Surfer Dude had his birthday party yesterday and apparently a good time was had by all. There was plenty of screaming and yelling, but evidently it was the good kind. (For the most part anyway. There was a major brother smackdown this morning, which ended with Gumby, in tears, making devil horns behind his head and hissing "guess who I am??", while Surfer Dude tried to pummel him for his friend's entertainment). Last year his birthday fell smack in the middle of the move from Hades and I promised him a blow out this year if he would settle for less last year. He kept up his end of the deal pretty well, so I felt obligated to deliver the goods.
The party started right after school when we picked up our own kids and the four invited guests. We loaded up two cars and headed off to see Spiderman 3. Next up was the local pizza buffet and arcade. After the last game token was squandered we came back to our house for a sleepover. It started out with a game of hide and seek outside and then moved into a video gamers paradise. The hide and seek was especially fun for them since their (female) "arch enemy" lives across the street, and they got to pretend she didn't exist while she stood on the curb and heckled them. Aaah, to be ten again. The more steamed she got the more they enjoyed it. It was the best present he could have gotten.
The cake was a little problematic, but it all worked out. The birthday boy kept changing his mind about what kind of cake he wanted, and in spite of my badgering didn't make a final decision until yesterday morning. And the verdict is...a strawberry ice cream cake. The boy adores, worships and craves strawberries, and I should have seen this coming. I thought it wouldn't be a problem and that I'd just go to Dairy Queen for a cake. Strike One - they don't make a strawberry cake, they're all fudge and vanilla. On to Baskin Robbins and Strike Two. They weren't open and I have absolutely no idea why. Finally I gave in to the inevitable and went to the store to buy ingredients for a cake. I had an idea to do a kind of strawberry shortcake type thing. I layered angel food slices on the bottom and then put on the strawberry ice cream. After that set for a while I added a layer of sugared strawberries and some whipped cream and then threw it back in the freezer. Just like a frozen shortcake. Yum.
The party started right after school when we picked up our own kids and the four invited guests. We loaded up two cars and headed off to see Spiderman 3. Next up was the local pizza buffet and arcade. After the last game token was squandered we came back to our house for a sleepover. It started out with a game of hide and seek outside and then moved into a video gamers paradise. The hide and seek was especially fun for them since their (female) "arch enemy" lives across the street, and they got to pretend she didn't exist while she stood on the curb and heckled them. Aaah, to be ten again. The more steamed she got the more they enjoyed it. It was the best present he could have gotten.
The cake was a little problematic, but it all worked out. The birthday boy kept changing his mind about what kind of cake he wanted, and in spite of my badgering didn't make a final decision until yesterday morning. And the verdict is...a strawberry ice cream cake. The boy adores, worships and craves strawberries, and I should have seen this coming. I thought it wouldn't be a problem and that I'd just go to Dairy Queen for a cake. Strike One - they don't make a strawberry cake, they're all fudge and vanilla. On to Baskin Robbins and Strike Two. They weren't open and I have absolutely no idea why. Finally I gave in to the inevitable and went to the store to buy ingredients for a cake. I had an idea to do a kind of strawberry shortcake type thing. I layered angel food slices on the bottom and then put on the strawberry ice cream. After that set for a while I added a layer of sugared strawberries and some whipped cream and then threw it back in the freezer. Just like a frozen shortcake. Yum.
It wouldn't be a party without at least one meltdown from the honoree, and we hit critical mass at around ten. Why does this always happen? I get that they're overstimulated and underrested and oversugared, but come on. I don't mind taking a day out of my life to entertain my kids and their friends, but could they at least not snarl at me likeCujo. I will say this for my boy. He has lovely friends with nary a meltdown in sight.
Years ago my husband and I worked out a sleepover strategy that works beautifully for us. He stays up with the kids at night and I get up with them in the morning. This way we aren't both exhausted (in theory anyway) and our moods stay more pleasant. Considering that they were up until 1:30 and wide awake by 6, it's a good thing. We have three soccer games today, with the first kid needing to be on the field by 8:30. Parents are beginning to trickle in to pick up their children. I'd better quit.
I'll post soccer updates and birthday pics later on.
No comments:
Post a Comment