The Greatest Show Sleepover

Was it the Greatest? Did everyone enjoy themselves? Do you all think I am insane? And as it was a sleepover, was there any actual sleeping?

All very good questions! I do believe it was an epic birthday party centred around the greatest showman and all things circus and I think Monkey had the best time, so yes I think it was the greatest! Did everyone enjoy themselves? Well I guess I’ll never know for sure, but I hope so. It looked like they were having fun, I had to use mum voice a few times but only because everyone was so excitable and crazy! I would like to hope that everyone had an amazing time, I really enjoyed setting it up and watching them have fun, so I just hope they did.

The greatest showman (played by Monkey – of course) looked like he had a brilliant time and it was his party so overall, I think it was a success.

Am I insane for having nine children in my house at once and letting 6 seven year olds sleep over? Quite possibly, but I love doing things a little crazy, to paraphrase the Greatest Showman “to live  a little crazy!” I enjoy the excitement of doing a party myself, of having a great theme and seeing what ideas we can all come up with to make a party great. When we do these things, we do them as a family, everyone gets a say and gets to help out in whatever way they can. So yeah, I am probably a little cuckoo but so are all my family! And obviously Monkeys friends were all up for a good laugh too, so maybe its ok to be a little crazy! It paid off as everyone got involved and acted out mini shows, tired some circus skills and generally just had a massive play in the garden!

Sleepover? I has nightmares before the party that no one would sleep and I would have to call a couple of parents to come collect their children at 2am a they were scared and I would have parents complaining the next day that the children were so tired as they didn’t sleep, but you know what – it wasn’t that bad! Yes, it took a while for the excitement to die down, and for them all the fall asleep, but eventually they all did and it was before 11pm which I thought was amazing for the first sleepover. I didn’t have to tell them to quieten down too much and they all slept soundly all night and hardly moved an inch. I know this because I did not sleep so well, I was so worried someone might get scared or not be able to find the toilet that I pretty much just kept checking on them all night!

My living room has never been crammed with so many little people! But they all managed to get comfy and before long it was morning!

I am not sure Monkey was ready for it to be morning though! He zoned out a little whilst watching Peter Rabbit!

You might all be wondering what happened to Poppet, she was going to sleep downstairs with the party but decided last minute she didn’t want to, so she came to bed with me and MR BC instead. I don’t think she’s quite ready for sleepovers yet (thankfully!)

Breakfast was a funny thing to behold – I said the kids could help themselves and it was crazy! But in a fun and happy way, everyone was passing cereal around, bigger kids pouring milk for the littler ones, some second helpings and everyone just being polite and lovely and it was a perfect start to the morning.

We finished off by a nice walk to the park and a play to run off some energy before the parentals started to arrive!

I think the party was a success! I’ve had no complaints and Monkey was ridiculously happy, even more so when we had round two that afternoon with his nephew and we got to do it all over again!

I think this was an awesome party and Poppet loves the greatest showman just as much as Monkey so we may be doing a second similar party in a couple of months. I think it is a fab film and it really inspires the children. So if you are looking for inspiration for a Greatest showman themed party keep an eye out for my next post – I’ll be sharing some of my ideas and where I got bits and pieces from to make the magic!

On a final note, I cannot thank the parents enough of all the children who came to Monkeys party. He had an amazing time, and it wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t out their trust in me and let them all sleepover. Even though they are all getting older, I know how daunting it can be letting them do things for the first time, or trusting other parents with your children. I consider all the parents my friends, and hope they do me too, but I know it can still be quite scary. So a huge thank you to all of them for making it possible by letting me entertain their children for a night!

One more thank you to Monkey and Poppet for being so well behaved, even though they were so excited! They helped out with ideas, decorating, organising and then behaved beautifully. I couldn’t have asked for more.

And a final thank you to Mr BC and Mamma BC, who without I wouldn’t be able to do half the things I do! They support me, love me, help out when needed and even put up with 9 very loud, boisterous children taking over the house, all because I asked them too! I love you both dearly.

