SURPRISE!

Lately, we have been doing things on a whim. Weird, I know. So, two days before Coda's birthday I decided to have a surprise party for him. I didn't really know if the kids would be able to keep it a secret, but with the help of their parents they did great! Coda had no idea about the surprise party.

I tried to be as deceptive as I could, telling Coda we couldn't have a party for him because I had to throw another spa party. My heart broke when I saw the tears in his eyes and I thought Justin was going to spill the beans right then and there, but he didn't.

On the morning of his birthday, I apologized again for not being able to have a birthday party and put candles in his birthday pancakes.Which he thought was great!

As soon as Coda got home for school, I knew he was still clueless about the party and I was relieved. We sent Coda and Dad to get pizza for "Mom's spa party", and when they got back Coda opened the door to 14 crazy, hyper kids and one already frazzled mom. (Yes, WHAT THE CRAP WAS I THINKING!)

We started the night with "pin the dot on the target", which was fun for the pinner, but was difficult for the other kids to sit and watch. We quickly switched gears to Pizza then onto the scavenger hunt. The kids had to find six hidden targets. Once all were found, they traded them in for their parts to their marshmallow gun. That's right. You read correctly. MARSHMALLOW GUN(S).

If I were less of a clean freak, I probably would have let the kids have an all out marshmallow war, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. So, we settled on a friendly competition of target shooting. Each can/bucket was worth 'x' amount of points. They had a blast and surprisingly kept the marshmallows under control.

Back: Madison, Riley, Landon. Middle: Colton, Lorilei, Emma, Evan, Jovanny, Steve, Jordyn, Bailey. Front: Mason, Gracie, Coda

Coda didn't catch that the cupcakes made a target until we started looking at the pictures.

Once all the kids left, I sat on the floor just to breathe. Was it worth it? All the popped balloons, marshmallows, some wet and soggy on the floor, screaming, pushing, ripped table clothes, cake crumbled on the floor....smiles, children laughing, presents galore, one extremely happy seven year old? I'm still debating.


Things to remember for next time (if there is a next time).
1. Plastic Cups (yes, I seriously forgot them)
2. Look into Xanax
3. Invest in a fog horn

And, as if that wasn't enough, we got this crazy kid a skateboard and helmet. Again, WHAT THE CRAP WAS I THINKING!?

Happy 7th Birthday

To My Bright Eyed Little Boy!