The King has been very aware that I have been having somewhat of a psychotic episode over the last week or two, and it hasn't been easy on any of us. I went off my anti-depressants and it wasn't a pretty sight. I'm disheartened that my 'normal self' (meaning no meds) is such a witchy person. It's really sad. And I knew that I was out of control, but even when I was TRYING to be nice, everything still came out all crazy-like. My 'medicated self' is an OK person. I have my moments, but I consider myself to be normal. Does this mean that I will have to be on drugs the rest of my life? I hope not. But without drugs... wow. Just not something I (or my family) can live with.

Anyway, if I hadn't been so psychotic, I would have posted all the details about the Princess' upcoming 'Under The Sea' birthday party. But, up until yesterday I hadn't done much else than decide on a theme. So here are some of the ideas I have:

First of all, we'll only be inviting girls to this party. I'm afraid our guest list will be at 19 kids though, because there are 16 girls in The Princess' school class, The Dragon is automatically included, and two of her friends are two of The Princess' friends little sisters, so we all usually invite each other to each others parties. That made sense, right?

Each girl will get to paint their own 'suncatcher mobile' that I found at Oriental Trading Company. I think they're so cute - I hope it will be a really fun activity for them.

We will play a few games, depending on how much time we have left, but it will probably be variations of games that have been around for ages, and/or variations of games that we have played at other parties. It seems like kids don't really get a chance to play games any more - parties are full of magicians and bounce houses, swimming pools, and Chuck-E-Cheese-Token mania. Nothing is set in stone, but I'm thinking a Crab Walk Relay Race, What's The Time, Mrs. Octopus? (The Princess says it can't be Mr. because everyone is a girl!), and Fish, Fish, Shark. We're also toying with a musical chair idea, but haven't figured out how that one is going to work yet... I've got to tie it in to the theme (that's a ME thing, I know the kids don't really care).

We will open presents, and have cake and ice cream. All the typical party stuff! I found a cute 'fish cake' that is simple enough that even I should be pretty successful with this one.

For goodie bags, I found some cute punch balls (the heavy duty balloons attached to a rubber band) with a tropical fish design printed on them. I am going to wrap them up along with some goldfish crackers and/or gummy fish candy, in this cute goldfish package. Of course, they will also take home their mobiles... provided they dry in time. The take home gifts will be few (in comparison to the bags stuffed with pencils, erasers, bubbles, rulers, plastic animals, noisy horns or whistles, candy, etc), but I'd say they are decent gifts, and hopefully something that the parents won't groan about too much (UGH! ANOTHER pencil? We already have 127 of them!). For me, I hate the teeny-tiny bubble containers with animal heads on them, and yes, I am guilty of giving them out - but only once in ten parties. One time I gave out the normal size bubble bottles and those were a huge hit with kids and parents alike. But I digress...

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm a little stuck on the wording of the invitations. It's slowly coming together, but it's not finalized. However, I am very overwhelmed with the decorations! There are so many possibilities, and so many fantastic ideas - it's overwhelming. Darn that budget!

I found tablecloths, plates, and napkins for .97 cents each - in sets of 20 (not the tablecloths!). Perfect! If I have adults or extra kids for some unknown reason, they can simply use the plain ones I have on hand.

I found two giant (over 5 feet long) cellophane (?) posters of dolphins and whales for a total of $4. I'm really excited about these because they will take up a lot of wall space. I also bought a large roll of blue cellophane that I am going to use to cover the windows in our family room. I believe I have 100 feet of it, so I think we are also going to try to hang it in 'waves' across the ceiling. My other idea for the ceiling is to string a bunch of small (5") balloons across the ceiling kind-of to look like sea foam or bubbles. The King is having a hard time visualizing it though - I think it would be cool, but...? I also have a large variety of blue and green colored streamers that could be used for seaweed or? I'm looking at a lot of different types of fish and things to hang from the ceiling too - there are so many choices!

I have to go place an order on Oriental Trading tonight - I've got a coupon for 15% off, plus free shipping! Woohoo! I'll keep you posted.