Belated Happy Birthday Bubba!

Pablo turned three years old last month and I'm embarrassed to admit that we haven't thrown him a "proper party." We celebrated his 1st birthday with family at a restaurant and although it was a biggish bash, it wasn't quite the party that I thought we would have for our little boy. Part of it was because we wanted a low-key celebration and the other part was because I just did not think it through. Oh well, there's always next year I told myself.

The following year, I was out on a school trip. February is a crazy time at school so again, no celebration. Pfft. Mommy fail. We got him a nice gift though, his beloved Y-bike that arrived a few weeks before is birthday.

When 2012 came in, a friend mentioned that she needed to cut down on big birthday bashes because with 3 sons, it was just too stressful. Whoops. I only have one little guy and I haven't done anything. Hookey, gotta step things up. But February being the way it is, I was totally stressed in the days leading up to the annual school camp and could not focus on his birthday. Happily, I was back the day before his birthday. Yay! But we didn't do anything. Pfft. Another mommy fail. And I sort of cheated on his birthday gift. I got him a Christmas present but was a little overcome at the gifts he received during the holidays so I kept it and gave it to him 2 months later.

Anyhoo, hubby said we should celebrate Pablo's birthday with his classmates in school. That decision was made in early February but it wasn't until the end of the month that I actually thought it through and planned it out. Thank goodness for the internet. A whole lot of research, a little bit of reality check, numerous emails and text messages, some DIY work, a sprinkling of fairy dust and we're ready with...

Thank you tags

Loot bags

two freezers full of drinks for kiddies

and yayas

Mini-cupcakes are arriving tomorrow morning and we'll drop by a nearby fastfood for spaghetti (not exactly ideal but we have an awkward schedule and suppliers are sparse in the boondocks of SBMA). Inside the loot bags we have: a sticker/coloring book, a small box of crayons, a memo pad with a pen and a cardboard puzzle. All packed in a brown paper bag (I'm feeling Earth-friendly), sealed with a sticker thank-you-tag with a blue satin ribbon for a handle. (There was a surprise toy but when we opened the sealed pillow pack, we didn't like what we saw and so I pulled it out of all the loot bags.)

Phew. Not difficult, but not easy either. It's all in good fun and I'm totally psyched for tomorrow's celebration.