Peanut Blossom

Little Pea turns 2!

In the midst of all the post-vacation chaos, Little Pea celebrated her special day. Two years old, I can hardly believe it. We came back from Disney and I had absolutely nothing planned for her little party. I had approximately 4 days to pull it together with no gifts, no "theme", no cake, zilch. 

After some consideration, it seemed only right to do a Disney mash-up theme for her. She has been obsessed with Minnie & Mickey Mouse for months. She had a blast on our trip and flipped out over meeting each of the characters in person. 

But to fully understand my little girl and her party theme, I have to share this funny story:

We had a magical moment at Disney's Hollywood Studios when a castmember pulled us aside just before we were set to leave the park and asked if we wanted to meet Donald Duck and Piglet. She told us there was no line (score!) and we'd have them to ourselves. We had this encounter in a private little courtyard off to the side where my girls got to interact with these two characters for 10 minutes by themselves. The girls were beyond thrilled.

Lots of hugs. Lots of smiles. Lots of roaring. 

Wait, what? Roaring? Yes. Both girls are obsessed with dinosaurs. Little Pea LOVES to roar like a dinosaur any chance she's given. For some reason she started roaring at Donald and Piglet and scared the living daylights out of them. The more they cowered the more Little Pea laughed and laughed and roared some more. You can see her doubled over in the photo above. Oh how funny she thinks she is. 

So it seemed only fitting that the dinosaur theme carry over from the Peanut's birthday onto Little Pea's but I wanted to keep with all things Disney. We chose Rex from Toy Story to take a place of honor on her birthday cake. Little Pea was thrilled--a 'saur & Minnie!! It doesn't get much better than that for a 2 year old I suppose.

Happy birthday to my little lady. I could not possibly love your fantastic mix of girlie sweetness & playful wildness any more than I already do. You keep things interesting in the very best of ways and I can't wait to see what your next year brings.

My little mousketeers

We're back from our whirlwind Disney trip and what an experience it was! I have so many thoughts I'm trying to collect into some kind of coherent format for you but it's taking me some time to dig out from the chaos of post-vacation reality. Why do moms always need a vacation from their vacations?? Maybe it has something to do with the mountains of laundry pouring out of suitcases. . .

Be on the look out for lots of vacation recap posts coming soon, especially over on Develop where I'm working on a series of vacation photography tips. I learned so much from our first big family adventure and I can't wait to share these lessons with you!

Gearing up for the Disney photographer

A huge portion of what makes me so excited about our trip to Disney is the photographic opportunities I'm going to be given. Our time with Handyman Tim is so limited and precious, I can't wait to document him having a fantastic time being playful with our girls. This is truly an adventure for all of us and it is something I hope to remember for a long long time.

So yes, I'm feeling a lot of pressure here. I debated long and hard whether or not to drag my full DSLR into the parks with us. In the end, it really just wasn't an option not to. While I may be jealous over other hobbyists who have more expendible income to afford professional gear, now is the time I'm actually quite grateful for my relatively small and light Canon Rebel. 

If you'd like to see the 7 items I found essential for my camera bag for our big Disney trip, head on over to Develop where I'm reviewing them all.

5 ways to surprise your kids at Disney World

Yesterday I talked about how to get your kids excited before you go to Disney. Today I have 5 tricks up my sleeve for once you get there! The best benefit of these tricks is that they'll help you save a little money in the process because you'll be taking advantage of sales vs. buying at the inflated prices on site.

1. Pre-shop for souvenirs at the Disney Outlet: We are lucky enough to have an official outlet near us. If that doesn't apply to you, start stalking the clearance bins at your local Disney Store. When I first popped into the store with this goal in mind, I was so confused. Isn't the whole point of a souvenir that you picked it out on your trip and brought it home? It made no sense to me to pre-shop for these items even if they were significantly cheaper than at the parks. 

Enter the nicest sales clerk I've ever met. This kind lady gave me SO many ideas for our trip. She talked me into picking up Disney character bubble blowers for entertaining the kids while we stand in line. I plan to keep them in our backpack and only pull them out as a surprise at the last minute. I also got each girl a light-up battery operated fan for cooling off during the hot days and for light sticks during the evening parades. Each of these things was priced at less than half what we would have spent at the park.

2. Character T-shirts: Where is it more fun to wear a Mickey Mouse shirt than AT the park? All the fun of it is in wearing it on vacation, right? I'm a stickler for washing all items of clothing before the girls wear them, so this had a sanitary benefit to it as well! I got clearance priced shirts at the outlet mentioned above, but I know that Kohl's, Old Navy, Target, and Walmart all carry Disney-themed apparel as well. I wrapped up the Peanut's t-shirt as one of her birthday gifts and used it to announce that we were going on our trip but you could easily sneak these into suitcases only to be given upon arrival or for wearing on the trip there.

