Tonsillectomy- My Recovery Story

Why a tonsillectomy?

As a teenager/young adult I often got strep throat a few times each winter. Then when I got mono when I was 22ish my tonsils grew to an enormous size and never went back down. Since then I've dealt with reoccurring episodes of tonsillitis, strep, laryngitis, bad sore throat etc. In March I met with my ENT and he agreed that a tonsillectomy was indeed in my best interest. I decided to have the surgery over spring break and then took an additional two days off from work the following week (my doctor recommended 10 days). My mom came up for the week to help out with the kids and my husband took a week of leave. Below are my daily post of my recovery. I found a lot of blogs helpful in preparing for my tonsillectomy. I would like to think that I have a rather high pain tolerance, I really don't have the job where I can take 2 weeks of leave (Special Ed teacher) , I have small children, and my husband is a shift worker in the Army. With that said I hope someone out there can relate and finds this helpful :) 

Surgery Day- Tuesday April 7th

So I had to report to the surgical center at 6:30 am on Tuesday April 7th. Prep included a urine sample, an IV, basic vitals etc. I met with my ENT and Anesthesiology and shortly after 7am I was saying my goodbyes to my husband as they wheeled me to the OR. I told my husband "see you on the other side" which apparently freaked out the medical staff. I clearly meant the other side of the facility which was the recovery area lol.  About 15 minutes later the doctor met with my husband and told him everything went well. 15 minutes after that my husband joined me in the recovery room and 15 minutes after that I was getting in the car and leaving. As I am typing this it has been about 2 hours since the procedure. It feels like I have a really bad sore throat BUT I am not in any real pain. On a scale 1-10 I would say a 3.

Things I had ready to go after surgery:

• 3 reusable ice packs
• 1 refillable ice pack
• Humidifier
• Gum
• Pellet Ice from Sonic/medium cooler
• A variety of Italian ice, icees, Popsicles, and sherbet cups in my freezer
• Stool softener

Update 9:38pm- Thanks to another blogger we stopped by Sonics and got 3 bags of their pellet ice AND a strawberry slushy for me after leaving the surgical center lol. Next we picked up my meds from the pharmacy and got home around 10 am ish. I was pretty good until 1pm. I think at that point the anesthesia began to wear off as I became hot, nauseous, and had a horrible headache. Originally I thought it was the pain meds so I neglected to take any. I ended up giving in and taking it (Diaudid) and following it with Promethazine for nauseous. Things got better after that. My hubby ran out and got me some Wonton Soup which I let cool for like 20 mins.....it gave the crunchy noodles time to get soggy. For the rest of the afternoon I tried to take naps, but really couldn't drift off good for fear of my throat drying out. I would sit up often to sip water. I also did salt water gargles about 8 times today. Throughout the day I iced my neck/ears and chewed gum periodically. I will give an update tomorrow morning on how tonight goes :-/

Day 2- Wednesday April 8th

Last night went very well. I slept for 2-3 hour intervals waking up to take meds, drink, gargle and to change the ice pack on my throat.  I took pain meds around 11:30 pm. I am really trying to space them out as my doctor only gave me 35 pills. I moved my Humidifier so that it blew directly on my face lol and I had a freeze pop around 1am. I woke up for good around 8:20am. I took an ibuprofen and did a salt water gargle. Afterwards I fixed me a breakfast of eggs, grits, and a slice of toast (yes, I still have my normal appetite...for now). Right now it is 9:35am and my pain is a 2 on a scale of 10. It honestly only bothers me when I swallow. I am still keeping myself hydrated with water and I'm chewing gum. I've read horror stories about how day 2 is the turn for the worst with recovery. I feel so good that I find that hard to believe but I am anticipating it. I feel so good that I feel I could actually make the gym.....clearly I'm not though :)

Update: 5:30pm- So today has continued to be a pretty good day. I can't really say I've been in "pain" but more of an extreme soreness of my tongue, throat, and ears. The soreness is even worse when I swallow. I would give this dull soreness a 4 on a scale of 10. I've continued with my salt water gargles, sipping water, chewing gum, my humidifier etc. I've only taken pain meds twice today and ibuprofen twice. I am still taking my 10 day course of antibiotics. I ate some wonton soup for lunch and a few icees here and there. I am actually dreading eating something for dinner bc my mouth is so sore. It's like all the muscles have been over worked or something. I'm currently icing my ears and my throat with ice paks and a wrap.

