Absolute Mayhem... and lovin' it

That kind of sums of parenthood, doesn't it? *insert smirk*

It also sums up our whirlwind 2 weeks! First, I forgot to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day last week; my apologies. I was actually due on Mother's Day last year but Isabella came out a couple days later. So I counted this year as my first official Mother's Day and it was nice. Roe and I somehow woke up super early (rare for me that is) and ate breakfast together (fresh bread toasted + whipped cream cheese + strawberry preserves by bonne maman = my fave for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack). I totally didn't expect a gift this year (though Roe is always very good about gifts, I asked him not to get me anything and instead, I bought myself a Lacoste shirt dress) but he prepared something anyway: a wad o' cash!! Horrific to some maybe but for me, it was THE BEST GIFT EVER!!! It felt like a free pass to treat myself to whatever I wanted without any strings or guilt attached. I could pay for my massage or latte, buy myself some needed jeans (will comment more on those later), or whatever else I felt like without having to calculate my pennies.

And of course, our Isabella's 1st Birthday party was this past weekend too. It just melts my heart thinking about it. Hopefully our guests enjoyed themselves.. but really, I enjoyed it very much too. Sure, it was definitely mayhem in our house the day before and after.. but aren't the best parties like that anyway? Like the huge hangover you had in college after partyin' like no tomorrow; it wouldn't have been a hangover if you were walled up in your dorm room banging your head on the wall for not studying as much as you should have. I had to do a lot of running around to pick up things here and there but thinking about all of the small details for Isabella was fun--even if no one else would notice.

If you don't know me, I'm not much of a creative person or crafty by any means... but this party, I really stretched myself to TRY to be one. I did things I've never done before: mixed paints to form the right shade of green (to match the perfect shade of pink for our party), planned ahead and bought clearance Easter items--for their colors--to decorate the party, reserved a cotton candy machine, hired a face painter for the kids, brought home a helium tank, along with 2 huge rolls of colored butcher paper--imagine carrying that in Rochester downtown to your car! I may be biased but I have the say, the party was a huge success. I really owe my thanks to my mom and aunt, my head caterer. They really REALLY outdid themselves and I'm eternally grateful for their generosity. And so many other people helped us to make it all possible: MANY THANKS AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE (yes YOU!).

Along with having a GREAT time, I learned a lot about how to throw a huge party (approx. 140 guests in our home). There are a few things you have to consider before throwing such a large soiree and preparing the right amount of food, cake, decorations, and even placement are all a part of the equation. More on that later..

For now, let's just enjoy the aftermath.