Beachy Backyard Cabana for Kids

I've been meaning to post these pictures for some time now. I'm lucky to get it in before the snow starts to fall. It's amazing how the time flies when you have a newborn! 

It took several weeks to complete this project as we were trying to beat the rain for 4 weekends in a row, but we finally finished our playhouse for the kiddies just in time for summer and the arrival of our baby!!

We wanted to go for a Key West theme with the colors, sort of like a beach cabana. The girls love it and picked out the colors themselves. Now we just need to cover the grass with sand and make it a beach! Right?

We found some plans online to help guide us. Here are the plans we referenced: The Handmade Home She has an amazing website! We did have to do some modifications to best suit the look and structure we were looking for.

Some structural differences to note are...

• Cement block anchors

• Extra support braces

• The fiberglass corrugated roof in translucent white

• Roof cap

• Enclosed front entrance at the roof

• Climbing wall (built from scratch and used these climbing stones)

• Ladder (used scrap wood)

• Siding of the house (much easier to put up and saves a ton of time)

This baby is solid! When I mean solid, I mean it doesn't move an inch. We fit 8 adults and a couple of children up on the deck and it still didn't budge! We get a lot of rain and I wanted to make sure the wood pillars didn't rot while touching the ground so we used the cement support blocks.

I really like how we used the white translucent corrugated fiberglass roofing. It lets in more light  than the metal roofing does and it gives it a softer touch to go along with the beachy theme.

We even added some plant hooks at the front of the structure to hang some planters for the extra girlie touch! Since my daughter loves to play teacher, we definitely needed to add this chalk board that we secured on the back wall. I used the back side of the leftover siding and chalk paint.

A Baptism for Penelope

This past weekend we had our newest little angel baptized! Baptisms always get me teary eyed! They are so beautiful and such a joyous celebration! We were also fortunate enough to have some very special out of town guests come in that we haven't seen in years! 

All of my kids have been baptized in this same gown that has been passed on    from 3 generations on my father's side of the family. My father was baptized in this gown and I was, too. As you can see, it looks a little antique so I wanted a headpiece to match! My dear friend, Denise, made this lovely little floral headpiece with the birdcage. You should check out her shop, Wonderland Bowtique. She also made these adorable purple rosette sandals! Perhaps I need a separate post on her attire for the day. The lace romper in the above picture was purchased on Amazon for only $12.99.

Preparations started about 2 months in advance. I didn't want to end up stressing myself out at the last minute like I always do. The theme was a lavender/plum and Champagne(gold/silver). I really do love the way the colors looked together!

I made all the printables myself including invitations, envelope liners, bible verses, and thank you notes. I bought the white candles in a jar from the Dollar Tree and dipped the rims in a champagne gold paint.

"For it is by Grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:8

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Proverbs 3:5

Final product!!! This was my first experience making a naked cake and I think it turned out rather well! I would recommend giving it a try. It's super easy and looks great, plus, you don't have to spend too much time perfecting it because it's not completely frosted!  I used a 9 in round baking pan with white boxed cake and purple food coloring.The centerpiece is fake! I used silk flowers and a styrofoam half sphere to put it together. This is one of my favorite tricks! I even did this for my wedding cake years ago.

I've been in love with making these tissue tassel garlands, lately. This was my first try with the mylar tissue. I used the Martha Stewart fringe cutter, but I still have mixed feelings about the thing. It doesn't cut as well as you would expect it to, which makes me angry, MARTHA! But, I still like if for a general guide.

I really fell in love with this invitation. I love creating my own. I purchased the rose graphics from an artist on Etsy. Making your own invitations is really easy and you can use something as simple as Microsoft Publisher. You don't really need the fancy Adobe Photoshop, although it's nice when editing photos. I printed out my own invites on a fancy card stock and they look very professional, especially with the envelop liner. If you are doing invitations yourself, spend the extra money on the nice paper. I did a tutorial on the envelope liners here: Jazz up your invites.

Baptisms are so beautiful!!! Gosh, I'm getting teary eyed again.....

And now.... on to the next celebration!

Is it okay if it's just for play?

