Its my party (and I'll cry if I want to)

Today is my Birthday.

I have had several of them, but every year I get the same excited feeling. I can't explain what I feel about birthdays (not just my birthday but any birthday) but they make me want to cry happy tears. I love that we celebrate being born, the start of our lives. I feel much more alive on my birthday.

This isn't my drink, I was holding it for someone. Honest!

I don't mind that I am turning another year older. I was talking to a playground Mum and she was talking about how at the moment for her birthdays are a negative reminder that time is passing by. There isn't much time left for her to do what she wants to do. I really don't understand that. I don't feel old, I don't feel older than I did when I was 16 or 18, heck sometimes I don't even believe that I am really an adult.

Of course several of my birthdays have been let downs; Like my Seventh birthday we had just moved to a new house in a new area and I didn't have any friends to invite to a party and to top it all off it rained! Then several of my birthdays have been more joyous than expected. Did you know that I passed my driving test on my Twenty-First birthday? Yes I realise now what a silly thing it was to do, what if I had failed?!

I don't mind that as I am sitting here typing this that I haven't got a birthday cake. I don't mind that I know what the gifts wrapped up and hidden on Daddy's side of the bed are. I don't mind that I will have a few odd people leave me birthday greetings on Facebook and that there are people who won't be here to celebrate with me.

Today I am going to celebrate all that is great and good in my life. I am going to eat what I want, drink what I want and tonight when it is nearly all over I will look back over the last year, the last decade, the last quarter of a century and think of how lucky I have been to have experienced all I have. How lucky I am to have loved to have been loved. How lucky I am that everyone who is important in my life knows that they are... and if I want to I might cry because after all it is My party.

Its not only Christmas that is Big Business!

Its not only Christmas that is Big Business in this house, but Birthdays too.

You see, my Birthday is the day after my Mum's and so we celebrated them together. It was great fun as I grew up, especially as my sisters birthday is three days after our Dad's and again we would love celebrating both the birthdays together. In fact the first Birthday that Daddy spent with my family was the joint celebration of my Dad and Sisters Birthday (and he didn't nearly get us thrown out of the Chinese Restaurant we were in with his Chinese accented version of Happy Birthday, that is just a rumour...) of which we even have documented proof!



It wasn't intentional that Top Enders Birthday was exactly two weeks before Daddy's, she was due before Christmas but managed to hold on until early in the New Year... and I was kind of forgotten by the Midwife team; But I will admit to some crafty planning with Baby Boy and he ended up being born 13 days after my birthday! I'm not sure what to do if we do go ahead and expand our family, perhaps I should aim for our Anniversary...

With Top Enders birthday being so close to Christmas and New Year, I have to start planning now so that other parents can schedule the party in and so that we can decide which one of our many ideas from our big folder of Birthday ideas we shall go with.

Last year we went with a Princess theme and we wrote special invites in Modern olde English (which we wrapped as a scroll and hand delivered to the other Princesses who were invited) inviting the girls to come in Princess dress. We spent the week before the party preparing the house...

The Royal Throne Room

The Magic Mirror (complete with recorded voice telling each Girl she was the fairest of them all)

Special wall sconces

A Roaring Fire

And of course a red carpet and Battlement leading to the Royal Front Door

We had Princess themed party games such as Snog the Frog, (which was my version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey) Decorating Princess Crowns, Decorating Cupcakes, Colouring in, Royal Pass the Parcel to name a few!

This year we decided to go with a Bag and Bear party theme and are holding Top Ender's party at The Bear Factory (hence the bear in the theme title) and we are going to make special bags for the party favours to go in (and there is the bag mentioned!), but I can't mention much more in case Top Ender's friends or their Mummies are reading as we don't want to spoil the surprise!

Last years surprise was a DVD that the children were given along with Thank you notes when we went back to school. It was a video of the photos that we had taken during the party, the very video that the children were watching as their parents came to pick them up!

Next year we are thinking of having a cinema party in a local hall... or maybe a make over party... or maybe a ball... or maybe a music party... or maybe a cooking party... or maybe...

Top Ender Giggles - That isn't food!

Top Ender went to a party after school in the week. When we got home I made tea for Baby Boy, Daddy and I and let Top Ender play.

"When's dinner Mummy?" asked Top Ender expectantly
"You have had dinner!" I answered
Top Ender thought for a second face screwed up with concentration
"No I haven't!" she exclaimed
"Yes, at the Birthday party" I explained
"No, that was lunch as it was sandwiches and party food!"