Author Archives: KMB

A Bluebird Day hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Our best laid plans are sometimes meant to go wrong for a reason. When Mark broke his toe on New Years Day, I was pretty disappointed as we’d planned to walk the Tongariro Crossing at the end of the month. Doctors orders were to stay off his foot as mu… Continue reading

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Cauliflower Tots

Ahhh the on going challenge of getting kids to eat their veges… some kids are ok while others will cry, gag and throw them out the window when you are not looking (my daughter did this). According to studies there is actual science behind the reason that children don’t like veges. Children are apparently more […] Read more…

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Broken Beloved – N.M. Howell

  Broken Beloved: An Immortal Nights Young Adult Paranormal Romance Novel by N M Howell They took everything from her. She’d give it all again to keep him safe.Anna sacrificed everything to save her brother’s life. She endured endless torture. She killed. Now she wants to close her eyes and sleep forever.Only she can’t. She’s … Continue reading Broken Beloved – N.M. Howell Continue reading

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The “A” choice: STOP, It’s not your abortion!

I am a woman who believes in choice. In New Zealand at the moment our prime minister wants nothing to do with updating the crime act that is abortion.It is the only medical procedure in the crimes act!Watching some of the comments being thrown around in regards to this breaks my heart…”Is this the common form of contraception these days?””Why don’t women just close their legs?””It just legitimizes killing babies!”I always find it odd that it is often an opinionated male voicing their opinion Continue reading

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Activities With Kids: The Reality

Activities With Kids: The Reality Picture this: it’s raining. You have a young child and you’re at your wits end as to what to do with them. So you start trawling through the internet for “things to do with young kids”. You stumble across Pinterest and before you know it you’ve got the flour, and […]

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Activity Spotlight: Baby Rock and Rhyme

What is it?  A music session designed for babies and young children. A presenter leads an interactive session of action songs, rhymes, finger play and stories. Where is it? Find one at a local library near you, or just head along to one where the day suits you!  If you live in Lower Hutt, try Bounce…

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KIDS PARTIES: DINOSAUR PARTY

ROAR!

 There’s a ‘THREE-REX’ in the house! 

When my partner asked Master M what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday – he said “DINOSAUR” straight away, followed by a huge ROAR! Therefore, it was decided that the theme for his 3rd birthday was going to be ‘DINOSAURS’. 
I do love planning and organising events, especially birthdays on a budget. Previous birthday themes were A Little Golden Book for his first birthday, and a Construction theme for his 2nd (which I only shared on the blog last month, oops). 
This year I wanted to keep things simple, yet effective. So today I am sharing with you, all the details of our son’s 3rd Birthday – DINOSAUR PARTY! 
Enjoy!

– THE INVITATION – 

I made the invitations this year. I designed it in PicMonkey, using one of their templates for inspiration. I simply changed the watermark images to dinosaurs and also changed the colours to match the theme of the party. 
I went to Harvey Norman Photo Centre and printed the invitations onto 6×4 photo paper. They turned out really good. (Invitations cost less than 20c each). I ended up using these invitations for party favours instead (see below), and just created a Facebook event for his birthday, so I could keep track of who was coming and used this invitation as the cover photo. 

– DECORATIONS – 

Keeping it simple, yet effective, I found this cute idea (via Instagram user of hanging the words ‘THREE REX” above the table – it was the perfect backdrop. I found a number ‘3’ Heidi Swapp Marquee light for $10 on clearance at Spotlight last year, which looked really cool all lit up. 


I put a photo of Master M in an orange frame we already had in his bedroom and put his green soft toy dinosaur next to it. 


As soon as I knew we were going to have a dinosaur themed birthday for Master M, I went straight to Mel’s blog Flicker and Flock and downloaded her awesome Dinosaur Balloon templates. These are so cool and easy to put together, as she has included a ‘how to’ tutorial. They looked awesome in the living room and playroom, setting the scene for the theme.
I also used Master M’s dinosaur mobile, he made at care, as a focal decoration hanging from the living room lights. (more details about that below)
Dinosaur Balloons were a HIT! 

