Bonus room bedlam

It's amazing, some of the things that we hold onto. Some might immediately think of various deep-seated emotions, but I'm simply talking about "stuff." Things that travel with us across states, in and out of dorm rooms, apartments and homes. They are packed, unpacked, left to collect dust, repacked, moved...and the cycle continues. I feel as though I'm relatively stationary for a while, settled in a home, so hopefully that sequence of events can be laid to rest for a while.

Our so-called 'bonus room' was subject to a good "cleaning out" this past weekend. The room sits atop a two-car garage, therefore, it is quite spacious. It has little furniture, and has managed to become the go-to place for any bit of "stuff" that needs a home. With a little help (mostly motivation) from my husband, we cleaned her out in preparation for a facelift, if you will. The plan: some professional painting, reorganizing, and new furniture. The revamp will hopefully turn cluttered 'bonus room' to organized playroom/craft room. If that's not an oxymoron, I'm not sure what is, but at least the room will have a designated purpose.

Having had 85 degree weather a few days prior, is really what I think set the ball rolling for this cleaning rendezvous. With trash bags at the ready, we made our way into the trenches. As I started going through boxes, I had to silently laugh at myself for some of the things I was finding. My husband, nearly had a cow, no less than 5 times when he saw some of the stuff I had toted around with us in that cycle described above. He and I are quite different in this aspect. He could live with a sleeping bag, a toothbrush and a book. I require a few "extras." I also hold onto things I think one day I might find nice to have. For example, and I swear I am not a hoarder, (my family can vouch for this) I found a bag of unused Dunkin' Donuts napkins, kept as a reminder that we (my husband, then boyfriend at the time and myself) frequented the establishment in college. Golf balls, that I wrote dates on from our first "mini-golf date." An acorn, for God only knows the reason. Tickets, tickets and more tickets - plane tickets, movie tickets, concert tickets, those little red raffle tickets with no indication of where they were from, but obviously my life would not had been the same had I discarded them years prior. Seriously, the list goes on. Cards upon cards, literally from the past seven years...birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's days. It was all quite silly really. As I read through many of the cards, commenting on "Ohhh, remember this?" my husband, the efficient one, hurried me to make some progress. When I pulled out his graduate hood and a pile of honor cords, he was baffled as to why I thought these were important to keep, but as you can see, Quinn was having fun! And yes, his pants are clearly too big.

 Many of the found treasures made me smile and even laugh. Sometimes, I guess, little keepsakes are reminders of life years ago. I was reminded of my Mom's wit, though not that this has changed, as I found a note written by her for my sister. Well, actually, for my sister's middle-school principal. It reads, "Please excuse Toni for being late today as her sister" (that's me) "took an extra long time getting beautiful this morning. Thank you." Followed by her signature. I'm not remembering exactly how that went over with the principal's secretary. The note brought me back to my high school years, carting my brother and sister around in my '96 Corolla to school and their various activities, blaring music much too loud which only resulted in a couple of blown speakers. Those and the numerous bent rims which, the result of driving anywhere within a five foot radius of a curb, I never could quite explain to my Dad. And then, I was brought back to present day reality - my growing toddler, standing at eye level with me as I sat amongst the rubble, adorned in those cords, and picking his nose. It's funny how life works out. Perhaps this is just the beginning of my being repaid for the headaches given to my Dad for those bent rims and blown speakers.

I was reminded of my pre-wife days when I pulled out my Bachelorette Party memorabilia. I had a fun night out with some of my best girlfriends. I love the phrase, "never let anyone steal your joy." Well, I remember on this night as I was dancing and enjoying this night for me, a male patron of a club we were in approached us and asked me to turn off the LED blinking lights that adorned my sash because they were hurting his eyes. I spun around, turned off my sash, and then I think I nearly cried. He stole my joy in that moment, but only because I let him. I would have handled that situation much differently today.

 Our cleaning frenzy, despite my inefficiency, was turning out to be quite successful. Totes were consolidated, trash bags filled, but there still loomed....THE BELLY CAST! I had a blast, with my sister, making this at 37 weeks pregnant, sitting in my kitchen, feeling huge, getting slathered in cold, wet plaster. Yeah, it was a great time. But really, it was neat to see it in its finished form. And, what girl doesn't want a nice reminder of her once well-endowed chest. But, a belly cast is just one of those things that ends up in messy 'bonus rooms' across America. A great idea, but then what. So, the belly cast made its way into the trash (sorry, sister). Along with the party sash and the memory of the grumpy guy at the bar. And also the cords. We finished the job, made all the more difficult by a very curious and teething one-year old, and cleared out as much "stuff" as we could for the upcoming revamp. 

