The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good
Today was Abby's big birthday party. We decided the best place to have it would be the gym at my school, this turned out to be a perfect plan. I spent last night decorating and finishing up putting the games and crafts together. This was Abby's first official "kid" party and the teacher in me knew that I'd better have plenty of activities to fall back on - there's not much worse than a group of bored four to nine year olds. I had three main games and a craft planned, and if all else failed we could take them outside to the playground - perfect.

The reality was that the kids naturally found their own fun. Many of them just had a great time chasing balloons (and each other) around an open gym. We did pull out the parachute and the birthday girl had a wonderful time with that - all the kids did. We also did do a Pin the "Tail" on the Balloon game that I'd set up. I think I had the most fun watching the dizzy kids trying to find that silly picture of the balloon I'd taped to the wall. Overall, it was a very fun and successful two hours. We never did get to that craft, which is fine with me. Everyone left with a bag of goodies and smiles on their faces.

The Bad
I wouldn't say that some things were "bad", but I picked the title and theme, so here goes. First, we had gotten word that some people would be coming that for some reason or other were not able to make it. When I originally put the guest list together we had a list of about fifty kids and adults. Therefore we planned for a bit more than that. I was in a panic that people would show up and there would not be enough - not enough pizza, not enough goodie bags, not enough cake, etc. What actually happened is that we were left with several (probably about 10) boxes of pizzas and goodies. I found myself pleading with people to take stuff home, fearful that we would be eating pizza and cupcakes until her birthday next year. Luckily, we have good friends and they took some off our hands.

Along with the abundance of food, there was an abundance of activity. That was actually great, but this caused a few tearful moments (the kids, not me). In the end there was no blood, so I'm happy. This is all to be expected when you give a room full of kids free-reign with balloons, play cars, scooters, and a huge parachute. This brings us to The Ugly.

The Ugly
Luckily, The Ugly didn't show up until we got home, although we got a few glimpses of it before we left school. To being I will say that usually we are very careful about what activities we take Abby to and how much stimulation she gets. We discovered several years ago that she had some sensory issues and therefore things that would be easy for us to filter out, aren't always easy for her. She also has a difficult time decompressing. Generally, this isn't a big deal and we have learned how to handle situations and read the signs that a major meltdown is approaching. Because we are so careful it has been a while since her last episode and I'd forgotten how bad they can get - today I was reminded. I won't go into details, but there was a lot of yelling and crying (none of it mine). Despite the difficulty I had one major breakthrough - I stayed calm and collected through the whole thing. I knew that it was driven by how tired she was, I knew that she wasn't acting out "on purpose", I knew that she had lost control, and I knew that it would not help the situation if I did as well. In the past I've "known" these things as well, but it has not always been easy to keep my cool - for some reason today it was.

I'm happy to say The Ugly is over and my little darling is sitting at the table happily shoveling one of Nana's yummy cupcakes in her mouth. A bath and a bit of "Barbie therapy" seems to have restored her spirits. Even so, we will be doing an early bedtime tonight - for all of us.

I know as I lay down tonight I will not be thinking about "The Bad" or "The Ugly", but all the good that happened today, because in the end when I asked Abby if she had fun today she said, "Yes, Mama!" In the end, that "Good" outweighs any "Bad" or "Ugly" that could ever be.

I'm sorry to say that the hat and the glasses didn't last long.

I think she tried on everyone's shoes, until she settled on these snazzy heels. Classic Abby!

Abby and her buddy Lilah eating that yummy pizza (notice all those boxes in the background).

Presents!

After the party and doing some dot-to-dot. It was indeed a good day.

Abby's Big Adventure

Ever since Abby became too big to be rolled around in her stroller, taking her places has required a bit more extra planning on my part. That independent spirit and will of iron she inherited from both of her parents has served her well in many regards, and most of the time I applaud the fact that she knows what she wants and goes for it with everything she's got...but there are times when this can become a challenge. I often find myself running scenarios in my head before we arrive somewhere, plans that will make the experience go smoothly and be fun for my busy little girl.

Today was no different. When thinking about something special to do for her birthday I came up with the idea of taking her to Build-a-Bear Workshop and giving her an opportunity to make her own stuffed animal. I thought it would be something she'd enjoy, especially when it came to picking out the clothes. I knew that taking her into the mall would require all of my finely honed Abby distraction skills, so I enlisted reinforcements - The Grandparents.

