When your baby turns 18...

    It's probably not the easiest thing to be the youngest child and the only boy.  I absolutely cherish the first glimpses of the man he is becoming but he will always be my baby. As our children became older, we only had big parties when they hit certain milestones like turning 13. Baby boy was turning 18 so it was time for something special to celebrate.   I'm not sure where the idea came from, but it seemed that no one could give him a better send off than his old friends Buzz and Woody. He was going to be gone to his Youth in Government State Assembly the three days before the party so I decided to keep the theme a secret and let him be surprised when he came home the night before the party.

   Maybe it's because he is the baby, but I saved a lot more of his childhood toys than I did his sisters'.  Lucky for me, I saved every Toy Story toy that the boy ever had.  This made it very easy to start planning decorations.  I used them in several areas.

Buzz Lightyears were perfect to hang up high from fishing line

Some of his favorites greeted friends in the entryway along with a page from his scrapbook we took at Disney with his Toy Story friends.

    Then I started thinking about the Little Green Men. We had to incorporate them.  So I cut white card stock into strips and hot glued the little soldiers onto the strips. Then I could use the strips  anywhere I chose.   For some reason, I couldn't find any on parachutes, and we HAD to have some hanging on parachutes.  White Dollar Tree plastic tablecloths cut into circles with the little soldiers tied to them with dental floss is what I decided to use.  They ended up being my favorite decorations of the night.

If you look closely you can find them in all sorts of places.

   We had to have party favors and I found these amazing Toy Story Pez Dispensers and ordered two boxes.  Then I decorated another area with more old toys and red bandanas for them to wait to be handed out.  By the way red bandanas are SO handy to have. I've used them for Independence Day and assorted other occasions in decorating.

FYI, the Pez Dispensers had random quantities of characters but I'm happy to report that everyone that wanted a Jessie got one.

    Because I couldn't leave well enough alone, we HAD to have a photo booth.  This was so much fun to put together. I used Dollar Tree plastic tablecloths again. The background was pale blue and I taped it with clouds cut from paper to make it look like Andy's room.  Then I used darker blue tablecloths to make the curtains.

There were Woody and Jessie hats, a Buzz Lightyear mask and assorted props for my son and his friends to use.

The Boy and Buddy the Boxer had their photos taken with the Etch A Sketch frame that I made from red poster board, foam board and a little gold paint.

At the end of the night, I'm pretty sure that I had the most fun of all. It was so much fun getting ready for this party. I've loved every minute of being this boy's mom. He is loves his family, is a hard worker, has an incredible sense of humor and the kindest heart. Believe it or not, throwing this party helped me start letting go of the little boy so that I could appreciate the grown man.  It was the first of the "lasts" that were soon to come with it also being his senior year of high school.  Later that night, when only a few of his friends were left, they decided to make a video. This was the "thing" when he turned 18 and it seemed the perfect way to end the evening.  The one in the Batman underpants belongs to me and I couldn't be prouder.

Ancestry.com DNA House Party Fun!

 

   Today we had an extra special House Party at our house. If you've never heard of House Party, you should definitely check them out. I've had the opportunity to host several over the years and have really enjoyed sharing products that I love. Today was no exception.  I had the amazing opportunity to participate in Ancestry.com DNA's testing service. Their technology is a great tool to enhance your family history project or connect with other relatives.  I received a testing kit in the mail and had my results within about six weeks.


     For me there were no surprises in my ethnicity. My results came back that I was 99% European, 82% of that being Europe East.  My mother's family is Polish, my paternal grandmother is Czech/Austrian so that was pretty much what I expected.  The most interesting and rewarding part of my results was a special match to a distant cousin that shares a relative on my dad's biological father's side of the family.  It's complicated, but that side doesn't really acknowledge him so that was especially rewarding. I have been a member of Ancestry.com for several years and would recommend that you take the time to make your own family tree, do some research and enjoy the incredible Ancestry DNA testing experience for yourself. Here are my ethnicity results:

   My party pack contained really nice party supplies to use during the House Party, as well as some nice little goodies for my guests. I was also emailed a coupon to forward to my guests so that they can have their own Ancestry.com DNA experience.

I broke out some old family photos to add to the decorations.

We had an assortment of foods from my family's heritage.

Just for fun I translated the word "Coffee" into other languages.

A couple of times we gathered around the computer so that I could walk my guests through the Ancestry.com website as well as review my Ancestry DNA results. 

Our guests were able to use the map and flags to show where their families came from.

I even found chocolate bars made in Poland for the goodie bags we gave to our guests.

    One extra special thing about this House Party is that my sister-in-law Lindsay was also chosen to be a host. We contacted House Party and got their permission to host our parties together. Her Ancestry.com DNA results weren't what she expected so it was awesome to have her take on the experience as well. I know that several of our guests are excited about sending off for their own tests soon. It will be so exciting to watch our friends go through the same awesome experience.

Homer Laughlin is my home boy....

If you have ever had dinner at my house, you've probably noticed that everyone almost always eats on a different colored plate. You might not have given those dishes a second thought, but they make me so very happy.  There is something special about Fiesta made by Homer Laughlin China for many, many years.  Right here in the USA.  Newell, WV to be exact. I love that they are made in the same styles as the 1930's, I love that American hands are hard at work making them, I love that they have never chipped and that they don't have to all be the same. My Fiesta is close to my heart and it makes me happy.

The first time that I ever laid eyes on Fiesta was in a Betty Crocker catalog. When I was a young wife I saved the tiny little white rectangles on Betty Crocker products to turn in for credit towards products that they sold. You still had to pay for the products, but it was at a very good price.  So I started ordering a few pieces here and there, including my lovely Plum colored "Betty Bowl". We definitely didn't have enough pieces to use every day but I was hooked. Then there was a scare regarding dishes made in China containing lead.  I purchased a test kit and to my horror, the test turned red and I had been feeding my family on dishes containing lead. Yikes.  My first thought was of Fiesta and how those lovely dishes would also be safer for my family.

Over the years I've become more of a collector than I thought I would. I had the opportunity to purchase a nice selection of factory seconds, so I did. After our years of military moving, my husband bought us our first dining room set with a china hutch. Guess what it is filled with?  I've purchased many items at thrift stores, made a visit to the Son's of Anarchy House (that's a story for another day) to buy some from a Craigslist ad, and shopped around for really good deals. I really prefer the pieces that have been made after 1986, (when Fiesta reintroduced their new lead free dishes after taking a long break) but there is something wonderful about stumbling upon something in "radioactive red" that was used for decades and still in fantastic condition. 

Here's a peek at some of my favorite Fiesta pieces:

Hanging above the china hutch is a painting by my late grandfather. When my grandma passed away last year, this was brought to me. Not only did the color of the walls match the painting exactly, but the colors of my Fiesta set the colors in the painting on fire. He would LOVE how good it looks here.

These are vintage salad plates made in the 50's and before. Missing is the "radioactive red". My husband needed a trip to the emergency room (I'm not kidding) after trying to save it from falling. Gotta love a man that will dive for vintage Fiesta.

Memorial Day through Independence Day I feel pretty patriotic. Here is my thrift store carafe and some other pieces sitting right next to my front door. I love the way the colors look mixed together.