Party Over...oops Out of time!

I'm officially done hosting children's birthday parties until next July.

Whew!

I think the party went well, but since I didn't sit down until about 3 o'clock besides to help M open presents (i.e. read cards and make sure we know who gave what) I really don't know what went on for most of the party. Such is life when you're hosting a party. Can't talk to anyone and can't eat. I ate one tiny sandwich and two bites of veggie salad. But I didn't really feel hungry. I guess I was fueled by hostess duty.

I'm told the cheesy spinach dip was wonderful, and apparently everything else was also okay because it is all GONE. (I was also told that the table set-up was cuter in person...which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.)

After we ate lunch the kids got their suits on and played. Here is a small portion of the motley crew we hosted:

We let them play for a while then corralled them for cake and ice cream.

My sister-in-law saw the bounty of cake on the counter and asked me if I'd been busy by any chance.

Honestly, a lot of beer and telling the kids if they don't play nice there will be NO party! Clearly, I have issues. But aren't they cute?

The kids were given a ton of wonderful presents that they were enjoying until 8:30 tonight (waaaay past their bedtime). They really love all the presents they received, to the point that they didn't know what to try out first, second, and tenth.

We may need an addition on the house. (ha ha....Ha?)

Besides the birthday festivities, it was great to see my fab friend Rachel and her kids (including my Godson, Nikolas). She is Cletus to my Roscoe. (Bonus points if you know where the names come from.)

Craig's best buddy, Dana, also came to the party. Dana was Craig's Best Man in our wedding, and really is one of the best men I know. He came because M really wanted him to come. What M wants, M gets. Well, sometimes.

K is probably dreaming train dreams tonight. He received some new Thomas the Train things that he loves, and also received some GeoTrax which he has been coveting at his friends Alex and Owen's house for at least a year. He also received two different motorized vehicles, one small, that has a retractable top that really fascinated him, the other a big Escalade that has buttons on top to command it to go where you want it to. "Right turn" and the blinkers turn on as the car turns right. Very fancy. I think some of the adults were pretending indifference, then, when K wasn't paying attention, they'd play with it a bit.

M was given a new Polly Pocket playset that she thinks is the greatest thing ever since it's a swimming pool with a diving board (that's my "fish" kid here). Plus her Amma and Boppa gave her (among other things) a bubble dancer thing that she can launch into the air that she tells Craig she wants every time she sees it on T.V. My Aunt Kay gave M some play dishes and food that M immediately used in the pool to have a pool tea party. And Kay gave her a little porcelain doll wearing a purple dress that M wouldn't put down for quite a while after she opened it. M also really loves her little Peter Pan. It's a stuffed dog in a purse, a la Paris Hilton with Tinkerbell, but M's dog was a boy (how that was determined is beyond me...and isn't Paris's Tinkerbell a boy too?) so my cousin Chelsea suggested Peter Pan as a name and it has stuck.

I mention only a few things, but honestly, the kids really loved everything they were given. Thank goodness they are pretty gracious about receiving gifts as well. It's not an act, they both are so excited when they are given gifts...no matter what it is.

The party est...

FINI.