They Say It's Her Birthday

My big girl's big birthday is coming up and it is time to trot out all my childhood baggage about birthdays. There are two areas where I will admit that I strive to do the complete opposite as my mother, the cooking/food thing that we have already covered at length and birthday parties. This is not to say I was never thrown a birthday party, that is just not true. However, I find it suspect that I do not remember having more than two birthday parties in my life. I remember my cousins' birthdays, my friends birthdays, but I actually only remember one of my birthdays. The other I am just willing to admit happened because i have photographs of it. My mom was just never into birthdays, not her own, not mine, not even my siblings. This drives my sister crazy too.

So I do what all adults who are still child-like inside do, I over-compensate. Last year Olivia wanted a fiesta, so I invited three children and their parents over for quesadillas, we did crafts, a ridiculous cake that took forever to make, and whatever else for my three year-old. Now I did not go too crazy, and I still draw the line for renting any kind of facility, but this year someone has clued into what a birthday can be and is pleasantly surprised to find that most things she asks for, her mother actually says yes. Therefore, we are having a pink pajama party with make your own pizzas and cupcakes. So far, I have agreed to homemade pink garland, pink candy, balloons, pink goody boxes filled with only pink items (red for our lone boy invitee whose father would kill me if I sent him home with all pink) and, naturally, a ridiculous selection of pink cupcake decorations. And the list keeps growing. Chad claims that he will eventually put the kibosh on things, but I want to be there when he denies a weeping birthday girl pink party blowers.

Some days I try to reason with myself and then some days I just say, screw it. I stayed home for a reason, so that can hand make a dozen black and white cupcakes with raspberry icing and my only child can have the pink party of her dreams. Because I know a PINK party was never in mine, ugh.