You see, I loved Transformers when I was young. I had this blue helicopter that was awesome. It was also easy to transform. I could do it by myself. Transformers nowadays? I cannot transform, let alone BigBrother… and especially not LittleBrother. So, we’ve been holding off on them for awhile though a few have made their way into the house via gifts.

These toys are made for the younger set. One move and the object is transformed. Hooray!

Bonus? That fire truck is awesome. High five, Playskool!

Here’s how it looks as a fire truck.

And here’s how it looks after you transform it into Heatwave the Fire Bot.

When I got home from San Diego, I also found out that they have a Fire Station. Check out the commercial; that fire station looks awesome. Oh yeah! It’s $49.99, so I think we’ll throw in the Optimus Prime Transformer and this firefighter guy with the fire truck and station and call it his BIG GIFT this year. From us, that is, because who knows what he’ll ask Santa for when it comes time. They never ask Santa for big gifts, amusingly. Last year LittleBrother asked for a (noisy, noisy, noisy) fire truck and BigBrother asked for a monster truck Lightning McQueen. Awesome.

I’m just excited about these because I know the boys will also be excited. And for those who think it’s too early to talk Christmas presents, I’ve already started shopping. With the boys’ birthdays in November, Munchkin’s birthday in December, our anniversary the following week and then Christmas the following week, I have to be on my game. Last year I waited too long and my anxiety was high because I wasn’t done before November. This year? Game on.

Now I have an easy way of curating all of the awesome fire stuff I come across during my Internet jaunts. I’m so excited. What have I found today? Well…

First of all, can someone crochet this hat for me, pattern found on Etsy. Not really for the boys. For me. #46 please.

Speaking of crocheting, I think someone needs to make a FireFamily set of these firefighter sock monkeys for us.

And I’m ten kinds of sad that FireDad said, no, we cannot have this bed. I am sad.

So, yes, I’m addicted to Pinterest. If you find something firefighter related, be sure to @ me on the site.  Follow me, but beware… I am addicted.

That aside, as I was searching for some Easter stuff, I came across a couple firefighter options and thought I would share them with you!

This simple firefighter-themed fabric Easter basket is from Maggie’s Castle on Etsy. It like it because of its bold primary colors as I kinda hate pastels. It’s a bit pricier than the other option at $18.00, but you know I love to support homemade goods!

This fire engine Easter tote is from Toys-R-Us. I love it because the windows are a shiny silver, giving it a little bit of glitz. It also looks nice and soft/fuzzy, so that when your kids dump out their candy and hit each other by swinging it by the handle, it won’t hurt too badly. Speaking of not badly, it’s not badly priced at $6.99!

Aaaand… that’s it. Slim pickins this year on the fire engine Easter basket front. There’s also an out-of-production Tonka Plush Easter Basket that is occasionally found on eBay, but the few that I found were already sold out this year. It’s a shame really because it was a really nice plush fire truck like one above.

Have you seen a fire truck Easter basket in store or online this year? Let me know in the comments.

[For more Wordless Wednesday, visit Dear Crissy.]

We do, however, like to make sure the boys have a nice Valentine’s Day. By nice, I don’t mean that we go overboard. They get a coloring book or a book (or maybe/usually both) and a special treat. I do make sure they have Valentine cards to hand out to their classmates.

This year, thanks to a tip from Mandy and subsequent repeated Googling, I’ve found quite a few fire truck Valentines. I thought I would share them with you, just in case you have a little firefighter in your midst who wants to give some Four Alarm Valentines this February. (Which, by the way, it is almost February. Don’t ask me how.)

The first place I always look for fire things is Etsy, and I was not disappointed this time around. The first one I found was from Three Shiny J’s. It’s a great fire engine Valentine with a turquoise background. Best part of this one? It’s customizable with your little Cupid’s photograph… in the fire truck!

This particular Valentine can be printed at home on your own printer for a price of $5.00. The listing also says that she can print them for you for a price of $10 for the first set of 10 and $5 for each additional set of 5. If you order them printed, they come with envelopes as well. Not a bad price for a personalized card!

