The Party's Over.

Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh. It's all over. And I would have to call it a success. It was a lot of work, and it was VERY hot, but the kids seemed to have a great time, and that was the goal. They decorated hats, ate hotdogs, ran around in the yard, played Pin the Cherry on the Sundae (which they loved!), and finally, made their own ice cream sundaes:

I think the Sundae Bar was a hit. The kids liked picking their own toppings, and surprisingly, no one over-did it. Not even me. Here is mine, pictured below, with crushed oreos, chocolate and raspberry syrups, whipped cream, and a cherry.

Delicious! That is, I think it was delicious. I don't actually remember eating it. I don't remember much about the party at all. But that's OK. That's the way it always goes. Daphne will remember it. And I made another sundae after Daphne went to bed. I remember that one. It was GOOD. Mum's the word.

I enjoy the pre-party planning and the post-party "time to reflect" much more than the actual event itself. I don't think this is uncommon. But, maybe I'll talk more about that when I finish my library book.

One of my favorite things about Daphne's party was the fake photobooth we set up in the driveway. I am so happy with the way these came out. It was easy to do, too. I hung up a piece of fabric (that I got for $2.00 at Jo-Ann's) on the garage door, laminated some paper moustaches and put them on sticks (this caused some raised eyebrows at the copy center), and let the kids go to town making silly faces. (For the record, this was not my original idea. I copied some others from the blogosphere. There are tons of cool birthday party ideas on the internet if you're willing to look around a little). Anyway, these pictures will be sent with the thank-you notes. And we'll have copies for Daphne's birthday album.

One other experimental thing we did for Daphne's party was to ask for a donated new book instead of a present. The books will go to children in hospitals through a really cool local organization called Cole's Closet. There were a couple of reasons for doing this. First of all, Daphne has enough stuff. I know this is selfish, but the idea of trying to find places to put twenty or so more toys was more than I wanted to deal with.

My main goal, though, was to teach Daphne an early lesson in the spirit of giving. She was more or less on board with the idea from the beginning, but from time to time would say, "But Mom, it's MY birthday, and I want the presents." So, I took her to Border's early in the process to pick out her own book to donate. I showed her pictures on the internet of kids receiving donated books and toys. And my hope was that maybe some of the other parents explained to their children what we were doing so they could learn a little something too.

We have a nice big basket of books now. Daphne gets to choose one to keep, and the rest go to Cole's Closet. And so far, she hasn't said one word about not getting tons of presents (a couple of kids did bring gifts for her, either instead of or in addition to a book).

I had some initial guilt about all of this. I thought maybe I was a mean mommy, spoiling all the fun of a birthday party by taking away the presents. But I really think it's fine. Daphne got plenty of gifts from us and from family and friends. And there was tons of fun at the party even without gifts. I don't think she thinks I'm a mean mommy. Except when I make her take a bath. Then, I'm horrible.

Today, we are recovering. Daphne has been playing with the new drums she got from Uncle Jeff, and swimming in the pool she got from G-Ma nd G-Pa. There are tons of pictures on flickr for those of you who want to see. And there will be drumming videos posted on here very soon. Stay tuned for some ROCK.