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With the Cape Cod Parent Resource Fair rapidly approaching we will be sharing blog posts on our participating sponsors, vendors and nonprofits. You will find out more about these amazing businesses and what they offer to our community. They will be sharing their services, advice, what challenges face our community as well as upcoming events they will be having. Make sure to check out our virtual program and resource guide ahead of the event so you can plan for what you want to see including our famous speaker panels. If you preregister for the speakers you will earn extra raffle tickets. You also earn them by attending any of our entertainment sessions! Just email us and you will receive tickets at the door! We hope to see you at the Resource Fair!
Leanne's Princess Parties
1. Tell us about your business/non profit and how it benefits local families?
It takes the stress away from planning a party knowing you have an hour of guaranteed fun for your children. It also allows the parents to enjoy the party and they don't have to be running around trying to organize activities. It creates more one on one time with you children. It will be a magical visit that will create a wonderful family memory that they will talk about months later. Also, I help promote body positivity. We live in a society where thin is thought to define beauty and that couldn’t be further from the truth. I am a modern, realistic princess. It shows that you don’t have to be skinny to be a Princess. Every girl is a Princess and they all come in different shapes and sizes. 2. Where is it located? I serve locations in MA and RI. 3. What is your favorite thing about our community? I love how families on the Cape are all about community and always have different ways of helping each other. 4. How else do you get involved with the community? My plan is when my business gets more established I want to visit local hospitals and visit children (and the young at heart) that may need a Princess visit to cheer them up. At no cost. 5. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing parents in our community? Being too busy seems to be the biggest challenge for parents. It doesn't allow time with their children so they are always trying to find more ways to have more free time. That is why my business allows the parents to cut out some busy work when it comes to planning a party. 6. What is your favorite memory or story over the years involving you and your business? Hearing how a child cannot stop talking about their birthday party months later just brings me so much joy. It brings back imagination and wonder. I feel it’s lost now a days with all this technology that children have access to. This is hands on fun! 7. What advice would you give parents and caregivers in our community? Make as much time as you can to spend with your kids. Play with them. Pretend with them. The young years is the time when you develop a relationship with your child. The more time you spend with them the better the relationship you will have in their adult years. 8. Do you have any specials, events, or anything else taking place this upcoming year that our parents should know about? I currently do not have any special events planned yet as my business is still young. 
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With the Cape Cod Parent Resource Fair rapidly approaching we will be sharing blog posts on our participating sponsors, vendors and nonprofits. You will find out more about these amazing businesses and what they offer to our community. They will be sharing their services, advice, what challenges face our community as well as upcoming events they will be having. Make sure to check out our virtual program and resource guide ahead of the event so you can plan for what you want to see! We hope to see you at the Resource Fair!
Leanne's Princess Parties 1. Tell us about your business/non profit and how it benefits local families? It takes the stress away from planning a party knowing you have an hour of guaranteed fun for your children. It also allows the parents to enjoy the party and they don't have to be running around trying to organize activities. It creates more one on one time with you children. It will be a magical visit that will create a wonderful family memory that they will talk about months later. Also, I help promote body positivity. We live in a society where thin is thought to define beauty and that couldn’t be further from the truth. I am a modern, realistic princess. It shows that you don’t have to be skinny to be a Princess. Every girl is a Princess and they all come in different shapes and sizes. 2. Where is it located? I serve locations in MA and RI. 3. What is your favorite thing about our community? I love how families on the Cape are all about community and always have different ways of helping each other. 4. How else do you get involved with the community? My plan is when my business gets more established I want to visit local hospitals and visit children (and the young at heart) that may need a Princess visit to cheer them up. At no cost. 5. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing parents in our community? Being too busy seems to be the biggest challenge for parents. It doesn't allow time with their children so they are always trying to find more ways to have more free time. That is why my business allows the parents to cut out some busy work when it comes to planning a party. 