the car party

As planned, we threw Fabian's birthday Car Party two days ago. The one-and-a- half hour party was full of children and smiles, especially from the birthday boy. He was really happy surrounded by other little people :) I'm just happy that he had a good time dancing around, enjoying friends accompany, and that us parents didn't collapse before the party was over :D Here's the pictures of the party and also the party details. Enjoy!

Inspired by the Circus Party invites, I attached three flags on the invitation for the kids to swap with snacks and their goody bags.

I made car pencil toppers from felt to complete the goody bags. I followed a tutorial here but made it more simple by gluing them together rather than sewing ;) I also was inspired by the car toppers found here.

The goody packages were filled with basic stationary, writing books, and snacks.

Can you tell what these cones are supposed to represent? Yes, traffic cones! I cut out bright red paper and turned them into cones and deliberately secured them with masking tape for the white line effect. I knew I did a good job when Fabian woke up seeing them one morning and spontaneously said that they were like the ones in Toy Story... You know, the scene where the toys used them to cross the road? That made my day, alright! 

It was surprisingly hard to find checkered printed paper, so I printed a full A4 sheet in black and white checkered flags. Then, I photocopied them and cut them out into bunting flags to hang for decoration. With paper, everything is easier and also more cheap :)

These traffic signs where signs where the kids should "stop" to take a snack, sip, or goody bag :)

Unlike last years costume, this time I made it myself. Just the felt car application though. I cut out a car, windows, and wheels then stitched them on top of a t-shirt Fabian already had. After seeing the result, I think I'll cancel my thought of taking it off. At least for a while :) 

A lovely car cake made by my sister (again). The asphalt car track is made from crushed oreo biscuits. Brilliant! I added the checkered flags and traffic lights to make it more merrier. I loved it and so did everyone else since there was nothing left of the cake and it was only half way through the party!

The birthday boy!

More into the cake decoration than to blow out the candles, so us folks did it for him :)

I just had to ask the odong-odong to come again. I did ask if they had car shaped rides but, no, they don't. 

His line up of some of the presents by the end of the day. Hope the birthday boy and guests had a good time! :)

mothers and jugglers

image: Getty Images

I loved reading the posts over at A Cup Of Jo about how how 8 inspiring working mothers balance their work/ baby/ life. It's good to read stories about women who are on the same boat and share how they get things done being working and managing a family with infant children. Eventhough my work life isn't that busy as theirs, still, I know exactly how it feels to run errands, handle the baby, and work projects without child care at all. I'm sure many mothers here in Indonesia can relate being that juggler at home. I think this series of posts was a great idea. Here are a few quotes that I couldn't agree more to and ones that make me realize how lucky I am working from home. 


"I get to see my kid all day. That he gets a hug from mama anytime he wants, and vice-versa." - Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen


"I definitely make less money (than the husband) but I wouldn't trade the ability to be with Elodie (her child) for anything." - Elizabeth Antonia of The Littlest


"I sometimes feel a little isolated working from home. I love being around other people and miss bouncing ideas off of a creative team." - Elizabeth Antonia of The Littlest


"If I've learned anything in my role as a mother, it's that nap time is more precious than gold." - Jenny Komenda of Little Green Notebook 


"For me, the thing that ends up coming in last place is free time alone." - Joanna Goddard of A Cup Of Jo


"I think marriage is one of the easiest things to neglect once you have a child. It's so important to foster the connection you have with your spouse." - Elizabeth Antonia of The Littlest

"Take gentle care of yourself, we should be kind to ourselves and treat ourselves like the sweet souls we are." - Joanna Goddard of A Cup Of Jo

The last quote I think is so important. All mothers and women should be aware of this. Agree? 

look who's two today!

My no-longer baby boy! It feels like only yesterday I gave birth to him... and look at him now, his teeth are complete, he can count, repeat and imitate anything you say or do, and give you lovely sloppy kisses and wonderful hugs - my drug. Awww, mellow mama feelings...  Happy birthday, darling! Mama loves you to bits bits bits :*

sweet souvenirs

A lovely handmade pouch and cotton scarf from Chiangmai, from my sister. 

Fine chocolate 'Monggo' from Jogja made from pure dark chocolate using 100% cocoa butter. It tastes supreme! They have chocolate with cashew nuts, caramel, praline, and ginger. The packaging is also as sweet and made from recycled paper. Cool!

A batik shirt for the little one bought at Mirota Batik. Speaking of the kid, our trip to Jogyakarta yesterday was his last experience flying as an infant. For our next planned flight, he will no longer be sitting on my lap and will be strapped up in his own seat. Oh my, how time flies :)

nugget and mustard sandwich

An easy filling breakfast to start the day. Fry the nuggets, toast the bread, spread mayonnaise on one part of the toast, place nuggets, apply mustard and chili sauce, top with the other slice of toast then cut in half.  Done! :) Have a great weekend! 

someone is turning two

Oh, it's July again and my baby boy is turning two! How fast he's growing:) Therefore, I'm planning to throw him a party. Can you guess what the theme will be from the pictures below? 

They said it all, eh? He's in love with the toy and he can name all the cars living in Radiator Springs :) So, it's only fair that I surround him with his 'muse' with a little twist. It's two weeks till his birthday and ideas are racing in my head. Let's see how it all turns out :)

images from google