Hey guys. Did you miss me? I figured there might still be a few of you who would be interested in some updates to my announcements in my last post (seven months ago!). Let's begin with the most exciting, shall we? Introducing . . . baby George! After a very fast (and...
A Pride and Prejudice 2nd Birthday Party to Ardently Admire and Love
Lulu's "Pie Pedjus" second birthday party was last weekend, but it's taken me all week to get this post written because I fell hard down the rabbit hole of picMonkey + Jane Austen. But more on that later. First, for the party . . . Lulu is a big, big fan of the...
So I Hear There’s This Movie . . . Star Wars?
It's supposed to be a big deal. 😉 It's kind of all the small people in my house can talk about. Overshadowing even THE BIG MOVE . . . on team kid, at least. They have watched the trailer only four hundred and sixty seven times. Gus and Bobby have November and...
What Does an Octopus Have to Do With All Saints Day? {and giveaway winners revealed}
Pretty much nothing. Why do you ask? Oh, you mean because on All Saints Day, when other folks were posting pictures of their little saints-in-the-making in their #catholiccostume, *I* was posting photos of various octopus-shaped foods? I could try to come up with...
Happee Birthdae Betty (a Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 11th Birthday Party)
So I've been teasing you guys on this one long enough, huh? Here it finally is. The most important detail, of course, is that Betty had a really great time, and so did her friends. But there are a LOT more details than that. I've got a lot of kids. They have a lot of...
Lulu Had a Birthday, and She’s Got Some Presents for You! (a giveaway from BabyLit, Shining Light Dolls, and Whole Parenting Goods)
Jack, my oldest, said of his baby sister the other day, "I think she's probably tied for the third best baby who ever lived. Jesus and Mary were probably better, but she's got to be at least tied with St. John the Baptist for third." Now, I don't have any way to...
Everything Is Awesome, but especially this Lego Movie birthday party (with free printables)
I'm not sure why, but back early in my mothering journey, when it began to look like I was going to end up with more kids than, well, than I had previously realized was even POSSIBLE . . . I latched on to birthday parties as The Thing I had to maintain to make it Not...
Cranky Frankie Turns 3: a little monster birthday party
On Sunday, Frankie turned three years old. You can imagine his excitement. We threw him a Little Monster-themed birthday party. Here's how it went down. THE DECOR Red tissue balls and green hanging fans, fabric circus bunting, a mini monsters banner, a homemade...
How to Use Instagram Without an iPhone, and Why You Should Bother (and my birthday giveaway!)
I know I am late to the Instagram party, but I had a good excuse: I didn't have an iPhone. I still don't. But all the cool kids were doing it, so I've finally made the plunge and joined. Here's why, and how, and what I think so far. WHY I joined Instagram because...
An Olaf in Summer Frozen Birthday Party, or THIS is what sacrificial love looks like
Frozen. It is like crack cocaine, only animated. And with singing. I saw it with the kids. I noted that the plot didn't, strictly speaking, make any sense and that the girl ended up with the wrong guy. I thought I'd just carry on with my life. Frozen-free....
Big Family Disneyland Hacks
We moved to Los Angeles when Jack was four, but we didn't make our first family trip to Disneyland until his sixth birthday. We really think that's the ideal age for the trip. At six our kids are old enough to be familiar with the characters, but not too old to hug...
Murdered by Pirates is Good (a Princess Bride 10th birthday party)
Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles . . . The Princess Bride is my favorite childhood movie. And unlike all the other movies from my childhood, I never had to go diving for the remote in horror as I tried to...
A Zombie Apocalypse Birthday Party (at which I don’t dress up, but my unborn baby does)
Intrigued? You're going to have to wait for it . . . (Jenny, you may want to just skip this whole post, but especially the end.) Bobby and Gus have birthdays that are two weeks apart, and all the same friends and all the same interests, so for the last couple of...
I Moustache You a Question about Frankie's Birthday Party
Frankie is two. Look out world. (Oops, that wasn't a question. Sorry.) He's still not talking a whole lot, so his brothers and sisters got to pick the theme of his party and they picked: Moustaches. When I started looking around online for ideas, I found a lot of...
Every Kid is Special (three days per year)
As a parent, I want to figure out how to pay enough attention to each child so that he knows he is precious and valued, but not so much that he ends up an entitled brat. Fortunately, we have enough kids that I think it would be really, really hard for us to err...
How We Throw a Backyard Birthday Party
Yesterday, I told you why I like backyard birthday parties best. Today I'm telling you exactly how I do it. Step-by-step. And you get to see all the photos from Anita's fourth birthday party, held last Saturday in the Chicago backyard of my in-laws (who are awesome,...
The Beauty of Backyard Birthday Parties
I love backyard birthday parties. That's what we had when I was growing up, and that's what we throw for our own kids now. Anita jumping for joy at her 4th Birthday Party, held yesterday in the lovely Chicago backyard of my generous in-laws (we're visiting for the...
A Mysterious Birthday Party (and a book review of the rest of The Mysterious Benedict Society series)
If you remember my review here, you'll know that I really enjoyed The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. It's smart and exciting, the writing is clever, and the characters make the right choices when faced with moral dilemmas. It even manages to...