Fall Desire

I love the Fall for many many reasons but one of my favorite things is that it means I get to buy my new Fall shoes. I love buying new shoes and I am getting really excited about making a few purchases. Sunday my sister and I stole a few hours of time away from our families and had some "girly" time. We had a great lunch at Nordstrom Cafe and afterwards indulged in some white chocolate bread pudding for dessert. It was so delicious. Then we were off to look around at shoes and clothes and parfume. I don't think you can appreciate this kind of alone browsing time unless you have children because it was so nice to be able to look around with out having to push a stroller or stop to wipe off my childs nose or get them a drink or hand them their snack. It was extremely nice and relaxing even though it does kind of feel like something is missing. Oh wait.....something was missing but they were safe at home with their Papa. I found several shoes that caught my eye that I thought were just too cute and priced just right but if I'm lucky maybe I'll catch them on SALE! I was such a good girl....I refrained from making any purchases...you know I did not want to have too much fun. That would have made me feel way too guilty. I feel much better purchasing something when I have to do it in chaos.....meaning with the kids around whining, fighting, and generally driving me crazy. It makes me feel like I worked harder for what ever it is I want to buy and like I deserve it more. Here are a few objects of my desire.




And these were the ones just from Nordstrom! Why do shoes have to be so appealing?

Conversations with Bella

This is how typical conversation are going these days with Bella.


Me: Put on your shoes Bella we have to go to the store.
Bella: Why?
Me: Because we need groceries.
Bella: Why?
Me: Because we have to eat.
Bella: Why?
Me: Because if we don't eat we might get really sick.
Bella: Why?
Me: Because that's how we survive....on food. Now put on your shoes please.
Bella: Why?
Me: Because you can't go barefooted in the store.
Bella: Why?
Me: Because you're feet will get all dirty or you might step on nasty stuff.
Bella: Why?
Me: Because sometimes people throw stuff on the floor.
Bella: Why?
Me: Because they are not making good choices.
Bella: Why?
Me: Ummm because maybe their mommy did not teach them to not litter.
Bella: Why?
Me: I DON'T KNOW WHY......JUST BECAUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bella: Why?
Me: Because mommy's don't know EVERYTHING!
Bella: Why?
Me: Because only God knows everything.
Bella: Why?
Me: Because that's how he wanted it.
Bella: Why?
Me: Because he's the boss
Bella: Why?
Me Because that's just how things are.
Bella: Why?


I've realized these conversations always seem to end with "Because that's just how God made things!!!"

But Why?????

MIKE HUCKABEE FOR PRESIDENT

I know he's already out of the race but everything he says makes 100% sense to me. If you follow the happenings of this nation you have heard about the Financial Fiasco going on. Here is Huckabee's blog if you care.

Bailing on Our Principles
by Governor Mike Huckabee

Frankly, I'm disappointed and disgusted with my own Republican party as I watch them attempt to strong-arm a bailout of some of America's biggest corporations by asking the taxpayers to suck up the staggering results of the hubris, greed, and arrogance of those who sought to make a quick buck by throwing the dice. They lost, but want the rest of us to cover their bets so they won't be effected in their lavish lifestyles as they figure out how to spend their tens of millions and in some cases, hundreds of millions in bonuses and compensation which was their reward for not only sinking their companies, but basically doing the same to the entire American economy.

It's especially disconcerting to see the very people who pilloried me during the Presidential campaign for being a "populist" and not "understanding Wall Street" to now line up like thirsty dogs at the Washington, D. C. water dish, otherwise known as Congress, and plead for help. I thought these guys were the smartest people in America! I thought that taxpayers like you and I were similar to the people at the U. N. who have no translator speaking into their headset - that we just needed to trust those that I called the power bunch in the "Wall Street to Washington axis of power."

The idea of a government bailout in which we'd entrust $700 billion to one man without Congressional oversight or accountability is absurd. My party or not, that is insanity and I believe unconstitutional.

Will there be far-reaching consequences without some intervention? Probably, but we honestly don't know since we've really never seen this level of greed and stupidity all rolled into one massive move. But may I suggest that letting "Uncle Sugar" step in and bail out the billionaires who made the mess will be far worse and will start a long line of companies and individuals who will demand the same of the government---which last time I checked means that they will be demanding it out of YOU and ME. This is not money that Congress is risking from THEIR pockets or future, but ours. Many if not most of us have already experienced lost value on our homes, retirement accounts, and pensions. Now they'd like for us to assume some further risks so they won't have to.

