Rub Some Dirt On It

Cocktails & Crafts resumed this month, with a Valentine’s themed get-together at Brooke’s house with very yummy refreshments and a great craft for the kids!

This pretty pink drink is called an Ooh La La martini, although  Brooke made her own version.  Here’s the original recipe:

1 ounce lemon-flavored vodka

½ ounce triple sec

2 ounces pineapple juice

2 ounces Sprite

1 lemon

splash grenadine

2 lemon wedges

2 maraschino cherries

In cocktail shaker add vodka, pineapple juice, Sprite, and triple sec.  Cut lemon and squeeze half into shaker, use other half for garnish.  Shake well with ice.  Put splash of grenadine in two martini glasses with sugared rims.  Pour drink and color should turn to a pretty pink.  Garnish with lemon wedges and cherries.

Delicious!  Aren’t you craving a cocktail now?  No?  Well, yes, it is only 8 in the morning.  Maybe later.

So now that you know what we were drinking (and how cute were the ladybug cupcakes?!), here’s the craft we had a lot of fun creating!

Paper plate heart-shaped Valentine holders!

They were easy, fun, and a big hit with the kids.  Here’s what you need to make your own.

Materials: paper plate, hole punch, stapler, decorations

Directions:

First, fold two paper plates in half so that the folded parts face in.  See picture below.  Staple them together and trim the edges to form a heart.

Then add a hole to the top on both sides, slide some ribbon or garland through, and you have yourself a heart-shaped container, perfect for Valentine’s, letters, or to use a purse.

Then let the kids decorate to their hearts’ content!  Be sure to add their name if you’re going to be using these at a Valentine party, like we were, so that they don’t get mixed up with others.

The end results were well worth the mess, and the kids had a lot of fun making each one their own.

Even the moms.

Em LOVES hers.  She carries it around the house and calls it her “star purse.”  I think this is a craft I will be revisiting throughout the year every time the one we have bites the dust!

After that, the kids enjoyed playing together.  It was a small group, and everyone had a companion.

Everyone, that is, except Miss Em.

Jax and Matthew were off playing with some electronic alphabet game, Genevieve and Jacob were passing toys back and forth, Grace and Harper were happily playing ballerinas, and even Paisley, who is even younger than Em is, tagged along.  I could tell that Em wanted nothing more than to go upstairs and dress up with the big girls, but since they didn’t feel the need to include her–nor should they have, they’re 3 and 4 years old–she also didn’t feel comfortable running after them.  I felt my first pangs of Mommy worry as I decided how much I should interfere, and wondered whether I should force the older girls to play with her.  I needn’t have worried; as soon as they came downstairs in their tutus, Harper graciously asked Em if she’d like to play, too, and Em was utterly and totally thrilled.

This was my first real reckoning that our usual one-size-fits-all parenting isn’t going to work forever.  One day our kids are going to have different interests, friends, schedules, and I’m going to have to put a little more work into our playdates.  It’s becoming clear that Em may need some girl time every now and then–most of our get-togethers are heavy on the testosterone and low on the tutus–and that baby girl isn’t always going to be satisfied following in big brother’s footsteps.  An eye-opening moment for me, but nonetheless delightful.  I love a baby belly in a leotard!

And chubby feet.  God, she’s so cute.  They all are!

So the kids played until bedtime and then we all headed home.  A lovely evening to be sure–wonderful crafts, great memories, and some parenting ideas to chew on for some time to come.

I love Cocktails & Crafts!  What a good idea that was.