Here is the debate I have with my husband. I found this super cute website that sells pretend makeup for little girls. It's safe for their faces and it doesn't transfer on to the carpet..

Jackpot, right?  

See, our girls can be very girlie... they like dressing up like princesses and I'm all for them believing in happily ever after...(a topic for another post). Except, my husband wasn't too keen on the idea of his darlings wearing makeup at this age, even if it was pretend make up.

It got me thinking about the whole idea and I wondered how other parents felt about this topic that seems to be so divided in our house.

Here's my take on it.... As mothers we are our daughter's primary and most influential female role model. Our behavior and how feel about ourselves and the people around us is noted and emulated.

When we watch ourselves in the mirror and pick apart our image they see that. They start to learn that beauty is on the outside and we need to be perfect. Our little girls want to be just like us and they will mimic our feelings and moves, so we better be careful.

When it comes to makeup, the majority if not all of us mamas wear it. Whether it be just on special occasions or an everyday occurrence, its presence is there and our girls see us put it on. 

Unless, you put your face on in the closet and pretend you just always look that way. Probably not so much...

So do we want to go au naturel the rest of our lives? If we wear it, they will want to wear it too. 

What are we to say when they ask why we put makeup on? 

"It's for grownups and helps hid our age, lines, wrinkles, any imperfection we are self-conscious about"..

?

I just don't buy and never believed in telling my kids it's only for grownups. It just makes it all the more attractive and something they want but can't have.

I would rather make it fun and playful, an expression of art.

I'd rather pretend to play dress up with a smile and not have them think that their beauty is not enough. Maybe that seems counter but makeup and dress up is fun for girls at this age.

They have their whole lives to realize how jaded and unfriendly the world is so let them be, right? Like everything else, there is always the good and the bad in every argument. I just don't know how to explain to my daughters why I choose to cover up my face without making it about image. Do you?

If you are against play makeup how do you talk to you daughters about this? I'm really curious for your suggestions because the subject is obviously tabled in our house (for now) since we can't agree.

I'm really interested to hear from you... What is your take on this subject? Without any mommy wars, let's be respectful and discuss. 

XOXO, Katie

Daisy Flower Garden Journey: Session 4 Plant Helpers

Hello Girl Scout Volunteers!

Today we are continuing on with the Daisy Flower Garden Journey with session 4!

Last session our focus was on the parts of a flower. The theme of this session was all about our plant helpers... aka bees, butterflies, ladybugs, and worms! In case you missed the previous sessions they can be found below...

Session 3

Session 2

Session 1

Start up Activity: (5-10 mins)

Record their seedlings by drawing a picture in their notebooks.

Pg. 61 or pg. 62 from Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden

Activity: Discuss the different plant helpers and their importance. (5-10 min)

I created a quick poster that titled "Plant Helpers" I printed out pictures of a bee, butterfly, ladybug, and worm. We discussed how bees and butterflies help pollinate plants to they bear the fruits and vegetables and without them many of our foods would not exist. We talked about how ladybugs help to keep out certain bugs that are bad for plants and how the worms help to create nutrient rich soil.

Activity: Ladybug Garden Rocks and Read Chap. 4 (30 mins)

 

Materials:

• 1 flat rock for each girl (river rocks work great and you can buy a bag of them at the Dollar Tree)

• Red, Black, and white(optional) paint

• small paint brushes or q-tip

Have the girls create their own garden protectors by painting their rocks to look like ladybugs. First, start by painting the entire rock red. Allow it to dry for 10 minutes. Then add black spots and the black head. You can use the back tip of the paint brush to create the small spots. This might be easier for the girls. Allow to dry. If you have enough time you can add two with dots on the head for the eyes. While the girls are painting and you allow time in between to dry READ chapter 4 from Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden.

Activity: Tissue Butterfly (10 mins)

Materials

• colorful pipe cleaner

• 8 in x 8 in tissue paper

• clothes pin

• black marker or crayons for decoration 

• googly eyes (optional and requires glue and time to dry)

Fold the tissue paper accordion style leaving about an inch in between folds. Then crunch the center to fit in the clothes pin and fan out the tissue. Fold the pipe cleaners in half and curl up the ends to look like antennas. At the fold, insert the antennas into the tissue butterfly. Have the girls add in eye and decorate the body of the butterfly as they chose.

