Tonight I baked a bunch of vanilla cupcakes. From a mix.  And then I frosted them with buttercream vanilla frosting.

My boy loves vanilla.

We take him to ice cream, and, offered a dizzying array of options, he chooses vanilla.

We took him to 31 Flavors, and he found something exciting: triple vanilla.  It has golden vanilla, french vanilla, and vanilla.  He was in heaven.

Another store offered vanilla in three colors.  Boom.

So, I made vanilla.

This isn’t going to be a big, themed birthday party.  As we hunted through Dollar Tree today to round out our party supplies, I realized that the theme essentially was “Red.”  That’s Jack’s favorite color.  Red napkins, red cups, red streamers.  Some furry mustaches for his guests to stick on which will, according to my children, be used to revitalize “Sharks and Minnows.”  I can’t wait.

We have been to some very fun birthday parties: teas, bowling, an entire Egyptian Pyramid.  There have been beautiful cakes and impressive pinatas.  And we have had a lot of fun.

But this mama had one kind of party in her this year: a simple party.

So, we’re playing some games.  They involve running around, popping balloons, more running, candy, and more running.  Oh, and beach balls.  And our youth building, since the park is going to be sitting beneath questionable skies tomorrow with a better-than-likely chance of thunderstorms.  But my little guy is very happy.

As I poured my vanilla batter into the generic pastel cupcake liners, I thought, wow.  This is pretty homemade.  I don’t have a single theme!  No fancy anything!

But I think I’m entering a season in which simplicity is the most appealing option.  Those vanilla cupcakes look pretty good.  I didn’t even make a pinata, but I can’t wait to watch the kiddos stomp on balloons until they release their little treats.  Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Simplicity.  It may not characterize all of our birthday parties, but I’m looking forward to its role in this one.