Mandy turns 11

My middle child turned 11 yesterday.  Where, exactly, does the time go???  I was not looking forward to the onslaught of little girls screaming in my house, but I was excited for Mandy to have her birthday party and it was going to be ON her actual birthday.


Kiley and Mandy spent the morning cleaning the house, making a list of activities to do during the party, and getting the house decorated.  Then, it was time to wait for the friends......

At one point, a car drove into our yard, but it turned out they were here for the party next door.  Mandy was very deflated.  Then, her first guest arrived....Chloe.  Then, her second....Samra.......The party got started!

They started the party with Brian playing the piano for them.  The girls were mesmerized for a moment, and then they started on their list of things to do - yes, there was a list.  However, they deviated from the list quickly.  The weather was warm for a little bit, so the girls decided to go play outside while I got lunch set up for them.

I could not believe how long the girls took to eat lunch.  I was very worried that they would have way too much time on their hands during the party and would get bored.  There is nothing worse than little girls bored at a party - sniping and fights happen.  But, they played with their food, discussed farting (thanks Daddy) and then showed off the weird things they could do - all while eating.  Kiley was in the lead with her wiggling eyes trick that she does, but Mandy can belch the alphabet, so she won.  Have I mentioned my pride at my children?  

After lunch, Mandy decided that she wanted to play some of the games she had listed.  They started with Freeze Dance.  Mandy put herself initially in charge, but then she wanted to dance, so Daddy became in charge and he and Brian judged.  I watched for a while, and then I started getting the cake ready.  Ultimately, the game came down to Kiley and Jordan.  It took quite a number of turns, but Kiley turned out to be the Victor!  


Mandy really wanted to open gifts first, but I asked her to have her cake first, and then she could open her gifts.  The rest of her guests were just dying to look at the cake and eat some.  


No one in my area could make a red-eyed tree frog cake in less than 2 weeks.  There is only one real bakery in the area, The Cake Shop, and I actually refused to pay $120 for a birthday cake.  So, I submitted a napkin from the party decorations and paid $36 for a photo cake.

It came out really cute, and Mandy loved it.  I was mindful to put her full name on the cake - she still says she hates for anyone to use her nickname but me.  Mandy lost her mind and began squealing when she saw the cake.  It took a lot of bribing to get her friends to allow me to take pictures of just Mandy with her cake, and then they HAD to get in on it.

Mandy didn't want to have the cake right away......she couldn't wait for her presents!!!  So the cake was left out and she went to open her gifts!


Samra gave Mandy some Barbies mini-dolls and a lot of candy, Mandy received a Lite-Brite from Chloe and a Tinkerbell music box from Kiley.  Grandpa's card contained $20, and the card arrived just a few minutes before her first guest, which was awesome.  Brian gave her $5 of his own money, and Mandy got a sparkly card from Mama and Daddy (we provided the party).

Once the presents were done, the girls went back to the cake, and it was time to light candles.  Normally, this is a quick process, but the red candles that I had purchased were very difficult to light.  I mean, it took one match per candle!  At one point, I was almost done lighting the candles, and because the match was burning close to my fingers, so I blew it out quickly......and blew out the candles along with it.  The girls all laughed and thought it was funny.  


Finally!  The candles were lit and the cake was ready for singing.  The girls could not get enough of the cake.

Once the cake was eaten, it was brought to our attention that Mandy had not yet had her birthday spankings.  Oh - that could NOT be allowed to continue!  So, Ken dragged her into the living room for her spankings.  Mandy, being Mandy became overly dramatic about it.

I love the picture I got of Mandy with her Daddy.  It warms my heart to see!


There was still an hour left before any parents would start showing up, so the girls kept busy with playing outside or playing in the bedroom.  Of course, no Mandy Birthday Party would be complete without her pouting and crying at some point.  

Once I spoke with her, she understood why she was wrong for crying and pouting - she apologized to her friends and they moved on. 


By bed time, she was hugging and thanking Ken and myself for the best birthday ever!  She loves being 11 and that we gave her a party!!