finding nemo

Ollie really really wanted a Nemo party for his 4th birthday. He could talk of nothing else.

The kid thinks he's Nemo. Never mind the fact that he won't step foot in water, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Well, as some of you have already discovered, finding Nemo party supplies is pretty much as exhausting as the movie itself.

Seriously, I felt like Marlin trying to hunt down Nemo.

Party City? Nope.

Target? Nope.

Micheal's, Babies R Us, Toys R Us. Nope. Nope. Nope.

Online? NOPE. OUT OF PRODUCTION. NOT TO BE FOUND SUCKERS.

Some crazy lady on ebay tried to sell a set of 8 paper plates for like $12. Psycho.

So I guess Nemo is antiquated. I was getting discouraged. It was a few days before the party. It was late at night and I wanted to cry. Over Nemo. Pathetic, I know.

I am NOT a natural party planner. It's just not my gift. I don't know when enough is enough. I get bogged down in tiny details and end up spending way too much time on ridiculous details that don't matter. Then I get frazzled. Some of my dearest friends are the best party planners ever because they simplify and don't stress.

I did not want to go crazy. I just wanted some tacky Nemo supplies and I would call it good.

But that was not going to happen this time. I was going to have to work to pull this thing off.

Speaking of work. Ollie had such a challenging year with his special diet, sensory disorder(auditory processing disorder to be more specific) speech preschool, occupational therapy and individual speech sessions. Exhausting just thinking about it. Ollie never really had a real birthday party before. I just wanted to do something special for him for working so hard. He was going to get a Nemo party somehow.

"Hey John. How about I print off some Nemo pictures and tape them to the paper plates?"

John, shaking his head, "No Davi. That is just too ghetto and depressing for words. No."

Well, I thought it was a great idea. He's a kid! He would not notice!

But John thought it was too pathetic.

I was about to give up when Etsy came to the rescue. It was just the inspiration I needed. I was not happy about a DIY(do it yourself) party, but I was willing.

I worked tirelessly at my desk for 2 days straight while the boys ran amuck.

I wish I could say I was balanced and kept all my priorities straight, but that would be false.

Things started out just fine. I was sticking to my little list of things to do.

Make banner. Check.

Party favor bags. Check.

Cupcakes with toppers. Check.

Somewhere along the way, I lost focus(make Ollie happy with a tacky Nemo party) and I got bogged down in the details.

How does one know when they have gone too far, you ask?

When they start decorating the soda bottles. That is when they have gone to the other side.

John mocked my Nemo Juice label and said my friends would make fun of me too.

I am uncertain as to what compelled me to waste my time on soda labels.

And I'm sure there are other useless things I wasted my time on too. And paid for it with cranky clingy boys and a tired mama. And a confused husband as to why his wife makes soda labels. Moving on.

Got some balloons the morning of. We were all ready!

The kiddy area.

The adult table.

One of my dearest friends ever brought Nemo cake pops. They were too cute for words. Thanks so much Angela! It was the icing on the cake!

Little Nemo pop. I die.

I was not the only one. Little Bayley could not keep her hands off them either.

It was party time!

We played an obstacle course game 'Help Marlin Find Nemo'.

Obstacle One: Ring Toss--get passed shark Bruce.

above photo taken by dear friend Melisa. thanks Melisa, for grabbin my camera!

Obstacle Two: Crawl under jellyfish without getting stung!

above photo taken by dear friend Melisa

Obstacle Three: Jump across the green felt 'turtles' on the EAC(East Australian Current).

above photo taken by dear friend Melisa

Somehow we wrangled Ollie's little friends for a group picture.

Time for lunch. Finger foods. Hawaiian rolls, lunch meat, string cheese and fruit. It was my genius idea for having an indoor party and keeping little fingers clean. No thank you ketchup.

The adults lived it up a bit with Nappa Cabbage Chicken Salad, rolls and cream soda. Mmmm. Calories.

Some of my lovely darling dearests. Smooch. Baby Annabelle(Becca's daughter), Olive Oyl, Ashley, Lorie and Angela.

Lorie and Ashley on top.

Katy, Baby Miles, and Melisa on bottom. I wish I could tell you a special story about each and every one of these amazing girls, but for now you can find some of them here, here, here and here.

I think it's safe to say...Ollie was enthralled with his party.

And it was just about to get even better. Time for cake pops. Ollie with Pey-pey(Peyton) and Coco(Cohen). Special special boys.

Ollie with dear boys, Henry and Ben. Handsome little boys with striking blue eyes.

Check out the look on Ollie's face when he is getting handed his {second} cake pop. Tsk tsk Angela. She loves to spoil him.

Hanging out with cute new friend Grant. I love Cowboy Grant. He usually wears a cowboy hat and boots. It's the cutest thing ever.

Grant's sister Ella, with blondie KayKay(Kaylyn). Darling little girls. I love them.

Ethan has magical eyes. He's the sweetest thing ever.

Ethan's little sister Annabelle. Her little piggies are soooo cute! Why hello blue eyes!

Precious baby Miles and his mama Katygirl. Love them. Getting some lovin' from Angela. I love how my friends love each other's babies.

Twain was an angel and slept the party away, hallelujah! He still has those little chunks and rolls, much to my amusement.

Twain bought Ollie a Nemo book for his birthday. Ollie sleeps with the book, no lie.

Well Oliver, we made it to age 4. In the last few months you've had stitches, a broken arm, a concussion and almost drowned.

You've stretched this mama more than she ever thought possible. You certainly shake things up around here. I am so proud of you and love every single quirk. You may have trouble sailing through life,

but I can say one thing for certain: you sure know how to love your mama with every ounce of your being. My prayer is that you will love Jesus with everything you've got. That's what counts. Not how accomplished you are.

Happy Birthday little Nemo!