Day 3- Thursday April 9th

So last night I had to sleep sitting up as my uvula is so swollen it is hard to breathe laying down. I was very tired and lethargic as the evening continued. I woke up around 3:00 am

with the dreaded ear pain everyone talks about (5 out of 10) . So far the worst pain I've experienced. I decided to take some pain meds and ice my ears. Today I start my steroid....apparently I take them only 3 times during my recovery. I really hope it reduces some of the swelling.  I'm up in pain and the rest of my family is sound asleep :'(. I really don't have an appetite.....I'm eating an Italian ice right now just to soothe my throat. That in itself is very painful to get through.

Update 2:30pm- the first half of my day I was very dizzy, nauseous, and tired. I couldn't sit up for long periods of time without feeling sick. I did manage to get down a little broccoli & cheddar soup around lunch time. Little naps helped me feel better. I honestly think I felt this way from the back to back pain meds I had early this morning. As a result I think I'm going to lay off them and keep Ibuprofen in my system. My ear pain and throat pain have reduced since this morning. My husband purchased me some throat spary and stool softeners this morning. Both have done their job! I'm feeling so good that I am planning to head to the store this evening then have some froyo :)

Update 8pm- Froyo was a huge mistake.....it hurt my throat and now I am paying for it :(

Day 4- Friday April 10th

So I got a 4 hour stretch of sleep last night. I was pretty excited about that. I did awake to some pretty moderate ear pain though. I took some more ibuprofen and iced my ears. Day 4 and 5 have been apparently the turn for the worst on most tonsillectomy blogs. I keep hoping that I will miss this stage completely. Last night eating was a very daunting task as my mouth and tongue are so sore. So I decided to make a waffle this morning......and it appears it isn't going that well. It hurts like hell to chew let alone swallow *sigh*. I read that heat will help with the ear pain. So I've wrapped a heating pad around my ears with an ACE bandage lol......the heat feels great! I sent my husband to Dunkin Donuts to get me an iced coffee....I figured sipping would go better than chewing! Curious to see how the rest of the day goes. I must admit I'm pretty nervous about when my scabs fall off :-/

Update 3:50pm- Okay so today has been the worst pain wise. An 8 on a scale of 10. Heat works for a while but nothing takes it away. I broke down and took a half a dose of my pain meds just now. I thought I would feel better after a nap but I don't. Honestly I've been in bed all day and when I walk around for too long the pain is unbearable. I even cried a little today while my husband tried to console me. The thought of food hurts and all I keep thinking is that day 5 can't be this bad :(

Day 5- Saturday April 11th

Last night continued to be horrible. I took my pain meds back to back every 3-4 hours with ibuprofen in between. I applied heat to my ears continously. It is 2:30 am and I just woke up to take my next dose of pain meds......the ear pain I woke up to is like a 9 on a scale of 10. It appears today will indeed be a repeat of yesterday :( I honestly didn't think this recovery was gonna hit me like this. I thought I was strong and would have a relatively easy/speedy recovery. No need to continually repeat how much pain I am in. Just know I'm hurting bad and I'm starting to worry about being ready to go back to work Wed. I need a miracle to happen :-(

Update 8:00pm- Today has been rough. I only left my bed to use the bathroom, get ice packs, or use the bathroom. I was very loopy most of the day bc I resorted to taking my pain meds continuously. I will say around 6:30pm my husband brought me some warm pita bread and after that life turned around for me. I had also taken a pain killer around 5pm so idk which caused my turn around. Of course my throat hurts when I swallow but I have no ear pain. I hope this continues into the night and into day 6. This evening is giving me hope!

Day 6th- Sunday April 12th

I woke up at 3:30am to use the bathroom and I felt pretty good. Mild throat pain when I swallow but no real ear pain. This was the same last evening until I fell asleep. Could I have past the peak of pain? I feel as though Jesus himself touched me and healed me at some point while I slept lol. I haven't had pain meds sice yesterday afternoon, but I went ahead a just took some ibuprofen incase I started feeling bad. My daily pic does look as if I've been losing scabs and an uvula is no longer "really" swollen. I haven't choked a scab or coughed one up like other bloggers wrote. They are just slowly and quietly leaving :). I do think it is more painful to eat with the scabs coming off. Everything burns even ice water!

