picking up the pieces...still!

Party #3...well, I was so irritated all week I couldn't really say much about it. But I figured I better, so here goes...so this is a quick synopsis of party #3 with Mike's immediate family.

I planned it well. I lined up the hallway upstairs with lots of toys (easy toys to clean up). The hallway is like another room extra wide and gosh, 40+ feet long? so there was plenty of space to play. I locked the playroom door (last time that room got destroyed even though I said no kids upstairs) and I also locked our bedroom door (last time kids were jumping on our bed). I closed all other bedroom doors and told the kids no going into the bedrooms upstairs. There are other rules, rules that our kids wouldn't even consider rules, just a way of life. Like no jumping on the beds. No eating anywhere but the kitchen. No throwing anything over the balcony, except maybe stuffed animals (our kids play zoo and use the balcony for their stuffed animal monkeys and koalas). Shoes off when you come in the house. Drinks don't leave the kitchen table. But low and behold when all was said and done, there were plates upstairs, candy wrappers all over, candy mashed into the carpet. I ended up caving and letting the little gals (including Maddie) play in the girls' bedroom as they are sweet and play really nice together. They were playing dollhouse when another cousin (boy) walks in and pulls stuff out of the closet. I told him he had to stay downstairs. (Okay so by the way, instead of mingling, I spend most of the time following the kids around making sure our things & the house isn't being destroyed, because no one else does it. Well Mike will take turns with me sometimes). I came back down, and suddenly toys are raining off the balcony. He pulled out Maddie's polly pockets and threw them up in the air over the balcony (after he had been yelled at for throwing other stuff over the balcony, and told to come downstairs). Oh, he's 4 1/2 & yes, the parents of all the kids are present by the way. So, I will eternally be finding little polly shoes and other stuff until 2012 probably. Or the vacuum will find them. I went upstairs to force him to come downstairs and find he also ripped the hair off of a couple of the princess polly pockets. Once back downstairs, he pulled out games and attempted to throw the pieces upstairs over the balcony. I proceeded to take all games and puzzles and put them in our locked bedroom. He ate doritos in the living room with no bowl, and mashed them into the carpet. Just a small taste of what happened that day, and I think you can see why I get so frazzled over having a birthday party.

I was so stressed out that night, I didn't clean for days. I didn't know where to start. It just figures, every time we have had a birthday party with them, the weather has been bad and no one could play outside. I swear, next birthday, which would be Cal's, I want to rent out a place so I don't have to worry about being so stressed out over it (I will also be 7 1/2 months pregnant). And so I don't have to clean it all up. It doesn't matter how many precautions I take, things are ruined and messed up beyond what I feel any kid should do (unless they are 2 or under perhaps, and there are no kids in that age bracket right now in the family).

On to the happy parts of the party--I bought an arts and craft item (I do for every party, hoping to keep some occupied!) and only Kaycey, Maddie, and a cousin Kaycey's age did it. It turned out so cute, though. I bought blank wood frames for $1 at Michaels. They painted them how they wanted and then painted wooden letters to spell out their name. After it was dry they chose from some $.99 3D embellishments I bought. They really turned out cute!!

Kaycey got more clothes for Kit, and even a gift certificate to American Girl Place (Mike's sister lives in Chicago, and happens to work on Michigan Ave. How convenient!!) She got her own CD player and a couple CDs, and an iCarly DVD.

Mike's mom has made the cakes for our kid's parties with his family for years. She does such a great & creative job! This year Kaycey wanted a soccer ball. The frosting was kind of falling by the time I took the picture, but it was so cute! Also, they brought along an ice cream cake with Kaycey's picture. And honestly I only have a few other pictures, because I was too busy with other things to take pictures!!