... and now I have a Seven Year Old.

I will not get sappy and talk about how much better my life is since this girl came into my life 7 years ago. Nor will I bore you with just how much she has taught me about life, love, spirituality, empathy and the magic in the universe.

But I will brag a little about what a beautiful, loving and kind little girl she has grown into over the past 7 years.

For her birthday, she wanted to do something a little different than the usual home or park party we usually throw with a bouncy house. Bouncy houses are hard to top, so I was a little nervous.

She asked about a gymnastics party at the YMCA and I was ecstatic to learn it wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. Honestly, we ended up getting much more than I thought out of it and maybe they spoiled us just a teeny bit.

A gymnastics party at the Y consists of an hour-ish in the gymnastics room. The kids get to run around an obstacle course and free reign at the foam pit. Not to brag, or anything, but I did overhear a few kids talking about this party being the best they'd ever been to.

After the kids are good and ready for replenishment, we got an hour-ish in the multipurpose room, which is decorated with pink and purple balloons, party plates and napkins, and time to enjoy some pizza, chips, popcorn, refreshments and CUPCAKES!

All of this, by the way, facilitated by two of the nicest party helpers ever. They not only helped lead activity in the gymnastics room, but also handed out pizza, drinks, party favors and cupcakes. See? Spoiled!

We sang Happy Birthday and I got the first ever group birthday party photo ever in the history of Deneweth birthday parties.

Then, of course there were presents... and, hey! Did you know Riley was there, too?

I present to you: Riley and Fifi, photo-bomber extraordinaires.

So, yea! I have a 7 year old now... It seems like just yesterday I ... okay okay (I won't get sappy).

<3, Tabi :D

Portal Party.

This weekend we had a fifth birthday party for my not so little anymore guy. The thing about my kids that I LOVE is that they are into what they like and it's usually not what is so mainstream at that moment. It's also what challenges me to throw them the perfect party when decorations for their theme of choice just aren't readily available. I can almost guarantee you won't see another 5 year old party with a Portal theme anytime soon. For those of you who have no clue what/who... a Portal is: it's a video game. Riley walks, talks, draws, dreams Portal 2 all day every day. It's not so much a video game marketed towards children, but it's not a violent one. The main guys are robots, and those huge guns they are holding, they shoot portals, not lethal bullets, lasers, etc.

Now, the thing about myself that I would LOVE to change, is that I am a master procrastinator and generally throw these things together in much less than a week's time. I'm pretty good at working under pressure, but in review, I always think how much better things could've been if I just had more time!

Anyways, here are the highlights of our Portal Party.

the Invitations

 yep. I threw these together last Sunday... a week ago. Those guys look so darn cute in those party hats, dontcha think?

the Decor

My husband couldn't be more proud that his son is a huge Portal fan. So, he really got into the decorations at this party. Most of the decorations he made will double as new room decor for the boys' room, since we are redecorating Portal style. He made a 2 foot ATLAS cutout, that 20" x 30" ATLAS and P-body poster and some rad portal mirrors. 

I made that cute Happy Birthday banner... isn't it cute?? ATLAS guarded the snacks and we also had a tray full of blue repulsion gel (aka Jello) that pretty much no one touched. I guess Jello is not so popular anymore... We also served baked potatoes in honor of GLaDOS (I'm still on the fence if that was too cheesy or not). 

When the guests arrived, we armed them with our own little Deneweth Labs Portal Guns (dollar store nerf guns spray painted white with the Aperture logo) to go start their adventure in the bounce house. Sadly, I have no pictures of those...

the Cake

I feel like 'the Cake' is such an inside joke as far as Portal goes. I only sort of understand it and it's been explained to me many times. I'm no gamer girl. Apparently, in the first Portal game, there was promise of cake if you beat the game. When you did beat the game, you find out the promised cake was all a lie. So, I found a picture somewhere on the interwebs of this cake going through a portal and decided to reproduce it. I think it came out great, if I do say so myself. 

At this party, the cake was NOT a lie. And it was dairy free and DELICIOUS! I had zero cake left over. 

the Pinata, the Birthday Boy and his LOOT!

Christopher made a super cute Companion Cube pinata and we were both a little sad it had to be busted open. But I'm also super happy he captured the exact moment of pinata explosion on camera. What a great shot!! (Pinata busted by my nephew, Christian.)

Then there were presents, he got many many many cool things. In trying to not overload blog, I only chose to post the Portal presents. He got a "cuddly laser" or a plush turret, who lights up and talks and shoots on motion sensor. It is pretty cool. Oh, and Uncle Mike scored major points for best Uncle EVER when he got the Bear his own official Aperture Science Portal Gun!! 

