The day everyone showed up

Team Toppall just had a very big day.  The biggest!  For 3 weeks leading up to Saturday, February 9th, I freakishly checked the 10 day forecast on two different weather apps twice a day, no joke! Each day we got one day closer for the day I needed to have good weather.  Eventually I got to the point where February 9th finally started appearing in the 10 days forecasted and I could to start to finally breathe easy that Mother Nature will not mess up our plans.  The Washington DC metro area is unable to handle even the littlest bit of Winter weather and is quick to shut down.  It was a very real threat that the 2nd week in February could've been a huge disaster to have family fly in or drive down from NJ.

Why the worry?   Everyone from Orlando and relatives from New Jersey and Maryland came to town to celebrate my mom's 75th birthday (which actually IS February 9th) and to attend Ian's play, "Rock of Ages".   We only had once chance to get it right as the family flew in on Friday afternoon and was flying back on Sunday afternoon.

What a day it was!  It was perfect in every way and honestly, it felt surreal how all it all came together.  I feel so fortunate that everyone wanted to come to town and cheer Ian on in his role as Lonny Barnett.  He completely killed it.  With my mom turning 75 that day, my sister and I hosted a festive lunch at a nearby restaurant that made my mom feel special.   The icing on the cake was getting my cousin LeeAnn and her wife to come down from NJ.  This was very much unexpected and my mom couldn't believe her eyes when LeeAnn walked in the room.

The day went without a hitch.  The weather didn't get in our way.  The family was all together (with the exception of Meghan who recently moved to San Diego) and there was much reason to celebrate. As Mary Poppins would say, "Practically perfect in every way."

And now Winter can resume with its plans for snow, sleet or ice.  I've gotten beyond the one day I cared about, to the point I was losing sleep over it, and am back to breathing easy and enjoying watching the snow that is currently falling as I write this.

Simcha, part 3

Once services at the synagogue ended, it was time to celebrate!  We planned a party for Saturday night at the Maggiano's in Tyson's Galleria.  They have a set of banquet rooms that can open up for as big of a space as you need it.   We used 5 rooms and was pretty much at max capacity with our 127 guests.  Our theme for the evening was "Casino and Games".  We had 2 black jack tables, 2 poker tables, 1 roulette wheel, a 4 person Pac-man game, a Foosball table and double shot (which is a 2 person basket ball throwing game).

Every guest got $25,000 in fake money to gamble with.  At the end of a 3 hour time span, the casino and games would shut down and you would get a raffle ticket for every $10,000 you had remaining.  Even if you blew through all your money, you still got one raffle ticket. We had five baskets in various themes that you could put a raffle ticket in and try to win.  At the end of the evening, Ian picked a winner from each fishbowl and gave the basket to them. 

The five baskets' themes were: 
-Lazy Sunday Morning (specialty teas, scone mix, starbucks gift car, starbucks hot/cold travel mug, and hot chocolate flavored spoons),
-Game On! (Dave and Buster's gift card, Huge Puzzle book, mini Pac-man machine, and Uno cards),
-With a Cherry on Top (Cold Stone gift card, 4 ice cream cone shaped ceramic bowls with spoons, ice cream scooper and a container of sprinkles),
-Chillaxin on a Saturday Night (Regal cinema gift card, microwave popcorn maker, popcorn kernels, and popcorn seasoning salts)
-All About George (filled with an undisclosed amount of $1 bills - there was $75 of them)

Jeff, Ian and I didn't really want go the DJ route.  Every party Ian has attended has done a DJ and we really wanted to do something that was a bit more unique.  Additionally, the DJ is usually loud (very loud in some instances) and the adults can't really have a conversation without talking very loudly.  Most DJs are geared to focusing on keeping the kids entertained and that is completely fine,  as this is a party for the Bar Mitzvah kid.  However, this tends to leave the adults off the dance floor while games are being played and orchestrated by the DJ and his crew.

As we were coming up with ideas on what we wanted Ian's party to be, it was like a light bulb went off at the same time for all of us.  The casino and games theme was just the unique thing we were looking for that would be entertaining for both the adults and kids.

