Tag Archives: party

42!

I do not like to grow older every year. I dread the coming of another birthday because with it comes more wrinkles and the admission that I am not spring chicken anymore. It also reminds that time keeps flying by, no matter how badly I want to slow it down. This is why I instituted the ritual of throwing a Christmas/birthday party at our house every year. My philosophy is this: getting older is a lot more fun when I have a party to go to. This year was no exception!

Saturday night we had 24 of our closest friends come over to our house to celebrate and have a good time together. Thankfully, I know how to throw a low maintenance party and that has plenty of snacks, alcohol and friends. The food table was full of hummus, veggies, cheese and crackers, olives, mixed nuts, and pigs in a blanket (the latest food addition that was a huge success). I typically buy only 6 bottles of wine because I know that nearly everyone that walks in the door will bringing a bottle of wine with them. It is almost guaranteed that I will have more wine left over than I started with….not a bad thing to have happen.

It has also become a ritual to play the charades game that we played last year. It is a hilarious game that involves everyone at the party, and you have to pay attention in order to do well. Sidney is the designated game master. Here is Megan acting out one of the names she drew out of the hat….

Last year I forgot to take pictures so this time I took some early in the night before I forgot.

This is Damian and Mandy DiFilippo and Josh and Kristee Bostick. Mandy finally made it to a party. Kristee was thoughtful enough to bring a bottle of the party’s favorite vodka (another tradition).

Mandy, Me and Kristee ….

Stephanie, Mackenzie, Sidney and me…

Me, Patty and Kristee have been friends for over ten years. They were some the first girls that I met in Charlotte. (We got photo-bombed by Jerry but I cut him out. haha)

Michelle and Joe McCready. I am lucky that they even showed up….she is over due with baby number one.

I felt very loved and joyful Saturday night. I had fun and celebrated with my friends from many different circles: church, neighborhood, school, and the gym. Sidney’s comment was, “Wow, you guys know a lot of people.” We do, and I love everyone one of them and am so glad that they took the time to come and enjoy the night with us. Until next year….

Faith is 7!

The birthdays just keep coming. Two down and two to go! Faith turned seven-years-old this past week. I always said that I could envision her as old as six, but now we have surpassed that – she is seven. I asked her a few weeks ago where she wanted to have her party and she said that she wanted to have it at home. She had quite an extensive list of friends that she wanted to invite, 25 in all. In hopes that not everyone would be able to attend, I waited until about 1.5 weeks before the party to send out the emails inviting her friends. In the end, about 16 of her closest friends from school and church were able to come to the party. We had planned to have games out in the yard, but the weather turned nasty, and it was rainy and only 45 degrees. Not a perfect day to have everyone outside. We still had the party at our house and hoped for the best. I decided to have the kids paint a craft when they arrived, play indoor games and then have cake. Of course, I also scheduled the party to last only one and a half hours, which is a much more reasonable amount of time to entertain children at our house. The party was a lot of fun!

The kids painted their picture frame or birdhouse when they first arrived. Then everyone came into the living room to play “hot potato” and “freeze dance”. I had no idea that those two games would be so much fun! The kids loved them and asked to play them again and again. It was so cute to see sixteen 4-7 year olds dancing around the living room and having the best time together. They were laughing and showing their best moves. The kids were so happy to be together having fun. After the games, the kids decorated cookies, danced some more, had cake, and watched Faith open her gifts. Then the party was over. Of course, it was much louder after everyone had cookies and ice cream cake….much louder.

I knew that I would be tired after the party, so I had bought only four tickets for Tom and the kids to go see The Little Mermaid play at Faith’s school that afternoon. I needed peace and quiet…and a nap. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the couch for 1.5 hours while everyone was at the play. I was exhausted! Tom was a good Daddy and took them to the play while I slept. I then met them at the Tony’s pizza for an early dinner. (Tom got his nap later).

It was a great day. Faith loved her party and so did her friends. Faith has grown up so much over the last year. She is still as sweet and kind as ever. She is a great big sister to Wilson, and especially to Miller. She still likes to sleep in Miller’s room with him on occasion. I am just so proud of who she is and how she conducts herself most of the time. She is kind to her friends and wants everyone to be happy. She sees only the good in people. In school, she is a wonderful student and loves to be there. Every penny that we have spent for her to attend Covenant Day has been worth it. Faith has been taking gymnastics for a month now, and by the third week they had already moved her up into the next level of classes. She loves it and works hard at practice each week. I truly cannot say enough wonderful things about Faith. She is my “sweet girl” and I am so thankful and blessed that she is mine! Happy birthday Faith!!

Here is the group pictures….

And the silly shot….

Robin, Faith and Hadley…

Faith and her “boyfriend” Stephen Donaldson….

Tom painted the rock in front of Faith’s school….

Freeze Dance….

