Barney??

My youngest son Ty must be utterly clueless that the current year, is, in fact 2010, not 1992, because the wee little man requested a Barney themed 4th birthday party. Sigh, 6 kids, and I thought I had escaped Barney completely unscathed for more than a decade! Not so, not so. Somehow, somewhere along the way, on a rare day of "mommy is sick and lazy" PBS viewing, Ty was exposed. I thought it was an innocent exposure, and I tried to ward off the manifestation of this big, purple sickness with therapeutic viewings of Word World, Jane and the Dragon, and other occasional shows, to no avail. The kid is obsessed. By obsessed, I mean, the better part of every day and evening is spent listening to my precious little man chirp away "I love YOU, you love ME, wer uh HAP-py Fam-uh-LEE wif a GREAT big hug anna kiss frum me too YOOOOU, WONCH-uh say you LUV ME TO..."

I went to every flipping toy and party store in the West Valley, and came to the bitter conclusion that all dinosaurs are definitely extinct, even ones of the purple singing variety. Lucky for me, I'm Goodwill addict, and thankfully those who donate to Goodwill are as eager to part with any trace of him as I was to find any trace of him. Not only did I find a brand new plush interactive Barney toy, but I found it on HALF OFF Saturday, and got the silly thing (which worked, looked, and dare I say smelled brand new) for a whopping $1.99! Score! Next came the decor. Yeah, no luck there either, so my little sister and I went to Joann's and rounded up some awesome Barney colored fabric and sewed the cutest lil banner for a few dollars. A trip to Pop the Soda Shop in Scottsdale to grab some fun, glass, vintage-style purple Faygo grape soda and the party was a wonderful success! Now, my NEW CAMERA sadly did not make it in time for this great shindig, but thanks to Ty's enthusiasm, the banner still hangs over our dining table, and of course interactive Barney from Goodwill is here to stay, so I snapped a few pics after the fact!