Hudson's Shufflin' Party

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We celebrated Hudson's 4th Birthday back in March and I never got around to posting pictures, but thought it was about time I get some up! For those of you who know Hudson, you know that he LOVES to dance and listen to music. He quickly had a new favorite song after hearing and watching LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem music video! He calls it the "Everyday I'm Shufflin Song" and for Christmas even asked for the CD along with "Everyday I'm Shufflin' snacks". :)
SO for his birthday party I knew that it had to be a Dance Shufflin' Party! We all had such a great time celebrating together. You can check out the pictures below and more details about the party follow.

THE STAGE:
Since it was a dance party I really wanted to have some kind of a stage for the kids to dance on. Thanks to my wonderful husband and brother-in-law they made that happen! They built a stage from wood and PVC pipe then painted it all black. I had bought a backdrop at Oriental Trading that we attached to the back of the stage. You can find the backdrop HERE. I draped a plastic table cloth across the top, hung a small disco ball in the center, and then hung silver door streamers around the sides of the stage. I had found all of those decorations at Party City. We also had a fog machine going behind the stage.
I had a bucket full of props next to the stage that I also ordered at Oriental Trading. Sunglasses, inflatable guitars, and microphones.

DECORATIONS:
I went with the color theme of bright neon colors to decorate, along with some animal prints since LMFAO always seems to dress in those prints and colors! I bought bright colored table cloths, colorful striped paper straws, leopard print tissue paper pom poms, and designed a simple printable using LMFAO's logos.

FOOD & DRINKS:
We ordered subs for lunch since it is easy and also had some fruit and other snacks. I made coconut mojitos for the adults, you can find the recipe HERE. We also had beer and water in coolers with some colorful koozies I had found at Hobby Lobby. I had capri sun juices for the kids and placed some of the printables and striped straws in some of them.

THE CAKE:
I made Hudson a guitar cake using a cake kit by Ace of Cakes that I found on clearance at Micheal's. I also made vanilla cupcakes with lemon mousse that were served in animal print and glittered cupcake wrappers. Then had microphone cupcakes for the kids, and you can find the tutorial for making those HERE.

DRESS:
On the invitation I told everyone to dress in their disco gear, so it was fun to see what all the kids... and adults came wearing! I had ordered T-shirts for our family that all had different LMFAO logos on them.

GAMES:
I didn't really plan many games for the party. We just had music playing for the kids to dance to and also had a pinata. I found the disco ball pinata at Party City and filled it with little toys and things instead of candy. We also had a bounce house and other toys outside for the kids to play with.

PARTY FAVOR:
For the party favors Casey made a dance mix with some of Hudson's favorite songs to dance to on it. We bought some colorful CD cases and printed stickers and inserts to go on the CD's and in the cases.

Wesley's Nursing Party

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We celebrated my sister Wesley last month as she graduated Nursing School. I am so proud of her and so excited for her to begin her new career. She is going to be an amazing nurse! 

I themed the desserts in the colors mint green and red. I made a variety of nurse themed fondant cupcake toppers. Some with pills, scrubs, band aids, red crosses, and stethoscopes. I topped the mini cupcakes (below) with small red fondant hearts.The cupcakes were Wesley's favorite; Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and a Peanut Butter Filling.






We made a Dirty Shirley Punch.
 

I made heart sugar cookies and frosted them with royal icing designs of heart shaped stethoscopes and EKG patterns. The recipe for the sugar cookies is by Sweetopia, you can find the recipe HERE. It is great for cut out cookies that you plan to frost because the cookies come out nice and smooth.

I placed this nurses prayer on a canvas for my sister to take home.Found the nurses prayer via Pinterest.

Congratulations Nurse Wesley!!!