My next pick is another Etsy find; this one is from Pickled Pumpkins. In fact, this one might be great for the all-things-rescue lover as this Valentine set has a fire truck, a police care and an ambulance!

The words are all super cute. “You set my heart on fire,” for the fire truck. “I caught you stealing my heart,” for the police car. And “You rescue my heart,” for the ambulance. Super cute, as I said. They’re $8.50 for a set of 12 and come with little envelopes.

The next two are from Tiny Prints. One has a bulkier fire truck with a light blue background.

This one is kind of awesome since you can add a picture of your little Valentine on the inside of the card. Ten cards are $12.40 and continue to drop in price the more you order.

The second Tiny Prints option has a skinnier fire engine on a navy blue background with hearts flying from the hose.

This one doesn’t offer an option to add a photo inside, but it’s a bright yellow with flames at the bottom. I kind of prefer this one myself! It’s the same price as the other Tiny Prints fire engine Valentine.

And, lastly, my favorite fire truck Valentine is another option I found on Etsy. This one comes from Cara’s Scrap ‘N Stamp Art. It features a 1950′s vintage fire truck theme… and I adore it.

I don’t know if it’s something the kids themselves would love. But I love it. These run $5.00 for 5, and they come with cute little paper envelopes. One of the pricier options but, oh, the cute.

If you have seen any great fire truck Valentine’s Day cards, would you please let me know? I haven’t actually made my decisions yet, so I’m still game for anything out there.

(Gosh, they’ve grown and changed. Sigh.)

It was a hit. The boys’ preschool teachers were in love with it. The grandparents were in love with it. Friends loved it. Acquaintances who know FireDad loved it. Firefighters loved it. Random passers-by loved it. It was just a huge hit. Despite it being white in color and having to remove it from their bodies any time they thought of food, I loved them as well.

I figured this year I’d have to go with something a bit more traditional as certainly no one would be offering a fire truck Christmas sweater again. And then Dee was messaging me to show me the Munchkin’s Christmas dress and ever so casually said, “Did you see these?”

My answer was, “OMG! NO! MUST BUY! *click*” Didn’t click the link? Let me show you.

A little less detailed than last year’s winning sweater. And without arms. But still a total win.

Here’s a list of places you might see the boys wearing these fantastic sweaters this month:

• To see Santa for pictures at the mall tomorrow.
• During the Saturday performance of the Children’s choir during my concert.
• During the Sunday performance of the Children’s Choir during my concert.
• Two hours later at their preschool Christmas program.
• Christmas Eve dinner and church service.
• Christmas day in Pennsylvania with my family.
• The Day After Christmas events with FireDad’s family.

I’m pretty sure I’m missing a few. I always laugh when people say that they don’t want to spend money on a shirt/dress for Christmas as the child will wear it only once. I’ll be lucky if these things hold up through washings, wearings and normal child-ness this month! They seem well made, but you never know. BigBrother said, on the final putting-on of last year’s sweaters, “Do I have to wear it again?” That’s when you know you’ve gotten your money’s worth!

As an aside, Kohl’s also has a white version of this sweater vest on which the Christmas tree on the back of the fire truck shows up a bit better. But it’s toddler sizes up to 24 months only. And it’s white. See my woes above about white Christmas sweaters and thinking about food.

I’m kind of afraid that this is the last year of fire truck sweaters for both boys. BigBrother will be six by next Christmas. I have this inkling that he might start showing more of an interest in what he does, or more specifically, what he does not wear. LittleBrother will likely sport last year’s fire truck Christmas sweater next year… though he’s always had more attitude about clothing choices. It’s hard to tell.

And so, I’ll be taking eighty-bagillion pictures this Christmas just in case it’s the end of the fire truck Christmas sweater extravaganza we have come to love.

Maybe LittleBrother will cooperate for one by the end of the month. Yeah?

I hate birthday party games. And shower games. I also hate Candy Land. I’m a party pooper. Sue me. That said, we will be playing two semi-tolerable games at our fire truck birthday party.

