Monster Bash!!

We have been BUSY!!! And up to our eyeballs in MONSTERS!!!
It already came and went - WAY TO FAST!!! My littlest baby turned 1....already! Tear in my eye :( But we threw him the biggest Monster Bash of the year. And let me tell you it is the last Party I wanna plan in a looooong time, and I mean that in the sweetest way possible :)

But seriously...procrastination and perfectionism don't mix well. My loving sweetheart husband and best friends in the world were helping till 4am, finishing decorations, food, deserts, cleaning and everything in between to throw the perfect party for my little Jace!! Thats true love.
We started with the handmade invites....Super easy and cheap :) Perfect because our guestlist was 74 people!!!! How to: take a regular sheet of felt (8 1/2X11) cut in four equal rectangles, cut a piece of cardstock the same so they are same size as the felts. Glue cardstock (using Felt glue so it doesn't leak through the felt, sold at Michaels), After it dried I cut freehand monster shapes, cut scrap pieces for the mouths and teeth and glued on those with the felt glue, added google eyes because everything is funner with google eyes and pom pom noses :) I printed out the party info on regular paper and glued that on last....Done....mail out right away! (It will take a little extra in postage, not much but if you add the pom pom noses keep that in mind so they don't come back to you...if you don't wanna pay the extra use flat scraps for the noses :)

And then there was the deserts.....cake pops...and more cake pops!!! I loooove cake pops....and loved making them....until I got to about 150 cakepops and then I decided I never wanted to see another cake pop again in my life!!! My mistake though....no matter how many people you have at your party they will never eat all 150 cakepops! So I think it would be best to make only 1 per guest, considering 60 people came and I took home about 130!!! And they were good too! I promise! Recipe to come soon - you can try them for yourself :)

These were fun! I found these GIGANTIC Marshmallows at CVS and Albertsons to make Candied Mallows for everyone to take home. After they dried I used candy writer from DUFF from Michaels baking section to make monster faces - loved it!! Note: Keep out of the sun! I found these cute pots at Michaels for $2.49, stuffed a styrofoam inside and stuck all my cake pops inside! The monster treat bags, plates, bowls and napkins were found at Target. They also have a super cute Green Monster Pinata!
Wrapped the Candied Mallows in plastic wraps (found at Michaels-baking section) tied with curly ribbon and sent home with everyone that came :) Monster Balls, Monster Rubber Duckies, Monster Pop Ups, Monster Tattoos all found at Oriental Trading. You can find every theme and party supply there!!! The kids loved them all as prizes and to take home...
Ray made this Monster Melon - Super Easy and Fun!!! A Must-Have at every Monster Party :)

Monster Toss!!! Hubby made this too!! So handy in the kitchen and with the tools, LOVE IT!! Found a Monster pic and sawed a piece of wood to make the monster toss game...Jace is Monster tossing in this picture. After Monster Toss we played pin the nose on the Monster (thats what those red dots are :) Two games in one!! AND a really great photo prop as well!

**He lost his legs so if you make one make sure its a flat bottom or made with REALLY thick legs :)

And look how happy it all made my Little Man!!!

Crown is from Target $2.99 and Every party no matter what the theme is needs Polka Dot Balloons!!!! (Partyland)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Jace's smash Cake - Came from Albertons! Its the Small Cookie Monster Cake, but re-done with green horns and buck teeth, amazing and only $7.95!!! HE LOVED IT!

Clean up was a Good Time.....and it was a great party!!!

My party planning tip for everyone: If you have not discovered Pinterest you need to right this second. It is an amazing site for not only party ideas, but recipes, decor, fashion, photography and so much more!!

Potty Training Woes...

This is my BIG son, Jayden. And when I say BIG I mean Gigantic in size...he started of at 7 pounds and 14 ounces, but every month it was like he was doubling and tripling in size. At 18 months he had the shoe size of a 4 year old, no joke.

And this is him now....Almost 3....


A preschooler soon! (Tear in my eye). So, it was a must to get this Giant baby potty trained! Many kids at the park already make fun of him because he wore diapers (Only because I think they thought he was much older than he is...don't worry I beat them up...jk) But, none the less...This Baby Huey needed to get out of diapers! So the potty training went on and on and as I was giving up all hope this fabulous New Years Day he put his big boy underwear on and what do you know was all of a sudden using the toilet (well...the frog toilet...close enough)


This was an exciting day...a great breakthrough...a new stage of life....Until we went to Target...



Let me back up for a second, I forgot to mention that my son literally came out of my stomach pooping...and when he poops it has always been explosive. And I mean up his back, in his hair, to the point that I have had to cut so MANY of his clothes off because it was just easier. And he exploded everywhere...home, Target, grocery store, in the car, every place you can imagine that there is not a changing table and it happened atleast two to three times a day...So now you can see my excitement about him FINALLY going in the toilet!

