P is turning NINE

We had an early birthday party + sleepover for P this weekend.  Yes, our very first time to host a sleepover.

Since school is out when her actual birthday comes around, we had to have it early.  As usual, I waited to prepared the night before.  It's not because I am a procrastinator, my days during the week are filled with work commitments so Friday night is all I've got. 

I can easily buy a yummy cake and be done with it..I doubt Paula would even care...but after some analyzing, I am convinced I am putting myself through this to live out some childhood dream (of having a sleepover and having a doll cake). 

So this year, I bought a mold to make doll cakes.  Unlike the fiasco 2 years ago with the castle cake, these turned out adorable and perfect for 8/9 year old girls.  It was super easy to make too!   

Before:  I didn't put enough mix in the bowl so the cake did not rise as high as it should....you can see the gap between the doll's waist and the cake...oh well...she'll have a long back.     

After:  "Kate" after the Duchess of Cambridge.

Some friends (left to right):  Margot, Savannah, Inez, Tiara, Birthday Girl, Maya, Emily

We put up a tent in our slopey (slopy?) and small backyard.  This is for part 2 of the party.  Not all of the girls were ready for a sleepover, so only half of the girls stayed (thank goodness!).  Interestingly, this was the first time for all of the girls, so it was a new experience for all of us...good, at least the expectations were low (nothing to compare to) or could it be high since it's their first (?).

It's hard for me to put in words how it went for me....

• "Piddle'  - this is when you pee a little in your pants when you giggle.  There was a minor piddle accident in the tent (required some laundry)
• Bathroom breaks - when one girl left the tent to use the restroom, they ALL did.  This happened about 10 times during the night.
  
• Outburst of crying - 4 out of 7 girls that spent the night cried for various reasons; none wanted me to call their mother to take them home.
  
• "Hearing Noises @ 11pm" - 3 girls heard noises outside and wanted to sleep inside because they were afraid..had to quickly make sleeping arrangements for them by rearranging mattresses from other rooms, etc.  They stayed for 20 minutes indoors and went back into the tent.
  
• Head in the toilet - I had to help one dry heave into the toilet.....because of too much sweets...visions of P's college years flashed before me.
  
• Jealousy - lots of jealousy among the girls in terms of who's sleeping next to whom in the tent...JUST SLEEP ALREADY!
• They slept at midnight and got up at 6:30 am the next day...
  

This is my first time to see my kids in such a social setting. 

Paula:  I've peg her unfairly as the "bossy" one.  Mainly because she is older than the other kids in her class and is just naturally bossy with Nic.  To my surprise, I found her to be very likeable in a group setting with a bunch of girls.  I've met most of these girls for the first time, so based on first impressions, I could easily identify the "trouble-makers" vs. the "good girls".  There were 3 girls that were absolute nightmares...and 2 girls that were total angels.  The best way to describe P is that she was just confident and cool around her classmates.  They all respected her and asked her opinion on everything....she didn't try to be the center of attention...she wasn't bossy as I'd thought....she just seemed very comfortable with herself.  I say that because I've watch some of these girls cry over some sort of insecurity (for example, one girl cried because she bought a similar gift as another girl and was sure Paula preferred the other girl's gift). 

Nic:  Not shy at all around these "older" girls.  In fact a few of them played with him most of the night...so naturally when it was time to change in PJs and watch a movie in the tent, Nic put on his PJs and climbed into the tent....I heard all these girls screaming for Nic to leave...poor kid...he didn't know....

I told him to wait for me in the tree house..that we would watch a Netflix movie together....he waited as long as he could.     

With all the headaches from last night, I would do it again, BUT with only 2 girls (the good girls will be invited again).  I had planned a scavenger hunt and tie-dying t-shirts...which did not happen cause it was too hard to "control" the party.  I just let go and let them do whatever they wanted.