We had fun carrying the theme throughout the evening.  We had custom decks of playing cards made and used the back of the box as a place card for our guests. 

 


The cake had a casino theme with fondant dice, chips, and playing cards.

The centerpieces were a work of art (if I do say so myself) with a martini glass filled with either dice or poker chips set on a mirror base.  There was confetti that had the heart, spade, diamond, clubs, "IAN", and "13" decorating the base.  Additionally, there were 3 balloons attached to each martini glass with a string of lights so it looked like the balloons were floating on the lights.

 It was a Mazer team effort getting the room set-up and ready in time.  Everyone played an important part and together we got it done (without a moment to spare!).  Here is a great picture of my dad and stepdad holding all the balloons until we could grab a few to put in place and come back for some more.

And along the perimeter of the room were big 22'' mylar balloon in the shape/design of queen of hearts, king of spades, and all the suits of cards.  These balloons were anchored with the string of lights too.

In addition to the casino and games, we also had a green screen photo booth.  This was a special request by Ian.  The photographer put together an album for Ian with a copy of every picture taken.  When looking thru the album, I hardly saw any pictures of Ian and his friends.  I asked him why this was and replied with, "They didn't want to leave the casino tables."    That is a sign of a successful event!

These are all the photos I can share until the photographer sends me the photos she took.  I didn't take any pictures all day!  I think everyone had a good time.  Honestly, the day went by so incredibly fast and I felt like in the span of a finger snap the 4 hour party was all of 30 seconds long.  It probably didn't help much that I had 3 cosmopolitans and 1 white Russian to drink.  But after a long, long day, it felt good to have a few.  ;)

A part of me wishes we could go back in time and I could attend the day's events as a guest.

Simcha, part 2

Once I officially finished working for The Crazy Man in early January, I was able to transition into Bar Mitzvah planning mode with my free afternoons.  It became my part-time job and I soon ate, slept, breathed all things Bar Mitzvah.  My mindset quickly became something of "Before Bar Mitzvah" and "After Bar Mitzvah".   Life for me didn't exist after May 12 and I knew if I could just make it to the magical day, I'd be able to resume my regular routine and start making all my crazy plans again. Kids wanted to know when they were going to Orlando in the Summer?  Sorry, ask me that again on May 13th.  Jeff wanted to plan our road trip to take the kids to camp at the end of July?  Nope!  We can figure it out after May 12th.  Get my car in for an oil change?  No way, José.  I'll wait until the week after May 12th.  I needed to make plans to see some girlfriends for a birthday dinner?  Sure, I'm available - NOTHING had been scheduled after May 12th. I knew my calendar was open.  Ask me where they decided to go eat?  No clue.  I'll find out after May 12th.  Every spare moment was spent strategizing and figuring out the best way to execute my vision.  Whether it was realistic to pull off or completely crazy for me to think this would work, I was determined to see it thru.  And let me tell you Amazon was around for all of it.  I knew I had a hard stop two days before Saturday, May 12th.  That's when you can no longer get things in their famously known 2 day shipping policy for prime members. 

I rediscovered something about myself that I knew and hadn't experienced in some time.  As I get closer and closer to a really important day, my mind goes into overdrive while I'm sleeping and I get some crazy nightmares.  In no particular order here are some of the crazier ones I remembered.

1. I get glaucoma and can't see a thing on May 12th.  I am running around town trying to find someone to do emergency glaucoma surgery hours before services are scheduled to start. 

2.  I had booked my photographer back in October.  There was no reason to keep in contact with her until early May when we'd touch base again.  In my nightmare, the photographer had died and no one told me.  I didn't find out until May 11th when the family was at the synagogue ready to take pictures.

3. There was a little person convention in the hotel family and friends were staying at.  The lobby was packed solid with midgets and the family couldn't get thru the crowd to exit the hotel and make it to services.

Now, you have to understand, while I know during waking hours, these are absolutely absurd to think it would occur, in my sleep I am actually panicking and freaking out. Ah, how wonderful is our subconscious?

I think the reason I had much anxiety imagining everything that could go wrong is because you only get one chance to get it right.  Ian is never having another bar mitzvah.  And there is so much that is out of your control that you have to hope all the planning and preparation is enough to see you thru to a successful event.

