No-Stress Birthday Party

Miranda is wearing the Le Top Spring 2010 " Wild About Monokinis" big dot beach dress

Every year since my daughter was born, I (as in, just ME because my husband thinks I always go overboard so he leaves me with the event planning since I’m the one who wants to make it so complicated :)) always have had a theme birthday party. For her 7th birthday, I decided to keep it simple and have a “no-stress” birthday party. She invited a handful of friends and met at a nearby park so they could play. It was like casually meeting for a playdate instead of a huge, overwhelming party. I’d have to say, it was quite refreshing.

• Instead of handcrafting personalized birthday invitations, I sent out electronic invitations (such as evite.com or pingg.com). This saves on stamps, too!
• Instead of ordering a customized theme cake, my daughter and I baked cupcakes. This was fun because we enjoyed quality time together which we hardly get to do when her little brother is around.
• Instead of ordering a multitude of dining courses and various drinks, we opted for pizza, juice boxes and popsicles.
• Instead of goody bags, we gave our guests cute water bottles filled with ice cold water to keep them cool while playing.

WOW! It was so simple and easy, and I was also able to relax and enjoy some time with the company instead of running around being the “hostess with the mostess.” Hmmm… I can get used to this.

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It’s Getting Hot in Here!

Paulo is wearing "Hop To It!" from Le Top's 2011 Spring/Summer Collection.

The sun came out in Northern California and it got HOT! I guess TC and I had the same idea. It’s time to cool down those kids and let them have fun with water. Paulo packed his backpack with his swim trunks and a towel and headed over to his friend’s house for their weekly playdate. Splish, splash! Let’s go have some fun.

Sadly, the weekend came and it was cold and windy once again. Make up your mind, Sunshine! You’re either in or you’re out.

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Ducks, Zebra…Chicken?

Everyone’s been wanting to see this infamous “zebra” jacket I wrote about last week, but I couldn’t find a good picture from the dinner. So, I decided to go see my friend and her daughter to do a little “photoshoot”. Her gorgeous (part Russian, part Native American, Ukrainian, Italian and Irish!) green-eyed daughter, Sasha (Alexandra) is a ball of energy who doesn’t stop laughing and running around! I asked her to come give me hug, so her mom, Tatiana, could quickly get a shot, but Sasha immediately ran off to grab something. That “something” turned out to be her pet chicken, that (strangely) loves being held and carried around. Then, there was a good 20 minutes of running around after the chicken, away from the chicken (that would be me), and trying to get the chicken to sit at the table…yes, I mean that…that wasn’t a typo. I managed to engage Sasha in a conversation about flowers, but the chair behind me quickly turned into a climbing post. A few minutes later she rolled out of the house on her tricycle, and we finally got our shot! Kids have an incredible energy that’s so contagious – I can’t wait for our next “playdate!” – it turned out to be such a fun adventure trying to get that picture!

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