Shannah, Author at My Suburban Kitchen

Riding the Train to 2

August 28, 2012 By Shannah 21 Comments

If you were here yesterday, you are going to read this and think I am completely insane. If you know me in real life, you already know that I resemble that assertion.

Why am I crazy this particular month? I scheduled two birthday parties within 12 hours of each other.

There was H’s mermaid pool party on a Saturday evening. On Sunday, there was E’s train birthday party at our house.

Yep, the house that is still undergoing some major work to finish the basement. I told you…crazy.

After H’s party, we tossed both kids in bed and quickly got to work on E’s party. With the help of my dad, we managed to just about everything done before dawn.

Earlier in the month, I had done a few things like…

Make the cupcake sticks

Build a food “train”

Put together favor bags

Make table runners out of train fabric

And make a pennant banner that said Happy Birthday

The rest…my dad and I threw together between 9pm on Saturday and 10am on Sunday. He laid train tracks around the house {which sadly I got no pictures of…maybe mom will be able to help me out on this}

I set up the food table and paper good tables

Here are some more fun details shown in pictures

Now…I’m putting in a request to change one kids birthday so they aren’t 2 days apart. Think I can do that?

Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T., Makin’ You Crave Monday at Mrs. Happy Homemaker, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, What’s in the Gunny Sack Linky Party at The Gunny Sack, Made by You Mondays at Skip to My Lou, Weekend Warrior Party at Ask Anna, Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House, Making the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill, Creative Mondays at Clairejustineoxox, Pintastic Monday Link Party at Sarah Dawn Designs, Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple, Monday Link Party at I Gotta Try That, Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Market Yourself Monday at Sumos Sweet Stuff, the Craft Catwalk and Embellishing Life, More the Merrier Monday at DIY Home Sweet Home, Show Me What You Got at Our Delightful Home, Mauvin’ Monday at Vintage Mauve, It’s Party Time at It’s So Very Cheri, DIY Project Parade at DIY Showoff, Insprire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds, Calling All Crafters Monday at All Things Fee, Monday Craft Party at Polly Want a Crafter, Cure for the Common Monday at Lines Across, Tuesday Confessional at Crafty Confessions, Lil Luna Link Party at Lil Luna, Tell Me Tuesday at Me and My Boys, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Tuesday Time Out at Reasons to Skip the Housework, Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A to Z, Get Your Craft on Tuesday at Today’s Creative Blog, Nifty Thrift Tuesday at Coastal Charm, Time to Shine Party at a Diamond in the Stuff, Uncommonly Yours Link Party at Uncommon Designs, Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings, Terrific Under Ten Tuesday at At Home with K, One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons, Be Inspired at Elizebeth & Co., Tutorial Tuesday at With Hope Studios, Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts, Tasty Tuesday at Naptime Creations, Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie, the Tuesday Talent Show at Chef-N-Training, Open Call Tuesday at Salt Tree, Share It Linky Party at the Winthrop Chronicles. Naturally Nifty Linky Party at Natural Nesters, Tiptoe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles, Show & Share at Southern Lovely and Vintage Gwen, Will Craft For at Tales of a Trophy Wife, Hoo’s Got Talent at Nightowl Crafting, Sugar & Spice {Wednesday} at 733 Blog, From Dream to Reality at The DIY Dreamer, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Show and Tell at Snap!, Penny Pinching Partyat The Thrifty Home, We’re Organized Wednesday at Organize and Decorate Everything, Wow Us Wednesday on Ginger Snap Crafts, What’s New Wednesday at Grateful Belly, Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims, Inspiring Creativity at Dragonfly Designs, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday at Frugally Sustainable, Wow Me Wednesdays at Polka Dots on Parade, 100 Ideas Under $100 at Beyond the Picket Fence, the Crafty Sasse Wednesday Linky Party at the Sasse Life, Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple, Taking a Time Out Thursday at Mom On Time Out, Hooking up with HoH at House of Hepworths, Sweet Treats and Swanky Stuff at Something Swanky, Pretty Things Thursday at Scissors and Spatulas, Creative Thursday Link Party at Michelle’s Tasty Creations, Look at Me, Live, Laugh Linky Thursday at Live, Laugh Rowe, Spread the Love at Love Notes by Lauryn, Thing’s I’ve Done Thursday at Bear Rabbit Bear, Creative Juice Link Party at Momnivore’s Dilemma, Crafty Soiree at Yesterday on Tuesday, 20 Below Thursday at Christina’s Adventures, Creative Genius Party at The Creative Paige, Kiss and Tell at I Gotta Create, Craft, Scrappy Happy Me Thursday at Craft, Scappy Happy, Catch a Glimpse Thursday at A Glimpse Inside, Thursday Temptation at Two Yellow Birds Decor, Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks, Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans, Share Awesomeness Thursdays atThe 36^th Avenue, Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty Decorating, P’Inspirational Thursday at The Artsy Girl Connection, Taylor House Thursday at The Taylor House, I’m Lovin It at Tidy Mom, Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge, Share What You Did Friday at Two Sasters, Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous, Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, The Pity Party at 30 Days, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Share Day at Just a Girl, Freestyle Friday at Happy Hour Projects, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Free For All Friday at Young & Crafty, Fresh Friday Link Party at Release Me Creations, Project Party WEekend at Bubbly Nature Creations, Weekend Show Off Party at Ladybird Ln, Fancy This at Truly Lovely Blog, It’s a Hodgepodge Friday at It’s a Hodgepodge Life, Lovely Craft Weekend at Lovely Crafty Home, the Featured Friday Free for All at Five Days, Five Ways, the Featured Friday Linky Party at Blissful and Domestic, Shine on Fridays at One Artsy Mama, the Anything Goes Linky Party at Bacon Time, Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday Link Party at Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons, Do Something Crafty at The Crafty Nest, the Weekdend Link Party at Lolly Jane Boutique, the Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tatertots and Jello, Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground, Show and Tell Saturday at Be Different, Act Normal, Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things, the Sunday Scoop at I Heart Naptime and the Before and After Party at Thrifty Décor Chick.

