Life Lately: Party Chaos

There for a while, chaos seemed like it was going to be my new way of life.  Party planning, reno stressing, baby wrangling chaos.  Thank goodness after a week of collecting my thoughts and winding down back into our normal routine things are starting to seem zen again.

We spent our weekend doing what you do best when you live at the beach; relaxing on the water. We anchored at our local hangout called Crab Island, but this weekend it was known as "Boat Island" as we didn't want to freak out any of our little passengers because you know "Crab" Island must have a lot of crabs, right? #kidlogic

So after a week of some R&R, I think we've finally got our heads back in the game.

If you've been following along my train wreck of Instagrams, blog posts, and super dramatic Facebook updates you might have put together that our contractor missed our August 1st deadline. You might have also gathered after many of my social media meltdowns that he then again missed our extended deadline of August 7th.  What you may not know is that he also blew through the August 7th deadline and we managed to get him out of our house on the Thursday before the party.  Yep.  Two days.  I had two days to clean, move my furniture back, and party prep.  My husband took away my dramatic social media meltdowns after I almost made the contractor walk out.  I might have said something along the lines of, "Your word is (insert fancy four letter "S" word here) because you've blown through two promised deadlines."  After my husband swooped in and smoothed my bluntness over, he agreed to stay and finish the job. Unfortunately, my little rant didn't make him work any faster, but he did bring me ice cream and got the job done by her party, so I think he got my point.

I can't believe the difference a small face lift did to our fireplace.  I'm loving it!  Not to mention, my anxiety levels aren't through the roof when Mykenzi decides that is the only place in the living room to play.  In case you're new here or in case you forgot, here is what our 1970's Rock Wall looked like before:

and here's what it looks like now:

In the midst of a fireplace face lift we also had out Master Stand-up Shower removed and tiled over. Unfortunately, the company we ordered the door from sent us the wrong hardware, so it doesn't have a door at the moment, but the tile is done and at this point that's all that matters. Just imagine a clear door casing it all off.

Before:

After:

With many 3am bedtimes and 6am wake up calls, we managed to get the house in order for Mykenzi's 1st Bithday party.  I really tried not to go all out this year because I know she won't remember anything.  I handmade all our decor and even managed to bake both cakes.  I am not a baker, so the fact that everyone inhaled the cake signifies party success in my book.  However, I did splurge on the cookies.  And Noelle from The Cookie Jar really saved my ass when I forgot to place my cookie order in the midst of the reno chaos.  Normally, she needs at least a week's notice and I came to her with my tail between my legs with 4 days notice. #badmom  BUT, thankfully she saw my desperation and came through for the win. I should probably send her a thank you basket.

Let's not judge my party pics too badly ... I was using a new lens and obviously not using it well.

We had a few close friends and family over at our house for the party.  We cooked out, filled our bellies, visited for hours, and I managed to forget to take pictures during most of the party.  While part of me is disappointed, I am happy that I was present in the moment. Hopefully, family picked up my picture taking slack.

 Mykenzi made out like a bandit, and just when I thought my brain couldn't store anymore children songs ... she received every noise making toy on the market.  This wouldn't be so bad if she didn't think they ALL had to be making noise at once.  To my lovely parent guests ... don't worry, I took notes of who gave what and I'll make sure you get a "Thank You" in the form of payback. ;)

All in all, everyone had a great time and Mykenzi was flat worn out by the end of the day.  Despite the toys, we are truly blessed for all who came out to celebrate with us.  Mykenzi is a well-loved little girl and I'm still in denial that I have a One Year Old.