What happened to the "free market" idea? Is that only our view when we WIN and when we LOSE, we ask the government to come in and take away the pain?

If you are a small business owner, is this the way it works at your place? When you have a bad month, a bad year, or face having to close, can you go up to Congress and get them to write YOU a fat check to take away your risk?

Some of what contributed to this disaster is too much government in the form of Sarbanes/Oxley. Some is due to the tax structure that created the hunger for companies to "game" the system. Some is the common sense that was ignored like loaning money to people who can't pay it back.

Wall Street has become Las Vegas east, but at least in Vegas, people KNOW they are gambling and they don't expect the government to cover their losses at the tables. In Wall Street, they do. And the American taxpayer burdens the responsibility.

If Congress wants to do something, here are some suggestions:

1. Eliminate ALL capital gains taxes and taxes on savings and dividends right now. Free up the capital and encourage investment. This is the kind of economic stimulus the Fair Tax would bring and if Congress is going to lose money, let them lose it with lower taxes, not with public dollar bailouts of private market mistakes.

2. Repeal Sarbanes/Oxley. It has failed. It was supposed to prevent this. It didn't. Kill it.

3. Demand that the executives who steered their ships into the ground be forced to pay back the losses of their companies. Of course, they can't, so let them work and give back to the government and they can live like the people they put on the streets or kept there. It makes no sense to put them in jail—that's just more they will cost you and me. I'd rather them go out and earn money—just not get to keep so much of it this time. I'm not talking about limiting CEO salaries---just those of the people who now are up in Washington begging for help because they ruined their companies.

Attempts by Democrats and Republicans to blame each other is nonsense. They are both guilty and ought to own up and admit it. They all lived off big campaign contributions and the swill of the lobbyists who strong armed them into permission to steal. Enough of blame. Fix it!


This would be a start. If we don't hold these guys responsible, we are all finished!

Walk the line

This weekend Hannah had her 1st soccer game with this new Academy League she's playing on. She has been playing soccer since she was 5 so this is going on her 3rd year and she has played every season. It's wonderful to see the skills she has acquired and also the knowledge and understanding of the game. She's a pretty smart girl and she claims she really loves playing. But she can be a bit of a thinker and I'm wondering if that interferes with her being able to just instinctively play. I am not quite sure how to go about motivating her to be the best she can and to give her 100% in all that she does. I find my self watching her play and getting frustrated because it seems to me that she is not giving her best. I think she can do better. After her game she asked me if I thought she played well. I did not want to lie and say,"Oh yes Honey you played so well" when I really think she did not. And on the flip side I did not want to crush her little spirit and say, " well I really don't think you gave it your best". I don't know how to let her know I think she could be trying harder with our her getting discouraged especially if she feels like she gave it her all. There's playing well and there's playing your best. In the past if I have ever tried to give her some constructive criticism she gets extremely defensive and whines that I don't think she is good enough. If I ever suggest that she needs to be practicing more she gets upset and says I am suggesting that she does not know how to play and she already knows how to play so why should she practice. She thinks she knows it all and she thinks she is good enough already when in reality it isn't quite so. To be really good at something it takes practice and more practice and I can't seem to make her understand that with out her getting extremely upset. So I'm wondering if I should just spend some time telling her that she is playing really well ( even if she isn't) just to build up her confidence and hope that from that confidence her improvement will be manifest. Or would that backfire and actually cause her to have this false confidence and therefor believe even more that she does not need to improve. I don't know. Everything with Hannah is always a lot of work and a lot of mental exhaustion. There is this extremely fine line that has to be tiptoed on when dealing with her and if you tiptoe ever so slightly on the wrong side of that fine line it results in some major drama and melt downs. I try very hard to avoid drama and melt downs.....I don't do well with those. I just want to be a good encourager to her and help her live up to her potential because she has a lot of it. I don't expect perfection( well maybe I do a little) but I expect her to give 100%. Is that wrong?

Fast Friends

I'm holding both of them in my arms. Sweet.

Kitty's, Ballet, and Bed Head

So we have a new family member. Meet Prince Pongo! Bella named him..... and trust me we all tried to talk her out of that name but to no avail. She was set on Pongo.....I think I added the prince part. She's been asking for an orange kitty for quite a while and her wish was finally granted on her birthday! Thanks Papa ( who swore up and down we would NEVER ever ever ever have a cat in this house) He's such a sweet Papa.