Under the Sea Mermaid Party

August 27, 2012 By Shannah 41 Comments

H turned 5 recently and, since a few weeks after turning 4, she knew exactly what kind of party she wanted: a mermaid party!

I did some web searching for mermaid party ideas and came across the amazing party that Kim had done for her daughter. I knew I wanted to use elements from that party in the birthday party for H. I think it came out very well.
H’s party was held at our neighborhood pool. I went over a little early and set up everything up for the party.
Each table had a small fish bowl filled with “sea water” and mermaids handing on the side. I also scattered shells and sea glass around the centerpiece.

Each place setting had tube of blue and aqua gumballs and small star fish.

We also covered mason jars with fabric that matched center piece and stuck striped straws through the top.

We had Costco pizza (H’s special request), little cups of goldfish., fruit salad, pasta salad and Hawaiian pork sandwiches.

On the second table, we had the cake, cupcakes, rock candy and these amazing lollipops shaped like seahorses.

The seaglass in this picture is actually candy made by the same people who made the lollipops!

We tied labels onto the water bottles and juice boxes.

The favors were little pink canvas bags (white for the boys) filled with beach balls, goggles and markers to color the bags.

The party turned out really great and I think everyone, especially the birthday girl, had a great time!

Sources:
Seahorse lollipops: Andie’s Specialty Sweets
Cake: Stephanie the Baker
Plates, cups, twine: TomKat Studio
Favors: Oriental Trading
Fishbowls and Mason Jars: Wal-Mart
Centerpiece plates: Z Gallerie

What to Do This Weekend – Shine On Saturday

August 24, 2012 By Shannah Leave a Comment

This post is sponsored by GapKids. Check out all the fun Shine On activities at your nearest Gap store. For event dates and locations, visit Gap’s Facebook page and join the conversation on Twitter with hashtag #ShineOn.
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Going back to school can be stressful for parents and kids alike. There are the supply lists, the lunch ideas and all the paperwork.

