Tags
birthday party, children, family, humor, Jim Chaney, kids, moon bounce, parenting, party, The Wordslinger
The days leading up to Izzy’s 3rd birthday were filled with more perpetual motion than the little lady herself. Preparing for a child’s birthday party is like running a marathon on a treadmill while simultaneously packing for a trip around the world. It’s like conducting a symphony while cooking an 8-course meal and blowing up balloons in the shape of jungle animals. A 3-year-old’s birthday party is a wedding reception, a rock concert, and a day at Six Flags, all thrown into a blender with a pound of sugar and a fruit punch juice box.
But when it all comes together, when all the “to-do’s” get “to-done” and the kids raise the roof (without burning the mother down), your little munchkin’s birthday is quite a sight to behold. Having only been parents now for 3 years, Jen and I certainly don’t consider ourselves gurus on the subject just yet. We do however, know when the best time is to host a party.
(Here’s a tip to all you parents out there with an upcoming toddler bash: schedule the party for 11:00am; all your guests with little one’s of their own will roll out by 12:30 or 1:00 so their kid can take a nap and you’re left with only essential personnel and the rest of the afternoon to decompress. You’re welcome.)
As we scurried around Sunday morning, making last-minute preparations that included properly positioned potty seats in each bathroom and a scan of the backyard for any “land mines” left by the dogs in the early morning hours, my father (otherwise known as Poppy) arrived with an early birthday present that required some “setting up”. That’s right, the Chaney clan now owns our very own bounce house (or moon bounce, or inflatable cage of toddler terror, whatever you prefer to call it).
Thankfully, this children’s toy did something most others never do; it assembled in the recommended amount of time. So with the bounce house up and running and Iz and the Jakester already bursting with freakishly high levels of energy, the party was underway. As the kids filed in from all directions, their adult counterparts in tow, gifts began to fill the living room while juice boxes starting flowing like champagne in a hip-hop video.
The weather couldn’t have been better, allowing for playtime outside rather than in the quaint (yeah, that sounds better than cramped) confines of the house. The kids bounced around the inflatable corral, crashing into each other like WWE Royal Rumble combatants. Parents took turns as referees/lifeguards, ready to swoop in and rescue any little tikes in turmoil.
After I successfully negotiated the grilling of hamburgers and hotdogs without burning myself, my house, or any little kiddies in the process, it was time to sing happy birthday and cut the cake. If you may recall, this time last year Izzy was going through a rather odd, birthday song phobia. She was perfectly content to sing the song to others, but when a group of people tried to sing it to her, she had a nuclear-style meltdown. Thankfully, that phase is over and this year’s rendition went off without a hitch.
As has been birthday tradition since cave-folk discovered fire and then gave each other rocks and dinosaur meat as gifts (I think it went something like that), after cake came present time. After several hours of bouncing, running, laughing, screaming, falling down, and bouncing some more, it was clear that Iz was hitting a wall, but she pushed through like a champ and opened every princess-related gift in the room. Joined by her entourage of pint-sized peeps, she tore through wrapping and tissue paper like Grant through Richmond. Once the smoke cleared, torn bits of paper and plastic littered the floor and the kids were back in the yard for another round of “how in the world do they still have that much energy”.
Slowly, the party dwindled and clean-up began. Jake, having slept through a good part of the shindig, was now awake and raring to go so escorting him in and out of the house became the full-time job of whoever was closest at the time. Once the guests cleared out, it was time to survey the damage. Toys were scattered about, have-eaten plates of food and half-full bottles and juice boxes lined the tables like a makeshift target practice range, and the inevitable extra goodie bags remained by the front door.
One benefit to the early start time is the hours you have on the back-end for clean-up and relaxation. By 5:30pm, evidence of a birthday bash was hard to come by, unless of course you took a good look at the Chaney clan. Izzy and Jake sat on the couch watching an episode of Strawberry Shortcake from like 1983, barely conscious but unable to close their eyes due to the sugar-induced trance they were in. Meanwhile, Jen and I slipped into a temporary coma until we were able to justify what we felt was a reasonable time to go to bed. If you’re wondering, I believe it was about 7:15pm.