The KMart light box is always a great item to use as a decoration – I put ‘YOU ARE RAWRSOME. ROAR!  as the message. I also used the dinosaur cookie cutters as decorations too. 

Dinosaur balloons
I was stoked to find these cute Dinosaur Prints on Etsy for less than $3. I printed and laminated them and displayed them on a string in the playroom (which is also where I displayed Master M’s birthday cards). These prints are now in his bedroom, I just need to get some frames for them. 
A week before the party, we visited our local public library and found some Dinosaur themed books to put on display. Master M loves reading books so it was a nice to add books as decorations, the kids loved reading them too. 

– FOOD & DRINK – 

My son’s amazing home-based carer made us some vanilla cupcakes & dinosaur shaped shortbread cookies, so all we needed to do was decorate them.  For the cupcakes, we added Flake, Chocolate speckled eggs and Dinosaur confectionery lollies. I also found these cute cupcake toppers from Place of my Taste
We iced the dinosaurs in the theme colours: green, blue, orange and yellow. Not the greatest icing, but they still looked cute and were very delicious. 
I love the dinosaur jelly cups. I used lime jelly and popped a dinosaur lolly in each of them – ‘Dig for Dinosaurs’. We also had ‘Dino Eggs’ – just green grapes in a bowl. Our friends brought a plate too, so we had green marshmallow, popcorn, sausage rolls, pizza bread, lamingtons, chips and mini toffee pops. 
For the drinks, I supplied: water, soft drinks, orange juice (in a flexi tub of ice) & hot drinks too. 
Because I moved our furniture around a bit, we had a massive floor area to put blankets down for the kids to eat on. It worked out perfect – picnic in the lounge. 
Dinosaur Cupcakes 

T-Rex and Triceratop Cookies
Dinosaur Jelly Cups
Dino Eggs

Dinosaur eggs

– PARTY FAVOURS –

I like to give our friends a little something to say thanks for coming to the party. Party favour included: an invitation/thanks for coming, Dinosaur Confectionary lolly, a few ‘dinosaur eggs’ (grapes), a mini dinosaur and a ‘Capsule Creature’. 
IMPORTANT TO NOTE:
Before I handed out the favours, I told the parents to take the ‘invitation’ out because the capsule was taped to the back. The kids got to play with their dinosaur and eat their little treats, then once they got home, (with adult supervision) they were able to watch their dinosaur grow in water.  I photocopied the back of the ‘Capsule Creature’, so the kids could find out which dinosaur they got. 

– THE CAKE – 

A scrumptious double-layered chocolate mud cake (made with Kumara), with white and milk chocolate icing (requested) by my friend, Nicci at .
I decorated it in the morning of the party, using a T-Rex & Triceratops (from KMart), Flakes, Malt balls, chocolate speckled eggs and a few items from his dinosaur adventure play set. Bunting was   also from KMart for $2 – I just added a couple of stickers and the RAWR@! Simple, yet effective. I love how it turned out.
(Note: Delights is dairy free, refined sugar free, & gluten free)

Chocolate Mud Cake (made with Kumara)  *DELIGHTS*

– ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS –  

We got Master M this 125-piece Dinosaur  Adventure Play set  for his birthday. Purchased from KMart. The kids loved playing with the dinosaurs and making little enclosures for them. 
DINOSAUR ADVENTURE PLAYSET
I bought a bag of playground sand from Bunnings for under $12 and put it in an under-the-bed storage container (it’s great because the lid keeps the stray cats out).  This sand is a lot grainier than normal sand, which I actually prefer as it comes off a lot easier. I added a pack of 30 dinosaurs  ($3 from KMart) to the sand a few gardening tools, so the kids could dig them up. They loved it.

