Freak Out

Source: evangelicaloutpost.com via Jaborandi on Pinterest

Today was a bit disconcerting. Let me preface by saying that S has preschool Tuesday and Thursday mornings. When I dropped S off at preschool this morning, her teacher said, "Hey, S, we missed you Thursday!" Then to me, "Was she not feeling well?"

. . . I'm sorry, what? She was at school Thursday, wasn't she? Um, apparently not. The teacher handed me the worksheets they had done that day for her to take home. Thank God S's teacher has been my best friend for 25 years and didn't think I was a total nut job for not realizing I hadn't brought my daughter to school.

I searched my mind frantically to figure out why S would have been gone. I'd had an interview that day, so I took the girls to my parents' house, but I could swear they only had Baby R.

When I left the preschool, I called my dad to confirm. Of course, he and Mom have no idea what they did yesterday, much less last week. So I looked at my calendar when I got home. When I did, I realized why it took me a week to post anything, and I felt slightly less guilty about why I couldn't remember the exact details of that day:

Tuesday

My dad had cataract surgery, and my mom can't drive anymore, so I needed to take him. Baby R went with us, and S had stayed late at school until I was able to pick her up.

Wednesday

Took dad to his follow up appt that lasted over an hour, even though time with the doc was less than 5 min.

Thursday

I had my second/third round interviews with a place in the morning. I was sure I had taken S to school and left Baby R with Mom and Dad? Where else could she have been? That evening S had a tantrum when I told her it was time to go inside for supper. She threw her scooter and it knocked her bicycle over causing the handlebar to hit just below her eye, scaring me to death that she'd poked it out. Once I knew she wasn't blind, I tossed her at my poor husband and left for the movies. (Cause that's how awesome and loving I am.) I had passes to a Nielsen screening for the new Adam Sandler movie "That's My Boy." I'm not allowed to comment on it yet, but when I am? You will definitely be hearing my opinion.

Friday

Kindergarten round-up. I wasn't as weepy as I thought I'd be. S did great! She didn't even panic when she and her best friend were put in separate groups. HUGE relief.

Saturday

Baby R and I cleaned the house while DH took S to Lawrence to watch the KU baseball game. We hosted a watch party for the Final Four that night - Rock Chalk! Undeservedly Shockingly, KU won!

Sunday

After church, we came home, had lunch, and then I took S to a bday party on the other side of town. It was a cool place, but we were gone ALL. DAY. Didn't get home until 6:30pm. And poor S was really struggling with her allergies. Her eyes are all red and puffy. I keep telling her not to rub them, but come on - she's 4.

Monday

Dad had been sick with a fever Friday and just had no energy through the weekend. He had asked me if I could take Mom to the store. Monday morning when I called Dad to say we were on our way over, he said he needed me to take him to the hospital or the doctor's instead since he was too weak to drive.

For those of you not living in the midwest, it was in the upper 80's, low 90's the last 3-4 days. I realize it's hard to break down and turn on the AC in March/April, but we walked into my parents' house and almost melted. They had a box fan running, but it was doing nothing to cool down the room, much less the whole house. I told Dad he needed to turn it on, he said he was going to but he needed to go downstairs to fiddle with something. I asked him why? He should just be able to change the thermostat. He said he thought when they had their new furnace and thermostat installed in February, they guy told him there was something extra that needed to be done to get the air going. I tried the thermostat. Nothing happened. No click. So he called the HVAC place to find out if there really was something special that needed to be done. There wasn't, but the woman told me to check that the unit outside was on and that the breaker didn't need to be reset. Done and done. Still nothing. She said they didn't have an opening until Wednesday, but if there was a cancellation, she'd let us know.

We all headed to the doctor's office, and the PA said his fatigue could be a sign of pneumonia even though he didn't have any other symptoms, so they did a chest x-ray. I mentioned his low hemoglobin problem from a few years ago, so they also did a blood draw. His lungs were clear, but there was a mass below his ribs they wanted to check out, so they told him they would schedule a CAT scan. The hemoglobin count came back slightly low - 10.5, but not enough to be creating such a dramatic state of fatigue. And he said it felt different than when that happened.

The HVAC place called and had a cancellation and could be there between 2-4pm. So I took them back to our house until then so they could stay cool. I put the girls down for naps - only Dad and Baby R slept, though. I went back to my parents' house to meet the HVAC guy and it turned out to just be a loose wire in the thermostat. Luckily, since they had installed it with the furnace, there was no charge.

