Because I Said So!!! Mom Knows Best!

I love to entertain and throw parties. Not
super huge, spill out onto the lawn type ones,
though I used to. Now I like more simple, 20 friends
good food, entertainment and just plain old fun.
I really make a big deal out of the Holidays and
I went more then a little crazy a few times. Andrews
Birthday was really important to me and though he
never cared for parties because he would rather just
go to his favorite restaurants and a movie or something,
I still made sure that I went all out a few times
in his life. I want him to have some memories of
his Wonder Years and a big old party is always a nice
place to start. I never got to have a party because my
Birthday fell in July and school was out and we were
in our summer home so family was out and friends too.
For most of my Birthdays I didn't even see my parents.
My Mother came up a few years for the weekend but I
think my Dad only came once. For Andrews first big blow
out party I threw I think I invited everyone we knew,
might even be some strangers I ran into at the grocery
store too for I swear I went crazy for a little guy who
can't even walk. I had tons of food and Andrews Cake
and the rest of our Cake and goody bags that were out
of this world and decorations. Wow. Decorations! I
spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars alone on the
decorations. Andrews birthday is right before Halloween
and I just couldn't help myself. I had this Mammoth Spider
that hung on the ceiling in the very middle of a large
room and its legs ran out like streamers to the walls.
Pumpkins for everyone and Dry ice and well, lets just
say it took a while to pay for it. I know just the fact
I hired the Magician to stay longer then normal cost a
lot of cash. BUT, it was worth it. TO see his smile, if
only for a second, is worth anything. Even today I baby
him. Once Andrew got about 9 he put his foot down on
the parties for as he explained that though secretly
everyone was having fun they were in J.r High now and
needed to act a little cooler. I hope Rowan loved them
then and I am not too old to throw them. I am super
excited about her upcoming birthday this year for a few
reasons. One, hey, she is going to be a whole year old.
Two, her birthday is a little over a week before mine and
this makes me very happy. No party's when I was younger
hurt, the boys forgetting  90  percent of the time now hurts
a lot and I don't think I have ever got a present on my
birthday, other then when I was little, that I really wanted.
From the boys I have only gotten a Birthday present once
and it was from Andrew and something HE wanted. I always
end up getting all upset and slamming stuff around and
sometimes those daft boys still don't get it. For years it
broke my heart. Now I don't even bother to remind them
and let the day quietly pass. Truth is, I get so depressed
I just don't want to see a soul. I have never forgot theirs
and never would. Now that Rowans birthday is right before
mine increases the odds of them remembering mine though
I doubt that for the dogs is 5 days before mine and Andrew
remembers her Birthday and still misses mine. But what I
am really looking forward to is I can have all those dream
Birthdays I wanted to have as a child through Rowan! Via
proxy! The lavish themes and costumed characters, and I
have already written down a list of party ideas for the future
for I know she is too young this year for much more then
family. I learned the hard way with Andrew and the Magician
I got on his first and the Clown on the second but I plan
on at least one of her parties at the water park, one at
Jeepers and one with a Moonwalk in the back yard. How
I will pay for it all is another story but I have no doubt
I will find a way. I also plan on themes with her. Dress up,
Rock Stars, Hula at the water park and Movie Stars and
Princesses and Queens and Cowboys and Cowgirls. They
have so many great items for Parties now a days I know
I can make them the best ever!

