A Trip to Battle Creek Michigan

Thursday, November 19, 2015

A few weeks ago we visited some friends in Battle Creek, Michigan. I was a little leary of taking a 1-year-old on a 5-hour trip. But a few stops to stretch our legs and a few cat naps broke up the trip into manageable legs and we had very little resistance.

Chicago skyline

We didn't make any set plans for the trip and just played it by ear because we're casual vacationers like that:) So, what we ended up doing was perfect for us. A few museums, lots of swimming and plenty of downtime.

One of the days we were there, we went to a children's museum. The children's museum in Kalamazoo is amazing!!! Their learning centers are so incredible. There are sections that teach about the weather, braille and blind learning, alternative energy, night creatures, music, pretend news stations and a lot more. They even have a special section devoted to tiny kids, so that's where Rayna and I spent a good chunk of time while daddy took Kayne on adventures through the building. It's so impressive to me that this museum is completely free! If I lived there, we'd be going all the time.

They had little sections in the baby area
with different animals: amphibians,
butterflies, bugs, jungle animals, etc.

Little wooden farmyard.

Old-fashioned general store


Kayne was learning about the stages of a butterfly life cycle in school at the time.
They had these Eric Carle felt boards where he showed me the entire life cycle of a butterfly.



Wind energy


One of the other days we were there, we visited another museum that was right up my alley! It was a museum about Dr. Kellogg (whose brother is the name behind the Kellogg's brand) and his research into health and fitness. He ran a huge sanitarium that was basically a cross between a medical center and a health resort. For a good read about some of his contraptions, read this.


This contraption here was a leg vibrator thing
that was supposed to increase circulation in
the legs from sitting too long.

Sitz bath

Here is a picture of the gym on-board the Titanic that was designed by Dr. Kellogg. Cool, huh?


Dr Kellogg believed in the healing powers of the sun and fresh air. So, he brought
the powers of the sun indoors with different light baths, much like today's light boxes for SAD.


There are a few other historical buildings on-site as well including a one-room schoolhouse and a church.



But, we had to leave the Kellogg museum tour early due to some mini crabby person that needed a nap;) On our way out, I got to see a little weasel that had made a home under a museum outbuilding.


While in Battle Creek, we stayed in a decent motel and so for some of our downtime, we had fun using their pool and fitness equipment. We invited our friends to enjoy pool time too!




On our last night there, we had one last big group dinner with our friends at a Big Boy. We haven't been to a Big Boy in probably 15-20 years. Even though Hubster had some really bad luck with his meal, but it was fun to go back in time a bit.




After dinner, we hit up the Battle Creek mall for a little while. I found some clothes and a bamboo wind chime at an import store. I also found the most adorable bedtime yoga book and a few other things at Barnes and Noble. I love having a meaningful bedtime routine for my kids and myself, and this book is absolutely perfect! Kayne loves going through the little vinyasa and the pictures are swoonworthy.



We had a great time just doing these easy things on a whim. The trees were changing color and the sun was out, so the timing was perfect. We planned the trip so we'd return on a Saturday and still have Sunday to rest before going back to work.




An Alice in Wonderland Tea First Birthday Party

Sunday, November 8, 2015

I love Alice in Wonderland. I've loved Alice in Wonderland since before loving it was cool, haha. That was one of the only kids' movies we owned growing up (we would rather have rented), so I saw it upwards of 50 times, no joke. So, when I was trying to decide on a theme for my daughter's first birthday, it was only natural that an Alice themed tea party would strike me as appropriate.


The cutest, most appropriate, invitations ever!
I added little AIW details like the party time: 3pm, don't be late for this very important date.
And the event: a very merry unbirthday to you and a happy first birthday to Rayna.




I tried not to go all out though and stress myself out. I wanted it to be about celebrating my little girl, not an over-the-top obligation. Kayne's first birthday party didn't even have a theme, and I'm not sure they're completely necessary. But I guess I was strung along by all the other mommas in my mommy groups that had set themes and picture-worthy decorations. You know how that goes... We wanted to keep it simple. Hubster and I definitely committed to easy food. The crockpot, some veggie trays and grape skewers were very easy food choices that took the pressure off.

Idea from here


I found some "drink me" labels to try
to recreate this Pinterest post


We really did serve tea too and set out a beautiful teacup collection from my mom.

Clean cup, clean cup, move dooooown!




For some reason, my mom also had some tea party themed balloons in her party stash which couldn't have been more perfect. This pic isn't the greatest, but we used the balloons, a doily bunting banner and a few hand-drawn (by my sister) Alice pictures for decorations. I forgot to get a picture of it up close, but I made a sign at the center bottom there that had arrows pointing "this way," "that way," "wrong way," "tea party" inspired by this Pinterest post.



I found the most adorable Alice dress from an Etsy shop for the pretty lady, although I'm not sure the 12 month size was accurate. She sure made an adorable Alice. And the most adorable card from the seller certainly made up for it.







We couldn't find a tea party or Alice in Wonderland cake at the grocery stores we tried, so we settled on a generic princess cake, that even came with a complimentary smash cake.



And smash it she did!


This kid was totally asking for it, lol. Like literally, "throw cake in my face, momma" asking for it.


All in all, Rayna did pretty well for all the noise and ruckus in our house. I loved it! Our house was filled with our closest family and friends. Especially ones I hadn't seen in a long time. I love having a full house! It had to be overstimulating for the baby, but she hung in there and begged us to open her new toys in her own baby way: by bringing them to us and whine-crying to get her point across. So darling!



We had a fabulous time ringing in this milestone day with our pretty little daughter (it's still weird for me to say "daughter." I have a daughter!). She's finally one! She finally has a number!

I'd like to thank all my friends and family that were able to make it. You know who you are! We couldn't have made Rayna's day so special without you. These precious moments will be captured in her memory book forever and we're so glad you were a part of it!

Happy birthday Rayna!