Howdy. I guess some of you may have been wondering why I still haven't posted an update about Little Man's party. Well, work is to blame but I'm on it now. In case you are wondering, I didn't get any more done on the truck/dolphin but I'm still hoping I'll get something ready by Sunday.

Anyway, the morning of Little Man's birthday arrived. Princess had stayed up late (late for her) helping DW wrap a few presents for the boy and come morning, she was ready to give them, even if he wasn't ready to get them. Fortunately, we were able to convince her not to wake him too early because he needed his sleep. We knew Princess would be FAR more excited about all this than Little Man who still doesn't know poop from apple sauce. Princess had picked out some Superman PJs for Little Man and I must say, they do look pretty cool on him. And she had written a card and drew a picture of him on it. I have to say, it is the best picture of Little Man I have ever seen. It doesn't look exactly like him as a photo might but it highlights every specific feature that Princess associates with her little brother, right down to his belly button and two bottom teeth. I'll try to remember to scan the image and post it in the next blog.

Princess is trying really hard with her drawing/writing and the effort is paying off. Her reading is still limited to a few words and letters that she recognizes but I get the feeling it won't be long before she really gets into the swing of it. She is also learning to sew, though at this point it is simply pulling frilly thread through a piece of card with hole-punched edges with a needle that is so large she needs both hands to wield it. Fortunately it is also very blunt. However, Princess has shown an unexpected adeptness and patience and will even sit for a minute very quietly while she threads the great big needle herself. This is the needle Jesus must have been referring to when he said it would be easier for camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to get into heaven. (Matthew 19:24) Anyway, kudos to Princess for even being able to lift it.

Back to the party day. Little Man eventually rose from his slumber with the grace of a wounded bear. His damn tooth was still bothering him, and does so to this day. I have had DW tell me several times, "Its so close, I swear, it'll be through before you get home." If its through before his next birthday, I promise I'll be surprised. Anyway, he greeted toddlerdom the way he greets anything he doesn't like. He pooed with emphasis, the emphasis being the radius around him in which the smell would make your eyes water. He actually loves being able to walk and totters around everywhere. He is also very cute with his nappy-wobbling walk and frequent over-balancing. However, when he is grumpy, he cries at everything. He cries when you put him down. He cries when his dummy falls out. He cries when he puts it back in. He cries at Princess. He cries at fluff on the carpet. He cries at not being able to eat fluff off the carpet. He cries at the carpet. He cries at the crying kid in the mirror. So you can imagine the party preparations were a hoot.

I stayed home to help and I really tried to help as well. Mostly I got in the way. The party we where having for Little Man on his birthday was actually just a Mum's Group gathering with the mum's from when Princess was born, so most of the kids coming were actually Princess' friends. That's ok though, because Little Man doesn't really have any friends yet and he would have just cried at them anyway. And why not, its his party. Anyway, so Princess is getting over excited because it was Little Man's birthday and he was getting Little Man presents and there would be friends and cake after lunch. Little Man was crying and sulky because his mouth hurt and people kept walking past him and stopping him eating fluff off the carpet. I was trying to help by pointing out things that should be done and how I would do them if I were allowed back in the house. DW was getting a little stressed and I'm tempted to make a joke about how she was using the broom as a personal transportation device but I won't. She wasn't that bad but she was getting a little annoyed and pointed out that "helping and trying to help are NOT the same thing". The pressure cooker was building up and DW had jsut finished telling me where I could put the ironing board and I was saying how we would then need a new cover when the phone rang.

One of DWs friends was unable to come over because her little boy was misbehaving. It had gotten to the point where she finally had to follow through with a threat not to let him attend the party. Needless to say, DW was very concerned for her friend as we both know all too well how that situation feels. Its odd how you can think the whole world exists inside your own little space and forget that the reason you are cleaning it up is because people from outside your little world are visiting. They also have their own little worlds that need cleaning and maybe they are coming to your little world just to get away from their own for a bit. Appreciating how hard life can be and remembering how important it is to have someone there who is willing to help (or even try to help) allows your world to expand and gives a perspective that can include other people and their troubles even if they are not right there in front of you. It could be tempting to think about how lucky we are to not have those specific troubles at that moment, but DW is not like that. Her first thought is for her friend. She knew she couldn't do much to help but I think she would have liked nothing more than to be able to pop over to her friend's place and given her a hug.

As it happened, DW did have to pop out and pick up some extra bits and pieces for the party. I kept tidying up by putting stuff under the couch and into the study and testing the snacks, when I noticed DW had returned home and was chatting to a neighbour. I kept thinking she is leaving me in here to hide this crap and snack while she is out chatting. She didn't stay out there long and when she came in she told me why she had been chatting. Our neighbour's husband had decided to leave her with the two little kids. She was still in shock because it had come as a surprise and had only happened a few days earlier. Needless to say DW was also shocked and very worried for our neighbour.

I was thinking about how it was only Wednesday and I had already had a very odd week. I had chatted to an old friend on Sunday who has just had a baby and she was finding the sleeplessness difficult and her partner was also struggling and feeling the pressure. Another friend was having a dilemna about when to have her second child because she was worried about having too big a gap between kids would mean they wouldn't get along as well and she was also worried about how she and her partner would make ends meet. My brother then found out his wife was having triplets and in a few monhts he would have four kids under the age of three. He would need a new car and prams and cots and all he could see was headlights. Followed up with DWs friend and our neighbour's troubles, it occurred to me that really, a party for a one year old isn't really that hard and certainly not worth fighting over. So I stopped dropping food on the floor and DW got off her broom and we hugged and apologized and set about enjoying the rest of the day.

Well, when I say enjoy, that might be stretching things a little. We certainly enjoyed seeing the end of the day. The party went pretty much as all kids parties do. Princess didn't like the way her bestest friend in the whole world was playing catch and so threw the ball into his face. Her bestest friend in the whole world didn't like being hit in the face with a ball and punched her right back in the face. He ran away and she chased him. She ran away and he chased her. Several others joined in and chased each other. Princess fell over things, off things and under things and cried each time. Her best friend crashed the bike, collided with other kids and also cried. Another kid fell off the swing. Another got hit in the face with a swing and headbutted another kid. Crazy monkeys stole another kid. All the kids had too much sweet food and soft drink and fought and yelled and cried and sang "Happy Birthday" and cheered and cried and fought and fell over. Little Man just tottered around the backyard on his own and ate sand. We also gave him some cake but he preferred the sand. So I ate the cake. It was good cake.

Ciao!

Thought for the Day: Never assume you can jump all the way across a creek. Never assume you will find sure footing on the other side. Never assume no one is filming you.