DIY Projects: Homemade Birthday Invitations

Making homemade birthday invitations is easier than you think and you aren't limited to what you can print from the computer. Wyn is turning 10 this year and is no longer into all that character stuff. She likes bright colors, especially blue, so we set out to make some cute invitations for her party.

For the cards I took a very inexpensive multi-pack of pastel colored card stock and pulled out sheets of blue. To get the correct size I cut the sheets in half and then folded the half sheets in half to make a traditional size invitation. This size invitation fits into standard invitation envelopes that can be purchased inexpensively from Target, Wal-Mart, etc.

I am not an avid stamper so we had to work with what I had on had (about 5 stamps and 3 colored stamp pads) so we choose "Happy Birthday" for the outside of the invitation stamped in purple ink. We added a 3D sticker I already had on hand from my scrapbooking supplies which dressed up the outside of the invitation.

For the inside I had a simple, single sheet stencil of birthday related items with journaling lines. Wyn and I choose the cupcake because it allowed the most information inside and fit inside the invitation perfectly.

I traced the cupcake and lines with the stencil in a fine tipped, purple scrapbooking pen and then used a coordinating fine tipped, green pen to list all the party details.

We then took the invitation envelopes and dressed them up a bit using a plaid, large size alphabet letter to spell out the first letter of each guests name. I used a coordinating scrapbooking pen to spell out the rest of their name (I forgot to take a picture of this part).

I think the invitations turned out beautifully. Wyn and I spent less than an hour putting them together and most importantly I saved money. I had every single item used to make the invitations on hand. If you had to purchase everything new it would probably cost around $10 (similar to 10 invitations) but almost all the stuff can be used again and again. I also use the Happy Birthday stamp to make homemade cards. Why spend $4 or $5 per card when you can spend a small amount of money up front and make tons of cards that look just as good as store bought cards?

Orzo With Mint and Summer Squash

We tried a new recipe from my Food Network magazines last night and it was delicious. I made some modifications but the original recipe can be found here.

Some might call this a side dish but I figure since it is a pasta, complete with cheese and veggies it is a main course. I served this with a spinach salad last night and dinner was complete.

Ingredients

2 cups dry orzo pasta

8 oz feta cheese

3 small-medium summer squash

4- TBSP olive oil

1 garlic clove

salt

pepper

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn into small pieces

1. Prepare orzo according to package directions (mine had me cook the orzo in a large pot of heavily salted boiling water for 9 minutes, remove from heat, add 1 cup cold water to stop cooking, and drain water).

2. Chop summer squash into small chunks. I sliced each squash into round slices and cut the rounds in half.

3. While orzo is cooking, heat a skillet over medium high heat, add 2 TBSP olive oil and garlic clove pressed, add squash. Cook 4-6 minutes or until tender.

4. When orzo is finished cooking, add crumbled feta cheese, reserving approximately 1 oz to top.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6. Add torn up mint leaves (I find with most fresh herbs tearing by hand is easier than trying to chop), reserving small amount for topping. Original recipe called for 3/4 cups mint with 1 1/2 cups orzo. I used 2 cups orzo and about 1/2 cup mint leaves and still found the mint flavor too strong. I think 1/4 cup is the right amount of mint to balance out the flavor of the feta cheese without being overwhelming.

7. Add cooked squash to orzo mixture.

8. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to orzo mixture and stir well.

9. Top orzo with reserved feta cheese and mint leaves for garnish.

Serve and enjoy!

This made 5 dinner servings for my family plus at least 5 servings of leftovers. This dish can be served hot or cold but I prefer warm.

My ImPossible Story

Today I am being featured on the ImPossible Stories blog. Sara from Domestically Challenged and Kaci from Ellyphant started the blog in August and have featured many amazing stories from very strong men and women. Did you know impossible spells I'm Possible, and the stories on the blog are stories of encouragement and perseverance.

Head on over and check out my ImPossible Story.

Wordless Wednesday: Our Funny Faces Will Scare Him Off!

Stop by 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday posts.

Lead Me

Several weeks ago I first heard the song Lead Me by Sanctus Real. For me it struck a chord and has since become one of my favorite songs. It seems to come on the radio just when I need to hear it. I wanted to share the song and video with you, my readers.

Sanctus Real is a Christian band, but Christian or not, as wives, mothers, and husbands the message is powerful. I don't claim to be an expert on marriage, I've only been married 2 1/2 years and in relationship with hubby for 5 years, but I was married before, I know what didn't work for us. I have seen countless marriages fail and crumble under the day-to-day pressures of life, as well as countless marriages succeed.

Hubby and I are also part of a small group at church for stepfamilies. We alternate between doing stepfamily studies and marriage studies. The group has been such a blessing to us and our marriage. Last spring we studied a book called, Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, and the message was similar, men need respect, women need love, and went into great deal how you can meet your spouses needs, which of course leads to a happier, more fulfilling marriage. As much as it may not seem like it at times, women want their husband to be the leader of their house and to lead and take care of them and men want to provide and take care of their families.