Wilson is 5

On Sunday my little Wilson turned five-years-old. He has grown up so much over the last six months to a year. He is so much more mature and kind to his brother and sister. He uses bigger words and seems to understand things more logically. Maybe it is because he is going to school four days a week, but maybe it is just because he is getting older. Lately, Wilson has begun to build things with his Trio blocks. He gets a bit upset if the spaceship he built breaks, but then he just builds another one and moves on. It is so neat to see him mature in so many ways. Wilson’s favorite thing in life are: play “baby”, sword fight, play spies, watch television and drink milk/juice non-stop. He also loves his friends from school, and they love him. He is quite the ladies man. One parent told Tom that the girls all love Wilson because “he is respectful and makes them laugh.” What more can you ask for as a parent than that?!?! Wilson is my little cuddler and I love it when he crawls into bed with me in the morning and snuggles in. He is a sweet and active little five-year-old.

For his birthday he wanted a Super Hero party with Goldfish, Pirate Booty, and juice boxes. (I don’t typically buy those food items….you know, GMOs….) It was his birthday so I let him have whatever food he wanted. I even bought him a pinata and filled it with lots of yummy candy. Of course, I offset the candy with my deliciously homemade, all natural, gluten free, GMO free cake. I can’t completely cave, people!!

Mom and Dad offered to have the party at their house so that I wouldn’t have to rent the shelter at the playground. The kids could jump on the new trampoline and play in the backyard. We even brought over the bounce house from my Aunt Lisa’s and set it up in the driveway. It was perfect!! All of the kids from school that he specifically wanted to invite were there, along with his cousins and some friends from church. Here is what it looked like….

Here are all the kids along with John dressed up at Captain America.

Every normal picture must be followed up by a silly face picture….

We tied the pinata to the swingset and let the kids hit it with a plastic hammer. This worked great because each kid could hit is five times and it still didn’t break. Eventually the pinata fell to the ground and then Tom held it while Wilson beat the crap out of it with a real stick. There was more than enough candy for everyone.

Here is Wilson with the pumpkin cake that he wanted (which matched the pumpkin pinata)…

Wilson and Robin Youngs….great buddies…..

We always try to get a family picture at the birthday parties. Unfortunately, Tom was eating a big ole piece of candy……

Wilson is my sweet little five year old!! He is such a joy to be around. He tries my patience like the best of them, but deep down he just wants to make everyone laugh and to have a good time.

Here he is at school with his birthday crown on. Happy Birthday Wilson!!

Christmas Party

Last night we had a Christmas party at our house. I love having parties at our house. We clean the house, buy a little bit of food and booze, and all of our friends come over to hang out for the night. The best part is that we don’t have to drive home. We just walk into the other room and go to bed. My parties are never fancy, but they are always fun!

Last night we invited most of our friends over, but since it was party season, about 16 of the came. The night of the party I am worry that 16 people won’t be enough and that it will be too small, but 16 is the perfect number of people. I can talk to everyone that is there and it doesn’t get too crazy. Although last night did get a bit crazy. There were two things that were a big hit at the party…..

1. Doug bought me a good bottle of vodka for my birthday. It turns out that Doug should be a salesman for this vodka because he had everyone drinking it on the rocks with just a little bit of frozen fruit in it from Costco. I only had one glass before it was all gone. It really was delicious. A sweet potato vodka that is made here in NC. Here is the label if you are curious….

2. After everyone had a few drinks we played “Celebrity”. In this game there were four teams. Everyone wrote down three celebrity names on a piece of paper. The papers went into a big bowl. Each team had one minute to get as many right as they could. There were three rounds: 1- describe the person with as much detail as you could for them to guess the person. 2- Say one word and the team had to guess the person. 3- play charades so your team could guess the person.

We all laughed so hard. It was a great game and a way for all of us to be involved in something together. Before the game, everyone was crammed into my kitchen socializing. I don’t know why this always happens but no one was in the spacious living room, they were all in the smaller, louder kitchen. The game pulled everyone out of the kitchen and into the living room…finally!

I told Tom that we need to have a Christmas party every year. It was so much fun! I love my friends and we rarely get to see each other without the kids around. This was an adults only night and one that was desperately needed! I waited until the end of the night to take pictures, but here are a few.

Kristee and Josh …..

Doug, Ashley, Sidney….

Bobby and Sidney….

Faith’s Princess Party

Faith had her 6th birthday party today. She wanted it to be at our house and to be a princess party. I went online to find some party ideas and stole a few from other parties that she had been to. Faith invited the girls in her kindergarten class and a few from church or the neighborhood. The girls could dress up like a princess if they wanted. Faith was Snow White today. She has so many different dresses that it was difficult for her to choose which one to wear.

I had the party all planned and almost had too many activities. The party was only an hour and a half and that was the perfect amount of time. The girls colored their own blank crowns that I found at Michael’s. Then they were going to decorate cookies, have a tea party, put on makeup, paint their nails, eat cake and open presents. I think that they were most excited about putting on the makeup. Some of them ended up looking more like clowns, but they all had a great time. It worked out perfectly and Faith had a great party!!