Discuss the Take Action Project (5 mins)

After we finished our projects and washed up and cleaned off the tables we sat down for our closing ceremony. We used this time to discuss ideas for our Take Action project and the girls were interested in the Worm Composting idea! Other ideas that we discussed was planting a community garden at the school, and raising ladybugs or butterflies.

Wrap up with a Friendship Squeeze!

Stay tuned for the next post on our Worm Composting bin and our Garden Party Court of Awards Ceremony!

*Images used in this post were created and are property of 3 Wittle Birds. Permission must be first granted along with a link back to our website before use of images. Thank you.

Be Our Guest

We would like for you to join us as a guest poster! Do you have an idea or previous post that you think would be great for 3 Wittle Birds readers? Then we want to hear from you! It can be a previous post on your blog or a completely new idea!

---

Here is what we are looking for...

Girl Scout content

So far my general knowledge of troop leading doesn't extend beyond Daisies, I'm looking for other troop leader ideas for older grade levels. You don't have to be a website or blog owner to post, we just want to share the wealth of ideas with other troop leaders. After all, we know how hard this gig can be!

Party ideas

Tips and tricks on easy entertaining to birthday party blowouts!

Happy Mama content

I love hearing stories about motherhood and what makes you mama's happy. Do you have any special routines or secret weapons to get through the chaos? We'd love for you to share!

Raising Girls

Raising girl tips or special experiences that you can't miss!

Anything else you think would fit?

---

What we require...

Well thought out posts, with proper grammar and punctuation. I do not edit your work so it needs to be a finished product.

Provide specific details where needed: If you are submitting a tutorial or a project, please make sure to provide specific details to make the idea useful to our readers.

Quality photographs: Photographs need to be original. The pictures need to be clear and with proper lighting. 

Submit your work!

Please email me at katie@3wittlebirds.com with your work along with some or all of your pictures. I will review all submissions and get back to you within 2 weeks. If you are chosen your work will be featured and include social media shout outs on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter.

The Best Websites to Follow if You are a Troop Leader

Welcome Troop Leader Mamas!!

Because sharing is caring, today I wanted to share with you my favorite websites for my meeting planning inspiration that I think will be of great help to you! When I first started out planning the meetings I was overwhelmed with all the different resources and felt lost. I followed the Girls Guide to Girl Scouting and the Journey Leadership books, but I felt there was more needed. Some of the activities didn't fit our troop dynamic and I needed to make some changes.

This is totally okay!!

You really need to think of your troop atmosphere and what would actually work with Your girls because sometimes following the leadership manual or Girl Guide  activities doesn't engage your specific girl group. I will write a post on the importance of this later but you need to keep this in mind.

Another great resource is your council and other councils. If you search different councils you will find they offer different resources and badge planning. So, if you don't like what your council has to offer find one you do like!

Best Websites for Troop Planning....

Making Friends

This website offers free and very cute printables such as calendars and coloring pages! It's also a store where you can purchase activities for your girls or get inspiration.

OCD GS

Another fellow troop leader offering up their ideas and troop meeting planning and badge earning.

One Year of Daisy Scouts

Ideas of badge earning and journey in a day!

Scout Leader Connect

Troop meeting planning ideas and inspiration. I love her egg breaking idea for "Be courageous and strong"

Girl Scout Leader 101

More badge and awards planning.

In the Loop

A helpful blog from troop support itself! 

Pinterest

I'm sure you already know this!

Hope this helps ya'll out!!! If you have a website or blog dedicated to Girl Scouts please share with us in the comments! I would love to create a forum of resources! Have a wonderful Monday!

Champagne Coconut Cake

There is still a little bit of summer left. It's a perfect time to make this Champagne coconut cake! Doesn't it look pretty? I made this cake for a bridal shower and everyone loved it. It's nice and light, perfect for someone who doesn't like a heavy dessert.

What you need....

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (you will need a little more to grease the pan)
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan (a little extra for the pan)
• 1 1/2 cups packed sweetened shredded coconut
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large whole eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• Pink petal dust.

