Pumpkin's Donut Birthday Party

By Tammy of Musing of a Working Mom

Pumpkin, my oldest, turned 5 this summer and the kid is obsessed with birthday parties. She comes up with so many party themes that she’s got her birthday celebrations planned out for at least the next five years. (If you’re curious, future events may involve Star Wars or roller skating.)

This year, we decided to have her party at the i.d.e.a. Museum, a local children’s museum where we are members. The party includes the room, some decorations and an art project for the kids,  plus admission to the museum all day. It’s pretty low maintenance, but we wanted to put our own spin on it nonetheless, so Pumpkin and I settled on a donut theme. She loves donuts! (But who doesn’t?)

She helped me pick out the plates, napkins, straws and candle from our favorite local party store, Petite Party Studio, and the canisters for the donut holes from Michael’s.  We ordered invitations and a banner from Etsy.

I wanted to include her in the planning because she definitely has her own ideas about how things should be, but I wanted to have a few surprises, too.

Donut Shirt

Pumpkin didn’t know until the day before the party (her actual birthday when she opened gifts at home) that I ordered her a special shirt to wear. Funny story – remember earlier when I told you she loves birthdays? Well, on her birthday, she woke up at 1:30 in the morning ready to start the day. Luckily, my husband was able to get her back to sleep. Then on the day of the party she woke up and got dressed in her new shirt before ever coming out of her room. She still needed a shower before the party so I had her change pack into pajamas, but we were cracking up because this is something we ask her to do every day before school but she has only ever done it once or twice before – she was just so excited for her party!  

Cake
She knew I would be picking up donuts and donut holes for the party, and serving flavored milks for the kids and cold brew for the grown-ups. She didn’t know that I also ordered chocolate cake (her favorite!) shaped like a donut. It was a hit!

Donut Seed Favor Bags
I will confess that I’m not a huge fan of party favors because our kids have so much stuff already. (In fact, we usually ask our guests not to bring gifts, although this year Pumpkin requested donations instead.) When we’ve done parties before, the gifts have been edible, and they were this year as well! She picked her favorite patterns of Bumkins’ small snack bags as favors (which I love because they are reusable and machine washable, and she loves because they have her favorite characters). The surprise for Pumpkin was what I put inside – donut seeds! These were simply strawberry and chocolate Cheerios mixed together. We rarely get chocolate cereal (this was actually probably a first in our house since we’ve had kids) so the girls were pretty excited.

Pumpkin had a great time at the party painting and playing with her sister and their friends at the museum – and of course, all the sugar involved! If you can’t splurge a little on your birthday, when can you?

10 Summertime Poolside Essentials

By Tammy of Musing of a Working Mom

My oldest was born in Reno, and in her first 18 months she was in a pool exactly once and it was at a resort casino – how’s that for a stereotype? 

When she turned a year and a half in January of 2013, we signed her up for her first swim lessons at an indoor pool and I remember driving there in the snow thinking what an odd time to be swimming.

The timing worked out, though … at the end of March that year, I accepted a job in Phoenix, and we moved back to Arizona (my husband grew up here and I had previously lived here). 

Now my oldest is 4 and has a 2-year-old sister. Here in the Valley of the Sun, we find ourselves in the pool much more frequently – at our friends’ houses, pool parties at the rec centers, etc. And so many splash pads, too!

We also have our girls enrolled in swim lessons every summer to help them learn to be safe around the water. Their lessons are four nights a week, so we always have our poolside essentials ready to go.

Poolside Essentials:

• Sunscreen: This is a must in the summer, and really should be a year-round habit. Our kiddos get slathered every morning before school and every evening before we head to the pool. 

• Swim suits: Sometimes the girls wear traditional swimsuits, sometimes I put them in long-sleeve tops with UV protection. 

• Swim diapers: Our oldest is done with diapers. For our youngest, we love the Bumkins swim diapers that can be worn over and over again. Of course, I love that we are not throwing disposables in the landfill. But let’s be honest – I also love the cute patterns and the fact that they look much nicer under a swimsuit. 

• Water shoes: The girls need slip-proof water shoes both for walking around the pool before and after lessons, and for water day at school. Closed-toe are the safest (and required for school).

• Towels and cover-ups: To be more efficient during our jam-packed swim-lesson nights, we bring one towel for the parent who goes in the pool and terrycloth robe cover-ups for the girls. 

• Sun hats: We don’t need these for swim lessons, but for a long day at the beach or pool – or anytime in the sun – it’s best to have the added protection. I’m always concerned about the parts in my girls’ hair getting too much sun!

• Sunglasses: Sunlight can damage the eyes so, like hats, these are also good to keep handy if you’ll be outside for a while. 