DINOSAUR HUNT

One activity I had planned, but completely forgot to pull out when everyone was here, were these super easy ICE AGE Dinosaur Fossils 
HOW TO:
Carefully place a dinosaur in a balloon and fill it with some water (about 1 1/2 cups) and place into the freezer overnight. After a couple of hours, when the balloons are starting to harden,  turn the balloons over to try and get the dinosaur to move more to the centre. Once frozen, cut the balloons and it exposes these really cool ICE AGE Dinosaur Fossils. 
I gave one each to the kids (Master M, Miss B and my niece & nephew, who were staying with us). Master M used the hammer to crack the ice (alternatively you could give your child a spoon) until he could get the dinosaur out. He thought it was pretty cool, and it was a nice activity to do on a hot day. It’s a shame our friends missed it. 
ICE AGE DINOSAUR FOSSILS


– HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY MASTER M – 

Master M wore his RAWRsome DINOSAUR t-shirt he got from his Great Grandmother for Christmas, denim shorts and his ‘trucker’ hat. One of his friends also wore the same shirt, it was so cute. 
I can’t believe my baby boy is 3! Happy Birthday son!

– BIRTHDAY KEEPSAKE – 

The week before the party, Master M had been working on a little project with his home-based carer. He made a dinosaur mobile! He painted it and decorated it with embellishments. There are four dinosaurs (T-Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus and Pterodactyl) and now it is proudly hanging in his bedroom above his bed. It is his keepsake for his 3rd birthday. 
For Master M’s birthday – he got a mini bedroom makeover, using the presents he got from us to decorate his room. I love how it turned out and he loves it too. 

I hope you found some inspiration from this post! Here are the details again:

PARTY SUPPLIES & DETAILS

Invitation: designed and created in PicMonkey
Lightbox: KMart
Marquee Light ‘3’ (Heidi Swapp): Spotlight
Dinosaur ballons: Flicker & Flock
Cake:
Happy Birthday Cake Topper & Dino Eggs Printable: Place of my Taste
Dinosaur Prints (T-Rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, & Pterodactyl): Prints and Princess Art 
Dinosaur duvet: KMart 
Dinosaur Hoody:
My friend Karen from Mummy Do It shares 10 Fun Dinosaur Party Ideas if you are looking for more Dinosaur party inspiration. 

Thanks for stopping by,
Charlene 

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Sunday March 12th

Today I am grateful for …Coffee at a local cafe after almost dying from the humidty at the gym A child free weekend with my Mr B before he heads to the USA on work and whilst my FIL has the children for a week on the Gold Coast Plastic stor… Continue reading

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2017 Running Goals: First Check-In

I usually only do my first running goal check-in post for the year in April, but I’ve made such good progress with all five of my running goals so far that I just can’t wait any longer!  This is in stark contrast to both 2015 and 2016, where I litera… Continue reading

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After the Storm

It’s inevitable really, that after the stormy weather, I’m writing a rain inspired post! The last few days quite a deluge has hit Auckland. There have been floods, power cuts, storm damage. Fortunately our house was unscathed, apart from the rather large puddle situated outside our front door. We can all have days or seasons in life when it […] Continue reading

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My 5 Minute Natural Makeup Look.

We all have those mornings where we are pressed for time but still wanting to look presentable at work. While navigating around getting myself and our son ready I attempt to schedule some time to do my makeup and feel good about myself for the day. Here is my 5 minute Natural Makeup Look. Foundation. I […]

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Yet more great Millionaires caramel recipes & ideas from Kiwicakes

Millionaires caramel makes a great topping for no bake slices. Simply heat to 50 degrees Celsius and spread spread over your no bake slice, press in slated poprcorn. Top with chocolate if desired.Millionaires caramel can be used to coat and stack profi… Continue reading

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OMFG I HAVE INTERNET!

You know those stupid posts you see on Facebook etc that ask you if you would give up the internet for a whole year for a million dollars blah blah blah? Yeah, you can count me out of them. Just going without actual internet from Thursday afternoon until this morning was long enough. I’ve already …

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It’s Alive

As you will have noticed we have been around for a few months. I’ve spent the last few months concentrating on artwork for my exhibition which was held in January, being a mum and most recently having a total thyroidectomy. It’s no surprise that since our last blog entry the Tiny Human has done a… Continue reading It’s Alive Continue reading

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Ready or not, you’re a grandparent

I ’m just getting the hang of this ‘grandfather’ thing – two beautiful grandsons1. It has come as a shock – grandparents are supposed to be old people, and I don’t feel ready for that label yet. Many of my happiest childhood memories are of my Da, my grandad. I only had one grandad in […]

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