Birthdaypalooza for 2010 is Officially OVER

I'm fairly lucky that my family's birthdays all  fall within a 6 month time frame, with only mine and Chrisapalooza  on top of one another.  But I am OK with him receiving all the accolades without calling attention to yet another year having marched (by now Father Time is wearing football cleats) across my face, thankyouverymuch.

Last night was my middle daughter's 12th birthday party.  She had it planned out pretty much how she wanted it:  6 of her closest friends were invited over for an afternoon of yard games (bocci, polish horseshoes, ladder golf), followed by pizza, a possible bonfire, then cake and ice cream followed by a sleepover.  Two girls were unable to stay the night and were picked up by 11.  The others made it their mission to either stay awake all night OR make sure WE stayed awake all night.  I'm still a little fuzzy on the goal there.  And luckily the party went off pretty much as expected with a few "left turns" thrown in.

Games...check.  All were laid out and ready for use.  I think they played one game of polish horseshoes, choosing instead to play all those games that one would think at 12 they would be beyond...hide and seek...tag...loading music into the ipod onto speakers and playing as loud as the speakers will take and dancing.  I kept a cursory supervisory eye on them but for the most part let it go.  We had friends drop by after pizza and decided to move the party to their house for the bonfire and added s'more making to their house.  It was a skeeter issue.  They spray, we don't.  So, your daughter will have less bites than if we had done it here.

You're welcome.

Back to our house for cake and ice cream.  The cake...well, she wanted german chocolate cake but I recognize that many people simply do not like pecans and coconut frosting that accompanies german chocolate cake so she compromised on german chocolate cupcakes with half frosted with coconut pecan and the other half with cream cheese frosting.  Now, here's the funny part.  As we're lighting the candles (my high potential daughter...who does not think to light them from the center so as not to burn herself), is blowing out the match and manages to blow out 3/4 of the candles she has just lit.  Ever the helpful mom* I took the one remaining lighted candle and lit the remaining 11.  We sang, she blew...and was she able to get even 3/4 out TRYING to blow them out?  No.  Don't believe me?

4 of 12 candles still lit.  Yes, she does have the lung capacity.  At 230am she proved it.  Ahem.

Oh, presents.  I forgot presents.  First let me ask...when did I miss the memo that it is imperative that a portion of the birthday gift consist of massive quantities of candy?  Seriously.  I'll be sending all you moms my dental bills (see here... and here for precedence).

The candy haul:

The candy was of course accompanied by gift cards, itunes, scarf, nerf gun (for which I had received fair warning).  Loved all the gifts...the candy, she could do without.

So, the girls had a good time.  They are an imaginative bunch though, believing, at 12 as one does, that bigger IS better:

Or more IS better:

Breakfast this morning was homemade pancakes with fresh strawberries and fresh whipped cream.  They were some T-I-R-E-D girls though.

Might I suggest a nap?

*Ever the helpful mom=can we just get this done mom (but ever the helpful mom sounds so much nicer)