JEEVA IN "MUGAMOODI'

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BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN

At a time when a guessing game on the story of 'Mugamoodi' is on, Mysskin's next venture starring Jiiva in the lead role which is touted to be a 'super hero' subject, we have an official version on the 'mega-budget' film.
"The story of the movie is based on the theme of the superhero that lies dormant in every human. Destiny pushes a love-struck young man into a dangerous world of adventure", says a source from UTV Motion Pictures, which is producing the movie.
They also say: "How he fights the evil incarnate and becomes the savior of society forms the rest of the story of Mugamoodi". Meanwhile, the pre-production on the project is already in progress.
In the meantime, UTV is currently busy with works related to the release of Vikarm-starrer 'Deiva Thirumagal'. The movie directed by Vijay, co-produced by Sree Rajakaliamman Medias and UTV Motion Pictures and will release across 350 screens in India July 15.

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2-G Spectrum scam to become a film's story

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BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN


The exact outcome of the 2-G Spectrum scam which created reverberations in many political circles and saw several upheavals in some of the political parties winning and forming government during the last assembly election, has been made plot of a film. The Pooja for the new film was held on July 11 with the title of the film as 2-G Spectrum.


It is known that the 2G Spectrum scam which saw the fall of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu and also resulted in the former chief minister's daughter Kanimozhi and former Union Telecom Minister A.Raja who were arrested and sent to Tihar Jail for making inquiries, is being made a story of the film.The 2-G Spectrum , what the other opposition parties would call it a scam, the Special court will go ahead with the inquiries in which many persons are arrested. It is said to deliver the judgment it may take several years. But our Tamil film industry will not wait for this because it has been facing severe scarcity for good stories.

2-G Spectrum story is directed by John Manohar a journalist .Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, who plays mother's role in many Tamil films donning the role of Kanimozhi.

Riaz Khan will play the role of Raja. Shanthini of Nadodigal fame will do the role of corporate lobbyist Nira Radia. Comedian Singamuthu will play union minister M.K Alagiri. Sathyaraj playing the role of election commissioner.

2G Spectrum will also be the first Tamil film that will be using an English title for a Tamil film. The director says the film will get success in tamil film indusrtry.

Besides, the real story the film will have masalas with dances and songs to attract the public.

Will this film be allowed for release, if the production is over, is a million dollar question, that faces many in film circles. Let us wait and watch the game.

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Panera's Cauliflower Cheese Soup

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Thanks again to my friend Gwen who again has Faithfulness Farm the blog up and going. I appreciate your hanging in there with me!
Last year a Panera Bread opened in the town I work in. I have eaten at Panera many times in the past (pre-low-carb) and while many were excited to see them come to our area, not so much me. Not that I didn't like them or have nice experiences when I've eaten there in the past BUT with BREAD in their name, they are not so low-carb friendly.

Then a friend from work brought in their nutrition facts and I saw that there were a few things that would work for me -- Cauliflower Cheese Soup being the first thing on my list to try. I was amazed to see that Panera actually has this recipe on their webpage (Panera's Recipe). I was thrilled to see it had no thickeners that often are in creamy soups and add carbs. The recipe was  low-carb as is but a little tweeking and it is PERFECTLY low-carb. Enjoy - either at a Panera near you or this versoin at home!!


Cauliflower Cheese Soup

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 rib of celery, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1-1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1-1/2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp salt

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Set aside 12 bite-size cauliflower florets. Coarsely chop remaining cauliflower and set aside. Drop the 12 florets in boiling water and blanch for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chopped cauliflower, broth, half-and-half, thyme, pepper, and nutmeg. Cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender. Puree the soup in a blender and return to the pot. Stir in the cheese and salt until the cheese melts and the soup is heated through, 3 minutes. Serve topped with cauliflower florets. Makes 6 servings. Panera's version contains 7 net carbs per serving -- mine is 4.

JEEVA IN "MUGAMOODI'

To contact us Click HERE

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN

At a time when a guessing game on the story of 'Mugamoodi' is on, Mysskin's next venture starring Jiiva in the lead role which is touted to be a 'super hero' subject, we have an official version on the 'mega-budget' film.
"The story of the movie is based on the theme of the superhero that lies dormant in every human. Destiny pushes a love-struck young man into a dangerous world of adventure", says a source from UTV Motion Pictures, which is producing the movie.
They also say: "How he fights the evil incarnate and becomes the savior of society forms the rest of the story of Mugamoodi". Meanwhile, the pre-production on the project is already in progress.
In the meantime, UTV is currently busy with works related to the release of Vikarm-starrer 'Deiva Thirumagal'. The movie directed by Vijay, co-produced by Sree Rajakaliamman Medias and UTV Motion Pictures and will release across 350 screens in India July 15.

