There is no such thing as easy...

...not in my world. My OCD-laden world. When did things get so complicated? How has planning a 3rd birthday party for my little diva grown so wildly out of control that there is no hope of reigning it in?

My mind works in mysterious ways. I get something in it and ba-da-bing there it is and there it stays. The idea grows and takes on a life of its own until it consumes my every thought and dream. I have to see it through before I can rest easy. And that, my friends, is how I have gotten into planning the party of the century for my baby girl (who is becoming less and less of a baby each and every day...sigh; sniffle).

Caroline is turning 3! 3. Have 3 years really whizzed by already? Whew! Where have I been? I always have such a good time planning for a party. I love to entertain (although being an exceptional hostess is not my strong point) and I LOVE attention to the smallest of details. I think it is the little touches that make a party a failure or a success. If you go all out for a party but chintz out on the cake, for example, people remember how much the cake stunk, not how awesome the party was. If you serve a meal fit for a king but serve it with paper plates and plastic ware, no one remembers how divine the food tasted. So I think you have to decide to go one way or the other. You cannot have both.

I started thinking about what I was going to do to ring in Caroline's 3rd year of life months ago, although no light bulbs came on until about a week ago. Passing thoughts of Caroline's upcoming birthday would come and go and then BAM! I got it! The idea that I have obsessed over since it came to me. I love gardening. Caroline loves to be outside; to play in the dirt, plant, find bugs. Why not combine our interests and have a garden party? Something girly for her that would include a focus on my most prized flowerbeds and gardens. Yeah, what a fantastic idea, if I do say so myself.

Ideas started small, but the more I thought about things and researched on-line garden party ideas, the more elaborate they became. Then my mom, another artistic mind, started giving me ideas that appealed to me. Before I knew it I had a list about a mile long of ideas and things that I would need to pull them off.

So what is the big deal? This always happens. I jump in with both feet and submerge myself. EVERY. TIME. Then I get overwhelmed until I feel a full-blown panic attack coming on. And I say I will scale down the next time. But I cannot help myself. I think I am just one of those people who loves to do it all, who wants to do it all, who complains about doing it all, and then does it all again! The end result is usually as close to my imagination's expectations as possible and I am always glad that I put forth just a little more effort.

So I have been spending each day doing something to plan and execute this garden party that I can visualize in my mind, and I only hope i can pull it off. I know my hubby is thinking I am insane, and my mom thinks I need to get a life, but believe it or not, I am excited about it. I only pray that we will have a good turn-out. That there will be plenty of guests able to enjoy the fruits of my labor; the creation of an idea that grew into an obsession.