If that wasn't enough excitement... after the party, we checked the mail and got another surprise. A while ago, Riley sent a letter to Valve, the company who makes the game he loves, to try and persuade them to make Portal 3. It read, "Make the Portal 3 Game. ... And I love it so much. Please make it so fast." So Gabe (the creator of Portal) signed his letter and sent it back to us so we could frame it. How awesome is that??

Today, we made little Lego ATLAS and P-body guys. I had to include them since they were cutie patooties. :)

Phew! I'm not kidding when I say that after all that, we stayed in jammies all day today. We all had Portal Party hangovers.

Last night I asked Riley if he like the party. He said it was, "the best birthday party ever!" I asked him what made it the best, he said because Fifi came. :)

GOD, what a sweetheart!!! I love that his favorite parts aren't the material things. I also LOVE his little 5 year old crush on Fifi. It's too cute. <3

That was our Portal Party. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. 

<3, Tabi :D    

My ZoBo is TWO!

On Sunday, my little Zoie Rainbow turned the big T-W-O. We threw her a little party at the house and invited family and close friends to help us celebrate. It turned out to be a success!

The Theme: Rainbow (since her middle name is Rainbow... I'm going to play that one out until she tells me otherwise)
Food: Cupcakes, Cookies (at the birthday girl's request), Skittles, Rainbow Goldfish, Fruit Tray, Smarties, Naan and Hummus
Toddler Attractions: Ball Pit and Bubble Machine!

FREE Printable Rainbow Party Kit from HERE! Or you can download the PDF directly HERE. :)

Photo Overload Commence NOW.

My big girl.  LOVE HER!! <3

 Future party tip: 250 ball pit balls may sound like a lot... but they are definitely NOT enough.
Balloons are a good fill in. Just be careful around toddlers that still like to chew on things.
Luckily, Zoie was the youngest one at the party, and she is past that stage!

 

The birthday girl asked for cookies... did I go overboard?

On Sunday, her actual birthday, we celebrated with a low key day of playing at home, rainbow pancakes, putting together an awesome new Cozy Coupe car, compliments of Mimi and a little late night drive thru. Her late night snack? Marshmallows - her prize for going pee pee in the potty!

I'm so proud of my little big girl. :)

Today I asked her how old she is? Her answer: COOKIE!!!

<3, Tabi :D

Whirlwind Weekend

This weekend was a little of a whirlwind. Secretly, these are my favorite kinds of weekends. They are super busy, but jam packed full of good times. Here's a peeksie at our last weekend.

My stepson Cameron turned 10 on Friday and we threw him a bowling party bash to celebrate on Saturday.

TEN!! Double digits is big time. It seems like just yesterday he was freaking me out by pooping in the bathtub.

We haven't been bowling in for...ev...er... so it was a big treat for us. Bowling is apparently not enough anymore, the cool thing is blacklight bowling!! With pop music. The kids really enjoyed it, I think we'll have to go more often now. After showing our skillz on the lanes, we had yummy Death Star cake and ice cream, then Cameron opened all his cards. He asked for money (I guess that's what 10 year olds are into these days), and that's what he received. So much, in fact, that we left the bowling alley and went straight to Toys R Us so he could purchase a new bicycle. You can see Zoie building it for him up there.

To celebrate Mother's Day, we took a relaxing trip to the beach for some sun, sand and relaxation. It was a bit cloudy, but perfect temperature. Roxy made a sand mermaid, a few castles and buried Riley. The Bear practiced swimming in the Gulf and rolled around in the sand. Zoie just enjoyed getting dirty and chasing the birds. Christopher made some fishy friends - for real, one stalked him and nibbled his toes for like 20 minutes! I sat back, enjoyed having my toes in the sand, the nice cool water and even saw some dolphins!  It's always a good day at the beach. The best part? No one fought or cried or even whined the whole time we were there.

Then we ended the perfect day stuffing our bellies at Sweet Tomatoes and falling into food coma on the couch.

The Swag.

Of course, I was showered with gifts and homemade cards. I got: the cutest little Star Wars plushies. R2D2 and Vader... my faves. I am in love, these guys are too cute!! Christopher pimped my computer: rainbow keyboard!!! My Mother in Law gave us (I say us because if it was just mine, it would be dead) a cute desert rose plant that came with a cute little bonus mushroom. I also got a gift card to Starbucks and a rain check for a trip to Rita's (mmmmm... mango gelati).