One bright spot in all of this for a lot of kids {mine especially!} is shopping for back to school clothes!

GapKids has set out to make clothing shopping even more fun with their Shine On Saturday events. These events will occur in select GapKids stores around the country and offer activities to help kids unleash their creativity.

Highlights of the event include:
– A series of special art projects by Merrilee Liddiard of Mer Mag. These projects were inspired by the new fall collection, including the new 1969 denim
– These fun projects include ideas like creating geometric masterpieces on canvas with paint and tape to custom journals

[Source]

– Fun clothing options like Jewel box Skinnies for girls (brightly colored stretch denim skinny jeans) and Action Stretch Denim for boys (denim that’s made for all day play!)

For the DC Metro Area, you can attend the following event:
GapKids Shine On Event
Saturday, August 25th
10am – 1pm
GapKids @ Pentagon
1100 S. Hayes Street
Arlington, VA 22202

Check out this video for more on this great event:

For my readers not in the DC Metro area, visit Gap’s Facebook page to see if there are Shine On Saturday events happening in your area.

Have fun shopping AND being crafty!

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Pinworthy Projects Party #25

August 24, 2012 By Shannah 10 Comments

Don’t forget to link up to the Feed Me Friday Blog Hop! It is a great way to meet great new bloggers!
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Now, on to the party…

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Did you create something Pinworthy these week?

Link it up below!

Grow Your Blog at the Feed Me Friday Blog Hop

August 23, 2012 By Shannah 6 Comments

Welcome to Feed Me Friday Blog Hop, hosted by Nap Time is My Time, Great Contradictions and Just Us Four and introducing our newest co-host Eco Baby Mama Drama!

On Eco Baby Mama Drama, Bri writes about her life adventures in going green, cloth diapering, babywearing and whatever other things her family ends up getting into. With 3 boys in the house (ages 2 years, 14 years and my husband) there is always something fun going on to keep this mama busy. She loves the opportunities and friendships blogging has brought into my life not only from my fellow bloggers but also my supportive readers! Welcome Bri – we’re so excited to have you!

Feed Me Friday is a Blog Hop to help you meet new bloggers and build your e-mail subscriptions.

Want to be a part of Feed Me Friday?Just follow these simple rules:

– Add your blog link to the linky

– Subscribe by email and follow via Google+ (or Linky Followers) to the four hostesses (Nap Time is My Time, Great Contradictions, Just Us Four and Eco Baby Mama Drama). Make sure to leave us a comment and we will return the favor.

– Visit as many blogs on the list as you can. If you like the blog subscribe to their email (feel free to follow on Google+ too, if you want)

– Leave them a comment with your blog link so they know you are subscribing from Feed Me Friday. Be sure to confirm your subscription!Subscribing back is not mandatory, but it is recommended. It is a great way to build blogging relationships.

Since this is an email subscription blog hop, your blog must have a place for people to subscribe to your email. If there isn’t an email subscribe option, your link will be removed from the linky without warning.

Every Friday we will put up a new Feed Me Friday linky, so be sure to stop by and add your blog. Each week we will typically have a featured blogger, if you’d like to be our featured blogger next week, link up below. We’ll use Random.org to select one!

Thanks so much for linking up with this this week. If you’re a new participant, please be sure to leave a comment below!

Pinworthy Projects Party – My Pinworthy Picks

August 23, 2012 By Shannah 6 Comments

Happy Thursday! It’s time to feature the projects and recipes YOU shared at the Pinworthy Project Party last week.

