Birthday Blues

Those few of you who are actually regulars will have noticed the severe lack of recent updates to my blog. In truth, I expected you to be so engrossed in the world of "fan fic" that you wouldn't notice! Just kidding.

As much as I enjoy writing, and reading, it is hard to do either when one's primary job is the nurturing and care of a spunky eleven month old boy. With Will's first birthday fast approaching I've been very busy. I hope that our guests on Saturday find that his party is fun, the decorating perfect and the house effortlessly maintained. In the meantime, I'd like to document just how NOT effortless the process has been. That way any other moms who come surfing the web, trying to learn how to throw baby's first birthday party, will know the truth. Moms spend a lot of time trying to fill that nasty "supermom" stereotype. If more of us were honest with each other, then we'd all be able to relax and enjoy our imperfections and all of the little things we DO get right. That would be much better than obsessing over all of the things we don't, because in the real world of mommy-hood, there is more that doesn't get done than does!

Preparing for Will's party:

6 weeks -2 months in advance: I start offering muffins to my son in preparation for his first cake

5 weeks: Compose invitations and have them printed

4 weeks: I start refinishing the rocking chair I received from my grandmother on my first birthday.

4 weeks: take the print his Grammy sent for his room to be framed with money she also sent

3 weeks: get sick, which sets back the rocking chair project and makes little things like regular housework start to pile up. Realize that, while I have the invitations in hand, they still need to be addressed and gotten in the mail, PRONTO.

2 weeks: Go out of town, with baby in tow, while still sick. The little guy is already scoring loot from his out of town relatives. Mommy needs a bigger suitcase to bring it all home.

1 week: Frantically work on the rocking chair, and give up on the cross-stitch blanket. Maybe I can finish it by Christmas. I still have hope on his scrapbook, but the printer is out of ink which makes printing more pictures impossible.

4 days: Cake! We need a cake! Still sick, I go to a reputabal bakery and place my order. Work on chair proceeding at a comfortable pace.

2 days: Payday. Shew. Now I can go to the grocery and party store. Balloon order placed, check. Cups, plates, bib, decorations, check. Run out of time for the grocery...drat! I get frantic about the chair and use too much spray paint, causing blobs and uneven-ness. Now I need to sand those parts and give it another coat. Eeep!

1 day: Mother-in-law has offered to help clean the house (and boy does it need it!) while Grandpa and Uncle Eddie babysit Will. God bless this woman. Uncle Eddie aggrees to babysit during naptime, as well, so I can run to the grocery, but when am I going to work on the chair?
I could be working on it now, but I'm writing on my blog instead. Why am I doing this? There's work to be done! Could it be I'm stalling?

That's it folks! Will I finish the chair? How about make it to the grocery? Can I keep my cool (not to mention my sanity) through Saturday morning? Stay tuned for the results...