Earlier this month my kids went on their annual vacation to Newfoundland.

My mom actually came up over the long weekend at the beginning of the month for a visit before taking the kids back to NL with her. It was great having her here, especially because G was working ridiculous hours and I came down with strep throat and could barely keep my eyes open, let alone have the ability to care for the two littles! Thankfully Mom was there and stepped right in.

And then they all left. G was at the office working and I was on the couch, too hot to sleep, to cold to warm up and it was just too quiet. Now there are a few things I am not used to:

1. Being so sick that I had to miss work
2. Being in a quiet house without and children
3. Sleeping for longer than a couple of hours at a time

I couldn't take the quiet and I was far too hot to get much sleep, so I turned to Netflix. I finished watching the Friends series and followed that with Pitch Perfect. I laughed so much I was in excruciating pain! But it was worth it.

And now I'm addicted to Nashville but without the time to binge watch, I'm going a little nuts trying to not look up online what happens next!

Gordon and I went on a date every night. It was refreshing to just be able to head out after work where ever tour mood took us. We had fun and reconnected and slept through the night. Gordon was even able to get a lot of work done on our kitchen and it is almost finished! 2 years and the end is in sight! I have cupboard doors!

It's a funny thing when you have little kids. You get in a place where everything else takes up every moment of your time- your kids, your work, the upkeep of the house..everything. And you crawl in bed at different times of night depending on when AA2 wakes up and how long it takes to get her to settle back down. And out of sheer exhaustion you realize that the only conversation you've had in two days was over daycare, lunches, what's for supper and a quick review of the day.

My parent's give us the most incredible gift every year. We have a full week to focus on each other. Nothing else needs out attention outside of work. It's amazing.

As much fun as it was to be DINKS, I really missed my kids and was happy to get on the flight to NL to see them. They greeted us at the airport with so much excitement, and it was just so great to grab onto them. Refreshed and ready for another 51 weeks!

Fairy Tale Friends make my girl's day! (Part 2)

After all the work that went into the invitations, food and decor, I knew that none of that would likely be remembered once the Royal guests of honour arrived. Little did Amelia know that when she told me she wanted to invite Anna and Elsa to her birthday party that it would actually happen.

Sure enough at 10am there was a knock on the door and in walked Anna and Elsa! The dancing and Frozen bean bag toss came to a halt as little girls rushed to meet the princesses. I was a little unsure of how Amelia would react. It was going to go one of two ways- She would love it and be all in OR she would run to me, grab my leg and hide behind me until they left.

Thankfully, she beamed with excitement and looked up in disbelief when Elsa showed her the invitation they had received from Amelia.

Anna and Elsa gathered the kids around and told their story. Each child was amazed and totally captivated by these princesses.

As they told the story, they would sing the songs with the kids.,. which lead to my favorite moment of the whole party- the signing of "Let it Go". 

You need to understand that my daughter is OBSESSED with "Let it Go". She sings in on a constant repeat, knows all of the words, actions and expressions. It was magical to watch. Amelia beamed and her smile quite literally went from ear to ear. It was that moment that every parent wants to see come true for their child- pure, unfiltered joy.

Anna and Elsa could really sing! They talked like the characters, sang like the characters and made each child feel special. They took the time to answer each little, even when it was an interruption to their story time. They asked questions and had little conversations, never breaking character. At the end of their story time and games, the ladies taught the kids how to be royal with curtseys, waves and bows. Then they held a mini coronation ceremony and everyone became a princess or prince.

I cannot thank these girls enough. Amelia and her friends talked about the party for weeks. Not sure how we'll top this and I'm not even sure I want to. It was such a special day.

Thank you Fairy Tale Friends for helping me make my little princess' dream come true!

Disclosure **I did not receive any compensation or a discount on the services provided by Fairy Tale Friends. The opinions reflected in this post are my own** 

The Frozen Extravaganza that was 4 (Part 1)

My baby is 4.

She was actually 4 at the beginning of June, and she wanted a Frozen party. What little girl wouldn't? My little girl just loves Anna and Elsa, they captivate her- and given that she didn't have much of a birthday celebration last year, Hubby and I decided that this would be her first big birthday party. It ended up being a little bigger that I initially planner, but it's all good!

Frozen was a given for the theme, Amelia kept telling everyone that Elsa was coming to her birthday. Well I couldn't disappoint her. When we did up her invitations she made sure she had one sent to Queen Elsa and Princess Anna along with her cousins and 10 littles from her school.

Invite printable found at: Homeketeers

I had some ideas and turned to Pinterest to turn her summer birthday into a winter wonderland

G help with the glueing and cutting and didn't complain about the glitter!

I kept the food simple but still had finishing touches to add the night before. A little princess was too excited about her birthday party and at midnight I looked up and saw her at the top of the stairs

"Mommy, I smell something."

After checking out the cookies and the cake and giving her approval, I got her back to bed and got back to work. We went pretty simple on the menu. The party was in the morning so we served:

• Olaf's nose (baby carrots)
• Anna and Elsa's Chocolates (2bite brownies)
• "4" snow covered cookies (recipes for the cookies and icing from Sweetopia)
• Sven's antlers (pretzels)
• Kristoph's Ice (jello)
• "Finish each other's sandwiches" Cheese and crackers
• Fruit
• Birthday cake

I used great printables for the banner and food cards, our Elsa Disney Infinity figure and a castle cutout as the cake topper.

Amelia was over to moon with what we had done. She couldn't believe it. Her friends all came and they were all dressed in their royal party dresses. We had the Frozen soundtrack playing and a little Princess ball was unfolding right in front of our eyes.

Little did they know what was to come...