What you do...

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch (6-cup) Bundt pan. In a food processor, pulse coconut, flour, baking powder, and salt until combined.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, egg whites, and vanilla; continue beating until incorporated. Add the flour mixture in three alternating batches with the coconut milk, beating well after each addition.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into middle of cake ring comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool in pan, 30 minutes.

4. Trim bottom of cake to make a flat base. Run a small knife around edge to loosen. Flip cake onto rack and let it cool completely.

5. In a bowl, whisk confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. In a separate bowl, toss remaining cup coconut with , adding just enough to reach the desired shade. Drizzle icing over top of cake; sprinkle with pink coconut. 

   *Tip: Make sure the cake is completely cool and you are in a cool area when you drizzle the icing, otherwise it will melt right off.

Why You Should be a Girl Scouts Troop Leader

Hey everyone!!!

Today I wanted to talk about a topic of what it means to be a Girl Scout volunteer and how it's such a crucial role in these young girls lives. For those of you who are following along but are not a volunteer, this post is for you! Have you been approached about this opportunity, either through a membership specialist or previous troop leader? Are you currently debating whether this role is for you? I promise you, it is! Let me start off by telling you how it began with me....

Behind this online world, I'm actually an introverted person. I generally don't like large groups of people and new social situations make me anxious. It's not that I'm anti social, it's just how I'm made. Frankly, I'm proud of it and I'm comfortable with who I am.

The idea of being a troop leader seemed quite impossible to me but, after the membership specialist told me there was no troop at my daughter's school but recommended myself volunteering, I didn't shoot the idea down right away.

It took me a while to make the decision but I thought back to the reasons why I wanted Bella to join Girl Scouts...

1. I really wanted her to take part in this program and gain the confidence
2. Open her up to new experiences
3. My daughter is a little shy (wonder where she gets it from) and I wanted her to come out of her shell a little
4. Lasting and healthy friendships

So I decided to take on the challenge for my daughter. I wanted to show her that if I can come out of my shell and do something out of my comfort zone, then she can too. After all, we are our daughter's first example of a strong and confident women. 

I didn't realize when I made this decision how much it would not only impact my daughter but how much it would impact myself.

1. I gained leaderships skills that I didn't even know I had.
2. My daughter has made massive strides in character development and self-confidence.
3. I got to make a difference in 11 other girls lives in the community!

It's only been a year but I love being a troop leader! I love setting an example and providing a wonderful opportunity to these girls. Our girls are the future of this world! If you are considering possibly being a volunteer, I encourage you to take the leap and try it out for just one year. If I can do it, anyone can do it! SERIOUSLY! 

Being a Girl Scout volunteer not only changes a girl’s life, it changes your life. Whether it’s taking them on their first adventure or leading a troop with your best friend, you’ll help girls reach for the stars. Volunteer today: http://bit.ly/1eWZkXL.

Posted by Girl Scouts on Saturday, September 12, 2015

Our Favorite Fall Football Recipe and a Happy Home Face-lift!

Hey Ladies!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! The weather here in Chicago was absolutely gorgeous with that brisk hint of fall! This weekend was packed with changes and a fun recipe I have to share with you all today. The hubby LOVES his Cowboys and he also loves my Chili to go along with his Football! See the recipe below....

Our happy home had a face-lift! My favorite color since I was a young has been yellow. I was really bummed when the samples came out when deciding on the siding and yellow was not included. I chose the closest thing, Vintage Cream. Turns out Vintage Cream was pretty much the color I had been looking for all along! SCORE! I like a pretty traditional looking home, which is why I opted out of the suggested slates and gray tones. They say yellow is inviting to guests and that's exactly what I wanted them to feel when they walked up to the house. Here are the transformation pictures. I am probably going to add some shutters eventually.

Football Chili

This recipe makes a ton! Seriously, if your family is 4 and under, maybe cut the recipe in half.

What you need....

