Category: Birth

Angelina Ballerina Birthday Party

8/19/2013

We had so much fun with this party theme for Hazel's 4th Birthday! She has always loved watching Angelina Ballerina on Netflix and when I realized that my niece who really really loves Angelina was going to be visiting a few weeks before Hazel's birthday... well, an early party was immediately planned!

My sister is one of those crafty type who throws things together without much thought or planning and everything looks amazing. I'm one of those "copy ideas to a tee off of Pinterest" crafty types. Together, we were a tad exuberant.

The hardest part was deciding when to call it quits :) We focused on shades of pink, polka dots, ballerinas & mouselings.

Details:

Perhaps my most brilliant idea ever: call local dance studio (Studio 22 in Franklin, PA) and ask to rent the space for an hour and hire a student teacher! This cost me $30 + teacher donation. WAHOO! This really helped minimize decorations & stress since I wasn't hosting guests in my house (cleaning & prepping for a party while living with wee guest of honor = chaos).
shimmery pink & white tutus with a flower around the waist like Angelina (note: to make easy tutus, purchase 1-3 colors of coordinating tulle, cut into strips, tie onto elastic headbands, glue fake flower on waist. For ballerina tutus, less is more... you want to be able to see their legs through the skirt!)
Mouse headbands made with shimmery cardboard and white foam board hot glued onto inexpensive headbands (note, cut circles out of foam board, snip the bottom of the circle off, cut a 1" perpendicular slit in the ear, hot glue bottom sides so they overlap, THEN hot glue onto headband.)
polka dot wrapping paper for the tables & covering drink labels
pink polka dot gift bags full of pink candies, cheese snacks & ballerina stickers
cardboard cut-outs of Angelina and her friends (they lined the entrance). I scored that find at our local Ollie's store where they had many Angelina books. The cardboard cut-outs came from the book "The Nutcracker Sweet"
pink balloons
cheese, cheese & more cheese for lunch: cheese puffs, cheese sandwich crackers, ham & cream cheese tortilla rolls, egg salad sandwiches, mini babybel cheese & pink cupcakes with pink sprinkles (Hazel's one request).
My sister and I simply couldn't resist and put together our own Miss Mimi outfits. I think it was lost on the kids, but we sure had fun!

Hazel trying on her new ballet shoes; learning their positions; Annie, Hazel & Heidi with balloons; Hazel twirling; ballet teacher arranging feet in proper position; spinning in circles were their favorite; Marianne and Annie; me taking a self pic in mirror copying Annie's positions; graceful Hazel attempting a plie; Grandma Llama spinning Heidi; Hazel enjoying her cupcake.

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Birth Unhindered. A confession, a review & a GIVEAWAY.

10/19/2010

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As you (probably, you faithful readers, you!) know, I'm expecting BAMBINO #2! I'm about 13 weeks along and looking forward to the end of that nausea... any day now... . The pregnancy is SUCH a different experience from my first. With my first, I was so excited and thankful to be pregnant, that each pregnancy symptom was seen as a blessing, an affirmation of my pregnancy. I am trying to keep this perspective, but more often than not, I find myself thinking "thank goodness this is my LAST pregnancy" (hubby will be scheduling a certain procedure soon after the healthy arrival of #2). Pregnancy is HARD... and it is the best gift in the entire world. I thank God that I am a woman.

Another big difference for me is geography. With pregnancy #1, I lived in Oregon. I attended a prenatal yoga class and met other like-minded women. I seriously considered going to the gorgeous birthing center in town, but then opted to let my family practitioner deliver my baby in the small, rural hospital where my husband worked. I was so supported. It was so intimate. It was a wonderful birth experience. Everyone who worked with me during my labor and delivery read my birth plan and followed it. In fact, when I was pushing and ask my Doctor for some pain medication, he calmly waited for the contraction to stop and then asked me if I meant it and explained my very limited options. A very unique experience in our western world of trying to control labor and delivery with medications, metal devices, beds... I am very thankful.

Now I live in rural NW Pennsylvania. I love it here. But I do not love the corporate hospital or the lack of options pregnant women have. In fact, every woman here has 2 options: Use the hospital and get whichever OB is on-call OR .... what... OR WHAT? The first few months of my pregancy were filled with that question. You cannot have an easy labor and delivery if you are not comfortable with your surroundings and the people supporing you... I HATE the hospital here. I HATE the fact that I might have met the doctor who will be supporting me, or I might not.

Then Tara's book arrived... I have now hired a midwife and am excitingly preparing for a home birth! Below is the review I wrote months ago when I finished reading this book (the first time).

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Angelina Ballerina Birthday Party

Birth Unhindered. A confession, a review & a GIVEAWAY.

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