Royal Wedding

In celebration of today's royal wedding, we got out the fancy china, and had tea and scones for breakfast. I read aloud to the kids about queens and kings in London, Big Ben and Parliament. And we may have practiced our British accents just a bit.
One of the many things I love about homeschooling is scrapping your regular curriculum once in awhile and learning about something related to what's going on in the world.

And we get to do it all in our pajamas and fancy hats.

Superhero Birthday Party

There is no shortage of superhero party ideas out there, but I thought I'd share our fun little celebration we had for Jack. Our kids love to play superheroes. It's a good party theme for our little circle of friends, because it works for boys and girls. I told the moms that my kids would be dressing up, so they could plan for their little ones. I also had some extra stuff in case someone came unprepared.

We kind of went with a "Superhero Training Camp" thing. Our first activity was "What is your Superhero Name?". My husband made these name tags, and he wrote everyone's name tag for them. This was a hoot! We all had to call the kids by their names all evening. One of my favorites was "Metal Man". Metal Man's costume was made out of foil.

Then we had an obstacle course. The object was to get past the bad guy and save the baby in the play house. The bad guy was played by one of the dads, who was wearing a scary mask and waving a weapon. Again, more hilarity.

Next was a relay race. My husband explained to the kids that as a superhero, you would have to be able to change out of your normal clothes into your superhero clothes quickly. We lined the kids up in two lines and each line had a pile of clothes. The kids had to race to put on a coat, hat, and tie and race around a tree and back. So fun!

I had a final game of "Rid the City of the Kryptonite". I spray-painted a few rocks fluorescent yellow, and the plan was to hide them around the yard and have the kids look for them. We didn't get to this one, but I think it would have been a hit.

We feasted on wings, nachos, pepperoni rolls, grapes, carrots, and this favorite of Jack's. My mom made her beautiful cupcakes, and my husband and I made the toppers for them. I also passed out store-bought superhero popsicles instead of ice cream.

This was really a good time. I don't know what I'll do when all of my kids outgrow these parties; I really enjoy having them!

Some Random Things in a Hurry

Sorry for the delay in posts. My husband had my computer at his office working on it, and we were in the midst of our birthday marathon around here. When things settle down, I hope to post some of our birthday party stuff, and part two of Girls' Room Before and Afters.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post some links of projects and finds along with an overview of what's going on around here. Sound good?

This project is super cute! I think peeps are fun, but I'd honestly rather look at them than eat them! I don't know if I'll get to this or not, but someone should.

I found these reusable straws some time ago, and finally decided to purchase some. We love them! We go through straws so quickly that I think they are worth the investment for us. I did wait for a sale however, because they are pricey.

We also added to our hens recently. Twenty-seven of various breeds ordered from here. We have loved raising chickens; it is really so easy, and having our own eggs has been great. Raising pets has never been our strong point, but we have had great success with chickens. My husband and I talked for years about getting chickens. I can't even remember when we started talking about it, maybe even before we were married. We always thought it would be a good opportunity to teach responsibility to our kids, and it certainly has. Our two oldest, ages eight and six, are able to gather eggs, feed and water the birds, and even clean out the coop.

Speaking of eggs, I made this for my husband and I for dinner one night after the kids went to bed. We occasionally wait to eat dinner together alone after bedtime. I make something easy and fun for the kids, like pancakes and chocolate milk, and then we can have a relaxing dinner alone. We loved this meal, and it's definitely something that I'll make again. So, so good.

And please...this is so super fun. We love Starbucks. There is one located about five minutes from our house, and we frequent there. Awhile ago, when we pulled up at the drive-through (all six of us), the guy knew our order. It was funny and frightening at the same time.

Okay, there you go. Just needed to clear the cobwebs off of this space! Have a good rest of the week!