Happy 1st Birthday G.E

G.E’s 1st birthday went very well I have to say. I so stressed out more than necessary.  Daddy and I ended up inviting our close friends and family over for a cook-out and made her first party a very casual affair given that 99% of the kids invited are under 9 months old. It was 80+ degrees out so we decided to have a kiddie pool for all the babies interested. G.E loved the pool!! That is her and her friend Camillo. She is so helpful, Isn't She?  Dad’s grilled chicken was a hit (sorry he will not share the recipe with me) and so was my mac and cheese and cold pasta salad. We also had hamburgers, hot dogs, corn, bake beans, watermelon, and of course cake! A ton of food! G.E only had one flipping out moment in the beginning, but the pool solved that very fast.  We had a late start cooking as well. We underestimated the time it would take to finish all the food (I blame Daddy for that estimate), but all in all it went great! G.E had a great time with everyone and that is all that matters. That's her with her smash cake in the "after swimming outfit!

Such a diva! She had 3 outfit changes (Party Dress, Swimsuit, and After swimming outfit! :)

Of course I couldn’t end today without sharing a recipe...  Because we celebrated G.E’s birthday on the weekend before the actual day, it still felt necessary to do something the day of. So we baked cupcakes.  I wanted to try a fresh strawberry buttercream that was simple and also looked good (I don’t like recipes with no pictures). Using fresh strawberries will require A LOT of sugar so don’t be alarmed, it will not be “too sweet”, less sugar will make the buttercream runny.  After hours of searching for something simple and good looking, I found a blog and immediately fell in love with the pictures! (I did add more sugar than recommended. I had very juicy strawberries). It was sooo yummy!! G.E even inhaled 2 cupcakes in a matter of seconds.  Please visit this wonderful blog for the recipe!! Try it and tell her and I what you think! Strawberry Buttercream

Talk to you again very soon!

Birthday Blues

Ok, so G.E’s 1^st birthday is around the corner and the party supply magazines are rolling in. YAAAY!! However, I must say I am not as excited about it as I once was when I bought that overly priced $20 birthday hat from a specialty shop when she was first born. I am not sure that I even want to have a party anymore. I would just like to do something special with her and Daddy.

At first I wanted this BIG TO DO party extravaganza, but as we get closer to the day and with everyone giving their .02 cents on what her first party should be like, I am hating the idea more and more. The invite list IS the biggie right now.

I have a set of girlfriends (10+) that I have kept in touch with from college over the years and often get together with for “girls night“ every few months. Before I say anything else, I will say that I have a great time with all of them when we do get together. However, on a more personal level there are a few that irritate me a little, don’t see eye to eye with on some issues and are a little too gossipy for my taste. Most of them I don’t see or talk to outside of our gatherings. Through the grape vine I did hear that many of them are wondering what’s going on for the big day. Being in this birthday blues phase (as I hope its just a phase) has me considering not inviting a few of “the girls” most of which are also “childless”. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or create drama, but at this point I want to share G.E’s 1^st birthday with very close family and friends. Not with girlfriends that I or G.E for that matter only see a few times a year . I have even tried talking to G.E’s Godmother (one of “the girls”) about this. She thought the people I tentatively held off the invite list would be quite offended since they are regular guests of the “gatherings“ and did attend the baby shower. (Does that mean I owe them an invite?) I am really struggling with this.

Should I invite “the group” to not upset anyone or have the intimate 1^st Birthday party I want? Am I making a big deal out of this? HELLPP!!!