Time-outs and Hosting Mishaps

Today was a special day that we'd all been looking forward to: Jacob's 1st birthday party. Hannah has been talking about balloons and cake for days. Last night she helped clean up for the party. Despite the forecast for rain, all signs pointed to a lovely celebration.

Then we woke up. Somebody apparently woke up on the wrong side of her big-girl bed. Before breakfast, Hannah had already been sent to time-out. Now, she normally balks at the mere mention of time-out and quickly complies with whatever request has been made. Not today. Not even close. So, not only did she go to time-out kicking and screaming, but she refused to comply with the rules for leaving time-out. All she had to do was say sorry. Instead, she continued to tell me, "No way, Mom!" every time she was asked. Then when Scott went to talk to her, she ran away up the stairs! Now she was not only carried back to time-out, but she had TWO apologies to make. Over and over, we went to ask her if she was ready to say sorry. Over and over she declined, and not very nicely either. In the end, she spent a good chunk of the morning in time-out. Ah, what a great start to the day...

After naps, the guests began to trickle in. We were keeping things simple. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and macaroni salad. Pop, beer, juice, water. Easy. No fuss. And no condiments, apparently. My ketchup was wheezing splatters of nothing, and the mustard was altogether empty. One set of guests, thankfully also neighbours, rescued us by running home to grab their own ketchup and mustard. It's not like we didn't have a specialty item - I mean, ketchup is pretty standard for a BBQ. Then, to top things off, I began offering beer. It was in the cold room instead of the fridge. Ooops. Not cold, and made obvious by being the "Cold Certified" type with the mountains that turn blue. No ketchup, no mustard, and warm beer.

Wow, do we ever know how to throw a party!

P.S. A few hours later and I just realized I bought drinking boxes for all the kids. Forgot to serve them! Had lots of thirsty kids...