Gatti Town Birthday

My mom and I took Emme to Gatti Town on her actual birthday. She loved every minute of it! I was surprised the first time I took her there and she let them paint her face. I thought she would want to get it painted, but would actually be too squirmy. She sat as still as a rock!

She was quite independent and rode the merry-go-round and the ship by herself. It was bittersweet. Of course I rode with her the first few times, but she loved looking for me on the sidelines with the camera even more than when I rode with her.

Her favorite part was the bowling! I wonder if it is just in her blood? Her great grandfather owned Zang's Bowl.

Penguin Party: Emme is 3!

I thought the perfect theme for Emme's party this year would be Penguins! She loves them! First, I had to get the perfect cake. Luckily I met someone at church who makes amazing cakes! She exceeded my expectations!

As for the party, well, the turn out was great! I think the kids had a good time. There were bounce houses, a dance floor, bubbles, and games.

But, here is the rest of the story...

When I picked the location for Emme's party, I practiced my nonjudgmental approach to the world and overlooked the gravel road and herd of goats I had to pass in Prosper to get there.

I based my decision on Emme's joy with the dance floor, bounce houses and games. I should have listened to my internal critical parent that said "Seems like a bit of a dive...the owner seems a bit challenged...it is hot in here, even though their explanation is an unusually large pizza order in the last 20 minutes" but no, I listened to the part that said "He is trying...she is giggling...I am sure the kids will like it"

Well, the "food room" did not have enough breaker capacity for lights AND the PLUG IN AC units, yes, PLUG IN. The "party helpers" had to be the challenged owners kids by his first cousin. My pregnant friend was still recovering from heat exhaustion 3 hours later. I considered having an ambulance on standby like the cowboys do during training camp.

Half the people that came are new friends from church and they know very little about me. Having recently had oral surgery requiring a wait time for my crown, I have a slight issue...I am a toothless, single mom, new to the church with the goats and inbreds at the birthday sauna sealing the deal of the most likely conclusion...yep, white trash. I told the owner it was his fault if I had to undo the understandable conclusion that I was "white trash and the purse was fake after all!" (people talk about such things)

I ripped into him for 15 minutes, after all the church people left of course. Wouldn't want to cement the conclusion, even though I kept my bra on, and didn't cuss.

So, that's the story. Emme didn't seem to care, but I am still horrified.

Dancing in the Streets

I thought it would be fun to go to dinner somewhere in the Shops at Legacy. After work, Emme, my mother and I headed out there.

I heard about them having live music on Saturday nights and thought Emme might like that. Might was an understatement! Before I knew it, she was leading the crowd in dance moves!

I love that she is so outgoing. People just have a good time when she is around! I hope that charismatic spirit stays with her forever. This actually took place just before her birthday, so she was just 2. Pretty strong presence for 2!

Life is a Circus

I must admit I was a bit torn about whether or not to take Emme to the circus. She had never been and I had a strong feeling that she would like it. I just feel so guilty about the elephants. I watch Dateline, 20/20, Primetime and I know there have been several stories over the years about the mistreatment of elephants. Well, I decided to take her. After all, I wouldn't want to have the conversation with her one day about "Why can't I go to the circus too?" because then I would have to give her an answer and she would go to bed crying over the elephants. So, after thinking about it more than is probably healthy, I joined forces with Belinda and her friend Tommie (a girl) and we loaded 4 car seats into my van and off we went!

Obviously, someone had a good time! She enjoyed pointing out the lions and yep, the elephants!

Catch up Time

I have been documenting the happenings with Emme other ways, Facebook, e-mail, videos, etc. and I keep meaning to post to my blog, but I am vowing and declaring that I will be more self disciplined and update, even if it is short and sweet! So, I will be filling in the last few weeks with the happenings and catch up soon so my posts will be current!