Chaotic energy

My house is full of chaotic energy at the minute. I feel this post is going to be a true reflection of my chaotic mind, so bear with me.

We are on the final few days of school, the countdown for our Roman Holiday is on and in the next few days we are finally, finally celebrating monkeys birthday! We say finally because he has been 7 for over half a year! With all this in mind, our house is a constant flurry of tidying, packing, excitement and craziness!

Monkey (well the whole family really) is currently obsessed with The Greatest Showman – if you haven’t seen it yet, you really should – it is an amazing film, and the soundtrack is awesome. We listen to it pretty much every day on the way to school, it really wakes you and prepares you for the day.

(Our Lego Creation – The Greatest Showman himself – P T Barnum)

So for his party, he wanted this crazy, circus extravaganza! I managed to talk him down to a Greatest Showman Party and sleepover (yep, I am the crazy mother letting a bunch of 7 year olds sleepover!) I have some circus skills to try out, some circus arts and crafts, and a night of popcorn and candy floss filled DVD watching and sleep, if I can get them to sleep that is! 😂

I plan on making our living room into a sort of circus tent and I have bought some of the cutest accessories for the party, so I for one am very excited for it.

The invites have been sent out, the children are all excited and the planning is well on the way! Watch this space for some exciting pictures of our fun filled greatest showman party sleepover.

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Basic Italian learning is well on the way, and every now and then the kids will pipe in with ciao mummy! Often they even get it in the right context. I wasn’t expecting much from them, but I love how they are so exciting and willing to learn. It makes me so proud to know I am raising children who are so keen to travel, and learn about everything.

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As for school, we just need to get through Sports Day and the last few days and then we are on our way to the summer holidays. Ah, Sports Day! We are not necessarily the sportiest family in the world but we are born triers. So Monkey tries his hardest and is always amazing, he doesn’t really win anything but he loves to take part and for me, I feel like that is all I could possibly ask for. It will be poppets first sports day, she hasn’t really mentioned it, so I am not sure how she is feeling about it, but I imagine she will face it like she does everything in life, with a beautiful smile, pure determination and an almost stubborn quality to try her absolute hardest.

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Beyond sports day, school has been amazing this year. Poppet settled into school well, and monkey has taken everything in his stride yet again. I could not be more proud of the pair of them if I tried. I am not saying they haven’t struggled sometimes, waking up in the morning is a task for Poppet, and we have had a few conversations about how school seems to be getting harder (bless my little man – he has a moan about it, and still does ok!) but they have both just cracked on and performed to the best of their abilities and they make me proud to be their mum every single day. I can understand their frustration sometimes, as I question my own parenting all the time, I think we all have moments where we worry, stress or sometimes don’t even want to do something. But I hope I am showing them that with support and love they can try everything and with practice will get better. Also with the understanding that sometimes we have to do things we might not be so keen on, but everything we do will help shape us into being the best person we can be.

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With all of this going on – craziness running rampant in our house. I think I work best in a crazy flurry of excitement, the adrenalin of everything all at once keeps me ticking over and with the end of term fast approaching, I am lucky that I love a bit of drama. In fact as a family we love to live in organised chaos. We are made up of live in the moment people, so much so, planning is probably the most uncomfortable thing for us, the drama of living for now is spice of life. Nothing is quite as dramatic as trying to find entertainment for two energy filled children whilst trying to go to work and keep the everyday running smoothly. The downside of this, is September will come and we will soon realise we have no uniform, the book bags have been lost and Monkey cannot possibly have ruined yet another pair of school shoes! Could he?

****** I could have sworn I posted this last night, we had sports day today! It was good! Monkey didn’t come last in everything this year which is a huge improvement for us, and I still just love his attitude. “I didn’t win any race mummy, in fact I came last quite a lot.” I told him it didn’t matter as long as he tried his hardest and at first he said he didn’t ry his hardest which I thought was funny, but then he thought about it and said “I did try my hardest but I just don’t think sports it for me, but I still enjoyed doing it with everyone!” And that my boy is why I love you!

