Birthday Party Fun

Ben's second birthday came and went and I think it was a success. In the words of my 7-year-old niece, "You know, that was the best birthday party I've been to in a long time." This means a lot coming from Chaise as she's like the Paris Hilton of grade school birthday parties.

Here are the Top 10 reasons why the party was fun:

10. Moon bounce: The Bouchers let us borrow their bouncy house and it was super fun. The kids loved it and the adults tripped over it.

9. Presents. Ben got a lot of very thoughtful gifts including an autographed poster of the Chiefs cheerleaders and an awesome Indiana Jones hat.

8. We finished a few projects around the house that needed finishing and the party deadline finally made that happen. We cleaned windows, touched up paint, nail pops and drywall scratches. And the big one, we finally installed a door on the prison shower downstairs. The basement has been finished for two years and it just now has a working shower. Hooray!

7. Family came from out of town. Chuck's mom, aunt, cousins and their kids came from Derby, KS to party with us and it was F-U-N to see them! Thanks for making the drive! We love you guys!

6. Dance party! I feel like this needs no more explanation.

5. Chuck's super family-friendly apron. Chuck was working the grill and thought he needed an apron to protect his Bob Seger t-shirt. Glad he picked this one.

4. Pinata Fun. The pinata was the gift that just kept giving. First, Cole ripped it open like the Hulk. Second, the little girls collected all of the pinata treasures (noise-making party favors) and "sold" them back to the little boys. What great entrepreneurs in the making!

3. Trike races. The kids rode trikes and various other wheeled toys down our hill and there was only one casualty. I believe Cole has fully recovered from his first injury to what my mother calls "the family jewels".

2. Kickball. This was probably the best part of the night. Chuck's cousins are kids at a heart and when they get together they like to play really competitive games of wiffle ball, sword fighting and that night, kickball. They are also generous enough to let the little kids play too, but don't worry they don't go easy on them. Many of that night's outs came from fathers and uncles bouncing balls off of kids heads and backs. Then they yelled at them if they didn't leave the base immediately. Andrew's unique style of base running (not necessarily going in order) probably saved him a head injury. My mom thought the older boys were too rough, but I think the kids were fine. No one cried and all of them had moms and grandmas in the audience. They could have sought refuge with those very sympathetic ears.

1. Kazoo Concert. This was incredible. Jason started it, but ended up including almost everyone. He played a stirring rendition of Amazing Grace, got Chuck to do some duets with him including Summer Lovin' and ended up playing everything from Party in the USA to America the Beautiful. It was very patriotic. See if you can name this tune.

 

The party was not without hitches though. First, I was really confused when I made the guest list and forgot to invite several very important people: Chuck's Grandpa Kaup, Aunt Diana, Uncle Mark, and a very special Bearcat sister. If you're reading this, I'm sorry.

Second, we ran out of propane halfway through the hot dogs. But overall it was a great party and I'm sure marked the beginning of a great year.

Happy Birthday, Ben. We love you so much!

Welcome Back to Blogging

I have been MIA for several months. I have no excuses, just overwhelmed with my daily responsibilities, but making a promise to get back to blogging. I love writing and I especially love writing about my cartoonish family.

So, here's a quick update:
1. I retired from marketing to be a full-time mom/trophy wife.
2. We found out Ben has several food allergies and intolerances and have totally changed our diets/whole lives.

So how is it going? I'd say marginal. My house is not nearly as clean as I imagined it. There is one line from NBC's Parks and Recreation that sums this situation up. Amy Poehler is explaining to a city forum that because of budget cuts, they will have to close all the parks next year. One women stands up and says, "What am I supposed to do with my children? Do you expect me to keep them in my house?!"

That says is all. Am I really expected to keep my son in my house? That scenario is bad for everyone, but especially the house.

Ben is also learning a lot lately. He says an average of two new words a day. This morning he said "Brandy" and that was really cute. Last night he said something that wasn't so cute.

We went to Sibley Orchards to pick out some pumpkins with the Sylers (our neighbors), and after four pumpkins, some apple butter and the very best cherry cider I've ever tasted we decided to go to Los Compos, a local Mexican joint, for dinner.

Garret is telling us how he's going to take Austin fishing for the first time on Friday and Austin is telling us about his new Spongebob fishing pole. So I asked Ben, "Benny, do you want to go fishing next year?"

And he shouted, "Oh yeah!" Except he didn't say, "Oh." It was truly a Christmas Story experience. My sweet little boy said the queen mother of all bad words and basically said it perfectly.

I was stunned. I asked, "Benny, what did you say?" And Stacie chimed in, "I think we all know what he said." Thanks Stace.

I was mortified. At least two tables were looking at us. How can a child who basically uses the same nonsensical sounds to say both "pumpkin" and "outside" pull this off and where did he hear it? Especially in this context. It's not like Chuck and I are walking around like we live in a frat house.

Chuck: "What's for dinner?"
Me: "Meatloaf."
Chuck: "Oh yeah!"

That kind of excitement never happens. And it we were that excited for some reason, it would never involve the F-word.

I hope this word disappears into a confused memory. I really don't want my son to be the kid that teaches other kids how to curse a pre-school.