Birthday Bash

Yesterday was the big costume party for Tyler's fifth birthday. I had read somewhere that the planning process is just as fun for five year olds as the actual party. So Tyler was the party planner this year and he chose a costume party, an Incredibles themed cake, Star Wars themed decorations and a Darth Vader costume. He chose to play bingo, pin the lightsaber on Darth Vader, and have a treasure hunt. We all learned a lot in this process. Tyler learned he's got some really amazing friends and family. He told me so that night in the bath, when he was making up a song about his birthday to the tune of Hakunna Mattata and the words he sang went "Hello it's my birthday. I'm the luckiest boy. I had fun at my birthday. My friends and family played." It was too cute, if only we hadn't drained the camera's batteries earlier at the party. Gavin learned that Mommy can take command of 17 kids just the same way his teachers can and suddenly he started showing me a little respect. Although I doubt it will last long. Shawn learned 3, 4 and 5 year olds actually do listen well enough to only take one "treasure" without sabotaging the treasure hunt I planned. And me, I learned to expect two parents for each kid (a good thing!), if the invited kid has siblings they'll likely come along too, and if you give a musical recorder to each child in a goodie bag, you get a caucophony that sends everyone home in a hurry. So while I wouldn't change anything about this fun party, I have a feeling future parties will be away from our house, which is now a mess of toys, cans, crumbs, a couple spills, and toys toys toys.

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