Tag Archives: birthday

A Harry Potter Party

Posted on by Run DMT
7

My daughter definitely inherited my love for party planning and with her obsession over Harry Potter, she planned a whole party around the theme of the books and the movies.

 

Her magical grand design included a Hogwarts dining hall with a table for each house (Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin), a sorting hat, a potions lesson by our resident witch (me) and a Quidditch match, of course.

 

When sharing her master plan, she told us that she wanted to decorate the entire house to resemble Hogwarts.  Upon entering the house, the guests were to walk through Diagon Alley to find their necessary supplies and then report to Hogwarts.

 

As much fun as that all sounded, I couldn’t stomach the idea of 1) decorating my ENTIRE house the day after Halloween, 2) spending all the money required to decorate our entire house and 3) having about 40 children in my house.  So, I convinced Allana to scale down the party a bit and offered to rent our community’s clubhouse, which is available at a very modest price.  

 

Between races and other commitments, October is always a busy month for us, therefore, I tried to keep everything as simple and basic as possible, but still honor Allana’s request.  For the invitations, I downloaded the Lumos font from MuggleNet.com and modified text in the Hogwarts acceptance letter from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.   

 

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY 

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

In honour of

 Allana’s 8th Birthday

Sunday, November 1, 2OO9

2:OO P.M.

Our Clubhouse

777 Our Street Drive

We await your owl by no later than October 26.

Yours sincerely, 

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

 

On the front of the invitation, I added the Hogwarts seal for authenticity.  Allana loved it and even commented on how “it looked so real”.

 

HP_Invitation

 

 

table

For the party decorations, I found everything I needed with one trip to the local dollar store.  We set up four tables (one for each house) and covered the tables with black vinyl tablecloths.  At each place setting, we set a purple plate, a purple napkin and a plastic purple spider goblet for each child, which would be theirs to keep after the party.  Each goblet held a goodie bag filled with an assortment of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans to represent Bertie Bott’s Jelly Beans.  Then, I covered another table with a purple tablecloth for the presents and hung spooky paper chandeliers from the ceiling to finish the Hogwarts dining hall look and feel.

  

Of course each Hogwarts student needs a wand, so I found a cheap frugal wand craft on-line that consisited of pencils, pipe cleaners and star wire. 

 

Our little wizards could make assemble their wands while waiting for other guests to arrive. Dylan_sorting hatAllana insisted that each child be sorted as they arrived.  I dug up two black witch’s hats from our dress-up clothes box: one to be placed each child’s head and the other to hide our baby monitor.  When the guests entered the room, we asked them to sit in a chair near the door and placed the “sorting hat” on their heads.  On the other side of the room, Dad held the baby monitor.  Speaking into the monitor, he pretended to be the voice of the sorting hat and selected a house at random for each child.  The children giggled in delight upon hearing our talking sorting hat.

 

As the guests made their way to their tables, we served chips and filled their goblets with Butterbeer (Root Beer).  Then, to begin our Hogwarts celebration, we sang “Happy Birthday” and served the cake at the start of the party because the planned activities would take us outside and give the children a chance to burn off the sugar high.

 

For my potions lesson, I told my students as I assembled the ingredients, “I’m not a very good witch and I always mess up my potions, so I don’t know what may happen here.  Sometimes the results are very explosive!”  I poured in a cup of powdered bat’s bones (baking soda) into a cauldron.  I added a drop of frog’s blood (red food coloring) and then poured in some ogre sweat (white vinegar).  The students squealed with delight as the concoction erupted out of the cauldron. 

 

After our explosive potions lesson, Dad lead the children in a quick game of Quidditch for Muggles.  No broomsticks required, but it was a fun game of controlled chaos. 

 

IMG_2109

 

IMG_2110

 

At the end of the day, Allana exclaimed, “THAT WAS THE BEST PARTY EVER!”  Although, she’s said that before, it felt good to hear it again this year.

 

IMG_2097

Let the Celebrations Begin!

Posted on by Run DMT

Blogoversary

Today is my birthday and to celebrate, I am kicking off my big ol’ Blogoversary Bonanza!

 

For the next week and a half, I will be hosting a giveaway each day.  There are so many prizes!  I can’t wait!  You won’t want to miss one day!  So, come back and visit each day to enter a new giveaway.

 

Now, you may have already noticed my fabulous new Run DMT header, which was designed by the marvelous Melanie of Mommy Doodles.  Don’t you just love it?!  You want a new header now too, don’t you?  Well, now’s your chance.  To start this blogoversary bonanza, Mommy Doodle will graciously design a header for one lucky Run DMT reader.

 

For a chance to win your very own fabulous header, simply add a comment below.  One lucky winner will be randomly selected on Monday, August 3. 

