A Humpty Dumpty Birthday Bash

I absolutely love planning parties, and while I no longer do it professionally (at least for now), I have at least two opportunities a year to put my party planning savvy to the test. Of course, having two birthdays within two weeks of each other poses a challenge, but I still try to give it my all for both girls, and this year I chose a Humpty Dumpty and His Nursery Rhyme Friends theme for The Baby's 2nd Birthday. Humpty Dumpty is her favorite nursery rhyme and she laughs out loud every time she sees the illustration.

While  I don't normally post a lot of personal pics on this blog, I thought I would share these because it was pretty hard to find anything with Humpty Dumpty on the web. Hopefully this will help you if you every go in this direction with one of your own parties.

The invitation was tricky. I found just one or two designs on-line and I didn't really care for any of them. So instead I found a Humpty Dumpty drawing that I liked and uploaded it onto a cute Upload Your Own Photo template on www.vistaprint.com.

I kept the decorations simple, and thrifty. I purchased a program to make this cute Nursery Rhyme banner on Etsy. Mine says "Happy Birthday" but it can be customized with any text. I printed the design on cardstock, cut it, punched holes in the corners and strung it together using curling ribbon.

I called every party store and balloon shop in the area to find a Humpty Dumpty balloon, with no luck, so I ended up ordering this one, which was adorable, from Bargain Balloons, a company out of Canada. It was worth the cost of shipping every time The Baby laughed at it, or hugged and kissed it. I used a Balloon Time kit to fill it and the rest of balloons. That part was fun, and easier than I expected. Purchasing the kit at Michaels with a 40% off coupon made it cost effective, too.

And my pièce de resistance, was a homemade Humpty Dumpty piñata. I owe big props to the blog With or Without Nap on much of the inspiration, including making my own piñata. 

And the "how-to" to actually construct the thing, came from a blog called Frugal NJ. 

Here I used that same graphic program from Etsy, to create the decoration for the goody bags that the kids would use to collect their piñata loot. For the  two little babies who weren't allowed candy, I put a pack of gel teethers and a little Sesame Street book instead. I hung the bags on our mantel, using kitchen twine and clothespins. I had a "Three Little Kittens hanging their mittens" image in my mind, but I doubt anyone else would have picked up on it.

So eventually poor Humpty had a great fall and met with his demise. Unfortunately the pull strings didn't work on my homemade creation (who knew masking tape was so strong??), so I instantly turned into the Incredible Hulk and just ripped the thing apart, sending the candy flying onto the squealing bunch of kiddos below.

Our cake was a glorious work of art, created by Sweet Hubby. Humpty was made of chocolate, and the kids had so much fun breaking him apart and eating him before we even got the cake sliced. The cake was just as delicious as it was cute. It was sour cream poundcake with a green apple buttercream. It may just have been his best cake yet. My girls are so spoiled with his amazing cakes.

Sweet Hubby and I also made these adorable Humpty Dumpty decorated cookies to take home. Of course, he did most of the work, but I will take credit for Humpty's cute face and his fabulous packaging.

I would say the party was a huge success, and made wonderful most of all by the fantastic family and friends in attendance. Humpty Dumpty was a great character to include and my girl's happy smiles and laughter made it worth the extra effort to make it special.

Totally Gross

I am generally not a super-squeamish parent. I am pretty much at the bottom of the germa-phobe totem pole. If something doesn't look real dirty, then I am usually okay with it. Yes, I recognize that some of the more nasty bacteria like E. Coli and Salmonella can't be seen, and should still be feared. And for that I keep my gigantic warehouse store size of Lysol wipes at the ready. But general dirt and grime don't really skeeve me out (a quick visit to my house on a bad day can really drive this point home).

I am also not easily shaken when my kids suffer the customary scrapes and bruises of childhood. Of course, I feel bad for my little tikes when they rip all the skin off their knee or pick at a bug bite til it bleeds, but it doesn't make me feel ill or anything, to look at their wounds. I can administer first aid like a good Girl Scout, and I rarely have to look away.