Update 1:05pm- My mom left heading back to NC today mid morning. Both of my girls cried and she was crying too lol. After that we went by Lowe's to get some materials to prep our flower beds for planting next week or so. I came home thinking I was going to be able to assist my husband and 30 minutes into it I was light headed. I thought food would make it better but I didn't make it through 1/4 of my chicken slovakia sandwich when I threw in the towel (this is something I can usually down in less than 5 minutes). So I went back to bed and iced my throat and put a heating pad on my ears.  That evening we had beef stew, mashed potatoes, and cabbage for dinner. In order for me to eat any of it I had to numb my throat with a throat antiseptic. I love food and I never imagine how one day I wouldn't be able to eat food bc it hurts lol. Overall, today has still been so much better.....I just think I over did it bc I felt better.

Day 7- Monday April 13th

So I woke up at 12am with my throat on fire. Apparently, I hadn't drank any water since like early evening and it had dried out. It was really painful and the dreaded ear pain is back. I take this to be that my scabs are continuing to fall off. I'm still off my pain meds so I'm taking ibuprofen as needed for pain. I think I may call my doctor to rule out that I have thrush. My tongue still hurts and has a white film on it. Anyway, all of my colleagues head back to work today after spring break. I still have 2 days to recover and then I'm back with them. I can already tell you I probably won't be 100% to go back but I'm going anyway. 

Update 11:30am- So I was correct......I have oral thrush as a side effect of the antibiotics I am on. My doctor prescribed me an anti fungal lozenge I have to slowly dissolve in my mouth for 15-20 minutes 5 times a day for 7 days! Eek! This nasty case of thrush probably explains why my tongue hurts sometimes more than my throat. Anyway, overall I feel pretty good. I was able to eat a mcmuffin and hashbrown from McDonald's this morning. It was uncomfortable and it took like 20 minutes but I got it down. I'm feeling more confident about returning to work on Wednesday now, although I may still consider taking a half a day.

Update 6:07pm- So I decided to do yet another update. This afternoon I was tired of laying in bed all day so I walked to pick up my daughter from daycare (only about 30 minutes both ways). Clearly, my body wasn't ready for this as when I got back home my throat instantly started hurting and I was back in bed icing it. After this I looked to my husband with tears in my eyes and told him I felt sorry for myself. Every time I feel that I am getting "better" I end up taking a step backwards. Of course I knew this was major surgery and that I knew my body would need to recovery properly, but honestly I've never been this set back by a procedure. I am also 4 months into losing weight, eating healthier, and going to the gym and now I am just sitting on my butt. My experience has caused me to reconsider having my 11 year old daughter's tonsil removed this summer. I honestly don't want her spending a few weeks of her summer vacation feeling like I currently feel. When she is an adult and her tonsil still bother her she can decide herself to have them removed. Here's to another night of icing my throat, ibuprofen, heating pads on my hears, and waking often to sip water. Tomorrow is my last full day of recovery before I go to work, maybe miracle will occur......just maybe.

Day 8- Tuesday April 14th

Last night was pretty bad. My throat and ears hurt all night and I didn't get much sleep. I think that the medicine treating my thrush is making me nauseous too! I'm honestly over feeling bad and I hate telling people I still don't feel well when they ask how I am doing. I feel like a big baby! I slept in til 7:30 am which worries me because I need to leave my house by 6am tomorrow morning for work. Today is my last full day home and I've been up working on some paperwork. For some reason I am really tired so I think I am about to lay down for a bit and then pick back up later. I haven't had much of an appetite this morning so I neglected to eat anything for breakfast. I'm not in a ton of pain but I really feel like shit. My doctor was correct when he said I needed 10 days off from work. Of course I thought I was superwoman and figured I could go back sooner. Blah! 

Update 3:18pm- Today has been a real drag. I managed a mid morning nap, finished my paperwork, ate lunch, and was back in bed. I still feel horrible......my mouth, tounge, throat, ears, and head all hurt. I went with my husband grocery shopping  (usually my chore) and it was so freaking draining. He is putting away all the groceries as I sit on my phone typing this. My plan is to go to bed super early tonight so that I can have all my energy for work in the morning. I'm taking leave around 12pm and I have a follow-up appointment with my doctor at 3pm. I hope day 9 turns things around for me.