Posted in:

2-G Spectrum scam to become a film's story

To contact us Click HERE

BY KARPAGAM THYAGARAJAN


The exact outcome of the 2-G Spectrum scam which created reverberations in many political circles and saw several upheavals in some of the political parties winning and forming government during the last assembly election, has been made plot of a film. The Pooja for the new film was held on July 11 with the title of the film as 2-G Spectrum.


It is known that the 2G Spectrum scam which saw the fall of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu and also resulted in the former chief minister's daughter Kanimozhi and former Union Telecom Minister A.Raja who were arrested and sent to Tihar Jail for making inquiries, is being made a story of the film.The 2-G Spectrum , what the other opposition parties would call it a scam, the Special court will go ahead with the inquiries in which many persons are arrested. It is said to deliver the judgment it may take several years. But our Tamil film industry will not wait for this because it has been facing severe scarcity for good stories.

2-G Spectrum story is directed by John Manohar a journalist .Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, who plays mother's role in many Tamil films donning the role of Kanimozhi.

Riaz Khan will play the role of Raja. Shanthini of Nadodigal fame will do the role of corporate lobbyist Nira Radia. Comedian Singamuthu will play union minister M.K Alagiri. Sathyaraj playing the role of election commissioner.

2G Spectrum will also be the first Tamil film that will be using an English title for a Tamil film. The director says the film will get success in tamil film indusrtry.

Besides, the real story the film will have masalas with dances and songs to attract the public.

Will this film be allowed for release, if the production is over, is a million dollar question, that faces many in film circles. Let us wait and watch the game.

Posted in:

Max's Monster Birthday Party

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I am finally getting around to posting the pictures from Max's 1st Birthday Party. We had a small party for him, that was Monster themed. Since his birthday is right around Valentine's Day I incorporated a little bit of a Valentine's Day theme too. We had a great time celebrating with family and friends, this last year has flown by! Balancing two kids has been a challenge, and we are still adjusting to the changes. But Max has brought lots of joy and laughter into the family and I look forward to watching his funny little personality continue to grow!

 Paper Straws are available in my shop!
 I made the monster eyes by gluing the Wilton edible eyes onto toothpicks to stick in the chicken fingers.

We have really been trying to eat healthier and so I tried my best to keep the party food and drinks healthy too. Whenever I throw a party I tend to have a lot of junk food...Which we really try not to eat much, but I tend to serve it at parties! Junk food is easier, not much prep for some of it, and usually for parties you want lots of artificially colored foods to make the party look colorful and fun. However, I have noticed a link to Hudson's behavior when he eats artificially colored foods. I tried to make the food colorful by choosing healthy fruits and veggies! Here is what we ate:

• Veggies with Cashew Dill Dip
• Baked Chicken Fingers with Wheat Germ and Flaxseed - Lil' Monsters
• Baked Sweet Potato Fries - Monster Fingers
• Organic Grape Juice Jello cups with Fresh Blueberries - Monster Eyes
• Carrot Lemonade
• Strawberry Peach Smoothies
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Raw Brownies

 Kid's got to build a monster with play dough, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes.
 How Many Monster Eye Can you Count?The jar was filled with red sprinkles and googly eyes for the kids to count.
 We had a bubble maker on in the backyard and some homemade heart bubble wands.
 We had "Monster Foot" relay races! Using pillow cases the kids had to jump like a monster with one foot down the grass and back until their team was done. It was really cute to watch them cheer each other on.
 I love this picture of Max carefully picking at the sprinkles on his birthday cake! I have to mention also that his adorable knitted monster hat is made by Heather's Hook Nook. Heather makes all kinds of precious knit hats and can even customize colors and designs! 
 The kids made each other Monster Valentines that I had ordered from Oriental Trading. I also ordered monster bags for each child and moster lollipops to take home.
 The kids took home their valentines, lollipops, and handmade monster dolls. I found the monster doll template from One Charming Party.