{american girl}ie goodness

girls: "hey, mom, may we have {insert a few girls' names} over soon?"  me:  "sure."  girls: "hey, mom, mckenna is coming out with a movie soon."  me: "cool."

uh-oh

little did i know, it would soon snowball into a night of 13 {home-educated} squeely, girlie girls. because if you invite so-and-so, then you must invite so-and-so... and if you don't invite so-and-so, then so-and-so will get their feelings hurt.  you know how it goes. 

so this is how it went down... ummm, a week ago.  
this introverted mama needed some recovery time, you know.

we shopped for decorations.  mama needed a wee more tulle.  i mean, what's a girlie gathering without tulle?  we spent a day cleaning {really... why?} and party day was spent crafting, decorating, and baking {thanks to a certain wonderful daddy who loves his girls; baking is not beyond him}.

we made a banner, letters cut out using me ol' cricket.  the girls blew up balloons.  let the record reflect that mom did not have to blow up, or tie, one. single. balloon.  dad taught them how to tie and they were in business!  thankyoujesus.

we hot-glued foam stickers {that can later be used in smash-books} on toothpicks to be inserted in rice-crispy treats {nom-nom}, brownies, and cookies.  

nope, i didn't juice veggies for everyone. *gasp*  we want them to come back, you know.  the treats were gluten-free, but i cannot divulge the sugar content.  in caring for 13 excited kiddos, i'm sure working off calories isn't a problem.  yeah, i'm stickin' with that story.

hubs was a trooper and took care of dinner {$5 cheese pizzas} and secured nervous jasmine... in our room.  yeah, she wasn't too happy about that set-up.

the key to keeping 13 girls as drama-free as possible is to keep them busy.  can i get an amen?!

the girls played american girl bingo with pre-bagged peanut m&ms.  no complaints there.

they had fun playing the "who am i?" game.  

for that, we posted information about each doll {you can copy what we typed by clicking here} on a tri-fold poster board.  as the girls arrived, gracie and nator posted a doll sticker {found at michaels} on their back, matching a sticker on the poster board.  

it was each girls' job to go around to all the other girls and ask them questions that they could only answer yes or no to.  the prize? simple joy in the achievement.  i'm cool like that.

there was a lil' cha-cha slide and cupid shuffle going on, too.  they had a little sugar to burn.  maybe.

during the movie, i burned popped popcorn.  my microwave skills were a bit rusty, but i eventually got the hang of it.  remember... i don't really use our microwave.  anyhoo... have you ever tried watching a movie with 13 girls?  yeah, quiet is not happenin'.  overall, they seemed to really enjoy the movie.  thumbs up.

i keep telling the girls that i'm a cool mom.  maybe they'll believe me, one day.  you know, i did invite them all to stay the night.  half of them actually did.  they stayed up half the night.  

for breakfast, we fed them gluten-free pancakes with xylitol sweetened honey, organic eggs, and organic strawberries.  kinda makes up for the dinner menu, yes?

the important thing is that fun was had by all... and the adults, exhausted, slept right through the middle-of-the-night-giggles. zzzzz...

don't forget to tell your girlie that she can watch mckenna's movie, airing on nbc - saturday, july 14, 2012. 8/7c.