6. What is your favorite memory or story over the years involving you and your business? Hearing how a child cannot stop talking about their birthday party months later just brings me so much joy. It brings back imagination and wonder. I feel it’s lost now a days with all this technology that children have access to. This is hands on fun! 7. What advice would you give parents and caregivers in our community? Make as much time as you can to spend with your kids. Play with them. Pretend with them. The young years is the time when you develop a relationship with your child. The more time you spend with them the better the relationship you will have in their adult years. 8. Do you have any specials, events, or anything else taking place this upcoming year that our parents should know about? I currently do not have any special events planned yet as my business is still young.   My Favorite Birthday Gifts for Kids by Age By Molly I was recently asked by a family member what are my favorite gifts to give for a first birthday and beyond so here is my list. I love books for all ages. Baby: Angel Dear Pair and a Spare lovey gift set ~$36 One year old: Pound and Play $18 or Squeaky Eggs $10 Radio Flyer Classic Walker Wagon ~$65 Two year old: Duplo Blocks $5-$40 Bitty Baby $60 Three year old: Farmer’s Market Color Sorting Set $22 Magna Tiles set start at ~$50 Four year old: Spin art set and stickers Still Magna Tiles Five year old: Legos $5-$500 Six and up: Still Legos Art and craft sets like the ones Alex Toys makes Learn to Draw and Activity books Fairy Garden sets Games my favorite is Enchanted Forest by Ravensburger  Molly Hubner
Usborne Books & More Independent Educational Consultant I am always looking for people to join my Usborne team, host parties (Facebook or home), or just share these wonderful books! For more information visit my website or contact me atmollyhubner@gmail.com. Plus follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/mollyhubnersusbornebooks/  Finding a location to host a birthday party on Cape Cod can be tough. We have had many requests for us to compile a listing of locations on Cape Cod that we recommend for hosting a party. Many of our moms have had personal experience with hosting parties at many of these locations. We have listed the locations in alphabetical order and broken down by Upper, Mid, & Lower Cape Cod as well as businesses that you can hire to come to you. If you have any other suggestions or places we may have missed, please comment on the blog post or email us!
A Mermaid/Pirate Birthday Party By: Molly  When I asked my kids what theme they wanted for their birthday party my daughter said a Secret Mermaid party based on one of her favorite books right now The Secret Mermaid and my son pirate because he loves all things pirate and the book On a Pirate Ship. So a Mermaid/Pirate party I started to plan. The party was planned for a Sunday afternoon 1-3pm outside.  For the first hour or so I planned activities. These activities included mermaid coloring sheets at one table, decorating booty bags (simple 12” drawstring bags I made) with markers at another, and mermaid tails at a third table.  For the pouches I used scraps of fabric that someone was giving away and embroidery floss I had already around. The tails I cutout of cardstock and got the stickers from Ocean State Job Lot for a $1. I also put out a huge box to use as a pirate ship.  Once everyone arrived around 2:15 we started the treasure hunt. For the treasure hunt I had hidden four treasure buckets around the yard. I then gave the group of party goers a rhyming clue and then they had to find each treasure as a group. After the hunt we had cake and open presents. My kids said it was an awesome party. Molly Hubner
Usborne Books & More Independent Educational Consultant. I am always looking for people to join my Usborne team, host parties (Facebook or home), or just share these wonderful books! For more information visit my website or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com. Plus follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/mollyhubnersusbornebooks/  By: Amy Recently the Tiny One moved to a new home and he is beyond excited and we are adjusting well. Last week, in world record breaking pace, we packed up our whole lives on a very rainy day filled with torrential downpours. We moved across town to an amazing new neighborhood bursting with families reminiscent of where I grew up in East Sandwich.  Due to previously made commitments in October, we were not going to be at home for the Tiny One’s 4th birthday this year. We decided to move the celebration to the weekend prior to Columbus Day. At first I thought we were crazy. We debated having it at a location which would make life a little less hectic. But we decided that we would have it at the new house and just be very efficient with our time. In the end, I am glad we made this decision because it forced us to unpack quickly (disclosure: my loving and very organized other half used some vacation time and unpacked a huge majority along with some help from a few of our family members) and throw a party at our new home in only 3 days! Thankfully the Tiny One is an October baby which makes it a little easy for me to get a party and theme together quickly.  