t's seventh birthday and doctor who party

 My little guy turned seven today.  He wanted a Doctor Who themed party.  I sort of procrastinated on the planning of this party and had to pull it together in the last couple of days.  I basically pulled an all-nighter on Thursday in order to get things ready for the party today.  Luckily the boys were in an all-day camp this week, and while I didn't use my time very well earlier in the week, you better believe I worked my butt off every single minute they were gone today.  Decorating, mostly.  Finishing up game prep, too.  I was really grateful that the boys were occupied and that Nate was able to take a half-day off work and help out too.  T and S gave the party top marks, so all the work was worth it.  Here is what we did for our Doctor Who party!

Invitations.  Here are the invitations we sent out.  I bought a pdf from this etsy shop and it was really easy to print them up, add our info on the inside, and mail them out.

Party day!

First of all, the outfit.  I found the shirt and jacket at Goodwill.  The Fez and Bowtie came as a set from Amazon.  I thought we would just use them to take a few photos and then he would change into a t-shirt, but he decided to keep them on.  I was pleased as punch that he liked the costume and wanted to wear it for the whole party.  I know he had to be hot in those layers plus a hat (!), but he was a very dedicated Doctor.  The backdrop here is a beach towel, also from Amazon.

Decorations.  I went overboard with decorations, perhaps because I felt my party activities were pretty basic and traditional.  I wanted the wow-factor of an over-decorated party room and I think I achieved it.  When the boys walked in from camp they definitely gave a WOW reaction.  T said, adorably, "Are we in space?!"  I bought balloons, dangling stars, and dangling planets from Oriental Trading, Amazon, and Walmart.  The best bit of the decor, in my opinion, was the set of T.A.R.D.I.S. lights from ThinkGeek.  I wrapped the wiry star garland around the strand to try to make it look like the time machine was spinning through the time vortex.  How dorky is that?  But I have to say I thought it looked awesome.  It was one of my favorite things of the whole party.

Games!  As guests arrived, the boys instructed them in how to play our first game.  I had pictures of some Doctor Who aliens posted on the walls, with envelopes underneath.  The kids had strips of paper with alien names on them, and they had to try to match the alien name with the picture.  When everyone was done, T emptied the envelopes and read the slips of paper, and then told the kids what the alien was actually called.

Next we had everyone sit down and gave a very brief description of Doctor Who for those who had never seen it.  I had T help me explain the basic gist of the show (really too bad that we didn't get that on video, as it was adorable).  Then we showed the kids a short video to further illustrate what the theme of this party was all about.

Our next game was Pin the Bowtie on the Doctor.  Pretty self-explanatory.

Cake time.  The cake came from a local bakery.  We found a picture of a cake we liked on Pinterest and took it in for them to see.  Our cake looked pretty much identical to the one we saw online, except that one said the kid's name and age, and ours said, "EXTERMINATE!"  I let T decide which he would rather have on his cake and for him the choice was clear.

After our snacks and cake, T opened gifts.  He scored a lot of cool Doctor Who stuff.  And a lot of cool stuff in general.

Outside!  Thirteen kids in our apartment feels pretty crazy, so I was glad when it was time to go outside.  I was also glad that the downpour from earlier in the day had stopped.  The grass was really wet but otherwise the park was perfect.  The rain had cleared it out for us, I think, so the field was empty and ready for our gaggle of guests to run around while Nate tied up the pinata. 

The gorgeous T.A.R.D.I.S. pinata was purchased from this etsy shop.  It was so sturdy I was worried the kids wouldn't be able to bust it, but it wasn't a problem.  I think the kids enjoyed the pinata but I have a hard time with the whole diving-for-candy issue.....  some kids got a ton and some didn't get much at all.  There was some grabbing, which resulted in some tears, and I felt bad.  I asked the kids who got a lot to share with the kids who didn't get as much, and most of them did, and then I felt a little better.  But it always stinks to see a kid crying because of a game you planned.

After the pinata broke and everyone enjoyed a piece of candy, the kids played in the field until the parents came.  The boys and I had discussed a game of Weeping Angel freeze tag, and then it evolved into a form of a game they play at recess called Infection.  I have no idea how it works, and I didn't organize the last game at all.  I let the kids work it out amongst themselves and it seemed to go well.

Goody bags.  I had blue bags and I printed a picture of the T.A.R.D.I.S. for the front of each.  Cut them out and stuck them on with glue stick.  I went through a lot of printer ink for this party!  The favors in the bags were not overly exciting.  Alien erasers, alien shooter toys, a glow stick (they were supposed to light up blue, not sure if they worked), and a planet stamp.  All the favors were from Oriental Trading.  Guests also took home the candy from the pinata.

