What I've got up my sleeve...

...for the birthday extravaganza that is fast approaching.

Reminder of when I had my children:
Feb. 1, 1999
Feb. 22, 2001
Feb. 28, 2003
Mar. 12, 2005

I'll save you the calculating and just tell you...it's May people - husband's birthday and our anniversary, now you know.

Anyway...

I want to regale you with all the fantabulous details I have planned out for E's Feb. 1 shindig, not only the room makeover details, but how the whole weekend is going to go down for her 10th, but being that she is becoming computer savvy, what with her very own email account now, and much time spent on webkins, I am afraid she would read here before the big weekend. So you will just have to be on pins and needles to read about and see the room reveal and revel with me in all the delightful details I have planned for ushering her into double digits, in a couple weeks when I post after the fact.

M's Feb. 22 8th birthday is really starting to take shape. If you read my previous party post, you will remember that I took E to Chicago for her 8th birthday, so in spirit of keeping it "even" (whatever.) I wanted to give M a trip of her own. Originally I thought we'd go to Chicago again and do Amer Girl as it was such a wonderful experience with E. But M hemmed and hawed and I realized she wanted something unique and special for her, not to just follow in her big sisters footsteps.

So we contemplated Hershey, PA for a tour of the Hershey Chocolate World, because she loves sugar more than life itself, but then my mom mentioned Minneapolis...where I grew up. At first I was against this idea because I want the trip to be all about and for M and I didn't want to be distracted by being in my home town. But pretty soon, and against my better judgement-knowing they were/are having consistent negative temps and I am quite certain M and I will die while up there-a plan started taking shape in my mind. We are going to go up there to experience winter. M is a GRIT (Girl Raised In The South) so even though I spent my first 24 years experiencing winter, she really has no idea what its about (or how cold it really feels!) Snow, ice, icicles, are a novelty to her that she longs to experience. Who am I to deny her a near death experience?

So the two of us are headed off to MN for her birthday weekend. We are staying with my mom in a hotel with an indoor waterslide park which is right next to Mall of America. We will hit the new American Girl cafe in MOA, as well as Nickelodean Universe, the indoor theme park at MOA. In addition, we will take a bus downtown to see a Children's Theatre play, go outdoor snow tubing at Buck Hill, and go outdoor ice skating at Centennial Lakes. I will be able to get a peek at my new nephew, too! We will pack a lot into 3 days...hopefully with all the moving around, we won't be still enough to freeze to death! I really am scared about that being a very real possibility!

Sarah Rosy is going to have a moon jump birthday for her 6th. We rented a Sponge Bob moon jump for our backyard and we will have many children, her whole kindergarten class as well as other friends not in her class...I think about 16 kids in all. At this time I am just thinking of pizza, snacks, drinks, and lots of jumping...but if it is very cold, I may do a fire pit for roasting hotdogs and marshmellows and serve hot cocoa in between the gleeful jumping. We will also do the requisite pinata and goodie bags, which I love to do.

Goo is having her very first birthday party this year for her 4th. Poor thing only has two friends so far in her life, but they are very sweet friends and her fairy godmother is also coming into town and possibly gma, aunty, and cousin Izzy who is G's age. Goo's party will be all about Orange...her very favorite color in the whole wide world. The invites will be orange, everyone will wear orange, all paper goods, balloons, food, games, etc will be orange. I am so excited. I am even going to blow up a bunch of orange balloons and fill the trampoline with them and let them jump around with the orange blobs.

I can't wait for my head ideas to become reality so I can show you how it all goes down in pictures. Be waiting for those posts.

Happy party planning!