Owl Cupcakes and A Party For Two

(This post is two months overdue, but one I felt like writing anyway.)

In June my boys turned two. Two boys, entering what are affectionately know as the "terrible twos". The thought was somewhat intimidating. But regardless of what the year ahead would bring we had to celebrate this significant milestone.

I had been hearing from some people I know about toddler birthdays they had been to. One with a Cinderella princess that was a big hit. One where the mom spent upwards of seven hundred dollars when all was said and done. So not my thing. I knew I wanted mine to be simple. I don't think toddlers remember that kind of stuff. We all know they are just as happy with the wrapping paper as they are with the gift. I did know that I wanted to have our family all together. Last year we did separate parties in relatives' homes but this year I decided to take the plunge and have everyone at our house. Unfortunately that left little room for any extra friends. Having embraced where we live (you can read about that here), albeit it small, I was determined to be the host of my own kids' party this time.

We were grateful that of the boys' grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were able to make it. It was definitely a full house, but our somewhat new playroom provided some much needed extra space for the many kids needing to burn off some energy. The weather wasn't great but the rained held off for a few minutes so some of us could eat outside. The food was simple. Make your own sandwiches...the buns and some of the meat even bought with a Wagjag coupon for a local bakery (yes, I'm frugal!)

I decided that cupcakes would be easier than cake and found a neat idea on Pinterest one night. Owl cupcakes! (The original pin and credit is found here with instructions how to make them). They were time intensive but a lot of fun. For the actual cupcake I just used a Duncan Hines Devil's Food recipe. While they were baking I started working on the eyes. I probably broke about a third of the Oreos trying to open them and downed my fair share of Junior Mints in the process.

For the frosting I used a home made chocolate butter cream recipe that I love. There was more than enough left over to lick the bowl eat spoonfuls from the bowl. I got Joel to cut the ears and once everything was ready, started the assembly process. It was so fun to see them come together. Pretty close to the original don't you think?

Unfortunately I didn't have quite enough cupcakes to feed everyone so ended up making a last minute fudge marble cake as well. In the end I didn't mind as it was nice to have the traditional birthday cake and options for people who weren't up for eating an owl.

My other idea thanks to Pinterest were these rainbow fruit skewers. It's always nice to have a healthy option and might as well make it fun.

Overall we had a great time, close quarters aside. The boys loved being surrounded by all their favourite people and we loved having them.