• Wet/dry bags: We keep these bags everywhere – the diaper bag, the girls’ backpacks for school – and they get tons of use in the summer. The outer pocket can hold sunscreen, goggles, sunglasses and more, while we use the inside pocket to transport wet clothes home. 

• Goggles: While a parent still goes in the pool with our youngest for swim lessons and she rarely likes to get her head wet, our oldest is a little more advanced and she always wants her goggles on to put her face under the water. Little sis usually demands some after lessons are over to be like her sister. 

• Water: We’ve held steady over 110 degrees for several days in a row now. I offer both girls water frequently and ask them to drink up and refill their bottles at school so they are hydrated before going out to swim in the heat.

 

Packing for a Trip with Kids

By Tammy of Musing of a Working Mom

I’ve traveled quite a bit with my oldest daughter, who is almost 5, but a couple weeks ago we had the chance to take a trip – just the two of us – for the first time since her little sister was born. We flew from Phoenix to Reno for a wedding at Lake Tahoe.

Packing for a three-day-weekend with a soon-to-be kindergartener is much lighter than packing for a trip with a baby or a toddler, but there are still some essentials I packed into her backpack (which, of course, I ended up carrying most of the time).

For my kid, who loves to draw and practice writing, this is what I packed in her carry-on:

• Favorite stuffed animals and favorite blanket
• New travel coloring books (some she picked out and one I surprised her with)
• Notepad and pencils/crayons
• Headphones to watch a movie on the plane
• Books (not pictured)
• Change of clothes
• Sweatshirt
• Water bottle (empty before going through security)
• Snacks
• Wet bag (if you need to change clothes, you will likely need the wet bag)

My own carry-on list was a bit different. Using the three-pack set of clear travel bags from Bumkins, I packed the small bag with toiletry items: unscented lotion, lip balm, hair ties, etc. The medium bag I used for electronics: phone chargers, headphones, etc. The large bag I used for snacks – it’s large enough to pack a few snack bars as well as some small Bumkins Snack Bags filled with other treats such as almonds and trail mix.

Other items in my carry-on included:

Water bottle

Travel coffee mug

Sweater

Laptop and DVDs

Since it was a short trip, we shared a suitcase. At the last minute, we actually had to downsize the suitcase because there was a back-up with checked luggage at the airport and we had to carry everything on. The smaller suitcase meant I had to downsize my toiletry bag, so I pulled out just the inside insert and slipped it into a Bumkins Wet Bag in case any liquid items leaked on the flight. (Tip: Don't completely fill any containers with liquid items; leave room for expansion.) We luckily had no leaks and used the wet bag as a laundry bag for the remainder of the trip.

The trip was quick one, but we had a great time visiting family and going to the wedding. My daughter enjoyed splashing around in Lake Tahoe just before we left for the airport, so the change of clothes and wet bag in her backpack worked out perfectly!

My Cloth Diapering Journey

By Tammy of Musing of a Working Mom

Five years ago, when I was pregnant with Pumpkin and the ink on my master’s degree in environmental journalism was still wet, I tried to convince my husband we should use cloth diapers. He was not in favor and, because he would be staying home with her two days a week, I didn’t push it.

Two years later and pregnant with Peanut, I still wanted to give them a try. My reasons for using cloth had to do with the environment (billions of diapers go to the landfill each year) and baby’s health (cloth can be better for skin because they don’t have the same chemicals for absorbency, perfumes or dyes). But the way I convinced my husband to at least learn about it was the cost savings.

Peanut in her cloth diapers.

We went to a class at Zoolikins, a local natural parenting store, where we learned a bit more about the different kinds of diapers, how they work, how to wash them, etc. It all seemed doable. And while there was an investment up front, it would definitely save us money over the long run, considering we were spending at least $50 a month on diapers for Pumpkin.

Peanut came home from the hospital in disposables and, after coming out of the fog of the first few days, I was ready to make the switch. But I couldn’t remember anything with my mommy brain. I went back to the store for a refresher on cleaning the diapers and how to put them on. (In future weeks and months, I went back a couple of other times for questions about fit and found the staff at the store to be such a great resource.)

The Bumkins Snap-In-One cloth diapers looked really big on my tiny little Peanut, especially at first, but it wasn’t really a big deal. As we grew used to seeing the cloth, and she got bigger, we didn’t notice anymore. Plus, the snaps on the diapers allowed us to adjust as she grew.

The laundry routine was new for us, but we got into a habit of washing them every other night and hanging them to dry before we went to bed so they were ready to go in the morning. In the summer, especially, this was easy. In the winter, we’d sometimes need to put them in the dryer for a few minutes in the morning before packing the bag for daycare.

We kept a wet bag in her bag for school for dirty diapers, plus one in the diaper bag in my car, and a large one in her bedroom. (Every day care we toured was on board with cloth, so that also helped make the decision easy.) Once Peanut started eating solids, we put a cloth diaper sprayer in the girls’ bathroom and added a wet bag there so we wouldn’t have to transport the diapers after rinsing them. The laundry routine stayed the same.

