Birthday Parties Past and Present

As promised, I am continuing the birthday trip down memory lane from yesterday.

Then it was YEAR SEVEN!! This year the theme was "Make a Mess" because my son likes to do just that! You may remember the invitation:

We snacked on (organic) cheese puffs, a classically messy snack. And we made slime*, as requested by Noah. Only problem was I forgot I'd need bowls for this, so I was rummaging around pulling out tiny baby bowls (and didn't even have enough of those) at the last minute. Duh. (See what lack of sleep gets you?!) We also played a game where the kids had to hold their hands behind their backs and use only their faces to find 4 chocolate candies in a plate of whipped cream. I was disappointed in this game, too, because the whipped cream was flat and soupy. I don't have a lot of experience with whipped cream. I was picturing the traditional "pie in the face" type look, but ours? Umm...not so much. The kids seemed to enjoy it, though.

Crazy kids. Don't they know they're going to get messy?

What's that on your face, Noah?!

The Winner!!

They had DIRT cake in individual cups, complete with gummy worms. I reminded them to eat MESSY, and, boy, did they! Once things had kind of slowed down, we recruited the parents to help us with one last thing. We had the kids all line up against our retaining wall and told them to turn their backs to us and count to ten. When they reached about 8 maybe, the dads pelted them all with water balloons. There were a few sensitive souls (mostly younger siblings who insisted on doing everything the big kids did) who didn't exactly appreciate this activity, but everyone else really got into it...and retaliated! Wet kids led to wet parents which led to whipped cream-drenchings which led to food throwing...well, long story short, it was a MESSY PARTY alright!!! Good thing it was outside. Clean-up was a breeze.

How 'bout some dirt and worms?!

Blow 'em ALL out!!

One MeSsY Good Friend

Clean

Not So Clean

Party favors were little plastic buckets filled with a washcloth, a sponge, a toothbrush, and packets of Fun-Dip (a candy that can be eaten messily OR neatly, depending on one's mood). 

*slime: (aka "Oobleck") Cornstarch, water, and food coloring. We love this stuff!! And it cleans up so easy. Just rinses away. Right down the drain. No worries.

And now?????? Now we have reached Year Eight!!! It's still so hard to believe. Eight birthdays. Talk about bittersweet. But I trudge on, as I must. Of course, technically his birthday was in April. But who wants to be technical at a time like this?! We have partying to do, however late.

This year Noah's exhausted mommy opted to do a whopper of a combination party. 'Cause she (I?) was hoping to knock it all out at once. Makes it easier for the out-of-town family guests, too. And now she'll quit writing in third person. Whew! (That was weird.) So this year since Gabriel's birthday is May 23rd, we're having both boys' parties together at Jump!Zone. It means a lot more kids, which means a lot more cupcakes, but I'm excited to just be bringing refreshments and not worrying about cleaning my house (before OR after)!!

Here's the invitation I came up with:

I'm HOPING to somehow line up all the cupcakes like a racing strip and make one of those cupcake cakes (aka "pull-apart" cakes). Have you seen them? I thought each boy could be represented by a car or motorbike, on which I could somehow affix a candle. I don't know. I'm still mulling it over. I should totally have this all planned out by now, I'm sure. I can just FEEL a catastrophe on the horizon. And I haven't even mentioned all the other activities we're squeezing in to this coming weekend. Oh, dear...