If We Learn from Our Mistakes..........I Should be a Genius!

This week I turned 35 years old. THIRTY-FIVE!?! The big One-Five? The last year I can check the 26-35 age group box on surveys? The year that starts the downhill slide to forty? Yes, exactly. 35. Crap! How did that happen? I'm not really sure, some of it is sorta just a fog. Well garbled memory or no, I should have figured everything out. Right? Well not hardly, but in honor of this monumental birthday I am composing a list. Here are some things I have figured out, and a few I think I've actually gotten right.  Well mostly.
Enjoy.

1. I have learned what true unconditional love really is.
2. I have learned that my family and my real friends will stand beside me no matter what.
3. I'm too honest, too dependable and way too opinionated and outspoken.
4. I am always late for everything. (I try to be early. I really, really do.)
5. I can take care of myself. And I will.
6. I have the attention span of a firecracker. (I put on a pretty good show at first, then I just fizzle out.)
7. Being Mrs. (put really impressive name here) is not very important to me. There are more important qualities than a dude's last name and the size of his wallet.
8. I still miss my Dad as much as I ever did. Time never eases that pain.
9. I know that wounds heal.
10. I know that a broken heart will never break me.
11. I've learned that being stabbed in the back by a friend always hurts worse than any heartache.
12. I have an addictive personality. (If your a counselor or therapist you understand what I'm talking about. If not you just think I'm the bomb.)
13. I always try to do what's right, even if its not easy.
14. I am by no means perfect, but I am as damn close as you get. O.K. j/k!
15. Don't ask me my opinion, if you REALLY don't want to hear it.
16. With age I have mellowed out a lot. I don't let too much bother me anymore.
17. Mellow or not, hit the right button and I still come unglued.
18. I smoke even though I know I shouldn't.
19. I drink because I like to.
20. And I don't like being told I should quit either of them.
21. I love old 4WD's and fast cars.
22. I hate to hurt any one's feelings.
23. I believe in Karma.......and she is not my friend.
24. I've learned that you can only help someone who wants to be helped.
25. I hate liars, cheaters and thieves.
26. I hate it when someone mistakes my positive, happy easy going nature for Stupidity or Weakness.
27. I believe there is good in everyone. Some just don't like to show it.
28. On most occasions, I'm an overly optimistic person.
29. Except when the world is out to get me and there is nothing that can help.
30. I believe that everything in life happens for a reason.
31. I know who I am, I know what I want, and I'm not going to settle for anything less.
32. I've learned that it doesn't matter what cards your dealt in life, just how you choose to play them.
33. I've learned that life often resembles a game of Blind Man's Bluff.
34. I've finally reached the age that I know that I don't know everything, and I know that I am not invincible.
35. I thank God everyday for keeping me alive until I figured that out.

Shew! That's enough education for one day. I feel better already, knowing that I actually have walked away from the last 3 1/2 decades with a little something. Now its time to go get ready for a rare night on the town to celebrate with the girls. Whoo Hoo!

There is still no cure for the common birthday. ~ John Glenn

     Except for maybe just straight up lying. :-p   ~ yours truly  2/22/2007

Tips for a Successful, Stress-Free Birthday Party

Ok, I admit that stress "free" may be a slight exaggeration.  Stress, it seems,  is just part of the package  any time there is a group of small children getting all jacked up on cake, ice cream and soda .  So without tying the kids to their chairs and gagging them with their own socks, here are some of my solutions for making it enjoyable for all involved.

#1 - Venue

                On the surface, having the party at home seems like a very budget friendly and convenient place to host a birthday party. In my situation that is not the case. I prefer one of those pizza and game places that are located throughout the country.  I pick our local favorite and book it in plenty of time to ensure the date and time that I prefer.  This eliminates: cleaning before and after, finding tables and chairs for guests and games or entertainment .  The  food and drinks are included, as well as plates, cups and silverware. 

#2  - Theme

                Children have great imaginations, and that is great..... until they use it to come up with off the wall ideas for their birthday parties. Don't get me wrong,  I love parties that are full of creative and lovingly handmade decorations and games. While on one hand they are such unique experiences, and I believe that all children should have at least one of those in their childhood memories. They are a lot of work and can be very stressful to pull together.  To eliminate this problem I simply go to my favorite website for party supplies. My son and I pick from the themes available on there.  Officially licensed character supplies can get pretty pricey. So I limit the items I buy to: Invitations, Plates & napkins for kids only, table decorations , cake or cupcake topper and treat boxes. The closest party supply store is about 1 1/2 hours from me, so I purchase my theme items online to save very valuable time and gas.

#3 - Invitations

                I do not suffer from the need to make all people happy at all times.  This comes in very handy at times like this.  My guest list usually consists of siblings, family and close friends with similar aged children, grandparents, and most recently I allowed him to pick 3 to 4 friends from either school or church to invite.  For the most part, I invite people personally.  I only send written invitations out to the school friends.