Bella had her trial ballet class today. They wanted to see if she was going to be okay being left off somewhere since she really is not used to that other than at church on Sundays. I was looking for mothers day out programs and settled on Jackie's dance and gymnastics. We will start out once a week and she will go from 9-12 and they will do 45 minutes of ballet, 45 minutes of tap, and 45 minutes of gymnastics. They also have snack time and arts and crafts time as well. She did so well( she did not even cry) and just went right in so I can tell she is ready and she had so much fun. I got to watch through glass that you can see in but not out of. It was so adorable. I was a proud mama.

Bella also transitioned to sleeping in her room like a big girl. Gary was closer to being right than I was. I anticipated a lot more crying and tears but she only cried a little bit both nights but only because she wanted me to lay down with her and not her Papa. She was so proud of her self this morning when I came to wake her. I can't believe my baby is no longer a baby. Here is what she looked like when she woke up this morning. Can you say MAJOR BEAD HEAD.

It's time

Oh dear.....I am not looking forward to tonight. Bella has turned 3 and so it is time for her to start sleeping in her own bed in her own room like a big girl. We have been talking to her about this for quite a while now so it's not like it's coming as a surprise. Gary, being the eternal optimist (unrealist if you ask me) thinks we will tell her it's bed time and she will get in her bed, she will get a bed time story and we will walk out of her room and she will drift peacefully to sleep. I, being the realist (pessimist if you ask Gary) know it is going to be way more difficult than that. I pray that Gary is right but that is such a rarity, because I usually am (right babe?) but I guess miracles can happen. He has been right maybe 2 times before!! When I bring up that she will be sleeping in her bed tonight she quickly states that she is not big enough yet and she has to be 4 first. Funny little girl. I am not strong when she turns on her tears...I can't stand the thought of her crying....and I am pretty sure we will be hearing, "But I am soooo sad" and "I am soooo Upset" amongst the tears so I'm nervous.

Party day

Well everything turned out nice for Bella's 3rd birthday party. We had grandparents, aunts&uncles, and cousins over. I was so proud of myself for making Bella's cake even though it ended up taking me way longer than I thought it would. I probably would have made many mistakes had I not had the assistance of my wonderful mother in law there to ask questions and help me along the way. She was tremendous! I very much enjoyed the process from start to finish and the only real visible flaw was that you could see the line where the 2 cakes were put together and I was a little disappointed that I was not able to use the Princess Genevieve doll I had wanted to. Her legs were not removable so we just used an old barbie and put Genevieve's clothes on her. Thankfully it did not seem to bother Bella. She loved it!