3. Character Pajamas: My girls LOVE love love to wear matching pajamas. I thought they'd be over the moon about wearing Disney jammies on our vacation so I picked up a pair of them at the outlet as well. I'm going to wash them all up and hide them until our first night in Orlando.

4. Swim Gear: I lucked out and hit the outlet when they were having a sale on swimming gear. I picked up Mickey Mouse goggles for the Peanut and a tote bag for swimming gear for $6 total. I also found red and white polka dot sunglasses and sunhats at Gymboree (thank you Gymbucks!) Thankfully the Disney color palette makes it super easy to find things that feel like "official" gear at a much cheaper price! Just think Red, White, Black, and Polka Dotted and you're all good! And with our trip just before the start of summer, they'll be using these items all summer long. Practical!

5. Don't forget mom and dad!: The biggest surprise of all for our kids will be the morning daddy shows up with a big bright Mickey on his shirt. Handyman Tim does NOT dress like this but agreed to wear a themed shirt I found at the outlet during our vacation. I love his playful attitude, anything for his girls! I know the Peanut will be thrilled to be matching her daddy. This is such a special phase and I know it won't last forever. I'm so grateful we're taking advantage of her sweet preference for dressing alike now while she loves it. 

5 Ways to Kickstart the Disney Magic

I am so excited to share with you that we are taking the girls on our very first trip to Disney World next week. Handyman Tim has been working an insane schedule that has been hard on every last member of the family. We've all had to sacrifice precious time together and it has definitely taken it's toll. I decided that we all needed a little Family Togetherness Bootcamp type experience and where else is a better spot to do that than Disney??

Tim has never experienced the Disney Parks before. He has no idea what he's in for. The Peanut knows we are going but can't even imagine what she is about to see. Little Pea is just happy to be along for the ride. I'm the only one who knows and appreciates what this trip will be like so I've been doing my best to get everyone excited for this big unknown. 

For the last two months, I've been looking for ways to give the girls little teaser items to be used on our trip. So today I'd like to share:

5 Ways to Kickstart the Disney Magic Before Vacation!

1. Matching outfits from Etsy: According to friends who have visited the parks far more recently than I have, it is a pretty big deal to let your little princess dress up to play the part at the parks. Neither of my girls are overly into the Princesses, we don't own any of the costumes already. I couldn't imagine spending the money on expensive costumes just to dress them up in hot and scratchy tulle and satin for an amusement park visit.

Luckily for me, both girls LOVE Minnie and Mickey Mouse. I was able to find these adorable halter tops and ruffled shorts outfits on Etsy.  They are all cotton and much more comfy and breathable than any costume would have been. I love the cheerful polka dots! I know my girls will love wearing them this summer even after our trips. Money much better spent!

2. Disney Pin Trading Lanyards: This is another new-to-me item that didn't exist during my last visit to the parks ages ago. Disney has been offering these adorable metal pins for trading since 1999-ish. The kids (or parents too) can trade pins with anyone else they find willing at the parks. There are castmembers that walk around wearing lanyards of Official Castmember pins that are looking to trade with guests. This sounded like something the Peanut would love to experience but starter sets of 4 pins and a lanyard ran about $30. That seemed super high to me and the sets came with such cute pins that I knew the Peanut wouldn't want to trade! Kind of missing the point, right?

I took to Ebay and was happy to discover several sellers offering huge lots of pins for a fraction of the price. We acquired a random assortment of 25 pins for about $15. I didn't care if they were cute or not because they are meant to be traded away. To make it more fun for the girls, we put a single pin inside of each plastic Easter egg along with a few coins for our Disney Jar. They hunted for their pins on Easter morning and it was a huge hit.

The day before Easter, I realized they still didn't have anything to pin the pins on since I hadn't purchased lanyards. In a fit of inspiration, I decided to sew my own. I used this tutorial from Simply Cotton here and followed it almost exactly. The only difference was that I cut my fabric 3 inches wide and instead of folding each side in half way, I only folded them in 1/4 way so that the final width of the strap was a full inch. It's the perfect size. I cut them to be about 24 inches long so they are just right for my girls' necks.

3. Birthday Pins from the Disney Store: The Peanut's birthday was on March 28. Little Pea's will be just a few days after our trip on May 6. When a sales clerk heard I was there shopping for supplies to announce the trip to the Peanut on her birthday, she told me about their special birthday pins. If you're going to be celebrating that occassion on your vacation, you can pick these up for your child. Write their name on the space and have them wear them to the park. I'm told they'll receive special Birthday Girl treatment. I'll have to report back as to just what that might mean!

