My children like to send "notes" to their friends. A month or so ago, I was taught a lesson about reading them before they can give them. Hallie's note contained some unkind words about her sister that needed to be addressed (and to the worst possibly recipient - young and impressionable). And Sam's note... well...
His note invited four of his friends to his "Mario Party", on his birthday, and promised 11 1/2 hours of fun. Hmm... seems to me we should talk to Mom before planning a party! Nevertheless, I thought it would be a fun opportunity, something to take my mind off my current situations and have a little fun. (Because I used to enjoy that sort of thing.) Plus, Sam has never had a "kid party", and this was a pretty blatant sign that he was ready.
Since it was Mario themed (Sam's been a Mario Bros nut since he first discovered the games), that made activities easy enough (Wii)... and since being a "cruise director" is not my forte, and I much prefer planning the food and the details, this was perfect.
With my current state of being overwhelmed (no, I don't think the antidepressant has started working yet), unfortunately my good intentions were overshadowed by persistent procrastination. To the point that (other than one shopping trip and some pre-production brainstorming), I threw this party together in less than 8 hours. I woke up at 4 am on his birthday, with guests arriving at noon. I posted on Facebook as I completed each task (accountability and motivation to keep moving forward):
6:39am: Mushroom cake completed
7:07am: Question Mark Cubes assembled
7:24am: Custom water bottle labels designed, printed, cut and affixed
7:37am: Eyes drawn on gold star balloons
8:01am: Chocolate mustache pops cooling
8:28am: Piano Medley of theme song downloaded
10:01am: Star cookies decorated
10:46am: Watermelon cut in star shapes. Tablescape completed. Now to wrap some presents!
12:05pm: And just picked up the pizza. All ready. Let the partying commence! Happy Birthday SAM! Can't believe my baby boy is TEN already!
The party went great... he even said it was good enough to last him 4 years.
And his friends brought him THE most perfect gift...
A Green Sewer Pipe... just like the ones in the Mario games.
Wow! There is no way I could have pulled that off in 8 hours. You go!
Blessings,
Dawn
Posted by: Dawn | 07/26/2011 at 10:09 AM
I saw a preview of this party over on Renee's blog, and I've been waiting excitedly for you to share. I cannot BELIEVE you pulled all of this off at the last minute. It looks like you planned for weeks. I bow down to your procrastination (and party decorating) abilities.
Posted by: Kimberly | 07/26/2011 at 05:40 PM
What awesomeness! Looks fantastic and what better compliment from your son than "it can last him the next 4 years". Total side note, I love the wood floors. I don't remember them when you moved in (the last time I saw your house :) ).
Posted by: Carrie | 07/27/2011 at 10:32 PM
Hilary,
You are amazing....and one of the most creative people I know! Way to go in pulling this off even when it is probably very difficult to simply put one foot in front of the other some days. Praying for you friend. I was hoping to make it to some more of the RAD/DVD meetings but my schedule has not allowed. Thank you for keeping me in the loop, hopefully I will get to make it again soon.
Posted by: Chessa Honey | 07/30/2011 at 07:14 AM