Little Mermaid Party: Favors and Games

Ugh...I'm way behind on blogging!  Here is another post about Audrey's Little Mermaid Party.

I love giving favors to kids at parties.  Probably because I just like giving gifts.  But I think it is just so much fun to see their faces light up when they get a present just for them.  I've started putting the kids' names on the favor bags.  It helps me to remember to give it to them.  Plus, I think kids just feel special when they get something with their name on it.  And that makes me happy!

For the older kids bags, I put a Little Mermaid pen/stamper (found in the Target dollar spot), bubbles (with a custom label attached), Ocean Spray fruit snacks and a few pieces of color coordinated candy.  The younger toddlers and babies got ocean animal bath squirters and bubbles.


 To keep the kids entertained, we played a couple of games.  I wanted to play the games outside where we would have more room.  But then it was muddy and leaves were everywhere, and I really didn't want all that yuckiness tracked back inside my house (on my new yellow rug!).  Inside, it was a bit chaotic, trying to keep them all contained and following the rules in a very small space, as you can tell from my facial expression in this picture!

We played Pass the Mermaid, which was like Hot Potato using an Ariel doll instead.  And we also played Dinglehopper Dash.  I dumped a bunch of plastic forks on the ground, and then we split the kids up into two groups:  boys vs. girls.  We timed each group to see how fast they could pick up all the forks (dinglehoppers according to Scuttle in the movie) and put them in the buckets.  The games were fairly simple, but I think the kids had fun.

In the basement, I set up a little craft station where the kids could make their own jellyfish.  I just had them color on a styrofoam bowl, attach self-adhesive eyes, and then tape pre cut ribbons to the inside of the bowl.  I wasn't sure if anyone would even want to make a craft, but almost everyone did!  Big thanks to my friend Lindsey, who ended up manning this table and helping everyone with their jellyfish!

November 11: Snow!

It snowed tonight for the first time this season! 

I do not like snow, especially snow in November.  Snow means cold, which is equal to misery for me.  But I try to keep a positive attitude about snow around the girls.  When you are a kid, snow is fun and exciting, and I don't want my bad attitude about it to spoil the fun for them.

So, tonight, when it started snowing...I sent them outside with Daddy to see the snow.  They were wearing their pajamas and almost ready for bed.  But they were SO excited to go outside in the snow.  Sticking out their tongues to catch it, holding out their hands to catch it, they didn't care about being wet or cold.  All they could see was the snow.  It was pretty cute!

Here is Isla's version of going outside in the snow tonight.

Little Mermaid party: Food and Cake

I really tried to keep this party fairly simple, especially when it came to the food.  We decided to have the party at 3:00, so we didn't have to serve a meal.  We served a big meal at our past two birthday parties, so I was ready for something more low key this year.

I went with snacks that were loosely attached to the Mermaid/Under the Sea theme and also were easy to prepare. 

We had Coral Skewers, which were just green grapes on a stick, and I served a (storebought) cream cheese dip with them.  I thought the grapes looked really good with all the other decor on the table.

We also had a few varieties of goldfish.  I already had these fish dishes, which I bought for Audrey's goldfish themed 2nd birthday party.  I was happy to be able to use them again.

And we served Seaweed Sticks, which were just storebought veggie straws.  These were a last minute addition, because I remembered the morning of the party that I bought these purple cups (through a cheap online deal) and I needed something to put in them!

The only thing that I "made" for the party were these Sea Snails, or mini crescent dogs.  I bought little smokies and wrapped them in crescent rolls. 

I like the look of all the colored candy that is so popular right now, but I didn't really want to serve a table full of candy.  So I bought some gumballs and candy sticks to put on the table, just because I liked the way they looked!  I labeled them Under the Sea Sweets.  No one really ate them, so it was probably a waste of money.  But they looked cute with everything else.

And now for the cake!

In keeping with the low key theme for all the food, I did not make the cake.  I enjoy making cakes, but they also really stress me out!  It was so nice to be able to go to bed early the night before the party, rather than staying up late trying to make and decorate a cake while trying to avoid a disaster.