4. Disney Gift Cards for Special Occassions: The Peanut just lost her very first tooth last week. The Tooth Fairy in her infinite wisdom decided to bring a gift card from the Disney Store in just the right amount for the Peanut to pick out the stuffed animal she's had her heart set on ever since she heard of the trip. (It was her first tooth afterall. I'm sure the Fairy won't be this generous next time.) The gift cards can be set for any amount and can be used at any Disney Store on or off the parks. I've even heard they can be used for snacks and beverages and anything sold at the parks so it would be a great stocking stuffer, birthday treat, Valentine gift, Easter basket filler, etc. etc.

5. The Birnbaum Disney World Guide for Kids: My neighbor just recently told me about these adorable guidebooks made specifically FOR kids. They release a new one every year and her daughter has one for each of the years their family made the trek. It is part guide, part activity book, part scrapbook. The Peanut was thrilled to receive her very own copy since Mommy has had a mile-high stack of guides sitting on the living room table for weeks. At age 5, I feel she is just a smidge too young to get the most out of the book, but I don't regret the purchase at all. Ages 7+ might enjoy it far more. 

Strawberry Birthday Cake for a pink & aqua party

My little girl is 5 years old. She is finally old enough that she remembers every last piece of our birthday traditions: how we decorate, the need for flowers, the appropriate balloons, our red plate. She made sure we were on track for every element of her special day right down to her cake. 

Her very favorite color is blue. Blue. Blue. Blue. And yet, she wanted a strawberry cake. So we decided on a pink and aqua party + dinosaurs. Typical 5 year old fashion, right? A little of this, a little of that. All that matters is she loved it. 

I looked high and low for the right kind of recipe for her cake and finally found inspiration in a somewhat odd place. Annie's Eats has an amazing looking Neapolitan birthday cake on her blog: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry layers all piled high with pink frosting. When I took a closer look, the recipe for the strawberry layer looked fascinating. I decided to double batch it and pair it with our favorite Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream from last year. Though the photos don't show it well, the frosting was tinted aqua as dark as I could make it without spoiling the fluffiness.

I used the last jar of our homemade strawberry freezer jam inbetween the layers. The cake is dense, very strawberry-ish, and the frosting is light and airy and just the right amount of sweet. We decided to serve it with Neapolitan ice cream and the Peanut thought that was just incredible: "Three Flavors in One?!" 

If you're looking for a strawberry cake with vibrant color, look no further. The gelatin in the recipe is what really turns it vivid pink. It really was pretty in person and a huge hit with the party goers.

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Strawberry Birthday Cake
Adapted from Annie's Eats

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
3 oz. strawberry gelatin
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup sweetened strawberry puree*

*To make the strawberry puree, process partially thawed frozen strawberries with a bit of sugar in a blender or food processor until smooth.  If using sweetened frozen strawberries, no additional sugar is necessary.

Butter and flour the edges of 2 9-inch round pans, shaking out the excess flour.  Line the bottoms with a round of parchment.  In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk to blend and set aside.  Combine the sugar, strawberry gelatin and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.  Beat the eggs into the sugar mixture one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix just until incorporated.  Blend in the milk and vanilla extract.  Add in the remaining dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.  Blend in the strawberry puree.

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. (My cakes needed an additional 10 minutes. Not sure if it was my oven or the fact that I doubled the recipe or both.) Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 20 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges, then turn the cake out onto the rack and let cool completely.

To assemble the cake, spread a thin layer of good strawberry jam and top with frosting before adding the second layer. I'm not sure that would work if you used a frosting recipe thicker than the meringue version I did, so just proceed carefully!

Birthday Traditions: Cake helpers

The Peanut has always been my little baking buddy. She loves to help me in the kitchen and I love having her there. I tried to do a little baking with Little Pea and the Peanut had a burst of jealousy, "No, mommy! I do the baking! I'm your helper." 

When it came time to make her birthday cake, the Peanut was thrilled to get back in the kitchen with me. Poor Little Pea had to go in the playpen in the living room so she wouldn't get in the way. It was then that I had a great idea and a new birthday tradition was invented.

I've decided that each of my girls will get to be my baking buddy when it comes to making her own birthday cake. The Peanut won't be able to argue when it is Little Pea's turn with that kind of logic. I know when she heads off to Kindergarten in the fall, Little Pea and I will have more time alone to do that sort of thing together, but I still love the idea of having my girls involved in the making of their own cakes. 

The only slightly discouraging side effect? They also then are involved in the decorating of said cakes. Ha! Anyone want to guess the kind of emotional strain I was under while biting my tongue as the Peanut lined up these dinosaurs on our masterpiece? "Sweetie, don't you want to maybe put one over there?"

"No! They are on parade!" 

Well alright then.