1/2 Birthday Bike Riding Bonanza

7 and 1/2 years ago, I was checked into the hospital on the
 23rd day of December.

According to my calendar, I was not supposed to see the labor and delivery room for another two weeks.

Apparently, there was another plan that I was not consulted on.

As I sat dismayed and in tears, I asked the nurse if my baby would be born before Christmas.  

To which she replied, 

I'm not sure.

17 hours later, on Christmas Eve our Gibson Jack was born.

From that day forward, I knew I had a very important job as Gibson's mother.  It was going to be my job to make sure he knew that his birthday was special, that even in the midst of Christmas chaos he would have his own celebration, his own presents {wrapped in birthday paper!!}, and his own special day.

And, up until this seventh year, I would say Gibson never even noticed that he had to share his special day.

He didn't notice until his own friends birthday invitations started to roll in and he asked why he never had a friend party. 

With his new awareness, my heart just broke, and in a moment of weakness I told him that he is special because he can have his very own 1/2 birthday party in the summer.

So, that we did....

We invited 14 of Gibson's closest friends,

ordered a special cake in his honor,

fashioned a suitable hanging sign,

tried our hand at making 1/2 drinks,

and set the kids loose on the trails.

{thanks mr. matt and dad for riding along}

When all was said and done, I think it is safe to say that we had one

 7 1/2 year old who felt pretty special no matter what 

day his birthday falls on.

Just because...

Gibson's birthday party was nearly a month ago and as life often does, time slipped away before I could post any pictures.

And, because Gibson's birthday falls smack dab in the middle of an over abundance of holiday parties and holiday pictures, we thought we'd spice it up a bit. 

With a few simple cuts of black construction paper, some scotch tape and a shishkabob skewer we had the perfect props for some one-of-a-kind pictures.

And, we had some one-of-a-kind guests who played right along.  

Ornament-y Fun

Things are getting crafty in this neck of the woods.  In October Katie kicked off our first craft night with clipboard crafty-ness.  November brought a wreath making marathon at Kmac's house, and last night we got creative and whipped us up some mighty fine ornaments on Goldnerod.

What we have discovered in our latest crafting adventures is that women are craving community and cannot get enough when it comes to crafts. And, lets face it, they can't say no to a couple of hours laughing with friends.

There is something so raw and rewarding about creating something with your own hands, adding personal creative touches, and ending up with a finished product that looks drastically different from what you started with.


And there is also something raw and rewarding about hosting craft night.  For the first time since I left the classroom, I was able to create something for others to enjoy.  And, with the help of Pinterest, I had a plethora of ideas I was dying to try out, all of which involved my favorite decorating medium: chalkboard paint.

My inspiration started here and led me to my basement, with the windows wide open, {chilling the house with crisp forty degree air},  a roll of contact paper, and my all time favorite: a can of chalkboard spray paint.  And, with one quick coat, that took a total of 5 minutes I ended up with this very rewarding chalkboard runner. As each guest arrived they described the dish they brought in chalk. {For the record, I HATE contact paper, and this was fool proof}

As an added bonus, after the girls had left, the boys got their turn to chalk it up on the chalkboard runner.  It was the highlight of their morning and evening and morning again and occupied them for quite some time.

After I realized how easy the runner was to make, I decided to try my luck and use even more spray paint for the Hot Chocolate Bar {inspiration found here}.  With the plastic planters I found at the dollars store for $0.50 a pop, I couldn't lose.  

When they were done, I added some fabric squares and voila we now had the option to add some mallows,

a hazelnut wafer {or two},

an extra shot of dark chocolate or a hint of mint,

some creamy caramel,

or a classic candy cane to our warm hot chocolate.

And, with a few last minute touches,

craft night #3 was a success thanks to these wonderful women,

and a few ornaments I never thought I was capable of making.

Give some women a night away, a cup of hot chocolate and some yarn and they can change the world.

I linked to....