The weekend was absolutely brilliant. The rain held off from 2:55pm to 5:05pm which was plenty of time for everyone to have party food, games, cake and a swim in the pristine pool.
Oh the pool - it looked magic, even with the naked garden beds either side. The Guru did an amazing job of making it look like a resort...with naked garden beds. So a nudist resort then. Excellent.
I won't lie - I was mildly terrified of having so many small children in one location, even with their parents in attendance. I had thoughts of toddler tanty's over sharing. And the idea that my newly ordained 2 year old would bring her 30 year old persona to the party and scare everyone away was a concern.
Thankfully she had her temper tantrum over not wanting to wear her party dress precisely 15 minutes before guests started arriving. And the moment I opened my mouth to say 'Claudia is here, baby!' the clouds parted, she ran to the door and started calling out to her friend and waving.
I have never met anyone who can swing so wildly or rapidly from intense anger to pure joy. Except for me when I'm pregnant. I'm just sayin'. I reckon I know where she gets it from.
And from there, as more people arrived and Fun schlepped in from the rain, shook itself off and decided to get it's shit happening, the afternoon passed in a moment.
At this stage our friends arrived with their 2 year old and their amost 8 week old. Needless to say I was smitten with this tiny bundle and I cuddled him for what seemed like an eternity...I asked if I could keep him and, while they let me down gently, they reassured me that it would be our turn soon, and we would have a special bundle all our own again.
Yeah, well - I totally would have stolen their little bundle. But it would have dampened the mood of the party.
There is just something about those tiny fingers and toes...about that little nose and those curious eyes that make me melt and want to storm into Mother Nature's office and demand why the hell she hasn't got her crap together. Slack bitch*.
Ahem, moving on...
Having an elevated house proved to be the most wonderful thing we could have hoped for. And even more delightful was discovering that the bouncy castle was as high as the house and was snugly set under the house for some bouncy fun, just in case the happy clouds decided to abandon us and their crusty cousin's rolled in.
Cameras flashed, Happy Birthday was sung and candles were blown out - and for the first time she did it all by herself. Clever little pumpkin.
And then 5pm rolled around and as quickly as it had started, the afternoon wrapped up. Small kidlets were wrapped in warm, fluffy towels and cuddled to the car to head home for a quick dinner and then a good night's sleep.
Our big girl passed out on the floor at 7:15pm exactly, having avoided her afternoon power nap and spending the entire afternoon swimming, running, bouncing, laughing, eating and screaming around on her new quad bike.
Yes, the Guru and I are completely and totally insane - we buy our toddler motorised vehicles.
And by 8:30pm on Saturday night I was passed out in our bed. My nerves were shattered over baking and icing cakes, making sure there was enough food, that no one fell off the bouncy castle/quad bike/slippery dip and that a good time was had by all.
Yeah, I am totally one of those people who doesn't relax at parties - I'm the freak who flits around like a dragonfly on crack trying to make sure I am all things to all people and that even the mosquito's are comfortable.
Whatever.
Everyone slept through the night, and when I got up the next morning the leftover mess didn't bother me.
In fact, I schlepped around in my pj's all day and just had fun with our girl. Our very grown up, clever, funny, 2 year old girl.
*Note: Mother Nature - if this month you decided to let me have my last little bundle, then please ignore my rantings above. You know it's only because I'm dreading the next week or so when I discover if you've given us our gift, or not. You know it's only because every little niggle I feel, I feel sad that it might be a sign that this month was a flop. I don't really think you're a bitch...but I do think you've been slack. Love me. x