We decided on a theme of Fall/Harvest Festival. I quickly went to work finding the simplest and easiest things I could do to make the party festive. First, I enlisted my mother, “Mimi”, to create a festive fall salad. She delivered a gorgeous fall cranberry salad in a festive orange bowl complete with stickers! I then went to work creating a variety of fall pizzas and one antipasto pizza (to be featured in a future Tasty Tuesday recipe). The Harvest roasted vegetable pizza was one of the favorites and was quickly eaten. There was also another pizza that had zucchini and some other fabulous veggies as well. And we made small cheese pizzas for the kids, though I did see some kiddos sneaking pieces of the vegetable ones...score!  I also contacted the Great Cape Baking Company and ordered 2 dozen of their delectable apple cider donuts that the Tiny One is obsessed with after having tantalized his taste buds with these delicious treats at the Rotary Craft Fair this year. Seriously if you have not tried these amazing donuts at the various craft and farmer’s markets for the past several years, you are missing out because these donuts melt in your mouth! The owner is super nice too and met me If you want to save them for later, you can also slowly reheat them in the oven! I also prepped up some of the Cape Cod Moms homemade mini apple pies to add to the fall theme.  My sweetie’s mom also helped out by making a very special pumpkin cake which was amazing. She actually made this on our move in day when they came over for dinner and we loved it so much we asked her to make it again for the party. She made and decorated the whole thing herself and it did not disappoint any of the Tiny guests. The Tiny One still wakes up every morning wanting a pumpkin cake! She also made chocolate covered Halloween Oreos for the party too! They were amazing and the kids and adults could not get enough of them!  We kept it simple for decorations opting for just table cloths and some plastic pumpkins we got from Michaels. The guys made a veggie platter for the table and even carved out a small pumpkin to put the humus in! The table ended up looking awesome once everything is on it. The weather turned out to be good that day with no rain until some sprinkles in the early evening. Thank you Mother Nature for cooperating!   The pumpkins also had a duel use. We bought enough for every child attending the party (I saved 50% off my order thank you so much to the generous Cape Cod Mom in line in front of me who passed on her extra coupon to me: WINNING!). We also purchased a bunch of Halloween stickers so the kids could decorate their pumpkins because the idea of carving or painting them sounded way too stressful. I absolutely loved this idea because the pumpkins never go bad, the kids could make them and take them home! This was a fantastic activity for all the kids to do at the party and kept them entertained and focused for quite a while! And who doesn't love a pumpkin that can't rot?!!? We also set up a little ring toss pumpkin game on the grass which some of the littlest loved as well!  After cake, I decided to debut my Pinterest attempt at “Boonanas”, which are white chocolate covered bananas on a stick with 2 chocolate chips for eyes, However working with chocolate can be tough and my “Boonanas” did not come out quite as pretty as the Pinterest picture showed. However the Tiny One was obsessed with them and declared that I did an excellent job at them so I will take that A for effort on this particular Pinterest fail. I sampled one myself and they were actually quite good. The white chocolate goes nicely with the banana. As long as the kids are happy, who cares, right?  Overall the party was a huge success and we had a chance to see friends and family, some of whom we had not seen in a long time. It was so great to see the kids all playing together and getting along, many of them having known each other since birth (many of them were in the Falmouth Breastfeeding Support group when they were infants and we all keep in touch still). The kids and adults left happy with sticker books and another mini pumpkin as their favors with our gratitude for celebrating a special day with us! We feel so incredibly lucky and blessed to be able to have such a great community of family and friends in our lives that support us and enrich our lives as well. Thank you to that amazing group for making the day so special for all of us! Next up on our list is to do our thank you notes! And for the 1st time the Tiny One can actually fully take part in the process! Stay tuned.
Super Soccer Stars Offering Cape Cod Moms, Dads, and Kiddos a FREE Demo Class and a Discount!7/10/2013  Cape Cod Mommies was recently given a chance to check out Super Soccer Stars. They will be holding classes this summer in the Town of Barnstable. They hold classes for ages 2 and up for groups and birthday parties! What a great idea!!! Super Soccer Stars has Offered our Readers an amazing opportunity to take their classes for a 10% discount. If you want to check it out first or want to join us for a FREE DEMO session, then read more below!!! Be sure to SIGN UP for the FREE DEMO before Sunday night so we can be sure there are enough kids!  "At Super Soccer Stars, it is our goal to teach soccer skills in a fun, non-competitive, educational environment. Our philosophy is to use soccer to nurture, to build self-confidence, and to develop teamwork in every class. Our specially designed curricula use positive reinforcement and a low child-to-coach ratio to ensure that each child improves at his or her own rate while having endless fun." For ages 2 and up! FREE DEMO CLASS FOR CAPE COD MOMS! Day: Wednesday or Thursday Date: 7/18/2013 or 7/19/2013 Time: 9:30 AM to 10:00 AM for 2 - 3 year olds Time: 10:10 AM to 10:50 AM for 3 - 5 year olds Location: Osterville - Osterville Bay Address: 99 West Bay Road Osterville, MA 02655 Map Link Price: $0 It is important that all of the children enroll through their office before the start of the class for liability and staffing reasons – their coaches do not accept enrollment info or any form of payment. Please note it is very important that all parents supply them with a valid email address in his/her application, as this will serve as the main source of communication for class information and updates. We must have at least 4 children enrolled in order to hold the class.  