Wednesday, March 24, 2010

I Would Like to Introduce........

my first ever guest blogger; Jenn from Blonde Ambition!!! I was so honored when she accepted my invite to be a guest blogger; not only do I think she is beautiful & amazing but her twin boys are the cutest ever. So with out further a due.....here she is!!


I am honored to be guest-blogging for my friend, Mitzi!
Sweet Mitzi left the topic up to me which was pretty cool, but then I began to think about what I wanted to share. I decided to blog about something that has been on my mind a LOT lately...

It's rapidly approaching. It has been the reason for my many hours of internet-browsing. It's the source of cupcake-baking trial and errors and careful menu planning. What am I talking about? My boys' first birthday party (in JUNE!). Apparently, I am more neurotic than I ever thought possible to be planning their party so far in advance.

I never thought I would make such a big deal over invitations and hunting for party favors suitable for one-year-olds. What has parenthood driven me to?! I have to admit: before I had my boys, I swore up and down that I'd never make a big deal over their first birthday, simply because they won't remember it. But, as time went on, I quickly realized that I would miss having a big celebration. The boys deserve it and, if I’m being completely honest, so do we! After all, it's the parents who have spent the past year doing middle-of-the-night feedings, countless diaper changes and more laundry than I could have ever imagined (seriously, it's insane).

First up was picking a theme. People automatically think of the twin 'pea in a pod' theme, so naturally, I wanted to avoid that like the plague. I wanted the boys to have something a little different, so we are with Ocean ONEderland. Clever, no? This is about when my lack of control started spiraling out of control, much to my husband's dismay. Do you have any idea how many adorable fish-themed party stuff is out there? After buying $85 worth of party favors, I decided that I need to calm down a bit. This was literally just for some party favors for our little guests. That's a bit crazy!

Invitations were next and thankfully, there are loads of Etsy sellers who are far more crafty than I at designing an invitation. It's just one less thing that I need to worry about. Speaking of invitations, I haven't mentioned the guest list. Just counting immediate family & close friends, there's 60 people. I live in a row home in Philadelphia -- it isn't like I live on a huge estate with acres of land suitable for party tents & ample space for the children to run free. Space is tight in the city!

Honestly, I could go on and on about this. I don't know when I turned into this wannabe party-planner on speed, but I'm in full swing, ladies & gentlemen. I know that I’m not the only one out there in blog-land who has gone to great lengths to make their child's first birthday celebration one to remember (for you, obviously!), so I'd love to hear what you did to make it special for your little one(s). If you kept it low-key, I would love to hear about that too!

11 comments:

  1. My daughters birthday is in June as well! At first I was going crazy over hers but then it hit me- "It's her first birthday party, not yours!" lol I was going crazy trying to impress guests and have it all fun for them but nope! not anymore! We are doing strictly family, with 2 friends because they have babies my daughter plays with. The main focus will be on my daughter and her special day and not the favors for the other children because hey, they're younger than my daughter so they're not going to care if they get a gift or not!!

    Good luck with the rest of your party planning!! I love your theme by the way!!

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  2. My son is only 5.5 weeks old and Ive already caught myself thinking about his 1 year birthday party! I need to slow down!

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  3. I honestly DREAD birthday parties coming up. It's the way I hate baby showers.... I actually need to blog about it, Jen - thanks for the inspiration :)

    THe ocean theme is GREAT! Connor would love that!

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  4. h turns 1 in august and i have already begun the planning in my head. the hubs won't allow me to make actual plans until summer. meanie.

    i'm not sure what direction it's going to go, but knowing me, it's going to be themey. like matching invites, signs, banners, shirt for h, favors, staws, etc. i am a sucker for matching patterns!

    and my sil is a pastry chef, so you know the cake is going be insane. :)

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  5. Oh Girl! My Ava's first birthday party is in 2 weeks. The theme, Ladybugs! We have went all out. I think the cake is going to cost $80 dollars...yikes!
    But, I am with you! It is WORTH every penny! I have so enjoyed this first year!

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  6. You are adorable Jen. I love that you think your crazy for planning the big 1 already. I am already thinking of my sons first birthday and he's only 6 months old. I think I have you beat on being the crazy one.
    I love the ocean one-derland theme. So cute.

    Great choice on a guest blogger!

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  7. my baby's party is in the end of may and I am panicking already! good luck on the party planning!

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  8. Thank you all for the great responses! It's comforting to know that I am in good company. One of the attorneys that I work for made me a badge yesterday that read: "Psycho Mom"

    I wore it around the office with pride ;-)

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  9. You are not alone in your desire for a great party! I didn't spend that many months thinking about it, but the man hours went in to make our party exactly how we wanted it! Here is my post with pictures, hope it helps!

    http://life-caroline.blogspot.com/2010/03/birthday-party-spelled-out.html

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  10. I've already started looking at invitations for my 8 month old's party too haha. Your theme sounds so cute... I can't wait to see how it turns out!

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  11. Such a great theme! Very imaginative. I love it! I am a bit embarrased to admit this, but I began planning my little girls birthday party in January (I already bought her inivitations, decorations, and her outfit!) Ummmm...did I mention my daughter's birthday isn't until August?! The END of August (the 30th)! I'm totally out of control! But like you said...it IS a big deal..both for your baby AND the parents!

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