Pin the Tail on the Dalmatian

I thought I was super smart in coming up with this idea. Turns out I wasn’t. It’s on every fire truck, fire engine, firefighter and random dog birthday party game idea list ever written. However, it’s still a cute idea. And because it’s a) easy, b) cute and c) not overly annoying, we’re doing it.

I got the template for the dalmatian body and tails from Birthday In a Box (both .pdf files). I printed them out on our printer. Because I printed on flimsy regular paper, I glued them to foam (craft store), cut them out and now they’re studier. In fact, I think we’ll save this for future use. I don’t know if we’ll have another fire truck party as I feel my days of helping choose themes are drawing to a quick and emotional end, but hey, someone I know is getting a fire truck bedroom overhaul for Christmas. Instant wall art.

To play the game, we’ll put fire dog ears (oh yeah) on the child who is taking his/her turn, blindfold them, spin them around a few times and push them (gently) in the direction of the dog’s butt. Cue parental amusement. Winner is obviously the closest to where the tail actually goes.

Find the Fire Hydrant

Cut out fire hydrants on red (or yellow or whatever color you choose) construction paper. (Here’s a .pdf template.)Before the guests arrive, place them all over your party space. Have them line the walkway or stairway into the house or party area. Place them under tables, in easy-to-find hiding spots and in a couple higher spots for any older children.

To start the game, explain that when there is a fire, firefighters have to find a fire hydrant to hook up the hose in order to get water to put out the fire. I may cue them to make fire sirens while they are on their hunt because it will make for a good video even if I’ll be deaf for two days. Pairing up older children with the youngest will assure that everyone gets at least one fire hydrant. (Cut out three to four times the number of fire hydrants to children attending.) The winner is the one with the most fire hydrants.

As an aside, I swiped and changed this idea from a friend who did this game with bananas for her daughter’s monkey party. Kudos to one of the many Mandys in my life.

And that’s it. That’s all I can handle. We’ll all be deaf after the fire hydrant game anyway, so that should probably be the end of it.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about gift bags for guests. Which probably means I should make final decisions on that and, you know, order things. Oops again.

I’ve got to admit, I haven’t actually made this purchase yet. I’m busy talking with the person who owns the design I want to use, which you’ll see at the end of this post. I’ll buy it when we get something figured out — remember, this party is for two boys, not one. However, these are some of the decorations that I considered.

I hit Etsy first, of course. I loved this fire truck Happy Birthday Banner and associated accessories.

Toadally Cute’s shop has a bunch of amazing decorations, and I loved the colors in this fire truck set. The light yellow and the blue with the red are almost what I was looking for, and I loved the scalloped edges. Her matching cupcake toppers were cute. We don’t really “do” bottled water, but she even has labels for that! I loved how everything was light and fun and went together so well.

Next I found a “printable” set of firefighter decorations with red, yellow black and white fire decor.

This set is bright and fun too! In fact, it’s even a little brighter! For those unfamiliar with printables, you receive an email with the .pdf file and can print out as many or as few of whatever you like. It works for people with good printers (me!) who have a little extra time (hmm) and who have huge families and lots of birthday party attendees (me!).  We did a printable gift for FireDad this past Father’s Day. Anyway, this big set ($49) comes with everything you need. From the inivitations (oh, don’t need those) to the banner to a sign for the door and so on. In fact, one of the only reasons that I didn’t choose this particular set was because it had more than I needed. But Shindigsparties‘ has amazing sets.

I went off Etsy to look at what the mainstream options were. My mistake. Of the few options out there, this fire truck set was the only one I could tolerate.

It’s a little much, no? While I love bright stuff, it’s just a little overwhelming. I don’t hate it though. And if I went to a party where this theme was taking place, I’d just put on some shades and stand next to the punch bowl for awhile. With a flask. Maybe a firefighter flask!

In the end, I decided to go with a printable theme on Etsy that was a bit more simple. Tom Kat Studio came through for me.

