Life at 5

Why is that when a kid turns a birthday, they are always looking ahead? "Mom, am I close to six now?" Nope, but you are five!

Here is her sassy new birthday outfit from Nana!

Here's what she wore to kid flags. No pictures from six flags...I was just lucky to survive that day/week.

Thursday was supposed to be a chill day so we just went for some kickball at the park with friends and then Darby's friend Ashlynn came over. The girls did 'makeup' and lets just say these are the good pictures. I was figuring out how to make dinner out of nothing only a few feet away in eye shot and I look and they have taken all these cream black (don't ask why I had it, it was old makeup, I think like liquid eyeliner type) and put it all over their eyes and cheeks. Creepy and shivers seeing those sweet girls. Now if it was halloween, bring on the scary gore, but not for dress up, we had to remind where makeup is supposed to go and how.

So here is the revised pictures. One thing I love about my new camera is that you can more clearly see the glops of makeup on the face.

Today Baylie's birthday party is today and in my perfect world I'd have a big old house and lots of money and it would be huge. Cause I like to include everyone...always. What do you do for your invite list for parties? I let my kids pick. Sometimes I'll suggest people, and have them be in control of it. Ya know like not my friends kids just I want them there, but kids they actually play with. But it can be sticky and last year a mom said something to me about their kid not being invited and I felt bad that they felt bad, but I just said that he got to pick who came. What do you do?

Birthday parties are strange beasts. So fun, so stressful, so many memories, but then the days before I'm always freaking out and wondering what I got myself into. I started out when they are younger with plans of every other year parties. My favorite quote of all time is from my BFF Misty who when I told her this said, "What are ya Jehovahs Witness? Are you going to start to have Christmas every other year too?" But it makes sense. Especially since we don't go to friends parties on Sunday because its the Sabbath, so they miss out on some of their classmates and neighbors...so we for sure are going to have our Saturday birthday parties. So we will have parties when and if I can do it. And if the kids want one. And parties with cousins count too. And if weather is cooperating. And if I'm not in the looney bin yet. And heck the parties are sometimes for me as much as them. And bless Darby for wanting to go shopping with her mom all day instead....

Some of them have been hits and misses....I've finally learned to think about the amount of work slash outcome ratio. Don't take a bunch of five years to then bowling alley without your husband cause nobody likes to bowl as much as your kid. Big cardboard boxes after just moving make the best princess houses. Like making homemade pink play dough for everyone to take home, a big pain in the butt.