Birthday Parties Can Be Dangerous

Sometimes you just get in over your head. Once you enter motherhood, it seems to happen rather more often. There's just something about little kids that replaces order with chaos. Maybe it's their unpredictability, their energy, or their penchant for making messes. Or, perhaps, all of the above. When you're a parent, it's just par for the course.

Consider my daughter's third birthday party. We had just moved to a new neighborhood, so I thought it would be a great occasion to get to know the neighbors. I invited all of the kids on the block over for crafts. I set up a big folding table in the living room, gathered lots of supplies, and ordered a cake.

What I didn't expect to happen was for the parents to drop off their kids and leave. I had assumed they would stay and help supervise, but only one other mom stayed. There I was, faced with a dozen kids, all of whom were covered in glue, glitter, and confetti. I thought I was in over my head.

I was about to get in a little deeper. After cleaning up the crafts, I thought the worst was over. The kids were all so well-behaved, sitting in their chairs and eating cake. All of a sudden, one little boy threw up, all over the table, himself, and the carpet. I guess the cake didn't agree with him. So now everything's a mess, he's upset and crying, and the other kids are close to panicking. Ah! Now, I'm in over my head!

Fortunately, I had a lot of help from that other mom. She helped me calm everyone down and clean everything up. The rest of the party went without incident, but the next year, we had her party at a local kid's restaurant...