Pinterest: Party Planning

I am notorious for beginning party prep waaaaay too early.  This year is no exception.  We've been tossing around themes for Roxy's fourth birthday since January.  We are currently deciding between two themes - Cinderella and Rockstar Roxy.  I love the idea of Rockstar Roxy, but Roxy's heart is set on Cinderella and she loves Cinderella so much right now, I think she made our decision for us.  

One of the reasons I love starting to plan so early is the ability to purchase items over a period of time instead of all at once.  Usually looking back after the party is over, its hard to believe how much money went into it because it wasn't all pulled out of the bank at the same time!  In addition to that, I am able to scope out sales and clearance racks for items that match the theme and are discounted.  

A few things that I've already decided for this year:

• While there will be lots of adults in attendance, the number of children attending will be cut back and will be more Roxy's age.
• We'll ask the guests to dress up in the princess finery for the event.
• Princess makeovers will take place.
• Cinderella will make an appearance (thanks to Russ' cousin for agreeing to dress up for us!)

I've been scouring Pinterest for ideas for either party theme and am super excited about putting them all together for a fairytale-ish party!

To see more of the inspiration I've found, please check out the Roxy's 4th Birthday board I've got going on Pinterest.  You'll find links to all these great ideas and more there.  

WW: Reunion.

We were fortunate to have an inside connection to receive an invitation to the first annual NICU reunion hosted by the hospital where Roxy was.  I was excited to attend and hoped to meet up with lots of other parents who had similar experiences and see children that may have 'resided' there with Roxy during her stay.  

After we trailed through registration, Roxy was able to enjoy a huge piece of cake and a glass of punch before we headed out to have our photo taken and play.  

The reunion was held at the children's arboretum.  The location was fantastic!  In addition to these huge hollow logs for the kids to climb on and go through, the children's arboretum included three acres of hands-on learning activities and experiences for the kids.  I see a return trip in our near future!

I was able to chat quickly with the only mom I remember from our NICU stay whose daughter is only a couple months older than Roxy.  I also caught up with a nurse who remembered Roxy right off the bat after seeing her name tag.  As she said, its hard to believe that its been three years already!

The weather was a bit chilly and the sky was overcast so after a group photo, we packed it in and called it a day.  We're already looking forward to next year's event!

*Linking up with Seven Clown Circus and Dude Mom for Wordful Wednesday.

Derby Weekend Rewind

This weekend was definitely busy!  As I previously mentioned my lack of interest in the Derby, none of our weekend events involved the horse races going on just an hour down the road.  

Friday

Jenn and I were scheduled for a girls' night.  The Big Wedding was in theatres and it was just what we needed!  Along with our usual trips to Target, Wal-Mart and Kroger.  

Unfortunately, shortly after leaving the theatre and wondering what that clicking noise was, we found out that Jenn's car had a flat tire.  Lucky for me, she knew what she was doing and with only very minimal assistance from the pizza delivery guy who stopped to help, was able to get her spare on so we could finish our night out!  

Saturday

Russ and I still aren't used to Roxy spending the night away from home so when we both woke up early Saturday morning, we were at a loss on what to do.  Roxy wasn't there to keep us occupied.

After wasting my morning alone, I met up with Gigi and Roxy for lunch and then we headed home so that Roxy could take a quick nap.

After Rox's nap, we headed to Lexington to meet with up Michelle and her family.  I was stoked to meet Michelle in person.  I can't remember how I found her blog, but I know I've been following it pretty much since I started mine.  And y'all, she is just as wonderful in person as she is on her blog.  If you aren't following her, well...you're missing out!

We had fun letting the kids play, climb, slide and generally wear themselves out at Kids' Place.  Roxy and I are really looking forward to seeing Michelle, Dave, Finn and Tate again.  Maybe next time Michelle or I will remember to take a picture!

Sunday

Sunday was probably the most down time we had this weekend.  After church, Roxy and I headed home where she took a nice (2.5 hour) nap and I watched some TV.  Mongo came up to visit late in the afternoon.  A quick trip to eat some "tater soup" at O'Charleys, Roxy's current favorite, and a stop at Wal-Mart to finish up Roxy's teacher appreciation gifts for tomorrow and then we headed back home.  Roxy and Mongo baked some cookies and played.  It seemed like our visit was too short as always.  We told Mongo goodnight and I put Roxy to bed.

After all of that, I felt like I could use one more day this weekend, but it was truly a wonderful weekend filled with family, friends and fun.

What did you do this weekend?