giving up on good, the pinterest parties

Alright gals, if you need to catch up - this is what we're doing. 


I was wracking and wracking my brain on what I could share to give up this week. 
I've given up on getting dressed at the crack of dawn, showering often, and being fitness-mommy-barbie.
Surely I've given up on lots of other things, but none of them seemed applicable or even life giving to other ladies. 


That's really the only point, you know? Not to tell a cool story. 
Just to give a little life. 
Because if one more person asks me how I do it all, I'll freak out. 
I just don't. I just don't. 

Anyhow, I'm cruising the aisles of Walmart scouring birthday party goods for our Benja and it hits me. This is going to be one of the most low key birthday parties on earth. It would make some pinterest-obsessed mamas sweat in their color blocked dresses and high buns. 


Oh! That's it! 

I've given up on fabulous kid events, specifically birthday parties. And other potentially-pinterested-out-events. 

We do birthdays low key and kid driven. I don't mean kid driven in that we give 20 kids the day of their wildest dreams. I mean - we think about what each kid would really be blessed by and we execute it in the most low-key manner possible. 


We were moving on Elias' birthday and all he really wanted was donuts and some time with his best friend, Elijah. We gave that kid enough donuts in the week leading up to his birthday, we probably damaged his innards permanently. Not really, but maybe. And he STILL talks about how he got to ride in the van with Elijah on the last leg of our drive to Indiana. Oh, we also gave him a BIKE when he got to Indiana, because it was about time.


Glory wanted hotdogs. We asked a few families to meet us out for a cheap dinner of hotdogs! And she got a small toy she'd been pining after and a morning date with Daddy and an afternoon date with Mommy. 


Benja is obsessed with camo--everything. Which he calls "bad guy" or "army guy" (we've explained army guys are good, but we think he means it in the urban way of "bad" as "good", you know?). He likes bad guys clothes, he wants bad guy costumes, and for his birthday party - all he's been asking for is a bad guy party. 


So we're inviting our community group over for breakfast. Mostly adults, but Benja has a special place in his heart for all the college guys in our community group. I'm pretty sure he thinks they're his best friends. AND the cheapest thing I know to feed 20 something men is breakfast so we're having pancakes and fruit and oatmeal! 

And today at Walmart we picked up badguy cupcakes, badguy plates, and badguy napkins. We'll hang some streamers and grab some balloons and I have a feeling Benja will be ENTRANCED. It will cost about $25, max. It's not fancy. I won't even look up one recipe on pinterest and there sure won't be favors. But my boy will feel loved and treasured by the people he treasures and I'm trying to talk my husband into using a little bad-guy-face-paint. 


I'm giving up on fabulous birthday parties. 
I'm gaining peace, more money in my budget, and a little boy who gets exactly what he wants. 
And hopefully a little face paint. 

(ps - if fabulous birthday parties are your thing - you should feel much freedom and excitement in them! this is only about imparting grace and embracing the things which are our things, so yay! invite me to one! please don't ask me to bring the cake pops because I tried to make those one time, and they were awful) 

What about you? What are you giving up on? 
link up below!