DIY Woodland party ideas and free printables

February is my birthday month and this year I needed a common theme. One that would make a princess and tomboy happy. Neither one would agreed on Spiderman or Shopkins. You would think being twins they would have the same taste but no such thing.

This year I decided to have a Michael's crafting party because they love to make things and I am not feeling having paint on my white chairs.

Michael's has alot of themes but the only theme they could agreed on was a Woodland theme and it could not have been more perfect.

First I found this fantastic and free Woodland clip art kit from

Mandy Art Market -Free Woodland Animals Clip art 

Then I got to work making the girls initials and the numbers by cutting them out of bristol board, wrapping them in lime green wrapping paper. Embellishing them tissue paper flowers for the princess and leaves and vines for my tomboy.  Both letters and numbers were glued onto a piece of ribbon so that they could hang off the wall.

Here is the finished product in action.

Next was the green backdrop for the wall behind the table.

I spread out 3 plastic tablecloths lengthwise on top of each other, Folded the very top about half an inch twice and stapled the fold across the top. Then I made various cuts about and inch or two in width all the way to the stapled fold. In the picture below are two sets of the backdrop side by side.

The name banners were made from a pre cut banner kit, 2 alphabet sticker packages and some woodland stickers of course.

Using the same wrapping paper, I cut the triangles and folded over the top onto a long piece of string and glued it to make the happy birthday bunting. 

This is the template I found after I had free handed the triangles.

Will definitely be using this the next time I make a bunting to make it easier.

The customised water bottles and cupcake toppers were a big hit.

My girls and guests loved the all decorations and personal touches.

The kids got to make a fox mask, an owl bookmark and a fox picture frame.
Taking snack breaks in between the projects as the paint and glue was drying.

It was the best birthday party ever! says the foxes.

Here are some Woodland birthday printables to make your the bestest ever too.

Thank you cards

Water bottle labels

Cupcake toppers

If you want to make your own printables, check out  Mandy Art Market
for this beautiful Woodland clip art and more.

Free Valentine's day cards and printables

With a little more than half way through winter, Valentines day is coming up rather quickly, 16 days to be exact.

This is my busiest time of year with the girls birthdays and Valentines day only being days apart. To think the obgyn wanted to induce the twins on my older daughters birthday. Good thing it didn't turn out like that. I have enough work trying to incorporate the totally different likes of the twins let alone adding a tween girl into the mix. 

This year we are having venue birthday parties and I am reusing the twins third birthday party theme of Hello Kitty. I had planned and purchased and entire Shopkins theme but a few months ago one of the twins decided she no longer liked Shopkins because they had eyelashes. So there went that idea of one theme for them all. Hello, Hello Kitty.

Instead if not decorating for Valentines day, I incorporate it as best I can with the current birthday theme. Four days is not enough time to put up Valentines day decor and they are all born during the this wonderful holiday. Why not celebrate both!

I try to use pink , red and purple as my colour scheme with hints of blue for my dinning room.

Then go with a cupcake and sweet shop theme in the kitchen.

The rest of the house is filled with cupid, hearts and lots of LOVE.

These pink votive candles are from our wedding,

 complete with the Just Married confetti still inside.

In the blink of an eye thirteen years just flew by .

Thank you God for our Blessings!

Here are some free Valentines day printables and cards to celebrate your blessings.

Wishing you a very Happy and Blessed Valentines day!

Helpful hints to help you cope and survive dementia

Hearing that your family member has dementia is like being

hit in the stomach with a steel baseball bat.

It is an horrible disease that takes your loved away and

you mourn them even though they are still alive.

They become shadows of their former self.

I had never heard of dementia but helped take care of  my grandmother's late husband 

that had Alzheimer's. So I am familiar with the decline and it effects.

He would forget when he ate and was always hungry like a bear or thirsty like a fish.

A few times he ate an entire bottle of vitamin c and left the burners on the stove.

We learned to hide all bottles, change the locks to deadbolts,

 remove the knobs off the stove and sleep with one eye open. 

It was not uncommon for him to start wandering in the middle of the night and one time I awoke to find him urinating on my shoe rack. He was totally unaware of what was happening or what he 

was doing. His mind was elsewhere and there was no bringing him back.

Dementia is similar because it also deals with memory loss but it is 

different in many ways.

Learn the differences between Alzheimer's and Dementia

My grandmother or Yaya as my daughters have lovingly nicknamed her, was

diagnosed about 5 years ago with early on set dementia.