When I got back to the house, Dad was awake and feeling much better. I told him he probably had been too hot, and that's why he felt so crappy. While we were waiting for Baby R to wake up so I could take them back home, the cable went out. Oy. About then, DH got home from his first day at his new job. YAY!!! He was immediately trying to find out about the cable since the NCAA championship game was on that night. We knew a couple of other people with issues and they had been told they would be resolved in an hour or so - plenty of time before the game.

About 20 minutes til game time, the cable still wasn't working. So I told DH he could go to his best friend's house a few blocks away. He called the cable company and told them it was crap that it wasn't fixed yet, and we had to pay to watch it online when we already get internet service through them. So they comped us. I could have tried to stream it, but all the Facebook updates were depressing. Finally a friend said I should try to watch the TV without the cable plugged in since it was on a local channel.

DUH.

I did. It worked. It was very fuzzy, but it worked. Unfortunately KU was even fuzzier, and unable to make it happen, so Kentucky became the national champion. I can't complain. KU played terribly the entire tournament. I was shocked they got as far as they did. Not bad for a rebuilding year. Love my Jayhawks.

When DH got home he called the cable company and was very nice but firm about them needing to fix the problem. After awhile, he less nice and firmer about it. That's why we make such a good team! He's so good at that stuff.

Today

DH asked me if I had gone to the basement yesterday and turned off the booster that the cable guy had installed at his last visit. I had gone to the basement, but all I had done was...  Oh. THAT's what the black box attached to the lightbulb was. I had pulled the string two or three times and the light never came one. Apparently I had been the cause of the cable FUBAR. Sorry... ahem....

After panicking about my memory lapse regarding S and preschool to my sister and one other friend, I finally remembered what happened on Thursday. (Hallelujah! I've held Mom's dementia at bay for a little while longer.) I had my interview in the morning. But DH had an interview in the afternoon. So he took the day off. I had originally asked my parents to watch the girls but told them never mind when I found out DH would be home. He was supposed to take S to school while I was getting ready. But since he's never in charge of that, he didn't remember to do it. And I should have reminded him, but I was focused on prepping for the interview. And having him home felt like Saturday, so I just completely spaced off that S had school. Ok, maybe the dementia's not that far away after all...

March Madness Parenting Methods

I'm not the stay-at-home-mom I thought I would be. For one thing, I thought I would handle the bickering over toys with diplomacy, tact and patience. Yeah, not so much. Today I hit upon brilliant approach that I credit to all the basketball we've been watching lately.

The girls were fighting over a toy we found in the basement at my parents' house while we were looking for my old records yesterday morning. For those of you 80's kids like me, you may remember this:

Fisher Price Sesame Street toy set

I had to explain to the girls that Mr. Hooper used to run the store instead of Chris, but other than that, most of the elements from the show featured in the toy are the same today as they were 35 years ago.

The girls helped me wash the figurines while I wiped down the apartment building, and then happily played together for awhile. Before long, I heard them arguing. They both wanted the trash truck. (I sort of remember that was the piece my sister and I fought over, too.) They came to me crying and screaming and claiming each had it first.

I sighed. I've tired lots of things when they fight over toys. Take the toys away, put the kids in time out, attempt to discern who really had the toy first to begin with and then set the timer so they can take turns.

But yesterday for some reason, the first thing that popped into my head was this: "Ok, the possession arrow goes to Baby R this time."

I was half kidding, but realized that this approach was pure genius! The next time they came to me about wanting Bert, I ruled in favor of S. It had no bearing on who really had it first. It didn't matter. I didn't have to try to figure it out. I didn't listen to any arguing. All I had to keep track of was who had the possession arrow.

The best part was that there was no post-decision tantrum, because it was over in a second. It was so liberating!

How about you? What's your approach to dealing with fights over toys?

When Our 4-Year-Old Did Division

The other day, S wanted the rest of the tropical dried fruit. They are pretty big chunks, so I told her she could have half of them. She poured them all out, and I asked her how many pieces were there. She counted ten. I told her to split the pile in half, and then count them again. She did and ended up with four and six. Since it wasn't even, she moved one over so there were five each.
"How many did you start with?" I asked.
"Ten."
"How many piles did you divide them into?"
"Two," she answered.
"How many are in each pile?"
"Five."
"So ten divided by two equals five. You just did division, kiddo."