Day 9- Wednesday April 15th 

It's  5:17 am and I just got up for work. I slept pretty well last night minus throat and ear discomfort. Today I take my final dose of  steroids. I think knowing I am coming home mid day will help me get through the morning. I'll give an update a little later once I get home.

Update 6:40pm- I really don't want to jinx myself BUT today was a great day. My throat magically stopped "hurting" for some odd reason.......I mean I had a burger for lunch. I will say I had a horrible migraine headache that wouldn't go away today. It started around 10 am and with ibuprofen, Excedrin migraine, and added caffeine through the day I still have it at almost 7pm. With my migraines I am extremely sensitive to sound and light. I ended up putting cotton in my ears to alleviate so of the discomfort.  Don't get it twisted (I'm not complaining) bc today was heaven compared to the hell I experienced the last few days. As far as work went......I made it. Very happy I went into it knowing I would take a half a day. In a perfect world and a different career (I teach) I would have stayed out the rest of the week and returned on "day 14" which would have been Monday. I'm definitely not telling my ENT that I neglected to stay out of work for the full 10 days when I go for my 4 week follow-up :-/.   Anyway, tomorrow will be a full day back for me and I hope all goes well. I followed up with my doctor regarding my thrush today and it is slowly clearing up. I still have 5 more days left with my medication.

Day 10- Thursday April 16th

Woke up with some throat and ear discomfort. I wouldn't call it pain.....just extremely uncomfortable. Not sure how last evening everything was fine and now this morning it's a problem again. I'm sure my ears will be super sensitive again today and I will need to plug them with cotton. I already took ibuprofen about 45 minutes ago in hopes that it will kick in and help me get dressed and out the door this morning.

Update 5:30pm- Eating dinner tonight was extremely painful.....food and water bother burned my throat. I honestly feel like crap. At work today I noticed that my throat/tongue (idk which) would begin to swell and I would lose my voice when it was time for my next dose of ibuprofen. I guess it reduces the swelling and manages the pain which then affects my voice??? I don't exactly know how or why BUT that is my observation lol. 

Day 11- Friday April 17th

Last night was HORRIBLE! My ears and throat hurt all night long. I know it is probably because I used my voice at school the last two days. This morning was rough also. I woke up around 4:30am and took my dose of ibuprofen. Chewing and swallowing continue to be painful and slow. I've been eating normal food for the last few days bc even soft foods burn my throat. I figured I should at least eat what I want if everything is going to hurt :-/. One thing I really didn't expect with this recovery was the lack of energy I would have. I've felt really tired the last few days and really wished I could stop what I was doing and take a nap. I guess that is the reason all doctors recommend that you take a good 2 weeks off from work.

Days 12 & 13- Saturday and Sunday

So I woke on day 12 with the normal sore throat and achy ears.It appears my tongue is back to it's normal color......so I assume I am finally free of thrush!  It is still was uncomfortable to eat breakfast as chewing and swallowing both still hurt. I'm not sure what the heck they did to my tongue during surgery, but I am starting to think it will never be normal again lol. Anyway, after sitting on my but for almost 2 weeks I did decided to return to my dance aerobics class at the gym on Day 12. I will admit I did not have the energy or enthusiasm that I usually do during my workout, but I finished the class (and burned 656 calories). This I believe was the turning point in my recovery. The rest of day 12 went great. My voice was 95% back, I didn't have to take ibuprofen, and I really felt great. I also got the BEST sleep ever (well since my surgery) that night. I didn't wake up with a burning throat and I didn't have to sleep elevated. Day 13 (Sunday) was even better!! I went to the gym this morning for my weight lifting class and ran several errands. It really just feels like I have a really sore throat and eating still isn't the most pleasant task. Tomorrow will be Day 14 and will start my first full week of work post op. 

