25 July 2008

Birthday A-Go-Go!

Today my daughter is officially a "big kid" - 5. years. old. It's hard to tell looking at her, most people asked her if she was 4 today; she's "vertically challenged" like me.

I was up at 6:30. By 6:45 Flynn was knocking on my bathroom door asking if she could open her presents. I have to say she exhibited remarkable restraint when, yesterday, she saw me carrying up bags full of goodies to the guest room so I could wrap them undisturbed. She left me alone to wrap her gifts. Her brother, on the other hand, kept coming in and asking me all sorts of questions.

The three of us (Evan, the birthday girl and myself) assembled in our living room so Flynn could unwrap her presents. I think she ripped through that paper in record time - unveiling a new doll (that has a baby with her to babysit), Polly Pockets, jewelry (a charm necklace from her brother), lip gloss, stationery and pens, a couple of notebooks, a bathtub for her stuffed dogs (it goes with her dolls - Target's American Girl knock-offs). She was so happy and proceeded to open each and every thing before breakfast.

I had to be a mean mom and suspend birthday play to get her dressed and ready for karate camp - how she chose to spend celebrating her birthday. I dropped her and Evan off at the studio where she was joined by 2 of her best friends from preschool.

Then my mission began: last week the kids saw a Wall-E cake at Meijer's and decided that's what Flynn wanted for her birthday. I promised to get the cake when Flynn's birthday rolled around (my first mistake). So, I get to Meijer's and, you guessed it, no cake. I figured I could find Wall-E toys and put them on a plainly decorated sheet cake. I throw a cake in the cart and go wander up and down the toy aisles for said toys. No dice. No Wall-E toys to be seen. I buy my groceries and drove across the street to Wal-Mart. No Wall-E toys there, either.

Crap.

Toys R Us had them a few weeks ago when Evan and I went birthday shopping for Flynn so I headed over there. I grabbed the last set of Wall-E and Eve, zipped home and decorated the cake, picked up the kids, took Evan to another birthday party and brought Flynn home where she fielded birthday phone calls from her grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousins and Frank, who's been in San Diego since Wednesday at the "nerd prom" (Comic-Con) demoing the game he's art directing (he comes home Sunday).

Thankfully, Flynn approved the cake.


After picking up Evan at his friend's house, we met my family for pizza and games at Jupiter's, which is a stone's throw from my home. The kids had a blast and it was a fun time.

Evan and Flynn are now soaking in a bubble bath, in the "big tub" (the insanely large bathtub in my bathroom). They'll get their jammies on and pile in the bed with me and we'll all go to sleep - a 7 and a half-year-old, a 39-year-old and a newly-minted 5-year-old.

Life is good.

2 comments:

Kutitap said...

Try using Toys R Us coupons next time to save money. Get them at http://www.toysruscoupons.org

Leighann of Multi-Minding Mom said...

Happy Birthday Flynn!

I wonder if you can preorder those decorated cakes?

Sounds like she got quite a haul and had a great day.