Ashni's last big party!

The Janelle Monae dance party is done and so is my birthday party season for now.  Phew!  The kids had a great time.  I'm pretty sure that Just Dance is the absolute best birthday party activity for girls aged 8 to 13!

The birthday girl looked quite dapper in her bow tie and jacket.  She really looked the part (fortunately the hair do is much easier than it looks)

The cardboard boombox was a last minute decorating idea.  For some reason I drew a blank on party decor for this one, so we just had tons of black and white crepe paper and balloons.  So it just felt like we needed something else.  Fortunately, I always have lots of cardboard on hand.  Nothing like free table decor.

This was, by far, the coolest cake topper ever!! Someday I will learn to stage things and have a nice blank background so that things will pop, but right now, I photograph my regular old life.  So you get to see the wall map and green high chair in the background.

A great time was had by all and I am glad it's over for another 8 months or so.  Time to take a party break!

Happy Birthday, Ashni!

Yesterday was Ashni's 10th birthday.  It has been a decade of ups and downs, but she is growing into an amazing young lady.  She is a phenomenal dancer, an accomplished fencer, eloquent and witty, poetic and brilliant.  She is wild and passionate and enthusiastic.  Those things used to be a source of frustration at times, but she is learning to channel it and we are learning to accept her for all of her quirks.  The quirks are a huge part of who she is,  They make her unique and wonderful.  As I type this, she is rounding out a solid hour of Just Dance 4 on Wii and could probably dance for three more hours without tiring.  Her boundless energy will take her far.  I am very, very proud of her and look forward to watching her continue to grow.

(They look like a band of misfits in this picture, which is why I love it!)

This year, for her last big party, Ashni requested a Janelle Monae themed birthday dance party.  She is SUPER excited about it.  We made copies of her favorite Janelle Monae CD to hand out with the invitations.  There will be black and white decorations, a small dance floor, a treasure hunt (I'm still working out the details of that one), Just Dance and lots of Janelle Monae.

This is her invitation.  I got these round copper cards at Paper Source in Virginia.  I found a picture of Janelle Monae online and got some color copies made.  The girls decorated and cut out little party hats to put on her head.  A "10" stamp in a speech bubble and voila, a simple little invite.  Ashni really likes them and I think they are pretty cute.

Zion's Sushi Party

Ahhhh, another birthday party done.  Zion's sushi party was fun for everyone.  I think this has been my favorite theme to date, but I am glad that it's over.  Now for the pictures...

There were a ton of paper lanterns made for this party.  I was being super cheap and refused to pay $5 a piece for paper lanterns at the party supply store.  Fortunately, at the last minute, our friends at the public library offered to let us borrow these striped ones.

The older girls made cherry blossoms and attached them to a branch from our year for the centerpiece on the table.

The highlight of the party was definitely the sushi cupcakes.    They were indeed a labor of love.

I made a few little kokeshi dolls from the little wooden people you buy at the craft store.  The larger kokeshi doll is one I have had for a few years.

The snack line up for this party included fortune cookies, Pocky, shrimp flavored chips, sushi cupcakes and actual sushi (thanks to my wonderful husband)

Goodie bags were handed out with not a single piece of candy within.  You are welcome, parents.

Closeup of Zion's sushi sign.  I'm sure this will end up in her play kitchen.

Happy Birthday, Zion.  We had a great time, but I'm glad it's over for another....well...month.  Ashni has requested a Janelle Monae party for her last big party.  We'll see how that turns out.

Happy Birthday Zion Sage!

Today is Zion's fourth birthday and I think I have come to terms with the fact that she is my last baby.  I didn't feel the little tug at my heart when I thought about all that she has learned and accomplished this year.  I didn't feel sad at the thought of planning my last first big birthday party.  I just enjoyed my girl today.  A few months ago, she decided that when she turned four she would stop crying (for petty things).  She has reminded me (and I have reminded her) of this on several occasions since then.  So far, she has held up her end of the bargain.  She has not cried all day!  Well, she woke up in tears before the sun with an earache and we had to head out to Walmart for drops at the crack of dawn.  But to be honest, I wanted to cry about that too!.
We did our traditional birthday hang out today - ice cream at the local ice cream parlor, play/stories at the bookstore and a drink with Daddy.  It was a good day.  Tomorrow is her party and she is super excited!

So, I am going to insert a "What's My Kid Wearing Today" snippet here.  We went to Goodwill yesterday because, well, there's not much else to do in this town.  I found this super cute cat in cat eye glasses shirt (Gap) on one rack.  Then I found this knit skirt (also Gap) on another.  Voila!  Super cute birthday outfit!!  Both the shirt and skirt were $.99.  The grey and white tights were a whopping $3.50 at Walmart.  Total birthday outfit, approx. $5.50.

I have to say that she wore her birthday crown ALL DAY!!  She is in her pajamas right now and she is still wearing her crown!  Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Party prep is in full swing

Zion's birthday is only a week away.  A week until my baby turns four.  I look back at previous birthday posts for Zion and they all focus on my last firsts.  Last first steps, last first birthdays, last first words... I love the little girl that my last baby is growing into, so this year, I will try to focus less on her being my LAST baby and focus more on her just being my baby.  I will say this, I am in the throes of planning my last first big birthday party!  All of the girls are so excited for Zion's sushi party.  I will be more excited when I have finished cutting and assembling all of these tiny little odds and ends.  I've decided to make goodie bags for this little shindig.  I am not a huge fan of goodie bags myself because they tend to include a ton of candy and a bunch of little plastic toys that end up in the trash before the day is over.  So it is very rare that I do goodie bags (and they never include candy).  Zion's bags will include a kokeshi bookmark that the kids will be able to color at the party, a mini paper koma spinning tops, a paper crane, a pair of chopsticks and a fortune cookie.  Everything is handmade except the chopsticks and fortune cookie.

Little paper sushi will go on tags for the goodie bags.  I am currently covered in glitter (much to my dismay).

I love kokeshi dolls.  I have loved them since I randomly found one in a thrift store in St. Croix five (or more) years ago.  She became my favorite little trinket.  I found a couple of kokeshi designs on the internet that I like and drew up some blank ones and copied them onto cardstock for the kids to decorate.  I will add a little ribbon so that they can be used as bookmarks.  The large kokeshi will be used to play Fukuwarai.  It's similar to pin the tail on the donkey (we always have some version of that at every party).  Kids cut out the facial features and, while blindfolded, attempt to arrange them correctly on the face.

That red take out box in full of tiny little spinning tops.  I had to hide them in the box because my girls LOVE them and will not stop taking them.

One more week until this party and there is still plenty to do.  I'm sure I will be vacuuming tiny paper scraps and glitter from my carpet for weeks to come.

On a completely unrelated note, Jena made lasagna all by herself last night.  Eggplant, spinach, and sweet peppers!  It was tasty.