That was our party!  I loved doing it, wish I had paced myself on the planning a little bit instead of working like a beast at the last minute, and consider it a big success.  There is a lot you can do with this theme, of course.  But I chose to keep it pretty simple. I figured that any references to the show that weren't completely overt would be missed by the guests anyway, so why bother to bring out the deep cuts?  (This is exactly why I didn't bother doing any themed food, other than the cake motif).  I know that T and S had a great time so I am a happy party planner.  Now maybe we can just do bowling alley parties from now on?  These theme parties are exhausting.  :)

the grind. back to it.

The boys are back to school.  This year we have a third grader and a kindergartener.  Insert cliche but all-too-true statement about time flying here.

two cutie pies, ready for school.  third grade and kindergarten!

I feel like our summer was so busy.  A little too busy.  There is a balance to be found between free time and scheduled time, and I feel like we erred on the side of too scheduled this summer.  It's okay, though.  I still think the boys had fun.  And we ended the summer with a great visit to Chicago, which was wonderful as always.  Perhaps next year we'll sign up for fewer activities.  That's so far away now, who knows what I'll remember to do. 

watching the polar bear at Lincoln Park Zoo.

T, Lili, and giraffes!

got drenched during our zoo visit.

silly cereal face.

sweet silly boys on a Chicago rooftop.

We are adjusting to our new school schedule pretty well.  We drop S off at 8 am, then T and I run errands, do chores, or just play in the morning.  Then I take T to kindergarten after lunch, and the afternoons are MINE ALL MINE.  So far I've been hiding myself away at home, reading and crafting and cleaning (summer left the house a total mess).  I love my alone time, I do.  Soon enough I'll be spending some of my afternoons teaching art lessons to the boys' classes, or perhaps having lunch with some girlfriends.  For now it's hermit time every afternoon. 

Okay, listen up.  I'm sure you already know this, but I've opened up a second little etsy shop selling stenciled onesies.  It's called The Onesie.  Smiley face.

Here is the story behind my new little venture: Last year friends of ours adopted a gorgeous baby boy.  At the time I was making tons of cute onesies for my newest nephew, cutting out words and images using a Cricut machine.  I was on an adorable roll.  I wanted to make one for our friends' new baby, but I didn't want to make it too cutesy.  See, our friend Brian, the baby's dad, is like the baddest badass I've ever known, a Chicago cop and all-around tough guy.  I wanted to make a onesie that wouldn't make Brian cringe when he changed his boy's diaper.  So I came up with a little phrase, "I just got here and I'm already awesome."  You can see that original onesie here.

Okay, so then a year later I noticed my flickr stats for that particular photo were blowing up.  Like, hundreds of views a day.  I traced all this action back to Pinterest, and then I though, well, if all these people on Pinterest love it, maybe some of them will buy it.  And so my etsy shop was born.  I'm putting up onesies with lots of different phrases, but so far my best seller is the one I made for Brian's baby boy.  So thanks, Brian, for being too manly for the average cute onesie.  I owe you.

Please, if you need a baby gift or know someone who does, feel free to peruse my onesie selection!  xoxo

Day in the life.

-Wake up not to my alarm, but to Nate getting up.  Then later to S crawling into bed with me.  Did not have to set my alarm this morning because my plan was to workout after S is at school, not during the typical 6-7am timeslot.  I love days when I can avoid hearing my awful alarm.  Zen alarm clock is on my wish list.

-Make S's lunch, help the boys with breakfast.  Check the internet vitals.  Rush to get everyone dressed and out the door.

-Drop S off at school.  Early today, which he prefers but we don't often accomplish.

-Head to the gym.  Box my heart out while T enjoys social hour and tv time in the kids' room.

-Back home.  Shower for me.  Pbskids.org for T.

-Make chicken broth.  Basically this involves throwing a bunch of frozen veggie scraps and chicken bones into the crock pot.  I've been saving them in ziplock bags in the freezer, having read this tip somewhere online.  Add water and seasonings, let simmer in the crock pot for ages, voila!  Chicken stock yummier and cheaper than what you can buy at the store.  Meanwhile, T is drawing characters from Plants Vs. Zombies.  I have to do a Google image search for each one, so he can see how to draw them.  I think he has some kind of board game as his ultimate plan.

With whom I spend my days.

-Research proper ways to season turkey burgers, which are on tonight's dinner menu.  The recipe I'm using says you can make the burgers with the meat as-is, but I think surely they need some extra flavors, right?  Maybe I need a new recipe.

-Nate comes home for lunch.  We discuss some upcoming dates and write some things on the calendar.  One of them is CHICAGO.  Yay.

-T teaches me the sign language for "snow" while he eats his lunch.  It snowed this morning.  T was happy.  I was not.

