Caterpillar Countdown: Monday

Dear Diary,

I’m planning a Very Hungry Caterpillar Very First Birthday party for Baby C, despite being told to order cake and ice cream and call it a day.  The moms advising against spending money on a party “your child will sleep through or not remember,” all hosted major events when their little ones turned one. My sister transformed her backyard into a carnival and rented cotton candy, popcorn and snow cone machines. A friend rented a bouncy castle, ordered personalized banners and flipped more than enough burgers to feed a small country at a cookout for her child’s celebration.  Although they spent more than they planned, they made priceless memories that will last a lifetime.  So, I decided to do the same.

The first thing on my to-do list was to select a venue.  I rented a private space at The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, which offers a hungry caterpillar theme and activities.  The kids will read the story and then create crafts, such as a sock puppet caterpillar and a coffee filter butterfly.  The museum discounted the rate in exchange for advertising on my blog next month!  (Tip:  Be resourceful and ask for discounts!  Often party venues reduce rates for military families, senior citizens and moms receiving assistance.  Here in Pittsburgh, if you receive food stamps, your card will admit you and up to three other people into several museums including a Science Center, for only a buck! The Children’s Museum also charges the dollar fee.)

On Monday, I ordered birthday banners online.

I am an Undomestic Diva and would rather pay someone to make something than krazy glue my fingers together and get paper cuts creating crafts.  Therefore, knowing my strengths and weaknesses, I searched for an artist online and came across Pickles & Pinwheels, a shop on Etsy owned by a school teacher turned stay-at-home mom–just like me! I sent Erica an email, and she created a birthday banner that I fell in love with.

She also made a Grow With Me Caterpillar —each circle of the caterpillar’s body has a picture of my daughter for each month she has been on the earth. That brought back memories!  My baby is growing up (sniff). In one of the photos, Caitlynn wore a polka-dot dress–which matches the theme now that I think about it!  This was her first time going to church.

Very Extravagant:

Order Birthday Banners Online.  I paid an extra $10 for Erica to print out the pictures, since the Grow With Me Caterpillar is shipped as a DIY project.

Very Affordable

Make the Birthday Banners yourself!  Buy some construction or card stock paper and get your Martha Stewart on!

But I was still hungry to plan more.