                I also do not invite stressful people.  You know who they are. Everyone has them in their family or social group. The super needy friend, the drama queen cousin and even good ole Uncle Freddy who hasn't seen a sober day since 1982.  I just leave these people off of the list, and it saves me tremendous worry and aggravation.  

#4 - Cake or Cupcakes

                In order to make serving much easier, I prefer cupcakes and the individual containers of ice cream.  My local venue doesn't have a problem with us putting the ice cream in their freezer until serving time.  If yours does not accommodate such a request, I would probably just skip the ice cream. 

                Some people actually enjoy cooking and baking, but I am not one of them.  Fortunately, a childhood friend of my sisters has a sweet shop, and I prefer to order my cupcakes from her. This is a huge time saver for me, and thus a stress saver.

#5 - Gifts

                The fewer presents there are to deal with, the better.  I don't know about everyone else, but with the allure of the pizzeria's token games, it is hard to keep my son's attention focused on opening gifts. So I let him open his gifts from me at home the morning before the party.  This way there is less to pack over and then again back home.

#6  - Treat Boxes

                The treat boxes are one of my favorite parts of the party.  I usually spend a little extra on the boxes instead of using the bags. They work as extra decorations for the party as well as gifts for the guests.  I hand these out as the guests are going home, to help prevent fights over the goodies inside.  I put these together a day or two ahead of time. Whichever fits best into my schedule.

#7- Don't forget!

                Take camera and/or camcorder. Best to check batteries the night before.

                Decorations, Plates, Napkins, etc.

                Treat Boxes/ Bags

                Cake (Cupcakes) and Ice cream

                Serving Utensils for the cake.

                Candles and a Lighter

                Pen & Paper (to take notes for Thank you cards.)

                Aluminum Foil - (I like to send the extra cake or cupcakes home with other people. )

One last piece of advice is: Don't be afraid to enlist help. One person can't and shouldn't have to do it all. Although, I have streamlined this process into a fairly manageable process for myself, I still give my camera to another family member for them to take pictures. This allows me two free hands for everything else that needs  to be done.

It has taken a few years to figure out what works best for me.  I hope this may help you find your way to a successful, stress-free birthday party as well. 

***UPDATE 2/23/2011***
While surfing the net today, I stumbled upon a great article on parenting.com.  30 New Amazing Birthday Cake Designs. The article shows you step-by-step with pics and diagrams how to make some very, very cute cakes. I felt compelled to share it here, for those crazy people out there who might actually enjoy making their own cakes. :)

Grammie Saves the Day!!!

Although today is Ty's 5th birthday, it is his first "school" birthday. We both have been so excited about it all year long. Every time one of his classmates had a birthday and brought in some sugary delicious treat for their classmates, he and I would brainstorm ideas of what we would do on his birthday. Of course, being a cupcake man, he always circled back to that idea.

Yet, somehow between supervising the construction of a valentine box and valentines for his classmates, ordering flowers for his teacher, etc. and making sure I have all of my half of Saturdays b-day party stuff taken care of, the school cupcake idea kinda got lost in the shuffle.

It resurfaced again last night around 10:00.  Quietly getting up to search the cabinets, I knew it was pointless. I don't cook real food let alone cupcakes. But when I opened the first cabinet and saw the icing, I thought I was in luck. Digging deeper, I found cupcake liners, sprinkles, and that gel icing you can write stuff with. Unfortunately my quest never unveiled any cake mix.  Time for Plan B.

I call my Mom. Being the super Grammie that she is, she immediately volunteered to get up early this morning and go to the store to get cake mix and make him some cupcakes. As great as that idea was, I felt that was a little much. After all it is She who would have to arrange to get them to school and play homeroom mom, while I was at work.

For anyone who does not nor has ever resided in a small town, this may not seem like such an major issue. So get those images of neatly packaged cupcakes sitting in your grocer's bakery out of your head. In order to have luxuries like that, the grocery store has to be big enough to have a bakery. Ours, obviously, does not.

So exactly how did she save the day?

None other than those neat little individual cups of ice cream. The ones that are so perfect for parties. She called Ty's teacher this morning to see when the best time would be to bring them. According to her, they were a smashing hit for all involved. Maybe he never realized he was missing the cupcakes. And if he did ... well.... his Mama Lilly (aka stepmom) has that base covered for him this evening. It all works out.

Thanks Mom! I owe ya one! (again)

Happy 5th Birthday Ty! You're the Best!

Welcome!

Well, I've been wanting to start a blog for a few years now. It just seemed as though there was always something that needed to be done first.  Then I woke up this morning and said "who cares about the laundry" and decided to start a blog.

That shows me just how far I've come (or possibly fallen in some opinions) in the last 5 years.  After Ty was born and I began my career as a single mom, I actually thought that I could be SuperMom! What a crazy notion that was! I made it almost a year before I crashed and burned.  But that's a whole other story for a whole other day.

I'm not sure exactly what I want to do I with this blog or where I want it to go. As for right now, I plan to share my thoughts, ideas, opinions, fears, and rants through this blog.  Then we'll just see what happens, and cross that bridge when the time comes.

I hope you enjoy!