For the Princess theme I am going to go all Renaissance
Festival and play music from Medieval times and have little
Gift bags for the Adults of Sage a Mirth incense and a burner
and serve Turkey legs and crusty bread and fruit and have
a cake that is a Castle. For the Kids, well hey, that is
the only part that will be a total walk in the park for I
am going to use My Princess Party To Go. Never heard of them?
I have, in fact I was going to use them long before I had
a chance to do a review for them because with so many details
for me to attend too these guys take a lot of it and package
it in a nice box ready to go! They have complete kits for your
party, no matter how many guests your child has, that will assure
you that this party goes down as one for the Record Books! All
you have to do is pick a theme and tell them how many guests
there will be and your Party favors for those kids are done
and over with and taken care off and the end result is a
spectacular party filled with Princess and Knights and laughing
girls and boys. They just don't miss a single trick! For themes
they have:
Princess
Fairy
Diva
Glamour
Knight
Prince
Wizard
Pirate
and you can customize your party as you see fit. Buy items piece
by piece or buy the party in a bag that has everything your guests
will need in a take home carry bag. The prices for the bags start at
13.75 and you can order as many as you like. You can use that right
there for your party favor or really go all out and grab a goody
bag for each guest too that they also have pre-made or piece by piece.
They also sell games and crafts to keep the kids busy during the party
so no more pouring over books and Internet sites to try and find party
games that go with your theme. I swear, that was the worst part for me
with Andrew for I had to hit the book stores and Library's for the
Internet was not nearly as filled with helpful sites back then and you
could not just type in something like "Children + Games + Theme +
Castle and have an array of games pop up like wildfire to make
your party complete. You had to dig! For a review item I
received one of the Tutu and Tiaras packs and it was adorable.
In it we found a Tutu, a Tiara and a Wand and also the foam
Tiara with Jewels to decorate for a craft item. As you can see
by the photo Rowan just loves it and offered the foam Tiara to
her brother as a prize and he was none too amused. Not that
she offered it to him, that he thought was sweet, it was the fact
I made him wear it for a while for this was the first time Rowan
has offered to share something and I didn't want it to be a bad
experience for her. Rowan smiled and Andrew pouted ( no pictures
of him or I would have ended up in the gallows!) and I giggled
like mad. He is lucky I didn't have him wear the Tutu! All of
the items were of great Quality too. They were not at all like
I expected for the price. I was assuming they would be like
the dollar store gadgets, you guys know what I mean. Meant
to last the party but not much longer then that. Best of all,
the whole kit and Caboodle came in a Blue bag with a Ribbon
Drawstring that just made the whole thing come together.
I can't think of a better way for them to take home their
goods too for you know they will also have candy and most
likely some other prizes. For Rowans Birthday I would also
assume there will be some fireworks to take home because
I have an annual Forth of July thing every year with a Huge
BBQ and lots of friends and about 4 years ago we started
letting Andrew light fireworks for a Firework show at the end
of the party. He started with small kits and over the years
as he grew so did the show and it just turned into a huge
event and I also put together children friendly Forth or July
bags for them to do while he lights the big ones. I can pretty
much bank on since her Birthday is right there we will combine
the two events so it is a good thing the bag is also really
roomy for they will end up with a lot to take home! I just
love how they have everything on the site mapped out for
you and everything is so affordable. Now I do not know the
prices now but 13 years ago to have a party at Jeepers was
so expensive. I wanted to have like 15 guests, and 10 of
those were adults so they were not getting the ride tokens
just pizza and it was 400 dollars. Now that is insane.
Pretty much 5 kids for the party and then pizza and pop
for 10 adults. I could have hired a clown and a magician
and got pizza and pop and also paid for the cake and goodies
bags and bought each child a gift for coming and still came
in under that number. At Party Princess To Go you not only get
quality products you get a great value for your money. I was
really impressed what a $150.00 dollars could do in comparison
to the Pizza party I had when Andrew was little. Personally,
I am going to have the Princess and Her Knight complete party
for Rowan. I love the whole thing and I am going to get the
extra goody bags. It is just the perfect fit for us because Rowan
has 3 boy cousins and 1 little girl and then her brother will be
here and wouldn't you know the kits come in 6. Couldn't be more
perfect. My Princess Party To Go is the place you need to go if
you want to make your little ones Birthday dreams come true!
Oh, and I promise to post pictures of Andrew in his Knight
Costume for Rowans Birthday Party!


My Princess Party To Go is also hooking up one of my readers.
One lucky guy or gal is going to win a Princess Party Grab Bag.
To enter just head over to the site and take a look around then
come back here and post what theme or outfit you liked best.
The contest will start tonight and run to midnight in April 24th.
USA and 18 and older can enter daily and the winner
will be contacted by email and have 72 hours to
contact me with their mailing information. As always
you can earn a bonus entry by entering the contest of
the day every day and then posting that you did here
and other ways to enter are posted below.


My Princess Party To Go!




Extra entries.
Extra entries only count after the initial entry
is completed.


1. Become a follower of my blog or Twitter
and post that you are. 3 entries,
please post 3 times.


2. Tweet about my blog and post the link
here. 5 entries, please post five times.


3. Grab my button. 5 entries. Please post
5 times.


4. Blog about this contest somewhere else
and post the link here. 5 Entries Please
post five times.






Hey there, while you are here don't forget to enter
my Mommy Tool Box and Port a Pong Contests!

Hey you guys, I have some darling photo's of Rowan wearing
the items from this site but AHEM, little miss thing had my USB
cable when I was not paying attention and drooled in it. I will grab
another one this week and post them for you can't miss these, they
are that adorable!