I convoed the designer to ask if on the cupcake pics if we could have the boys’ names instead of initials. She was very accommodating and polite and generally awesome, especially considering her main designer was out of town. I honestly love the simplicity of this fire truck birthday set — white, black and red, vintage truck, simple lines. I will be pairing it with some baby blue streamers to go with the Meri Meri cupcake holders. And really, I like baby blue better than yellow anyway. No shades needed.

For “extras” at the party, we’ll be throwing in some of the following: silver/white and red fire truck balloons, some other red balloons, two big Mylar fire truck balloons (as LittleBrother specifically asked for a fire truck balloon for his birthday), red, white, black and light blue streamers, red plates and cups and such, and confetti … if I can find some metallic confetti like this that isn’t located in the UK.

And, voila! Party-for-less. As we always have more than eight people, we can’t just buy a “party in a box” for eight. It doesn’t work. I like the idea of printing (and keeping) decorations. It saves me money and doesn’t hurt my eyes. Win-win.

If you’re looking for fire truck birthday invitations, I wrote about those yesterday. Tomorrow I’ll be writing about my least favorite part of a birthday party: games. Yay…

[Disclaimer: I will be paying for the decorations I order. I accepted no compensation for linking to other decorations. This is pure opinion up in this piece.]

Today I’m going to talk about invitations. I don’t know why, but I love picking invitations. Kind of like I enjoy looking through site after site for the perfect Christmas card. I found quite a few during my month long search. I ended up going one route, but I thought I would share a few possibilities with you.

First of all, I love photo invitations. I hit Etsy first this year, and really liked this fire truck photo card.

I love the colors! (Though, as the designer states, you can change them. She even shows the yellow as a blue background which is equally adorable.) In fact, this whole Etsy listing is really awesome. I love when designers are willing to work with customers, and Announcing You sounds like she really, really gets the concept.

As an aside, because I love giving credit when it’s due, the photography in this photo card is by Captured Moments by Mandie.

Next up, a digital-scrapbook-like photo card design.

This scrapbook-like fire engine invitation from Scrapless Press is stinking adorable. I love the dalmatian spots detailing, the hose at the bottom with the RSVP date and the general “vintage” feel of this particular invite. I also love the wide spot for a photo. So perfect.

I also found a surprisingly large number of non-photo firetruck invitations that were just as cute.

This red and yellow fire truck invitation was my favorite on Etsy.

By RachelP at Etsy, this listing is actually for a printable invitation. You tell her what you want on it (names, dates, locations, etc), she whips it together and emails it to you. (Just like the above invitations, in fact.) I love the bright, bold colors, the fun uses of font and that spectacular fire engine!

This fun fire truck invitation by Invitation Consultants rounded out my favorites.

Apparently yellow is a big color to compliment red, and it works well here, too. I like the simplicity of this card combined with the general fun of the flashing lights. I can almost hear the sirens. As an added bonus, Invitation Consultants are fancy-pants and offer matching things like address labels and postage all in one place. Super fun.

As much as I liked all of these invitations, I went with another one — for a few reasons. I got generally overwhelmed by the choices and waited too long to print them myself. I definitely wanted a photo card. And, really, who doesn’t like ease of use combined with a good price?

I ended up going with a fire truck photo card invitation from Snapfish.

Ease of use is huge for me with our schedules. I imported my photos from flickr to Snapfish, inserted them into the fire truck card, added the info, paid the extra for one day shipping (oops) and, voila! We have ourselves a firefighter themed birthday invitation with two of my favorite little firefighters! (If the link doesn’t work, go to Snapfish, log in or create an account (it’s free), click on products, cards, browse all cards and search for “fire birthday.” It will be the first result.)

Honorable mentions go to Tiny Prints’ fire engine birthday card (non-photo), Lil’ Duck Duck for their “brothers” fire engine birthday invitation and simplicitycitypapers on Etsy for an elegant black, white and red fire truck invitation.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about fire truck party decorations. Which means I should probably make a final pick and order ours today. Let me get right on that…