Poppet on the other hand, got a tad overwhelmed by her sports day and by the end looked a bit like she didn’t really know what to do in some of the activities, but she still looked like she was having fun, so overall I am a very happy mummy! Now we just have to get through the last day of school, which is a bit emotional for all of us, as we all like both of their teachers very much, but onwards and upwards as they say! ******

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Best Laid Plans and all that…

Poppets Birthday party was a success! As always there were a few hiccups along the way, but overall the whole party was amazing! In my excitement, rush, manic running around and playing a few games of musical zombies, I did not get any pictures! In fact no – one did! We all had so much fun, playing the carnival games, party games, eating and generally having a fabulous time, we completely forgot to capture the moment. Luckily, my memory is still pretty sharp and this party will be remembered for all the right reasons for a long time to come.

We didn’t really get photos but I did get Happy Birthday being sung, and Poppet blowing out her candles and the look on her face, and seeing how happy she is was worth all the effort.

 

I have planned a fair few parties in my life, and I believe I have many more parties left to plan, but I have learnt a few lessons over the years. I have learnt a few more from this party, I am going to share some top tips with you, so hopefully you won’t have the same pitfalls.

1. Always allow more time than even you thought possible.

As you have seen from all my previous posts, I planned this party weeks in advance. And on the day of the party, I still needed more time. We had the hall for two hours before the party even  started to decorate and sort food etc., and it wasn’t long enough. So if you think you need 3 hours, always plan for more.

2. If it can be done before the party, do it!

Don’t be fooled into thinking a little activity won’t take long, I’ll do it on the morning! Stop! If it can be done before the morning of the party, do it! I wanted spooky faces drawing on the fruit (easy peelers and bananas), this would have looked epic! However, I thought it won’t take long, I’ll do it when were putting the packed lunches together. First mistake, it took so long to draw pumpkin faces on 24 satsumas, we had to abandon the bananas, and now we have 12 bananas to eat. Don’t worry it won’t be a problem in this house, with Mr Butterfly Child and little monkey around, they both love their food.

3. Relax! Enjoy it!

I love arranging parties, and I love the little details which make my parties special. I hope that my children enjoy them too, but every year I tell myself I will relax and enjoy it more next time. Join in more activities, just play with the kids more and every year, I spend the first half of the party checking everything I have made/planned is going to plan. I don’t really relax until the last half and then the party is nearly over. This year, so many things went wrong, or didn’t quite go to plan. Do you know how many kids noticed though? None! Not one! They loved the party regardless! So relax and have fun!

4. Let people help!

I always try to do everything myself! I may ask my mum or sister for some last minute help, but generally I try to do this crazy working mother/ wonder mummy bit, and do everything myself. You know what, it never works out and I always end up burned out, tired and usually get ill the next day! I have an amazing family and wonderful best friends and I know if I asked for any help from them, they would be there in an instant but we all have lives, and most of my family and friends live really far away. Since moving to Somerset, and the kids starting school I have made some excellent mummy friends! And they all helped and I really appreciate it! I did ask for help from some, and others just helped out because they saw I could do with the help! Now that is friendship!

5. My final tip…

Enjoy every year you get with your children, every birthday, halloween, easter and christmas but don’t forget the little things. I know my children would appreciate and enjoy any kind of party I throw, and I know I don’t need to make the effort I do. But I enjoy it, not just for them but for me. I love to be creative and I love chatting to the kids and seeing what they want, and what we can do. The build up to the party is half the fun!  Enjoying the big moments but don’t forget to appreciate the little ones too! Jumping in puddles, cuddling up on the sofa watching films, reading their favourite book for the fifth time that day, explaining what a rainbow or anything else that we do every day. I know its said all the time but its true. They will only be little for such a short time, enjoy it!

If you think this will be the end of my crazy crafty, planning monologue., don’t be fooled! We here at Butterfly Child HQ are Christmas Ambassadors! So it won’t be long before we start on all things Christmassy! In the meantime, I am still trying to catch up on my Good reads challenge, so keep an eye for my next few book reviews.