Whoo's Two? Lulu!

Valentime is both an emotionally charged and busy time for me. Lulu's birthday is on the 9th. The anniversary of my Daddy's death is on the 12th. The kids always have Valentine's parties in their classrooms that I usually plan near the 14th. And, it often seems to be, someone is sick around here.

Here's how it went down this year. Tate was sick and home from school all week. It was fun because most days we had an afternoon movie date while Lulu napped. Hitch, Rush Hour, Inception, and several episodes of The Office were our selections. I wasn't feel so hot either, so it was nice to just rest. The good news is I got to take care of my big boy and spend some quality time with him. The bad news is that Lulu's nap time is when I spend time with Jesus and get things done around the house. Two things that didn't happen much this week.

The anniversary of my Daddy's death was the same day I had Lulu's party. Which meant I was significantly distracted and barely thought about it. Which, for a strong feeler like me, isn't really good thing. But Tate was no longer contagious and I was feeling better, so we dove head first into Lulu's party. Ready or not. Mostly not. Funny thing is that I have been planning her owl theme party for about 8 months and I still wasn't ready. But I was thrilled with her invitations that I got through dimpleprints on etsy...

She has all kinds of cute party stuff. Easy, affordable, and adorable. All I had to do was send her the text and picture then have them printed at the nearby Walmart, which made me happy.

One thing I was NOT happy with were the freaky looking "owl" cupcakes that I got from the grocery store...

It's an owl party, people, not a Toucan party. Next time I promise to go with plain cupcakes and cute cupcake toppers. Despite my disappointment, do you know who loved it? The one who really matters...

She loved all three cupcakes she ate. And the sherbet. And the Izze...

The decorations were very simple. I just kept everything from the LulaPalooza on her actual birthday and added some random owls and pix of her in her owl hat (also found on Etsy) to the mix...

Thank you, Amy, for letting me borrow your upcycled Valentine's owl to decorate with. You are my crafting guru...

And thank you, Walmart, for having marshmallow Owl Valentine's treat for cheap, easy party favors...

(Did you know that you spell marshmallow with an a instead of an e? I had no idea.)

The Lulu sign was another Etsy purchase...

It's cute, but it was smaller than I expected. I'm sure it said the size on the description, I just don't tend to pay attention to such things. I did pay attention to my accessories for the party, though...

Lulu's besties were there to hoot and holler with her...

And color with her...

And do "Pre-School Musical Jumps" with her...

The Birthday girl was having a good time. But the Birthday Girl's Mom was not. I was basically pouting and complaining because the party wasn't what I envisioned (not this issue again!). I didn't make the felt owls, or make the tissue paper pom pom's or put the fruit on skewers or fill the cute owl pinata with candy...

{whining continues} Or order the owl barrettes in time or get the right tablecloth or get the good bubble blower from Gymboree or figure out how to face paint owls or make the owl treat bags or turn the deviled eggs into little owls. And then there was the Nightmare on Sesame Street cake. This is when my friend, Kim, spoke truth into my life like only she can do. It went something like, "Okay, you need a serious attitude adjustment. Everything is great. And your friends are here so let's just focus on being together." Thanks, sister...

I needed that. Because there I was without felt owls, owl barrettes and owl treat bags, but with my peeps..."

Now that's something to hoot about!

P.S. If you want to do an owl party, please let me know because I have links and unused ideas (that I'm no longer whining about)to pass on!