Birthday Party Redux

As I type this, the girls are summoning first one parent, then the other to their darkened, supposed sleep room for various nothings. They had late naps (even Naomi!) and an exciting day, and I think I will be hearing screaming and laughing and squeaking and "Mommmmmmmy. Mommmmmmy." for another forty minutes or so. Oh well.

In the past, we had talked about the tendency, which can come more easily than you think, to overdo birthday parties for kids. So we agreed that every five years we would throw a big one, a kid party blowout, and then the other years, not so much. Since Naomi turned five this year, this was the year for it. A few months ago we went to a birthday party for her friend from school at a "play gym." I would never have thought to have a party at a place like this, but Naomi had a fantastic time at that one, so we finally decided to shamelessly copy that shindig. Getting a reservation wasn't easy, which is why we ended up having Naomi's to-do at 12 on a Sunday, a week after her actual birthday.

Here's where I win a prize for my fabulous planning skills. Instead of just getting the cake and the sandwiches from the same place, and preparing the takeaway beforehand, I had to order the sandwiches from one place, the cake from another, and decide rather at the last minute to have balloons instead of goody bags, meaning, a third stop on the way to the party. And also: a car JAMMED full of balloons. Cuckoo!

Somehow, despite the many crazy stops, we still got to the party place too early, and had to wait outside in the March chill (yesterday's weather was a one-day only engagement, sadly), in order to save Muriel from further complaining about the balloon crowding in the car. When we got into the place, the balloons commenced with some kind of suicide pact- at least ten of them popped. Jim ran out to get more, kids started showing up, and the party got under way.

Our no-presents-please invitation request was roundly (sweetly) ignored. Also, every foreign-originating parent congratulated me and shook my hand (on the occasion of my child's birthday). In fact, one of the mothers, who is Russian, brought me tiny, sweet-smelling, yellow mimosa flowers, since it is nearly Mother's Day in Russia, and that is the traditional flower on this holiday. (I haven't felt inclined to fact check that one.) But of course, it wasn't about me! There were obstacle courses, games, a swing, a trampoline, and all manner of running around. I think the kids had a really good time.

I felt a little bad that there was only enough food for the kids (especially when I realized how hungry I was). The astronaut theme was...under-realized, I guess, but the cake was still cute. At the end, there was a frenzy of balloon grabbing, which I will freely admit was super gratifying. And then we went home, put the kids in bed for a nap, and ate the leftover deli sandwiches. And tonight, the girls have finally fallen asleep, I am eating Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, and the birthday season has officially come to a close. Ahhh.