The Great Sleepover Weekend!

These stories are getting harder and harder to write, not for lack of desire or content, but lack of time.  The days of sleep deprivation and diapers are long gone but they feel like yesterday.  What do they say? "The days are long but the years are short".   That is true as shit, itellyouwhat.   Two small and mighty girls are getting bigger by the minute and the attitude is proof.  But every now and then something happens and the stories just flow.  This one I'll call the Great Sleepover Weekend. 

Madison, if you didn't know, is Miss Popularity so every February I anticipate all of the birthday invitations to roll in.  We know she'll get invited to lots of parties in March (for some reason her closest friends are all March babies).  Her best friend Sansa is included in that of course because in a strange fluke, her birthday is the day after Maddy's.  Her second best friend is two weeks after hers.   In the past 6 weeks she's been at 4 birthday parties and there's at least one more before the month is over.  

As the invitations rolled in, usually crumpled in half at the bottom of her backpack, I asked Maddy what she wanted to do for her birthday.  We gave her all kinds of options: at home sleepover with only two other kids, just a daytime party at the house with a handful of girls, an indoor play-place with eight friends.  As we spoke the number of girls increased as did the price.  Good thing we set a budget?    Upon further discussion we have learned that Sansa and her own sister have birthdays three days apart, so their dad usually plans a joint birthday party.  Here comes Tammy with the genius idea of the year!   Let's go to an indoor playplace with 18 girls under the age of 9!!   We arrange with their dad to go halfsies on a three way joint bday and start sending out invites.  What could go wrong?!

Ellie my sweet cherub baby, is taking after her sister in more ways than one.  She is a favourite student at preschool, has at last count three boyfriends and will charm anyone she meets.  The only thing in the world Ellie wants is to be "grown up".   Her birthday party invitations haven't taken off quite yet, but I'm sure her fourth bday will be a blast of a party.   But I wasn't going to let her miss out on some fun when her sister got to go on the Great Sleepover Weekend. 

We pumped Ellie up for the exciting"big girl" sleepover that is coming up on the weekend and talked about all the fun things that she'll do at Grandmas.  I picked her up from preschool that afternoon and brought her home to pack her bag.  She found THE suitcase.  The one shoved way up high in her closest with the broken handle and a very large picture of Anna and Elsa.  The one that her big sister has taken on all of her sleepover adventures.  She proudly set it in the hallway and started adding things to the pockets.  Had I not interrupted her she would have left the house with 3 naked baby dolls, 5 pairs of mismatched socks and one stuffed animal.  All of the practical things required for a sleepover, but mom needed to intervene.  I helped explain the things she needed to fetch and finally we built a decent overnight bag.   I carried the bag downstairs and got my own self ready back upstairs.   I heard a commotion on the stairs and turned to see my kid, wearing her boots and coat, dragging her suitcase, toque on, but askew, saying "Hurry up, I am ready to go!".   How sweet is she?   We pile in the car - off to Grandma's we go!    She insists on pulling her suitcase through the snow, up the curb, through the lobby and pressing the elevator buttons all by herself.   Once off the elevator she turns down the hall and sees Grandma in the doorway of her apartment.  She lets out a squeal, ditches the suitcase, and takes off running.  Full speed going down the hallway yelling at the top of her lungs "GRANDMA I MISSED YOUUUUUUUU".    I walk behind her laughing and so very, very thankful that my mom thought ahead to have her phone on record.  Grandma's cry of joy as Ellie jumps into her arms reassures me that the two of them are going to be just fine.  Ellie takes off her boots and coat, promptly hangs it up in the hall closet and arranges her boots nicely.  (Where is this kid at our home?).   She heads to the bedroom, forgets all about her suitcase and starts to play in the spare bedroom toy box.  Grandma has decorated over the years for Madison to sleep there and Ellie is finally getting her chance to rummage through the toys that my mom has amassed.  

Dinner smells great, spgahetti and meatballs with garlic bread,  and I'm trying to say goodbye, but she wants nothing to do with me.  An investigation into the contents of Grandma's fridge is far more important than kissing mommy goodbye.   I close the door silently so she doesn't hear me sneak out and I skip a little on my way to the elevator.   We are KID FREE for 18 hours! 

