Emilia turns 7

Emilia's birthday party was this week. And most of my week was consumed with getting us ready for it. But I tried not to be crazy-Godzilla-mom about it. Just crazy mom.

Dragon's eggs we made as party favors. The kids went on a dragon egg hunt and then we "incubated" them in order to hatch their baby dragons.

Their baby dragons. I love how they turned out.

I ended up asking my MIL Wilda to help me sew dragons because I knew I wasn't going to get them all done and get everything else done for the party. Lucky for me, she got her knee replaced a few weeks ago and had some time on her hands. Probably not so lucky for her, but I am super duper appreciative of her help.

These next pictures are of the decorations

We made it to the library this week. And the splash pad. I took the younger girls to the mall playground and Emilia had a playdate with a friend from school. That was my attempt to not be a terrible mom while stressing out over party stuff. Somewhere around Monday night, I decided that stressing wasn't making anyone happier and it certainly wasn't going to get my to-do list done faster. This realization helped me calm down until Thursday night when I officially freaked out again.

My mom and dad came down Friday morning. Mostly because my dad agreed to help us mud and tape the wall that Steve closed up last Saturday. But my mom came because she was invited by Emilia to her birthday party and it was easier for both of them to come down at the same time. I am also super duper appreciative of their help! My mom being there kept me sane throughout the day. She took the girls to their end-of-summer library reading program party. Which they left 1/2 way through because it was "just so BORING."

At one point, my top layer of cake broke and started sliding off the cake. My mom was especially helpful in keeping me from having a melt-down at that point. We made it into a canyon and Emilia thought it was totally cool. Crisis averted.

Yesterday, there was a family reunion for Steve's mom's side of the family. I'm glad we went for his sake. For my sake, I kinda wish they made child muzzles. My kids were out of control. Then tonight we went to my parents' house to celebrate Megan's and Emilia's birthdays. They were much better today.

The clouds were beautiful on the way home from the reunion. We even saw a rainbow. I felt like it was God's way of saying, "It's okay. There is beauty in the world. Not just screamy, whiney, difficult kids." And I felt loved.

Cecily fell asleep on the way to my parents' house. She snored. It was cute.

This is the cranachan I was telling you about (I made ours without the whiskey).