Lessons in party planning

We celebrated Riley's third birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I decided this was going to be the year when I finally threw him a real party. Like, with non-imaginary friends and a cutesy, theme and maybe even some decorations here and there. We rounded up an assortment of slip-n-slides and kiddie pools and threw all the kids in the backyard. It turned out to be pretty fun, though I'm willing to bet the urine-to-water ratio in the big kiddie pool was a little iffy by the end of the night.

If I ever throw a huge party like this again (and that's a pretty big if) I have the benefit of this year's experience. Here are some nuggets of wisdom I picked up:

# 1- Cutesy-themed parties don't so much have a discernible theme if you forget to get out all the fish plates and cups that you spent way too much on at that party store and if you let your husband talk you out of buying some cute fish balloons because hey, 'We have to draw the line somewhere.' They also don't work out very well if you run out of time because you have procrastinated and instead of decorating your back patio, it just ends up looking like this:


#2--You should not expect your friends and family to sit on your un-airconditioned back porch for two hours in 105 degree Oklahom heat and be happy about it. Though, to their credit, I didn't hear anyone complain (you guys are the best). and we all had the added benefit of losing at least a couple of pounds from all the sweating we did.

#3--It may not be the best idea to offer to rent an 8-foot inflatable slide from someone you have never met on Craig's list, tell them you will have cash on hand for the rental and the deposit, and then give them your address and directions to your house. Especially when they show up looking like someone you might see on a wanted poster. Although in this case, I have to admit it really worked out for me (and no, I won't do it again.) I got a great deal and the slide was a hit.

Need some proof? Just look at that smile:



#4: Even if your husband spends two hours in the backyard filling up a cooler full of water balloons, they will still all be gone in just under two minutes.



Here's my fish cake, the one lonely remnant of the fish themed party that was sadly not meant to be.


Look at that determined look on Riley's face...the cake never stood a chance.





After the party when everyone went home, Riley stopped playing with his new toys for a few seconds to look up at me and say, "Tanks sooooo much for my burday party mommy." It was totally worth it.

Birthday madness

Thanks to a variety of private donors (mostly my mom and dad) Riley got a brand spankin' new power wheels for his birthday. Lucky kid. He has been begging to ride the thing non stop for the past few days, 110 degree heat and all.

Now that he's all practiced up, he has some major skills. He can whip that thing in reverse, maneuver through tight squeezes, and power slide on the pavement. We've even progressed to letting him ride it through some of the less-busy neighborhood streets while I walk beside him. On our walk last night, we discovered our neighborhood already has a resident motorcycle gang of kids who have electric motorcycles or fourwheelers. They had a drag race down the street last night.

I haven't talked to the other mothers about it yet, but i'm thinking we should get them all some bandannas, orange flags, black leather and let them roam the streets at will. They already doubtlessly know how to stop at stop signs and stay on the right side of the road.

Getting Fancy

Riley's toolbox, supplied with lots of tools courtesy of Gmom and Pop. He's been "fixing" things all over the house.

Great Expectations

Items that Riley has requested for his birthday:

1- A waterfall
2- A "weel wive" tiger
3- A space ship to the moon

Locations Riley insists he would like his party to be at:

1- Target
2- That's it. There's no suitable alternative in his mind. I think he envisions himself and his little friends running free and filling their carts up with all of the toys they can possibly handle.

Needless to say, I don't think I can live up to his expectations. Especially since his party is in one week and I have no idea what we're going to do to keep the childrens entertained. On a side note, anyone know how to throw together an absolutely magnificent birthday party in, oh, say a week?

South Padre

As promised, here are our month-plus old pics of Sea World and South Padre Island.

Let's start with Sea World. We saw the dolphins and the whales and paid $8 bucks for a glass of frozen lemonade. Why is it that frozen drinks always taste so delicious when you pay exorbitant amounts for them?

We hiked up the water slide tower and managed to convince Riley to ride down all by himself, as he wasn't allowed to ride on our laps. He actually loved it, and we made a total of 8 trips before the baby-faced lifegaurd--the same one who had been watching us the whole time---suddenly and arbitrarily decided that Riley was too little to be going down the slide by himself. Sam had already slid on down to wait for us at the bottom, so it was up to me to pry Riley's death grip off the slide railing and drag him, kicking and screaming the entire way, down the 500 million sets of stairs.


Highlights from South Padre Island:
--Our first sighting of real, live (i.e. wild dolphins). In fact, a few of them jumped only feet away from Sam when he was surfing. He got good and freaked out when he saw those dorsal fins coming towards him.
--Fresh seafood. Ummmmm.
--Fresh seafood. Oh, did I already mention that one?

Sporting the baby bump.

Then, we crossed the border and made the hour-long drive into Matamoros Mexico just to satisfy Sam's authentic food craving.

Ummm...It was probably worth it, even though I got a four-day stomach ache from drinking the horchata---which, as it turns out, is made with that water they tell you not to drink when you go to Mexico.

Yummy Mexican food=a very happy Sam

Riles wasn't so much a fan of Mexico. He was hot and tired and threw approximately 100 tantrums. All the natives were looking at me like I was the bad parent of a very spoiled American child (sooooo far from the truth) so I did what every parenting book I've read thus far told me to do.....Buy your child the first toy in sight to make him stop crying.

We ended up with the most ghetto toys I have ever seen in my life. Need some proof? Just take a look at this picture taken by my friend, Fig. Be sure and click on the photo for the extra-large version so you can catch the "Ambukance" in all its glory.