In Conclusion........(lol)

Whatever you do make sure you take a FULL 2 weeks off from work!!!! I thought I was superwoman and honestly thought I would be okay to return on Day 9. Although I did return (half a day) I wish I had listened to my doctor and taken the leave he suggested.  This surgery is tough on your body and requires a lot to ensure that you completely recover. Thankfully, I didn't have any major complications accompanied by trips to the ER. If I could got back in time I would have never started taking my prescription pain medication. My doctor did instruct my husband to have me start off with ibuprofen and if I couldn't take the pain to use the pain medication as a last resort. Of course I didn't listen and ended up sick and constipated as a result of taking it. After a few days I noticed that my pain level was no different on the pain meds than it was on ibuprofen.

I think I still have several days of this sore throat ahead of me, but I know that it will be all well worth it once I am fully recovered. I hope my blog post helps anyone preparing or in the midst of a tonsillectomy! I MADE IT!!!!

Khloe Turns Two: A Peppa Pig Party

My youngest daughter (Khloe) continues to prove to me daily that she is the total opposite of my oldest daughter (Alasia). Now as parents you know that your children are different, but raising them together day in and day out only proves this notion further. As a toddler Alasia loved cartoons that sung and danced (The Backyardigans) or ones that talked to you....you know crowd participation (Dora the Exlporer)? Well.......Khloe's favorite cartoon is about a family of pigs that live in the UK lol. This is how I came to plan her second birthday party with a "Peppa Pig" theme. It is extremely hard to find anything Peppa Pig related in the US, then you have Peppa Pig World in the UK. Yes, it is a real amusement park solely based on the show lol. If only I could fly my family to England so that Khloe could experience this ha! Anyway, below are pictures from the party. I hope they are helpful to any parent that may eventually be faced with planning a Peppa Pig party.......NOT in England! I tried to link items I bought throughout the post.

Invitations

Etsy was a huge help with this party. I found a listing for the below digital image and I received the image within like 48 hour. I then sent the image to CVS and ordered 4x6 photos for like $0.08 each. Lastly, I used mailing labels to adhere to the front of yellow envelopes. 

Clipart

Props

I wanted to make some props for the party so I turned to cardboard. My husband and I used a cardboard box to make Peppa Pig's house. We used it to frame the toddler bounce house that we used at the party. My husband made a PVC pipe frame that we used to adhere the house frame. This was like a $30 investment that I will be able to rearrange and use for future party backdrops.  to I also used a recycled box to make another mini house to decorate one of the party tables. 

PVC Pipe Frame

Khloe and her little friend enjoyed paying in the Peppa Pig bounce house. I found this toddler bounce house at Walmart for under $50 and it actually fits in my living room.

 Menu

So my personality (sometimes I think I am Type A, OCD, and histrionic all mixed in one lol) wouldn't allow me to serve food that didn't somehow connect with the show. With my husband's help (he pays more attention to Peppa Pig when it's on than I do) I created menu items that each related to some character on the show. Although, it seemed like a weird combination of food, it ended up being a rather tasty spread. I used clipart and Microsoft Publisher to create these menu tents.

Party Setup

So I made like 5 sketches of the party setup in the weeks leading up to the party.  It allowed me to color coordinate everything and perfect my table setup. Funny thing is I actually forgot it at home the day of the party lol, however; I had studied it so much I believe it was etched into my memory!! I would recommend anyone planning a party to make yourself a little sketch so you will know what goes where etc.

Table Sketch 

So here is the actual setup. I ordered the background poster from Esty. It is apparently super expensive to print postersthat large......luckily I had a Groupon for a poster print from Printerpix that I used for this. I also ordered the paper garland from Esty which I used to line the front of the table.

Khloe's grandpa photo bombed this picture lol.

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I ordered the cake from Sam's Club for a pretty low price of $32. When I went to pick it up I realized that the top layer was white instead of yellow. The cake decorator had already left for the day and it was no way it could be "fixed". The manager compensated me by giving me the cake for $15. I then went to Joann's and bought some sugar sheets and used them to make the yellow, blue, and red, dots that you see on the top tier of the cake. I also added Peppa Pig figurines (found at Toysrus) to the cake to make it a "Peppa Pig" cake. Laslty,found this beautiful cake stand at Home Goods and I just realized yesterday that I able able to change out the ribbon.......great investment!

Large Red Trays: Target

Blue Egg Trays: Walmart

Green Bowls: Dollar Tree

Veggie Platter: Walmart

Yellow Cardboard Platters: Micheal's

I ordered these Peppa Pig cookies from Custom Style, LLC. She is extremely talanted and can make ANY cookie vision come true and will ship the cookies to you. I googled Peppa Pig cookies and none of these came up in my search.......talk about unique. If you would like custom cookies made for any of your events please contact her.