Memories Captured

 

I find that the best photos of the girls occur when the set is the least favorable. As in this image of them sitting on the desk with messy cubbies behind them. If I were to have put them in front of a blank wall or a backdrop of some sort, I could have taken 100 shots and not one would have them both looking at the camera with their eyes open and smiling (though Baby R was at the end of hers here). But that's why it works well for the memories captured project because the words cover up a fair amount of the junk (and the Elf in the background which is why they were on the desk to begin with). Please link up with Galit and Alison and check out everyone's pics!

Dear Santa

S's list for Santa this year, verbatim:

- Another Memory game [we have 2 already] that's easy-peasy for Baby R

- Another elf because I love elves

- Books we don't have to take back to the library [which makes us sound nearly barren of books, yet we easily have over 100 between her bookshelf, Baby R's bookshelf and the shelf in the playroom]

- My own, OWN TV [you are your father's child]

- A TV for Baby R's room [so, sooo your father's child]

- A special library book light for Mommy that Mommy doesn't have to take back [I'm a bit perplexed by this one, as I have a book light that I've never had to return...]


Then you signed your name, and it was really well done. So you signed it again. Then I asked if you wanted to write your last name since you worked on that at school last week. So you did. But now when I look at it, all I can think of is Rosanne Rosanne-a-danna from SNL because of the repetition of your first name.

My sweet girl. You are so precious. You may have asked for your own TV in your room, but half the things on your list are things for others. I love you.

Thanksgiving

Design from Jaborandi Grove

Wednesday

I've posted about my love of Thanksgiving before. This year was wonderful, too, and I'm continually amazed at the blessings in our lives.  Unfortunately, my SIL's BFF's mom passed away suddenly this week. My SIL had not planned to come home for the holiday until she found out the funeral was yesterday. Wednesday night, S went with my FIL to pick up Auntie E from the airport. I think E was glad as her presence lightened the mood. They ended up having a conversation about what DH wears to bed. (Not sure how that subject came up. Not sure I want to know.) Anyway, here's the general idea:

S: Daddy sleeps nakeypants.
Auntie E: What do you mean? Does he where a shirt?
S: No.
Auntie E: Does he wear shorts?
S: No, just panties.

DH about died, and I cracked up when we heard about it. Can't blame S for not knowing that shorts are boxers or briefs, but clearly we need to have a conversation that explains the nuances of underwear terms.

Thursday

I always enjoy going to DH's family's Thanksgiving. It's his dad's side of the family, and about 30 of the 50 or so relatives were able to be there. Now that the cousins are having kids, there are little ones around to play with. S didn't want to leave when it was time to go because she was having too much fun. Love that!

The best part was when we said Grace before dinner. Everyone held hands in a huge circle that wound through the kitchen and dining room. I was holding Baby R so put her little hand in her teenage cousin's. DH's aunt began to say the blessing, and Baby R whispered "God is great, God is good, mumble mumble mumble food, Amen. God is great, God is good..." So sweet!

That night, Auntie E came over and chatted. We drank way too much wine and hung out with the neighbors for awhile by their fire pit. The weather was absolutely beautiful. I stumbled to bed around 2am. Oy...

Friday

In the morning, as expected, I was regretting my bedtime as well as the bottle and a half of vino I'd consumed. Small children have no ability to sleep in. Plus I needed to start baking since my family was coming over for Thanksgiving Round 2.

I realized I was missing an ingredient for the pumpkin pie, so I took the girls to the store for the fastest yet longest trip in my life. We walked in, I put them in the cart, and literally in front of me was the evaporated milk I needed. It was all I had come for, but decided to swing by the in-store Starbucks as I was in desperate need of some caffeine. While in line, the girls whined for apple juice which we had at home, and since we were leaving right after getting my coffee, I told them no.

And it began.

Huge tantrums by both of them. I finally got S calmed down, but then when it was time to get out of the cart, Baby R threw herself on the ground, kicking and screaming. I wasn't angry or embarrassed. I simply didn't have the energy to care.

I started walking toward the door and tossed a nonchalant, "Bye-bye!" her way. If it had been S, she would have come running. But Baby R didn't buy it. I stood by the automatic door, the heater blowing to push the cold air back outside, and looked at her for a minute. A cashier came over and asked if she was all right. I said, "She's fine. She's two. She's having a tantrum." I wanted to let her work it out, but I knew the employees didn't need to deal with it, so I snatched Baby R up and headed out.

For those of you who've never tried it, I don't recommend walking through a parking lot holding a hot cup of coffee, a grocery bag, a purse, the hand of your 4YO and a thrashing toddler. I'm just thankful none of the coffee spilled on the girls.