BELLA

First let me say you probably should not read this if you are pregnant or if you do not have children, or if you are squeamish about birth! Proceed with extra caution.
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Wow.....well 3 years ago today I was in Labor at this very moment. I guess about 12:30 am I woke up with contractions but was not really sure if they were real contractions or not....I went to the bathroom and got back in bed and could not go back to sleep for the rest of the night. Around 3 am I was still having the contractions and they were pretty regular but not too painful. I had a 8:30 Dr.apt that morning so figured I would just let the Dr. know what was going on and then go from there. I was already 8 days overdue so I was pretty sure this was it. The Dr. examined me and I was just about 1 cm dilated but she hooked me up to a monitoring machine to see if she could see what the contractions were doing.....and sure enough they were coming every 5 minutes or so and she was sure I was in Labor and wanted me to go straight to the hospital. Ummm.....not so fast. I had not even eaten breakfast so I asked if it was okay to go grab some breakfast and then go to the hospital after that. She did not like the idea but reluctantly obliged. I mean come on.....who can tell a pregnant women no. So my mom, Gary and I went and had a delicious breakfast at La Madeleine all the while wearing our nerves. I had a doula who advised me to take my time as much as I could because she did not want me to do too much early labor at the hospital. She claimed the less time you're there the better. I agreed! So we took our time and I think we finally made it to the hospital and checked in around 11:30. They of course wanted to check everything out...blood pressure, baby's heart beat, my blood pressure ...you know all that good stuff. I was at a 3.5 cm and Bellas heart tones were nice and strong as they should be. I was adamant that I did not want to be confined to the bed hooked up to the iv and monitors and such. They did not really like my way of doing things but ultimately let me do it how I wanted. I was not trying to be difficult I just had an exact vision of how I wanted things and knew I did not want to have a typical assembly line birth where everything is done so matter of fact and to accommodate the staff. I was the one in control here. I wanted the freedom to walk around, to use my birthing ball,to slow dance to my cd's I made with Gary or to get in the shower if I wanted. I bet they hate women like me. Oh well! My doula, Gary and I walked the halls of the hospital and did some kind of exercises that are supposed to help bring the Baby down where she needs to be. We're relaxed and just doing different things to pass the time all the while, I'm having contractions about every 3 minutes and they were lasting about 30-45 seconds but they were getting stronger and stronger! Some so strong, I would have to stop and hold real still until it passed. We used the shower, she sprayed warm water on my back....I was having some serious back pain, we used the birthing ball for a while and around 3:30 or so they wanted to check progress again.....I had only dilated to a 5 cm which was a little discouraging to me because I was really starting to be in severe pain and had hoped for a quick Labor than was happening. I had Hannah only 4 hours after arriving at the hospital and this was going on 4 hours and I had expected it to be the same, if not faster. My doctor and doula both knew for sure that I would have her fast so this whole time, that's what I had in my mind. Well it was not going as I thought and I started to get a little discouraged but did not really let that show too much. I just kept doing what my doula and Dr. said to do....and that meant who knows how many more hours of Labor. 2 more long, painful hours went by and around 6:30 my water broke. I was using the birthing ball when that happened.....I was in A LOT of pain and I remember thinking that I possibly had pottied on myself due to focusing on the contractions.....but that was not the case THANK GOD, it was my water breaking. I would have been so embarrassed if I had. This was when the fun really began......once that water breaks....it's all business. The next few hours were pure torture for me. I mean this pain I had to endure was so bad, I would cry because I wanted it to be over, I wanted to give up, I asked my doula if there was any way possible I could have something for the pain. She quickly said No and tried to distract me and get me to focus again on what I was doing. There was a while there when I just wanted to die. I was done....that's it, get this baby out of me! They call this period Transition and this is usually the time when you get so tired and you are in so much pain, you're frustrated but if you just focus and push through that.....you're almost at the end. 7:30 and there I am lying on the bed on my left side now because everything else was just too painful and I had only gotten to a 7-8 centimeters! The tears come and by this point I am completely frustrated because I'm feeling feeling this is just taking way to long and I'm just done with it....hahaha like that's really an option. I was having contraction after contraction with maybe a few seconds in between. Another hour and a half of that....just laying there, taking one contraction at a time, hurting, pleading with God, wondering why I had to endure this kind of pain and why for this long. This by far was the hardest thing I ever had to endure. Around 9 I finally tell them that it's time to start pushing and they say no, it's not quite time and I just said I HAVE TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.....I HAVE to get this child out now! So they let me start pushing. I'm not having much luck and everyone is telling me to push and then stop pushing, then push again and then they need me to push even harder because she is not coming down as she should and finally after over an hour of pushing she is born. 10:06 pm!!!!

All that hard work for this very moment. Gary was supposed to cut the cord but for some reason they did not let him and I waited for them to bring her to me but they didn't. Then I notice the Dr. starts to panic which makes me panic....they start rushing around, I'm freaking out, they are injecting me with who knows what and I asked my Doula to please get my mother in the room! I ask them if I am okay and was I dying or something....all the while they are not really saying anything. I hear the doctor order someone to get an operating room prepared.....It was horrible! It all happened so fast and I was terrified, my mom was terrified and who knows what Gary was( he does not share his emotions) but they finally get everything under control and they are having to give me blood but thankfully everything settled down. Apparently they could not get the bleeding to stop and I lost a large amount of blood and they almost had to do an emergency hysterectomy because my uterus was not contracting like it should. It eventually did Thank God! It was the scariest few minutes of my life. One of those moments where you think about your whole life and how it could be over just like that. Finally, 40 minutes after she was born I got to hold her. All those long and hard hours of labor and here she is. She's perfect! Then they tell me she weighs 9 lbs 2 ounces and I am in shock. They also say she came out face up and baby's are supposed to be face down and that is why the labor was so hard. She did not look like a newborn, she was sooooo chubby and swollen and her face is puffy and her face was all bruised. Poor baby was all smashed together so tight in her Mommy's belly. The funniest thing was that she looked just like her daddy! Awe man....you're telling me I suffered for 10 long months of carrying her around inside me and went through this crazy labor and almost bled to death and she's going to look like her dad! That's mean. My doula tells me I had one of the hardest Labors ever and that when the baby is positioned like Bella was that makes things extremely difficult and no one can believe I did it, and not only that I did it naturally. But don't be fooled....I can't let people believe that I wanted to do this naturally. I had to. I'm one of the few lucky women not allowed to have an epidural. I have a blood disorder that prohibits me from being able to have one because if I did it would more than likely lead to permanent paralysis. Something to do with my blood not clotting like it should which is why I bled so much. So yeah, I think I'll pass and just endure the pains of labor and hope and pray I don't bleed to death. Bella was completely worth all I went through to get her here. She has given me so much Joy and I love her more than I could ever describe! She is my lovely Princess Bella Grace. Happy 3rd Birthday sweet baby girl. Mommy loves you so much!

