Memorable Birthday Party: Twin's First Birthday a Comedy of Errors

As a mom of three children, I've actually only survived one birthday, and through a series of mishaps, is one of my kids reigning baby book entries. For Victoria and Elizabeth's first birthday, we decided on a luau style barbeque. We completed the effect with floral table cloths, colored leis, matching plates and cups. We hung balloons all over the yard (and every one of them popped randomly during the party) We had a table and lawn chairs set up. The food was inside (except for the barbeque), and the idea was to make your plate and take it out.

We had only invited close family which included us, my parents, my husband's parents, and my sister's family. We had not invited the love bugs, but they showed up anyway. To eliminate mess and take some fun pictures, we had put our daughter's high chairs outside, under a tree. What was once a white and teak dining chair with a booster seat attached, is now a slithering mass of black. But never fear, we shall press on.

We had purchased beef ribs, sausage, and ground beef for the occasion, and while admittedly my husband is a pretty decent grill master now, this was not the case then. I don't know what happened to the sausage and ribs. I never saw it. In fact, I didn't really get to eat much, due to the fact that I was attempting to take care of a newborn inside. But I did hear that the hamburgers turned out like tiny black rocks, and upon checking the situation out, found my husband covered in black and barbeque sauce. This isn't promising.

So we move on to dessert. I had plans for the dessert, I was going to try to make some super fun cupcakes, but it didn't go well. The sprinkles were a bust. However, my brother in law went to town. Before leaving, he had at least nine of the suckers, and left with a plate full of the leftover ones. It was a sugar high, for sure.

The idea was to feed the girls their cupcakes outside. So that worked, and it was adorable. Until I realized that with all of the adults watching the girls, my two year old nephew had been forgotten. There he was a few feet away, circling the table. Face and hands covered in cupcake frosting, and drinking a soda, with another can in the grass.

At least I didn't have to baby-sit that night.

We got the kids cleaned up, hosed off the high chairs (and ran them inside as quickly as possible to keep the bugs off), and opened gifts. Overall it was a comedy of errors.