Just one more birthday thing, then I promise I'm done

Forgot to mention that Saturday night, Liv was whisked away (a surprise) by her Aunt Jodie, cousin Jordan, and Granny for a night on the town.  They went to the Boardwalk to ride the carousel, trolley, be biked around by a stranger, make a bear at Build-A-Bear, and eat dinner at Joe's.  At Joe's my kid rode a stick pony around the entire restaurant while the entire restaurant sang happy birthday to her....wow.  After that, they went to Ulta to get makeup done, Krispy Kreme for dessert and Starbucks for coffee.  So, really Liv had birthday week--Wednesday she had cupcakes delivered to school, Thursday was haircut day, Friday slumber party, Saturday big girl night, Sunday family thing.  Overboard--probably.  Here's one last pic of Liv, all made up....

my friends at my kids party....

I love my ladies and what a beautiful showcase of them!!

The official birthday slumber party recap....

So, where to begin....Poppy and I spent the day cleaning the house, picking up balloons, cake and cookout supplies.  When 6 o'clock finally arrived Liv was so excited she was about to explode.  Prior to that, Josie and Kenzie had cleared out to make way for the ensuing chaos.  All the kids came that were invited--which meant I had 7 little girls sensitive feelings to manage, and that is a large undertaking.  They were all over the place, the tree swing, swing set, and trampoline were all big outside hits and inside the girls colored, had tea parties, did craft projects, played with Liv's jewelry and new cash register (much to her dismay).  All in all, the girls played together well....but there were some issues.  Lots of tattling important info like "she's being mean" and "she won't play with me" and "they're not taking turns".  Five out of the seven girls cried at some point, and to be sweet I am not gonna tell any specific stories about the girls.  We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, did cake and presents, and then it was finally time for the pinata.  Liv said after the party that the pinata was her fave part.  We found this crazy big rainbow bull pinata on clearance at Wal-Mart and had to have it.  We blindfolded the kids for the first round of hits and after that let them whack at it without so no one would missing the rainbow bulls spectacular demise.  The girls chanted Poppy's name when the pinata hook broke and Poppy strung it up again.  When the final blow was dealt, the girls fought over the candy--some were sneakier than others...when I said that all the candy was going to be evenly distributed one girl thought she would get smart and hide candy in her shoe.  Brat.  Anyway, after all the excitement, it was time to extinguish all 37 citronella candles (which totally worked, btw) and corral the girls inside.  Everyone took turns telling "scary" stories.  After that we had a 3o minute vote on which movie to watch--Game Plan was the winner.  The girls settled in eventually and by 12:30 everyone was asleep.  Liv was proud that she was the last one.  I thought my night was over but no--I had a cougher from 12:30-2am, and then at 2:30a another girl was up for about an hour while she tried out 4 different sleep locations before deciding on the perfect one.  The ladies were all up by 7, and they inhaled cinnamon rolls.  The sleep did them good, and they all played together without incident until our last guest left at 10:30.  Liv got every thing she asked for and in Top 5 order, here are her fave presents--ipod, scooter, cash register, dry erase (or drape, Kris) markers, and guitar.  Sunday we had a small family birthday lunch, and I am now done with her birthday--finally.  Thanks to all my lady friends for coming to the party---I mean, it's totally cool for Liv to have as many adult friends as kid friends at her party, right?  I wanted to include more pictures showcasing my friends...but I am out of picture slots.....I'll work on that b/c I have one very special picture Dani will just love...

To wrap this up (because I am supposed to be primering shutters), the party was a success and fun was had by all...glad I don't have to do it again for a year.

Birthday beginnings...

Because I am obviously super excited about Liv's birthday, here is another blog about it--my third one I think, and this is all before her actual party where the really fun stuff will happen...So, we made cupcakes for Liv's class last night (you can see those in picture #1), then this morning my mom came over to deliver her birthday present to Liv--a cash register that she has had her eye on for months,  I also wrote on our front window a birthday message for everyone to see.  Liv thought that my mom just happened to drive by the house this morning and she only stopped by b/c of the sign and she just happened to have a wrapped present for Liv in her car.  Funny.  Liv also got to open one present from us.  She picked the prettiest bag and I was glad b/c it contained her lamest present--a HSM beach towel.  Actually, the towel is really cute but with no beach trips in the works and having already received the cash register of her dreams, Liv was a little unexcited, but she still said thanks and asked if she could also use it as a blanket.  The last picture is Liv with some school friends on the playground, after the cupcakes had been passed out.  I know what you're thinking...no way are we burned out on Liv's birthday--give us more!!  But you'll have to wait, b/c as of now, you're up to date!!