Parents may enroll by completing the online application process or simply giving us a call: 781-777-7171 Here’s how it works to enroll online: 1.) Go to boston.supersoccerstars.com and "Private Groups Log-in" under the Private Class option in the main menu. 2.) If you are signing up for: A.) WEDNESDAY: For 9:30am Class: Your log-in is CCM. Your Guest Password is CCMWED23 - this password enables YOU to sign up online. For 10:10am Class: Your log-in is CCM. Your Guest Password is CCMWED35 - this password enables YOU to sign up online. B.) THURSDAY: For 9:30am Class: Your log-in is CCM. Your Guest Password is CCMTH23 - this password enables YOU to sign up online For 10:10am Class: Your log-in is CCM. Your Guest Password is CCMTH35 - this password enables YOU to sign up online If you enjoy the FREE demo class, you can sign up for their Summer Session with the Cape Cod Mommies Discount of 10%!!!! For more info visit their website: boston.supersoccerstars.com Email them at: boston@supersoccerstars.com Or Call them: 781-777-7171   By: Meghan Three years ago this June, I had a newborn baby girl and a 2 year old who was having a very hard time adjusting to her new status as a big sister. Heck, I was having a hard time adjusting to being a mother of two, and my poor husband was surrounded by overemotional ladies (granted only one of them was an adult). It was summer and it was hot and we were all starting to go a little crazy. We needed some fun and we needed to give each other some extra love. Despite my sleep deprived brain, I was able to recognize that my little 2 year old needed some special attention. It was her half-birthday that day and I decided we would make the day all about her. My sweet older girl has a birthday very close to Christmas, so it tends to be one crazy month of birthday and Christmas getting rolled together and the idea of giving her a special day far away from holiday madness was appealing. So we spent the day making half of a birthday cake, decorating, dancing, and being silly. She LOVED it. During a difficult time for her, and for all of us, it was a moment of light and love. 
Fiona covered in cake at her very first half-birthday celebration 3 years ago.
So, a tradition was born. We now celebrate both kids’ half- birthdays and shape the day to fit their needs at the moment. For my oldest who always seems to struggle during those half year developmental periods, it is a moment of relief and levity for all of us. A time to put a positive focus on her and give her some very special attention. For my youngest girl, it’s usually a simpler celebration with the most important thing for her, a lot of dancing and twirling in beautiful dresses. There are no presents at these occasions, and usually it’s just the four of us. Fiona’s most recent half-birthday celebration was a little different. We are in another crazy time. My husband is again, and I’m afraid always will be, surrounded by overemotional ladies (and still, only one of them is an adult) and we are again in need of some fun and extra love. We are moving from the only home my children have known, our path is not entirely set, it is a time of excitement, trepidation, and anxiety. My daughter decided that this year, she wanted all of our neighbors at her half-birthday celebration. She spent the morning making invitations and dropping them off. We baked a cake together while her little sister napped. She decorated the living room and her sister helped hang up streamers. It became clear that this party meant more to her than celebrating her new status as a 5.5 year old. She was beginning to say goodbye to her home and her neighbors in her own, special Fiona way. That night, after dinner, all the neighbors came over. Bearing smiles, hugs, and even (thank God!) wine. The kids ate the cake and ran around like wild animals, the grown ups talked and laughed. We all stayed up too late, but it was a wonderful, impromptu party. 
Fiona with our neighbors and her sister celebrating the big 5.5!
I will forever be grateful that my 5.5 year old was able to recognize what we as a family needed just at that moment. She knew we needed our friends and she knew we needed a party.
Does your family have any fun traditions? How did they start? I’d love to see the special ways your families celebrate one another or days that are important to you! By: Meghan Fellow Cape Cod Mommies, I know we’ve just met and all, but if we’re going to be friends than I need to be truthful with you – I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. Maybe even a little over-emotional (though my husband might just call that a normal day). You might say, “No, no, you’re fine! Look at you, totally pulled together!” Well that just proves we’ve never actually met. Fact of the matter is, I’ve spent the entire past week trying not to cry at the drop of a hat. Hormones? Probably. Holidaystress? Sure. The truth? My eldest child is turning five. 
(Tiny baby Fiona, the best present I ever got from Santa, um I mean my husband.)
