Operation Rescheduled Birthday Party

Operation Rescheduled Birthday Party
We did it! We did it! We finally had Hayden’s rescheduled birthday party! You know, it’s funny how things happen. I remember the day of the party being so incredibly devastated that it had to be cancelled. I cried that day like I haven’t cried in a long time. In retrospect, this party went so smoothly that I don’t think I would have been able to pull it off so flawlessly in March.
I’ve been dreading re-baking all the cupcakes (theme of the party was cupcakes and I baked over 500 the first time) and hated the idea of having to re-hire all the vendors, re-create a guest list, etc. But a funny thing happened last week; everyone started calling and offering to help. I mean, I have a great family and great friends that are always willing to help, but I mean a lot of people reached out to me. It felt good that so many people wanted to be a part of this day. I had a team of five friends come over and we popped out 600 cupcakes in eight hours. They were perfectly frosted and decorated. Their husbands helped with centerpieces and created the IPod play list. (Then they quickly disappeared to the patio to throw back a few beers, but hey, they deserved it). I had five SUV’s loading all the things that had to make its way to the museum the day of the party. Incredible was the support Paul and I had for our little girl. Of course, Hayden had no idea what was going on and most likely she’ll never remember the party, but I have to say, I’ve never seen our little girl so happy in her entire life. I really mean that- she was smiling and running around the entire time surrounded by tons of friends. It was a wonderful day. Really, everything I hoped it would be for our little diva. And now, I’m happy to report that I will never do it again… not until her Sweet 16 anyway… and none of that “My Super Sweet 16” stuff- She can have it at a bar or something easy like that.
So, today Hayden woke up in funk. I worked my butt off at the office throughout the week so I could lay back and spend the day with Hayden running errands and just general quality time. I knew from her first squeal of protest this morning that it would be a difficult day. (Side note: It is now a full hour later… “in a funk” Hayden kept pushing buttons on the laptop and screaming and crying so I had to take a break)- Nevertheless, I packed her up and went about our day. First stop, Port Chester for lunch with a good friend of mine… worst thing that can happen to “in a funk” Hayden? Traffic. We sat in traffic for 40 minute while she screamed bloody murder. There’s only so loud my radio can go to cover her screams. I couldn’t drown them out. At lunch, she did a fantastic job of throwing every piece of food I tried to feed her onto the floor. She then made a point to whine until I had no choice to take her out of her high chair. Then she proceeded to push the high chair throughout the very busy restaurant. In her defense, she did stop at random tables and wave hi. I was relieved when she fell asleep on the way home. I figured she would take a good nap and the funk would be over. Not so much. When she awoke, I was in the Stew Leonards parking lot. What could be more fun than doing a quick stop a Stew’s with ice cream and farm animals? The kid acted like I was trying to kill her. She screamed and nearly jumped out of her skin when the electronic cow moo’ed. She didn’t want to eat her ice cream and clutched me for dear life when I tried to show her the little chick’s and goats. I gave up and figured I would bring her to the one place on earth that always put her in a good mood, Stepping Stones Museum. I had to drop off some flowers and a thank you note anyway- this would be a great opportunity to snap her out of her funk. She cried the entire way there. And not the protest crying, the “I know you hate me Mommy and I’m going to scream until you lose your mind” kind of cry. And I hate to admit it, but I snapped. While I tried to unload her from the car, carry a big bouquet of flowers and grab my bag, I just lost it. I actually yelled “Hayden, you’re really pissing me off”. As she continued to wail, I looked over and sure enough there was “perfect Mommy” loading her “perfect kids” into her “perfect car”. She gave me a scowl. At that point, I felt defeated. I dragged her in kicking and screaming the whole way. Every staff member in the place stopped and turned around to see the little terror. Plan “Get Hayden out of the funk by letting her go crazy at Stepping Stones”- FAILED. Finally, I had enough. I threw her over my shoulder, strapped her into the car and headed home. That teaches me to work extra long hours at work to spend quality time with my kid. From now on, I will continue to schedule meetings more frequently. She isn’t in a better mood right now, but at least here I can ignore her more than in public. And on that note, she just fell over her play house and once again, is screaming. I’m done with today.