St Patty's Party

Hey y'all -

Every year, your school hosts a St Patrick's Day party. This year, I was on the planning committee. I will be the first to admit that I'm a little Type-A when it comes to party planning. My house can be falling down around me, but your birthday is by-God going to have coordinated invitations and tableware. When Hagen was five months old, your school hosted a cookout at the water park. They served raw burgers and hot tea and I got so frustrated, I cried a little then blamed it on the postpartum hormones.

I know this about myself: I'm high strung, and I can't abide an unorganized event. At the same time, when I get pulled over for speeding, and the officer asks me to produce my license, registration and proof of insurance, I look at him like I couldn't possibly locate all of those things. Everyone is their own unique potpourri of crazy, and this is mine.

For the party, I put together a treasure hunt. Each kid got a passport with a list of activities, and as they moved from classroom to classroom, they got to play carnival games and get their passports stamped and earn tickets that could be redeemed for prizes at the end of the night.

Your dad and I made a magnetic fishing game, so the kids could "catch" their names. (index cards + paper clips, dowel rods + hanging magnets). Your friends Rainie and Shea helped us test it out the day before the party:

I set up a "photo booth" in one of the classrooms, and laid out all of Laney's dress-up stuff on a table, so everyone could put on a funny costume and have their picture taken. The kids loved it:

But the teachers loved it more:

Great time had by all -

Love,
Mom