Party in the Sand

Saturday was the Boy's birthday party. We delayed it two weeks because the Man was going out of town and he actually wanted to be there. So I made plans, invited friends and crossed my fingers that we'd have nice weather.

Since I've been at death's door all week, I had a minor freak-out on Friday afternoon when I realized the party was less than 24 hours away and I had done nothing for it. I didn't even have all the stuff to make the cake! So I left the kids with a sitter and dashed out the door, madly searching for party supplies.

Luckily, I had ideas and pretty much knew what I wanted to do. I saw a really cool sand castle cake in Family Fun magazine (everyone who loves this magazine, please raise your hand!) and decided to use that as the theme. I had sand toys for party favors along with a bag of the Boy's favorite candies and a bottle of bubbles. I only invited four of the Boy's friends because I didn't think I could handle more. I am getting to the point where if I don't feel the need to invite every child in my kid's age range to the party, just the ones with whom he has playdates. Also, the Co-ed and the Man would be there to lend a hand, should I need to cough up a lung. Aunt Denise is our family videographer and would record the events for posterity.

When the kids arrived, we tossed bean bags into different sized sand pails. No points or a winner, just lots of hurling of bags and cheering like crazy. I made the bags by quickly sewing together scrap fabric and stuffing them with dried pinto beans. They didn't have to be fancy and they only had to last one afternoon.


The kids had a difficult time with the whole "taking turns" issue but I kept them moving fast enough that pretty soon, it wasn't a problem. The Co-ed was there to show them how it was done.

After that game, it was time for cake and ice cream! To see a better picture of the cake, go here.


Here's the Boy blowing out the candles. And he didn't even spit on the cake this year! My baby is growing up! After cake, came presents. I asked for no toys (we have way too many) so he got lots of puzzles, which are his current addiction, and pjs. The gift from Mom and Dad was a three-wheeled scooter with helmet and pads. He'd wear that helmet to bed, if we'd let him.


After presents, I gave the kids their sand toys and we headed to the backyard. I had borrowed a neighbor's sand box and let the kids have at it.


To keep the party mood going, I set up a bubble machine. Pretty soon, the Boy found another use for his shovel: bubble popper. This machine is called Gazillion Bubbles...and that's what we got! I've never seen such a cloud of bubbles!


Even Aunt Denise got in on the bubble action! We ran out of bubbles after about fifteen minutes but luckily, I have a ready supply of bubble solution on hand, as every mother of preschoolers should.

Parents came and gathered their sand-covered little ones. The Boy went down for a nap (blessedly) and the adults tried their hardest not to crash, too.

I really wanted a nap but had to get ready for Sunday, when we would celebrate Quatro De Mayo with family. See, Sunday wasn't quite Cinco de Mayo but we still wanted an excuse to have lots of Mexican food. We had fajitas with the fixings, fruit salad, grilled pineapple, homemade salsa (my first attempt and actually pretty dang good) and guacamole with chips, Sangria (non-alcoholic version), and flan for dessert. It was fun! Might be a new tradition.

By the way? Happy Cinco de Mayo!