Goodness gracious, the past few weeks have been incredibly busy. Between our Ozarks trip, a quick jaunt to Minneapolis for an Ikea run, my birthday and Noah’s I have barely had any time to breathe. But I think the craziness is finally over, for awhile at least.

I was actually able to keep Noah’s birthday a little simpler this year and managed not to stress out too much for like the first time ever. It helped that we kept it low key and just invited family (since we don’t really have friends round these parts yet). I always stress myself out way more when friends are involved because for some reason I feel like I have to impress them.

When it comes to my family, I don’t have the urge to impress as much…I know they’ll still love me even if I don’t have the over-the-top theme, food and décor. And Noah is only 3 so as long as I had Thomas the Train splattered all over, he will be happy. So that’s what I did.

One of Noah’s favorite foods is cucumbers with ranch so I knew that a veggie tray would have to grace the party food table. We love good ‘ole hidden valley ranch packets normally but since it was his birthday I wanted to make it homemade.

This is a great little mix that is perfect to double or triple and have on hand. Just be careful not to put it too close to the edge of your pantry shelf and knock it off when reaching for something else. Cause that will just tick you off. That didn’t happen or anything.

Keep an eye out for a fun themed week coming up based around some of the food served at Noah’s party. Just a hint – it involves lots and lots of sprinkles!