The Party

Last year I really wanted to do a party for both Paul and Samantha. I spent a lot of time, especially on Samantha's and by the end I was a little tired of planning. Granted, Mother's Day and Father's Day were both crammed into those same weekends so I had to not only plan two parties, but make presents for everyone as well. I also decided to make Samantha a felt playhouse which took a ton of time. I was pleased with the results, but just wasn't feeling up to that much work this year. 

This year the kids agreed to have a combined party at a park. I didn't want to plan so much, and I was also unwilling to fork out the $150+ it would cost to have it somewhere else. We invited Paul's friends from nursery and all the girls in Samantha's class. Unfortunately, since school was out most of their friends were out of town and not able to make it. Plus it was really windy and cold that day so the party didn't last too long. I walked away worrying that the kids would be disappointed in how things had turned out, but I was wrong. It was a lesson to me that my expectations are not the same as my kids. Just because I have an idea that something will be fun/exciting/dumb/whatever does not mean that my kids feel the same way. I am trying hard to remember that and to ask them what they think and feel about certain things so that I know what they want and not what I think they want. 

Anyway, the one thing they both did really want was for me to make them a cake. Samantha really wanted a Barbie cake, and while I'm not a huge fan of the doll stuck in the cake idea, I thought hers turned out fairly well. Paul wanted a monster cake, but his was one problem after another. The idea was simple enough but since I tried to make both of the cakes in the same day and neglected to keep Paul's in the fridge while I worked on Samantha's his just ended up falling apart. I was actually going to make his be a set of three smaller monsters, but we only ended up with one large one. Luckily, although it is far from my best cake, Paul LOVED it, and talked about it for days after. In fact, when we were at the park I asked the kids if they were ready for cake and didn't get much of a response. I was going to wait until I looked around and saw Paul running to the table. He sat down and was waiting all by himself, ready for cake. Even if it didn't look perfect, it was fun to see Paul so happy. 

Overall, despite the weather and vacation plans of friends, the party was definitely a success.  I doubt I'll do a combined one next year but I'm glad this one was a little more low key!

Paul's Cake (don't look too close)

Samantha's Cake

Paul excited to eat his monster cake