Ellie at Grandma's and Madison at the first of a three-peat, back to back birthday party.  Her friend has invited her to a hotel-pool party-sleepover and was picked up by the birthay girls' mom after school an hour earlier.  She has a backpack full of swim gear and is ready to party the night away!  Mike and I leave my mom's driveway and then sort of come to an impasse.  Where should we go?  We have all night, no rules and no curfew.   Ideally somewhere that doesn't allow kids, is not a place we frequent, has pub food, and Jagerbombs.  We might be alone, but we are also old and want to stay up past 915pm... going to require the shot of Red Bull.  This doesn't happen often!  So we went to a neighbourhood pub called Madison's.  That is so hysterical to me by the way.  

I eaglery wait for an update from the birthday party and my mom and I wasn't disapointed with the result of each text message. "She has been seriously amazing!" and "we are having a blast!".   Messages that make my heart happy and I can sleep well knowing they are safe with people that love them.   We enjoy our night out and we sleep in on Saturday morning.  If anyone is reading this imagining a lazy wakeup around 9 or 10 am - you're out of your mind.  We got up at 7:15.   #kids.

While Mike made us breakfast I relaxed on the couch, played on my phone and did not break up one single fight.  I didn't pick up one toy or lost sock.  As we ate, in silence, we looked across the table and sort of giggled, both thinking the same thing.  "Hey Siri, play some music".   There is such a thing as too quiet I suppose.   I drank three coffees, we got ready for the day and took a truck load to the dump.   Glamourous was our Friday night, domestic was our Saturday morning.  

Saturday afternoon starts a whole new party!   Maddy is dropped off at home and looks wiped.  She tells me they stayed up until about 11 and woke up at 8, swam again in the morning and ate a big breakfast.  I contemplate the fact that she has just over an hour to get to the next party and should have a nap.  That is the worst way to spend a part of your day when you're seven, so I have to get creative.  We repack her overnight bag, kiss dad goodbye - again - and head out.  I pop her butt in the car to drive up to fetch her sister, my thought process being a half hour cat nap there-and-back should be enough to recharge her for the evening festivities!   When we get to moms house Ellie is excited to see us, but my mom tells me that not thirty seconds earlier Ellie looked at Grandma and said "Am I really leaving?!".  Oh poor girl, yes honey we have to go, Grandma is tired and Maddy has to go to her friends house, but you can come back soon I promise.   I get the text in the morning from my mom saying "what an angel" and I am so proud of her.   A long time ago Ellie had had a sleepover there and it wasn't as successful.  She talks about being a grown up all the time, and this baby girl, is the proof.  I check in once with birthday party mom number two, and Madison is doing great, no worries at all.  I cross my fingers and hope for a good night sleep...this is the night we change our clocks ahead an hour after all. 

Watching the clock on Sunday morning we're on a time crunch, as her own joint party starts at two oclock.  I need to get there half an hour early to get some things set up and let them all play for a while before lunch and cake.  When we get her from Sleepover #2 we can tell that she's bagged, but she's also a trooper.  A quick stop at Boston Pizza for lunch and a coke, go ahead girl, you're gonna need the caffeine to get through the day.  She is very excited and also ready for the party to be about her.   But first we need to get there.  Sansa's dad had messaged me earlier in the morning to let me know that he wasn't feeling well and may have to bail, but he could send a friend in his place.  I barely know this guy, and I definitely don't know his girlfriend....so we volunteer to just grab his two kids and deal with them all ourselves.   17 children.  Mike and I.  And a third mom who stuck around to play with her kid got roped into helping out. Love you Cher:).   If I learned any lesson it was that we made the right choice in stopping at two.  Four kids - four girls! - would be surefire disaster in our marriage.  

Speaking of disaster 😆.  We had our party room set up ahead of time by the staff (ALWAYS pay for this feature if your location provides it) so all we have to figure out is hanging up coats, introductions, and which table holds whose gifts.  This is easy, kids are running amok in a massive indoor play area and we are just chatting with the parents doing the drop off.   At some point before the lunches arrive I notice that I don't see Ellie.  She's usually in my field of vision somewhere but this time she's M.IA.  I head to the toddler play area, no sight of her, but I turn to see this short blond holding a bag of Cheetos walking towards me.  She excitedly shows me the snack that she has and I question her on where she got them.  She shows dad, who also has the same question as me.  We determine that neither one of us has bought them for her.  She finally confesses that she got them from "over there".  Because when you're thirty six inches tall, no one sees you above the counter and all the snacks are within your reach.  We will talk about stealing, and how it's wrong.  Damn if she didn't look all cute doing it though 😊

