Party Time!

One week after Carter's actual birthday, we were able to have his party.  Craig's work schedule this time of year makes party planning a little challenging!  I should feel lucky we managed to squeeze in Carter's actual birth without him being on the road or having to miss a game, but it's definitely a little tough to figure out how to work around his schedule every year now.  Add in weather, Valentine's Day, February break, and whatever else, and it's a very complicated process!  Luckily we only had to wait a week, and while I can't say I was fantastic at planning ahead with all of my current free time, I felt pretty good going into the weekend...even though I had a lot to do!

I baked two layers of cake on Saturday and made a list of tasks for Sunday.  The weather was pretty cruddy on Saturday, warmer than it had been (20s....oooo!) but cold and snowy.  We did some shoveling while Craig was at work and debating going to the Knighthawks game, but in the end I decided that with Jacob home for February break all week, we'd exhausted all of our easy food options and I wanted to go out for dinner anyway.  We ventured out and the roads were worse than I thought.  Still, I knew Jacob would be disappointed so we continued on.  We had a quick dinner at McDonald's (so nice when the boys will happily eat all of their food!) and ended up getting to the Knighthawks game late due to having to stop for gas, drive through the snow, and deal with some parking difficulties.  I'd wanted to leave the game early, which Jacob was not happy about, but with our late arrival I relented to staying longer, particularly if it was a good game.  It turned out that the Knighthawks came back from a big 4th quarter deficit and won the game in overtime, so it was a good game to stay for.  Of course, that meant a late night for me as I ran all over the house cleaning up piles and preparing for the party.

Sunday we all slept in and I opted to skip church rather than battle to get us all out of the house and then come home stressed and cranky with less time to prepare for the party.  I took the time to get a good start on the cake.  If you recall from past parties, I tend to focus on the cake more than anything.  I don't know why it worked out like that--maybe because Jacob's first few were not great and I felt bad about that.  I've made it my mission to never let that happen again.  Thank God for Pinterest :)  And for this year, for my sweet car-loving little boy, this was the result:

I'm not gonna lie, I was super happy with it.  It's simple and cute and exactly what I wanted!  I took inspiration from a few different Pinterest cakes and made it my own, right down to splitting M&M's in half to create his name.  My stress level was relatively low throughout, which was a nice bonus, too!

We kept the party simple because it wasn't going to be a huge group--my parents, Craig's parents and his brother's family, my cousin Lori and her mom.  We ordered pizza and wings since grilling up burgers and dogs isn't really an option with the cold and snow we've been having!  Add in some snacks and sides and it was plenty to keep us all full. 

Carter did well with presents.  He was very cute and sweet and seemed to love all of his presents.  He got a couple fun books, a bus, a Switch & Go Dino (sort of like he got at Christmas--this time a cute T-Rex!), a Duplo circus set, some Matchbox cars and track, some clothes, some new sippy cups, and some money!  He really seemed to love everything.

Checking out his dino!

Cutie with his bus and Legos!

We ate dinner and moved on to the cake.  He really seemed to like it and enjoyed being sung to!

Of course, when it came time to eat it, he preferred to stick with the M&M's...which was part of the reason I figured it might be a good move to include them in the decoration!

Cheek-full of M&Ms!

All in all, it was a great day.  The boys had fun with their cousins and it was great to have our families here.  Unfortunately, the day didn't end so well.  It started out with my mom getting an epic nosebleed just as they were ready to leave.  All of this cold, dry weather has wreaked havoc with her nasal passages.  They stayed for quite a while waiting for it to end, but it turned out that was just the beginning of the mess.  She ended up in the emergency room and then headed to the doctor in the morning when things didn't really get any better.  She should be fine now, but what a crazy thing that was.  A little while after my parents left, I realized that the full feeling in my stomach was transitioning to something very not-good.  Craig and I watched the movie "Miracle" to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice game, but by the end of the movie I was upstairs in some very bad GI distress.  I was up much of the night dealing with a double whammy of stomach distress, and most of yesterday was spent in bed.  Craig stayed home to take care of Carter, and I tried to keep my distance so this didn't spread.  I'll definitely be on the lookout for Craig and the kids for the next couple days.  Apparently this morning my mom wasn't feeling great, but we're hoping it's just a mental thing, because my parents have a trip planned for later this week.  If nothing else, hopefully it's quick!  But I'd hate for anyone else to have to deal with this.  I'm still trying to get my appetite and energy back...and I need it by Thursday when I have my interview!  In the meantime I'll be taking it easy, getting my stuff together, and mentally preparing!

I hate that my illness took away from a fantastic day for Carter, but I'm excited to play with him and his new toys tomorrow, and eventually dig back into that awesome cake!  Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet boy!