Pink glitter is basically a permanent resident of my floorboards now after Maya’s 11th birthday bash last Saturday. I thought I knew what I was getting into with thirteen pre-teens descending on our house in suburban Portland, but nothing prepares your eardrums for a barbie party noise makers set in the hands of girls who…
Twenty-two eleven-year-olds in a Logan Square two-flat during a Chicago rainstorm is exactly as loud as you imagine. My twins, Leo and Maya, turned eleven on April 12, 2025, and I promised them a “Big Top” extravaganza on a basement-dwelling budget. I had exactly ninety-nine dollars to make it happen. No more. Not a penny….
Nothing says “I have lost control of my life” quite like standing in a Houston backyard in ninety-degree humidity while fourteen ten-year-old boys scream about scurvy. I have taught fourth grade for twelve years, and yet, every time I host a classroom bash or a birthday for my nephew Leo, I forget the sheer volume…
My living room looked like a neon green crime scene on October 12, 2024. My nephew Leo was turning two, and my sister-in-law was about three seconds away from a nervous breakdown over the cost of custom character cakes. I’ve spent fifteen years corralling twenty-two second-graders in a Houston classroom, so I knew we didn’t…
My living room smelled like a home improvement store and failure on the morning of April 4th. Leo was turning twelve, an age where kids usually transition to neon gaming setups or silent scrolling, but my son wanted to break things. Not in a “call the police” way, but in a “I want to be…
The living room floor was a sea of red crepe paper and my twins, Leo and Maya, were currently trying to eat a plastic gold coin I’d spent forty minutes cleaning. It was June 12, 2024, and the Chicago humidity was already making my hair double in size while I prepped for their second birthday….
The smell of spray paint and cheap pepperoni pizza hung heavy in my small Chicago kitchen last Saturday as I stared at forty-eight hand-cut paper crewmates scattered across the linoleum. My twins, Leo and Maya, were turning eight on October 14, and their only demand was a party that looked exactly like the Skeld spaceship….
My kitchen island is currently a disaster zone of miniature plastic cows, red-and-white checkered napkins, and a very confused golden retriever. We are three days out from Leo’s big 4th birthday bash here in suburban Portland, and the “Barnyard Bonanza” theme is taking over my life. Last year, when I was planning Sophie’s 8th birthday…
Easter Egg Hunt Chaos with Pups?! Any Safety Tips for Fellow Party Parents? @violet_webe: Okay, GINYOU fam, deep breaths. It’s early April, which means my brain is officially in full-blown Easter party planning mode. You know me, I like to go BIG. Last year’s “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party” themed hunt was epic, but this year…
Austin in late spring feels like being hugged by a giant, wet, warm towel that smells slightly of cedar and taco trucks. My niece Zoey turned three on May 14th, and if you know anything about toddlers right now, you know her entire personality is currently “Bluey.” She doesn’t just watch the show; she lives…