I can't keep a plant alive, but I now have a son who can read from the Torah. That's pretty cool!   At the end of the day, that's all that matters.  While the party was fun and its a great thing to celebrate with all your friends and family, you can't lose sight on why you are there in the first place.

Simcha

"Simcha" is a Hebrew word that means gladness or joy.  It's also used to describe a Jewish private party or celebration.

Ian's Hebrew name is Simcha.  How fortuitous of us to have given Ian this as his Hebrew name.  One week ago, we experienced the greatest of simchas when Ian became a bar mitzvah.  It is pretty spectacular as a parent to see your baby grow and 13 years later be standing on the Bimah in front of a congregation of over 300 people. 

There is so much preparation that proceeds this day.  Since Kindergarten, Ian has attended religious school during the school year (3 hours every Sunday and 2 hours every Tuesday afternoon).  In addition, the 10 months leading up to his Bar Mitzvah date, he attended a weekly tutoring session to specifically work on the readings of the Torah and the various prayers he will be in charge of reciting.  And let's not forget, 6 weeks out, those tutoring sessions are expanded to 2 times a week; bringing the days we are at the synagogue to 5 different visits each week.  The amount of time and work put into making the big day goes as smooth and polished as possible is nothing short of mind-blowing.  Then when you throw in starting middle school, keeping up with school and it's demands, any extracurricular activities kids are partaking in, it becomes a stressful and taxing year.  I'm not going to lie, we had our moments where Ian's attitude was less than stellar and he couldn't take much more.  But somehow he persevered and did us all proud.  So proud.   Ian was poised, confident, articulate, and simply outstanding.  There have been many times over the years that I've been proud of Ian.  But May 12, 2018 is now topping my list.

What they don't tell the parents is that when your child is in front of the congregation, you are watching your child while holding your breath.  You know they know the prayers and readings and practiced their speech many times, but you just don't know how they will hold it together in front of so many people and having all their eyes on you.  There is no practice session for that.  Ian presented himself as if he had been in this position dozens of times. If he was nervous, he didn't show it.  If wanted to fidget or get antsy, he didn't let it happen.  

I absolutely loved looking out into the congregation and seeing so many family and friends sitting among the regular congregants.  It was so nice to feel the love and be surrounded with all this wonderful support.

No matter what life throws Ian's way over the years, he will always be able to look back and take pride on how he rose to the occasion and hit it out of the ballpark.  He can draw upon his experience and take whatever confidence or work is needed and know that he is capable.  More than capable.  Because if you can do it once (at age 13 no less!), you know its in you to do it again.

What a special day for us all to witness.

We gave Ian the choice to continue his religious education or take a long, long, long (as long as he wants to) break.  Ian has opted to continue.  Jeff and I are delighted.  This exceeds our expectations.   He has a great group of friends through the religious school and its so cool to see him want to continue.

Would you like to dance?

Ian has been regularly attending parties where there is a DJ and dancing. Most of these situations Jeff and I have not been invited, and we just drop off and pick Ian up.  But a few weeks ago we traveled to the Philadelphia area for the B'not Mitzvah of family friends and Jeff and I had a ringside seat near the dance floor.

It's one thing to hear your son slow danced with a girl.  It's another thing to see it in person. It is seriously adorable. Ian says he doesn't like this girl like that, but in every dance situation, it's the same one he keeps asking. So of course you have to say to yourself, he must really like her.  ;)

 If I could just stand by and take pictures and video to my heart's content, believe me I would do it.  But it's important that you play it cool and pretend it's not happening.  Really, this is a key step if you ever hope to catch your child having some of their first slow dance experiences.

This is an exciting time for me in Ian's life; when girls aren't gross and it can be ok to have a few as friends.  But I can only comment about it from a distance.

Time to Party, Part 2

Birthday palooza is now officially over!

Ian decided he wanted to do a birthday parrty at Climb Zone in Laurel, MD.  Due to the distance (about an hour each way), I couldn't expect his friend's parents to drive that for a birthday party. I told Ian he could pick his closest 5 friends and we would take everyone.  Three kids in Jeff's backseat, three kids in my backseat.  I was banking on the fact that one boy wouldn't be able to make it.

