Lucy's Disco Dance Night

Have you ever tried planning a birthday party in the midst of a pandemic?  Lucy's 8th birthday was my second try.  I've failed miserably on Clay's big day and have since postponed it umpteen times.  I vow to have that party one day.

As for Lucy, everything she had in mind fell through.  We tried and hoped that August would bring new possibilities, but no such luck.  So by late July I told Lucy she needed to make a call.  What would be her dream birthday party and I would do my best to make it happen.  I just might have to tweak it, get a little creative, and I needed her to roll with the punches.

And that my friends, is how Lucy's Disco Party came to be.  Lucy wanted to dance, get her face painted and dress up.  Check, check and check.  The Cibula backyard turned into a Disco Dance Night in honor of Lulu!

Decorating for this party was so much fun.  Unfortunately, we were under construction during the planning stages so I didn't really have the space to play around and craft too much.  It was pretty much a shot in the dark until set up day.  But, Lucy LOVED it and the party sparkled and shined just like my sweet girl.

 I had a food table, dessert table and drink table set up outside under the tent.

This was the dessert table.  I put the cake out a bit later.  I didn't want to have it out in the heat until song time.  I found all of the psychadelic buckets at Hobby Lobby.  I gave a seller off of Etsy a few fun dance sayings and she made the signs for me.  I love the colors and how they turned out.

I also set up a little table to the side for the girls to rest their tired dancing feet, snack, and cool off.

The DJ set up his booth at the front of the dance floor and we turned on all the strobe lights when the party began.  How fun is the disco ball in the center?

I found these must have disco ball cups on The Knot.  The girls used the glitter stickers to put their name on them.  I served Lemonade from Chick-fil-a...Lucys favorite.

 

I used this table for the food.  Again, being under construction and in the middle of a health crisis, I cut a few corners.  All the food came from Chick-fil-a and it was devoured. This light up 8 was left over from Maggie's emoji birthday party and I think I wiped out Amazon's stock of disco balls.

When the girls entered the party they stopped at a welcome table with disco ball necklaces, glow sticks, and party lanyards.  I also had the favors on display.  They were just too cute not to have out.

The drawstring sequin bags were from Top Trendz and we put a color changing speaker and a sequin headband in each for the girls to take home.

And here she is, my little Disco Diva.  We had a blast picking out her outfit for the celebration.  I think she nailed it.

The girls spent nearly the entire party dancing.  The DJ did an amazing job of keeping the kids engaged with hula hoops, limbo, and raffles.  Lost of song requests were taken too.  And I have to give it to Lucy, the face painter was a raging success.

We took a dance floor break to sing to the birthday girl and dive into her cake.  We all got in the spirit of the party by dressing the part.  Naturally, we gave Jack a free pass on getting glittered up.  But the rest of us sure had a good time doing it.

   🎵 Happy Birthday to Lucy! 🎵

We saved the top layer of the cake for Lucy's actual birth date...the next day.  We literally celebrated all weekend.  Lucy picked her favorite restaurant and we were that family who brought in our own cake.  Luckily, we were pretty much the only family in there.

And to top off her birthday weekend, Lucy opened sibling gifts and mailed gifts from family.  From Jack, she got a pair of coveted Heelies.

And lots of Jibbits for her Crocs from Maggie.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!  You danced your way into our heart 8 years ago today and we can't imagine a single minute without you.  Without even trying trying, you always glitter and shine.  Thank you for being you and all the smiles you bring to this family!  Eight is going to be Great!

All our love!

Bizarre Back To School

Back to school 2020.  I'm not sure where to begin with this one.  There are so many things I could say, yet there are no words for the bizarreness of this back to school season.  I need to start somewhere, so let's start with my oldest.

Jack is starting 7th grade this year.  And no that is not some strange man on my front door, that is Jack, big and 13.  Another addition to this bizarre year...I have a teenager and he actually looks like one too.

Jack is returning to the same middle school he attended last year.  However, we are starting on a hybrid schedule.  Every other day on campus and every other day virtual.  And no uniforms until October in an effort to keep the kids "cool"while wearing masks and trying to do as many outdoor classes as usual.   See I told you...bizarre. We hope to be back on campus full time at some point in September.

And to be honest I can't wait until they are back in uniforms.  This PE get up is killing me.  We only have two sets and I am going to have to wash them every other day.  Yet, we are stocked up on traditional uniforms. Helpful, but not helpful.

And then there is this sweet thing {who has decided she doesn't want to show her teeth in pictures anymore}.  I can't explain it, but, as all things are, I keep telling myself it's a phase.

Maggie is going into 5th grade this year.  She was really looking forward to being top dog at our local elementary school.  However, when we got word of a virtual year, we knew it wasn't going to be the best fit for her.  

So in a flurry we began the application process to get her enrolled in private school.  I pretty much had my eyes set on two schools.  Jack's, obviously, and what was his second choice back in the day.  5th grade was full at Jack's school {because that just would have made my life too easy}.  But thankfully a new 5th grade class opened at our other choice. 

And in a whirlwind, two weeks before the first day, Maggie was moving schools.  She is full time on campus and we are looking forward to year of learning in person and if I had to guess, a lot of adjusting.

Finally, this brings me to littlest Lu.  We hoped and crossed our fingers that she would be going back in person, but it's not looking that way.  The county has a very complicated phase in system and until that begins Lucy is home schooling virtual style.  But guess what?, phase one is 90 minutes a week.  Yippee...now doesn't that sound productive. {insert eye roll}

I can't lie, I LOVE having Lu home with me.  But my social butterfly is really missing her friends, teachers, and the busyness of a bustling elementary school.  We will get there baby doll.

So as you can imagine my calendar is a hot mess and every day I'm trying to figure out who goes to school, who is virtual, and who has been fed.  Yes, I still have to feed them on top of all of this.

In all honesty, I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm kind of loving this extra time with them.  So as bizarre as our back to school in 2020 is, there are definitely some perks.  {did someone say no 6:30 am alarm clock?}