Melissa Ann

You know how sometimes you think about doing something and then for strange reasons you decide against it. You think.......Well, so and so does not care about that kind of thing. Then come to find out they actually do and then you feel bad and so therefor want to make up for it. I know it may seem less sincere but in this case I assure you it's not. You see I have this little sister and I have not always been the best big sister to her. As children I was so mean to her and my other sister and I always use to pick on her because she was the littlest one. It was just the natural order of things. We'd leave her out, we'd tell her she was ugly,we'd tell her she was a brat, we'd throw things at her ( even though I don't remember that but she does) and such was the life of Melissa Ann. The mistreated little sister. Awwww....... I do at times feel really bad because with a lot of things she did get the short end of the stick. Then again since she was the youngest she also got a lot of things us other 2 girls never did and maybe that's why. She got to go on a cruise with a girl friend of hers when she was in high school. She got a new car when she turned 16. She got the most expensive name brand purses and the nicest clothes, she got to stay out late. She pretty much has gotten almost everything she has ever wanted! But I'm not and never was bitter. *Wink*
When I moved away to Dallas she was only 12 years old she was a little kid. When I returned 6 years later she was an adult, she was 18 years old. That was when our relationship changed and we became friends. I discovered in her things that I found so appealing. She was fun to be around and she always wore the prettiest smile. She and I then developed a unique connection, one that was more sisterly. We are both able to be so silly around each other and we always have fun and can laugh and just hang out. She is the fun sister. I've seen her go through so much and she always maintains a positive attitude about everything and she makes me laugh. I have enjoyed watching her transform from that whiny little girl to well.....a whiny big girl. Just kidding! I love my sister Melissa so very much and I wish that I had written this Happy Birthday Blog to her earlier so that she might realize that. Now I'm sad....to think I could have made my little sister smile on her birthday and I did not.

I only want the best for her and she deserves it. So just know that I did think about you today and I hope you have a wonderful dinner tonight. Don't have too many cocktails..... I don't want hear about you sleeping in the closet all night.
: )

Remembering

Where were you 7 years ago? I remember I was at home and got a phone call from my dad to turn on and watch the news because one of the twin towers in new york had been hit by an airplane and was ablaze. And of course you know the rest is history. I was glued to the tv set that whole day in shock and disbelief at what was unfolding live on television. It was horrific to think about all those people trapped, dying, jumping out of windows to save themselves. Earlier this morning Fox news aired a 19 minute video of the events of that day starting with the first plane hitting. I still can not watch that footage with dry eyes. That for me was surely a defining moment. Before then I was pretty naive about the rest of the world (and honestly didn't care all that much either) and all that was going on and I guess that incident caused me to grow up and take more interest in things other than what shoes I was going to wear that day. I'll not ever forget the day the world did change......for me.

Candy addict

I am so addicted to those candy corn pumpkin candy that come out every year around Halloween. I made the mistake of buying a bag the other day at Target and I finished the bag in about 1 1/2 days. The WHOLE BAG! That is why I can not keep things like that in the house because I have no will power what so ever when I know they are near. It's like this obsessive compulsive thing I have going on. I think about them non stop until I eat it so it's better to just eat it all at once and get it out of the way.....ya know? But I have to be strong and buy no more but it's going to be really really hard. I can also eat a whole pound of those 1 lb twizzler bags that you can find in the candy aisle, in a few hours sometimes. Thankfully I really only get that ravenous craving once a month.....but for those few days when that craving hits......get out of the way! I need my candy. What's ironic about it is that I am so picky about what I will put in my body most times, and candy is probably one of the worst things ( cause it's all sugar)to eat but I only eat the candy that is fat free. That is how I feel okay about it. Goofy, I know.

