings a bag of lollies as an "entry fee" so to speak (so no one misses out on the gorge fest) and the more the merrier! The kids dressed up, played games, stuffed themselves with candy and had a ball! Everyone upped the ante this year. The Eyeball and Spoon race this year came with beautifully hand painted eyeballs.

the Pumpkin Bowling crew sweat it out in the sun and contended with the wind. Gooey Critters and Face painting were run by the teenagers that have clocked over to the next age group. And what lovely teenagers they are.

The traditional (and almost impossible) Bobbing for Apples, The Gross Booth, The Jack O lantern Bean Bag Toss and Pin the Tail on the Cat were run by the veterans, smoothly and effortlessly. 

We dined on Ghoulish treats, Guacamoldy and Worms in a basket. Disgusting yet delicious.

It just gets better every year. Thank you to everyone that helped. Sad to see it end, or has it?? There is of course still trick or treating to come!
Cue ghoulish laughter!

garden gnome party

We have been to a couple of really lovely parties the last few weekends. Beautifully made and thoughtfully put together. Our little friend Frankie celebrated her 3rd birthday on Sunday.

Her mum put to together the sweetest garden party ever. Fabric covered toadstool seats, lady bug party hats, and gnomes decorated the garden. An obstacle course, buried treasure and musical statues entertained the guests.

The menu was Heston Blumenthal inspired. Kie thankful steered clear of the bacon and egg flavored ice cream and the pate in the form of a fruit platter. The kids instead dined on tea cups of chocolate pudding with homemade marshmallow that looked like baby cinos, and mini cupcakes that looked like ice cream cones.
 

After a peaceful and festive morning where children played happily and parents sipped coffee and completed full conversations (surprising, I know) each child was presented with their very own garden gnome to take home. 

Although garden statues I have crossed in the past have met an unfortunate end, I feel this little guy could have a few friends joining him soon. Just look at him! Do I see pink flamingos in my near future?? No no, that would be over the top... wouldn't it?? 
Another brilliant party Kie. Thank you. 

cowgirl birthday party

Our Rowen is a country girl at heart. She loves animals, prefers to wear her Blundstones, with a pink frock of course, and is very comfortable on a horse. For her party this year we brought a little country to the backyard. 2 "cowgirls", 3 bails of hay and the sounds of Dolly Parton, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.

*I managed to just capture this picture of the girls who, 5 minutes before the guests arrived, became a rainbow princess and a.. well... purple fleece housecoat, leather vest, crushed velvet cape and paper crown wearing princess. Sheeesh. This is a farm party girls!!!

Did I mention it was 29 degrees?

We enjoyed a spread of homemade sausage rolls, mince, pumpkin and apple pies.

Brown paper bags with a savoury mix, bowls of apples and jugs of apple "fizzy drink" (apple juice and soda water)

Toffee apples were given to all of her little guests as a thank you. Now I'm not sure if it's just me, perhaps I'll blame the lack of candy thermometer, but toffee apples are not as easy to make as they seem. After 2 batches we never quite achieved that thick caramel finish. I even managed to crush Piper's dreams in the process. "Oh thank you mum, all I have ever wanted in my WHOLE life is a candy apple". One bite - straight to the bin.  Sorry Piper.

Rowen's birthday cake was one giant cupcake with a horse galloping through a green coconut field. Simple. I decided to cull the idea of moulding a horse out of rice krispies and dipping it in chocolate for the cake topper. Perhaps a little too ambitious?? 

With the help of a couple of lovely friends the night before, we managed to pull off this bake-a-thon. It all seemed so simple in the organizing.
Now we did break my number one party rule; Keep it homemade. No extravagant outside entertainment and well, we got that pony.
The pony was a surprise, that turned up half an hour early. It was not too obviously grazing on our front lawn. As each guest arrived, walking very slowly past this obscure scene, I thought there is no way we can pull this off. After begging one child at the door to pleeeeease keep it a secret she ran in and exclaimed "there is a real live pony in the garden!" Luckily no one was paying much attention. Rowen grabbed a spot on the kitchen floor and began to rip her presents open. A welcome distraction. I just hoped she wouldn't turn around to see the lovely pony covered in sparkles and pink pretties framed perfectly in the window just behind her. Oh the stress! 10:30 finally arrived and the surprise could be revealed. We got away with it. Only just.

There is nothing like seeing the look on your girls faces when they find a real live pony on their front lawn. Happy Birthday Rowsie!

Snow Princess Party

The snow has melted, the post party mess is almost cleaned up (5 days later) and I am now mother to  a 5 year old. Man. The Snow Princess party was a big hit. Piper and 15 of her friends enjoyed a wintry 35 degree, extremely humid morning playing games and eating treats. 

The pergola was hung with paper lanterns, Christmas baubles, and strands of marshmallows to create a snowy wonderland.

The children, with hands behind their backs, ate falling snowflakes (marshmallows on a string) that were suspended from the snowy ceiling.

We hid little prizes under layers of white fabric and cord for a game of pass the snowball.

And although the eskis of snow I had collected from the local ice rink the day before had formed into huge blocks of ice, the kids still had a ball on this very humid day making little snowman. Most of these Aussie kids hadn't yet experienced that. What a thrill. 

The Snow Princess castle cake was made from a layer of icecream cake topped with a pavlova, fresh cream, white chocolate dipped waffle cones and marshmallows. I get a nastolgic sugar high just thinking about it. 

As a thank you to her guests, Piper gave each of her friends a small fabric bag with a homemade snowglobe. I can see us making a whole lot more of these. 

 I was so thrilled we could give our girl the wintery birthday she wanted. 35 degrees you say? Ha! You've got to do better than that mother nature.

Happy 5th Birthday Piper. We love you. x

scavenger hunt

It feels like weeks since my last post. These holidays of ours have been so busy, fun, challenging, hectic, exciting... I am finding it quite difficult to string a sentence together by the end of the day. I took the kids on a treasure hunt in the woods today, just like my mother use to. With my lack of ability to construct a sentence at the moment, I leave you with our adventure in pictures.
            

...and then we made fairyland.