Failing At Party Planning

As I near the one month mark until my little man turns 4, I feel as if I am failing at the party planning process.  I have not even begun planning his celebration and to be honest, I am not sure if I want to plan a party for his birthday this year. *GASP*!!!!

I know, I know. Me, the queen of party planning.  The hostest with the mostest.  The entertaining GURU.  I LOVE parties.  I LOVE planning parties.  I LOVE hosting parties.  I just love it all.  But this year, I am finding it hard to conjure up the mojo I need to get my party planning butt into gear.

For starters, I usually start planning a party conceptually a year in advance.  I tend to know what my theme will be and a very rough idea of how I want the party to look.  A few months out I pretty much have most of the details ironed out, including budget.  And a month out, I am looking at sending invitations to the desired guests.

The need to plan a party is still in me.  Especially since this will be the only party I actually get to plan this year since my older kids didn't want parties (which, honestly, was a good thing for my sanity and my wallet). But as the baby of the family, the last one left standing, my almost 4 year needs a party to mark his special day.  And he actually wants, and is excited for, a party.  I just have to get myself hyped up for the task ahead.

I need to set my budget, which will most likely be $100.  Funds are tight this year so that doesn't leave much in the budget for a lavish party.  I also need to set a date, a time and a place and figure out the theme.  After I have all those details down on paper, I can start planning.   I know I can plan a fabulous party in a short amount of time, since I don't need much for this simple event.  But I am gonna need all the luck I can get.  With just a month out and a small budget, it's gonna take a lot for me to pull this party off and make it look effortless and fun.

A Day At The Museum

Just another fun activity for the kids and I to do while they were on school break.

Back From Vacay

We got back about 5 days ago from our little family getaway and it was glorious.  I managed to put everything away, do a ton of laundry and put the house back in order all within the first few days home and now, we're all just trying to enjoy the last few days of the kids' school break before it's back to school again.

I was able to also fit in a trip to Pricemart for a few bulk grocery items for the month, take my daughter to see the new Spiderman movie, have a playdate at Pizza Hut with my friends and their kids and enjoy a few hours at the Costa Rican Children's Museum.  There is no way the kids can say this was a boring school break.  We thoroughly enjoyed our 2 weeks off, that's for sure.

Gymnastics Again

It's been over a year since my daughter has been in gymnastics.  After leaving her old academy, The Jaguars, I fully intended to sign her up for classes at a more financially friendly academy.  The issue with the Jaguars was not because it wasn't a great academy, it is.  But the price each month was just getting a bit of out control.  Plus, the Jaguars focused more on the competitive side of gymnastics, which was starting to take a toll on my wallet and my time.  I was not ready for the commitment that competitive gymnastics entailed.  Nor was I ready for the financial blow to my pocket.

I found another academy called Tempos that was more affordable, about half the price actually, that focused more on gymnastics being fun.  Their whole purpose is to get kids involved and active, for them to participate in sports.  So they make gymnastics affordable for everyone (well, almost everyone).  I liked the price and the idea but it took my daughter some convincing to like the class.  She finally relented and we decided to sign her in the upcoming months just so she could try out the classes and see how she liked them.  The Jaguars was her academy for almost 3 years and she loved it there.  I knew it would take some getting used to but I just needed her to give the new academy a chance.

Fast forward to last Wednesday and plans changed for the better.  After planning my next move on when to actually have her start gymnastics, I get a call from the Moravia Sports Committee.  About a year and a half ago, almost 2 years now, I had put my daughter on the wait list for their gymnastic team.  I was told it was going to be a long wait (no kidding).  Those spots are coveted and not many spaces open up.  But I put her name on the list anyway and then proceeded to completely forget about it a year later.

To my pleasant surprise, a spot became available and there was a place for her in their Thursday gymnastics class at 2pm.  And the best part (and one of the reasons why spots are so few and hard to come by) is the classes are FREE!!!!!  No cost, no monthly payments, no enrollment fees.  Completely FREE! I could not be any happier.

A lot of the time, you get what you pay for.  Sometimes free does not equal up to being a good thing.  But she had her first class last Thursday and it was amazing.  She totally loved it and cannot wait to go back.  And as it turns out, the teacher is also a fellow Jaguars alum.  So, my daughter finally got what she has been waiting for all year, to finally be apart of a gymnastics team again.  Patience really is a good trait to have.