I love this place!  The cool thing is that it is indoors and offers a very non-traditional version of rock wall climbing.  Instead of the usual walls, you get to climb all sorts of various textures -- Lincoln Memorial, Eiffel Tower, Tetris, Soccer Field, Alice in Wonderland theme, Route 66, Bookcase, tires, ropes, Skateboard ramp, outside of a building, etc.  It is never ending all the various things you can climb.  It is a visual feast for the eyes!  Jeff even climbed too!  

It is well worth the drive and the staff is always so super nice.  You couldn't ask for a better experience.   We reserved one of their indoor tents, ordered food from 3 Brothers Pizza and had Jeff's parents join us.  In a extra nice touch, Susanne and her son Dagan joined us for pizza and cake.  Unfortunately Dagan had just had eye surgery and was under strick orders to not do physical activity.

Each year I tell the kids, "That's it, I'm done doing birthday parties.  You can each invite one friend and do some kind of experience with them (ie baseball game, go-karting, afternoon tea, spa, etc).  And each year, we end up doing a formal party.  This year, however, we did keep it on the small side and it turned out awesome.  Sam had 4 friends and Ian had 4 friends.  Both parties cost almost identical in price and both kids were thrilled with how awesome each party was.  Dare I say it?  This years' birthday parties were a blast for me too.  I really enjoyed how we celebrated.  I wouldn't even mind if we did this same thing again next year.  Sam loves the Climb Zone as much as Ian.  I could see myself suggesting a dual birthday party (we have yet to do that!) and renting a van for all the kids.  :)   No, that's crazy talk!  We are done having birthday parties.  Done.  Really.  I'm serious. Sort of.

How cool is this wall?????  That's Ian and his friend.

Sam on her way down.

Ian and his friend scaling the United States

Jeff and Sam scaling Tetris

Up close and personal to Tetris

Jeff scaling the fifty states.

It's Spidey Sam!

Grandma and Sam

Look at me!

All done.  :)

Time to Party! Part 1

We've entered that time of the year when we double everything.  Sam's birthday, BAM!  Ian's birthday, BAM!...Sam's birthday party, BAM!, Ian's birthday party, BAM!, Sam's choice of restaurants for her birthday dinner, BAM!, and Ian's choice of restaurants for his birthday dinner, BAM!   The kid's birthdays are only 8 days apart, so everything happens in quick succession. 

Up until this year, I've had both kid's birthday parties occur within the same weekend, usually the same day.  It makes for a painfully LONG day/weekend doing it this way, but I liken it to ripping off a band-aid.  Do it quickly and it hurts less.  :)

This was the first year we've split the birthday celebrations up.  Samantha and Ian's actual birth day fell on a Saturday (for Samantha) and Sunday (for Ian) so it made sense to let them have a party on their actual days.  BTW, I use the word "party" to describe the event, but it is really a very small gathering of the kid's closest friends.  Sam only invited 4 girls to come.  These girls should feel very honored to have made the cut.

Sam's birthday was a dream day for her.  American Girl is where we celebrated with her bestest friends.  All four girls were able to make it, plus Grandma and the mom of one of Sam's friends.  Ladies only!  American Girl makes it so very easy; everything is included!...tasty lunch- Yes!...yummy cake - Yes!...awesome-filled goody bags-Yes!  You just have to show up.  Got to love that. 

Sam's restaurant of choice for her birthday dinner was The Melting Pot.  Could this day be any more decadent?  I don't think so!   We had a wonderful dinner and then drove down to The Reston Town Center to walk around.  The weather was gorgeous and we enjoyed people watching.  What a great day!

                                                                                            

2014 Family Hanukkah Party

The family Hanukkah party got snowed out last year and didn't happen.  So we were long overdue to bring everyone together and celebrate a happy occasion.  This year we met at my in-laws house in the Pikesville (Baltimore) area. 

Kudos to Elaine (my fabulous sister-in-law) for frying all the latkes.  Yes, enough latkes to feed this crazy latke-eating family.  Elaine cooked enough for a small army.  You can never have enough latkes!! In addition there were platters of cold cuts, cole slaw, pasta salad, and kugel.  Yum-O!  But if you ask me, the latkes are the star of the show.

