Thinking of: Ingrid's Second Birthday Party

The internet is a wonderful source for inspiration and discovery. What's the cast of Full House is up to now. Well, the internet tells me that "Stephanie" has a three-year-old named Beatrix Carlin Sweetin-Coyle.

It's also a source of frustration. A frustration with the seemingly endless stream of jaw-dropping DIY ideas. After spending a few minutes on Pinterest I feel defeated even before a project has even started. Who are these people making Pottery Barn-worthy headboards? Do fashion bloggers have part-time modeling gigs on the side? Because, ok, we get it. 

Tonight, I set out on an internet adventure to find Ingrid a sweet dress for a Tea Party themed birthday party. Then, after drooling over tablescapes and party favors (complete with monogrammed labels, natch), I decided this theme will work best when she's a bit older. When she can invite friends over to clink little teacups and decorate cookies. 

I thought about her favorite things: yogurt, babies, Cinderella, chocolate, bubbles, ice, books, dancing, playdough, M&Ms and the moon. 

Behind babies, the moon comes in a close second. 

If we head outside during sunset/nighttime hours Ingrid will look up in the sky and search for the moon. Once spotted, she screams: "MOON!" as if it's the first time she's witnessed its glory. If she can't find it, she'll let you know that it's "too cloudy." 

On Valentine's Day we were walking to a frozen yogurt shop when said "moon" over and over. I looked up in the sky and scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. We couldn't see the moon from where we were standing. Then, on our walk back to the car, I noticed a crescent-shaped pattern on bricks for a carpet shop. Sure enough, there was the "moon." The beloved moon. 

So, back to the party. 

The time will come for princess themes (the girl loves her Cinderella...), tea parties and "Mom, I'm too old for that kid stuff." parties. This year we'll be celebrating one of her favorite books: Goodnight Moon. 

Goodnight Moon is one of those books you think you remember as a kid but, once you've memorized it, it's so much better than you remembered  It's simplistically wonderful. During an episode of Mad Men this season, Pete read the book to his daughter. I love that generations of parents have said "Goodnight stars. Goodnight air. Goodnight noises everywhere." 

For Ingrid's second birthday, we'll make moon-shaped sugar cookies and you better believe there will be a red balloon. I'll leave the intricately decorated cake pops, waterbottle wraps and matching cupcake liners to those wonderfully patient moms (and dads!) who apparently have never-ending creativity, patience (and bigger budgets). 

That said, here are some great Goodnight Moon party ideas. 

You can find more over on my Pinterest (ha!) Parties board: 

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What are your favorite kid-themed birthday parties? Any ideas on activities for toddlers?

DIY: Family Planner

A part of me misses the "back to school" transition.

There's something wonderful about fresh school supplies, a new haircut and a fresh start every September.

We might not be headed back to school - but with school supply prices at the ultimate low - I wanted to clear my desk o' clutter and organize everything into a family planner.

For me, that meant creating a binder that would {hopefully} cut down on the annoying coupons, schedules and lists that always go missing in our little home. A cheap, convenient way to stay organized without going overboard.

Here's what I purchased: 

- a three-ring binder 

- 10 dividers 

- cheap pencil case 

- sharpies (Can you ever have enough?) 

Then, pinned these ideas as starting points for organization, categories and overall tips.

I'll admit, I spent far too much time clicking through lovely (and free) printables to organize everything from carpools to cleaning schedules but, to be honest, I just need one central location for schedules, a meal plan and these categories:  

• Week at a Glance Calendar - for workouts, Ingrid's daycare, Dan's ever-evolving work schedule.
  
• Meal Planning - this should really be title "In a Perfect World Meal Planning" because I have yet to make a meal plan work. I'm never in the mood for what I "scheduled" and I'm always missing some random, critical ingredient.
  
• Budget - In hopes that if this information was close to to-do lists, I would check it regularly. High hopes. High hopes indeed.
  
• Goal Setting - I wish I could apologize for this - but for me, this is the only way I can achieve results. If it's written down, it will eventually happen.
  
• Blog Calendar 
• Travel - Ideas for places to visit, travel sites to remember and places of interest to check out. No unnecessary planning or budgeting here!
  
• The Rest - a place for writing down passwords, housing random Groupons

My favorite site was The Project Girl - great tips and free printables. 

After an hour of organizing, hole-punching and throwing all coupons into the pencil cases - tadah - now things are sort-of organized. 

My goal of clearing my desk of clutter has yet to be realized, but now there's a pretty binder in place of piles of paper. I'll take it for now! 

What about you? Do you set aside time weekly to plan? What tips and tricks have worked for you?