Thank goodness the Elf on the Shelf is back; S didn't remember her at first, but now that we've re-read the book and reiterated the correlation between good behavior and Santa bringing presents, she's back on board. Hopefully we can avoid a repeat of Friday morning.

Saturday

Nothing too exciting. My sister and BIL had spent the night with us Friday, so we had breakfast and then left for STL. It would have been nice if they could have stayed longer, but they had had a rough week. Their cat was hit by a car, my sis had a terrible week at work in NYC and was stuck on the runway of her return flight for a couple of hours, and she had to go back to NYC today. I don't blame them for wanting to get home and relax for a little bit.

DH and I finished cleaning up the house. I went in to my PT job for a couple of hours to make up being gone for the holiday. I did a little bit of work for Jaborandi Grove as it was the biggest shopping weekend of the year with Black Friday and Small Business Saturday as well as Cyber Monday coming up. It was hard to coordinate stuff for Etsy with the family stuff, but I'm still a small enough shop that it didn't matter much.

Sunday

Today we missed church as we had brunch with my in-laws for one last hurrah with Auntie E before she heads back to Cali tomorrow. We also drew names for Christmas presents. Tonight we put up the Christmas tree and some of the decorations. We all napped this afternoon so we were a bit late getting around to it. We'll have to finish up tomorrow.

It's fun to watch S start to remember things and see Baby R really take it in now that she's bigger. Though S is getting tricky with her questions about Santa already. Not sure how well I will do answering them.

While I did the dishes after supper, S was "talking" to Auntie E on the phone. She said she was sorry we hadn't invited her over to eat, but it was too late now. She chatted a few more minutes and then told me after she hung up that C (Auntie E's boyfriend) didn't want her to come back to Cali tomorrow, so she was going to stay with us tomorrow night and go back Tuesday. So funny!

Sleigh? Santa Rides in a Minivan

Source: automobiles.honda.com via Michele on Pinterest

Saturday DH took the girls to have breakfast at Chick-Fil-A with Santa. S was super excited. She wanted to know if she could see his sleigh. I had to be quick on my feet.

"Well, honey, it's probably too big to park at Chick-Fil-A. Their parking lot is pretty small."

"Oh," she said, disappointed. "How will he get there?"

"Maybe he'll park somewhere nearby and walk over?"

"Yeah, or someone can give him a ride."

"Sure," I said, thinking I'd dodged that bullet.

But then her face lit up. "He could park here and ride with us!"
Crap.

"Well, honey, that is so sweet, but he probably already has a ride for today. But you could ask him when you see him if we can give him a ride next year."

"Ok!"

Please let that elephantine memory of hers fail on this so next year we don't have to invent a reason why he didn't accept our invitation...

This is linked to a monthly meme with Not Just Another Jen. November's word of the month is "Give". Though not exactly used in the sense I think she was looking for, it does appear here, and it's a cute story. :)

Baby Bullets: 4th Edition

Update on Baby R.

• Counting some jelly beans: 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 
• She was "reading" her Pooh & Eeyore book and said, "Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday" followed by some more counting, "2, 3, 7, 9"
• That was about a month ago. Now she can count to five pretty consistently.
• She also sings her alphabet, though she sometimes misses T, U, V.
• She knows her colors.
• And my favorite? She can put on her Dora Velcro shoes all by herself.
• Baby R's new favorite is crawling around and meowing like a cat, and then saying, "Pet me! Pet me!" The funniest part is that she usually starts panting like a dog at some point during her cat act.

Update on S.

• When DH or I leave the house, she says, "Be careful out there!" I feel like I'm leaving the precinct with the Captain ending roll call on "Hill Street Blues."
• Now when I go to my part-time job, she says, "Don't get dirty! Don't get stinky! Have a great day!" I think it came from when I was playing volleyball this summer and she'd say, "Don't get any sand on you!"
• She knows our home phone number. Yay!

Baby Bullets: 3rd Edition

I love our kids. They crack me up. Every. Day. The first three bullets from today's update are fairly old - I thought I'd posted them a couple of months ago, but I don't see them here.

• Baby R started saying "No, no, nooo" in the sing-song voice my mom uses. Ha!
  
  
• She also started saying "I bee bu" which is toddler code for "I love you." Heart... melting....
  
  
• She bit a chunk out of a bouncy ball. I try to keep them away from her since, clearly, it's a choking hazard. S is terrible about leaving them out and about. She's a little better about it now that one has been ruined.
  
