Cindo de Bye-O and 3rd birthday fun

I remember back in the day, when Cinco de Mayo meant gathering at Macayo's Restaurant with 10 or so of my sorority sisters, filling my Senor Bob mug to the brim with a frozen peach margarita, then hitting the clubs in our tiniest outfits.

{sigh.}

Well, tiny outfits WERE worn today, but only by my tiny 3 year olds, (and Brian DID wear his skimpiest flip flops.)

We looked at Margarita Machines online.

And we hit up Club Target where we tossed back coffee and chai tea.

Par-ty Animals. That's us.

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So anyhoo...have I mentioned that the trips turned three? Well I've decided to break their party pics into a few blogs since there were essentially three different celebrations. So for tonight, let's just begin with the actual  DAY o' birth....(March 23, 2012).


I remember feeling so caught up in their party celebrations (which were not happening on their actual birthday) that I almost forgot to acknowledge their birthday.  We'd put them to bed the night before and then fell asleep ourselves on the couch. I remember waking on the couch at about 11 pm and having a panic attack brought on by mommy guilt that I hadn't done anything for their birthday.

I even remember trying to justify it by convincing myself that unless I reminded them, THEY wouldn't know it was their birthday. {Horrible, right?}

Though that would've been the easy way out, I knew I'd hate myself forever. These are the moments when memories are made and I was not about to let my babies down.

Soooo, at 11:30 that night I set to work blowing up about 25 balloons and quietly dispersing them all around their bedroom floor while they slept soundly.I wanted their first waking moments to be a reminder of how special their day is, surrounded by colorful balloons. I couldn't wait to hear them when they saw it...

After I dispersed the balloons, I headed back downstairs to hang the garland made by one of my students for her 100th day project. It is adorable and her mom said I could keep it. (Thanks Meridy and Maddy for saving the day!) It was the perfect decoration to adorn the hallway with. I wanted the fun to begin upstairs and continue downstairs.

When my jobs were done..I rewarded myself with sleep...enjoying the last few moments of my days with 2 year olds.

And then, on March 23, 2012...they woke up!

And they were THREE!

The balloons? Yep. They were a hit. 

(I hadn't realized how many had ventured under their beds until a month of so later.) Oops. Darn fan. 

 Look at them. They're so...big. 

 And so happy. 

This is the garland that awaited them downstairs.

(They'd made it using 100 paint chips sewn onto rickrack. SO CUTE.)

 Here they come! 

While the kids may have enjoyed it, I didn't feel quite right about serving cake or cupcakes for breakfast. So I made blueberry muffins instead. That's almost as fun, right? 

And there was singing. 

And candle blowing.

And more candle blowing.

And a little bit more. 

The day concluded with a shopping trip to Babies R Us where we were pleasantly met by my best friend Jen and her daughter Ava. We all shopped for things that 3 year olds love and then had lunch at Chick Fil A. It was a fantastic start to their birthday celebrations. 

Stay tuned for the rest....

And thanks again for your vote!