New niece in her new cloth diaper.

For a few reasons, including Peanut being close to potty training, we stopped using cloth not long before her second birthday. I’m glad we were able to keep it up that long, and the timing worked out nicely: my sister had her first baby in February and we were able to share many of our diapers that were in good condition.

She also requested that I help teach her how to use them when I came to visit about two weeks after the baby was born. In addition to some hand-me-downs, I brought a few new items that were either favorites of mine or things I wanted but never bought myself: a soft, bamboo nursing cover that doubled as a scarf, a couple new diapers, cloth wipes (we keep these in the changing table and in the kitchen for cleaning faces and hands after meals), bandana bibs for drool and spit up, and washable nursing pads.

I know cloth diapering seems intimidating, but the experience for us was a good one. The only thing I would change would be to have started with Pumpkin. Changing up a routine while also adding a second baby is a little more difficult than it probably would have been if we’d done it from the beginning! I didn’t try to convince my sister, but I’m glad she chose the cloth route, too.

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Spring Activities for the Whole Family!

By Tammy of Musing of a Working Mom

For the past few years, our Easter routine has been: have breakfast, open Easter baskets, go to church, then head over to my in-laws for Easter dinner. This year, however, my dad and stepmom will be in town, so we are hosting Easter dinner for 10 at our house. And, other than a sign we hang on the front door and some egg cups, it turns out we have no Easter décor.

Spring letters

I thought a fun project Pumpkin, my 4-year-old, and I could do together would be to create the word “Spring” with wooden block letters and personalize them using scrapbook pages featuring her favorite Disney princesses.

Pumpkin selected which pattern would be used for each letter. Following the instructions from a tutorial I found online, the first step was to trace the letters onto the paper, placing the letter face down on the back of the scrapbook page). After cutting out the shape with scissors, I then lined the paper up with the block letter and trimmed the excess with an Xacto knife. Once this was done, Pumpkin used a sponge brush to coat Modge Podge onto the front of the letters. The Modge Podge was dripped all over the Minnie Mouse splat mat, but easily peeled off once dry. After each letter was coated, I placed the paper on top and smoothed it out. After watching me do it a couple times, Pumpkin asked if she could place the paper, too.

After she went to bed, I smoothed out the edges of the paper with fine sandpaper, and then added an extra coat of the Modge Podge and left it to dry overnight. Once they were ready, I placed them on a cabinet in our dining area, and added Easter eggs, grass and some of the girls’ princess dolls. The girls love it, and it makes our dining room much more festive!

Pink eggs

Both Peanut, 2, and Pumpkin were able to participate in our next activity. For the past couple of years, we have dyed our Easter eggs using beets (pink), purple cabbage (blue), and turmeric (yellow). For our princess-theme, we did some just with beets.

First, I peeled and chopped the beets then boiled them until they were soft. I strained the beets and saved the liquid, adding a couple tablespoons of vinegar. (I saved the beets to make myself a salad with goat cheese and chopped nuts. Yum!)

Now it was time to dye our hard-boiled eggs! First, I handed the girls princess bibs to keep the mess at bay. I honestly don’t remember the last time Pumpkin wore a bib (she tends to resist the “baby” things her little sister does) but she couldn’t wait to put one on once I showed her it had Belle on it.

This is the first year Peanut was able to participate, and she had a lot of fun. At one point, when I wasn’t looking, she put as many as she could in one cup. We dyed most of the eggs for just a few minutes each, but put a couple in the liquid in the refrigerator for a few more hours so they could see how much deeper the color would get.

For the eggs that didn’t sit in the dye, we used temporary tattoos to add their favorite characters. I used a damp washcloth to apply them to the eggs, just like I would if the girls were wearing them. The transfer wasn’t quite as easy as doing it on skin, and I had to peel parts of them and stick them with my fingers (tweezers might have come in handy) but it worked and the girls were so excited about it – they pouted when it was time to crack them to eat!

Once we were all done, the splat mat went straight from the table to the washing machine, making clean up a breeze. The girls will be so excited to show off their creations for the rest of the family!

Get Ready to Celebrate Dr. Seuss!

By Tammy of Musings of a Working Mom

As one of our longest standing partnerships, Dr. Seuss is near and dear to us here at Bumkins. So, of course, we are all about celebrating the good doctor’s birthday on March 2!

Tammy at Musings of a Working Mom shares in our admiration for all things Seuss and put together an amazing post showcasing the “Seuss-a-bration” she threw for her adorable little Thing 1 and Thing 2 and their friends

We absolutely loved all of her ideas and were so happy to have helped contribute to the festivities with products from our Dr. Seuss by Bumkins collection.