So why had I held onto it all? For comfort? Security? Out of laziness? I think probably a combination of each. To alleviate fear that I might forget a memory. To feel like I was being conscious of sentiment. And simply because it was easier to pack it, move it, and store it, than dare delve into it and feel compelled to throw anything away. The room is a bit more bare now, leaving space for more "stuff" that will undoubtedly be packed and moved years down the road. Perhaps another "cleaning out" will occur then, and another memory made, looking through years of accumulated "stuff" and recalling moments that make us smile and others that make us cringe (bachelorette sash), being reminded of things to feel fortunate for and realizing that, though cliche, the years in life are going much too fast.

Which way to the woods? The making of Quinn's 1st Birthday Party (part 2)

So, the story of the invitations goes something like this...do I make the invitations, or do I buy the invitations? I did my research and found some super cute 1st birthday invites from tiny prints. But, geezum, $1.25 per invite, times 20 invites, plus shipping. Surely I could make them just as cute and much cheaper, right? Well, 3 days painfully spent in my craft room, fingers near bloody from cutting, stamping and gluing (okay, maybe a slight exaggeration), 4 trips to the craft store, and....$85 dollars later, and here you have it, minus that white box! (I prefer not to have strangers show up at my doorstep.) Cute, yes, but a project I wished I had never started... until they were finished, stamped, and in our mailbox.

 I was pleasantly surprised that nearly twenty-five people had RSVP'd for Quinn's big day. We live two hours in a couple different directions from most family and friends, so we would have been completely understanding if not many people could attend. I had a very fun time trying to be creative and resourceful. Living in a somewhat rural area with land of our own provided just what I needed for some of the other decorating ideas. I used pine cones scattered around the dessert table, and tree branches placed in vases to fill some space. I used more of the moss to  add some color. I found this cute little owl at TJMaxx whose left lower button went missing on a day when Quinn was playing with it. Oopsies...

I'm not sure where I found this idea, I'm thinking it was actually a wedding website, but it's called a 'Wishing Tree.' Again, I used lots of branches, a large vase and moss to create a 'tree'. I used stencils, stamps, and that massively large roll of bakers twine to make little tags. The sign told guests what to do and, I think the pictures tell the rest. If even just a few of Quinn's wishes from his tree come true, he will be a very lucky boy. Just to name a few, he was wished "shiny white teeth," "continued drooling & mischief-making," "the ability to read the wishes," and lots of wishes for love, happiness & fun adventures!

 

         

A few days before the party, I finished making the favors above, chocolate owls adorned with, as you can see, that red gingham ribbon. The ribbon dilemma, which plagued me that evening at my dining table, while looking out across the street, turned out to be one of those hidden lessons, a silent reminder to not lose sight of the important stuff. My neighbor, who fought so bravely, left this world for a better place, just two days before Quinn's birthday. Her passing was a powerful reminder to cherish each and every day with the little life that motivated all of the ribbons, cupcakes, balloons and presents.

Quinn's party went off without a hitch! Many thanks to all our friends and family who came to celebrate. xo 

A few more pictures...

Which way to the woods? The making of Quinn's 1st Birthday Party (part 1)

 

In my next life, I aspire to be a party planner. I mean not to boast about my talents in event planning, I simply LOVE to host parties. I get great satisfaction from putting together a nice spread of food, making decorations by hand, and trying to create an entertaining atmosphere. With all this being said, I'll be the first to admit that planning Quinn's party was almost as much for me as for him. My husband's famous words leading up to the event were, "He won't even remember this!" And my equally as famous reply, "It's not the point! I will!" I'm big on scrapbooking and keeping things for remembrance, so I tried to justify all the fuss with, "even though Quinn won''t remember his party, I will be proud to show him in his teenage years,"  (when he probably will care less) "what his special first birthday was all about." (Okay, so it probably is a little more for me.)

My inspiration for the party came from the website, Etsy, where I found a design for woodland animal masks. Now, I'm not even sure if this is allowed, but I could not bring my able-bodied self to pay $56.00 for a set of felt masks. Not to mention, my husband would have had a cow! So, I grabbed some felt from my Mom's gigantuan craft room (the contents of which could be a separate blog, all their own), hoped there was not a patent on the design I was copying, and sewed up these bad boys. They were surprisingly pretty easy to make, and set the ball rolling towards a woodland-themed 1st birthday party for little Quinn.

