52 Weeks: Week 19

Week 19: Art Show

Last Thursday we visited an art exhibition featuring our very own little artist.

Students at Ava's school take part in an art education program with teachers from Kala Art Institute here in Berkeley. Now that the school year is coming to an end (eek!) the educators at Kala have put together an exhibition of work created by all students at Ava's school. Unlike a regular school art show that would generally be on display in a school auditorium, this exhibition is on display at the Kala Gallery. An actual gallery! How cool is that?

Last Thursday was the opening night of the exhibition so we headed to the Kala Gallery to check out the artwork on display.

Circus Party Invitations

A few weeks back we celebrated Mathilde's first birthday with a circus themed party. (You can see it here.) I still have a few posts to share with you about her party so let's get back into party mode.

Today let's have a look at the party invitations...

There are so many circus themed invitations available out there. It's such a popular party theme for kids (and even adults) that you can always find something ready made. But if you know me you'll know that I'm not a fan of ready made. I like to make my own invitations - even if it means late nights and being driven crazy by a printer that chooses the worst times to play up! I was originally going to go with a more traditional circus theme for Mathilde's invitations (big top, carnival tickets, circus font...) but decided to go with something a little different. Something that looked more like my style. I was really happy with the reptile invitations that I made for Ava's 7th birthday party last year (you can see them here) so I decided to stick with that format albeit with circus animals this time around. A few Schleich animals, some felt and feathers, a hot glue gun, a white background and I was done.

Take Your Child to Work Day

Every now and then the kids get the opportunity to do something that seems straight out of an 80s American sitcom to me. Something I never got to experience during my own childhood in Australia but saw on countless American TV shows as I grew up. Carving pumpkins, trick or treating, handing out Valentine's to the class, long Summer vacations, cheer leading, selling homemade lemonade for a quarter... All of these things were completely foreign to me as a child but have become favorite experiences for my own kids. Recently we got to cross another American childhood institution off the list: Take Your Child to Work Day.

Two weeks back it was Take Your Child to Work Day at YouTube where Kim works. The kids were so excited about going to work with Daddy. Ok, so was I! Not only was I keen to see Kim's workplace, but I was kind of excited to be able to live vicariously through my kids and take part in something I'd seen on TV so many times as a kid. Admittedly, as a kid I did actually go to work my parents on many occasions. Our family owned a transport business and I spent many hours riding in a truck with my Dad, my little brother and my cousins. But on TV Take Your Child to Work Day almost always took place in a large city office building so to me riding in a truck just wasn't the same. It never involved a day off school either!

The other reason to be excited about Take Your Child to Work Day? We knew that there was a fun day full of exciting activities in store for us!

52 Weeks: Week 18

Week 18: Family Fun Night

Last Friday night Lola's preschool held a Family Fun Night fundraiser. Lola was super excited about it and counted down the days all week. And there was good reason for her to be excited. With craft activities, yummy food, a make your own dessert stand, and a petting zoo there was plenty of fun to be excited about.

First up Ava and Lola made "beautiful" headbands complete with long ribbons and tulle bows. They wore these all night and looked rather '80s!

Free To Be Adventurous with all free clear

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by all free clear but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

My three girls love to be in the water. Swimming pools, beaches, lakes, creeks, the bathtub... you name it, they love splashing in it. With the weather warming up as we approach Summer playing in water is on the girls' minds more and more. We may live in California but we don't live close to any decent beaches so when the weather is hot and we want to cool off we tend to head to a nearby creek in one of our favorite Berkeley parks.

Ava and Lola always love splashing around in the creek at Live Oak Park and Mathilde has just started to join them. The water is never very deep which makes it perfect for paddling around in, and with the towering redwoods along the edge, the creek is always shady and cool. Smooth rocks line the creek bed with larger rocks sticking up acting as stepping stones - perfect for when we want to cross without getting too wet. The edges of the creek are smooth and make the perfect place for Mathilde's little feet to get wet without the risk of slipping on the rocks.

Drop Everything And Read Day

Yesterday Ava's school celebrated Drop Everything And Read Day (D.E.A.R Day).

To celebrate, students were invited to come to school dressed as a favorite book character. You know we can't miss an opportunity to play dress up so the girls and I were pretty excited about this.

When I was a kid in Australia we always celebrated Book Week at school with a dress up day and a parade. Every year I see my friends' kids dressed up for Book Week on Facebook and I feel like my girls are missing out. Of course, we get Halloween which is much bigger, but still I feel a little jealous that we're missing out on the fun. So when the opportunity to dress up for D.E.A.R Day came up I jumped on it.

How to Throw a Circus Party

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. 

Today I thought I'd share some of the details from Mathilde's recent circus themed birthday party.

A circus theme is so much fun and is always popular with both boys and girls of all ages. There are so many great options out there for decorating for a circus theme, and you can keep it as simple or as over the top as you like. I like to aim for something right in the middle. A definite theme but not too much. The items I'm sharing below can be mixed and matched depending on how much of a theme you'd like.

Here's a look at some of my favorite items for a circus themed party. You can click the links below to purchase.