One thing is for sure, marriage is not easy. There are many things necessary for a successful marriage but a marriage cannot be sustained on love alone. A marriage needs constant work and effort, undying commitment to one another, and willingness to be partners in life, and take everything head on together. I especially like to be in control, to try to have everything my way, but really I want my husband to lead me and need to give up some of that control.

Take a minute and listen to the song, very powerful!

100 Miles Down, A Lifetime To Go

I met a big milestone in my running yesterday, 100 miles ran! I can't believe I've made it this far. I am halfway through my training program to run a late November 10K. So far the training is going well and I am up to 5 miles as my longest run to-date. I am still not the fastest runner, but I don't run to win races, I run to beat my personal goals and finish.

I'll be honest with you, I am beginning to feel a little burned out after back-to-back training programs. I have been training since April, with about a 6 week break after my 5K race, and before my 10K training started. With the busyness that school brings, three children's activities, and working full-time fitting in my weekday training runs has been harder this fall than last spring. The heat has finally let up and we've had exceptional running weather which is nice but the days are getting shorter and it gets dark relatively early, which makes it harder to run with kids in tow. My hubby started running too and is training for this crazy, 9 mile obstacle course race next April. We've been trying to run together, which means we run on a paved trail and the kids bring their scooters. It's less than ideal but we still get our mileage in.

I know I'll finish my 10K strong but I am beginning to doubt if I have it in me to train for a half-marathon in the spring. I know I do, but the early mornings, never sleeping in, and busy schedule are wearing me down. To be honest with you, I am looking forward to finishing my race strong and then having almost 6 blissful months with no structured training program, to run when I feel like it, to work on speed and endurance, but at my own pace. I hope after that respite and having Sunday mornings to sleep in, I'll be fresh in May to start training for a fall 2011 half-marathon.

Running is a lifestyle change, it is so addicting, you feel so good setting goals and meeting them, pushing yourself in ways you never thought possible. I know running will be part of my life going forward but you have to listen to yourself and say, "training was good, but breaks are good too.

To start this week off right I am going to head off on a blissful, 5K run, with no kids in tow, music blasting, just for fun. I know I'll feel better when I get back.

Living In The Present

I sometimes struggle with living in the present. I am planner and like to have goals and dreams for the future that I work towards, I think it makes you a better person. Sometimes the constant looking towards the future can be bad because it leaves you a little dissatisfied with the present.

At the beginning of the year hubby was accepted to graduate school and hoped to start this past summer. After evaluating the costs and funding options, we decided it just wasn't possible right now. He went back and forth about whether the program he chose, while interesting to him, would lead to the best employment opportunities. We let it fall to the back-burner, but it kept coming up. How great would it be for my hubby to get a Masters in Biomedical Engineering from one of the top medical schools in the country?

I fretted about how we'd pay for it and if it was the best career move for him? I heard him say over and over how much he wanted to go to graduate school. A few weeks ago an interesting thing happened, I said, "go for it", do what you need to do to start school next summer, we'll figure out how to pay for it.

This was a big leap for me because we are not interested in student loans, both hubby and I have a TON of student loans and other debt from our undergraduate degrees. We are focused on getting out of debt, saving, and buying a home. Taking out more loans will put us further from our goals, not closer, but somehow we'll make it work.

It will be 2013 before hubby is done with school, who knows how long until we can meet our financial goals, and at least 4-5 years out before we can realistically have a baby, but you know what? I'm okay with that. I am trying to keep perspective and remember it is no way to live being dissatisfied with the present and only focusing on the future.

Today's a gift, that's why it is called the present, so instead of focusing on the future (or the past for that matter) I am going to celebrate today for what today is and enjoy every moment I have.

Ask Me Anything: Questions Answered

Thanks to everyone who participated. I received several questions via the comment section on my blog and Twitter. Without further ado, the answers:

Jillian from It All Began With A Man In A Black Jeep asked:

How do you nanny and have your own kids as well?

Good question Jillian. I think a lot of people wonder how I balance being a nanny to one year old twins and having three kids of my own. I love children. I have always loved children. I've worked with children since I was 12, first babysitting, then in a daycare center, then as a nanny. I worked several corporate jobs in between, banking, politics, at a law firm, but none of those jobs gave me the flexibility needed to be a mom of three. I always left my job feeling like my job got the best of me (time, patience, and energy) and my kids got the leftovers (which wasn't much). I think this is a much better fit for my family now.

That is not to say that there aren't days where the babies don't nap or are particularly whiny or I am just not feeling well, where I go home and I am not as patient with my children as I'd like to be. Overall I feel very blessed. I work for a great family. I have the ability to bring income into our household to help us meet our financial goals, I get breaks and summers off to spend with my children because my bosses are teachers, and I get to play and have fun with two adorable toddlers all day.

Jillian also asked:

Are you a runner? How long have you been doing that?

