Playgroup Valentine Party 2013

Brystol has been in a playgroup with the same bunch of six little friends for as long as she's been alive. Their mommies and I were all pregnant at the same time, so it's been fun to connect a couple of times a month over the last three years to play and visit and watch our little ones grow together. Brystol calls all her playgroup buddies her "best friends," and I really hope it stays that way for a very long time.

Since the initial playgroup was formed, two of the other mommies and I went on to add more kiddos to our families (both Elleigh and Piper fall in that second wave), and one of those same mommies and I are pregnant again right now. It'll be interesting to see if the second (and third) wave playgroup participants continue to get together even when the "original members" begin heading off to school.

Today was our annual playgroup Valentine party. As a simple craft, all the kids decorated white bags with crayons, markers, and Valentine's Day stickers. The bags were meant for the collection of Valentines, which was awesome because I completely forgot to bring containers for my girlies. After craft time, we shared some snacks. For my snack table contribution, I brought some chocolate-dipped marshmallows inspired by Pinterest. The original blogger raved that her marshmallow snacks were super-easy to make, and stated they took her "all of about 10 minutes" to put together. They took me a LOT longer than 10 minutes to assemble, and while my product was no where near as cute as the original, they were tasty -- that is, if you were able to successfully peel away the mini-cupcake liners I carried them in. Needless to say, not a snack I plan to make again anytime soon.

Valentine Party Fun

Playgroup Friends (minus two)

Playgroup Friends with the Freshman Class

Brystol is Three!!

Our sweet Brystol turned three-years-old on Monday. It was a bittersweet day for me because my mom's health and strength had declined to the point that I had to cancel her playgroup party to take my Mom to see her specialty neurologist in Houston. Our friends were understanding, of course, but all day long I struggled with hard feelings -- happy to be available for and present with my mom, but sad that we'd gotten to that point so quickly and sad to miss my baby's big day.

Fortunately, we were able to make it back to the Metroplex in time to blow out some birthday candles (even if they were on a storebought cake) and to open a few gifts. The best thing about having a big family -- instant birthday party! Brystol had fun, but she did notice when we tucked her in for bedtime that her playgroup friends never came by. We'll reschedule that celebration for a less hectic time.

Cake and Presents

Instant Birthday Party

Special Time with Nanny

Wherein My Kid Planned an Impromptu Party, Unbeknownst to Me

When Bub came home from school yesterday, he excitedly told me about a party scheduled for later in the afternoon. It was going to be great and all of the kids from his class were going to be there. When I asked to see the invitation, he said it wasn't that kind of party. It wasn't a birthday party -- just a regular shindig -- and oh yeah, he was the party host. What?

We had a long talk about how, when you're a kid, parties should be planned and your mom should be involved in the planning -- a fête on the fly is not a good idea. I sent him upstairs to play with a neighborhood friend and really didn't expect anyone to actually show. Moments later, though, the doorbell rang and a little boy was at the door ready to celebrate.

As all the kids played together, I quickly set up a folding table in the yard and topped it with starry curtain panels pulled from my fabric stash. I used a silver balloon weight with star details for a simple centerpiece. I pulled some red paper plates and cups from the stash of discount party supplies I gather through the year and store in my hobby room. Then, I put together some trays of simple snacks -- pretzel snaps, natural cheese puffs, Teddy Grahams, gingerbread marshmallows, and slices of organic apples. The kids drank lemony tea poured from an unattractive pitcher (one that I wouldn't miss if it ended up being destroyed). Gracie streamed some tunes through the iPod touch she got from HaHa and Uncle Gunk (Jerald) for Christmas.

In the end, only one invited classmate came to the impromptu party (all the other parents knew better -- whew!), but Bub and Gracie enjoyed living it up with him and a few pals from the street.