Sunday, April 25, 2010

April :: Birthday Party :: Take three

I am going to post about the boys' third birthday party but I am going to preface it with a statement. I read this blog post linked from a friend's tweet and though I found some of it a little harsh, I have to say so much of what she said resonated with me. (If you do not read the linked piece, it is about the 'perfect' crafting blogs where everything just looks, well, perfect. And believe me, I do not put myself in that category at all but feel like I have read that category and felt those feelings of envy and bewilderment at the level of achievement and a bit flabberghasted at the lack of, uh, mess in all of it). But it did make me think before I wrote this up. When I write here I try to encapsulate the lovely with the real, no post represents the whole of it and you will never convince me to post a picture of the bedlam that our bedroom can be, but it is far from 'perfect' around here, even though I like taking pictures like this because it just looks pretty.

Birthday Party Take III

In reality, the banner I made last year is missing an "i" and the "&" and I ironed and hung it 15 minutes before people starting showing up and decided that no "i" was going to stop me from hanging that banner (because it was hella' work, you know?).

Birthday Party Take III
Birthday Party Take III

Last year we wanted to give the boys a fun celebration and acknowledge the fact that we had skimped a bit on their first birthday. This year I barely had time to plan or craft, but still wanted to do something special. We settled on a home party with a few good 'little' friends, some treats and cake and Cuban food. The boys have not really found a good bond with any of their 'school' friends but we have ties to some wonderful other littles through our community. Of course, they turn out to be mostly girls. It was a blast to watch the small hoard of 10 kids, girls (6) boys (4) run rough and tumble through the yard, wreaking havoc in a good way, as only little can do.
Birthday Party Take III

There were plans for a simple scavenger hunt but that was too ambitious of a plan and so it fell by the wayside...
Birthday Party Take III
given up in lieu of Mason's one birthday request..."Me have candy everywhere...bowls and bowls of candy" (direct quote). Owen really could have cared less as long as the neighbor Clarissa was there...imagine how bewildered he must have felt when he realized that there were 5 'other' Clarissa's there at the same time (I am not sure original Clarissa was too jazzed either).

There were cakes using this recipe which tasted lovely, and this year I figured frosting could look however frosting wanted to as three year olds just want candles and cars on their cakes.
Birthday Party Take III
Birthday Party Take III

Not one picture of the candle blowing out came out clear but I like this one because we all look happy and that is all that matters.
Birthday Party Take III

It was fun and funny and full of impromptu water balloon fights by both children and adults (actually there was paying off the small children in order to get to the adults which was even funnier).

It was hard to keep Mace clothed, he spent the better part of the morning in his original birthday suit (with crown, of course).
Birthday Party Take III
It was impossible to get a shot of Owen's face so we stopped trying. The house still looks like it was hit by a tornado (well, in a way it was).
Birthday Party Take III
But I had fun. And that is really what it is all about. They have embraced play wholeheartedly and so learn from them.

What I am finding out as a Mama that likes to make, has to work and hates to clean is that there is a healthy place in it all. I am not and never will be a Marthette, it exhausts me to think about trying. I know I will always try to make and craft and create for the boys because it validates me and my love for them. I know I will always take pictures (sometimes the exact same picture over and over year after year) because it gives me great pleasure and happiness. I know there will always be a flaw, a fly in the ointment, because that is how it works out for me.
Birthday Party Take III

I am also learning it is only a flaw in a certain light....viewed through another lens, it is just Life. Fun and silly, rushed and sweaty, done or not done, we have to learn to embrace it and GO. In a day and age where creative craft and DIY achievement and perfect party themes and gorgeous photos abound in the blog world, I think it is also good to remember there is never full disclosure.

But, er. I had a blast. And I will finish all the things I had planned on making for them sometime in the near future. Right after I find my second wind.
Birthday Party Take III
(Post-party face)

They are three! We find it hard to believe, but there it is. Onward, ho!

Full set of pictures here if you like that sort of thing.

8 comments:

LauraC said...

Sounds like a perfect party! Looks like a 3 year old's dream.

I have mixed feelings on the linked post. I do think people over-glamorize their lives on their blogs, glossing over bits. But then why focus on the bad stuff?

Anonymous said...

I love, love, love it! It is so colorful and fun and real. Wish we could have been there!
xoxo
jen

Kat McNally said...

OH! I wish we coulda been there.
It really does look like the PERFECT party. The lovingly placed bowls of candy, the cleverly co-opted Clarissas, the birthday cakes made with love, the mess, the laughter, the birthday suit, the tornado, the exhausted mamie and pappie.
What more could any three year old ask for?
I only skimmed the post you linked to, but my impulse would be to say that it's our choice to buy into this stuff, so let's own our response (as you have done here). There are so many gorgeous AUTHENTIC crafters blogs out there (like yours), so let's stop gracing the ones that don't ring true to us with our presence.
There is enough room for everyone.

Liz Jimenez said...

Sounds like a perfectly unperfect party for a couple of very REAL boys. A blast! Happy, happy birthday to both of them.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like it was a blast! Happy birthday to the boys!

K8 said...

What a fun party :)

And thanks for posting that link - I myself go between feeling inspired and frustrated by some of the craft blogs out there, wondering how they do it and hold a job and raise a family at the same time. But most of the time inspired :) Like Laura said, why focus on the bad stuff when you're blogging? Of course it's going to come out looking very romantic, but that's what makes it enjoyable.

t + j said...

i wish these birthday wishes weren't so belated, but better late then never. happy birthday mace! happy birthday, owen! happy birthdays mama!!!

Kellee said...

that looks like such fun! Happy Birthday guys! :)