Peppa has on a party hat on some of the cookies and is jumping in muddy puddles in the others.

Here I displayed the house I made (which clearly got beat up since I made it in January lol) with "muddy puddle" cupcakes. I found the grass cupcake shelves at Micheal's. Peppa Pig and her family LOVE to put on their rain boots and jump in muddle puddles lol. I didn't think it would be a true Peppa Pig party without including this detail, so I displayed Peppa Pig's yellow rain boots on this table. Apparently it is super hard to find yellow kid rain boots on the internet. I ended up ordering them from Zulily.

                                    

I ordered the Peppa Pig party hats and plates from Amazon. I also decorated table with green tins of Goldie Fish Crackers (gold fish) and Teddy Bear's Cookies (teddy grams). I ordered plastic drinking cups with lids and straws from Amazon for the kids to use. I decorated them by adhering labels I created in Microsoft Publisher. Lastly, I used a stuffed Peppa Pig Khloe got for Christmas to hold balloons as the center piece. I ordered the Peppa Pig balloons from Etsy as well. I found a party rental store that rented out kid sized tables and chairs........they were the perfect size for Khloe and her 1 guest. Yes......after sending out 12 invitations to friend only one kid came to the party lol (but that is a totally different post for another day). We were very thankful that he came as she had a great time playing with him.

Here I used flower windmills (Dollar Tree $1) and metal buckets (Target $ bin)  to create table center pieces. I also printed a few images and framed them with frames from Target ($1)

Peppa Pig Shirts

So of course I had to order family shirts for the party lol. I ordered them from Esty as well. The shop owner makes tons of other character shirts and shipped them super fast.

Overall, I think Khloe had a great time celebrating with friends and family. She received lots of fun toys and TONS of clothes (which makes mommy happy). No more parties until she turns 5 lol

6 Tides for $13

I must admit I haven't clipped coupons in over a month and I haven't gone "couponing" in a few months. Last spring I scored 6 jugs of Tide for about $17 bucks. Can you believe I am just about finished with my last jug? I can't believe it lasted me as long as it did. Anyway, my husband (who usually keeps the laundry in rotation at our house) reminded me last week that we were going to need Tide soon. It was just my luck that CVS had Tide on sale, CVS had an extra bucks offer for Tide,  coupons.com had a Tide coupon and I had 2 different CVS coupons available to use. Below is the breakdown:

Purchased: (6) 40oz Tide Laundry Detergents @ $5.94 ( on sale, originally $7.99)
Used::6 coupons.com $.75 off Tide coupons (use zip code 77477 for TX)
Used: $6 off of $30 CVS Coupon
Used: $3.50 Extra Bucks Coupon (this popped up on my CVS app today)

OOP: $23.21
Received: $10.00 Extra Bucks (can be used toward any CVS purchase)

Total: $13.21

Savings: $34.73

*Tide will be on sale at CVS until 1/3/15

If you you want details on Coupon Policies and other general coupon info check out my blog post Couponing 101. 

Alasia's Spa Party

So my daughter's birthday is on December 30th which can sometimes be a pain as it is so close to a Christmas.  With that being said her last birthday party was when she turned 8 and consisted of a sleepover, trip to the nail school for manicures and pedicures, and then a tea party at a fancy hotel (looking back that was TOO much). As she creeps towards being a preteen I wanted her to have a very special birthday party for her 11th birthday.....which is how the "Spa Party" idea came into play. Alasia invited 6 of her close friends over for an evening of facials, manicures, pedicures, and refreshments. Below are pictures from the party.

Invitations

These are the nail polish invitations I created. I used glitter scrapbook paper for the bottle and added a jewel letter embellishment on the front. The bottle cap is black scrapbook paper. I typed up the party details in Microsoft Word, cut them out, and glued them on the the back of the invite. If I could do them over I would have made the base of the bottle smaller and the top of it wider. Some pins on Pinterest also show you how to make the bottle top 3-D by using a q-tip o that inserts into the bottle portion of the invite!