• 2 pounds of ground turkey

• 2 jalapeno pepper (minced)

• 1 red onions (diced)

• 1 Green Bell Pepper (diced)

• 1 Red Bell Pepper (diced)

• 12 cloves of garlic (minced)

• 3 teaspoons Garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon onion powder

• 1 tablespoon Cumin

• 2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper

• 3 tablespoons Chili powder

• 2 tablespoons Paprika

• 8 dried pasilla chili peppers

• 4 tablespoons of olive oil

• 2 cans Black beans in the juice 

• 3 cans Pinto Beans in the juice

• 2 cans Kidney Beans in the juice

• 3 cups Tomato Sauce

• 1/3 cup of Tomato Paste

• 1 cup of low sodium chicken broth

What you do....

First, you need to re-hydrate the pasilla chili peppers for about 30 minutes in hot water. Although these are a sweeter hot pepper, don't let that fool you. Wear gloves when handling these peppers, especially after you have re-hydrated them.

After you have re-hydrated them, take out the seeds and gooey stem, and give them a nice chop.

Warm a large pot (like a stock pot) and heat the oil on high. Once the oil is hot add the onion, peppers, garlic, jalapenos, and pasilla chile peppers. Saute for 8 minutes until you have a nice caramelization. You house will be smelling real good at this point!

Gently turn in the ground turkey until browned, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the tomato sauce and tomato paste for about 4 minutes.

Add chicken broth and seasonings. Once combined add the black, pinto, and kidney beans in with their liquid.

Stir and lower heat. Cook the chili uncovered for at least one hour.

Serve with your favorite garnishes.... cheddar cheese, sour cream, oyster crackers, avocados....

Happy Monday!

Daisy Flower Garden Journey: Session 3

"He who plants a garden plants happiness." ~Chinese proverb

Hey Troop Leaders!

Last spring our troop journeyed through the Daisy Flower Garden. You can actually find the first two sessions here: 

Daisy Flower Garden Journey: Session 1

Daisy Flower Garden Journey: Session 2 (Bees)

Session 3 Theme: Flower parts and Seeds

For session 3 of the Daisy Flower Garden Journey our focus was on the parts of the flower and how flowers produce seeds. 

Start up Activity:

Have the girls color the Mari page and/or PG. 44 and 45 in the GB (Welcome to the Daisy Flower Garden ) If you remember from previous sessions, I printed out copies of these pages and pasted them into their Garden Journal. This is a great way to record their seedlings current progress.

Have the Girl Scouts water their seedlings!

Activity: Read Chapter 3: Amazing Daisy and Her Flower Family from GB

Activity: Flower art project

Girls this age love expressing themselves through art and this is a wonderful activity that they enjoyed. I would keep this one easy and let the girls run with it. Prior to the meeting send out an email or letter asking the girls to bring supplies from home. Try not to buy anything new and encourage the girls to use what they already have as all Girls Scouts "use resources wisely." I created a template that I would love to share with you all and can be found here: Flower outline template

Possible ideas for materials

• tissue paper
• construction paper
• pipe cleaners
• yarn
• bird seed
• cupcake liners
• crayons
• glue
• beads
• sequins
• Flower template

Here is the project done a couple different ways.

1. Freestyle drawing. 

My daughter used tissue paper to represent the seed. She also colored all the parts of the flower that we discussed.

2. Cupcake liners and bird seed.

I had some cupcake liners leftover from a previous party. They were already in the shape of a flower so this worked perfectly!

Activity: Paper Marigold for Mari petal "Responsible for what I say and do"

This activity is in place of not in addition to the flower art project. Make a paper marigold for Mari and talk about what it means to be responsible for what they say and do.  Tell the girls by taking care of their seedlings they are being responsible. Ask the girls what other ways they are responsible at home?.... chores, making their bed, taking care of a pet, ect...

Here is a great example of another troop leader who did a marigold tissue flower.

Closing Ceremony:

Friendship Squeeze and presenting of badges! Girls earned their Watering Can Award and their Mari petal (Responsible for what I say and do). Woo hoo double whammy!

"A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust." ~ Gertrude Jekyll

For more resources on the Daisy Flower Garden Journey check out previous sessions....

Session One

Session Two 

Session Three

Session Four 

Session Five and Take Action Project 

Garden Party