Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Let's Hear it for the Boys!

It's Wednesday (already?!?) and time to join The Vintage Apple for another "Oh, How Pinteresting!" post. Since my two boys have birthdays coming up soon, this week's focus will be on things I've found for them.

I mentioned birthdays. Jacob will be 9 on February 6, and Caleb will be 12 on March 13. We're not sure yet what we'll be doing for their birthdays, but one of their options is to take them and one friend each to celebrate at... Medieval Times!



We went last summer for the first time and we all loved it! The food was delicious (Caleb discovered he loves ribs.), and the show was outstanding! I was amazed at how perfected the fight choreography is! Caleb really wants to go back for his birthday, but Jacob is leaning in another direction.

Another option is to have a birthday party for each of them. Caleb's only one was when he turned 7 (I think...); we used a pirate theme that turned out really great. Jacob has never had one - therefore, his other direction. I know, I know, they're seriously deprived in that area. But this tends to be a busy time of year with family coming in (usually over 3 different weekends) and spring break (when the boys spend a week with grandparents). Oh, and I'm just not a big party planner anyway...

But I've found a few cute ideas that might be doable if we decide to go the party route. Check out these fun cupcake ideas!

Jacob is a big fan of Despicable Me,...



...and Caleb is a huge Harry Potter fan.



I could easily use cream cheese icing on the owl cupcakes to make them like Hedwig.

And I know I can find tons of other great cupcake ideas if those aren't what they want. (A few words about cupcakes vs. one birthday cake... Everyone gets the same size piece, and the birthday boy isn't blowing/spraying spit and germs over the whole thing. Plus, you can do really cute things with them!)

Before their birthdays/celebrations, they're going to need haircuts. When the boys were small, my mother-in-law would trim their hair. As they got older and needed cuts more frequently than we'd see her, I opted to buzz their heads with the clippers. It was fast and easy - and I didn't have to pay someone to do it for me. A few years ago, they decided they wanted to let their hair grow out, so we were back to Mamaw's cuts again. In between times, though, they would get pretty scraggily-looking. Sometimes we'd wait it out. Other times, I'd take them to SuperCuts - but I hated paying $25 for trims for the two of them! It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't need a trim so often! Then I found this:



They were in dire need of trims before Christmas, but I was too busy with projects and preparations to take them. I knew Christmas weekend would be busy, but I hoped Mamaw could maybe squeeze in a quick trim. Not so. On January 2, I got sick of looking at their ratty mops and got out my scissors. I pulled up the tutorial on my screen and set my laptop on the kitchen counter in easy view. I read the instructions, made my cuts, and scrolled down to see what was next. It took 45 minutes for me to complete each one, and I had cut their hair shorter than they wanted - but I did it! And it looked good! I'll definitely do it again, but I'll try to leave their hair a little longer next time.

Now I guess I need to get back on Pinterest and look for some more birthday-themed cupcakes ideas - just in case. Do you have any great ones to share?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been wanting to take my 33 month old to Medieval Times, I saw somewhere that they had a pirate act, my son would love to see that. The twinkie minions, clever!
Great hair cut tutorial, pinned!
Love. Bliss. Life.

larsita said...

ASHLEY! Okay, first of all, I love the idea of allowance/commission! SECOND of all ... JACOB HAS NEVER EVER EVER HAD A BIRTHDAY PARTY?!?!! This makes me so sad! I vote that if Jacob wants a birthday party, you are welcome to put it on the weekend that WE come visit. We will GLADLY help you with cupcakes, food prep, decorations, keeping an eye on all the kiddos, and clean up after the party. I'd hate for Jacob to look back as an adult & think, "I never got to have a birthday party, because that's the time of year all my grandparents came to visit." He NEEDS a birthday party! He'd LOVE it! He'd just soak it all in & have such a happy day! So ... we volunteer to assist you! BOOK IT! :)

Ashley said...

Lindsay!!! That's also the day the boys have basketball games. One's at 11:00, the other one's at 2:00. There's no time for a party that day, especially since we'll be going out for birthday dinners afterward. :o( We'll figure something out for him.

The Professor's Wife said...

Love your photos! Whatever you do, the oys will love it.

Ashley said...

Hey, Andrea! Unfortunately those aren't my photos; they're of things I found on Pinterest. Maybe whenever I get around to making my own, I'll take photos to share. :o)

Anonymous said...

Hey its Laura from This Beautiful Life.. I tried replying to your comment about the baby football cocoon on my page but it wouldn't let me for some reason. Here is the link for the one on Pinterest: http://www.etsy.com/listing/84211881/knit-football-cocoon-and-hat-pattern?ref=sr_gallery_3&sref=&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=baby+football+cocoon+pattern&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmadenterest

You can also search on Etsy for patterns they have others.

And I love those owl cupcakes! I have a slight obsession with owls right now :)