By Guest Blogger: Mom
After years of having chaotic 'boy' birthday parties full of a bunch of hooligans (pirates, monkeys, superheroes, and the like) tearing up my gardens, I decided that for Molloy's 4th birthday party we should have a sweet, civilized garden party. I carefully prepared the guest list, sent out invitations and shopped the craft store for activities for a group of little 4 and 5 year old girls.
Now, Molloy has been to a birthday party or three, and has witnessed her brothers'. The last one she attended was at a local play-place where I had to drop her off because I had to occupy the boys while Steven worked. So she's been telling me I can leave her by herself at her own party because "I'm big enough". I keep pointing out that she might want me there to bring out the cake! After that she agreed I could stay.
I plan it for a Thursday afternoon, an hour after her school lets out, but before the boys come home from school. They are a little miffed that they can't come until they are assured there will be leftover cake. Steven is unsure that I can do a kid party alone, but I assure him there won't be that many and at this age the Moms stay.
I anticipate that five or six of the ten invited guests would accept and would be in attendance with their Moms and a stray sibling or two. Well, the day before the party the last RSVP rolls in and all but one are coming! Here we go!
The night before I am madly counting out beads for the tins for the necklace-making activity and writing names on little terra cotta pots for the planting activity, baking and decorating the cake ("Mom, I want a chocolate cake with berries!") and filling the goody bags. I crawl into bed at one a.m., figuring I would have time in the morning to prep the food (fruit skewers and little flower sandwiches) and set up.
The big day arrives - it also happens to be the day of the "graduation" for the older class, so she is all decked out in her finery for her big show at school. (I think she is a fish.) The parents are invited to attend at 10:45, and I fully expect to be there. But I realize after dropping her off that it is unlikely. Oh, well. Third child blues.
I come home to rinse off the table & chairs, set the table, put out the juice boxes, set up for the activities and make the sandwiches, fruit and such. I don't even have time for a shower before I have to pick up Molloy and her friend Kiana at 11:30. (At this point I am thinking I should not have excluded Steven - he's always good for the heavy lifting before a party!) I spend 10 minutes chatting at school and then we are off to pick up the balloons and last minute accessories ("Do we have a candle, Mom?").
We pull up at a traffic light and one of the Moms is right next to me asking for directions! Uh, oh! Give me a few minutes, please!
We get home, after placing balloons at the mailboxes and driveway flower tub. I send Molloy and Kiana up to her room to play and spray the yard for bugs and tie the remaining balloons around as the guests start to arrive. I race upstairs to get Molloy into her party dress and come down as they emerge from their SUV's. I hand out chalk and the girls start decorating the driveway as one by one the Moms pull away. What!??!
There I am with eight little girls (one last minute cancellation) and 90 minutes to fill! After debating how they are going to play hopscotch on a sloped driveway (But the pebbles will roll down!) we make our way to the patio and plant their little plants. A broken pot and I have to get out the markers to write Abby's name on another little pot. A late arrival and the mom stays! Yea!
Lunchtime - they claim to be starving, but pick at the fruit and sandwiches and suck down the juice. (I forgot that they had devoured the dessert table at the preschool graduation party!)
Off to the races. We got lucky with a warm spring day. I had set up a little relay race for one of the activities. I had two big tubs filled with water and two empty tubs. The first team to fill their tub with the buckets wins! (Uh oh - should I have gotten little prizes?) Not to worry, after some initial confusion, they all politely took turns and passed the buckets from one to the next until each team claimed the win. Then shoes came off and they all got a little wet. It looked like Lucy and Ethel in the grape stomping episode.
More chalk drawings, on the patio this time, a few bug bites that require colorful bandages (so much for the yard spray), and a few spirited rounds of Duck, Duck, Goose ("You be the ducker!") and Moms start to come back in time for cake and goody bags.
Happy Birthday, Molloy!
