So … It’s official. I’m no longer a preschool mom. This little guy is my youngest. And he just had his last day of preschool. Ever.

But lest you think my blog is always serious and dramatic … Wait … Is my life always serious and dramatic …?

Anyway, instead of dwelling on last-day-of-preschool drama, I’m going to tell you about the fabulous end-of-the-year party I just threw with my gal pal, Landon. Woohoo!

See? Sometimes I can be a normal mommy blogger!

Sort of.

Landon and I decided to go with a beach theme. And of course, Pinterest was crawling with ideas. Yay Pinterest!

We had a blast! And the party was a huge success! Here are 10 lessons/tips/secrets I picked up along the way:

1. Don’t throw away your crib! Seriously, people. There are five million different things you can make with crib parts: a bench, a trellis for the garden, a magazine rack, a drying rack for your laundry room, a craft table for your kids, an easel, a baby gate, a message board. I could go on. It’s amazing! I used my crib mattress spring for our sign at the party entrance.
2. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a lot of fun. The dollar store rocks. Check out this post for tons of fun summer ideas for kids–all with stuff from the dollar store. Lots of these got incorporated into our party.
3. Kiddie croquet was a flop. Kicking balls through giant hula-hoop arches! Sounds like fun, right? But the kids weren’t huge fans. Mostly, they just stared blankly at me while I showed them what they were supposed to do. Then they ran away and played with the balls somewhere else–like on the pavement which was “more bouncy” and apparently much more fun. HA!

   

   Also, getting those cut-in-half hula hoops to stand up in the grass isn’t as easy as it looks in the pictures!
   

4. Preschoolers can’t read signs that say things like “keep off the flowerbeds.” So if  you’re throwing an outdoor party and really want to make sure they stay out, then use rope or fences! Florescent-colored signs mean nothing to five-year-olds. Who knew?
5. My kid is a girl magnet. Perhaps this isn’t so relevant for everyone else. But it’s my blog. So, I’m just sayin’. Isn’t this the cutest?
   
   I love my boys. And it cracks me up when I tag along with them to things like this. They always seem to be surrounded by girls. Maybe it’s the novelty factor. No girls around our house! Just Mom!
6. Sidewalk paint is so much cooler than sidewalk chalk. Way messier too! But isn’t that what childhood is all about? Love it.
   
7. Water is like the pied piper. If there is a puddle, they will come. Or a spigot … or a hose … or a sink … or a spray bottle. What’s the fascination with water? Is it just my little boys? Hmmm … I don’t think so!
   
8. Sometimes my friend’s vision is cooler than mine. Take this table for instance. Isn’t it beautiful? I had something bright and flashy in mind. But this is so perfect. At one point, I just sat and stared at this scene in the midst of the mayhem … so pretty and peaceful. It just goes to show that two heads are better than one.
   
9. Boys will always get dirty. I know this. I have boys. But it was only at the end of the party, after 3 hours of fun in the sun, that the contrast between the boys and girls was so clear to me. The girls were still using the pool as intended. And the boys were using the pool as … yes, a mud factory–transporting water to the sand pit and making a HUGE MESS! No surprise here!
   
   I know this is a stereotype, and there are definitely exceptions. (Uh! Me! I love to dig in the dirt with my boys!) But still, I had to laugh at this.
10. I would rather plan than play. Once again, it was clear to me today … I’d rather be in the background! I’ll happily blow up balloons, plan, decorate, do dishes, set up, clean up … but plunk me in the middle of a party and I’m helpless! I always feel like a deer in the headlights.

    

    I guess I’m more of a one-on-one kind of girl. But I’m learning to be okay with that. After all, that’s how I met my sweet friend, Landon. We were two outliers in a crowd at a preschool coffee one day. But that is a story for another time …
    

Happy Summer, everyone!

MamaC