Pictures of Daily Life

So, these are just some pics of Josie hanging out at home.  The one that looks she is hiding something in the couch is our new game.  She gets something we have been playing with and then "hides" it in the couch and then asks me 'where?' and when I "find" it Josie laughs hysterically....anyway, here they are!

The stairs are built, goody bags filled, next stop--ice cream cake

Just a quick update on the party of the century....I finally got the invites in the mail and they are super cute, but because they took so long to get here, I thought it was totally practical to drive the invitations to the invitees homes.  Good plan, hope my husband doesn't read this.  Anyway, got that done, bought the Camp Rock cups, plates (dinner and dessert size, naturally), napkins and requisite birthday girl pin.  The goody bags are truly things of beauty....this is the part where I list the contents:  magnet set, game pad, Wooly Willy, jacks, Camp Rock pencil, lollipop, Ring Pop, Starburst (x5), pixy stix (x2), and a foam scrapbook thing to be added later.  It's a craft project.  We'll take cute pics, Kevin will go to Target for some quick prints while we decorate with princess type stickers...and I have even gone to the extreme measure of gathering foam letters to spell out each girls names for their scrapbook.  Martha Freakin' Stewart over here, folks!!  I am still in search of cupcake stars for Liv's school cupcakes, scheduled for a 12:05 delivery on Wednesday.  Kevin finished the steps to the trampoline, and they are great--just ask Josie, who is making a career of climbing them.  We have 84 citronella candles to try and ward off the mosquitoes, tomorrow I will order a flip flop ice cream cake from Maggie Moo's--Liv let me know tonight that was what she decided on.  So, let's see--invites sent, goody bags done, presents wrapped, craft project ready, smores supplies on hand, citronella on board, cake in mind, stairs for trampoline safety done, Camp Rock paraphernalia purchased, chaperone confirmed and I am sure I am overlooking something major....but surely nothing that I can't pick up last minute at Wal-Mart.  Right? 

Josie wants to be a grownup and Liv plans a slumber party

So, nothing mayjuh going on, but all the day to day stuff seems bigger at the end of the day.  Josie is convinced that she is grown.  I can't feed her anymore--like she would rather skip a meal than have to be fed a meal.  She insists on brushing her teeth, and she won't get an argument from me on that one.  Maybe her dental hygiene will rub off on her sister soon.  Not holding my breath.  She likes to "work" on her daddy's work laptop.  At the park, she wants to do all the biggest slides.  She loves the trampoline, which is a new development and she much prefers drinking out of a straw rather than a baby ol' sippy cup.  Like I said, she thinks she is grown, at 17.5 months of age.

But speaking of grown--Liv is turning 6 on the 24th!!  This years party is a first for the Denler Estate--we will be hosting a slumber party.  Liv is inviting six of her friends and we are hoping for an evening free from injury or rain and full of fun and frivolity.  I am super motivated to make sure my house is presentable as possible--not that the 6 year old will notice, but I have this scenario I run in my head where the other moms will want to inspect my house to make sure leaving their kids with me is a good idea.  So, I am painting the last 3 interior doors that need paint, and I want to cover the portion of the bathroom that is mid-remodel and the kitchen wall that is still open after the "run water lines to the garage" project.  Kevin is building stairs so the trampoline is a little less hazardous.  And how crazy is this....because I don't want to send out 9 invites and assume only six will show up, only to be surprised that everyone comes or only send out 6 invites and three kids come....I have called 5 moms and gotten preconfirmations that their kids are coming.  My only mystery is Liv's new friend in her school class.  I started shopping for the goody bag stuff today, Liv and I will shop for some stuff next week, I'll bring cupcakes to school for her class.  I have recruited Kevin's dad to take the dog for night, my mom to take the baby for the evening and Danielle to be extra chaperone....love to see a plan come together.   

I always get so jazzed about Liv's birthday, that I forget mine is 5 days before hers.  Until Liv asked what kind of party I was gonna have, I hadn't thought about it.  My lady friends have planned a dinner for Wednesday night, and Kevin is planning a Friday family night and Saturday date night.  