I gave our cake decorator a picture of the cake feature in this party as inspiration.  I love the way this cake turned out!  We put a little toy Ariel on it to make Audrey happy.  But I really liked the simple look of the cake, the way it looked like a mermaid's tale without actually being a mermaid's tale.  It was huge too, and we had plenty to feed everyone at the party and at our small group the next night!

Audrey's Little Mermaid Party

Saturday was a big day:  Audrey's 5th birthday party.  She had been asking for a Little Mermaid party for months.  Like last year, when we did a Rapunzel/Tangled themed party, this was more of a Little Mermaid-inspired party, rather than a party featuring all of the Disney movie characters.  As long as we called it a Little Mermaid party and allowed Ariel to pop up a few places, Audrey was happy.  And I was happy to be creative and think a little outside of the Disney box.

Audrey wanted to make the guest list, and I let her invite pretty much everyone that she wanted to invite.  I figure we are getting close to the end of these "invite all of her friends and all of mom and dad's friends" parties, and soon she will just be selecting a few of her own friends from school.  Might as well go big now! We ended up with 17 kids and 13 adults.  I was expecting a few more, but it was still a very full house.

This was our first time to host a large party at our new house, and it was great!  The layout of this house worked really well to keep traffic flowing and keep it from feeling too crowded.  We have an extra room that we didn't have in our old house, plus the steps to our basement are more centrally located here.  So the kids were more eager to go downstairs and play in the basement, while the adults could stay upstairs and chat, but still keep an eye/ear on their kids. 

I'm going to break the party up into a couple of posts to share more details.  But I wanted to start today with the most important part of the party:  the birthday girl!!

She is just too cute!  =)  We got her adorable necklace and bracelet from this etsy shop (which is where I bought the tulle for the girls' Halloween costumes as well).  It was only $9.50 for the necklace/bracelet set!  A steal!  And Audrey LOVED it!  It was just perfect for her special day.

I think Audrey had a great time at her party.  She was a little worried at first because not quite everyone could come, and she really wanted everyone to come!  But she snapped out of it, and soon had fun playing with her friends, making a craft, playing some games, blowing out her candles, eating her cake, and opening lots of presents.  A successful party!

More details to come soon!!

October 31: Happy Birthday AND Happy Halloween!

I've never been a big fan of Audrey sharing her birthday with Halloween.  I like to make a big deal out of birthdays, and I like to make a big deal out of holidays.  So when you put those two on the same day, it is a bit exhausting.  Fun, but exhausting!

We started the day by letting Audrey open her present from us as soon as she stepped foot out of her bed!

The one thing she asked for was an Ursula doll.  (Seriously, the girl might be just a little obsessed with Ursula!).  You can't just go to the store and find an Ursula doll, but you can definitely find one on Amazon!  She also got a Disney Dance game for the Wii and a new pair of pajamas.

Daddy made Audrey's favorite breakfast:  chocolate chip pancakes!

Then we headed to Sprouts for a Halloween costume party.

Audrey loves McDonalds, so we invited some of her Sprouts friends (and their moms) to lunch to celebrate Audrey's birthday.

I convinced Audrey to lay down and take a nap this afternoon so she would have lots of energy for trick or treating.  She crashed with her new buddy Ursula.

Then it was time to get ready for trick or treating.  It was a very rainy day.  And it got colder and windier as the evening continued.  Not ideal trick or treating weather!  We managed to go to a
few houses on our block, then we drove around to visit some people we know, and then came back for a few more houses in our neighborhood.  As per tradition, Cael and his parents joined us!

Audrey has been planning to dress as Ursula for months now.  You can't just go to the store and buy an Ursula costume, so we had to get creative.  I'm planning to post a tutorial soon on how I made her dress, just in case any other little girls out there aspire to be Ursula as well.  It's not easy to find much advice on how to make this costume!

