Birthday Party Adventures

When we were discussing how Jersey #3 wanted to celebrate his birthday this year, he told me that he wanted a party at our house with 3 specific things:

1)  His cousin

2)  His friend from AWANA

3)  A Mario pinata

I totally feel like Mom of the Year right now, because I accomplished these requirements with gusto this year!  Jersey #3 is easy to please.

1)  I managed to borrow my nephew for the weekend, so he could attend the party.

2)  His friend from AWANA (his very first friend he ever made on his own), was able to attend the party and stay the night afterward.

3)  Even though I ordered a little Mario pinata online, we happened to find this massive Mario pinata at Walmart the day before the party.  I had to buy it, because it was SO cool.  (It turns out that was the best pinata I have ever experienced, so I will be getting more like it in the future).

We also invited other people to the birthday party, so it was a full house.  Our Pastor came over with his grill to cook hamburgers and hotdogs for me.  The Referee hung the big Mario pinata from a tree limb in the backyard.  There was plenty of food, friends, family, candy, and cake.

There was also a bit more excitement than I had planned.

One dog-loving child got too-close-for-comfort with my dog, and she snapped at him.  She managed to leave a couple scrapes on his nose, which bled a lot and sent him into hysterics.  His grandparents had brought him to the party, and this was their first visit to our home, so we did not make a good impression.  Thankfully, the grandparents (and also the child's parents) are all dog-loving folks who knew the dog was being defensive, and not aggressive.  The wounds were not deep, so the reaction was calm.  I was thankful for that.  When we saw the child later the next week, he spoke well of the party and my dog, so that was nice.

After the dog bite incident, we moved on to the pinata.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but part way through the process I started to wonder if the hanging a pinata that was shaped like a man, from a tree in the backyard, and hitting it with a bat, was a bit violent.  The candy was tucked in the chest, belly, and butt region.  When an arm was knocked off, the crowd of children cheered.  That seemed odd.  They cheers grew wilder as each leg was knocked off, and yet no candy fell.  It really was a cool pinata, and held up well.  The kids were not blindfolded, and were hitting it with Jersey #3's new Louisville Slugger baseball bat his grandparents gave him for his birthday.  I had it stuffed so full of candy and toys that it rained tootsie rolls for 2 full minutes after the body cavity was actually busted open! 

When the party was over, and all the guests had left, Jersey #3 was able to enjoy a sleep-over with his cousin and his friend.  For the rest of the night, they pretty much played video games on the Wii.  They woke up early the next morning and immediately resumed playing video games.

When it was time to put on PJs and prepare for bed, 3 boys turned into super heroes and asked to sleep in the tent that Jersey #3 had just received for a birthday gift.  I tried to tell them that the wood floor would be pretty hard to sleep on.  They didn't seem to mind.

Much to Jersey #2's delight, she also got to enjoy a sleep-over with an AWANA friend, who happened to be the sister of Jersey #3's friend.  (Did I mention Mom of the Year?)  The girls had lots of fun together, without playing a single video game....which was good, because I doubt the boys would have shared the game system anyway.