 

For additional entries: 

  • Follow @mommydoodlesblg and @denisermt on Twitter.
  • Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter.  Add a new comment for each time you tweet: @denisermt Run DMT’s #blogoversary- Win a header designed by @mommydoodlesblg http://tinyurl.com/kvqzdp
  • Visit Mommy Doodles Design and comment on one of her designs.  Then, come back here and add a comment for your additional entry.  If you comment on more than one design, then you will get one additional entry for each comment you leave. 
  • Visit Mommy Doodles Blog and comment on one of her posts.  Then, come back here and add a comment for your additional entry.  If you comment on more than one post, then you will get one additional entry for each comment you leave.

Another Year Older

Posted on by Run DMT
Reply

A beautiful birthday cake made with love by my DH and children.

A beautiful birthday cake made with love by my DH and children.

 

Sunday was my 29th birthday.  I have celebrated my 29th birthday for 8 years now. ;-)

As a birthday present to myself, I have decided to begin an on-line journal, or should I say blog.  For quite sometime now, I have been wanting to blog on a real blogging site, not just posting on myspace or adding discussion threads to entertain the moms in my mommy group.  I mean real, honest to God blogging, like real writers do. 

I’ve heard to reach an audience as a writer, you need exposure and what better way to do that then blogging.  Besides, good writers must constantly write in order to refine their craft and become better writers.  I don’t know if what I do is any real craft by any means, but it’s good for the brain.

As I’ve already mentioned, Sunday was my birthday.  I spent the day at the beach with my family: Allan (my husband of 8 years), Allana (my oldest daughter, age 6.5) and Emmalynn Jaime (3).  It sounds like a lovely day, right?  Can you picture my family frolicking joyfully in the sand under the warm Florida sun?

 

Me and my girls at Honeymoon Island State Park

Me and my girls at Honeymoon Island State Park

 

Well, that isn’t at all what happened.

I woke up early and decided to go for an early Sunday morning run.  After a 7 mile run in the blazing heat and humidity, I returned home to find my oldest daughter decorating the house for my birthday.  She informed me that my birthday breakfast of Kashi cereal was waiting for me on the table.  My husband was still in bed and my youngest daughter was watching TV in the playroom.  Obviously, we would not be getting an early start for the beach.

I awoke Allan and told him I was jumping in the shower to cool down after my run.  After my shower, I threw on my swimsuit and headed downstairs.  My family sat around the kitchen table waiting to give my present.  Allana hands me a shoebox fastened with a sparkly pink sash.  I opened the box.  Inside, there was a new hot pink and white polka dot pajama top, a small stuffed dachshund toy, a few coins, a digital chicken watch and a compass.  Then, Allan handed me a birthday card and said, “I’m sorry but I didn’t get you anything.  I didn’t know what to get you.”

So, I swallow my disappointment and remind my family that we are heading to the beach today for my birthday.  “Oh.  You still want to go?  Allan replied.

“Yes, that was the plan, right?”

“Well, it’s kind of late and I know you wanted to head out early.” 

“If we get moving, we can still get an early start,” I replied.  Then, I realized that the girls were not dressed and nothing has been packed or loaded into the car for the beach.

And then, Allan became the miserable man he often turns into when he is forced to something he doesn’t want to do.  He can’t just suck it up and take one for the team.  Any SAHM (or any mother for that matter) will know what I am talking about.  We are constantly forced to do things for the sake of our family, like washing poop out of panties, for example.  Not my idea of a picnic at the park, but somebody has got to do it.

So instead of making the day the best birthday possible for the birthday girl, it quickly turned into a-not-so-great birthday for Mommy.  My children fought and whined the entire time at the beach.  My DH wore a puss as he sat under our beach umbrella.  He didn’t build sandcastles with his children.  He didn’t swim in the gulf with his girls.  He just sat there like a bump on a log. Yay.

My husband sitting under our beach umbrella

My husband sitting under our beach umbrella.

As the day went on, I became more and more frustrated with thoughts on how I received no gift from my DH followed by a miserable time at the beach.  I was so upset.  How could he not know what to get me for my birthday?  For months, I mentioned on multiple occasions how I wanted new running shoes.  I also commented many times that I needed an apron.  Now, I know men are not the best listeners and often tune out their wives, but after 13 years together, how could he not think of something?

Two years ago, he bought me a weeping willow tree which he planted in the backyard with the girls.  I loved that present!  Last year, he planned a surprise party with my girlfriends.  That was a GREAT birthday! 

Sandhill cranes standing near my weeping willow.

I understand that times are tight with the rising cost of gas and groceries, so I wasn’t expecting anything extravagant, but I was expecting a little something more than miserable company at the beach.