What Ana Does

This Saturday we went to a party in downtown Chicago with work colleagues ... and no kids!! Sure, there was a fair amount of office gossip discussed, but it wasn't too bad. And there were a few spouses to chat with. And adult beverages. And no juice boxes. And lots of adult language. It had been awhile since I've been to a party and didn't see small kids running around. A nice change. And the view from his windows were pretty cool ... View of Chicago From the Condo Sometimes, being an adult is kinda nice! 

Every Halloween, we throw a party. It's really just an excuse for me to create centerpieces and eat M&Ms. But conversing with out adults around my island is a huge bonus. And the girls get added time to celebrate this holiday and run off their sugar highs with friends. Here are some pictures: Creepy! The Graveyard Outside My Door Everyone's Doing It! The Vomiting Pumpkin! Centerpiece We Had a Fancy Witch and a Disco Union Jack Bast from the past: 1st Annual Halloween Party , and 2nd Annual (2014) Halloween .  

Alice celebrated her birth day in London, but we had the party, that officially triggered her "birthday" in her seven-year-old mind, at home this weekend. Four of her bffs were over for a Paris-themed sleepover party. We ate French fries (with le nuggets) and French bread for dinner. And I made a chocolate cake, decorated with the Eiffel Tower for dessert. Breakfast, we ate croissants, of course. (But they tasted nothing like the real thing, sadly.) They all the best time and the house wasn't that much worse for the wear. And it wasn't like a Paris-themed party was too difficult for me to pull off. I just gathered all my Eiffel Towers and Paris decor and voila! The Party Room! The Cake! Alice Helped Me With the Icing Related posts: All my "birthday" stories

My big girl celebrated her ninth birthday with a small party at our house. She's so funny about her parties. For the past several years she's requested small at-home parties with a few friends instead of the big parties out at places such as jumping gyms like we did when she was little -- or that her friends are doing. She invited four pals and allowed her little sister to include two friends. We had a few games scheduled, but mostly they ran around outside on the swing set. We pulled out bubbles and jump ropes and were thankful it was a sunny, warmish Spring day. Leah Requested Brownies Instead of Cake or Cupcakes We Asked Guests to Bring Sea Animal Stuffed Toys and We Awarded Prizes to Each Then, We Played Pin the Tale on the Whale! Fun party! Related posts: More birthday successes

I love birthdays. Mine, especially. But those of my children the most, too. Today Leah turns 9. NINE! And I'm looking forward to a week-long celebration. As usual, she jumped into bed with me this morning to hear her birth story. It always starts "{insert birthday number here} years ago today ..." and I skim the details about labor and c-sections, elaborating on that moment when she entered the world, pooped on the scale (her favorite part) and we laid eyes on her for the first time. Pink as a strawberry. Her sister created a treasure map to find her gifts this morning. And we've got a special afternoon planned before play practice. Reading the Map Opening Gifts So, yes, birthdays are special.

As it's Leah's GOLDEN birthday, we decided to celebrate with a BIG trip to Disney World next month. But, in the meantime, we still needed to commemorate the big day with some gal pals. So, six girls were running around my house on Sunday morning. We painted little houses, ate homemade pizza and sang silly songs around my big dining room table. The shindig was owl-themed (of course) and even included a homemade Pin-the-Beak-on-the-Owl game. We got lucky with some breaks in the rain for outdoor time. And, at the end, a big hide-and-seek game. Great fun! It all reminded me how little you really need to do to throw a good kids party. Since Leah turned 2, we've been celebrating her birthday at those big jump places or gyms, but we decided after last year she was too old for those kiddie-themed gigantic parties -- as we near the age of sleep-over parties and smaller sets of besties. Plus, they're so pricey! Sheesh. Anyway, the most important thing is Leah and her gu...

The town we moved to in Illinois does Trick or Treating the Sunday before the actual Halloween. WHY?! To "keep the kids safe." Because, you know, it's terrible dangerous to walk around your neighborhood at twilight. And to not disrupt dinner or our normal after school/work chaos. It's total bunk.  They're in just as much danger wandering around on a Sunday afternoon. They're still knocking on stranger's doors begging for candy -- day or night.  We played along last year and it was a total let down. The girls begged all Sunday morning to get in their costumes -- which we did after lunch. It took them all of 20 minutes to get into costume and face paint. We headed out at 2:30 and as we hit up the neighborhood for free candy. But no jack 'o lanterns were lit. The scary lighting and music neighbors had strung up where summarily ignored. And we were back at the house less than an hour later -- completely DONE with Halloween. That's was it?...