This past weekend I started, in earnest, to prepare for Logan's birthday party. Due to the mass chaos that ensued during the Superbowl party (12 kids), I decided to way organize this event to prevent the (24+ expected) kids from running wild. It's not that I mind a bunch of crazy kids in my house, I just thought it would be more fun for everyone if it wasn't just a big, ol' unorganized "play date" with cake and pizza.

So....after pondering for a few weeks on exactly what to do, we've decided to have a craft and then a bunch of games in the basement. My idea is to make the game part a sort of "arcade" experience where each child plays 5 or so games, each for one prize...much like at a carnival. All the prizes add up to be the goody bags. Game ideas: pass the planet, spray the tail on the comet, planet darts, sink the crater ball...in the bounce house of course, alien smack down <-- bowling. I found a great web site with lots of fun ideas for an outer space party. I wanted to duplicate these cute planet decorations they had, which involved covering styrofoam balls with different colors of clear wrap. Wow - I did not realize how expensive that idea turned out to be (a big sun-sized ball was $15 and each color of wrap was on a $4.00 roll). After I ditched that idea (and returned $20 worth of stuff to Michael's), I decided to do paper mache planets instead. Oh fun!!! I bought some balloons at the party store for $2.39 and I, sadly?, had all the other materials here!

The weekend also started with a couple other funny things plus a totally full camera memory card. While downloading all the pictures and videos, I came across a few that needed to be shared. Here are: random pics and party prep stuff!

Saturday morning, I was afflicted (as I often am on the little sleep I get) with puffy eyes. I had purchased a cucumber this week, during my Friday grocery run, for the sole purpose of eye treatment. The boys thought it was hysterical that I had veggies on my face. I was trying to hide from everyone by laying on the couch, but no....they found me. Logan and Aiden wanted to eat my cucumbers so Brian gave them a couple slices of their own. First....they had to do what mommy was doing! PS: I did NOT look like this...my slices were cut in 1/2 and placed UNDER, not over, my eyes.
And I didn't eat mine either!

This is me laying on the couch with the camera....up-shot of Aiden munching away on his spa treatment.

On to party prep: Here are the goodies I ordered a while ago from Oriental Trading Company (I love that catalog....even though the whole goody-bag idea is quite comical to me since the kids only play with the stuff inside for like....a day at the most). Annnnyway....all the fun space stuff I found!
These little choking hazards are my favorites! They remind me of those smurf figurines so many of us collected when we were kids.

"Baker Alien" wants to know, "cupcake anyone??"

Sunday morning we let Brian (and Brady!) sleep in while I tried to convince the older boys to play paper mache with me (look how thrilled Logan is! hahaha). Even artsy-craftsy Aiden only lasted like 10 minutes!

I finished "the sun" and "erf" <-- Logan speak for Earth, Sunday morning and then moved to the island in the kitchen that afternoon where I worked on three, smaller, yet-to-be-named planets.

This morning (Monday), I painted the sun before neighborhood playgroup. I really wanted to make my facebook status "Renay is painting the sun"....but that sounded kind of odd. I left a little "bridge" on each ball so that, after the balloon was popped, I could attach each one to a string. I tied the sun up before painting it and then tapped it to the kitchen ceiling so that it could dry completely.

I put a garbage-bag-lined laundry basket underneath "the sun" in case it broke off the string or in case the string came un-tapped from the ceiling.

Close up - don't touch....it's hot. hahaha <-- only I get that joke I'm sure!

Here is a picture of the craft we'll be making at Logan's party (as the guests arrive I think) The website had a printable template and full instructions so - yeah!

Here I am on the couch Sunday night finishing what I started Saturday night (tracing and cutting out templates to make 24 alien masks). I asked Brian to grab my camera so I could take pictures of all the cut-outs, but he took a picture of me instead. yeah - I made the blog. haha.

And now we return to some random pictures. This is Logan this morning (in his favorite jammies.....again) playing "spy". Logan's spy is also into karate. He was hi-yaw-ing around the kitchen and wanted me to take his picture (I had the camera out to photograph the sun)

Oh...more big news this weekend: Aiden walked around the house a bit sans diaper and undies for a bit of potty training! He is great at the peeing thing and even snuck upstairs, alone, without instruction from anyone, found the only training potty in the house (currently in Logan's room for nap and night time needs) and went #2!!! I gave him the promised gift of 3 mylar balloons which he picked out Saturday afternoon from the party store (a football, a basketball and a camouflage star <-- I might have helped him a bit on those)

This is a picture that Brian took this past Friday. I think this is the first time that Brady has crawled up on the train table. I'm not sure why, but whenever I leave the house, one or more of the boys ends up without pants on by the time I return! I'm pretty sure Bray was tooooo wiggly after his diaper change for daddy to bother.

This picture is pretty old, but I never got around to posting it. I wanted GG and GGpa to see Logan playing in his fireman outfit that they gave him for Christmas.

Add on the goggles, belt and other goodies he got last year for his birthday and we've got a pretty sharp looking fire fighter!!

And finally....a picture of Logan....at about 3pm one day. This was one of those afternoons where he refused to nap, claiming, "I'm just not tired!!" Rrrright.....

I think he was watching a cartoon and started doing that head-bobbing thing. Too cute!