I am going to ask a favor of each of you because I know you are so fabulous…When you link up each week, please be sure to visit at least 1 or 2 other projects before you leave.
I try to visit and promote as many links as I can but I know the bloggers who link up would love for YOU to visit too!
Think about how much you like new {or even repeat} visitors to check out your projects…don’t you want to give that happiness to other bloggers too? You all are so awesome that I know, next week, I’m going to see the click count on the links jump!

Now, let’s see some of the awesome stuff linked up last week.

Ninja Grandma {totally awesome blog name btw} shared a super cute storage idea using Ikea storage bins in some nice, bright colors.

All is Amazing shared these delicious looking confetti squares.

Over at A Little Something in the Meantime, there is a great idea for organizing receipts.

Gingerly Made took some pallets and made them into this really neat deck bed.

Have washi tape and some old frames? Transform them into something beautiful like over at Cox’s Corner.

And the link with the most views this past week was the DIY Homework Station from Uncommon Designs.

Were you featured? If so, be sure to grab a button!

Oh, and don’t forget to look for your project highlighted on the Just Us Four Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages too.

See you tomorrow for some more linky fun!

WTCW #65

August 22, 2012 By Shannah 3 Comments

Ok, so my hair is no longer on fire {just a little bit of smoldering} so I can do a more proper What to Cook Wednesday feature for you this week. I will go ahead and warn you that I might not be able to offer as much next week as I will be sending not just one but both of my kids off to school for the first time ever! Kleenex is having a banner month thanks to my tissue investments!

We’re not here to talk about school though so let’s get down to the food.

[The Kitchn], [Relishing It], [Love, Pomengranate House], [Mrs. Happy Homemaker]

Sunday: Kindergarten prep will be in full force in our house so I am definitely digging the idea of super comfort food. Chicken with artichokes and wine sauce offers some comfort with a little twist.

Monday: It may still be a little hot outside but the idea of trying African peanut soup just stuck with me from the moment I saw it.

Tuesday: We usually do our grocery pick-up on Tuesdays which makes it the perfect day to try out coconut shrimp since they will be fresh from the store!

Wednesday: Instead of tossing leftovers on trash night, meatloaf grilled cheese sandwiches offers a great option for using them!

[Mango & Tomato], [Its Overflowing], [Skinny Taste]

Thursday: Pasta night! I love the idea of mixing pasta with tons of fresh, summer veggies in pasta primavera.

Friday: By the end of the work week, I am usually looking for something quick and easy (but super tasty) to throw together for dinner. Baja chicken wraps sound like a great option that will fill all those requirements.

Saturday: There is something so summery about corn and crab cakes. With baked corn and crab cakes, I can instantly get the best of both!

Ok, so tell me what you will be making this week? Have kiddos going back to school (or like in my case…off to school)?

You Can Quote Me – Back to School Bubble

August 21, 2012 By Shannah 43 Comments

With H going back to school, we wanted a way to capture some of her favorite things so we could see how her tastes evolve as she gets older.

I bought these cool mdf quote boards from an Etsy seller and painted them in black chalkboard paint

Then, I used painters tape to section off where I wanted to draw lines.

I used my chalk ink markers to trace lines against the painters tape. Then, I wrote in my “categories” based on what H wanted to talk about. My bubble isn’t very big so I just wanted to capture her basic likes so I included: food, color, song and movie.

From there, I just got H to give me the answers to the questions and I filled it in. I was a little surprised by 2 of her answers but it is her bubble so we went with it. Once the answers were all filled in, we headed outside for a photo shoot.

Wow, MDF must be a lot heavier once you add chalkboard paint.

We’ll do another photo session on the actual first day of school. Who knows…her answers might change by then. She is 5 after all.

You can find this post at the parties listed here.

Family Game Night – #DipDipHooray Style

August 20, 2012 By Shannah 5 Comments

Going back to school adds a whole new dimension to our already super busy schedule. It is also ushering in a new goal for the Just Us Four house: more family time! Sure, it isn’t like our kids are teenagers and are always out with friends.

