The crazy a party brings to crafty mom

Well I thought I would finally blog a tiny bit about the big birthday party.  You can catch more here if you want more on the crafty side of things.

See problem number one is I am a procrastinator and reluctant to admit that.  So I one day I realized that we needed to quickly come up with a theme for this birthday party and being the good mother that I am I gave my son choices.  Looking back I see this was a mistake.  I should have just picked something and done it all to make my life easier but I couldn't.  I wanted him to be involved.  Good mommy won over bad mommy.
 So I pulled up some various ideas online and we had semi decided on an eyeball/monster theme.  Super I will order the stuff so it will be here on time so we can get crackin on this.  Because while I am sure there are lots of places that sell a fabulous variety of party supplies here I have yet to find it.  AND, even if I did find it I am not super excited to pack up the two kids and dog, go downtown, pray it is not pouring rain, pay to park and then hike the two miles to the store.  Keep track of kids in store and pray that super destructor boy does not in fact destroy store while in it.  Also pray that dog is not eating inside of car because he is "bored".Anywho enough of that rant.  So we were at a different base that has a larger selection of party stuff and my husband {whom I adore} said why don't you just get something here instead.  Sigh.  I had already crafted in my head all the stuff for the other party but what he said made sense plus my son saw Star Wars stuff so I never had a chance.  Of course they did not have enough Star Wars goody bags or plates so I had to supplement which I found annoying which is why I wanted to order in the first place.  One click shopping.
So finally we had a theme and a few supplies.
 I had rented the Pavilion which is basically a giant long building with a cement floor.  It includes a bouncy castle and a barbecue so I figured it was perfect for 7yr old boys.  Indoor which is huge here this time of year, plenty of room to run like maniacs and we could grill hot dogs which my son loves and lives on {much to my dismay}.  Was that enough?  Nope not for mom.  What would we do at this party?  We needed games, crafts, activities and a schedule.  My husband thought I was nuts.  Looking back he was right.
I logged onto Pinterest which I adore and think is the devil because of the genius ideas I find while it sucks all my time away.  I found quite a few ideas but I just couldn't decide and reading all these ideas was taking time and life was happening in the meantime.  Halloween and all the chaos surrounding that and our three trick or treating outings.  I was a busy woman and remember the whole procrastinating thing....
So we get to the day prior to the party and what did I do all day long?  I cleaned my house and did laundry.  Not ONE thing party related because that my friends would have made wayyyyy to much sense.  That night there was a party thing we went to on base.  Guy Fawkes night or something like that.... my ignorance on this subject is causing my mom to roll in her grave even as I type.  We got home about 8:30pm and by the time we got the kids in bed and I started stuff it was just after 9pm.  Not a good sign.
My husband was on light saber duty.  He cut all the tube things I had bought in half and completed one.  Then decided that the kids would rather decorate their own and he went to bed.  He is smart and right about the kids.  So it was just me and lots of ideas and little time.
So I baked the cake so it could cool, I made the pasta salad, I started getting out serving dishes trying to decide which ones I wanted to schlep all the way to base and which ones they were least likely to break.  Then I started making my food tags, then I gathered all the food that did not require refrigeration.  I typed up a schedule for myself and made a map of the food table -yes I am that ridiculous and geeky.  Gathered the Star Wars guys I was using for the cake and washed them.  Plotted my obstacle course.
At about 2 am I was thinking what am I doing this is crazy and then I remembered the goody bags.  Oh those goody bags were the bane of my existence for this party... I just had zero ideas of what to put in them.  Zero.  I made some labels and attached them with my sticker maker to sandwich baggies that said  "Endor Trail Mix" and I cut some scraps up that I had leftover from my food signs and made bookmarks and then added the words "Dream Big" to them.  I decided a bookmark, snack and light saber was good enough for treat bags.  I went to bed around 3:30am because I am sooo brilliant.
Up at 7am the next day and we left the house at 9:30....party was suppose to start at 11am.  Of course we had stops on the way.  We had to grab some more tape on the way for the light sabers, grab ice and then the stuff to make the Endor Trail Mix since the idea had not come to me until 2am the day of the party.  Oh and candles and a lighter because I had forgot those.  Got all that and got there about 10:20 to start setting up.  Hauled everything in, set up tables and chairs, set up the bouncy castle and started to set out food when people started showing up.  I was not excited.  They were on time I was running behind.  I wanted to have everything in place before people came and look like I had it under control and that I was together when clearly I am not.
I never did get the obstacle course set up, I would have liked to made a backdrop for the food table and have had things on different levels to add more visual interest but it didn't happen.  Oh well.  I wanted to make my hair look like Princess Lei's also but that didn't happen. I wanted to spray paint the water bottles gold and in my wildest dreams I had wanted to find material and sew 20 Jedi robes for the kids attending but none of it happened and it was ok.
The kids were happy to bounce, them make their light saber, then bounce and attack one another.  We ate, they bounced some more and then we played musical chairs to Star Wars music (thank you itunes!) and freeze dance.  We opened presents and had cake.  Although visually to me it was one of the worst cakes I had ever made {and Ben had actually got into it earlier when no one was looking and ate part of the "dark side" with his bare hands} it was tasty.
I learned that I need to let go of these crazy ideas sometimes.  Simple is good.  I was reminded that if I want to go crazy with all this I need to not procrastinate.  I asked my son if he was happy with it and he said yes and at the end of the day THAT is all that mattered.