Unfortunately one of the Pennsylvania families could not make it this year.  However we did get a nice surprise and Devorah was able to come.  Even with a few missing, it's still a pretty big group. 

We mixed it up this year.  Marcia and Miriam (the matriarchs of the family) orchestrated a trivia contest, with all the questions having to do with the family.  We were divided into 4 teams - a good mix of different siblings/offspring coming together.  Let the competition begin!  There were 20 questions, plus a bonus question.  The questions ranged from "What country did Rae immigrate", to "What years did Marcia and Miriam graduate high school", to "Name one of Samantha's teachers", and "Name as many ingredients as you can in the Grandma Rae's famous cookie recipe."  The bonus question was list as many middle names in the family as you can.  My team came up with 26 middle names!!  Of course my team won. Woo-hoo!!! Although I couldn't have done it without Hava and Linda on my side.  It was truly them who gave us the winning edge.  Oh, what fun!

I am particularly pleased with how the family photo turned out.

The trivia contest wasn't the only cool thing about the family coming together to celebrate Hanukkah.  There was a big box of wrapped books.  Everyone got to pick one and open it.  If you didn't like the book you got, you could find someone to switch with you.  Ian ended up with the "Miniature book of miniature golf" and has been playing the game daily on this little 8 x8 size book of putting greens with a little golf club and ball.  Each page is a different golf course.  It's totally cute. I think it took Ian two trades to get to this book.  Sam opened up a collection of Berenstein Bears stories on the first pick and was very happy with that.  She loves her Berenstein Bears books.   Everyone was having a blast opening books and seeing what we each got.  There were books of all kinds represented.   

A great time was had by all.  The family Hanukkah party is always a highlight of my holiday. 

Surviving Sam's Slumber Party

Sam only wanted a slumber party to celebrate her 6th birthday.  No matter how many other suggestions I threw her way, she would only consider having a sleepover with her closest girlfriends.  Personally, I thought at age 5 turning 6, she was too young to have this kind of party.  And, let's not forget I am still traumatized from Ian's birthday slumber party last year.  In fact, I am pretty sure I vowed there would be no more slumber parties ever.  How quickly I cave when it comes to my kids and wanting to make them happy.
 
We invited four girls to spend the night.  Two were from her preschool days and two were from her kindergarten class.  The slumber party started after school on the Friday of her actual birthday (May 23rd).  It was not that bad!!  One of the biggest reasons this party was a success is because of my mother-in-law.  She was invaluable and a huge help.  Looking back, I don't think it would've gone as well as it did without her.  Marcia jumped in and assisted the girls with every aspect of the party; the craft (decorating picture frames), making their own pizzas, cleaning up, etc.

All the girls were very well behaved.  We only had one small glitch when one of the girls started melting down around 7:30pm. She burst into tears and said she missed her mom greatly.  This girl had never spent the night at anyone's house before.  Her mom told me this might happen and to give her a call.  To wind down the evening, I put on the movie "Frozen".  There is nothing cuter than listening to 4 girls sing the soundtrack to "Frozen". 

By 10:10pm, everyone was asleep and didn't wake-up until nearly 7:00am the next morning.  Yay!! 

The next morning I made chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, watermelon and orange juice for breakfast.  The girls didn't do such a good job eating breakfast and I quickly turned into a restaurant trying to offer breakfast foods they would eat.  I have to say, this was the only part that became a pain in my rear.  But I didn't want the girls to not eat. 

With it being a 3 day weekend, it was nice having the party on a Friday night and still having the majority of Saturday, all of Sunday and all of Monday to recover.  I am not saying I would quickly offer to do a slumber party again, but I would consider it.  Sam loved it and I think all her friends had a great time too.

Sam and her BFFs

The girls making their own pizzas



The girls decorating their picture frames. I took a picture of each
girl with Samantha and printed it out to put in their frame. 
For Samantha's frame, I took a group photo of all the girls.

The girls watching the movie and singing along.