  
• S got a new backpack from my MIL last weekend when my SIL was here. She was playing with it last night and Baby R wanted it, so I asked her if she could give her old Pooh backpack to Baby R. She did, so they were off to school. S dropped Baby R off at preschool and said, "This is your teacher Miss B; she will teach you A LOT of stuff!"
  
  
• Then S shouted out, "Going to high school! Bye!"
  
  
• S: I need my keys. I know they're around here somewhere. (Wonder where she's heard that before.)
  
  
• On our walk Tuesday night, S said "I have to fly to Canada to work on my exercise." Then as we were headed back to the house she yelled, "I'm going to miss my plane! (running) Wait! Wait!"
  
• Baby R loves Farkle in Shrek 4 (Yes, I know - lovely movie choice for the little ones). Farkle has no lines. He's in it for probably 5 minutes total. Felicia and Fargus are both discussed more. But she's got a soft spot for him.

S's 4th Birthday Party: Cars

Saturday was the big day for the bday party. It was supposed to rain Friday night, so I decided that I (and by "I," I mean DH since I hurt my back the day before) would set up the chairs and tents in the morning. About 7:45am, I headed outside to start hanging things up. Within a few minutes, it started pouring. So I grabbed everything and threw it back into the garage.

• • • Aside • • •

For those of you not living in the Midwest, it's been in the 100's for the last few weeks. So the idea of rain was not wholly unwelcome. Everything is really dry - ironic, considering the rivers are flooding - so we needed it. And I hoped it would cool everything off. But I was also afraid it would just make it more humid. And afraid that the "spotty shower" the meteorologists incorrectly predicted for Friday night would turn out to be an all-day thunderstorm of ark-like proportions on Saturday.

Thankfully it turned out to be short-lived, and we ended up with beautiful weather! The tents gave us shade, and there was a breeze. The kids were actually cold at times playing in the water - crazy!

Decor

I didn't do a lot for decor since we were outside. I had planned to draw a road on the driveway in sidewalk chalk, but it was still wet, and time was limited, so I skipped it. I bought a racing pennant/banner at US Toy, and used it in conjunction with some poster board orange cones to guide guests around to the back of the house. I made a sign that looked like the Cars logo with S's name on it and attached some balloons.

The welcoming committee: Grandma D and Baby R.

Entertainment

The party went well! We had about 35-40 people I think. The older kids played on the slip 'n slide while the younger ones took a dip in the kiddie pool. Everyone enjoyed the swingset. I was going to play Red Light, Green Light with the older ones, but decided to leave them to their own devices since they seemed to be content with unstructured play.

I feel like I work as an editor on "Cops" blurring out everyone's faces...
And S appears to be a zombie from "Thriller" in this pic. ??

Favors

As the guests trickled in, I had intended to hand out their Pit Passes, but since they were getting wet right away, I waited until later to give them out. For those I included the Cars logo with S's name and then just wrote Pit Crew, followed by Event: S's 4th Bday Party, Date: July 30, 2011, Crew Member: (Guest's Name). Most of the kids can't read yet, but they recognize their names, so they thought it was cool. I just used 3M laminating sheets for 4x6 photos and cut them in half, then used red lanyards (also from US Toy) to hang them from for the older kids.

The favor bags were just plain red bags and I printed out a checkerboard print that I cut into triangles and then attached personalized names with a pop-dot. They turned out really cute, I think. Inside the bags I just put a mini crayon set with two coloring pages, a toy car and some stickers.

Cake

The party was early - 9:30am-11:30am - because of the expected heat. So I waited til about 10:30am to have cake and ice cream. (It's never too early for cake, right?) Let me preface this by saying that I have zero skillz in the cake decorating department. None. I had gone round and round about what to do for S's cake, and finally decided to make a 1/2 sheet cake of Funfetti for the bottom layer and a chocolate 8" round for the top. I frosted it green for grass and with a fudge frosting circle on top for the racetrack. Hy-vee had these sugar Cars shapes of Lightning and Mater, so, with the help of my sister, I threw those on top. I had made a Piston Cup cupcake topper that read "Happy Birthday" on the top with S's name at the bottom.

No, it's not a ring of poo, it's a racetrack.

I certainly didn't love how it looked, but it tasted good so I guess that's the important part! Will definitely do cupcakes for Baby R's bday in November. I rock at cupcakes.

