So it’s all over…

I’ve been planning since about March – and this Saturday it came and went.

THANK GOD!

Oh sorry – I’m talking about V’s Mickey Mouse birthday party.

I bought Mickey ears for everyone to wear (the children weren’t happy about this and hardly any of them wore them!).  I took a pair out for V about two or three weeks ago and started getting him used to wearing them.

He wore them at the beginning of the party and for family photos (which was a relief).  But then he’d had enough and took them off.  He refused to put them back on AND he had a mini-tantrum each time I gave a pair to a friend of his!  I told him that his friends were bringing him birthday presents, so he had to give them ears.

He was kind of ok about that.

V had one request for this party.  He wanted a horse.  Yes.  A horse.  We went to a party in March and the birthday girl had two horses to take the children for rides.  V didn’t forget about it and he kept asking for one.  And yes.  We organised one for him.

He was SO happy!  I can’t even begin to describe the look on his face when he saw it coming through our gate!

The thing is, he didn’t want any of his friends to sit on the horse.  As far as he was concerned, it was his horse.  In his garden.  I suppose that’s logical?  So he sat with almost ALL of them while they went on rides.  After about twenty minutes he’d had enough – but he refused to get down.  He lasted another twenty-five minutes or so and then went on to the next thing.  It may have been the bouncy castle or playing games with the entertainer – I was inside on panic mode, so I have no idea!

It was finally time to cut the cake.  He was thrilled with his Mickey cake.  And he was drooling while looking at all the cupcakes!  Again, I can’t describe the expression on his face while everyone sang Happy Birthday to him and he blew out the candles.  Once he cut the cake, all the children started reaching for the cupcakes.  And V started crying.  He told me to tell them to put all the cupcakes back because they were all for him.  I don’t think he realised that he couldn’t eat 48 cupcakes all by himself!

I told him that if he didn’t share his cupcakes, his friends would take all their presents back home with them.  This worked well.  He calmed down and I got him to come and help me give out the return gifts.

However, just before that – when I told him about sharing the cupcakes, I overheard one of the mums telling someone else that I was really mean and that I didn’t handle the situation properly.

I felt a bit crap about it for awhile.  And I’ve thought about it a lot.  How else could I have handled the situation?  And I came up with: I know my child.  I know what works with him and I do the best I can.

As my friend Rosssa says: “Your kid, your rules.”

We gave out the return gifts and stopped children from taking helium balloons.  Maybe selfish?  But I paid a lot for them and for the helium.  And V and I both love them.  So I won’t apologise for not allowing them to take any home!

The photographer we hired said she’d get our pictures to us in two weeks – so I am eagerly awaiting them.

Meanwhile, my own pictures will just have to do!