sLOVEnka: Moon and Stars

Well, another semi-successful birthday celebration is behind us. I say semi-successful because I never seem to have the time to do all that I'd like to do for each party. What else is new? This time I tried not to build it up in my mind and put so much pressure on myself for perfection (which, admittedly, is a very subjective word) and it helped a little, but I still have a long way to go. You know, a person wants their parties to be easy and fun for everyone, relaxed and, well, celebratory, but I just do not seem to have this knack. Or maybe it's just me who's not relaxed or celebratory much. (Insert sad smiley emoticon here). It's gotten better, I can give myself that. Tomáš cooked the meal, which was a HUGE load off. That, and I've mostly resigned myself to the fact that our house is going to look like a four-year-old and a two-year-old live in it because, well, you know. And maybe because the girls are older and I gauge success more on how much they enjoy their parties than other factors, and they, joyfully, are pretty easy to please. The bulk of their gifts from me were second-hand or garage sale purchases from Montana. Books, mostly, or flash cards. And they love them.
I did a loosely themed Moon and Stars party for Rosy, but the gold luminary, star-shaped kiwi fruit, and Christmas-light-backed-moon all fell through. Never mind, I'll bet she didn't even notice (wink, wink). I tried my hand at a marzipan cake, which I'd wanted to do for a long time. It wasn't a train wreck. It was enjoyable to work with, and I'd like to try more things with it in the future. Lily had been asking for pudding for her birthday every time she saw the pudding packet in the cupboard, so after much deliberation I decided on a simple strawberry pudding pie. I scored this grey wool dress at Humana for her, and Rosy wore a baby-whale corduroy dress my sister-in-law had gotten her. And for those of you who couldn't give two rips about party details, I'll make with the pictures...