Those two adorable pillows are the gifts we made for my Mom (the pillow on the left) who lives in Maryland and for my Mother in Law (the one on the right).

My family sure knows how to make a Mom feel loved. xo

<3, Tabi :D

The Jedi Princess' Sixth Birthday Party

Over the weekend, we threw a bodacious birthday bash for my little Jedi Princess, Roxy.
In case you missed it, here are some highlights:

The Princess.

Obviously the theme of our party was Star Wars. If you recall, I recently threw a Star Wars birthday party for the Bear.  She kind of surprised me when she also asked for a Star Wars party. But only 'kind of', because what other kind of party would she have wanted?!? So, my mission was to throw a Star Wars party, but make it girly. AND make it different enough so that it didn't feel like the exact same party we had for the Bear 6 weeks ago.

The Venue: Tree Park

There was a pink princess castle bounce house, Princess Leia inspired cupcakes and lightsabers made with purple accents on the hilts.

Of course the bounce house was a huge success!!
Although, we did have to make use of our bounce house 'bouncer' a few times. These things happen when you throw a party at a public park.

Foam Lightsabers + Bounce House = AWESOME! 

And if you got tired of the bounce house, then there's a whole park to play in!!

Of course, Riley's 'baby' was there. Isn't he cute?
(Side Note: the Bear tucks this guy in, brings him everywhere, gives him baths... awwww!)

 

And there was cake. And presents. And juice boxes. 

I really need a new photographer (ahem, Christopher!). Not pictured: Double Edged Lightsaber Hot Dogs, Wookie Cookies, Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Lightsabers, and Chikalay Nugget Platter (yum).

Thanks to everyone who made it out to celebrate my Roxtar's big day, the party was a huge success!!

<3, Tabi :D

Party Preppin': Sneak Peek

<3, Tabi :D

Short Term Goal of the Week: Party Planning

I have always been a last minute* party planner. And the parties usually come out well enough.

But I know I can do better. Roxy's 6th birthday is coming up fast, and this time I'm forcing myself to plan a little better and to start a bit earlier.

*By 'last minute', I mean like 3 days before the party I start thinking about it.

I know that to a sane bunch of people, starting party planning 10 days before the party is last minute. But to me? I'm a week ahead!! Go me!!

The Party: Roxy's 6th Birthday Party

The Theme: Star Wars/Princess Leia

Now, If you recall, I just threw a Star Wars bash back in December for the Bear. So, not only do I have the added difficulty of making a Star Wars party girlie (because my Roxtar is the ultimate girly-girl), but I also have to make it a totally different party than the Bear's was.

Here's what we've got planned so far:
 

 

Plans set in motion. 10 days to execute. Go! 

<3, Tabi :D

May the Fource Be With Us All

... get it? Because he just turned FOUR?!?!

Star Wars party: success!! A great time was had by all and I am always surprised when I can pull off a party in my teeny weeny house. So successful that a certain little Roxtar is already asking for a Star Wars 6th birthday party in January. Well, I mean... who doesn't love Star Wars?!?

 My little Jedis.  <3
I could have posted 16 pictures similar to this group shot and every single one, my girl Roxy has a killer Jedi girl pose. She is so deliciously adorable.

My #1 suggestion for a great kid's party: GET A BOUNCY HOUSE!! I was so skeptical that it would even fit in my back yard, but it did!! Plus - you can't see my green pool to the left of the bounce house, but you can see the swamp like vegetation in the backyard. Very Dagobah. :)

 'Darth Vader' cupcakes. Because the Bear's favorite thing in the world besides Darth Vader is chocolate.

 Death Star cake. My husband the Redditer forwarded me a picture of this and it looked so simple and awesome I had to copy!!

(left) My first crack at punch at a party. I think I will cut the portion in half next time - but it was yummy. (right) Death Star peanut butter sandwiches and (not pictured) Death Star chocolate (nutella) sandwiches.

 Masks and Princess Leia headbands for the girlie Star Wars partiers.

 The spread. This picture really understates the awesomeness of this banner. It was so cute!

 General Grievous Santa.

 Lightsaber fights in the bounce house. Note the awesome foam noodle light sabers each partier got!

 Homemade Death Star Pinata. My husband rocked it!!

 It was destroyed!!!

 (left) More light saber fights. (right)  Boba Fett stopped by to check his email.

 The birthday Bear with that giant laser/flame! 

 Holy Moly, that's a lot of people in my 'dining room'.

And... presents! :)

The Bear declared BEST PARTY EVER and I feel like my mission was accomplished. Phew!!