My daughter's second birthday is this Sunday. Last year I did my best to make her first birthday party, a tea party theme, Pinterest-worthy. I spent a ton of time making these votive candle holders that looked like lace had been stenciled on for the favors. We invited at least 30 people; all friends and family and then some people that were obligatory invites because others were invited. I ordered a beautiful ribbon cake that would be the smash cake from the woman who usually makes the cakes for my kids' birthdays. I was excited. I felt this party would be it, maybe it would go viral... could I be the next Martha Stewart of 1st birthday tea parties? If any of my friends are reading this they are probably laughing hysterically. You see, I am anything but crafty; artistic, yes, but only in the written form on paper or a computer screen. I don't know what I was thinking when I came up with this beautifully themed party with a huge guest list. Was it for my little girl? Probably not. Kendall is a lot like her daddy and not a fan of large crowds. I put in hours of party prep and received a ton of help from my sister and mom who both came into town for the event. Everything was going swimmingly and finally it was time for her to dig into her cake. I was so excited to see her eat her first bites of the cake. Would she eat it like a lady or dive in the way her brother did? Then the unexpected happened.

She cried hysterically. Oh my word, I thought, she's afraid of her cake!! After that episode I decided to take a different route with Kendall's birthday. We're keeping it simple this year: family members only. It's more Kendall's style; less prep for me and it's also less work for my husband who inevitably gets really involved since I'm not the detail oriented person of our family. Plus the more and more I reflected on last year's party the more I realized how pressured I felt to be like all of the other super awesome Pinterest party moms. I mean their pictures are beautiful, their parties put some weddings to shame and I cannot even hold a candle to the things they are able to pull off. What do you think? Has Pinterest made our lives a little more pressure-filled to be picture Pinterest perfect? ABC's Good Morning America recently did a piece on the increase in depression among young moms linking one of the pressure points being Pinterest. Are we trying too hard to be perfect Pinterest mommies? I mean if being crafty isn't your thing why should you feel like you have to fake it? Okay I'm mainly talking to myself here but this is why I'm going smaller this year. No fancy decorations, party favors that take me a a few weeks to put together, and no huge beautiful cakes to scare the baby.