What I have discovered about myself, however, is that anything that has to do with the mouth, makes me squirm. I first started to realize this about myself when Little Diva suffered her "tongue injury" last winter.

Now it is becoming more evident as I am faced with LOOSE TEETH in Little Diva's precious, little (though sometimes sassy) mouth.  The whole tooth-hanging-by-thread thing sends shivers up my spine.

She has already lost two baby teeth, and thankfully, managed to get them out herself. It wasn't even that big of a production (especially for her). Except of course, that the first one happened to be extracted on Christmas Eve, so the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus had to orchestrate their travels very carefully that evening.

But that was months ago, and now she is working on the big guys up front. And one of them is really ripe for the picking.

I.Cannot.Even.Bear.To.Watch.

That thing is hanging on for dear life, moving this way and that, and every time she says, "Look at it, now, Mom," I start to sweat. I am oddly fascinated by the whole thing, but am thoroughly grossed out when I see that wee little tooth, dangling sideways from the socket.

Why doesn't she just pull the darn thing out?? Well, she says it hurts when she twists it a certain way. More chills down my spine. And oh, yeah, did I mention, there is some blood? I can stomach gaping wounds in an arm, a leg, even a bloody nose, but one glimpse of that bloody (literally) tooth, and I nearly pass out.

The only thing that makes the situation even slightly tolerable, is when she hangs that dangling tooth over her lip, and busts out her best British accent to say, "I am Nanny McPhee". That one had us rolling on the floor. I don't know where she comes up with this stuff.

Is it true that some parents can actually manage to pull their kids teeth out for them? Well, yes, I know it is, because I am pretty sure I remember my mom doing it for me.

Not this momma, oh no! I would bring her to the dentist, $50 co-pay and all, before I yanked that thing out myself.

How about you? Is pulling out your kids' loose tooth something you have (or could have) done?

Those Tough Choices

Here's is how decision-making goes around here:

Mommy 2.0: Should I make a regular piñata or a pull-string piñata for The Baby's 2nd birthday party?

Sweet Hubby: Um, probably a pull-string.

M2.0: Why? A regular one will be much easier to make

SH: No, it will too hard for the kids to break. They are too little.

M2.0: But they can use one of your golf clubs, and the grown-ups can help them (Can you tell that I really don't feel like figuring out the whole piñata-trap door-string thing?)

SH: So, you know that there is only going to be one kid who can actually hit the piñata alone, and then Little Diva is going to freak out because she didn't get to hit the piñata by herself, and she is going to say "no fair!" then she and her friend are going to say they aren't friends anymore, then they are going to pout at each other for the next hour.

M2.0: Maybe you're right. Maybe we should do a pull-string.

Sometimes it really helps to listen to the voice of reason.

No Rest for the Weary

I just cannot nap. I know there is an entire sub-culture of adult nappers out there who are rubbing the sleep out of their well-rested eyes and shaking their heads at me, but it is an undeniable truth.

On the rare occasion that I let myself lay down for a midday siesta, I inevitably regret it. First of all, I may be dead tired and falling asleep standing up at the sink full of dishes, but the second I climb into bed or curl up on the couch, I get my second wind. My mind starts racing through a million and one random trains of thought and I find it hard to get to sleep. I will have to set an alarm, because once I do go to sleep, my body assumes I am down for the count, and would go a good four hours before realizing that I have slept through then end of The Baby's nap,  missed pick-up at school, and dozed right through dinner. That would not be good. But eventually, the sleep deprivation will win out, and I will drift off.

Once the alarm goes off, no matter how well I have chosen a soothing yet rousing sound, I am jolted out of deep slumber, and feel completely disoriented and unwell. In fact, I can liken my state of being after a nap, to a hangover, without the good time. I am usually sweating, shaking and my head aches dully.  I do not feel refreshed or reinvigorated. Instead, I am trying to figure out exactly how many minutes of snooze I can get away with without running late for any afternoon obligations.