The next idea I "borrowed" from Pinterest. I came across a blog where pieces of wood were used to create tower on which to display cupcakes. While I didn't make a a tower, I did use pieces of a log to create some depth on the table where food and desserts were placed. My Dad, who drives for UPS, took it upon himself to pull-over on the side of, God only knows, a deserted road in a "town" with a population of 7, whose name is most-likely designated by numbers and preceded by Township, to grab for me the most perfect log (maple, I believe). That log shared the back of his package car, from Township such-and-such-a-number, with (I'm guessing) boxes of QVC, K-cups and Huggies, all the way back to my parents home in Baring Plantation. (And, no, they do not grow cotton, coffee or bananas in Baring Plantation.) Anyone who lives or has driven through Washington County, Maine will understand completely what I've described here. But anyways, back to that log. I bought moss from the craft store, used some Elmer's to adhere it randomly to the perfectly cut pieces (thanks, Dad) and.....voila!

I used the logs to display cupcakes and other food items. I'm kicking myself now, as I did not get a picture of the main food table. It looked pretty neat when all put together. We had mini caprese-on-a-stick (mozzarella, tomato, basil with balsamic), buffalo chicken and spinach & artichoke dip, party meatballs, the usual apps including cheese & crackers and veggies & dip, etc. My sister-in-law, Haley, flew out from Indiana to visit, and was a huge help! She made nearly three-dozen fresh-fruit kabobs which almost looked too good to be eaten.

 
 We made an orange-sherbert punch (a little too sweet for my liking) but still yummy. Also, used Ball canning jars (which we use as everyday drinking glasses in our house) for people to use to pour bottled drinks into. From Amazon, I ordered vintage-looking red & white biodegradable paper straws. For a "homemade-streamer" look, I bought a package of 5" fabric squares, which by chance had various woodland animals (owls, birds, etc) printed on them. I cut these in half and used red & white bakers twine to create the look of streamers throughout the house.

 

My cousin, Jessica, upon hearing my proposed party theme, suggested these adorable cookies. My brother (remember the one responsible for this blog, which is now consuming hours of my life) wanted to help, so I put him to work making, I would guess, no less than 327 of these puppies! They were made with Hershey kisses, Nutter Butter bites, a chocolate chip, and melted chocolate for "gluing.

Instead of one large birthday cake, I opted to make Quinn his own small cake and cupcakes for everyone else. His cake was a total fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants project, finishing it at midnight the night before the party. I carved the owl shape, experimented with my Wilton piping tips, Googled "owl cakes" (quickly to conclude that mine was not going to be nearly as fancy as most, nor would it include fondant) and here it is!

For fear that he would not be allotted more than 7 cupcakes, my husband did an inventory of my baked confections and counted a total of 56 cakes; baked, frosted and ready to eat! I made three flavors: french vanilla with wild strawberry frosting, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and boston creme.

          

The cupcake toppers, I ordered from Etsy.com (Paper Clever). Due to time constraints and the fact that I did not already own this Cricut cartridge, I had to concede to my 100% DIY birthday and order these adorable little guys. They fit in perfectly with the theme! And, of course, no woodland animal party is complete without hedgehog cookies (made from finely ground pecans and lots of butter!)

 About two weeks before Quinn's party, I started thinking about favors. I found on Amazon a lollipop mold shaped like an owl. I decided this would be perfect for the theme. I ordered everything and sat down one night, in our dining room, canvassing the table with the supplies. My biggest dilemma yet - for the tags do I use red gingham ribbon, or green with a white-stitched edge? As I sat in our dark, quiet and chilly home, my boys asleep upstairs, I stared out the window, across the street to our neighbors house. I noticed the lamp in their living room, that seemed to remain on around the clock. Immediately I felt a sense of embarrassment. There I sat, stressing about the perfect ribbon color for a favor that, once eaten by party guests, would end up in the trash, while I knew a true, real struggle was being faced by my neighbors inside their own home. I knew my beautiful, strong, courageous neighbor, in her early-thirties was fighting to hold onto what life she had left after a several year battle with cancer. In that moment, I tried to imagine the sadness and fear her husband must be feeling, to lose a high-school sweetheart and best friend. I could not. After several minutes of deep thought, I was brought back to my current position at my table, surrounded by ribbons, card stock and stamps. As I prepared all of this foolishness for my son's 1st birthday, nearby others clung to a woman whose years on earth would be far too few. It opened my eyes, acted as a reminder to what we were celebrating. Life. Love. Strength. Family. Togetherness. I got up, pushed my chair in, shut off the light, and made my way upstairs. I was done for the night.  I had been humbled.