Um, I think that's all that is going on around here.  I lost a day and half of exciting going-ons because the storm knocked out our electricity.  I'll keep everyone posted on how the birthday celebrations turn out....

  

Liv meets the Tooth Fairy and the newest addition to the Denler Estate

Well, we have had some excitement at the Denler Estate as of late.  First, Kevin built a fantastic swing set in our backyard.  There are rock walls, slides,  swings,  trapeze bars, and rope swings.  Liv was so impressed with it, that she is opting to have her birthday party at home this year to share it with her friends.  Everyone should feel free to stop on by if they are in need of a swing break.

Then, last night I pulled Liv's first loose tooth out.  It had been loose for a couple of weeks and Liv had dedicated a large portion of time to tooth wiggling.  Last night the tooth was laying over sideways in her mouth, so Liv got uncharacteristically brave and let me get my fingers on the tooth.  It came right out, along with much more blood than I remembered loosing when I was a loser of teeth.  Liv said it didn't hurt and was very proud to prance around with a hole in her mouth.  Pretty weird that I am the mother of a person old enough to lose teeth....weird.  Also, Liv is pretty sure that she saw the Tooth Fairy last night--she says she saw purple wings flying in her room.  Who knew?  Anyway, as it was the inaugural tooth and so close to her 6th birthday, the Tooth Fairy left her $6.  She was excited to wake up and check out her Tooth Fairy pillow.  And really excited to show off her tooth hole to her class...my kid is funny.

In Josie news, we are just now getting over a week long virus that caused super high fevers and the most irritable baby I've ever been in charge of....thank goodness we're done with that.  But, I do think we have to be in the middle of a growth spurt--that kid sleeps so much!  Which is why I can blog...Other than that, she is talking up a storm and is also a huge fan of the new swingset.

1st grade breakdown, for Jamal who said he'd be interested...

Where to begin.....at the beginning would be logical, but not nearly as much fun. So, I'm working backwards (after 3 mojitos, I might add). My lady friend Dani had her birthday dinner tonight, and it was an unqualified success. Especially since the raw pork I unknowingly consumed has had no ill effect on me...yet. Candi asked when I would be updating the blog, and I should have known by the smirk on her face she was kidding. Asshole. But, her date--Jamal--said to send him the link and not only would he read, but he'd also be interested. Hence my motivation to update the blog--asap.

So, first grade here we come, right? Right. The initial wave of confusion is my fault. Instead of listening to our first grade teacher during orientation, I engulfed myself in filling out an info sheet on Liv. Great. So, when I get the memo sent home that homework is starting, refer to my SI Notebook, and RAH is due daily...I am overwhelmed. The notebook is a notebook that all students get--they list their daily homework, and when completed a parent initials it. Got it. RAH is read at home--there is a separate folder where we write down every book we read (at least 20 minutes/day) and there is a daily grade assigned based on the amount read. So, this weeks notebook included math, spelling and a scrapbook project. I only photoed scrapbook project, b/c it was the most fun. But, really, I know for sure that I didn't have this type of homework in first grade, much less a reading wall or the pressure to become an author by the age of 6. Have I mentioned that Liv is the absolute youngest kid in the entire first grade.

Thank goodness the school breaks up the monotony of homework with events like Water Extravaganza--for the bargain price of $16 Liv got to attend aforementioned extravaganza and have 2 slices of pizza and a drink. I mean, that's a bargain, right? Anyway, fun was had by all...as evidenced by the small selection of pics below--more available on the myspace page. All in all, first grade is great--Liv is feeling real big and she really is starting to read like a champ and I get to spy on her class every Wednesday when I do Wednesday folders.

In closing, I would like to address the "momtourage". Lingo credit goes to Lando, all the way from Vegas baby--told you I wouldn't forget to give credit where it was due. In the beginning, I am pretty sure it was just a group of stay at home moms. Right. I only knew of one stay at home mom and now she is a full time student (nontrad, if you will) and doesn't fit the "profile", if you will. I am extending the momtourage to any mom or any person who likes and will hang out with my kids, while providing me the opportunity to talk to adults during the day (Kris, this is you). With my new definition I have renewed hope that I can make this stay at home thing work....and I can continue to find a reason to shower and ready myself for the day--even if my main destination is only the lean-to coffee shop (shout out to Alan).

That's all I have for now--any potential momtourage members--hit me up!! And Happy Birthday Dani, 27 has a catchy ring to it--live it up, sister!!