This year we decided to keep July 4th low-key. We are in the process of selling our house, and we wanted to spend one last year celebrating in our neighborhood. It also gave us a nice break at home before the chaos of moving begins.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Redo
So I have made chocolate chip cookies before, but Melody won’t eat those. And I am really trying hard to find a recipe she will eat. But honestly, she wouldn’t even eat this one. I made these for her actual birthday. But all she wants is stinking Chips Ahoy! Oh well, these are really good but taste much better served warm.
Disney on Ice 2019
So we went to Disney on Ice again for the fourth time. Each visit to watch has been slightly different. Our first visit Melody was like 5 months old, and we went with Brad’s family in Memphis. Our second visit was with Emily and Justin while the girls were one. Both of the husbands went, and we traveled to Birmingham. Our third visit was a birthday present from Emily right before Melody turned 2. The show was here in Huntsville and it was just us girls and my mom. This year wasn’t for any special reason except the show was in Huntsville and we were free during the week to go. It was just us girls again, and we decided to splurge and get floor seats. I thought the girls would love it enough this year to enjoy the closeness.
Snow White Invites
I really struggled in deciding an invite for Melody’s Snow White themed birthday party. I wanted something easy but cute. I told myself after doing the invites myself the last two years, I was going to buy pre-made ones. Well that didn’t happen. Mainly because I found it hard to find the perfect Snow White invitation. So I came up with an idea. My fear was it would take too long and be too complicated. So instead, I came up with two other ideas. I ran them by Brad and Emily, and they both ended up agreeing on the more complicated one (although they thought the others were cute too). Let me share the final invite along with the other two below.
Disney Fastpass+
I remember a day when planning for Disney World trips were minimal. Today they take a lot of time and effort. I find it fun for the most part, but if you are not a planner, it can be really overwhelming. You have to know where you want to eat each day while on your Disney trip over 6 months in advance to get some of those coveted dining reservations. Then you have to know what rides you want to ride each day of your trip and approximately at what time 60+ days in advance! I really do not love this way of doing things, but it is what it is. So I wanted to share all about the later…planning for your rides 60+ days in advance and how to book them.
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
For me, this is one of those Pinterest recipes you see and wonder if it will really taste as good as it looks in these pictures. Well thankfully it did. I did make a few adjustments due to my pork allergy, but it still tasted really great and wasn’t too spicy at all!
Snow White Party Favors ~ Magical Kisses
I went back and forth a lot on what kind of party favor to do at Melody’s Snow White birthday party. I really wanted something that went with the theme, but I also didn’t want to take ideas that made more sense for future birthday parties (princess wands, crowns, etc.). I came across an idea on Pinterest that referenced Magical Kisses, and I opted to go with that.
Apple Bar
At Melody’s Snow White birthday party, I wanted a main focus when it came to the food. I wanted to go lighter this year, so I hoped to play off the theme of the party. I came up with doing a caramel apple bar for the party. It played off the “apple” portion of the theme, and it was relatively inexpensive and easy!
Teacher Gifts
So let it be known (and I am almost certain every mom agrees), May is the worst month of the year! In addition to the normal end of school year craziness, there is Melody’s birthday, our anniversary, Mother’s Day, and the list goes on. So to add to this I had to come up with end of year gifts for her two preschool teachers, her three dance teachers, and I wanted to send something to all of the teachers at her preschool (there are only 9). I didn’t go as crafty as I did for Christmas (preschool and dance), but I did make a few homemade gifts to go along with the gift cards I bought!
Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
I love a good one pan meal, but those are hard to come by for me. Either it is a casserole which I don’t always love, or it just simply doesn’t sound good. Well this one is super easy, and I love that it uses chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken!
Father's Day 2019
Father’s Day this year was pretty low key. We have had (and continue to have) a LOT going on, so we definitely used this day as an excuse to relax as much as possible (including mommy and Melody, ha!).
DIY Happy Everything Attachment
A few years ago, my best friend Emily gave me an adorable Happy Everything serving dish. I adore serving dishes (my husband despises them!). Well last year I was lucky and found the perfect attachment for her “You are my Sunshine” themed party. Well I didn’t have much luck finding a good apple or princess attachment for Melody’s Snow White party. So I decided to make my own!
2019 Dance Recital
This year, Melody performed in her first ever dance recital! She started taking dance classes back in September (Part One, Part Two, and Part Three). While this year had its ups and downs, Melody loved every minute. And next year we will be more prepared, and we will likely have way more ups because of that, ha!
Baked Shrimp
So we had about half a bag of shrimp in our freezer that I decided we needed to cook. I wanted to bake it, and I found a super easy recipe online to do that. I used far too much sauce simply because I didn’t have enough shrimp, but it still tasted great and was easy to make.
Snow White Wooden Number
While shopping at Hobby Lobby for other birthday party supplies, I ran across a sale on unfinished wood. And I found this number 3. I thought it would be a perfect added piece of decor to Melody’s Snow White themed birthday party. With a little paint and ribbon, it truly was.
Snow White Party Cookies
I decided earlier in the year that I wanted to make iced sugar cookies for Melody’s birthday party this year. They are so expensive to buy, but they make parties so adorable. So I searched and found a recipe that worked perfectly (cookie recipe and icing recipe). It took me quite a few attempts to get the icing perfected, but eventually I produced the perfect consistency for icing cookies.
Chinese Lantern Festival at Huntsville Botanical Garden
We have been members at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens for a little over a year now. We have visited every season so far, and we have no attended two paid events there. One of those was this spring, and it was unique. We visited during the day using our normal membership, and then we paid to go again at night. It is the Chinese Lantern Festival. It is a traveling festival that has numerous lanterns that are lit up at night and throughout the Garden. I believe the path is a little over a mile long. Follow along for both of my experiences.
Cookie Icing
I made these sugar cookies a while back to test out the recipe I found. They cookies themselves turned out delicious. The website also had a icing recipe that I wanted to try. My first attempt was a failure. It was far too runny. But with time I got better. I still have some trouble getting it just the right consistency, but the good thing is you can add a little more milk or powdered sugar to help. Also keep in mind the liquid that will be added from any food coloring you use.
Last Day of Preschool
It is so hard to believe preschool has been over for almost ONE month. I was such a nervous wreck when I sent Melody to preschool that very first day. She was so upset, I was upset, oh my! Well it was literally the best year. She ended up LOVING the school, the people, the teachers, everything. She is missing school so much already.
Snow White Cake
When Melody made the decision to have a Snow White birthday party, I already had the idea to do a Snow White ‘Barbie’ cake. Growing up I had many Barbie cakes at my birthdays and my birthday parties. I talked with my mom to confirm she still had the cake mold. And luckily she DID. So she gave me the mold, and I decided to attempt this cake. I was super nervous about making it, and I could not have made it without my mom for sure!