My Little Pony Birthday Party: A How-to

* Disclaimer - I am not very crafty and/or creative.  I don't enjoy making cute finishing touches.  I don't have hoards of craft items on hand.  I'm rarely, if ever, on Pinterest.  You are probably none of these things and therefore would make an awesome My Little Pony party.  But if there's anybody out there who's more like me, here are some My Little Pony birthday party ideas.  Hope they help!

How To Plan a My Little Pony Birthday Party:

1) Have a birthday girl.  Any age works, but for our tutorial, we had a brand-new six-year-old.

2) Grab all the My Little Ponies you have on hand and use them as decor.  Add in streamers, balloons and happy birthday banners at will.

3) Google Image the My Little Pony of choice and create different "stations".  These stations are VERY loosely defined.  Here are mine:

For the game:

For the food:

For the coloring:

I had another one: "Rainbow Dash's Hoof Painting" because I had the crazy idea to paint the girls' fingernails.  I am SO glad I took a second to think that over and realize I had neither the patience, time or energy to paint six six year old's fingernails.

4) If time, ability or desire prevent you from concocting your own cake masterpiece, grab one from wherever and decorate with the My Little Ponies you already own.  These are tiny MLPs, so they fit perfectly.

5) Encourage your birthday girl (or siblings) to contribute to the decor.  These beauties were made by Everett.  I LOVE that Apple Jack!  Great use of white space, dude.

6) Throw a balloon on the mailbox.  I'm not sure why, but decorating the mailbox and/or front door is vitally important.  DO NOT LEAVE OUT THIS STEP!

7) Print out coloring pages for "Rarity's Decorating Center".  For non-crafty types, Google is your greatest friend.

8) Be willing to go with the flow.  For example, because we waited until the morning of the party to do some last-minute prep, neither Will nor I were able to draw a tail-less pony on posterboard for "Pinkie Pie's Pin the Tail on the Pony.  Will's exact quote was, "It looks like a deformed llama!"So, change of plans and instead it was "Pin the Balloon on the Pony."  We used the girls' colored pony pictures from "Rarity's Decorating Center."  I also put each girl's picture in their party favor bag, so they each took theirs home.

8b) We had an impromptu game of "Pony, Pony, Dragon" using a balloon and again, it was a great hit.

9) Don't schedule the party during the Alabama game.  Or whichever football/soccer/basketball/baseball/cricket game happens to be important in your house.  We thought it would be over before the party began, but Will was watching the last 10 minutes of the 4th quarter during the first part of the party.  No harm though - no one noticed!

10) Enjoy cake and ice cream (or in our case, chocolate cake and rainbow sherbet.  Don't ask me - the birthday girl picked it out).

11) Open presents

10) And that's it.  Because of timing issues, this party was only an hour and a half.  I haven't the slightest as to how you plan for longer than that.  

If I'd been a little more on the ball, I would've checked out Etsy or Amazon for My Little Pony decor (plates, napkins, invites, etc) since that kind of thing is not exactly abounding in stores.  For the party favor bags, I included MLP stickers, necklaces and bracelets, star wands and some candy.

When asked, Juliana said her favorite part of the party was opening presents and eating cake and ice cream and playing with friends, so I'm not entirely sure how vital the "theme" was anyway.  For what it's worth...

Father's Day 2013

Everett, Juliana and Giselle ADORE their daddy.  Waaaay more than they care for their mommy.  I don't say that to garner sympathy or disagreements, it's just the honest truth.  Will is the kids' ultimate hero.  When he speaks, they listen.  When he asks, they obey.  When he cracks jokes, they laugh.  None of those are guarantees with me.

Dinnertime each night consists of an on-going argument of whose turn it is to sit next to Daddy.  I could eat dinner in the corner and I don't think the kids would blink an eye.

Giselle thinks Will is the best.  In fact, she often goes around talking to herself repeating that very phrase, "Daddy is the best!", to no one in particular.  Each morning when she awakes, Daddy is the first person she looks for.  If he's gone to work before she wakes up, it makes for a rough morning for me.  Giselle does whatever Will asks and he is her number one choice for just about everything.

Juliana reminds me the most of Will in terms of appearance, temperament, and talents.  She is sweet, sensitive and a friend to all - all things she shares with her Daddy.  Juliana loves love (like her Mom) and gets the most animated when Will gives me a hug or a kiss.  I love that Will is an affectionate Daddy to all his kids, but especially his girls.

Everett wants to be just like Will.  Since they are outnumbered, the boys have to stick together in the Giddens household and Everett lives for alone time with Daddy.  He takes being a man and doing "boy" things very seriously.  He is often found following Will around, asking questions and paying close attention to every little thing he does.  It warms my heart that Everett has such a wonderful example to guide him through life.

