Entourage

This weekend totally rocked….literally.

As you know from last Monday’s post, my daughter J turned 5 years old last week. Earlier this year, she asked for a Rockstar party. I happily agreed, as planning my kids' birthday parties is one of my favorite things. I go big and try to give my kids parties they will always remember.

I sat down earlier this spring and asked J to give me her list of “wants” for her party. As she sat there dreaming up big plans, I prayed she didn't want Jello Jigglers again as I was in agony last year trying to make dozens of jello shoes for her Barbie party (why aren't they as easy as the commercial makes them out to be??). Sure enough, J did not ask for jigglers. Rather, she had but one request: “I want everyone to dress up…and I will be Lady Gaga”.

So, at L’s birthday party in May I sat down with my family and friends and told them J’s big rock star plans. Without hesitation, everyone got excited: “Ooh I’ll be Katy Perry, because J loves Katy”, “I can be Madonna”….one by one our family and friends started planning how to meet my daughter’s desires.

I then started the process of getting our Rockstar Lounge ready. I wanted to make sure my little Diva had a true Rockstar palace. Because I am short on time, I spent about a week, each night moving furniture out of house and transforming our house into a place fit for a Diva. Although it was time consuming, every morning when J would wake up to see what I had done the night before, her smile and excitement instantly made it worth it.

So this weekend our house was filled with the likes of Madonna, Brett Michaels, Tiffany, ZZ Top, Flea, Justin Bieber, Kiss, Katy Perry, Eminem, Axel Rose, Barenaked Ladies, and Reba McEntire. J got her wish of a rockstar party for sure!

During cake time, J wanted her rockstar crew to stand behind her. I, armed with my camera of course, snapped pictures as everyone sang “Happy Birthday”. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the group of people behind my daughter, the people that went out of their way to give J the best Rockstar bash in the world.

The party reminded me that it truly does take a village, or shall I say entourage, to raise a child. From my fabulous neighbor who painted her family’s faces (including her nearly 1 year old) and rocked out Kiss in 90 degree weather, to my best friend who always gets a hotel room so we can stay up late and truly celebrate, to my Mom who drove an hour to spend the day cleaning my house for the party while I worked, to my sister in law who came head to toe dressed up as Katy Perry because J loves Katy, to my brother who is not the dressing up kind but rocked Eminem (including arms full of tattoos), to my friend that made J amazing rockstar cakes, everyone came together to make one girl feel like a true Rockstar.

It’s times like these where I truly see how much support I have in my life, the posse that allows me to be the Mom I want to be, with the time (or lack there of) life has handed me. It’s truly amazing to see the love my family and friends have for my family. I know J will probably not remember the giant J I made out of cds on our windows, or the walk of fame I made in front of our house; but I have no doubt she will never forget the people who love and support her. Little Miss Gaga has quite the entourage by the age of 5…and I hope she never takes that for granted. I know I never will.

So, to quote the famous song, for those who rocked it out to make my daughter truly celebrate her birthday….WE SALUTE YOU!

Mandi