Hodge Podge Vol. 52... pretend like I blogged about the BDay party also.

Well I had great expectations of myself to blog about this birthday party we had but I am not motivated and have to many things happening to get that done.  My son's teacher is retiring next week due to an emergency and so we are trying to come up with several last minute things for her, trying to finish prepping my house for guests, and normal life.  When did things get so busy?  I guess always :)

 Again Joyce and Hodge Podge to the rescue so I have something to type up that requires little of me.  It is fun and I greatly appreciate it Joyce :)  After reading my answers go to her page here to link up.  Great fun !!

1. Of all the tools and gadgets you own which do you most enjoy using?

I would say in the kitchen I love my Pampered Chef food chopper and then I also love to use my Cricut to cut vinyl.  I am looking at getting a Silhouette machine though because I love the options it has.  I think that will be my favorite.


2. When (if ever) is impatience a virtue?

I am not sure.  I am not a very patient person and that generally is not a good thing.


3. What temperature do you keep your thermostat set to in winter? Do you have another way to heat your house besides a furnace of some type?


Well we are on Celsius here so it is on 25 at night which is about 77 Fahrenheit but that is a little warm so I will probably try to get it around 72.  We only have radiator heating but it works well.  And lots of blankets :)


4. Do/did you have a close relationship with any of your grandparents?


I was very close to two of my Grandmothers and one Grandfather and I miss them dearly.  I use to go fishing with my Grandpa a lot and spend the night with both of my Grandmas frequently.  My other Grandparents I really did not know.  My Dad's father passed away before I was even born and my Dad's mom I only met once.

5. When did you last have a family portrait taken?

We had one taken last fall and I will get more done in the spring.  Prior to that one though it had been a few years.


6. What does the word patriotism mean to you? 

Well the online definition of it is: love for or devotion to one's country

To me I think it is to be proud of where you come from, stand for freedom and taking care of our country and supporting the military. 

7. Do you like to play cards and if so, what's your favorite card game?

I love to play cards and my favorite is Canasta.  Most of my family plays so I love when we are all together and can have a mini tournament :)   Recently I learned how to play Hearts and that was fun as well.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

Well I was going to go on a whole rant about people protesting at military funerals since my mind is on military stuff after question 7 but I don't feel like standing on my soap box.  Instead I will tell you that I am super excited about Thanksgiving for three very different reasons:  1) we have friends visiting and they are bringing their new gorgeous baby.. yes !  2)  I don't have to cook, our oven is so small we ordered dinner from somewhere...  yes!  3) Sarah and I get to go see Breaking Dawn ...even yesser !!

Ramblings

Well I did survive the party {barely} but I will do a post about that tomorrow with pics in the meantime I will share some thoughts that are rattling around my brain.

I bought soap to wash clothes with on Nov 1st.  The bottle says it has 28 washes in it... I poured out the last few drops last night into the washer.  Did I seriously wash 28 loads of laundry in 6 days?  It is possible considering I have three boys and my washer is the size of a Barbie washer but still...really?  What really kills me is the price of it.  It is usually 12 pounds a bottle which depending on the exchange rate is anywhere from $15 to  $20 dollars which is really not helping in the whole plan to reduce my grocery budget.

Yesterday I had a huge list of things to do but I didn't feel like accomplishing it so I worked on my blog.  I found a really cute background that I wanted on a site.... couldn't get it to work.  I spent like 30 to 45 min on this.  No big deal I will find another one I thought.  So I did and I liked it even better.  Couldn't get it to work.  Spend another 45 minutes at least trying to get it to work because I liked it that much.  Tried and tried and tried and read the stupid instructions a bunch of times and I was getting angrier and angrier and frustrated because I have changed this before and should I really be struggling this much with it?  Finally I gave up.  It was not what I wanted for a background but it was a nice solid color, and I had changed my fonts, rearranged my page elements etc and I could live with it.  I asked my husband if he would try for me since he is much more technologically advanced them me.  So he did and he couldn't get it to work.  I was super grateful for his help {another 45 min of time sucked away} but when he was done it was a color and template I did not like... so I changed it again to the current one which is fine but not me.  It drives me nuts.  This must be why people pay people to do this for them and if I was still working I so would.

