So… now that Madelyn is basically now only a few months away from college, I thought I’d fiiiiiiinally post about her two-year-old birthday party. In August. Mother of the Year right here!

I’m not going to make excuses about being a slacker mom because that’s just immature and annoying. BUT. We’ve been continuing to put the house away and make it home. Traveling. Filled up with activities. My computer’s been on the fritz.

Oops. I made excuses.

But that’s what’s been going on around and after Madelyn’s 2nd birthday bash that I swore would not turn into a bash at all.

A few weeks before her birthday, I was unsure if we’d be able to even throw a party. Originally, I wanted a backyard shin dig, but our yard is still more a dirt run and it’s ugly with minimal usable space. Then since we had our kitchen remodeled, I really didn’t know how finished it would be. But thankfully, two weeks before the party, the kitchen came through, and I knew I could solidify plans. Since I didn’t have months and months of time to marinate on a party and go crazy with the theme, I set myself up for just a very casual, low-key get together with no bells and whistles.

And then I came back to reality. Please. Have we met me? I don’t do low-key. I don’t even think I do medium-key. Unless it’s blogging. Then apparently, that’s my M.O. these days. (bad mommy! bad mommy!)

So, I asked myself: “Self? What would describe Madelyn’s love and passion over the past year that would be fun to help with celebrating her birthday?”

It was a no brainer. Sesame Street. And Psycho Crazy Not-Low-Key Birthday Party Alison was born.

I did have a slight panic attack when Madelyn suddenly started to show strong love and passion for Minnie Mouse about a week before her party. I had to throw water onto that fire because I needed her to still be into everything “Sessy.” There would be other opportunities to love on Minnie. This was the era of Elmo.

Since the party had to be inside, I got all teachery and made little Sesame Street-themed centers for the kiddos. The food in the kitchen was the centerpiece that helped to also carry the Sessy style. And then all of our people could enjoy social time and eating outside. It actually worked out perfectly, despite my original desire to want a backyard party in our new house. (p.s., the backyard still needs the landscaping because we chose to remodel the kitchen first. Welcome to BornFriedman, all makeover reality show producers who are visiting the blog! Sit down. Stay a while.)

So what does Psycho Crazy Not-Low-Key Birthday Party Alison mean? Well, I made fresh squeezed watermelon lemonade. I don’t even really LIKE watermelon lemonade. But this was good. It made a delicious mess of my kitchen while pureeing and juicing watermelons. I could have just done regular lemonade. It’s a hit. It’s a favorite. But nooooo. I had to make sure the beverage was RED just so I could fill up a glass canister and dress it up as Elmo. And no one wants a cup of just tomato juice. These are OCD problems.

I thoroughly enjoyed coming up with punny labels for things. It’s like porn for my brain. Everything from Abby’s Coloring Fairy School for the coloring wall to the Bert & Ernie’s Great Adventure Trail Mix to Telly’s Peanut Butter & Jelly, I tried to tie in different characters and skits from Sesame Street. I think I am a bigger fan of Sessy than my daughter.

I knew I was having cupcakes instead of a cake because they’re easier to serve and eat, and they were store-bought because there’s a certain level of Crazy I’m not willing to reach, and that’s baking for 48 people. But what’s a spread without a nod to Cookie Monster, so I just haaaaaaaaaad to bake cookies. Life is rough.

The party was called for 4 in the afternoon so that Madelyn could get in a nap and wake up fresh. The only problem with that was that she napped like a rockstar and I had to wake her to finally join her own party. Because of that, she was a little shy when she made her grand entrance, showing signs of good pacing, which will do her well in college. Nobody likes a burnout.

Once she finally removed herself from grandmothers’ legs and arms, she enjoyed being with her friends — little and big! — and seeing her party come together after days of being banned from the party room (Mommy is such a Party Set-up Police!).

Finally, it was time for the big birthday song, but first we sang to Uncle Brian because he was actually celebrating the very day of his birthday AT the party. Nothing says a rager for a 31-year-old than an afternoon with characters from children’s programming.

Then Madelyn got her time to shine, and she blew out her candle perfectly! She seems to have mastered the birthday routine and enjoyed being the center of attention.

Possibly the photo-opp highlight of Madelyn’s birthday party was the Sesame Street scene that was attached to the wall where kids and families took super cute pictures! It’s almost like the real thing. Almost.

Bryan and I even dressed up for the occasion. We bought Sesame Street shirts to show some true Sessy spirit. We may or may not don these ever again. Ooooo suspense.

The afternoon turned into evening and our last few friends trickled out the door. It was time to say goodbye to our friends and open presents with the immediate family. Madelyn loved opening her cards and tearing through bags and wrapping paper. It’s funny to think what a difference a year makes. At the end of her first birthday party, the same group gathered to do the same thing, but Madelyn didn’t understand any of it. This year, she took the time to examine and get excited about each new thing, and one thing’s for sure: this kid is stocked with Elmo, Hello Kitty, and Minnie Mouse gear! What a lucky little girl!

So once again, I broke my promise about tossing together a small, boring party, but I think I did a fairly good job of keeping things real and in budget. It was super fun and the most important part is that Madelyn felt all the love.

Even if she feels extremely neglected on the blog. Must remedy!