-Get angry because stuff in the fridge is still feeling frozen, even though I tried to adjust it after noticing the problem earlier in the day.  Realize the knob I had adjusted was for the freezer, not the fridge.  Try again. 

-Work on laundry and dishes a little, so I can feel like a good and productive housewife.

-Convince T to go upstairs for a little rest time, since he has the sniffles and is looking tired.  This is a major coup; he never rests anymore.  I sit and start stitching a new embroidery project, while listening to this audio book, which I am quite enjoying.  I already have a project underway, a gift for S that didn't get finished in time for his birthday.  But this new piece has a quickly approaching deadline, April 17.  Better get moving on it.

S's gift, in progress.

-T believes his rest time is over after 15 minutes.  I do some master negotiating to buy myself more time.  He gives me another 15.  Enough to stitch a "k," an "i," and half an "s."  I'll take it.

New project.  Must hurry.

-Help T with more Plants vs. Zombies research.  We are looking up pea shooters, double pea shooters, magic bubble shooters, etc.  Read some Mad Libs he filled out earlier with his dad.  "Pearl Chopping: The athlete who can break through the most stacked pearls with one chop of his butt wins this event."

-Let T watch one episode of Yo Gabba Gabba.  I'm not proud to say that this is pretty much part of our daily routine.  I get soooo sleepy in the afternoon.  Today, at least, I make him pick up a bunch of Legos before he can watch.  I spend a little time catching up on my weight loss forum, then close my eyes.

-Put on a little makeup.  Pick up S from school.  Totally blow my top when I see him walking out in a t-shirt, coat stuffed in his bag.  It's cold out.  It snowed this morning, remember?  Deliver a long and tedious lecture about the virtues of dressing appropriately for the weather.  Have little to no faith that it sunk in at all.

Anti-coat.

-Walmart run.  I need a few groceries.  The boys need to pick out gifts for friends.  Birthday parties are on the horizon.

-Supervise S doing homework and writing thank-you notes while folding laundry.  Scurry to put it away before the boys' afternoon tv shows start.  While they are engaged I want to have some free time, guilt free.  Free time?  I sound like I'm at summer camp.

-Check my email, at S's prompting, to see if he has a den meeting tonight.  He does.  It wasn't on my calendar, of course.  Room for improvement there.

-Sit on the couch while the boys watch Wild Kratts and Electric Company.  Do some forum-ing and some stitching.

-Make dinner.  Even after researching how to season turkey burgers, I end up doing a total free-style and they are dang tasty.  Serve them without buns (diet), plated up on portobello caps instead.  Boys are not thrilled, but eat them anyway and declare them, "okay."  I can live with that.

-Clean up kitchen while Nate drops S off at Scouts and puts T to bed.  Listen to Mbmbam.

-Put on jammies.  Plan for the night is to watch bad tv and stitch stitch stitch.

Goodnight!  Thanks for reading. 

Way too many pictures of S's birthday party.

Today we had five of S's buddies over for his birthday party.  We kept it small because we were having it at home and because the thing he wanted to do most was play video games with his buddies.  I figured a small group would be better because they could only play 2 at a time and I didn't want a ton of boys waiting to take turns.  They did play some video games, but they also ran around and yelled a lot, inside and outside, and played with Legos.  It was a very successful party, I thought, and went smoothly, although at times the inevitable air of aggression and competitiveness that comes along with a group of boys is hard for me to handle.  Also hard for me to handle?  T gets right in on the action, acting like he's just as big as the other boys.  As a result they treat him like he's just as big, pushing and wrestling with him as they would each other.  I literally have to avert my eyes.  He had a blast; S did too.  Anyway.  On to the pictures.

Playing Wii Sports.

Cheering for (or against, sometimes) each other.

Appreciate the handmade balloon garland above the TV.

I didn't think 7 boys would feel like a lot, but it kind of did.  It was enough, for sure.

Cake was made by Nate, with specific instructions from S that it be chocolate and homemade.  It also featured homemade caramel icing, painstakingly made by Nate, and decorations by yours truly.  It's a bit wonky, but that's how homemade cakes should look, if you ask me.

The handsomest face.

Where those good looks came from.

T taught a couple of the boys how to play Plants Vs. Zombies.  He was in hog heaven.

Buddies.

Along with the cake, we served popcorn, grapes, and carrots + dip.  Not one boy touched the grapes or carrots.  It's okay.  I know what I am, and I can laugh at myself.

He was just so happy the whole time!  A very social kid.

Getting ready to make a wish.

T had as much fun as anyone, I do believe.

CAKE!

Getting silly.

The boys played outside for the last hour of the party.  THANK GOODNESS!

After his guests left, S told us several times how much fun it had been.  That made me feel great.  We spent the rest of the day dozing, eating left over popcorn, and watching basketball.  Perfect.