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To be continued...

Andrew said so.

So, one day last week, my brother, Andrew, told me that I need to start a blog. And, apparently I cave easily to peer pressure, because here I sit. Smack dab in the middle of my couch. A box of tissues on one side. A mug of tea that has now gotten cold, on the other. I'm battling (no doubt) some viral syndrome that made its way into my home last weekend during my son's 1st birthday party.  Quinn is his name. Perhaps you've figured this out from my cleverly chosen blog title. As I thought about this blog idea and what I would actually "blog" about, my mind was clouded by thoughts of woodland animal cupcake toppers, fruit kabobs and a note that needed written reminding me to call iParty to change all of the balloon ribbons to brown, instead of alternating colors. Seriously, it's all in the details, right? Yes, I was "that Mom" that went a little nuts-o planning her one-year old's birthday party. I decided (months ago), in my state of party-planning delirium that a DIY (do-it-yourself) event was in order. So, when this blogging idea was proposed, I thought, what a great first blog - "showcase" my hours of stamping, cutting, baking, etc. 'pinterest-style' on a page all my own. I intend to do just that, but lets consider this a pre-blog if you will. Seeing that it has taken me near two hours to get to this point, the thought of figuring out how to add photos seems quite daunting. 

I anticipate much of this blogging will be about my son, Quinn. After all, I spend the majority of my time with him. (They, whoever "they" are, were not kidding when they say 'becoming a parent will be life-changing.') That might be a slight understatement. But, I digress. So, Quinn. He's a funny kid. The following is an excerpt from a scrapbook I created for him, as we celebrated that crazy, over-decorated, exhausting, DIY, 1st birthday.

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You prefer being naked instead of clothed. You suck your thumb when tired or bored. Your smile is infectious. You have no teeth. You know how to flip pictures on Daddy’s iPhone. You’ve never had formula. You like to dance. You are cautious. You will take up any opportunity to bang on the computer. You slept through most of your 1^st airplane flight. You are the life of our party. You have never required a sick-visit to the doctor’s office. You hate getting your diaper changed. Your eyes are an indescribable shade of blue. You never really wore newborn clothes. At nine months you could wave bye-bye, high-five and fist bump. You started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks. You enjoy using a banana as a telephone. Since you’ve found your nose, you won’t stop picking it. You prefer a pile of books to a pile of toys. You rolled over at 2-weeks old. Only Daddy cuts your nails. You are obsessed with other babies. You put everything in your mouth. Your first laugh was at Daddy making faces in the mirror. You like to give handshakes. You fight sleep like it’s your worst enemy. You like to chew on sweatshirt strings. You are curious. You do not like to cuddle. You have selective hearing. We had the hardest time getting you to like carrots. You once swallowed half a tissue. You like to crawl inside of your designated cupboard. You were cranky on your first Christmas. You like to hold onto the dishwasher when it’s running. We once found you 3/4^th the way up the stairs, and then we knew you could climb. For such a small person, you take up the majority of a queen-sized bed. You don’t like going through the car wash. You are most playful in the mornings and most fussy in the evenings. If you were a girl, your name would have been Quinley. You love to climb onto the vacuum. One of your first imitations was saying “uh oh.” You like cars. No less than three people always stop in stores and comment on your big blue eyes. You like to play with peoples’ watches. You take vitamins every night. You love bath time. You like Cheez-Its. You talk with Daddy about stocks while sitting in his leather chair. Daddy puts Carmex on your lips, and this makes Mommy angry. You enjoy making blanket tents. You like to play with the laundry basket. You almost always take your socks off during naptime and throw them out of your crib. Your newest trick is taking your pants off whenever you choose. You are handsome. You like blanket-racing around the house. You like to play peek-a-boo behind the pantry door. You love to watch the washing machine spin clothes. You like to touch people’s teeth. You have a plugged tear duct in your left eye. Your kisses are slobbery. You are loud. You cry at the sound of the tape gun. You like bouncy-balls. You are perfect to us today and always. And we love you.

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So, I'm sure I've managed to break a few blogging rules, if there are such rules. I claim not to be an even mediocre writer, my sentences won't always be complete, I overuse commas because I like them, and as this is the case, run-on sentences will rule my blog. I don't really care. I'm here to share my experiences as mother, wife, nurse, and crazy party-planning lady. To maybe make a reader laugh. And, because my brother said so.