I'm secretly a tree hugging hippy

I just love central market. To go there for me is a big treat and today I ventured past the Southpark Meadows area and went there with Bella. First off they are brilliant for having balloons for the kids right when you walk in.....it kept Bella pretty occupied while I explored through out the store. My main mission was insect repellent because I can't find the kind I like anywhere else. I use the Burt's Bee's kind and I absolutely swear that stuff works way better than OFF and it's all natural and you don't have to worry about spraying unnecessary chemicals on your children's (or your own) skin. I also bought a couple of rosemary plants that I am sooooooooo excited about. They smell simply wonderful and they were only 4 dollars each which I thought was a great deal! I also got a lavender plant too.....I can't wait to pot them and set them out by the front door. I could spend hours and hours there looking at everything. There really is no other grocery store like it and if you have never seen their floral section, you're missing out. They had some of the most gorgeous hydrangeas I have ever seen! If I could, I would buy those every week and put them all over my house. I have to limit my visits there because it's pretty hard to leave with out spending at least 100 dollars...I was proud of myself today because I stayed way under that. My goal is to one day be able to do ALL of my grocery shopping there and also all of our household items needs there as well. All of my cleaning products, toothpaste, soaps, shampoo, you know stuff like that. That might be a little tricky when it concerns Gary though, he is still not fully into my all natural products just yet. He still likes his chemical laden kind all though I was surprised that he does actually like my Tom's brand spearmint mouthwash now....hahaha. I just love that place, they have every imaginable product you could need in all natural and organic selections. Anyhow that's all I can think to write about today.....Going to Central Market was my excitement for the morning.

Dr. Evil

Okay so this morning at 8 oclock I had a dentist appointment. Morning started off rocky to begin with and then I have to go to the dentist. So I am not having a good day today. First of all I had 2 cavities! These are the first 2 cavities I have had in my entire life and so they had to fill those. Then do a deep cleaning because it has been forever since I have been to the dentist and when I say forever....I mean forever though I am not going to admit just how long because that is extremely embarrassing. Anyway the whole left side of my face is completely numb...even the corner of my left eye and I can't feel my tongue or teeth, only a throbbing pain radiating from my gums. I have sensitive gums. Very sensitive gums. They hurt. The funniest thing is that I can't tell that I am drooling out of the left side of my mouth so I have to constantly keep checking to make sure I am dry. And last but not least I have to be very conscious of my tongue since it is so numb.....I could actually be biting down on it and not even know....which they say is NOT GOOD! I absolutely HATE.....let me say that again, HATE going to the dentist. All the sounds of the drills and scrapping and squirting and sucking have my nerves shot. I'm literally shaking.....Oh man....this morning has been pure torture for this girl. Thank GOD Gary is off today....I'm crawling back in bed.

Am I a party pooper?

Planning a birthday party sure can become a stressful ordeal. In thinking about Bella turning 3 and wanting to have her a party it seems like there is this pressure to go all out and make it this sort of birthday party extravaganza. I mean do I rent a clown? Do I rent a jumpy thing? Should I get her a pony for pony rides around the yard for her and the other kids to enjoy? Party favors,food, decorations,games,etc etc etc. I mean if you let it.....this party planning thing could get way out of hand. It gets me wondering what the whole purpose of that is. Is it really for the child or for the other kids or so you can say you threw this amazing party for your child. I am not criticizing parents who throw large, over the top parties for their kids.....if that is what you like and you can comfortably afford it then it's definitely your prerogative to do your child's party as you choose. It's just not us. But then a part of me does feel a little bad, like if I was a good/fun mom I would plan her one of these extravagant shindigs because it would be so fun for her blah blah blah. Or would it? Actually thinking about all that made me realize that it would all probably be so overwhelming and crazy and the whole focus of just pampering Bella for a day gets lost. So I have decided to just have a gathering of our closest family, we'll eat some food and have some cake( that I will happily make myself) and shower her and make it be all about HER. Not about the food, or the games or impressing all the guests with how we went all out. Again...I am not picking on parents who do that....I'm just saying I don't think that is the route we will take this year. Maybe when she turns 5 I will do that. 5 seems like a good year to go all out for a party but for now we are going to stick with small and intimate and surely she will be perfectly content with that.