I told Will this morning that I knew he would be a good father and that was one of the reasons I snatched him up when I did.  He laughed, but it's true.  His capacity to love, cherish, teach, discipline, play, and have fun with our children is nothing short of amazing.  I feel like I hit the jackpot in terms of a wonderful companion and a terrific father to boot.  The kids really should thank me!

Our Own French Open

There are two sports I always wanted to play when I was growing up and yet, never did: soccer and tennis.  Is it any wonder that Juliana played spring soccer and is now taking summer tennis lessons?  Yeah, that's what I thought.

One of the things I love about the area in which we live is that the Parks and Rec program is extensive and inexpensive.  So when I saw tennis lessons available for Saturdays in June for a steal, I jumped on it.  I am a pro at encouraging enthusiasm and excitement and Juliana is my most excitable child, so to say she has been looking forward to this morning all week is a gross understatement.

 Between getting her a racket, a can of tennis balls, wearing her tennis shoes AND headband this morning, our gal was set.

 She's with a group of three other girls and Coach Carolyn is sweet and patient.

 Look at that form!  Look at that follow-through! (Actually, I have no idea what I'm talking about, but I assume that's what this picture is showing).

 She had so much fun and I have to admit, so did I.  She's inspiring me to pick up a racket myself and knock, "Become a totally awesome tennis player" off my bucket list.

 I love this shot.  Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams got nothin' on this chick!

"Spring"ing Into Soccer

Both Everett and Juliana played spring soccer at the YMCA in April and May.  Although since St. Louis apparently had "the rainiest spring on record" according to Juliana's coach (I have no official verification of this statement)*, it was more like Will and I paid to SAY the kids were playing spring soccer.  

Juliana rocked the uniform with her ponytail and headband.  This particular Saturday she busted out the pigtails and headband and ended up running faster that she ever had before.  What I loved about Juliana playing soccer (her first time!) was her enthusiasm and effort.  She ran as fast as she could, usually with a smile, she was a friend to all and was always excited about her next game.  

A rare non-smiling picture of her on the field.  She would often say after games, "I love playing soccer!"

* According to the University of Missouri's Climate Center, this January through April was the SEVENTH wettest on record. Shows what that coach knows!  Don't mess with me, Coach.  I'm a Print Journalism major and I'm not afraid to Google.

This was Everett's third go-around the soccer pitch and I was impressed with how much he improved.  His coach was passionate, loud, sarcastic (in a fun way) and knowledgeable about how to teach 7 and 8 year olds the game.

Although not pictured here, Everett is turning into quite a goalie.  It causes me some anxiety (talk about a high-pressure position!), but he got be to pretty good at it AND he enjoyed it.  Win-win.

He had a double-header on his final Saturday (to make up one of many rain-outs) and it. was. hot.  His team eeked out a win over a very competitive team, so all's well that end's well, I suppose.  Until fall soccer!

"May"be We're Back?

A new camera and a new sense of blogging motivation means I'm going to try, once again, to resurrect this blog from the dust of the Internet.   Ahem, I will definitely try.

Each year Everett's elementary school puts on a May Day performance.  Each grade level learns a dance, the 5th grade chorus sings, there are May poles, May Day princesses, etc.  The music teacher puts the entire thing together and all the parents descend on the back playground to watch.  The kids are asked to dress in Sunday best clothing.

This year's May Day was spectacular!  It was fun to watch the kids really get into their dancing.  But what I found the most humorous part of being there was watching Everett's reaction to sitting FACING the sun.  I don't know why, but the boy simply couldn't handle it.  I don't know if he's happened upon me watching The Vampire Diaries on my computer one too many times (Shhh, don't tell.  Yes, I know.  Vampire Diaries.  Don't tell!) or what, but the kid could. not. handle. the. sun.  It was especially funny since all the kids around him acted like they were just fine.  And then, there's Everett...

The other kids seem to have mastered "the squint", but Everett wasn't having it.

Sixteen other people in this picture and not one of them is "pulling an Everett".

Regardless of Everett's inability to sit outside comfortably in the sunshine, the kid has, thankfully, taken a page or two out of Will's rhythm handbook and danced well.

A few days after May Day, I got the awesome opportunity to attend Mother's Tea at Juliana's preschool.  I left Giselle with my neighbor, so I was able to attend all by myself.  Solo!  Alone!  That in and of itself was pretty glorious. And when I arrived, I was showered with a bevy of handmade items.  A placemat!  A wooden spoon!  A card! A paper flower!  A pink visor!  M&M's in a plastic baggie!  Grapes AND Fritos!  This is the good life, folks.

Juliana performed a rousing repertoire of songs including, "Mothers Are the Flowers in the Garden of Life", "I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee" and "I Made a Gift for Mommy".  Each song including lots of hand motions and Juliana was in performance heaven.

It was nice to finally see the culmination of weeks on end of singing around the house.  Juliana loves to sing!

My little ladybug/flower in post-performance (read: sweaty.  It was hot in there!) glory:

Me and the daughter who doesn't look like me - May 2013.