Party time once again

The Princess is having her birthday party tomorrow. Woohoo!

Kids from her class. Kids from the neighborhood. They're all good kids.

My FIL, who spent this week in San Diego, will also be there. Yeah! But he'll have my MIL and SIL in tow. Ugh. Definitely NOT my favorite two people to socialize with. So it'll be interesting if they draw attention to themselves. Like they normally try to do with their LOUD voices. When they call the Hubs, I know its them on the phone. Why? Because I can hear them screaming in the Hubs ear.

The party is going to be at a bouncy place - I probably mentioned this in an earlier entry. For those of you who watch K&J+8, it's like the place they took Leah for her special day. We'll have our own room, so that'll be fun...and contained.

I think I've got everything ordered & verified:

* Juice boxes & water bottles? CHECK
* Pizza order? CHECK
* Gift bag elements? CHECK
* Gift bags? CHECK
* Cupcake cake? CHECK

Did I miss anything that I still need to get done? Hmmm...I think I've got everything.

Now there is a little bit of guilt I'm feeling. The gift bags aren't those plastic things with some character on them. We're actually giving out paper bags that are normally used for lunches. Yes. Those little brown paper bags. I mean, most kids just throw the bags away right? But the Princess is decorating the outside of each bag with her personalized touch. She'll be putting the "stuff" into the bags after school today. She loves doing it. Gets her excited about the party each year. It's her way of physically contributing to the fun at her party.

And the water bottles? Yes. I had to buy those plastic water bottles that we try to refrain from purchasing. But I HAD to buy them. We live in Arizona and most everyone gulps down water like there's no tomorrow. But I plan on having a plastic bag labeled with RECYCLE on it. That'll definitely take the edge off the guilt I have for buying the package. [sigh]

On the topic of party drinks...what do YOU supply to your kids' parties? I mean, my daughter is now 8. And I'm providing Capri Suns (the 25% less sugar ones at that) and bottled water. Do you just have juice boxes? Or do you have sodas available? I'm not talking about family parties. I'm talking about kid parties. You see...last week the Bear attended a school friend's party. It was at his Dad's house (his folks are in the midst of a separation). For drinks? They had some water bottles. But mainly they had Sprites and Cokes in the cooler. Sodas as the main beverage for a 5 year olds party. Do you think that's a little weird? I mean, I'd be less on edge about it if they had Hansen's sodas since those don't have any caffeine or preservatives in them. But Sprites and Cokes? Talk to me people! What do you say about this drink issue?

Anyway, on the Princess actual birthday earlier this week we had a tiny family celebration. The morning of her birthday, I asked her what SHE wanted for dinner. Guess what she said? Hotdogs! So the Hubs grilled some dogs when he got home from work. We had fries and salad with it. I think we'll make THAT a tradition. Let the birthday kid tell us what they want for dinner. Good idea? I mean, we've only got two kids so it won't be difficult to pull off twice a year. I also bought a teeny-tiny cake and put candles on it. The kids scarfed down the cake in no time flat. We generally don't have dessert in the middle of the week, so they were excited to have it. The Princess also opened up a small gift from us.Yes. It was a small little family moment but one that I know the Princess (and the Bear) enjoyed.

Hopefully, the Bear, the Princess and her friends will all have a blast tomorrow.