We have a toddler...

Alright friends. Here we go, I'm going to get my butt going with sharing whats going on! Now that we've had a week for the dust to settle-Kaden had his 2nd birthday party last weekend! I seriously can not believe how time has just flew by already! (You can read about his story here) We didn't have a big party for him last year since we just moved to our new home shortly before his birthday. So I was walking into unchartered territory with a toddler party. How much is TOO much? What do you cook? Do you have a list of activities for a bunch of 2 year olds? Most importantly: do you have mimosas for the moms?! (Spoiler alert: next time we have a toddler party...the answer is YES)
One of his favorite books ever is Little Blue Truck so I perused around looking at ideas for a toddler's party. I came across Kates blog, Nearly Crafty and she had such amazing ideas! Kate created the great invitations that I used for his party and even helped find the same font as what is in the story! And for a perfectionist, that is great news. The thought of having a house full of toddlers slightly terrified me, so one of my good friends suggested that we host the party at the clubhouse on base! Sounds like a fantastic idea to me, she reserved the room for me, the date was set and planning was under way. I used Kate's template for the invites, typed the information and took them to Staples to have them printed! Easy squeasy! Now if you're like me and want things to be 'cohesive' the font used in the book is called P.T. Barnum.

I also followed Kate's idea with some of the activities. I ordered little blue truck foam ornaments from Oriental Trading for the littles to make and to double as their own personalized favors! 

I later realized that we did NOT need glue, these bad boys are sticky after you peel the paper off the back! Pleasant surprise! We also had a bunch of blue truck printables for kids to color. 

I'm so sad I didn't get a whole picture of our foods! I tried to keep it simple (mainly because I was cooking it all) and thought about what kids would like to eat. We had mini corn-dogs, home made pasta salad (included veggies), homemade roasted red peppers hummus with crackers, rice crispy treats (which I have YET to make a perfect batch of...but I digress) lemonade, juices and most importantly...CUPCAKES. I made a classic white with a vanilla buttercream frosting.  I also made party popcorn for extra favors for everyone (because I'm crazy like that-this was a last minute decision) I'll share that recipe with you all another time!

I used the same font for his banner with my super amazing Silhouette machine. I also used the font and the machine with the print and cut feature to make thank you tags for the popcorn bags. 

Kids came to play, eat and run around. I think we had an overall good birthday party! We approached nap time...aka melt down time right before everyone left which we all thought would be coming our way. We truly have amazing friends that came to celebrate and help when we needed it. I may or may not have gotten a little teary eyed when we all sang to Kaden. I just can't believe that he is TWO! I can't believe he was once a little 3 pound baby living in an incubator and fighting for his life, I really do believe that you can't even tell. He has grown into such an amazing little person and his personality just surprises me every day. He is such a sweet, loving and compassionate little boy. I know all babies are sweet and loving, but I'm not sure when we will hit the 'rough and tough' stage but this little guy loves his mama and I'm not afraid to share that with the world- I'll take it as long as I can. 

S'mores Bar Deliciousness

I love a good s'more. There's no other way to put it. It is a perfect summer treat, but sometimes it just isn't the best time to bust out the fire pit and make a s'more. Enter s'mores bars! These are are pretty much my 'go to' dessert when I am making something for a get together (or just because).

The other week I was getting ready for a get together with a fantastic group of ladies-my kickball team-and they requested s'mores bars be made and I was happy to comply with their requests. I seem to always have the ingredients in the pantry, ready to make these at any notice. I followed this recipe from Wit and Whistle and it works amazingly. The only thing I change is I add a little more marshmallow fluff, only because I am a marshmallow lover.  

You will need:

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)* I use about 2 cups*

These are pretty simple to make-here's what you do: 

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. 

3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. 4. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.

5. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. 

6. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single.

7. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. 

8. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (I found it to be easier if you  flatten the dough into small shingles and laying them together).

9. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

                                                 

I was making these a few hours before our get together and I also had a 'No-Nap-Ninja' on my hands...so a large iced coffee was much needed as well as a fluffer-nutter sandwich. Now please tell me you all have tried this wonderful creation? If not, it is simply peanut butter and marshmallow fluff! Now since you probably have peanut butter...and you obviously have marshmallow fluff...give it a whirl and you can thank me later. 

After these have cooled, carefully cut them as big (or as small) as you would like, grab a few napkins and enjoy! Let me know if you love these as much as we do-

xox