Pirate Party!!!

Better late than never, right? Eli's birthday was in August, and I am just now getting around to posting his party. I mean, I did have a baby a few weeks after this party, so I guess I'm entitled to be late :)

Anyways, I thought a pirate themed party would be fun, my boys have this Melissa and Doug pirate costume that they love to play in, so that's where I got the idea from.
My plan was to have the party outside, and it was supposed to be a water party (we have a water slide), but rain changed that, so I had to have it inside my house. So that changed things a bit, but it was still fun and the kids did get to run in the wet grass for a little bit :) I like to be creative and crafty, so I love making things myself, and it also saves you money if you can do that too.

 The pirate ship came from Oriental Trading, as did the cupcake stand. We added the twine around the edges though, to make it more "piratey"

 Fruit pirate ship turned out cute. I just used small wooden dowels, and then I cut out the number, letters and "sails" with my Cricut machine. Plates and other small things came from Oriental trading, Target, Party City and Hobby Lobby.

 These glass jars I made from pasta sauce jars. We took the labels off and got all the stickiness off with goo gone. Then we went to Lowes and got some cheap plastic knobs, attached them to the lid (drilled a hole through and screwed it together) and spray painted it with a glossy black. We had "pirates gold', (rolos, reeses pb cups and hershey bars) "cannon balls" (whoppers) and "treasure" (ring pops)

This inflatable chest also came from Oriental Trading, it is meant to be a cooler, but I thought it would be fun to let the kids dig for treasure in it. Huge success :) We put sand and all kinds of little jewelry from the dollar tree in it. I also put some gold pirate coins and fake diamonds in there. The parrot on the ground is inflatable and I found that at the dollar tree also. That turned out to be my son's favorite thing about the party, he carried it around for days afterwards :)

                   This guy was fun, he was about 6 feet tall and made a good photo op :) Also from O.T.

I found these swords, shields and eye patches at Target, we gave them away as favors and the kids loved playing with them during the party.

 I made these food tent cards myself. I took card stock, folded and scored it, then I stained them with coffee, let them dry and then burned the corners with a candle. SO CUTE! I made the X with my Cricut machine and used a Sharpie to make the dotted lines. This card went in front of the ice bowl :)

                                        I'm pretty sure he liked the cupcakes! ( all 3 of them)

The cupcake liners came from Hobby Lobby. I made the toppers myself, again with my Cricut machine. They turned out really cute too. Time consuming, but cute :)

I hand made a Happy Birthday banner also, not sure why we don't have a picture of that, but it was done using my Cricut machine as well. Then I hole punched the letters and strung them through twine and hung it above the door. Some of you reading this may think I'm crazy to go all out for a 3 year olds party, but I just can't help it! I love to decorate and I love to be crafty. I also love to entertain, it just makes me happy :)

Morals

This is my blog, so I am giving my own personal opinion and conviction.

I personally love Victoria's Secret under garments, I have nothing against the products they have, I do however, have a problem with the nationally televised "fashion show" they put on. Let's be real, I mean people definitely don't watch it to see the latest fashions and the newest underwear (cause who cares). People watch it to see the nearly naked, beautifully skinny and 'perfect' women wearing nothing but underwear! Most all of the women have on these costumes or lingerie that you would never wear anyways. How am I supposed to keep my son pure, if this type of thing is shown on our LOCAL channels, during a time he could be watching??? How am I supposed to teach him to keep his mind and heart clean, when this is televised without the blink of an eye? This is the type thing that is ok to us? Or how about the Kmart commercial with the men in their boxers jingling their "bells"?????? Oh. My.Word. Being a parent is challenging enough, but it's this kind of stuff that is making our jobs that much harder.  I feel like I should just move my family to a secluded island with a bubble! Cause it is not getting any better! Where are all the good people, the people with morals and standards? What happened to them? We have GOT to be those people for our boys sake, for the future husbands and leaders we are raising. What kind of man do you want your daughter to marry?  BE that man, be that example. We need to only watch things that are worthy of our attention. We need to teach our kids, that the enemy will use anything and everything he can get his hands on, to tear us down. He will find your weaknesses and use them against you. Be strong, make good choices, because they don't only affect you. Not only is the VS fashion show inappropriate for men, but it is equally as hard for women. We sit there and watch and think, " why don't I look like that when I don't have clothes on?" or "why can't I be that skinny, or tall, or tan, or pretty." Why, why, why, why????  Comparison is the thief of joy- Theodore Roosevelt That is so true, when you look at other people and their lives or their bodies, you start to compare them, and feel bad about yours. You start to be ungrateful for what you do have or about the way God chose to make you (because he did choose it). You look at other peoples "highlight" reels, and compare it to your "bloopers". You are beautiful, you are perfect and created in His image. You are exactly where He wants you in life, and you are fulfilling His purpose for your life. Don't let any airbrushed or computer generated thing, tell you differently. Don't let Hollywood and the media decide what goes and what doesn't. Stand up for yourself, your beliefs and our young and impressionable kids.

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23