My kids are hilarious.  I wish I was better at writing down all the funny stuff they say because I forget so much of it and it is priceless.  Yesterday my 5yr old and 7y old were playing and I was listening to them and happy that they were getting along so well.  I heard the 5yr old say, "Why are they called boobie traps anyway?  Do they look like boobies?" and then laughter erupted.   I had to go into the other room and laugh and then I wondered what does he think boobies are and was slightly panicked.  I am sure they will be super happy in the future when they read this and realize I have shared it with the world.

We stumbled upon these books in the library here:

They are pretty cute.  They are very quick to read and basic which is nice when I am reading and too tired to read a lengthy or wordy book to the boys at bedtime.  They do not use proper English so the boys like them because they sound a little silly and I think they are funny because they have Eddie Vedder and David Hasselhoff in them.  I recommend them if you have kids under 7 because you will both laugh.  Check them out at Amazon.  {Purely my opinion I do not have any contract with the author or Amazon }

I am off to finish some craft projects, upload some pictures and feed the children.  They weirdly insist on eating 5 - 6 times a day everyday.  It is nuts.  Enjoy your day!

Halloween & Hodge Podge

Did you survive Halloween?  We went  trick or treating three times and I forgot the kids costumes on the last one, the big one, actual Halloween.  Epic fail.  We were 20 minutes from our house with 10 minutes before the festivities began when I realized this.  There was no going back.  I was not happy, my kids were even less  happy.
So I told everyone that my kids were dressed up as "Model Well Behaved Children" which I found quite witty and my kids just looked angry.  With this outing they received the most candy that had so far.  I was excited to see so many chocolate items in my oldest sons bag; he is allergic to milk and so I get all those.
No worries he still has enough crap left to rot his brain and teeth after I take my stash.
 I don't want to buy candy for myself for a few reasons 1) it is expensive 2) it is not good for you  and 3) I am suppose to be starting a diet this week.  I rationalize though that we are getting ready to start the Halloween to Holiday Death Spiral and all the candy will help me maintain my sanity.  Weak I know.  Enough about the pros and cons of excess Halloween Candy let's get to this week's Hodge Podge session.  Join in on the fun by going to Joyce's page here.

1. Who taught you how to cook?


Well my mom some and my Grandma slightly.  My dad reminded me recently that my mom tried to teach me more but I replied, "I don't need to learn how to cook because I will marry someone rich and have a personal chef".  Aren't 16yr olds super genius in their thinking?
I will say that my friends over the last 6 years have really influenced my cooking and pushed me to be better and I am grateful to them for all their ideas and shared recipes.  My goal is to be the one who everyone wants to go eat dinner at their house because it is always sooooo good.  I think my meals now are good but not amazing.


2. Have you been told you think too much? Are too much of a perfectionist? Are too sensitive? Were they right?

I would probably say yes to all three but that does not thrill me to admit.  I do over think things to much and I spend so much time thinking that I stress myself out and miss out.
I am too much of a perfectionist but not always... usually on projects or things I am making, or at work.  So what takes someone 10 min might take me 20 because I want it to be really great not just done and okay.
Yes I am far too sensitive at times and tend to take things to personally which is a bad combo with the whole over thinking thing.

3. As a child did you have a favorite blanket or toy? Tell about it.

I don't remember having a favorite.  I remember having Strawberry Shortcake dolls that I loved and carried with me everywhere for a summer but I don't think I had a single item that I always had to have.  Two of my sons do though.


4. What 'institution' do you have the most faith in?
 Marriage & family.  If you have a strong family you send strong people out into the world.  I truly believe what we do is soooo important and make an impact on the future.


5. Chrysanthemums-pansies-burning bush-ornamental cabbage...your favorite in an autumn garden?
I think Chrysanthemums... not sure.


6. What superpower do the kids in your neighborhood seem to posses?
Since we are new here I really don't know our neighborhood kids and I am not sure there are many at all.  I think we live in an area where there are mostly older people and if there are kid they are of the teenage variety.
 
7. Are you a fan of the cranberry?
Yes.  I like to drink CranApple drinks and I am looking forward to making a cranberry pear pie for Thanksgiving.
 
8. Insert your own random thought here:

I am prepping for my son's birthday party this weekend and I am nervous about having the combination of three girls, 11 boys, light sabers and a huge building with a concrete floor to run in.  Also I feel guilty for all the work I put into this when my other son who had a birthday at the beginning of the month only had a small family party at home.  In my defense he does not go to school and we are new here so he has no friends.  My oldest though went to two weeks of school last year here and then has gone to school this year so he has people to invite.  Guilt either way though if you do it you feel bad for the other kid, if you don't you feel bad for the kid you are doing it for.  Wish me luck because I am sure it will be chaos !