This past weekend we celebrated Jordyns 7th birthday!

We decided to keep it small and just have family and Jordyns best friends over for some cake and to hang out in the backyard. We ended up getting a jumper for a heck of a price and Jordyn was thru the roof about it. 

Jordyns party would not have been as amazing without the beautiful hand made personalized decorations. I wanted to cry because these things were so beautiful. A small business contacted me and offered to make everything for free.......seriously.....just wait until you see everything. I will link her contact information at the end of the post.

THANK YOU SONYA FOR EVERYTHING. YOU TRULY MADE JORDYNS BIRTHDAY MAGICAL. I CANT WAIT TO ORDER ITEMS FOR MY NEXT PARTY!

We incorporated Jordyns love of Halloween into the outside decor. :)

The rainbow clouds were made from streamers and dollar store plastic table cloths. The Pinkie Pie poster is actually a game, "Pin the Cutie Mark on Pinkie Pie." 

The cake was rainbow on the inside but I didn't get a picture of it! :(

The treat boxes were adorable and were filled with My Lttle Pony stickers, a My Little Pony cup and My Little Pony tattoos. The decorations also included these beautiful, well made bookmarks.

The girls played musical chairs, limbo, and pin the Cutie Mark on Pinkie Pie.

The winner of each game took home 10 bucks!

( thanks Zeke) 

They also bounced the day away and roasted marshmallows and made smores on the fire pit. There was also a piñata but I didn't get any photos of it :(

Overall, Jordyn had an amazing birthday. Keeping it small and having just her best friends over was the best decision. I don't think things would have went as smoothly had there been more children. 

The decorations really made the day. Everything was so very well made and the amount of detail and care Sonya put into everything really shows. 

You can view Sonyas instagram HERE and see some of her other work, when I say the photos don't do the products justice.....I mean it!! On top of creating amazing work Sonya gives amazing customer service. She kept me in the loop every step of the way, she never hesitated to share her progress and how things were coming along. When everything was all done, I received a very detailed email describing everything I would find in my package and suggestions on styling techniques. 

I CANT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!

You can also email Sonya at Stoneybrookestudios@gmail.com 

with inquiries for products and pricing. 

Xo, Jeanice.

Why trips to the library are important.

I've read a lot of posts about why building a home library for your children is important. I've also read a few posts with advice on how to build a home library for cheap. And while I think building a home library is very important, I think that taking actual trips to the library are just as, if not more important. 

Heres why..

Lessons in responsibility.

Do you remember your first library card? How excited you were to have one in YOUR name, not your moms?....How you now felt responsible? Checking out and returning books teaches a good lesson in responsibility and trustworthiness. Its an opportunity to teach our children about caring for things that are not ours. Children WANT responsibilities and allowing them to check out library books in their own name is a great tool for teaching such a lesson. They feel a sense of accomplishment when they take care of the books and return them in the condition they borrowed them in. 

Creating memories. 

taking regular trips to the library will give your child something to look forward to. Sure, we can go home and read a few books, but it wouldn't be as special.We go to the library every 2 weeks. Its something Jordyn looks forward to and gets happy about. We are creating memories and traditions that hopefully she will pass on to her children. She gets excited returning books and checking out new titles. 

Library activities.

Gone are the days where libraries were considered cold, quiet places where you couldn't make a peep without getting the "SHHHHH" from the librarian. Libraries are almost always alive with laughter and activities. We go on Wednesdays when they have lego club or arts and crafts club. So we can get our book browsing in and then have some fun active time. Most libraries have story time and puppet shows that the kids love. If your kids are older a lot of libraries offer teen activities as well. 

Nothing beats free.

going to the library gives your child exposure to more titles than you could probably ever afford. Lets face it, the price of books is a little outrageous. Library books are free. Jordyn has read almost every book in the Fancy Nancy series because of the library. The librarian can also help give advice on great titles and series for your child that you may not have even known about.  

Today, we are over run with technology, kids know how to play games on their iPad but can't name the title of their favorite book. Home libraries are great, but actually going out and experiencing the magic of a public library and all it has to offer is something that your children will never forget. Its a great experience and getting their own library card is every childs right of passage. Going to the library will help grow your childs love of reading because they aren't limited by just the titles they have at home. 

Make trips to the library a priority. I know that with school and sports and all of the other things going on in our lives, a trip to the library falls last on the priority list. But making a library trip a priority teaches your child that reading is a priority as well.

Xo, Jeanice

Refreshing a finger coil

I got a lot of questions about how I did Jordyns finger coils. Since I was refreshing the finger coils she already had, we decided to do a quick video. This is the same technique I would use if I were doing them on fresh hair. 

Xo,

Jeanice

Feature Friday: Confident kid Serene!

Happy Feature Friday!

This weeks feature is the gorgeous Serene! Big sister to 3 younger siblings.

Serene is 6 years old.

In the second grade.

She enjoys tennis, gymnastics, crafting, creating, and playing and helping with her siblings.

Serenes mom writes:

Serene Leah Davis

Serene has always been confident. 

She could talk before she was 2 and her favourite phrase was “I do it myself".  

Serene moves to the beat of her own drum! She says what she feels and does what comes natural to her while respecting others peoples abilities and thinking.  She is not afraid to be wrong because she understands that she learns from her mistakes and will eagerly try again.  She doesn't follow the crowd and is quick to tell you how she feels about something.  She does most things without having to be told because she is aware of the right thing and encourages others to do the right things as well. 

Her confidence shines through when dealing with her 3 younger siblings. She takes the initiative to help and has even told me at times "Don't worry Mommy, you take a break, I got this". 

Self confidence comes from a sense of competence. We allow her to make her own decisions while nurturing her natural talents and praising her for her accomplishments. 

Being a sibling teaches great life skills:

Love and support.

Cooperation and team work

tolerance

leadership

conflict resolution.

etc....

Serene is doing such a great job at her roll as a big sister. Keep up the great work Serene!!

Thanks to SuperMommy Laura for allowing me to feature her confident kid!

Be sure to go check out her blog supermommy101.com

For encouraging stories and tips on motherhood. 

Feature Friday. Confident kid Jayden!

I'm so excited for Feature Friday. This blog is all about positivity, building confidence and raising a happy confident kid... i'm happy to share my journey with you all and I want to celebrate your confident kid as well! Every Friday I will feature a child that has exemplified confidence. I hope these stories of childhood confidence inspire you as they've inspired me! Now, on to our first feature!

Confident kid Jayden!

Jaydens mom writes:

Jayden is very confident in his personal appearance. He will wear plaid and stripes with out even thinking twice. He also is willing to share and help his fellow friends/classmates out with there wardrobe, he has a boy that he met in camp who he is always helping him pick an outfit out of his closet! So I believe Jayden is confident in every way because in this crazy world it's easy to want to follow and fall in to the stereotype of what a black young man should do and wear etc. But not Jayden he does his own thing WITH CONFIDENCE!!!
❤️Kasey

Thank you Kasey for sharing Jaydens story with us. Its important for me to note that Jayden is biracial and his mother is not black. Its hard enough as a black woman to raise a strong confident black man, I know that the struggle is harder for someone who is not black. The fact that Jayden is so confident in himself and has a willingness to share and help ( most kids don't...Jordyn struggles withs sharing sometimes) at such a young age, is proof that Kasey is doing a great job! Way to go mom, keep building that confidence. 

And way to go Jayden! Keep being a Confident Kid!! 

Xo, Jeanice