'Tis the season to party

Jeff's company holiday party was a week ago.  It was at Art and Soul in the Capital Hill area of Washington D.C.   Art and Soul is owned by the guy who used to be Oprah's chef.  So I guess in some weird way I am now a few degrees from being friends with Oprah.  Not like BFFs or anything, but should the opportunity to have a conversation with Oprah arise,  I can now tell her I went a party at this guy's restaurant.  Sounds very important of me, doesn't it?  :)

It's been 20 years since I've graduated college.  That's a lot of showing up at company holiday parties under my belt.  I can honestly say this one for Jeff's company this past week was one of the best ones I've ever been to.  If I was in charge of throwing a company party, this is exactly what I would've done.  From start to finish it was amazing.  It didn't matter I didn't know anyone beyond a brief introduction to a few of his team members maybe a few months ago or another holiday party.  And it didn't matter that Jeff knew a very small percentage of those attending the party.  We had a GREAT time!

There was a big outside patio area with heat lamps and an awesome fire pit.  Plenty of seating and tables were scattered about.  Next to the fire pit was a bartender making spiked Hot Chocolates from the Hot Chocolate Bar.  Can you say "YUM-O!"?  Because I can...twice!  My first combination was A Milk Hot Chocolate with Baileys.  The second one I had was a Dark Hot Chocolate (made with cayenne, cinnamon, and vanilla) flavored with Amaretto, whip cream and chocolate shavings.  Now, we're talking!
  
Inside the restaurant's main room was a DJ playing dance music that got you moving.  A lot of the company's employees are on the young side and it was fun watching them get a little crazy.  There is nothing that makes you feel older than seeing several twenty-year-olds jumping around in 5 inch heels. 

Another room had a casino with a black jack, roulette and craps table.  Upon entering the party, we were each given $25,000 in funny money to play with.  Too bad it wasn't real, because in under 10 minutes, I took the $25,00 and turned it into $80,000.  Gosh I love to gamble!

The food was incredibly tasty. I love risotto and there were 3 different kinds.  There was also a bunch of other foods offered as well, but honestly the risotto had me at hello.  I will have to ask Oprah (you know the next time we hang out) if she likes the risotto too.  :)

There were two bars on the inside of the restaurant. We were given raffle tickets as soon as we entered and could pick various items to win.  The choices were an iPad, Zoo Lights Ticket Package, and a gift card to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  Obviously Jeff and I didn't win or else I would've been leading with this bit of news from the beginning.

Who doesn't love getting their picture taken? There was also a photo booth.  It was a higher tech version than the ones you've seen before at parties.  You had the option to instantly view your photos, pick a filter (b/w, color, sepia, etc), and add effects.  You could email it, post on Facebook, print it out or a combination of any of the above.  As Jeff and I were approaching the photo booth, I asked this couple if they were in line to get their picture taken and they said yes.  I wanted Jeff and I to go next and walked right up to the couple and stood directly behind them - in between the man and the woman.  The woman then turned towards me and asked if I'd get out of their picture.  WHAT!?!?!  I had no idea that where they were standing was where you got the picture taken.  Oh my!  I giggled an apology and quickly moved to the side.  The couple gets their picture taken and moves towards the screen to finalize it when they decide they want a retake.  I didn't know that they weren't happy with their picture (it looked great to me!) and I had already moved front and center to the spot they had been standing in when posing for the camera.  Now the lady needs to ask me again to get out of her picture retake.  Oops!  I joked, "What, you don't want me in this shot either?"  Oh my!  What a fool I felt like. 

Jeff and I chose to get this in black and white.  Love this picture.

I am usually ready to leave any social event of any kind within 45 minutes of arriving.  It doesn't matter how much fun it looks like I am having,  I am ready to go and move on to the next thing.  This party had my attention and kept me entertained and engaged for three hours.  Hard to believe, but it did!  Jeff and I had a fabulous time.  I can honestly say I look forward to his next company holiday party.

Start blowing up the balloons.

Put on your armor and protect yourself.  It's time for the annual kids' birthday parties.  This weekend (Memorial day weekend) is when the fun goes down.  I swore up and down that we would never have another kid's birthday party at our house.  It's so much easier, less stressful and more fun for everyone to have the party elsewhere.  Outsource, baby!  I'm all about paying hundreds of dollars and letting someone else run the party and entertain the kids.  It's so nice not having to clean the house beforehand and again, afterwards. I am much better standing back and taking pictures.