Here are some of the girls coloring their crowns….

After the crowns, the girls put on make up and painted their nails. As you can see, some have had more practice putting on lipstick than others. They did pretty well considering the fact that I forgot to give them a mirror….

Here are all the princesses from left to right: Jesse, Velina, Maizy, Georgia, Amelia, Faith, Emily, Maddie and Chloe. Cousin Maddie is in the back…..

The girls decorating their cookies next. I gave them icing and lots of sprinkles….

Velina thought Maddie was wonderful. She played with her hair and sat in her lap….

Jesse and Faith….

Emily, Maddie, and Maizy eating their cookies…

The girls had a tea party while they ate their decorated cookies. Just like a real princess….

Faith’s cousin, Maddie, dressed up as a princess too. They both looked beautiful.

From left to right: Amelia, Chloe, Mommy, Faith, Daddy, Maizy, Georgia, Velina and Maddie

Faith getting ready to blow out the candles on her ice cream cake. yummm!!….

Grandma, Faith and Grandmama….

Miller, Mommy, Grandma, Faith and Grandmama….

The party was a huge success. For years I have been afraid to have parties at my own house. I didn’t want to clean it nor did I feel that I had the capacity to entertain little girls for an hour and a half. I now know that a party at the house is not as difficult as I had imagined. It also seems that the magic number is 8-10 kids. Having a party at the house is much less expensive than having it somewhere other than a playground. I have a feeling that there will be many more little parties at our house in the future.

Happy 6th birthday, Faith!!! We love you!!

Kristen’s birthday party

Kristen’s party was at a clubhouse on Lake —- It was a beautiful location. There was a large grassy lawn that led down to the water. The lake was surrounded by rolling hills. It was nice to be outside all day and have such a beautiful lake to admire.

The party went all day and long into the night. We arrived around 2:00pm at the lodge. There was copious amounts of food, drinks and desserts. I ate like a king. The best part is that I didn’t have to cook any of it and I didnt have to clean it all up.

Kristen has a wonderful family. I knew some of them from Kate’s wedding and some from other get togethers. Her mom and dad are both very generous. Her dad even bought my ticket with his airlines miles.

We stayed at the lake until about 10:00pm. There were fireworks on the lake but we could only see part of them.

You can see them through the trees a little.

After fireworks we went to a bar and hung out until late. The next morning I slept until 11:00am. That hasn’t happened in years…of course neither has staying up past midnight.

Becca’s 40th Birthday Bash

I have not been very excited about turning 40. A month or so ago I told Tom that I was going to be depressed if my birthday came and went without a celebration to liven the event up. Tom and my friend, Michaleh, decided that they would throw me a birthday party. I was to do nothing but give them the names of those that I wanted to attend. Begrudgingly, I did that and waited for the big day. (Turns out that I am a total control freak!)

A number of mishaps and illnesses whittled down my expected party guests from 40 people down to 20. Between noon and 6:30 the night of the party, I received numerous texts that many of my friends and family were not going to be there. I began to cry. I thought, “Great! This is just going to prove that being 40 is going to suck!”. Tom tried to console me and remind me of all of those friends that were going to be there. Jacqueline even called to cheer me up. I told her that I was now going to need some tequila instead of just wine.

I arrived at the house and it looked great. Tom, Chaz and Michaleh were there to greet me and hand me a glass of wine. Slowly more friends and family began to arrive. Sidney Youngs drove down from Asheville to help celebrate and Patty Wunsch Smith came from Lake Norman. These were two important guests for me. As time went on, more and more of my best friends showed up. Tom finally put on some hip-hop music (my favorite) and my disposition changed drastically…with a little help from the very strong margaritas that Doug continued to make for me!

I even got a birthday cake. It felt very surreal standing there looking at a giant birthday cake with my name on it while people sang Happy Birthday. I don’t know when that happened last. I guess it was in high school. At some point in your life you stop getting birthday cakes with your name in it….until your 40th. A big enough occasion to warrant a cake and candles….I got 5 of them. A delicious (gluten free) cake from Aunt Lisa.

For fun, Tom had set up a photo booth in the office. He had the camera on a tripod and Michaleh had brought some really fun and silly dress up props. My friends took turns taking silly pictures and writing up birthday wishes for me to enjoy later. I even got to go into the photo booth with all of my girlfriends. I don’t remember laughing that hard! Here are a few of the pictures that were taken.

The party ended up being the perfect size. Had there been more people then I would not have had a chance to talk to all my friends that came to celebrate. The party was fabulous! I was able to talk and laugh with the people in my life that mean the most to me. I am so blessed to have 20 beautiful, caring and fun people that love me and walk with me through this life. I am thankful for Tom who cared enough to throw this party and ensure that I had a great time.

Happy 40th!

The Dressler Family

A Day in the Life…