Happy 3rd Birthday Little Prince

I can't believe it but my little guy is THREE YEARS OLD! Where in the world did the time go? With every day and every moment that I spend with him, I am never at a loss on what a miracle his being here truly is. After years of believing that I would never be a mother, God blessed me with the sweetest miracle ever disguised as my little boy.

Today was his birthday party and though mother nature was a pure witch to deliver us almost 100 degree weather (didn't she know his birthday party was in the backyard???), his friends showed up to help him celebrate the occassion. As miserable as it was (and YES, it was miserable) the kids seemed to enjoy the activites that I had planned and thanks to a semi-cool basement to go to after about 35 minutes in the sweltering sun, the remainder of the party was not only pleasant but enjoyable for all.

My big boy had a great time and in the end that's all that really matters. I'm grateful to have met some wonderful families who were willing to brave the elements to come celebrate with us. Now, a 6 month rest before the party planning begins again....wonder what next year will have in store for us. Whatever it is I'm sure I'll be crafting up a storm to make it happen...LOL.


The back of the placemat


The front of the placemat


The microphone cups


The gift bag


The music CD


The notebook & pencil


The red carpet and stage


The craft table


The final craft project

Preparing for a party

I know that some will think I'm crazy (and perhaps I am...lol) but I begin planning my son's birthday parties 6 months out. Since he's so young he isn't really able to pick his own themes. I, like most parents I guess, pay close attention to who he is and what he's interested in and make the decision from there. This year, his theme will be "music".

Picking this theme was a pretty easy choice since he has been my little maestro since he was a year old. His favorite instrument is the guitar but the drums come in a close second to his first passion. Last year I went with a "cars" theme because he loves those probably as much as he loves music. But this year I wanted something different and something that stood out. So here we are, a week away from the big day and I still have so much left to do. Being the crafty mom that I am, I enjoy "getting my hands dirty" when it comes to planning his party. I always personalize the gift bags for the kids but for the last two years that's all I've had to do since his parties were held at party places. This year the party will be at our home and I will be creating personalized gift bags, personalized place mats, music CD's along with a 'stage' for the kids to have their picture taken on. All of this of course sounded fabulous in theory...now comes the time to turn the dream into reality and I'm starting to feel the magnitude of what I've committed myself to. Yes, some things on the list have been crossed off and though the items that remain are not that life shattering, I still only have one week to pull it all off (wow...just 7 days - OMG!)

I do have to ask myself will it matter in the end if I get it all done? The truth - probably not. I'm throwing a party for a 3 year old and the kids that are coming to help us celebrate range in age from 2 - 5. For them, I'm sure the most important will be the chicken nuggets, cupcakes and any candy they can grab when that pinata breaks. So, I guess I need to just take a deep breath and remember that as long as my baby boy is sharing his special day with mom and dad that's all that really matters...the rest will be a piece of cupcake!