S actually opened her presents this year, and was very good about being appreciative and patient with her little friends who all wanted to help, of course. Though, my brother-in-law apparently heard her mumble under her breath to one of the boys that he already had his party, and these were her presents. Thankfully, I don't think anyone else heard. :) Overall, I think everyone had a great time. And then it was time for a nap for everyone...

Happy Birthday, S

Last Saturday we told you your bday was a week away. Every day since you've asked if it's your birthday. Not like last year when you were excited but moved on because a week was just a concept that was still beyond you.

We went to Chick-Fil-A on Tuesday night when the AC was out. I watched you quickly, confidently scale the play area, rushing around, head back, laughing, carefree. The hesitation you used to show, gone. You encouraged Baby R to follow you. Helped other kids down the slide. In these moments, my heart swells with pride.

You love to watch your Little Learners Preschool Spring Show DVD. You squeal with delight when you see yourself and your friends. You sing along with the songs. You already look so much bigger, older, than two months ago. At least once a week you ask me if you get to go back to school yet. I'm thrilled that you love learning!

You are fully potty trained now - you wore Pull-Ups at night longer than you probably needed to. I was scared for you since bedwetting runs in the family, and didn't want to push you too fast. You would get so upset when you did have an accident when you tried to stay dry on your own. Sometimes you would insist you had just had a sweaty sleep. You didn't want to make a mistake. A perfectionist. I try to let you know it's ok for mistakes to happen, but you don't want to hear it. Hone that trait. Use it to be the best you can, but let go a little so it doesn't destroy your world when you have failures. 

Though the tantrums are fewer, your defiance has increased. We had a horrible night a couple of weeks ago. I lost my temper with you. Multiple times. Screamed at you. Need to remember I'm the adult. Pray for patience. I don't know how my mom did it. I don't remember her yelling at us. My dad and I got in screaming fights, but I don't really remember any of them, just that they happened. But that's not the first thing I think of. My impressions of my parents from childhood are loving and happy and blessed. Will your memories of me be so muted? Will the love outshine the yelling?

One of my favorite things you like to do right now is try to knock me over. You are playing, but also testing the waters. When I squat down to your level or sit on the floor, you go as far away as you can, then run at me full speed ahead, and dive into my arms, knocking me back on the floor and smothering me with your hugs.  Full of trust and reckless abandon. And, sometimes, a little passive-aggression when you've been upset with me.

You amaze me with your imagination and creativity. Problem-solving is a skill you already excel at. I am in awe of you. I try so hard not to lament your messy/inconvenient experiments and innovations; I don't want to squelch your curiosity. I want you to have the freedom to learn from experience and mistakes in a safe environment. To encourage you, empower you, instill self-worth and confidence. Those are the gifts I most want to give you.

Happy birthday, beautiful baby. I'll love you forever.

Kids Birthday Parties

I always thought we would keep our kid's parties low-key. I would hear of these insane parties with 100 guests, live ponies and a bounce house and think, "Those parents are CRAZY! And spoiling their kids!"

I used to think my birthday parties were typical for the time. From kindergarten through 4th grade or so, we celebrated my December birthday with kids just coming over to our house. We played a couple of games, I opened presents, and we ate cake. I think that part of it is/was pretty normal. But I never thought about how many kids were there before. Each of those years, I invited the whole class. That was around 20-25 kids. My mom had to corral 25 kids - in her house - for a couple of hours. Insanity!

We are planning S's 4th birthday party. The big question is who to invite. Last year we had a crazy thing happen where every single person we invited actually came to the party. And since the kids were 3 or under, their parents came, too, often with siblings. Which meant that even though she only invited about 8 kids, by the time you added in their families and our families, there were 50 people at this party.

And because Baby R was only 9 months old at the time, she was still taking a morning nap, so I had to schedule the party between naptimes, which meant it overlapped lunch. So we ended up feeding those 50 people hamburgers and hot dogs.

How did something so small turn out so big?

This year, hubs and I are determined to keep it under control. Being able to shift the time a bit will help. But inviting fewer people is clearly the biggest factor. I know, everyone says to only invite the number of kids equivalent to your child's age, so for S's 4th birthday, there should only be 4 kids. That's a great idea in theory. But what do you do when there are kids from preschool, daycare, our friends' kids and neighbors? She sees all of them on a regular basis.

I've come to grips with the large quantity. We have to have the party outside to accommodate them. My fear now is that it will either be record-setting hot next weekend or raining, and then we'll have 50 people in our house. Pray for nice weather...