I host all events at my house and not only do I
do up Thanksgiving and Christmas here I also have
a to-do for my friends on the forth of July and a
few other times during the coarse of the year. I
am a nut when it comes to planning these events
for I need to know that my guests are knocked off
their feet for sometimes a party is the only way you
can show people in your life how much they mean to
you. I take great pains to offer people their favorite things
and work my butt off on those special personalized
touches I hope they will always remember. I am
always looking through magazines and buying books
on the subject and when ever I find a new idea I am
totally thrilled and can't wait to try it out. Sometimes
I have a party for the simple fact I have so many great
ideas built up I have to do something to release them
before I explode. I just got the chance to review a book
called Party Like a Rock Star: A Celebrity Party Planer's
Tips and Tricks for Throwing an Unforgettable Bash and
let me tell you this book Rocked! So much so in fact
I contacted the sponsor and told them I normally will
give the review copy of a book away to my readers
but they would have to pry this copy out of my cold
dead hands. She laughed and I am pretty sure she
didn't want to be part of a homicide investigation
so she made sure I knew there would be an extra copy
for one of my readers as well.
Jes Gordon is the author of this book and she knows
how to throw a bash. Just the simple fact that she has helped
throw parties for stars such as the likes of Madonna, Barbra
Streisand, Nicolas Cage, and Jennifer Lopez was enough to
get me giddy all over but when I flipped through the pages
of her book and saw some of the ideas and suggestions I
knew there was no way I was giving this Baby up. The book
is pretty much a blue print on how to host the ultimate bash
and have it reflect your own inner Diva every way possible.
You are not just regurgitating ideas from Martha Stewart,
you are making a unique and original statement and instead
of her telling step by step what to do, think of her more as your
Guru or Guide on all things festive and fun. The end result is
a soiree that will knock the socks of your guests but has
also came from your own noggin and reflects your personal
tastes every single step of the way. The book is chocked full
of hints and tips as well and offers you solutions to not
only common questions but those you have not even thought
of yet. Included between its covers are:

Etiquette guidelines and gift ideas
How to produce a party from beginning to end
Stocking a home bar and whipping up smart cocktails
Being a flawless host—or guest
How to budget
Creating a concept for any party
And so much more! From start to end she helps you
create the perfect atmosphere and stick to any budget.
I love to throw a bash and I could not believe the amount
of ideas she has in there that when I was reading it I found
myself shaking my head going, wow, that would be awesome.
Like I told you, this is the first time I contacted a sponsor and
said, "Look, um, I know I said I would do the review and there
is a slight problem. You will never see this item again for I have
to have it!" Now I have never had a sponsor ask for an item back
but I just needed to make it clear before I broke out my sharpie
and started jotting notes in the sidebars for I have at least 10
new party ideas that the book helped me to develop. Jes Gordon
delivers all this information and ideas in an easy to read format
that allow you to skip through and pick out the parts you
need to brush up on whenever you need to reference them
or just hone skills that you have previously neglected. You
can also be like me and absorb the whole book, give me another
week and I will have it memorized for it is just packed with
helpful ideas and some new ones that are sure to impress.
You guys have read articles from Jes before and might well
not have known it for she has penned items for Good
Housekeeping, Seventeen.com, Glamour, the Washington
Post, and Time Out New York and is considered a top mover
and shaker in her field. Her book was released last fall and
you can find it at all the book stores or just save your self
the time and order from the Amazon link on my home page.
If you throw parties all the time like I do, host the occasional
gathering or about to launch your first effort into the social
field, Jes will make sure your event is the event of the year
no matter what your budget. This is a must have book for
every host or hostess out there!
Like I told you guys at the start of this review I can not in
good faith allow you to have my review copy. I will not be
able to sleep at night knowing someone else might be touching
pages meant for me. I would have to camp out on your front lawn
and picket you for the release of my new must have item and
shared those facts with the sponsor so instead of a huge hoopla
on the evening news they offered to give one of my readers a copy
too! To enter just head over to the web site and take a look around
then come back here and post what you have learned in a
comment. The contest starts tonight and will run to Midnight
on March 10th.
USA and 18 and older can enter daily and the winner
will be contacted by email and have 72 hours to
contact me with their mailing information. As always
you can earn a bonus entry by entering the contest of
the day and other ways to enter are posted below.