Jason was stuck at home - actually at the doctor's getting a cast on his broken wrist (that's a totally different story), so it was important that I had a few more helping hands to aide in corralling Abby, or holding my purse if I needed to do a quick grab. Luckily, they were all game for an adventure!

We met at the mall and walked easily through the department store looking for the entrance to the mall. Abby sailed onto the escalator like an old pro, a great sign. We ended up in the housewares department and as luck would have it the entrance to the mall was right at the spot where the bedding was displayed. Now, if you know Abby at all you know that she has a bit of a "Goldilocks Complex" - she loves to try out any and all beds. Therefore, I was not surprised when we needed to take a few minutes to let her try out the display beds.


After a few moments of lounging and a bit of encouragement about picking out a stuffed animal, she popped off the bed and headed into the mall. We met up with Grandma and then, holding the hands of Nana and Grandma, she bounced toward our destination.

As I knew she would, Abby passed right on by the bears lined along the wall and headed straight toward the Kermit and Miss Piggy "shells". She had a bit of trouble deciding who to take home, but as soon as her eyes caught the sparkle of the hundreds of outfits that filled the store, Mom had no doubt who the better choice would be - Abby is most certainly a Miss Piggy kind of a gal.  Soon the Mighty Miss P was stuffed, fluffed and outfitted in style - now came the challenge. How were we going to get her out of this dreamland?

Finally, it was the promise of pizza and ice cream that got her going - along with the cool condo that we'd stuffed Miss Piggy into. Abby insisted on carrying her out all by herself, as proud as could be with her newest friend. Abby, being Abby, also needed to stop and show her friend to a stranger who was relaxing in the middle of the mall. I always love to watch this - this gift she has to leave smiles in her wake. She started off again with a, "Bye! Have fun!" thrown over her shoulder and continued back the way we'd come.

We had a short stop to show Miss Piggy the many beds that were just ripe for jumping, but with a quick redirection we were on our way again. It was when we hit the doors to the parking lot that Abby hit the breaks. That's when I decided to resort to the "grab-and-go". What a sight we must have made, me carrying Abby and Abby carrying Miss Piggy in a box nearly as big as she was. If that weren't funny enough the whole way to the car she repeated, "Hang on! Hold on tight, Miss Piggy!" over and over.

And so, with some pizza and some ice cream our birthday adventure came to an end - pretty successfully if I do say so myself.

Although we were both pretty tired (and yes, a mite crabby) by the time we got home, it was well worth it. So, thanks Nana, Papa, and Grandma for lending your hands, providing such tasty treats, and for helping to create a very special birthday adventure!

A Matter of Days

I've been playing around with starting a daily blog for a while now, but there were several things that kept getting in the way. First off, I've started other blogs, but I've never stayed consistent with them and soon left them lingering out in cyberspace. I didn't want to start "one more thing" that I'd get tired of in a few weeks.

Secondly, I couldn't settle on what to write about. I have a knitting blog that I'm semi-consistent with, but that's not something that I could find material about each day. Most day's knitting can be summed up with a simple sentence: "I got two inches done on the blue hat I'm working on." - Not too thrilling.

Finally, there's the question of time. I teach full-time, and am about to start grad classes up again. Along with that, I have a pretty constant stream of projects for Abby's Heirlooms that I'm working on at any given time. Did I also mention that I'm a wife and mother? I should really be spending any "extra" time I have cleaning the house (or sleeping), not sitting in my comfy chair writing about my day.

It was during one of those "extra" moments, when I was actually doing some cleaning, that I finally settled on my idea. While I stood cleaning a bottomless sink of dishes, I realized that I had all the material I would ever need to fill a daily blog - I have Abby.

So, here's the plan. I will bring you all on my daily journey with Abby. I will share with you what she teaches me, how she makes me laugh, and how we butt-heads - among other things. I'm offering a year with Abby for any that have always wondered what it would be like to live with this little angel. I will officially begin on Thursday because, believe it or not, that is when Abby will turn 7!

Until then I will whet your appetite by adding this picture of her a minute ago - I mean a year ago - as we celebrated her sixth birthday. Hold on tight, because it's only a matter of days!