Sunday, April 23, 2006

Fun disasters

What is it about birthdays and parties that can bring out the best and worst of circumstances?

Yesterday we had a birthday for our son Miguel. 50 people invited, expecting about 25-30. Everything was going well but on Thursday my oldest's daughter's ballet teacher asks if Gabi can stay until 2pm for dance practice on Saturday (party starts at 3pm) okey dokey, it's pushing it but we say yes. Dh leaves with all the kids and I'm feverishly cleaning and getting things ready. Bounce House is coming at 2:30pm so I decide at 12:30 to run out to Walmart for the cake a few last minute items. I return by 1:15 and realize I've locked myself out of the house. Crap! I look at all windwos, doors, push on every possible thing I can to get myself inside, while driving the dogs batty at the same time. Side note: my dogs are terrible guard dogs if they had opposable thumbs I think they would've opened the doors and windows for me.

So I drive to the neighborhs house and call dh "get your butt out to get Gabi and head home I'm locked out" Call the inlaws, nope they have no keys to our house. I grab a ladder from the neighbor to scale down a 9 foot wall to dh's office in hopes the window is open and I can get in thru there. In a flash of smartness (or maybe not as you will see later) we decide to call a locksmith. The locksmith makes a mad dash to my house and arrives literally within seconds of myself ( i drove from my neighbors who is 21 seconds from my house, the locksmith i swear had to have passed thru a time warp to get here so quickly!) The "phantom locksmith" produced some tool that looked like the little gun from Men In Black I and in less than 2 minutes flat opens my front door and proceeds to charge me $40 (I'm in the wrong business here, I think I'm going to go to Locksmith school)

So I get inside the house, call dh (who is still 35 minutes away) tell him "the eagle has landed" I finish cleaning floors, and get dressed.

2:15 Dh calls: "Come pick me up from Walmart" HUH??
"I lost the car key"
This is when I have a sudden desire to open a bottle of rum.
I ask him to call his brother and call me back.

An invitee calls and tells me she will be 30 minutes early!!! Ok better hustle, it's almost 2:30 and time for the bounce house arrival.


2:45 No bounce house yet. Bounce house installer calls, she's lost. Give instructions. Go outside, bounce house and first guest arrive simultaneously. We talk. She is giving instructions to the other bounce house installers to arrive to my house.

2:50 Dh arrives with the other bounce house installer.

3:00 party starts, people arrive, having fun.

4:15 time for cake. Can't find the candles (What next?)
Sang Happy birthday with votive candles (yes you can laugh your ass off now...)

5:30-6:30 people leave. bounce house is still here (we paid for 2 hours and got 4, not a bad deal)

7:15 bounce house leaves.

8:15 Maria realizes she is now sick.... GREAT!

9:30 kids all in bed, Maria is now on the second glass of wine and sick.

It was really so much fun, thru every disaster and challenge, we had such a fun time and I hope our guests did too. Miguel was so filthy, so utterly filthy he looked like he had rolled in trash. He ate so many tootsy rolls I think he will have a tummy ache for days. He loves all presents and has been heard to be singing "Happy to you" as he walks around.

I'm grateful the next birthday is not until October.

Next post: Dh and I are going to VEGAS!!!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aside from the lost keys, it sounds like a fun party. I would love to rent one of those bouncers, but we don't have a big enough yard. :(

Flaca said...

the bouncer was quite a hit, maybe you can do it in a park?

hugs,

M