Yes, I am a runner and I love that I can say that! I only started running last March. Before that I HATED running. I always hated running and never thought I would become a runner. Funny thing is once I started running I became addicted. It has quickly become one of my passions. I think what I enjoy most about running is setting personal goals and meeting them, I don't run to win the race, I run to meet my goals, I love how I feel, I sleep better, have so much more energy. It truly is amazing. I ran my first race last July, a 5K, and now am training for a November 10K.

Finally Jillian asked:

What does your husband do for a living?

My husband is an engineer. He was in the Navy for 6 years, right after high school. Worked a few engineering tech jobs after the Navy before going to school to become a Mechanical Engineer. He is one of the smartest people I know and was recently accepted into the Biomedical Engineering Masters program at Johns Hopkins and is hoping to start that this summer (thanks for giving me the chance to brag on my hubby).

Aeg1084 asked:

How did you first get started as a blogger and what do you enjoy most about blogging?

One of my best and oldest friends, Catherine, started blogging in the fall of 2008, at the same time I had recently left my job at the law firm to work from home, providing child care. Catherine talked about her blog and sent over links. After a few tries I started reading and then started reading people who commented on her blog and some of her followers blogs. The way blogging, especially mom blogging is so connected is amazing. After a couple months (December 2008) I decided I could do this too. I've always loved to write and now had a bit of time to fit it in. I was immediately hooked. I have connected with so many amazing women through blogging that I would've never met otherwise. It is always nice as a mom, knowing you are not on this journey called motherhood alone.

Catherine from Evolving Mommy asked:

Have you figured out how to survive on less than 9 hours of sleep? ;)

No, I have not. I think I've been living most of the past 3 1/2 years in a constant state of sleep deprivation. I didn't realize how good I feel on 9-10 hours of sleep until I did it consistently this summer. I seriously feel like a totally different person. With leaving for work before 6:30AM, 9-10 hours of sleep isn't in the cards for me now. I think the early mornings are the only negative things I can say about my job or running (which is at 7AM Sundays). I love sleep!

Sara from Domestically Challenged asked:

Wait, 2 that are 6 months apart? Do share!

Hubby and I were both married and divorced previously. We both married young, had our kids, and were divorced by the time we were 23. Not an easy way to start out your adulthood. B is the oldest and from my first marriage, Wyn is 6 months younger and from hubby's first marriage, FiFi is the youngest and 26 months younger than Wyn. Only 2 years 8 months separate all 3 kids. Talk about closely spaced children.

NASA asked:

Would you be willing to live with your husband as pioneers on a Martian outpost and try to establish the first human colony in space? Why or why not?

Sure, Mars sounds like a great adventure. Can we bring our kids too?

The real LA love story asked:

I am always curious about how people decide who to spend the rest of their lives with so do you mind sharing the story of how you and your husband met?

Hubby and I met on Match.com. We were both divorced and a little disillusioned with the dating process. I met him after 3 weeks on Match.com, he was the first person I went on a date with from the site. His Match.com experience was a little different, he had to kiss a few toads to find his princess. We were engaged after 13 months of dating and married 15 months later. There is more of our love story here if you are interested.

Bethany asked:

If you or your husband got a job opportunity that required a move overseas for a year, would you let your family experience a new country or turn down the opportunity and stay home? (I always think it's fascinating when people do this!)

I suppose a lot of factors would go into this decision but if it was a job my husband wanted to take and the money was enough I would jump on the opportunity in a heartbeat. I think there is something said for stability and keeping your kids in the same school but I would never pass up an opportunity to experience another culture like that.

Bethany also asked:

How did you choose your kids' names?

I use nicknames for my kids on my blog here but their names are not secrets. Hubby and I both like unique names since we both have uber popular names, Nathan and Michelle. We both hated sharing our names as kid and having to go by your first name and last initial. We don't have any kids together so we haven't named any together but he tends to like more unique names than I do.

Our oldest is Brennan. I knew a little girl from church named Brenna, when I was pregnant. Before I knew if Brennan was a boy or a girl, I had decided on Brenna Riley for a girl. When I found out he was a boy, every name I suggested his dad didn't like. Finally at about 6 months pregnant, Brennan's dad suggested his name. I liked the name but wasn't convinced it was the one. After a few weeks it stuck and we have Brennan. I love his name, I love that it is unique. I do not love that people cannot pronounce his name when said verbally, something I never thought of when naming him.

Our middle child, is Wynter. Hubby's ex-wife had read a book with Winter as the main character and suggested it to hubby. He liked the name and changed it to Wynter. You know, 10 years ago that was the trendy thing to do. I love her name, the most unique of all our children but I would've spelled it like the season to keep things simple.

Our youngest is Phoenix. Hubby and his ex-wife separated while she was still pregnant. They each made a list of names they liked and Phoenix was on both lists. Easy to decide. Almost 8 years ago the name was very unique and neither masculine or feminine. Over the last few years it has gained popularity as a boys name, although there was another Phoenix in her dance class of 10 girls.

I love talking baby names!

I hope you enjoyed reading and learned a little something new about me and my family. Thanks again to everyone who participated, it was a lot of fun!