Lissa's Party!

Today was Lissa's 3rd birthday and we of course, partied in our typical wild abandon.  If the pictures are in the order they are showing on my screen as I write this, the top left is Chet at the party.  Top right is the princess herself, replete with royal crown, sampling the Royal Cook's icing!  Second row left is the Prince who was on duty to help with all manner of party planning and execution.Second row right, is Rob, who wouldn't be caught dead in a crown but who brings a huge smile and sense of fun to every gathering.  Bottom left picture is the theme of Lissa's party.  The Princess and the Frog.  We haven't even seen the movie, but Lissa is all about princesses and their various trappings--wands, loyal subjects, etc so it was a perfect fit for the day.  Rob and KC and Lissa herself helped me decorate the dining room.  We had pink and purple streamers and I hid some of the Yule decorations, putting a clear bowl of pastel colored ornaments on the table with ivory tapers as a centerpiece.  Set off the purple tablecloth well.  Lissa had also requested that we include butterflies in the theme so the napkin rings were recycled from K's butterfly garden birthday party and we had a special butterfly balloon tied to her chair.  Rob used the helium tank and got all the balloons all set while I was doing streamers and banners and gew gaws!  Lissa requested home made pizza (known in our house as KC pizza as he usually helps make it) and a pink cake.  She got a magic princess wand for her birthday from KC, a home made matching game from Rob, a paint set from Chet, a camera from her nana, puzzles from her parents, and a gorgeous crocheted dress from her nana as well.  All in all it was a lovely celebration and we are all pooped!  December is so much about celebrating.  The next upcoming night is our Solstice celebration which is not really about gifts but is still exciting to the kids.  We have a candle lit supper, I decorate with a lot of glow sticks in containers and we embrace the darkness we are presently in and the promise of lights return.  Then it is only days till Christmas and the hubbub of that.  I still have so much to do that if I stop to think about it I will go batty.  However I know from experience that the important stuff will get done.  It always does.  And a lot of the less important stuff will get done.  And some stuff will fall through the cracks and we will either decide it didn't matter or we will work harder on those things next year.   For now, I will hope KC settles down to sleep in a bit and then after I read the last Harry Potter book to Rob (we might finish it tonight) I'll do some wrapping of gifts.