my pad

I can’t say Tessa was overly subtle about us making a BIG deal about her 16th birthday, so the challenge was ON to make it a special one.

I’m happy to say Steve & I were quite successful in throwing a fun & memorable party for a dozen of high school aged kids (not bad for jumping into parenthood starting with a 15 year old ;-)  – CHECK

Tessa is also joining us for our week long New York trip starting this weekend which should be packed with ooohs, ahhs & lots of shopping – CHECK

On her actual birth-DAY, she woke up to crepe paper streamers on her door frame and a bathroom filled with oodles of balloons.  Then we made her pancakes while she opened up presents from her mom & dad back in Germany.  She started her day with a BIG smile. -CHECK

I originally got the balloon idea from The House of Smiths & planned on filling her room while she was sleeping… however our cat, Tuesday was sleeping in Tessa’s bed & proceeded to meow whenever I took 2 steps in her room ~ which lead to Tessa waking up & gasping in shock :-)  This wasn’t the surprise I was going after.

So the bathroom ended up as PLAN B

This simple surprise could be fun for any occasion.  But I must warn you, 25 balloons seems like a lot… but when you’re trying to cover a floor, you could always use more.  I ended up adding our left over balloons from the minute to win it party for a bigger effect.

Like seeing what’s happening around my home?  Then sign up to receive these behind-the-scenes blog posts in your email inbox HERE.

The holiday season is so crazy around the stores, we schedule our staff celebration in January.  This year we thought it would be fun to put together our very own minute to win it party.  I promised there wouldn’t be any video… but couldn’t resist sharing a few still shots of our talented team in action.

We had 3 different teams compete in 9 different events for fun prizes.

First up – Breakfast Scramble: Assemble the front of a cereal box that has been cut into 16 even pieces.

This game all the teams aced well under a minute… a good way to start the challenges with some confidence.

#2 A Bit Dicey: Balance six dice on a popsicle stick held in your mouth.

Everyone came SO close to getting this one… it was just that LAST dice that was the tipping point.

#3  Candy Elevator: Use an “elevator” made from 2 pencils and string, to lift 3 candies into the mouth.

The next balancing act was also a tough feat with no one making the M&Ms into their mouth… however Gus was on quick patrol in search of the dropped candies.

#4 Face the Cookie: Using only the face, move cookies from the forehead to the mouth.

I tried this a few times before the party with success, however with the pressure of 10+ eyes starring at me, I couldn’t complete the task… but did get some good laughs ;-)

#5  Play it by Ear: Place cans with different quantities of pennies inside in the correct order.

The gals rocked this task & all the teams got this one right.

#6 Noodling Around:Pick up six penne noodles placed around the perimeter of a table using only a piece of uncooked spaghetti in your mouth.

This is tougher than it looks… but Dani managed to at least get a couple noodles threaded on the spaghetti.

#7 This Blows: Player must continually blow up a balloon and expel the air from it to knock cups off of a table.

Who has the most hot air?  Turns out… Laura from Yellow Door BUT Dena gets the award for performing the task with the most flair ;-)

#8 Paper Dragon: Player must un-spool 2 rolls of party streamers using only their hands and arms.

All the teams were tied at the end so whoever could unwind the party streamer the fastest would take the gold.

The young & tall Tessa won the game by 5 seconds for her team Catching Doors! ( but Danielle get’s 1st place for being the most dynamic dragon competitor ;-)

Thanks team for making this get together lots of fun.  We’re so blessed to have gals like you making days brighter for all our firefly fans.

Another thing on my to-do list for December was to give a little holiday house tour on the blog.  So… 15 minutes before the start of our New Year’s Eve party I zipped around the house & captured a few shots of our festive  abode.

One of the many things I love about the Christmas season is the cozy ambiance it creates in our home.  All the extra lights & baubles just makes me happy.

I grew up in a house where my mom was serious about decorating for the holidays.  Every year she put up 3  fully decked out trees in 3 different themes… including a flocked tree, trimmed in pink lights & full of crystal ornaments (you’d think Liberace was coming to visit :-).  All the trees were artificial & she spent many hours transforming the house into a Christmas wonderland.

I don’t quite have that zest for seasonal decoration… maybe because I get my taste of it at catching fireflies each year so we keep things simple by putting up a fraser fir by mid December & filling it with a variety of  quirky & sentimental ornaments.  One thing I did grab from my mom was the giant old fashioned strings of lights we used to use on our outside evergreens.  I love their bright glow & nostalgic look.

Since we have Tessa living with us this year, we got to add a 3rd stocking to our line up:-)

The oh-so-talented & super sweet Susan Kozlowski of Big Me Little World gave me the cutest nativity scene ever last year & it’s become one of my absolute Christmas favorites.

This is another one of her imaginative creations.  Can you believe the scene shell is created from a re-purposed 2 liter bottom?  I  love how there is a little spot to insert a light.

This wintery mantel scape will survive through mid February… I mean it really hasn’t even snowed in Michigan yet!

Even though the glow of the tree won’t return for another 11 months, I’m fortunate enough to be able to turn up the fire & cuddle with Tuesday during the upcoming cold months.

Like seeing what’s happening around my home?  Then sign up to receive these behind-the-scenes blog posts in your email inbox HERE.