The Great Buzzy-Bee Party!

Megan turned 4 last week. Her birthday itself was rather low key. I was devastated that we both had to work on her special day. But it meant she got to have a birthday cake at creche with her day care friends, Nana and Grandpa picked her up so that they could give her some gifts before we took her out for tea for her dinner of choice....SAUSAGES!

and jelly thrown in too!

About 3 months ago, Megan decided that she wanted a Buzby (a cartoon bee) birthday cake and therefore a Buzby party. And so started the months of planning!

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE planning these kinds of things. Our error, I think, was that we started too early. For months I have had bee themes running through my head, sights of costumes and glimpses of various types of honey has set my brain ticking. We could do this...and this...and....

I liked the idea of having a pinata. The family kids were old enough to manage it without being too little or too grown up to be silly. Of course there would be no bumble bee pinatas around so I was happy to make one. Over about 5 weeks, we (mainly I) paper mache'd and painted 2 Buzby bee pinatas, the spare being in case I somehow stuffed the first one up! In the end it was great to have 2 so that the kids had twice as much fun whacking the c*** out of it!!

Our ideas for the cake were not as lavish as usual. Either that, or a bumble bee just fitted nicely into a round cake and simple design!

Naturally at a 4yr old birthday party, there had to be costumes. Again, I broke out my creative juices and make Megan a costume. Not my finest effort, but she was happy and that was all that mattered! Even hubby, myself  and grandpa had a bit of fun dressing up!

The Queen Bee!

The Bee Keeper!

Grandpa Bee!

And in typical fashion, after (most of) the food had been eaten, the games had been played and the presents opened, the guest of honour fell asleep on the couch very soon after the last party-bee had left!

It's been a while...

I've been a bit absent lately...sorry blogosphere! Not much of note has been going on. The kids are growing up, work is busy. Megan's birthday was last week and seemed to take a bit of planning. She had a ball...another post to come with more details! We are starting no night nappy with Megan as of tonight. I'm not confident but it needs to be done. I'm SURE there will be more to tell on that too!!

Comfort....

Frustrating when kids can't sleep. Comforting to know Mum's hugs usually help!

Things they've learnt...

Whilst the kids are always in the middle of learning something, some things seem like such a hurdle that they will never be conquered. I needed to remember that they do eventually manage to master those skills.

Of course there is the usual milestones that are such achievements- smiling, walking, talking. But I've also been thinking back on all the other less momentous, yet still important, things they've learnt.

•to eat yoghurt without wearing most of it
•to dress themselves
•to close their eyes whilst getting shampoo rinsed out
•getting their arms into the straps of the car seat
•getting their own drinks out of the fridge (though still not closing the door!)

Remembering these might give me that extra boost of patience I need to deal with the next set of skills!

An art book...

Megan loves all things crafy. We have loads of pictures, glue-ings, paintings that we had previously not know what to do with. Now with her wardrobe display area, we dont have to change things around so often.

I made a scrapbook of the kids' first crafty attempts- annotated with whatever was exciting about it. Though I haven't kept them up as much as I had hoped, and Alex is SOOOOO not crafty that there is almost nothing to put in his!

But still, what to do with all those other pictures? What about the good ones that are actually cute to look at? I've kept most of them (and there's lots!) just in case...of something...but dont know what.

One friends suggested that I take photos of them and make a photo book as a Christmas present for the kids. Not a bad idea, so I've started taking photos...again...just in case!

I guess this is what it could look like.

If I am organised enough, I'll give it a go this year. Might just hold onto the pictures though...just until I'm sure I can throw them away!

Where to draw the 'party' line...?

Megan has been invited to loads of birthday parties lately. Some from cousins and friends, but mostly from kids from her daycare centre. Hubby and I are in different camps about them. He thinks she should go to them all. I don't.

It's not that I don't want her to attend the parties, it's just that I don't have the first clue about who the birthday boy/girl is! Megan will talk about just 1 or 2 kids, so we assume that they are her good friends. However these BFF's are not the kids inviting her to parties. I've specifically asked about the party kids, hoping to elicit a response like, "Yeah we played together all day today". Instead I get, "Yeah she's in my room".

Not only do I not know the kids, but have no idea about the families, the homes or party expectations. Do we stay? Do we go? How do I make small talk with a mum or dad I have never met and will probably never meet again? Am I putting my own social anxieties into a situation that doesn't need it?

Megan's birthday is coming up and we hadn't even considered inviting friends from creche. When there are loads of cousins, mother's group kids and kids of friends, there isn't enough room to think any further. But what if these birthday boys and girls don't have all the kids around that we do. What if creche friends are the only friends they have?

Megan isn't quite old enough to notice if she doesn't go to these parties. But is it fair to her to skip over them? How much will they talk about it at creche and she will miss out?

Where do I draw the PARTY line???/

The score this week.....

The score this week... Temper tantrums- 57 Painful headaches-4 Parents in Tasmania on camp-1 Request for dad to make it better-lost count! Glasses of wine- only 2 (quite proud of that!) TGIF!!!