The manic party planning has begun. Usually I start planning somewhere around October but I guess real life got in the way of that craziness this year. Now I know what party planning is like for the rest of you normal people. It’s crazy! And last-minute! Her party is this Saturday and I just now reserved the princess-castle bounce house today. I was so nervous that it wouldn’t be available but I guess I lucked out. Or maybe there aren’t that many outdoor princess parties being thrown in January.

It’s going to be a chilly 65 degrees and sunny. Perfect for bouncing outside I say. I’ve never rented a bounce house before. I don’t know who is more excited about it, me or Bug. The woman who rented it to me said it would be a good idea to have it dropped off at 7am so that the kids won’t be underfoot while I’m setting up the rest of the party festivities. What a novel idea! Why haven’t I ever thought of that before?

Oh right. I’ve never had a backyard before. So how is that wild and crazy backyard, you wonder?

It’s a kid wonderland! Ahem. It’s getting some work done on it. The gardeners are coming Wednesday to clear away a bunch of brush and mow the weeds that we call a lawn. I have high hopes.

My mom is also having a chain-link fence put in because the dogs keep jumping over the low brick wall. It’s been a regular three-ring circus with the neighbors calling animal control and tickets being issued, etc. Life is never boring out here in the sticks. I spent probably three days trying to track down a decent quote for a new fence. First we thought we’d add bricks to the top of the existing wall, that was two thousand dollars. Then we priced wood. That was eight hundred. We’re settling for my aunt’s recycled chain-link and I’m baking a lot of cookies for a family friend who is a handyman.

Actually, I’m not baking any cookies yet because I have no oven! Yeah. The thermocouple is broken and it was made in 1970-something, so the chances of getting a new part are pretty slim. We’ve already wasted too many days chasing that wild goose. I’m trying not to think about it. I’m outsourcing and using my grandma’s and my aunt’s oven and sometimes the neighbors’.

Anyway! The yard! They chainsawed a bunch of brushy trees down today which prompted Bug to run around blowing raspberries and pretending that she was chainsawing too. I love how she is growing up exactly the way I did, minus stepping on a rusty nail and a trip to the ER for a tetanus shot, of course. There’s nothing like a crazy overgrown backyard to spark a kid’s imagination.

This is the new-old recycled fencing. It’s not quite enough but it will save my mom a few hundred dollars. Mostly I’m showing you these pictures so that we can all be super impressed after the fence is up and the gardeners mow everything into submission. The bounce house will probably go here.

We also planted some new pretty plants. It’s going to look great.

I can’t wait until I get everything sorted out and organized. I had fun working on some princess-pack party favors. There are some prince packs too since there will be boys at this party. It’s really hard to find princely goodies. I thought I’d find some little rubber swords or something but I couldn’t find anything like that anywhere. So the boys are getting plastic knights and dragons and some giant rings for their princely hands. The princesses are getting rings too, and of course candy. Everyone gets candy which should go over well.

The plastic knights look like they’re lost in a sea of pink. Hopefully the little princes won’t feel that way. Boys like pink sometimes too, right? I might have to stage some cardboard sword-fighting or break out the face-painting kit that I haven’t used yet and paint a few dragon faces. I think we’ll manage.

At least I’m having fun!