Simply Sunday.....

One Stripe, Two Stripe, Red Dot, White Dot

**** For the record, this is the second time I have written this post. I wrote it this morning and when I went to post it was gone. I had even MADE SURE to save it first!!   RRRRRRRRRRRRRr. How frustrating. Has that ever happened to anyone else? Anyway...

The table is set

We are ready to eat,

Come party with us

You can pick your own seat. 

 

It's the good Dr.'s birthday

we have reason to smile,

With our fun party table

we are in style!

 

With dots and stripes

and puzzles and games

You'll have fun at the party

and be glad you came.

 

It all started when I found this giant "floor" puzzle at the book store.

I bought The Cat In The Hat, but there were all kinds.

I thought it would be the perfect base

for a great Seussimagical tablescape.

As an English teacher, I love Dr. Seuss.

I'll be glad to celebrate his birthday every year!

To the puzzle base I added stripes and dots

I found around the house.

Because I love red so much, it was

not hard to find

red happiness for the table.

What child does not like a straw?

Or twelve?

Not only are they fun, but

their red and white stripes

make them a perfect table top piece.

I used simple cloth napkins as

placemats for my tablescape.

They are easy to clean up after the party

by just tossing them into the washer.

There is no harm that can come to them!

I collected suckers and lollipops after both

Christmas and Valentines Day.

They look perfect mixed together.

I plan to keep them for next

Christmas as well.

See Thing 2 peeking out from the puzzle?

The mixture of fun plates

make the table fun

and childlike.

We can't have a Cat In The Hat party

without the striped hat!

When I was looking for table decor,

I found the peppermint rings

on clearance from Christmas

at Oriental Trading (online).

I immediately thought they would

be perfect Cat In The Hat tophats.

I snipped the back of each plastic ring

and they fit perfectly as a napkin ring.

Don't they look like a perfect hat from the story?

Each year Target has fun Seuss things

in their dollar bin

right around this time.

I got these bowls last year.

The other plates are from Target as well,

although from different times

and not from the dollar bin.

Each place setting was just the same,

but slightly different

because of the different bowls.

I got the cute namecards from

Oriental Trading as well.

They were originally meant

as bulletin board material.

A close up of each of the plates.

Little Caroline asked me if she really got to

keep her name tag.

She was so excited!

Children love a fun table as much

as adults do!

I turned one set of bowls upside

down

and put another set of bowls

on top

of them last year as well.

The pattern combinations make

clever containers.

Can't you just hear Dr. Seuss writing about that?

Upside, downside

turnside,

what side?

 

I found a cute striped Christmas tree

I had bought at the

after Christmas clearance

and added a top hat to it and

used it on the table.

Part of the fun of doing a children's table

is thinking outside the box.

Or dots.

Or stripes.

Or winter scarves!

How fun to use our imaginations

and get childlike when decorating

a fun birthday table.

It is even more fun to scour the house

for what we already have

and make the tablescape

very inexpensive.

A good view of the Cat In The Hat

puzzle that started it all.

One last thing.......
I wanted the napkins to be cute enough to go on the special tophat napkin rings, but yet productive enough to do their job with little children!!
Enter........a new package of dishcloths! There were eight in this package for minimal price.

I added ribbon to the edge of the washcloths.

Again, each are the same ribbon,

but slightly different.

That keeps the kids from

getting their napkins mixed up,

as well as keeping germs to a minimum!

Here is a view of the finished products.

It probably took 15 minutes total to do these.

Quick and easy, but oh so cute on the table!

It is the little things in life

that kids remember.

My kids always remember when I

took the time to make simple things

out of the ordinary.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

(I think he is pure genius by the way!)

I am linking to Susan's Between Naps On The Porch. Go by and visit! Also Show and Tell Friday and Be Different Act Normal and of course the wonderful Tablescaper.

Between Naps on the Porch

For a view of last years Seussical table go here!

And totally unplanned, my cat Boomer jumped up on the table and sat down. He had to be in the middle of the action. What is funny, is how he sat, he looks just like he was The Cat In The Hat!!  THIS picture was not staged!

Happy Pancake Day!



Pancakes with bananas between the layers.
Topped with both regular syrup and CHOCOLATE syrup and whipped cream!



  Certainly everyone is aware that it is National Pancake Day! This is one of those nonsensical days that is actually fun to celebrate. And if you got to IHOP before 10 this morning you got a free shortstack.

We love pancakes at our house. We actually never eat them early in the morning, but we like to have them either as a 'breakfast for supper' meal or

if we go to early church, then they become our brunch.

The pancakes are always made either by one of my sons or my husband. They enjoy making them so much that they even have their own special grills.



Pancakes with strawberries and a simple strawberry syrup. Topped, of course, with whipped cream.





Pink Valentine pancakes with chocolate chips.



The best part about the pancake feasts we enjoy on occasion is that both my husband and sons love to get creative with the pancakes. We have had many flavors and many colors.

 One of Luke's favorites is the pancake breakfast meal. I have never tried this, but he loves it. He puts the whole breakfast in between layers of pancakes...potatoes, bacon, scrambled eggs...and even some syrup.


The pancake meal: pancake, potatoes, pancake, bacon, pancake, scrambled eggs...then, yes, he really does put syrup on top.



Of course, we have to try rainbow pancakes!

Whether you call them griddle cakes, or short stacks, or flap jacks, johnnycakes, hotcakes, or just plain pancakes, enjoy a very pancake happy day!