Party Time!

Well last weekend was Lauren's 7th birthday. We let her open one of her gifts from us at the exact time of her birth. It is so hard to believe that we started this whole family adventure 7 years ago! I thought that it would be easier to let her have a friend party and the family party on the same day. Silly me, I thought that it would be less stressful! Umm...NO! She invited the 6 girls from her class and our next door neighbor. I planned to have it be sort of like a glamour party. My sister, Amanda, and my cousin, Courtney, came to help me. As the girls started to arrive I was directing them to coloring a birthday banner for Lauren, while Amanda was putting on nail polish and Courtney was doing their hair. After they all arrived I began putting on some eye shadow and lipstick. Now you would think that with 3 adults to only 8 little girls that it would have run smoothly...but no...we had some serious mass chaos going on! The girls who weren't getting their hair, nails, or make-up done were NOT coloring the banner. Oh no. They were running about my house getting every toy out that my children own. Did I also mention that they were climbing on top of Lauren's bunk bed and then jumping off? So I hurried and helped both Amanda and Courtney to finish up all the girls make-overs so that we could move on to the other activities that I had planned thinking that if I just had them all together in one room that they could be controlled. (What was I thinking?!) I brought them all out to the living room to play a game. I put in a princess CD and had them play "Pass the Glass Slipper". This game is similar to Hot Potato, but they passed a plastic dress-up shoe while the music played instead of a potato. Fun right?! HYPER! We played the game twice and as they got out the second time I had a prize for each of them. I had bought cute little lipstick cases that were pink or purple satin and decorated with beads. I put a plastic ring inside each one, because the lip glosses that I bought to put in them were too LONG! Just my luck. Next we moved into the dining room to decorate frames. Amanda took each girl's picture with Lauren. I had set out foam shapes, plastic jewels, letter noodles, and a few stamps and stamp pads. I had envisioned them quietly creating an amazing craft. Not so much. They were too hyper to calmly approach this activity. I had planned on this activity lasting 20-30 minutes. All but two of them were done in 15. The ones who were done early, naturally had gone back to trying to destroy my house. (Keep in mind that I was having the family party AFTER the little girls party.) OK...time for Lauren to open her presents. Back into the living room we all head. The girls grab their gifts and start shoving them at Lauren arguing about whose present she should open first. Good grief. Amanda steps up and takes charge! She tells the girls to sit around Lauren with their gift and the quietest one gets to have her present opened. WAY TO GO Amanda!! She also makes sure that Lauren takes her time with each present and takes her picture standing with the giver and the gift. (Thank heavens she came to help me!) The last thing I had planned was to give each girl a cupcake that was undecorated. I had put white frosting in muffin cups and different types of decorating confetti in the mini muffin cups. I gave each girl her own plastic knife and frosting and told them to share the confetti. I had used this idea last year and the girls had really enjoyed decorating their own cupcakes. These girls were a little different. They were throwing the candy pieces at each other. Some were not doing such a great job of sharing the different kinds of confetti with their neighbors. We gave them punch and ice cream and prayed that they would not spill on my new rug. Now in my mind all of these activities would have nicely filled up 2 hours. Unfortunately the best laid plans do not always turn out. They were done eating with 15 minutes left to spare. I thought that the best idea would be to send them to our backyard to play on the swingset. After being outside for all of 5 minutes, they had broke one of the swings AND (here's the best part) one of them had climbed all the way to the TOP of my tree. I went outside and calmly asked her to climb down before she fell out and broke her arm, while trying to find all the screws/nuts/bolts to the broken swing. I go back in the house with the broken screws thinking "This is going to be the longest 10 minutes of my life!" only to be followed by two of the girls asking if they can go back up to Lauren's room to play. I figure, what the heck, her room is already destroyed! I just tell them NOT to jump off the bunk bed. So gradually the parents come to pick up their children and I am handing out treat bags and thanking them for coming (and destroying my lovely picked up home). Time is up. Now I must make two pans of lasagna and try to tidy up my house before the family begins to arrive. Luckily the family party goes much better. By ten o'clock that night everyone has left. My house is still a disaster. I am so tired I can hardly stand up. And tomorrow I have to sing in church, make a BINGO game for Amanda's baby shower, and try to remain awake long enough to enjoy the party.....

It started out as a whim. Both of my grandparents recently passed away and I have always loved their house. One day Dan and I were joking around saying things like; "Wouldn't it be nice to live the small town life?" and "I could finally be a stay-at-home mom!" We were sick of the traffic. We were tired of feeling alone in an overcrowded sea of people. It is amazing how many people live in the Chicago suburbs and yet nobody expresses any interest in getting to know their neighbors. I remember what it was like to grow up in Milledgeville. A small town where everyone knew everyone (and everyone's business). I also remember how in high school my friends and I would talk about how we were going away to college and NEVER coming back. Amazingly, over the years I have discovered that Milledgeville has always been the one place that seems like home to me. Even while I lived in Decatur, Rockford, and Aurora, I always felt more connected when I went home to see my parents. So the whim turned in to a "Let's do it!"
Once the decision was made, we couldn't wait to make it happen. We did some fixing up on our house and put it on the market. The move started out gradual. I packed up all the things that the kids and I would need to survive on our own and during the first week of August we moved into my grandparents old house. I was SO excited to start remodeling! With help from my mom and my cousin Courtney, I painted the entryway, dining room, and front room during our first two weeks. Now I really do enjoy remodeling. However I learned the hard way that remodeling, while unpacking, and living in a house by yourself with 2 kids is NOT a sunshine parade. Chaos reined supreme. I had someone come in and refinish the hardwood floor in the dining room. It turned out beautiful. Unfortunately for me, being pregnant, I could not be in the house for three days due to the smell of the varnish and sealant. It is a good thing my parents live here! And I am sure they LOVED having Lauren, Alec, and I camping out in their house for those three days! (Can you sense my sarcasm?!) Next on the project list was putting in ceramic tile by the front door and having the carpet installed. But I saved the most fun thing on our to-do list for last...the bedroom that Lauren and Alec would be sharing. Yes, during the whole first month of living here, my children slept either in sleeping bags on the floor of the front room or in my bed. And on the many nights that they slept in my bed, I was sleeping on a mattress on the family room floor. Talk about fun. The reason their room took so long was due to about four layers of wallpaper and a layer of paint that had to be removed. Then we discovered that under all those layers were walls that needed some real serious patching, along with a small section of drywall that had to be replaced. Happily, I can now report that their bedroom is finally finished.
Good news! After two and a half weeks on the market, our house in Aurora sold! It was time to move all the rest of our stuff (and Dan) into our new home. Since I did all the first phase packing, I figured it was only fair to make Dan do phase two. On moving day he had help from his parents and brother. Now I should have been happy to finally have all of our things in one place. So why wasn't I? I was right back in the middle of chaos!
Well I am happy to report that after eight weeks of living here, only a handful of boxes remain. This house is finally looking like a house. We have wonderful neighbors that talk to us. Our kids play together after school. I walk to the post office or the library and people drive by and smile and wave. Our family has settled into a routine and I am beginning to be able to enjoy this first taste of being a stay-at-home mom. Now it is time to start working on the baby's room......