So I’m exhausted. A little from the party, a little from three years of parenting, but mostly from racking my brain as to how it’s possible that my little girl is three years old already. No matter what your process is for throwing a party, if you have kids I have no doubt that you wonder the same thing about your little (or big) one. So here is one final Happy 3rd Birthday to my Iz! Now I better start prepping now for the Jakester…his birthday is just 3 1/2 months away; I’m already behind!
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C’mon, man, you went into the bounce house, didn’t you?? π
What a great excuse for adults to grill, and eat cake and ice cream. Now you’re all psyched up for Jake’s party, aren’t you?
Happy Belated Birthday to Iz! Terrific job with her special day. Loved this post. Especially “Itβs like conducting a symphony while cooking an 8-course meal and blowing up balloons in the shape of jungle animals.” Pricelesss imagery there. π
Hey Jim, might you be interesed in renting the bouncy house? My baby turns 21 in July and that is all she has requested for her celebration….on second thought never mind, a bouncy house for a 21st….that smell would never go away.
Marty- there is a cornucopia of reasons why a bounce house at a 21st birthday is a bad idea, the least of which is the fact that there is a 175lb weight limit to this particular one. I think you can see how things could end badly here.
Oddly enough, my nearly 16-year old wants a toddler themed party for her 16th! She wants to hire a play area, have a trampoline and bouncy castle, play pass the parcel and musical chairs. She wants to have her friends there, eat little red sausages, party biscuits, sausage rolls and cake and drink sugary soft drinks. Infinitely preferable to the kind of party she COULD be asking for!!
And I agree about the terrible 2s. I’ve always found 3 more challenging – much more pushing the envelope of authority; those little brains are speedier than a bullet train and their reasoning and logic is incisive.
All I have to say: THANK GOD my kids are past this point, though I remember it well. Not fondly, but well.
π
Actually, toddler birthdays are such incredible memories! Thanks for reminding me of some of my favorite days ever.
Now go take a nap, friend.
zzzzzzzzzzzzz…what? Oh, I’m sorry, did you say something?
Happy birthday Izzy. I remember when I was 3. I think. Well it was almost 60 years ago.
Haha, fantastic memory Carl!
It was an awesome party Jim! A good time was had by all!!! Happy birthday Izzy! π
Glad you enjoyed it. Nice to see you and the boys again!
Happy birthdya to your daughter! She’s adorable.
Thank you very much! I’ll pass on your wishes to the little princess.
Fun post, lots of knowing nods and smiles. My littlest baby is about to turn 18. Something tells me it’s not juice boxes that will be flowing… Enjoy these times, it is so very true that they grow up (and get too big to sit in your lap) fast. I miss it – but I wouldn’t go back! π
Izzy told me yesterday that she was only two…that she didn’t want to be three. I told her she was too young to be pretending she was younger than she is. The little girl cracks me up! Thanks for the comment!
Loved this. Your children are beautiful! And so is your prose. Especially loved the line: “juice boxes starting flowing like champagne in a hip-hop video.” My kids are grown but I can still relate to this. As they get older you will get more practical — you’ll just be rounding up their buds and taking them all to a movie or paintball place — but when they are little, the birthday party is still a grand event!
Well thank you very much for the kind words. I’m sure you’re right about the party differences as they get older. That has to be easier than these shindigs, am I right?
Great age. You’re out of the terrible twos!
To be honest Sandra, I think the whole “terrible twos” things is a myth. It seems that Izzy didn’t develop her attitude until much closer to this birthday. I think it’s more like terrible threes…and I’m in the throes of it now!
Oh, I love this. What a fun romp through birthday land.
I don’t have kids, but I sill sometimes allow me ever-aging self to crawl into bed at a ridiculously early hour. Clearly a toddler bash would see me admitted to ICU, in desperate need of life support.
Happy birthday to sweet, liitle Iz!
Kathy
No hour is too ridiculous if you ask me Kathy. Thanks for stopping by!
That baby girl is the image of her mama and just as beautiful. Happy Birthday IZ!!! Hang in there Jakester, you’re day’s coming pal. By the way, you’re one handsome little devil just like your dad.
We do have a couple of cute kids if you ask me! Thanks for the birthday wishes, I’ll pass them along.
Haha! That “close to hitting a wall” look is seriously universal. Thomas goes from cracked out to slowly staring into space in one minute flat π Happy Birthday to your sweet girl!
You have a very small window of opportunity once that looks shows up, to perform damage control and stop the meltdown. After that, it’s every man, woman, and child for themselves!