The doctor told me that he can't tell me why she got it other than it is common

for people of her age to develop it. She would have been 84 at that time.

What causes dementia?

At first it was simple memory loss things like the placement of items,

appointments and nothing to really worry about.

Then it gradually became a common thing and she would think that someone stole her things when she couldn't find them. This got worse as she began to hide her belonging thinking that people were stealing from her. 

One time she misplaced a ring and thought her friend stole it from her room and accused the friend of stealing. I bought her friend a bouquet of flowers and explained as well as apologised on her behalf.

At times it seemed as though the forgetful part was the only affect and it was manageable. As soon as something went missing I would make sure to find it to for her and put it somewhere visible. I would leave notes all over her room as to the whereabouts and how things worked.

Then just like that.....she declined and the dementia took another layer from her .

A woman that could speak 7 languages couldn't recite that alphabet completely or name a tiger in English or Spanish. She could not remember how or what you call a picture of a camel during a MoCA test.

What is a MoCA test and what it does

The following week I took her to the geriatric specialist extremely upset because I have never seen my abuela like that. He then explained the stages of dementia and how each person declines at different rates. No way of telling how or when each person declines.

The seven stages of dementia

I wish the time frames were set in stone and I could get more time with my abuela but they are all approximations and different things can accelerate it.

After spending a week in the hospital  her dementia took even more of her away and left her wishing for death.

She doesn't want to eat or leave her room and tells me that she just wants to die.

After a few hours of researching I came across this article 

Recognition of Apathy as Marker for Dementia Growing

which explains alot of her current behaviours.

Right now all I am doing all I can do, bringing her favourite foods and showering her with love.

I wish I could tell you it's not that bad but its worse than you think.

You will spend countless sleepless nights and days crying and mourning them.

It will rip your heart out of you chest every time you see less and less of them present

BUT

you will find strength in the love you share because you know who they really are.

That they are still there somewhere deep down and they are still your loved one. Even though they might have already forgotten.

Here are some tips I use to help myself cope ,

LOVE THEM MORE - remember that although they might forget who you are, their heart still feels the love and they will automatically feel comfortable and good around you.

TURN UP THE MUSIC-when the pain is unbearable put your favourite band or song on. I love Linkin Park and Fuego. I turn the music up so loud I can feel the beat in my chest. It helps me think about something else . To know that this is not my whole life.

PUSH THROUGH THE PAIN AND SADNESS-try to keep a normal schedule, do what you always have done and need to do. Nothing is going to change the dementia but dwelling on it will only magnify it. 

GET OUTSIDE- nothing feels better than fresh air and sunlight. Go for a walk or work in your garden. If you live in a cold climate like me, go to a greenhouse until it warms up.

PRAY- I find my strength in prayer but if you are atheist then this wont apply to you.

TREAT YOURSELF-be kind and loving to yourself so that you can be kind and loving to them. 

MAKE NEW MEMORIES- one of our traditions is to watch The Sound of Music but she doesn't want to leave her room , so I brought the movie to her. Adjust them to fit the circumstances. Go with the flow and enjoy the moments you have with them. 

DON'T ARGUE WITH THEM-many times she was certain that someone had stolen from her and I only focused on locating the item. Not trying to point out that her belief was wrong and making her feel bad. In their minds it is very real so just fix the problem without discussion.

TREAT THEM WITH DIGNITY- they already feel embarrassed because they know something is wrong with them. Don't add to it by making a big deal out of accidents. Alot of times I have cleaned up urine and vomit and make like its a common thing in my world.

MAKE JOKES- laughter is a miracle worker. It lightens the worse of moments.  One time when we were in Walmart , abuela looked in the mirror and said she was so old wrinkled and ugly. So I told her that even as old and wrinkled as she was....she was still more beautiful than some of these young girls in store. She laughed and told me " the things you say". We were in Walmart which is the perfect store to prove my point too. Nothing against Walmart the store, its just some of the customers are less than stellar.

PLAY THEIR FAVOURITE MUSIC OR MOVIE- whenever I feel abuela distant or sad I put on one of her favourite artists. It makes her so happy to hear or see someone she remembers on the TV. They say that music has therapeutic affects. 

Dementia Music Therapy explains it further

LOVE THEM 

LOVE THEM

LOVE THEM

That is what they need the most.

Their memories are being wiped out like a virus in a hard drive.

Can't imagine how that feels but I see the effects and all I can do is hold her up

and hold her hand through it all.

If you have a loved one with dementia hold on..

love strong..

take a deep breathe 

and I wish you strength.