First "Friend" Birthday Party

WE SURVIVED!

I feel like I can breathe again....it was a close call.

Brielle got to have her FIRST "friend" birthday party this year, and boy did we go big (accidentally).

We had been told by pioneers in the birthday party world that about half of the people you invite will come to a party.  So I saw no problem in Brielle inviting 15 kids, assuming that 7-8 would come.

Boy were we surprised when 13 kids RSVP'd to come (well, their mom's RSVP'd), meaning that with Brielle and Claire, we had 15 kids here...in our tiny house.

After rearranging our entire family/dining room area, moving furniture into corners of bedrooms, and borrowing a table and chairs, we were able to figure out how to get a seat for them all.

And guess what?  I pretty much have NO pictures of the party, it was too chaotic for me to even think about it.  I did take pictures of the basic setup the night before (thank goodness) and some when she was opening presents.  But I have no pictures of the cake, the games, the jumping on the tramp, the pinata or anything else.

BUT...here are some of the pictures I DID take.

The "supply table" (minus the supplies I waited until the morning to put out)
And yes, I totally  made that balloon flower and only popped 1 balloon in the process.

When the kids arrived, there was an apron with their name on it plus fabric markers to decorate their apron. After they finished that, they were all given a little pizza crust and toppings and made their own pizzas (just use your imagination, because there are no pictures of the pizza).

After everyone ate (which we had to do in shifts since only 6 pizzas fit in my oven at a time), we played a team relay game (again...no pictures) and then decided to move all the chairs outside to take advantage of the sun that had come out for the present opening. 

I took two different pictures to try and get the whole group, but still couldn't...too many people.

The child whose present Brielle was opening got to come and sit next to her...I didn't get permission from any parents to post pictures of their kids, so just imagine the above scene times 15.

And FINALLY...I did manage to take pictures of the aftermath from the team relay game.  We used shredded paper to look like shredded cheese (in going with the pizza theme).  They put on an apron, scooped up some "cheese" and ran it to their teams bucket at the other end of the patio, ran back and handed over the scoop and apron to the next....and so on...you get the deal.  The winning team got to have first dibs on the pinata (you know the drill...no pictures of that, but we did the "pulling string" method rather than using a bat to hit a pinata, much less exciting...much less dangerous.)

You can imagine how many of those little shredded pieces of paper made their way into my house stuck on shoes etc.  It's been TONS of fun cleaning up from it all.

But you know what?  It was TOTALLY worth the chaos, the noise and the mess to see this sweet girl have the BEST day ever!

Thank goodness we already decided they won't get a friend party every year though.

Happy Birthday Brielle!

Hard to believe it was 6 years ago today that we stepped into this crazy journey of parenting and welcomed our absolutely perfect little Brielle into our family.

Happy Birthday to our AMAZING girl!

Some things I want to remember about Brielle as she turns 6:

Brielle:
- LOVES to read and takes it very seriously.  She has kicked our family into gear and insists on reading scriptures every night together and reads her own verse almost completely on her own.

- Has the highest reading score and behavior scores on her report card out of all the kindergarteners in the school.  (Hey...I have to brag at some point, right?!)

- Makes friends so easily and is kind to all those around her.

- Is ALL girl and wishes she could get a new pair of shoes every week.

- Has expanded her Hannah Montana/Rock Star love to include Taylor Swift, and constantly carries around her "iPod" listening and practicing her dance moves and singing.

- Loves the piano and wants to learn to play REALLY GOOD. (I hope she keeps the love!)

- Still little enough that she loves dolls, princesses and frilly dress-ups...I'm trying to keep her little as long as possible and totally embrace this.

- Will probably be the president when she grows up.

And lastly, a little video interview - so fun to compare to her interview last year.

(Addison was crawling all over me, so please excuse the shaky parts.) 

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Imagination Backfire

You know how you're constantly saying things to your kids like:

"Just go outside and PLAY!  You're kids, have FUN, use your imagination!"

Well, every once in a while, "imagination" can backfire.

These lovely marks on their foreheads would be the result of playing "vacuum" on the trampoline.


Yes....vacuum

Basically they held each other up by their feet (think wheelbarrow race game) and then "vacuumed" the trampoline with the other person's forehead.

They have now learned all about a trampoline burn.

And yes...I laughed...and still do every time I see their heads.

But in my defense I DID put some ointment on their heads while laughing.

A Public Service Announcement

As a public service, I am giving you a list of what a CRAZY 16 month old can do in under one minute.  For those considering having one of these anytime soon, this is your warning.

*Scale a changing table in search of a binky with toes clinging to the top ledge, hanging on for dear life.
* Open bathroom closet, find and use TONS of Q tips, leaving them scattered around the house
* Get into the bathroom, climb up on the step, reach hand sanitizer and wipe it all over their hands (at least they'll be germ free.)
* Fill the toilet up with unused diapers
* Do acrobatic tricks on the couch
* Climb up on sister's bed and jump
* Climb the oven (really, this shouldn't be possible.  But somehow they can squeeze their toes into the part where the drawer pulls out on the bottom and then hold onto the handle of the oven and pull up...THANK GOODNESS the oven didn't open)
* Turn on Daddy's Xbox
* Change the TV to speak in French (which you will have no idea was even possible until it happens, leaving you unsure of how to fix it.)
* Climb onto kitchen table, get pencil/crayon/marker/pen left behind and go crazy coloring on things such as: table, chairs, walls, shelves, doors, window sills, face, books.  (And no, you can't hide the pencils/crayons/markers/pens, the 16 month old WILL find them.)
* Empty the dog food bowl
* Open and remove DVD's from their cases
* Run full speed with blankets over their faces so they can't see where they're going

* And lastly.....

Ta Da!

Consider yourself warned!

(P.S. 16 month olds also know how to get you so wrapped around their finger that you don't care about all the chaos they create, their slobbery kisses, sticky hugs and screams of excitement somehow outweigh it...in case you still think you want one.)