Jes Gordon
Party Like a Rock Star: A Celebrity Party Planner's
Tips and Tricks for Throwing an Unforgettable Bash


Extra entries.
Extra entries only count after the initial entry
is completed.

1. Become a follower of my blog or
post that you are. 3 entries,
please post 3 times.

2. Enter any of my other contest. I entry
per contest, separate post for each entry.

3. Grab my button. 5 entries. Please post
5 times.

4. Blog about this contest somewhere else
and post the link here. 5 Entries Please
post five times.

Hey there, while you are here don't forget to enter
my Shred Sled and Bebe Soleil Contests!

You guys know I love anything funny. You guys know
I love anything useful. What do you get when you combine
both of those loves into one thing? No, not a Reece's cup.
A Beer Pager! No, this isn't what a bartender hands you
when you walk into a busy bar so you know when your beer is
ready, this gadget is for home, BBQ's, Parties, the Beach and
yes, you can even use it in a busy bar or nightclub! No longer
will you lose your beer and be forced to buy another! No longer
will you be on your third sip and Gary the Gross guy walks up,
wipes the drool and left over food crumbs out of his mustache
that has not seen soap in the better part of a decade and inform
you that you have his drink and not yours! What is that contagious
rash again Gary? How long do I have to use the medicated
cream? Ewwe, I get shivers just thinking about it!
If you guys are like me, and by the emails I get I
know a lot of you are, you go to a party and every single time
you set a drink down you lose track of it. Even if I only drink
one drink I end up with 10 glasses through out the night. I dread
getting pulled over and an Officer asking, "How many drinks
did you have tonight?" Do you think he will believe me when I
tell him about a tenth of 10 different glasses? Good thing it has
been many years since I have even had one drink and got behind
the wheel of a car. But being responsible there does not change
the fact that I still can't keep track of what I am drinking.
Beer Pager to the rescue!
What they did was take your drink cooler, you know the
little gadgets that have been around forever that keep your
beverages cold! I know some guys who carry one in their
back pocket so they are always ready with it when someone
offers them a beer. I am sure those are the same guys that
are going to be kicking themselves when they see this and
wonder why they didn't think of it first! Any who, they take
the cooler and combine it with new technology, flair,
humor and a whole lot of genius! Your cooler now is fitted
with lights and an alarm that lets you know where your beer
is at all times. Even through a crowded room. You carry a little
pager with you or do like I did and stick it on my key chain,
then when you realize you once again lost your drink you
just push the panic button and your beer starts flashing
and calls for you with whatever style you have chosen.
I picked the Golfer one for John is a huge fan and
drives me nuts every summer dragging me to the coarse.
Now I might not be able to out drive or out putt him but I am
going to be laughing my butt off when he loses his beer and
I press my handy button and it belts out a hole in one letting
me know right where it is! You can also pick the Biker ones
and be a Harley riding Momma or at least pretend or next
time your hubby says he wants a bike give him this!
We have casinos here in Detroit and they have one just for
us as well that makes all those winning sounds I have never
heard when I went! They also have one that belches and
my son is driving me nuts for this one. He has a point too,
I can't tell you how many times we have gone to the beach or
a party and he has lost his pop. Andrew could lose his head in
five feet if it wasn't attached! And while I am on the losing
things, here is a suggestion to you Beer Pager Guys! Make one
that fits Baby Bottles! Do you know how many Bottles I have lost
and Rowan isn't even 6 months old. Now, I know when she is ten
I am going to move something and go, "Oh, here it is!" so
please help Moms like me and give us one with a Baby Giggle!
I would snap those up like crazy! These things are the bomb!
You know what else is the bomb? Beer Pager is going to give
a pager to one of my readers! To enter just head
over to the site and come back and tell me something you
have learned in a post! The contest starts today, December
20th and will run to January 28th at midnight!
USA and 18 and older can enter daily and the winner
will be contacted by email and have 72 hours to
contact me with their mailing information. As always
you can earn a bonus entry by entering the contest of
the day and other ways to enter are posted below.

BEER PAGER


Extra entries.
Extra entries only count after the initial entry
is completed.

1. Become a follower of my blog or
post that you are. 3 entries,
please post 3 times.

2. Enter any of my other contest. I entry
per contest, separate post for each entry.

3. Grab my button. 5 entries. Please post
5 times.

4. Blog about this contest somewhere else
and post the link here. 5 Entries Please
post five times.

Hey there, while you are here don't forget to enter
my Adult Toy Shoppe and Toy Demon Contest!