 Half an hour later we know the food is about to arrive.  There's a bunch of kids, and we didn't discuss before hand the best way to wrangle them all in to eat, but we try (read:ask the kids to go find their friends).   And as the food arrives to the room I hear "Addie is puking!! ".  I shove my phone at Mike and tell him to look at the list and figure out what kid ordered what and sit them all down to eat.  I take off running.   There are two bathrooms at opposite ends of the building and I am in a full sprint checking them.  I find her in the far washroom with a stranger mom who is helping clean her up.  She's wrecked her sweater and is looking terrible.  I profusely apologize and thank this stranger mom and get her back to our room.  It's hot as hell in there. I text pukey's mom, no answer.  Cool.

 I am on the hunt for a staff member who can shut off the heat, these kids are looking a bit green.   Most of the kids are eating and one of them pipes up.  "Danica is hurt!"  You've got to be kidding me.    I rush out of the room, find Danica and see what's up.  She's here for the nine year old party, so she's a bit more mature, and luckily tells me she just hurt her ankle a bit but she's ok.   Girl ate her hot dog and was back to playing.   Great, not sure I can deal with much more.  All of them are sitting now, progress!   We spend the next few minutes attempting to open some gifts!  Just take a second here and put yourself in a very small room with 18 girls, 3 parents and dozens of gifts to unwrap.   Fun hey?    Tried our best to make sure each girl had her moment in the spotlight and finally get through them all.  A giant birthday cake with three names on it, 18 candles (please tell me you are also shaking your head at this whole situation), and Happy Birthday is sung.  I need hearing aids but the smiles on these kids faces is completely worth it.  We open the door back to the play area and set them free.   I had told the parents that the party ends at 3... I will be in charge until 315 and then I'm off duty.  I look at my watch and it's 2:40.  I look at Addie and she tells me she doesn't feel good.  I'm up out of my chair.   I am running with this little girl to the closest bathroom, her holding her puke in her hands, trying her best to not let it fall to the floor and as I round the corner I see the staff have the bathrooms propped open for cleaning.  Like hell you do.   I am hollering at them "Excuse me!  Move please!  Need a toilet! Move now!!"   I am sure I scared that teenager with a mop, but what was the alternative?  There's no popcornbowl/saladbowl/pukebucket at a place like this.  She looses the lunch and I get her cleaned up.  I call her mom, she still hasn't replied to my first barf text.  Swears she'll be there right away.  Twenty five minutes later she comes in, apologetic of course, but that really took me away from dealing with - ehh I mean, enjoying - my kids birthday party.  

In the spare moments I have between injured kids and sick kids I am the official hander-outer of game tokens.  My own 3 year old has learned how to use the game machines and gets a token card from me.  I assume she is with another kid, maybe a parent, but no.  It's been a minute and no one knows where Ellie is.  I take off running.  Are we seeing a theme here?  I can rest easy knowing that in these playplaces theres's no way a kid can get out without the parent they came in with (stamps on the wrist if you're unfamiliar).  So she's in the buidling.  I pace back and forth looking for a curly haired toddler, and after a minute of panic I find her.   Happily smashing buttons on a game that she doesn't understand and isn't winning at.   We have got to be done with this party by now, right? 

As we approach the party cut off time parents slowly trickle in... I gladly hand them a goody bag and gesture broadly to the play equipment "she's all yours, if you can find her" I say only half joking.   I am exhausted.  My kids are exhausted.  My bestie mom friend helper is exhausted.  We gather the jackets and get out of this room so they can let the next herd of cattle in there.  I mean "Birthday Party".  

 My children, bless them, are done. They have been going non stop since Friday morning and need to recover.  I can't even remember what dinner was... but I tell you, it was quick and easy and after a bath at 5 pm they were in bed at 630pm.  They made memories that they still talk about to this day.  So did we.  And the lessons we learned will be incorporated into the next parties we plan. It won't be 18 kids, it won't be a three-peat back to back party weekend.   What it sounds like to me is that birthday weekends will be at Grandma's house from now on!!  💖