A Spontaneous Birthday Party and Instagram

Need to add some fun to your winter? Throw a simple birthday party, just you and your kids. By simple I mean, SIMPLE. Decorate a little, enjoy some sort of treat, and just make the day feel special. Before you know it, the day will be special. 

Yesterday we awoke to 3-4 inches of snow outside. The girls were thrilled! Immediately after eating breakfast they dressed for the occasion and headed outside to our winter wonderland. 10 minutes later they were done. What were we going to do with the rest of our snow day!? 

Then Hailey informed me it was Leo's birthday.

Leo is one of Hailey's imaginary friends. Don't be misled, Leo is a girl. And apparently yesterday was her birthday. And we were to throw her a party, which of course necessitated decorations.

Oh boy. I drug my feet on that idea. I was in no mood for partying, let alone throwing and decorating our own. Quickly though, Hailey's enthusiasm won me over, so birthday-party-it-up we did. Why do kids have the best ideas sometimes?

We pulled out streamers and ribbon, a plastic tablecloth, and even gift bags for the presents (their own toys wrapped up). Of course, there must be presents! Lucky for those girls I even had cupcakes in the freezer, leftover from Keira's birthday. We thawed those puppies and gave them a nice topcoat of Nutella and sprinkles. Yes, Nutella. No frosting? Use Nutella. It totally satisfied us. It was a bit thicker than frosting, but nothing a glass of milk can't help. :) No cupcakes immediately on hand? Bake some cookies or muffins together and stick a candle in it. If your kids are like my kids, they are quickly satisfied by anything with sugar. 

After cake and presents it was almost lunchtime. I had a few par-baked mini pizza crusts in the fridge, so we decided to use those up and make our own pizzas. This is always a hit with the kids.

Since it was suddenly a special day we pulled out a blanket and picnicked in front of a movie (which never happens). Win-win for me, pizza and some quiet time to relax!

Need a pizza dough recipe? Use mine, it's quick. I can whip up some crusts ready for toppings in just 45 minutes to an 1 hour. I store the extra in the fridge or freezer to be used later. It makes for an extra fun, yet super easy lunch.

   

So tell me, how do you like to spend your snow day? What do you do to keep you and your kids happy and sane during the winter?

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Now, let's talk INSTAGRAM.

Yeah, what about it? 

Well... I'm now on it! Follow me @hillmade_blog. There is plenty I do day to day that doesn't make the blog. I'll post more of that there. I'd also love to see what you're up to! Have you used any of my ideas? Tag #hillmade_blog. I'd love to see it!

My One Little Word (#OLW) for 2015 and a Free Printable

Is it too late to be discussing New Years Resolutions? (Happy New Year, BTW!) It's still January, so it counts, right?

I've seen the idea of choosing One Little Word to focus on for the year floating around bloggy-land. I love it. So I jumped on board. As I thought about it, and the word that kept coming back to me was:

patience

I feel like if I practice having more patience everyday so many other things will fall into place for me. Our home will be happier, we'll love each other and laugh more, and I'll be more accepting of the person I am or am trying to become.

I had always thought of myself as a patient person, up until that moment I had my first child and became a mother. It is so much easier to be patient when your focus is on only yourself. Once you throw others into the mix, it becomes more complicated and patience is stretched and wears thin quicker. So... to aid myself in my journey towards more patience this year I put together a print to hang in a predominant area in our home, that I will see multiple times a day, in the hopes of helping me to settle down and practice more patience.

I spend a great deal of my day between the kitchen and living room, so that is where I hung up the print. I also put up a picture of our family, and plan to put up more pictures of my girls. If I see adorable happy pictures of them, I'm more likely to soften a bit and be more patient, right? That's what I hope at least. :)

I want to share the print with YOU! Click the image above, or follow this link to download your own 8x10 copy. I also resized it for 5x7 or 4x6 if you'd prefer smaller.

What is your One Little Word for the New Year? What are your goals?