Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Sometimes it's good to be lazy...

OK, that title isn't really fair.  It's not laziness exactly.  A more accurate title could be "sometimes it's good to know when to outsource".  But that doesn't flow off the tongue nearly as well.

Madison turned two a little over a week ago.  She is SUCH a fun two year old.  Endlessly chatty, silly, bright, fun, loving, an amazing big sister, energetic, a little bit mischievous.  She can be trouble, as can any two year old, but for the MOST part, I'm loving her boundless energy, intelligence and spirit.  I got a little bit sad that she's growing up so fast, but birthdays are big milestones and I love them.

Birthdays mean birthday parties.  When she turned one, I wanted it to be a MAJOR event of course.  We invited friends and family, and I stressed over what food we should have, where we should put things, how we should decorate, etc, etc.  I started thinking about it far before I needed to.  We had fun, no doubt, it was a GREAT day, full of fun memories.  But it was incredibly stressful.

One reason is that it rained...not enough to force the ENTIRE party inside, but just enough so that people would dare to go outside and get comfortable, and then have to run back in.  Adam grilled in a downpour.  Our house was humid and hot and crowded.

Another reason was that I wasn't feeling well, because I was pregnant with Reagan.  I was completely exhausted and had an undercurrent of nausea running through me.  Even the thought of cleaning the house before and after was unbearable, let alone having to do it!  My mom came and helped me of course, but then I had to KEEP the house clean with a one year old underfoot all morning.

And finally, I was so busy trying to be a great hostess that I was MISSING a lot.  I had to rely on other people for pictures because I just couldn't sit back and ENJOY.  It was clock watching, it was dealing with food, it was greeting guests and directing people to the bathrooms.  And when it was over, I basically collapsed.

This year, I knew I was going to outsource.  Madison has been going to Gymboree since she was 6 weeks old and absolutely adores it, so it was the logical choice.  I decided THIS year, I was going to leave the party to someone else.  After all, I wanted to have fun, AND I have an infant too!  Sure, I had to pay one flat fee.  But once I broke down what I spent on Madison's first birthday (food, decorations, etc) it was basically the same amount.  So...no brainer . I outsourced.  Here are the things I had to do:

1) Pick a date.
2) Make a guest list.
3) Approve the plan they came up with.
4) Write a check.
5) Show up and enjoy the party.

As Madison's party date approached, I got EXCITED, not stressed.  I didn't frantically clean my house.  I didn't obsessively watch the weather worrying about storms.  I didn't make trip after trip to the grocery store, figuring out how to store enough food for all the guests, plus a cake, in our one fridge in 90 degree heat.  I didn't have to keep a 2 year old from destroying the decorations.  Oh and I wasn't pregnant...so I guess that helped too. 

And so I enjoyed EVERY MOMENT of her party.  I loved seeing Madison play with her friends.  I loved watching her run around.  I loved walking around and chatting with all my mommy friends.  I loved trying to get pictures of Madison and her friends as they ran and laughed.  Madison had a BLAST, and so did I.  And I HOPE her guests did too!  They ran, bounced, climbed, chased bubbles, enjoyed cake.  At the end of the party, we said goodbye, packed the gifts in the car and went home for pizza.  No clean up.  No mess.  No meltdowns.  

I want to be an amazing mom who throws amazing birthday parties to celebrate her amazing daughters.  I see what people do on pinterest.  I see what my mommy friends manage to put together.  And I won't lie, I'm a little jealous.  But when my little two year old was tucked into bed on Saturday night after her exciting day, I was still smiling.  And that was worth every penny.






Happy Birthday Madison!  Mommy might not be perfect, but she loves you and hopes you had a really special day!


2 comments:

Katie said...

You definitely had the right idea. Next year, Lily's birthday party will be at the children's museum or something because it's just too much to try to get the house ready to have a party at home!

Meredith said...

I think I'm finally learning when outsourcing it worth it! I'm sure Lily's party will be great! We can't wait!

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