BUT, with lots of activities and errands, we don’t always spend enough deliberate family time together. So, we made a decision to have family dinner and game night at least once per month. The first one was this past Saturday.

H and I went to the store to pick our dinner and the game we would play. Of course, she chose chicken nuggets and tater tots! In the Sunday paper (our coupon section is delivered on Saturday), I had seen coupons and an advertisement for the Hasbro Games sweepstakes along with coupons for Tyson chicken nuggets, Ore-Ida french fries and Heinz ketchup!

I prefer the Tyson nuggets because they have the best flavor. She likes Ore-Ida french fries…the extra crispy kind. Of course, no kid will eat fries {or their cousin the tater tot} without ketchup. We try to limit sugar intake in the house so I am always happy to find Heinz Simply Ketchup on the shelf. Our shopping choices worked even better too because of the coupons I had from that morning!

Once we had our menu set and our shopping list made, we headed out to the store to pick up everything we would need for dinner and game night. We went to the frozen food section first and picked out some Tyson fun nuggets and Ore-Ida french fries.

On the way to the game aisle, we grabbed our ketchup. H wanted the little Dip and Squeeze packets but, for the house, the big squeeze bottle is better!

Our last stop was over to the game section so H could pick out a game. Lots of games to choose from…I narrowed it down to the three games and let H make the final selection. She chose Hungry Hungry Hippos.

{Want to see more of our shopping trip? Visit my Google+ photo album!}

Once home, I had H spread out the tater tots and chicken nuggets onto the baking sheets while I turned the oven on. She loves helping in the kitchen so I really like to let her do little things that I know she can easily handle!

After dinner, we settled in for game night. I had to do some quick hippo assembly while H and Mathlete cleaned up from dinner.

Then, we were ready to chomp!

Mathlete won our first game, H won the 2nd game and I won the final game. We had H count our marbles at the end of each game which added a great educational aspect to a fun, family activity!

Once I had Miss H in bed, I grabbed that sales flyer I had before and headed over to the Hasbro Games sweepstakes microsite so I could enter their sweepstakes. Hasbro, in conjunction with Heinz, Tyson and Ore-Ida, is giving away $1000! (You can find complete details on the sweepstakes here!) Be sure to enter for your chance to win!
You can also enter UPC codes from many Heinz, Tyson, Hasbro and Ore-Ida products to unlock neat games to play. I entered the ones from our Tyson nuggets, Ore-Ida fries and Heinz ketchup to unlock Connect 4!

Want to see some of the cool products available from these great companies? They all have social media accounts to make it easy to connect with them. You can find them at:
Heinz Twitter
Heinz Facebook
Tyson Twitter
Tyson Facebook
Ore-Ida Facebook

And don’t forget to enter to win lots of great prizes including a chance for $1000 over at the Hasbro Games sweepstakes microsite.

“I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ Tyson and Heinz. All opinions expressed here are my own. #CBias #SocialFabric”

Back to School Wreath

August 20, 2012 By Shannah 11 Comments

Want a quick and easy back to school project? This one is for you then! Just a few easy supplies and you have a super fast but really cute back to school wreath!

Start with a circle of some kind. You could cut a circle out of a cardboard box. I used the cardboard that came under H’s birthday cake {you can get them at Michaels or Party City} and then painted it red.

Then, grab some pencils and colored pencils along with your hot glue gun. Just start hot gluing the pencils around the perimeter of the circle! I alternated the regular yellow pencils with the colored pencils as I went around the outside of my circle. I also alternated points out or erasers out.

Once I all the pencils are glued on, grab a stencil and stencil the front with a marker.

I also added in some little yellow stenciling too with acrylic paint.

Disclaimer: I had some help with my lettering in the form of a certain blond 5 year old. It might explain the lopsided letters a bit..or maybe I am just totally incapable of writing in a straight line.

Just hang on the door and go…all ready for back to school.

You can find this post linked up to the list of parties found here.

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