To go along with Audrey's Ursula, we decided Isla should be Ariel.  I bought some red hair extensions for her, but Isla wanted nothing to do with them.  I was happy enough just to get her to wear her costume!  When it came time to take pictures, she struck some classic Isla poses!

Phew, what a day!

Next up:  the big Little Mermaid birthday party!!

On Party Planning, Pinterest, and Being a Good Mom

'Tis the season for birthday party planning and Halloween costume making.  It's also the season for many of my fellow moms to feel guilty because they didn't make a Halloween costume or plan a themed party for their kids.  And it's the season for me to feel guilty because I did do those things.

Several people have made comments like this to me recently while talking about Audrey's birthday party (and similar comments are made pretty much every year around birthday party time):
 "Oh, you are so creative. You throw such great parties.  You are such a good mom!"
"I just buy store bought invitations and cake for my kids' birthdays.  I'm a bad mom."

And when I hear these types of comments, I just want to cry and scream and laugh.  Because they couldn't be farther from the truth!  Being creative and planning parties and making cakes and invitations does NOT equal being a good mom.  I'm pretty sure that you can be the most creative and best party planner in the world and still be a bad mom.

Yes, I plan big elaborate parties because I want to create good memories for my kids.  But there are a thousand other ways that I could create those memories and show my kids I love them.  I throw parties mainly because it is fun for me.  It's really a selfish motivation, and I try to always be quick to admit that.  Right now, these types of parties are fun for my kids too, so it is a win-win for all of us.  If the day comes when my kids don't like parties any more, we won't do them.

There is much talk around the internet these days about "mommy wars."  I've seen it with my own real life friends as well.  Many moms are caught up in a war of comparison with each other, leaving everyone feeling guilty and frustrated because they are not as good of a mom as everyone else.  Or at least not as good as everyone else APPEARS to be. These are moms who are filled with guilt every time they get on Facebook or Pinterest, because they do not plan elaborate parties like everyone else.  Or because they don't make crafts with their kids.  Or because their house is not clean and organized.  Or because they served Kraft mac n cheese for dinner, again.  As if simply doing all of those things would make them a good mom.

For me, when I talk to friends or read comments from moms who feel guilty because they are not up to Pinterest standards, then I start to feel guilty.  Because I do like Pinterest.  I like making crafts, and I like throwing fancy parties.  I like to cook homemade food on occasion.  And sometimes (but only sometimes) I like to have a clean, organized house.  When I hear that this makes other people feel bad or less worthy, then I feel guilty for causing anyone to feel this way.  I've even contemplated not posting pictures on Facebook or other social media, in order not to make any other mom feel guilty or less worthy. I hate the idea that I could give the appearance that I think I am a good mom because I do those things.  I just like to do them; it has very little to do with being a mom.  I'm pretty sure I would do many of the same things even if I wasn't a mom.

Here is the truth about me:  being a mom is the hardest thing I have ever done.  I feel like a failure. Every. Single. Day.  I yell at my kids.  I sometimes pay more attention to my phone and my computer than to my girls.  I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to discipline.  I am completely insecure about my parenting ability and uncertain that I will ever be a "good" mom, whatever that may mean. 

However, there are two things of which I am fairly certain.  One, being a good mom is not equal to being a Pinterest mom.  I am quite positive of that fact.  Please, please, please to all my fellow moms:  believe it!!

Second, I know is that every mom is different.  Every mom has their own abilities and interests, and no two moms are going to be alike.  So why are we all trying so hard to be like each other?  You shouldn't feel guilty because you don't make crafts or plan parties for your kids.  And I shouldn't feel guilty because I do make crafts and plan parties for my kids.  You do what you like, and I will do what I like, and maybe we can help each other figure out this tricky business of raising human beings!!

October 24: Best Friends!

We are headed out of town to drop our kids off with family, and then Daniel and I are going to a church conference.  So this is just a quick post to share a cute picture.

My friend Lindsey took this picture of Audrey and her buddies Anna and Elliot at Sprouts today.  These three are together all the time at church, and they are just too cute!  And growing up too fast!