My living room smelled like wet fur and spilled grape juice on March 12, 2024, because I thought I could handle eleven eight-year-olds and a very confused Golden Retriever named Buster. It was Maya’s eighth birthday, and she had decided, with the unwavering conviction of a third-grader, that we were throwing a “Paw-ty.” I was…
Chicago wind in October does not play nice with birthday plans. I learned this the hard way last year on October 12, when I tried to host a flag football bash for my twins, Leo and Sam, at Humboldt Park. I had spent twelve dollars on these flimsy, paper-thin covers that I thought would look…
My kitchen looked like a blue glitter bomb exploded last Saturday morning at 7:00 AM. There was teal frosting on the ceiling. Leo, my energetic four-year-old, was sprinting around the island in a cape made of a literal fishing net he found in the garage while Barnaby, our Golden Retriever, sat patiently wearing a GINYOU…
Easter Decor: Is it just me or does it all fall apart? Hi GINYOU fam! Okay, so I *tried* this year. I really, really tried. With Piper (2), Ezra (3), Aurora (9), and Jude (12) all underfoot, my vision for a Pinterest-perfect Easter just… disintegrated. I saw all these cute ideas for *Budget Easter Decor…
I stood in my backyard on June 12, 2023, watching fifteen seven-year-olds vibrate with enough sugar-induced energy to power a small city. My daughter, Maya, was at the front of the line, gripping a plastic bat like she was Game 7 of the World Series. I had spent forty-five dollars on a single, massive rainbow-shaped…
I am currently standing in the middle of my Houston classroom, staring at a smear of turquoise frosting on the floor and wondering where it all went south. My second graders just finished their semester-end bash, and let me tell you, thirty kids with sugar-crusted fingers is a lot of personality to manage on a…
My kitchen floor in Atlanta currently looks like a glitter-bomb went off in a primary color factory. I am standing over a pile of half-eaten cupcakes and shredded wrapping paper, nursing a lukewarm coffee and wondering why I thought I could handle thirteen eight-year-old boys without a tactical retreat plan. This was Leo’s 8th birthday,…
My son Leo turned seven on April 12, 2025, and I decided we weren’t going to be the parents who spent $800 on a trampoline park. Denver is a cowboy town at heart, so we went full frontier. I spent weeks scouring the internet for cowboy party essentials that wouldn’t fall apart or end up…
My living room looked like a Mushroom Kingdom crime scene last April 12th. It was 11:45 PM in suburban Portland, the rain was drumming against the windows, and I was hunched over a kitchen island covered in green frosting and sticky wax. My son Leo was turning seven the next morning, but the real challenge…
Glitter is the absolute herpes of craft supplies. It stays forever. My husband, Dave, still finds tiny pink sparkles in the grout of our kitchen floor even though Lily’s party was over a year ago on April 12, 2024. I was hunched over the dining table at 11:30 PM, surrounded by 16 cardboard cones and…
