marinkaetzel's Profile

So colorful and fun! I love it. The balloon wreath is a grat idea! I'm sure it was a very joyful time for all.

I saw this at IKEA this week outfitted with bottles of sparkling water, cups, plates, condiments, etc...everything for a perfect summer patio picnic. I love how versatile this piece is! Definitely want one.

When our kids have a birthday party, they each choose a "birthday charity" and ask friends to consider bringing items to donate to that instead of a gift. Then they get to deliver their "gifts" to the charity (Children's Hospital, animal shelter, etc)

Something my family did when we were kids (and I'm hoping to pass on to my own kids) is create a Thanksgiving Box. This was a box that sat on our counter beginning in January. Throughout the year, we'd all write notes for things we were thankful for (a kind word from a sibling, cleaning up our rooms without being asked, etc.) We'd also drop loose change change in there as we found it. Then on Thanksgiving we'd open up the box, read all the notes and count the money. We'd use that money to sponsor a family in need at Christmas. I really loved doing that.

this is adorable! i love the simplicity and sweetness of it all.
nina--we did milk bottles at my son's 2nd birthday, but we just bought a case of those starbucks frappucino drinks at costco and removed the labels. (but you have to be prepared in advance...i sent my husband to work with one everyday for 2 weeks so the bottles were empty by party time!)

super cute party! it looks like a lot of fun and i love all the little touches. those cupcakes are really cool!

thanks for this. when i was 12 our house caught fire for this exact reason. my mom always cleaned the lint trap, but had no idea she needed to do any more than that. thankfully everyone was okay. this is a very important tip and i'm glad you've shared it here.

we waited an extra year to put our son in kindergarten since his birthday is late august (cut off in our district is aug. 31) and he truly wasn't ready to go. he was incredibly shy, had a speech delay and a lot of fine motor skills delay. we chose to put him through another year of a play-based preschool where he could just focus on learning to do simple things like meet a new friend or use scissors without the pressure of performance. plus, all kindergartens in our district are full-day and it would have just been too much. now he's 8, heading into 2nd grade and is doing great in school. is he the best, biggest, smartest kid? nope. but he sure is happy and that's what matters to us.

What a lucky child who will come home to such a cheerful, welcoming room!

if you're into chiptunes, check out supercommuter and squarewail. awesome stuff.

Oh this is perfect for the end of the year gift I'm giving my son's preschool teachers! I'm putting together little gardening baskets and these will be the perfect finishing touch. thank you for the inspiration!