Another Birthday Party for the Books

I can’t even believe that Isabel is already two! I can barely remember life without her, at the same time, it feels like just yesterday she was this little, helpless baby.

We had a fun get together a few weeks ago with family and my closest friends (Hi, Abbey!). Now that we are settled in a much more spacious house, it is so nice to be able to get everyone together.

Lots of things surprised me about parenthood. First and foremost, I love it! Haha! It sounds terrible, but it is true. I was unsure of what parenthood would bring, but despite some frustration and smoothies thrown in anger (by Isabel, not me), parenthood is really fun and rewarding! And one of the fun things (for me anyway) has been organizing birthday parties.

We decided to put together a unicorn theme for Izzy’s 2nd birthday. I found some cute unicorn garlands on Amazon only to find out they didn’t ship to Canada (Boo!). So, I made my own with cardstock, ribbon, and glittery paper. I’ve kind of become obsessed with making garlands lately… I hung up some tissue paper pom poms (thank you Martha Stewart for the wonderful tutorial), and made a little “Decorate a Unicorn” table. Something I did for Izzy’s first birthday, was set up a photobooth so that I could get some fun photos of her with her cousins and aunts and uncles, etc. I loved the photos we took so much that I decided to do it again. This was an easy thing for me because I just happen to have a photo backdrop stand, but I think you could easily do this just by pinning some fabric to a wall or drapery rod, then adding your embellishments. I added swaths of tulle and some cut out glittery stars.  I also made a couple of unicorn headbands out of felt, inspired by some unicorn horns I saw on Etsy. I’m not going to lie, I sometimes just wear them around the house. We believe in playing dress-up in this household.

One of the best parts of our day was when my cousins husband showed up in a unicorn costume! My jaw nearly hit the floor. It was hilarious and made the day extra memorable.

I know I fawn over Isabel all of the time. I don’t want to make parenthood seem like a walk in the park. I’m tired and it’s a lot of work. But, it’s also way more enjoyable than I ever gave it credit for. It’s a-ok to complain when you are having a down-day (trust me, I complain), but I know that pre-children, it felt like all I ever heard was “wait until you have kids, then you’ll really know what busy means” or “think you’re tired now? You don’t have kids.” Ugh… First, I’ve never been as tired as I was when I was in fashion school full time and working 20+ hours a week at a fabric store – that even beat out the time I had mono.  Second, of course parenthood is hardwork! but it’s also super rewarding – way more so than I ever thought, and in ways I never imagined. It’s the look on her face when she realizes that she gets free candy on halloween, it’s the funny way she puts words together, it’s watching her figure out the world around her, it’s how she’s obsessed with hunting down and pointing out dog poo in the backyard (ha!). It’s just the best, and I’m really grateful I’ve gotten the opportunity to be a parent. Also, let’s not forget about all of the crafts we get to relive!

I wanted to touch a bit on the expectations we put on ourselves as parents. It’s something I struggle with a lot personally, and as a mom. I’m always striving to be the best that I can be, but sometimes at the expense of my mental health. It’s perfectly ok to have a low-key party. Not everything has to be pinterest-perfect. Do what makes you smile. At the end of the day, no one cares if you bought pre-shredded cheese or made cake from a mix or bought your decor from the dollar store (or had no decorations at all!). I don’t want to add to the “this is what parenting looks like” vibe you often see on blogs. I just do what I like… and I like crafts.

Anyway, sorry for all of the parent-hood posts. I’ll get back to the lingerie very soon!