Get this!  I am not only having Ian's party at the house, but Sam's too!  Oh my!!  Ian really wanted to have a sleepover party.  The next thing you know, we've got 7 boys, plus Ian spending the night on Friday.  If you ever seen my house, you are going to wonder like I am how that is going to work.  I've got some fun things planned.  With this many boys, we can do 3 legged races, water balloon toss, and egg on spoon races.  We will do make your own pizza for dinner and a build your own ice cream sundae for dessert.  Ian is letting the boys vote on what movie will be shown at night.  Hopefully getting them to run around after dinner will make them sleepy when the lights are off and the movie is playing.  Is it too much to ask that a few fall asleep during this time?

Sam's party was originally going to be at the Oaks Community Center in our neighborhood.  But when I saw how the RSVPs were coming in, it didn't make sense to rent this huge space for 8 or 9 kids.  So, we are moving her party to the house.  It is going to be a Waddle-Dawdle movement party.  A woman named Ashley is going to arrive, run the party and get the kids moving and shaking.  I will highly be encouraging parents to  drop-off.

Every year I do this to myself.  Throw both parties back-to-back and then we are done for the rest of the year.  Just got to make it to Sunday and my breathing will return back to normal.

Please say a little prayer for us that the house will still be standing come Saturday evening.  I am not sure what we are in store for and will be prepared for the worst, but expect the best.  Let the fun begin!

Now it's a party!

The other day Sam and I started the conversation on where she would like to have her birthday party this year.  Since I always have it during the Memorial Day weekend, I like to start the process early in case the place Sam wants isn't available during the holiday weekend.

ME:  Sam, where would you like to have your party this year?

SAM:  Where do you think would be good?

ME:  It's up to you Sam.  Where would you have fun with your friends?

SAM:  You know that place we went to because Ian's class didn't know how to celebrate Hanukkah and we bought driedels?

ME:  You mean Party City?

SAM:  Yes! I want to have my birthday party at Party City.

ME (while laughing):  Um, Sam, they don't do parties there.

SAM:  But they have everything you need there for a party.

ME:  Well, yes, they do.  But they just want you to buy the stuff there and take it somewhere else to have the party.

I have to admit, that's pretty creative of Sam. 

Hanukkah party time!

With Hanukkah upon us, it was time once again for the Family Hanukkah party.  This year (as with every alternating year), the party was at my mother-in-law's sister's house (Miriam) in Warrington, PA. 

I've resigned myself to being the family photographer and was ready with a fully charged battery in my camera to take pictures.  Unfortunately, due to a few unforeseen factors and some family members not feeling 100%, the big group family picture did not occur.  I didn't realize how disappointed I was over this until the party started winding down and people headed home.  I know this photo NEVER turns out as great as I would like it, but it still happens each year.   And let me tell you, this family Hanukkah party has been going on for decades.  That's a lot of group photos being taken over the years and a really cool visual of how the family is growing.   Given that I am one of the newer members to enter this family (9 years young in attendance), I didn't push the issue and simply said, "Next year for sure we will make the picture happen."

The gift exchange at the family Hanukkah party has evolved over the years.  It's gone from gifts being bought by everyone and given to everyone,  to names getting picked with each kid getting 2 presents from other relatives, and finally, the most recent evolution, putting the money you'd spend on gifts and donate to a worthy charity.  This current season the two matriarchs (Marcia - my MIL and Miriam) decided to do something different.  They took care of everything and surprised us with a White Elephant Gift Exchange.  We all gathered together and listened to Aunt Miriam explain the rules.  She would start at the person closest to her (SAM!) and hand a gift covered in a white bag to the person.  The next person after them, has the opportunity to steal the first person's gift if they so wish.  It continues this way until everyone has been given a gift and can decide to "steal" one they like better. 

The unique twist to this White Elephant gift exchange was that all the gifts were food items!  Only we didn't know that until the gifts started getting opened.  The food items were all a little over-the-top and quirky.  Not the typical things you'd buy yourself.  For example, a bulk size container of peanut butter filled pretzels.  Or, a gigantic container of cheese balls.  It was an eclectic mix of stuff you'd find at Costco or Trader Joes.