Usually my inability to nap is not detrimental in any way. In fact, it typically allows me to be productive during the baby's nap time, either getting household chores done (which do not get done at any other time, so this is a must!) or spending the one-on-one time so desperately craved by Little Diva when she is off from school, that she starts asking around 9:30AM if it is The Baby's nap time yet.

But on days like today, a nap would be nice, if I knew I would not feel like zombie after. By "days like today" I specifically mean days after a night when The Baby doesn't sleep well at all. I mean when she has woken up at midnight. And at one. And then has been up for two hours straight from 2AM-4AM followed by tossing and turning (and pinching and kicking) next to me in my bed after that for the rest of the "night".

I mean days like today when it is rainy. And dreary. And The Baby is sleeping. And the housework is done. Well, as done as it gets without actually pulling out the vacuum, a mop or the can of dusting spray. In other words, done enough for a Tuesday.

But I better not nap. I will sit on the couch and flip through the new issues of Parenting and Entertainment Weekly. My eyes will get heavy. My head will start to nod. And I might close my eyes for just one minute. And I might just forget that I won't feel good when I wake up . . . zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

But then the rally cry from the nursery will sound. There is no rest for the weary. And it will be time to start Part 2 of our day, the afternap afternoon. Thank goodness for Double Espresso!

Nothing's Free in this World, Kid (Except for Tote Bags)

As a full time at-home mom, I consider it one of my biggest responsibilities to seize the "teachable moments" as they present themselves. As a result, I probably beat a dead horse over-explain everything all the time. I really cannot help it. I always feel compelled to find the lesson in the situation, and relate it to whatever we have going on.

It is completely gratifying to see some of these efforts pay off from time to time. Let me share the story of how Little Diva is evolving into a genius of pragmatism.
<insert image of tongue in cheek here>

So, I will admit, I am rather frazzled hurried on a regular basis. My mission is to get from point A to point B with two girls in tow without 1) having them bicker with each other 2) buying them the various candies/toys/crap that they beg me for on every venture 3)having the whole affair spiral downward into a crying hissy-fit meltdown that typically results from numbers 1 or 2.

Today's "quick" trip to the grocery store was no different. After grabbing the few things we needed, plus some random package of chocolate covered wafer cookies that I caved on, we sailed through checkout. Little Diva was still rambling on about something she started in on in the Produce department, but I pushed ahead. I had The Baby in her stroller, basically because she is now prone to attempting swan dives out the grocery cart since mastering the release on the safety belt. To keep her occupied, she had brought half the toy box, and had various stuffed dogs, blankies and dolls wedged in around her.

As I made a beeline for the door, we passed a display of Kiwi fruit, at which point Little Diva perked up again, and said, "Look, Mommy, this is what I wanted". I mumbled my usual, no honey, not today, and then saw that The Baby had dropped one of the dolls. I called back to Little Diva, who was about 5 paces behind me to pick her up and out the door we went. As we got outside, Little Diva said, "But Mom, don't we have to pay for it?" I spun around and saw that she was not holding Balen, the Baby Doll, but rather one of the coveted Kiwi fruits.

Um yeah. We do have to pay for that, and where is the doll I told you to pick up. Huh? Oh I thought you said just pick one up. Oops.

Poor thing turned about 5 shades of red, and almost walked back in through the "out" door to get that stolen fruit back on the stand. There was also a really confused customer walking towards us with Balen the Baby Doll in hand as we rushed back in.

Over dinner at the pizza joint next door, I complimented Little Diva on asking me about paying for the Kiwi, instead of just walking out without paying for it. I told her that I am glad she understands that it is wrong to take something that you haven't paid for.

A few minutes later, she noticed some cookies that being prepped for the counter display. She asked if she could have one because it looked like they were free. I said, oh no, you have to pay for everything here. She asked if I had paid for the bag of chips she was devouring instead of her pizza. I said yes, and then quipped, "Nothing is free in this world, kid".

With a knowing tone, she repeated it back to me, "That's right, mom. Nothing is free. Well, except for Tote Bags. They always seem to be free".

Tote Bags. They always seem to be free.

It is at moments like these, that I remember, that I am learning as much from my kids, as they are from me. And it almost always makes me smile.