Getting ready for birthdays & Fall

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year; it begins with Cameron's birthday which leads to Halloween, Reese's birthday, Thanksgiving & finally Christmas!  What a fun time!  Since we've got a lot going on right now, I got a jump on Fall decorating a little early this year.

I got the idea to put candy corn (which I positively loathe) around candles from Pinterest.

I hit Marshalls yesterday & picked up the glass candle holders & this metal pumpkin tray.

The candles & candy corn I picked up from Walmart (which I also loathe!)  Here's the breakdown on how much everything cost:

Glass candle holders: 2 x $3.99 + 1 x $5.99 = $14

Metal pumpkin tray: $12.99

Candy corn: 3 packs x $1.98 = $6

Candles: $1 + $2 + $5.97 = $9

Total: $42

I plan on keeping this on our kitchen island through Thanksgiving & in following years I'll only need to buy the candles & candy corn which will only cost $15.  Easy peasy, pumpkin squeezy!  I'll pull out the rest of our fall decor by October 1st & pick up a few more inexpensive touches to pull it all together.  When Cameron woke up this morning & saw the island centerpiece, he asked, "Is today Halloween??"  I said, "No, Mommy just got a little over-excited & put decorations out early this year!"

Speaking of Cameron, in six short days this boy will be FIVE!!!

I always want to make my kids' birthdays super special, so my mind is usually whirring with ideas at this time of year.  Plus, hosting even a small birthday party at home is a lot of work, so I'm trying to gradually buy things to keep on budget & schedule.  I tend to get a little frazzled on the day before & day of the party, so I'm doing my best to avoid the psycho scrambling for my sake & of those around me!

And in anticipation of Cameron's birthday, Grammy is flying in from Chicago one hour from now!!  Woo hoo!  It's been five months since she's been here so we're really, really looking forward to her nearly month long visit!  Papa comes in next week for Cameron's party, so we have a lot of celebrating ahead of us!  Happy almost Fall, everyone & happy almost birthday to Cameron!