As Sam was the first to go, no one knew what to expect.  Sam opened her bag and discovered she was given 6 ginormous Hershey chocolate bars. You would think Sam was just given the keys to the city (or more appropriately for her world, keys to a Toys R Us.).  WOWEE!  The expression on her face was priceless.  Her eyes got as big as saucers and her smile went from ear to ear.  I am pretty certain there is not another item given to her that would've have this same effect.  It was like she had died and gone to chocolate Heaven.

Now, here's the thing, the person slated to go next, the one sitting next to Sam had the chance to steal this item.  Fortunately for Sam, this person was Jeff.  And he knew better than to touch the bars of gold firmly grasped in her hands.  Word quickly spread that if anyone in the room attempted to "steal" Sam's chocolate, they weren't going to succeed.  I made the comment that even if everyone ganged up as a group to go after the Hershey bars, I'd still place my money on Sam keeping the chocolate. :)

Sam's most excellent present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The White Elephant Gift Exchange gave the Hanukkah party a spark to it that it hadn't had before.  It brought everyone in to one room and we all were really interested to see what each person was going to open up and get. After each unwrapping, there would be a whole new round of laughter.  The only time someone exercised their right to "steal" was when they got the cheese balls.  Those poor cheese balls must've passed through about 6 different people's hands.  It was very funny to see who ended up with the cheese balls.

Ian was the first one to get the cheese balls. 

Joe was the lucky guy to take the cheese balls home.

I loved livening things up like this.  What fun!  I feel bad for those who weren't feeling their best, but the party this year rocked!  The latkes were yummy (and I appreciate the effort to make them gluten-free), both kids played dreidel with their cousins, and I got a chance to catch up with my wonderful family I don't see frequently enough.  The White Elephant Gift Exchange was the icing on the cake.

The Party Favor Saga.

Every year I say I am not doing party favors at the kids' birthday parties.  I think this has got to be my least favorite thing about the parties.  I not only stress-out each year trying to come up with useful, fun items to hand out that won't break the bank, but I cringe when the kids come home with a bag of typical party favor type stuff.  Sometimes they really pile up at our house, as the kids can go to anywhere from 1 to 3 parties in a single weekend.  That's a lot of little plastic crap, bouncy balls, candy, bubbles, stickers and tattoos if you ask me.  And for the most part, the kids don't even play with any of it.  As soon as they walk in the door, it becomes my responsibility to find a home for it all. 

Unfortunately for me, all kids LOVE to get a goody bag.  Not sure when this became the rule and not the exception, but the goody bag seems to be a birthday party staple.  I just know that if all the moms banded together and said "Let's stop the madness and end goody bags forever", the kids would get used to it and come to accept it.

I've been trying hard each year now to be "that mom" to start the trend and hope all other moms behind me follow. This is the year I was determined to do it. I even joked that I was going to write on the kids' invitations, "Don't expect a goody bag". But alas, I've chickened out. However, I am getting better and decided to not buy party favors, but make something instead. My frosted sugar cookies are a huge hit every time I've ever made them. Kids and adults all go crazy for them.

For Sam's party, I made "S", dresses, and high heeled shoes cookies and gave everyone a full set in a white paper bag decorated with stickers. For Ian's party, I made "I", airplanes, stars, and circle cookies and gave everyone a full set in a white paper bag decorated with stickers. It was easy and I think the kids liked it.  Ian and Sam helped me every step of the way, from making the cookie dough, rolling it out, using the cookie cutters, and finally, frosting them.  They love to help me bake.

Kudos to my family who walked in the house Friday night, expecting dinner to be ready, and found Ian, Sam and me in the midst of frosting 7 dozen cookies.  Without batting an eye, they jumped right in and helped us finish them.

I am hoping that by next year, Ian will no longer be having big birthday parties (again, another idea I say we are going to do each year and I fail miserably at) and the need for goody bags goes away.  Sam still has a few more years of parties coming her way.  Maybe this cookie idea will be our thing.