Which brings us back to Target....for the first time since he did not wear a diaper. It started with him panickly whimpering and flailing his arms in the air yelling "I HAVE TO POOP!!!" So we quickly ran to the bathroom....after going in and out about 3 times and him rubbing his hands all over the toilet...peeing in his face because he pushed so hard and nothing was coming out...and Finally giving up, I gave up too and said lets just go home and try again later. But as we are in line...it came out...came out everywhere...oh yes and he wanted everyone to know, and that was the epitome of embarrassing baby moments....SO FAR I should say.

And since then, there have been many accidents and toilet touching, and peeing in his own face, and pretty much only has to go to the bathroom when there are no toilets around or the grossest bathrooms you can imagine. And somedays...I think back when I was complaining about the diapers and sometimes I even miss the diaper explosions and am tempted to put a diaper back on because YES! it was easier than cleaning up after a potty training child....haha! But I don't and we are going forward and everyday is getting better ;) I hope....I may just be telling myself that at this point :)

I will keep you all posted on the progress for those that will be experiencing this in the near future...and for those that alrready have, words of encouragement are much loved right now :)

New Year Introductions....!!!!

Today is the First Day of The Rest of My Blog.....

Ok, yall...so I had a New Years Resolution/Revolution!!! Yay...It involves Kicking up business in 2011 here at Baby J and giving you all an ear full in my Boutiquish Blog :) Which by the way is being made over by the one and only Blog, etc Designer Laura Jane (Who by the way again wrote the funniest yet true blog the other day that I am still laughing about and you will too Snips, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails). Anyway, she is giving my blog a face-lift and I will be giving all of you my favorite recipes (Super good ones for the cooking challenged :)...Favorite products for me and me as a mom and me as a successfully organized person and me as a business owner/starter.....Crafty Projects.....AWESOME promos and deals in my Baby J shop....AND TONS MORE!!! So, stay tuned...give me your feedback....recipes to try...products to try....things you want to hear about...or a simple HI!!!

So for the New Year I would like to begin with a formal introduction to myself...family and LIFE....

This is me....Jessica. Well, me and my newest baby, it's funny when you have kids the pictures of you become less and less....especially of you alone! Anyway....I am a proud mother...crazy daughter...thriving business owner... housecleaner..... chauffeur.... babysitter..... worst cook ever.... and sooooo much more....
I am a planner whose biggest and best things in life WERE NOT PLANNED...and I say that with a super huge SMILEY :) face.
I would like to be a clean freak organizer...but reality is, I'm a cluttery mess boarderline hoarder (I blame that on Target) but, I am working on that this year :)
I got my AA, in I dont even know what, at Saddleback Community College...Design Degree at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising...and my Bachelors in Business at UOP (and yes I did school in my PJ's...I think I learned A LOT more this way)
I LOVE TO SEW....LOVE LOVE TO SEW....and craft and make anything and everything. I started my business idea 2 years ago and plan to continue making it a successful and greatly profitable business.... come visit the Baby J Shop
I love my home even though we totally outgrew it way too quick...I still love it, a lot...I love my wild boys...most amazing step-daughter....my stubborn husband..and my giant dog that drinks my coffee and eats diapers...I am a beyond grateful person...


This is Ray...The big man around the house...He is a great husband and a great friend and alright roomate as I tell him often :) He works hard...has amazing potential...and can fix anything!!! He is funny and spontaneous and stubborn as hell...We are constantly bickering about the dumbest things and always laughing at eachother...We are far from perfect, but we are really perfect together.
And that is Ray.....


Ray gave me two Beautiful boys....but he brought me the most amazing step-daughter in the world.
This is Sierra, she's 7 and the second mother/wifey in the house. She can cook, clean, babysit....she listens...is ALWAYS GOOD and SWEET. Nobody in this world could ever ask for a better step-daughter....NOBODY....We have been together since she was 2....she promises to take me to Vegas with her when she turns 21...I don't think she knows what Vegas is...but I am just excited that she still plans on hanging out with me when she is that old....haha.




















JAYDEN!!!! That's usually how his name is said in our house...He's wild, potty training, and gets funnier by the day. He loves Hockey, and his dad, and our Big Dog, his sissy and his Baby Jacey....He is turning 3 on Feb. 29th....my leap year baby. He is huge...really smart and remembers everything!



Last, but not least is my little Jace...He is 7 months. And yes he has this smile on 24 hours a day...He is tiny even though he started out Big...he doesn't want to crawl or sit up....just roll everywhere. We still aren't sure who he looks like...except that he has Sierra and Dads nose...it's funny how two brothers can be sooo opposite. He lights up our day....and sleeps really good :) Haha...PERFECT.

So, this is us in a nutshell...Hope you enjoyed our Introduction and look forward to blogging your ear off the rest of the year!!

~Jess



Labels: Family