Five years ago, something felt weird after we gave Rebecca a bath and got her ready for bed. My due date was tax day, so it's not like wasn't expecting it, but still - I wasn't quite sure whether or not my water had broken (I know, dumb, right?)... my parents were already here to help out, so my husband and I decided to go to the hospital (20 miles away) just in case. But first, I wanted things to be as normal as possible for Rebecca, so I decided to read to her as usual before leaving. She chose a long one, her favorite at the time, The Lorax. And then, less than six or seven hours later, Jessie was in my arms.
So it seems only fitting that for two years, Jessica has wanted to have a Love the Earth party for her birthday. Well, actually, it started as a Save the Earth party, which was supposed to entail all her guests going to the beach to clean it up and collect trash. Instead, I made Earth cupcakes for her preschool class (with heart liners), along with plantable flower tags as party favors.
I can never quite get my cupcakes to be just the right size, not too flat but not overflowing, but these were passable. The ocean was white whipped frosting with almost half a bottle of blue food coloring (could probably have used even more), and some green blobs on top were the land masses. It all turned out not too shabby, pretty much the way I envisioned. My geography was never any good, so don't look too closely. Just call it artistic license.
Last week the girls and I made some paper and sprinkled seeds in towards the end of the process to make these plantable tag party favors. Super easy, fun for us to do, and a big hit with the preschoolers. I'll explain more about these later, I took lots of pictures along the way. Good summer vacation project, too, when playing with water is a big plus and getting wet isn't a big deal.
Oh, happy birthday, Jessie, baby. Five is so big. And still so little. Blow out your candles and let me wish for you to always know and feel how much I love you.
Disneyland, here we come.
Your post made me laugh. 42 years ago, my due date was also April 15th. The day came and went. My daughter was born on May 30th. I was a walking joke for 6 weeks. Talk about messed up cycles for the wrong due date. Glad yours turned out well, as did mine with only 1 labor pain.
Posted by: Sherry | Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 08:29 AM
oh Michelle, I'm teary eyed. Our babies are getting so big! 5 is not a baby anymore. She looks so happy and sweet with her beautiful earth cupcake.
Happy birthday little Jessie.
Posted by: regina | Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 10:53 AM
Gorgeous. See? You didn't need to worry!
And I am completely stealing that flower tag idea for our next party!
Posted by: dottycookie | Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 12:21 PM
Happy birthday to Jessie! I love the earth celebration!
Posted by: Beth | Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 03:23 PM
Happy Birthday, Jessie! So sweet!
Posted by: Michele C | Monday, April 19, 2010 at 08:43 PM
Don't worry, with plate tectonics, the continents will look like that (eventually...). LOL. They do look fantastic!
Posted by: carol | Monday, April 19, 2010 at 10:11 PM
I love your cupcakes! Simple, yet perfect! Thanks for linking up to my linky party!
Rebecca of the R&W Gals
Posted by: Rebecca | Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 03:24 PM
Sweet! Happy birthday to her (a bit late)! Love the cupcakes and the seed tags and the pencil cup and everything you've done lately. One thing that has helped me with cupcakes is using a 1/4 cup cookie/ice cream scoop. It gets just the right amount into the cupcake liner and usually they don't overflow. :)
Posted by: Katie | Monday, May 03, 2010 at 07:41 AM