The Spa Bar Menu

Turkey pinwheels, fresh fruit, veggies and dip, cheese mask/chips, nail polish cupcakes, and sparkling strawberry punch (Hawaian punch, Sprite & frozen strawberries). I was a little worried if the menu would be a hit as it was not your traditional party food, BUT the girls loved it and spent a good portion of the party chowing down!

Spa Decorations

I originally was going to make an elaborate backdrop for the Spa Bar, but I simply ran out of time and had spent too much money already. I ended up having my husband tape a strip of packing tape (sticky side up) onto the wall and adhere strips of streamers to it. He then taped balloons on top and we had a simple backdrop! The photo cuts off the tulle table skirt I on the front of the table; however, I there is a picture of it on my blog entitled "Khloe Turns One". Yes, I reused it :) Below you will see that I made circular stickers that I adhered to the party cups, party favors, and the nail kits. I used clip art I found online and the Avery label software that was listed on the back of the labels I purchased! I found the pink lip straws from Walmart for like $2. If I had not run across them I had planned to make the lips myself with card stock and a hole puncher.

Guacamole Cheese Mask

So if you can't tell this dish is suppose to resemble a woman with her head wrapped in a towel with a facial mask on. The actual face is a cheese mixture and guacamole is spread on top to represent the facial mask. The wrapped towel is american cheese, cucumbers over the eyes, and a red pepper for the lips. The Pinterest link is embedded above!  I didn't get a chance to actually task the mask, but my husband informed me that he did not like it (but he can be picky). If I made this again I think I would treat the base of the mask more like a dip (salsa, cheese, and meat) rather than a cheese ball. I think the mask would still hold and form the shape of the lady's face.

Nail Polish Cupcake Toppers

Again I saw this idea on Pinterest (link embedded above). The bottle portion is a marshmallow coated in sugar sprinkles and the top is a tootsie roll. The cupcakes were store bought and I just added the toppers before the party. If I could do this over again I would have also liked to make this nail polish cake I found on Pinterest in addition to the cupcakes!

Facial Table

Each girl had their own place setting at the table. I used scrap book paper from Micheal's for the place setting ($1.19). I purchased up a nail kit from Dollar Tree (toe separators, nail clippers, buffers, cuticle tool, nail file) for each girl.  I  also purchased bowls from Wal-Mart for $.78 and rolled white hand towels (secured with a bow) which were $.48. I also found super cute pink mirrors from Dollar Tree that the girls could use as we did facials. I had a very hard time finding terry cloth headbands at the last minute. If I had more time I would have ordered them in bulk from Amazon. As a last resort I purchased plain black headbands from Dollar Tree so the girls could keep their hair out of their face during the facial. I use to sell Mary Kay a few years back, so I was able to utilize some of the materials from my starter kit for the facial portion of the party. The time-wise cleanser is suitable for sensitive skin so I knew it would be okay for the girl's skin.  I gave each girl a plastic MK facial tray that held all the products they would use for the facial. I used the following products: MK time-wise cleanser, a natural mud mask I found at Target, MK time-wise moisturizer, MK satin lips treatment, and two cucumber slices to soothe their eyes!

Center Pieces

I decorated large mason jars with ribbon to use a a vase for my floral arrangement. My flower of choice was the pink rose accompanied by pink Christmas decorations I found at Micheal's on clearance. 

The Birthday Girl!

 

Manicure Station 

My friend ran the manicure station which first consisted of the girls soaking their nails to soften their cuticles. One at a time they moved to the manicurist table where they received a MK satin hand treatment and then a manicure.

Pedicure Station

I manned the pedicure station. Each girl had their own personal tub that was filled with rose petals, bath salts, and a Shea butter foot soak. I also made my own Strawberry Sugar scrub (sugar, grape seed oil, essential oil, dap red food coloring) to use during the pedicures. I found the pedicure flip flops from Five Below for $1.

 Party Favors

I took advantage of Bath and Body Works semi-annual sale to score lotions ($2), hand sanitizer ($1), and body loofah ($1.50) to create favor bags for each girl. I also made several signs for the party which consisted of wooden frames from Micheal's ($1), pink spray paint, ribbon, and pink jewels. In additon to the favors each girl took home all the materials they used during the party: pink facial bowls, hand towels, pedicure basins etc).

My daughter and her friends had a great time and I was very happy I could do something that would give her lasting memories :)