I know, I know, it’s a wonderful thing to have a five year old. Birthdays are to be celebrated, children are to be celebrated. Yes, yes, I agree. But there’s something about that big number “Five” that makes things get real, really fast. My baby girl is becoming a big kid. She surprises me daily with her thoughtfulness and the range of her emotions. Her honesty thrills me and the weight of her feelings knocks me over. I see her meeting challenges, and pushing herself on to new goals. I also see her dealing with her failures and goals unmet. And let me tell you something, mamas, she’s doing a lot better job dealing with her difficulties than I am. I see the hard knocks that come as friendships change, when feelings get hurt, when wishes don’t come true. And my heart breaks. I remember the pain of childhood hurts, and the last thing I want is for my baby to feel them too. As she turns five, I want to wrap her in a bubble and keep her safe from those hurts. I know too that her problems will be bigger now as she gets bigger and her world grows as she enters school. Gone are the days that my kisses can solve all her problems. And I grieve for the loss of being able to make everything better. Okay, now I’m crying again. Give me a minute, I’m going to go research “child sized bubbles” on Amazon. They have those, right? Ok, they don’t have those, I totally checked. So I guess this means I need to start dealing with what we call “big emotions” in my house. To celebrate my sweet daughter’s fifth birthday, I am making the following pledges to her and to myself: 1.) I will stop trying to be a perfect mother. I don’t need to be a perfect mother. Perfect mothers aren’t real, and I’m pretty sure my kids would rather have a real mom than a not real mom. So there you go. Also, I read somewhere the other day that not being a perfect parent is a gift to your kids because then when they have children they aren’t constantly trying to live up to this perfect parent ideal. See, I’m doing it for her! 2.) Accept that my daughter is going to feel pain as she explores the world. Know that I will not be able to fix it all, but that’s okay. I will still be here to hold her and kiss her and let her know that there will always be at least one safe harbor for her in the world, no matter what storms she faces. And maybe I will eventually find a grown up sized bubble that we can both go in and roll down a hill, wheeeee! Which brings me to number 3. 3.) We are going to have more fun. Year number 5 is going to be about fun, for the both of us. Rolling down hills in bubbles? Yes. Desperately cleaning the house before the next playdate? No. Time to start accepting that my house will always be a mess, but you know what, we’ll be busy getting grass stains on our pants, nail polish on our toes, and whatever the heck else Miss Five Years Old wants to do that day and I’m to excited about that to waste energy feeling guilty about messes. So I’m letting it go. Not that I’m going to do less cleaning, I’m just going to stop feeling guilty about whatever hasn’t gotten done that day. Don’t worry, I’ll still shove the dirty undies in the closet when you come over. In the meantime, we have a party to plan! So this smart, sassy, gorgeous, funny, fast as the wind, nearly five year old and I have some decorating to do. 
(Nearly five years old! Pic by the fabulous Lee Sutton, check her out at http://leesuttonphotography.com/)
So tell me mamas, how was Year 5 for you? Did you deal well with it or were you a hysterical mess like me? Which birthday has been toughest for you? Let me know your coping strategies and how you celebrated. We’ll get through this together!
 George Harrison once said, "All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much." I had the amazing opportunity to work with Cindy Stimpson, the owner of Sweet Art Designer Bakery. I had seen samples of Cindy's work in the past and she is amazingly talented. Sweet Art specializes in sculpted cake toppers and custom cookies for all occassions. She reminds me of the Cake Boss!  When my son's 1st birthday was rapidly approaching, I knew that between all the planning, cleaning and work, I would never have time to make a cake, let alone decorate it. As with other moms, I know there just aren't enough hours in the day! So I decided to delegate out the task, thus relieving some stress from my life (and my boyfriends's by not destroying our kitchen with my cooking abilities). I had seen some of Cindy's past work, which included a wagon full of toys cake topper and a antique car to name a few, and decided to give her a call.  We decided on a music theme for my son's first birthday because he is absolutely enamored with all types of music! We even brought tons of music toys so all the kids could make music during the party! He has a toy guitar which was given to him as a gift that he adores and plays sitting alongside his father. I gave Cindy a picture of what his guitar looked like and the end result was a perfect match! The topper was made out of Rice Krispy treats and fondant! The birthday boy was beyond thrilled when he saw his guitar cake!  Cindy was so easy to work with and helped set my mind at ease during the whole planning process. The cake and the cake topper (not edible) was enjoyed by all! I definitely recommend Sweet Art for any of your "Sweet" needs o add that little extra detail to make any birthday, shower or event one to remember! Thanks Cindy for helping to make my son's first birthday a memorable one! Check out Sweet Art's contact info below! |
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