Bucking the trend - Childrens birthday parties

I look back on my childhood birthday parties with great fondness. Though I always hated that my birthday took place in the dead of winter, my parents allowed me to have as many of my friends as I wanted in our home to celebrate. In fact, my average birthday party consisted of about 20-25 kids. We didn't do anything fancy, just played a few fun games, ate the typical hot dogs and cake and opened a few gifts. And you know what? It was great! I never felt deprived or unloved in any way shape or form.

These are the moments I'll always remember...

Things seems to be different now. Not everyone is affected by this (may I take this opportunity to give those of you who aren't a huge pat on the back?) And maybe it was just me, but I felt an immense pressure once I started having children to have an elaborately themed birthday party. I think social media is to blame for a lot of this. I saw via facebook, pinterest and parenting magazines the kind of parties parents were apparently throwing for their children and I felt as though I had to do the same. I felt like if I didn't put such great effort into my child's party it somehow made me a bad mom.

...this...

When my sons first birthday was only a few months away I started to plan and stress over everything. I bought craft supplies and spent hours making hand made invitations. I colour coordinated plates, table cloths, utensils and décor. Planned out the menu and guest list. I seriously considered making little labels for every little food item on display, but then I got exhausted. Oh. and I really wanted to make one of those fancy banners to hang up somewhere but admitted defeat the week before. Have I mentioned how un-crafty I am? And really, I didn't nearly go to the lengths I have seen done, and that was just simply because we didn't want to spend any more money on it.
Did the party turn out great? Yes absolutely. But I think it would have been just as great had I not done all that but was still surrounded by our friends and family.

...and this

I've heard from other moms that school aged children parties have even gotten so crazy that 9 year olds are going for limo rides downtown to the spa and spending hundreds of dollars. Are you kidding me!? What's the limit? Where does it end? Is it because children's parties are now such a big deal that they have to be topped every year which is leading to this kind of excessiveness?

Well, I've decided that I am certainly not going to try and keep up with it. Nope, not happening in this house! I'm going against the new 'normal' and doing things how I was raised. Noahs 2nd party this year will consist of the basics. Food, friends and family, a few gifts and an already coordinated table wear set from the dollar store.

Ahhh, now doesn't that sound easy?

My 27th birthday

First of all, I just wanted to say a huge thank you for all the Facebook messages, bbms, phone calls and in person well wishes I received yesterday. It was very sweet of you to take a moment out of your busy days to acknowledge my birthday. It meant a lot!

The day itself had many ups and downs. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at our ladies bible study in the morning. I was actually able to listen and be involved as my mother graciously offered to watch Noah for me up in the nursery. Unfortunately sitting for a full hour (even with my special pillow) resulted in quite a lot of pain for me for the rest of the day. By the afternoon I couldn't do much but rest on the couch much to the dismay of my toddler. He wasn't in a good mood to begin with and I don't think was overly impressed with mommas lack of mobility. There were a few meltdowns and much whining on his part. By 4:00pm I was exhausted and ready to have my own emotional meltdown. I'm not sure if that was coming from my hormones in being pregnant or just the frustration I am feeling with my tailbone injury.

5:15 rolled around and in walked my knight in shining armor, a.k.a my husband. He came with a massive bouquet of flowers, cards, hugs and Greek food. I must admit, the tears began to flow at that point. Noah decided to carry on his sour disposition throughout my birthday meal but after we were done hubby allowed me to head upstairs to soak in a nice warm bath. Meanwhile, Noah was played with and prepped for bed before being brought in to give me a smooch goodnight. By the way, if you are wondering how someone with a broken tailbone has a bath, believe you me, it's not easy. But the warm water helps the pain a lot so it's worth the awkward sitting position I must do.

I got out of my bath and Ahhhh... The house was quiet. I picked out a movie (Dan in Real Life) and my husband and I snuggled up on the couch with some leftover ice cream cake. A pretty great way to end a less then fantastic day I'd say.

Noah turns 1!

Sorry this is so incredibly delayed. I haven't been feeling fantastic this past week and just wasn't in the mood to blog much. But I am feeling energized now so here is a few highlights of Noahs 1st birthday party!

Saturday the 11th was a big day in the Bechard household. It was our little Noahs 1st birthday celebration! We were surrounded by friends and family and had a wonderful day together. Heres a few shots of his Mickey Mouse themed party.

Cannot believe we are parents to a ONE year old. I saw a commercial on TV the other day for some baby product and they said, "They are only babies for 1 year... " Nearly broke my heart! He will ALWAYS be my baby! But he sure is growing up fast.

Early birthday presents

Today Noah received some early birthday presents in the mail from his Grandmaman who sadly lives far away in Ontario. It was his first ever birthday present and he was very excited to go through everything and get a good look at it.

His favorite part of the gift? His Mickey Mouse birthday card. It took me a good 5 minutes to pry it out of his hands so he could open the actual present.

In case you werent aware of it, my son drools an insane amount. If he doesnt wear some kind of bib to soak it up he gets a wicked rash on his neck that itches and irritates him to no end. We bought several bibs from a local woman in Langley (to check our her business page go HERE ) and loved them. But we can't really afford to buy say 15 of them. I don't sew, but my wonderful mother in law does and she went ahead and made Noah 10 more bibs to use. They turned out beautifully and look adorable!

          
 "Thank you so much for all the gifts Grandmaman! I love them all!" - Noah