These two young ladies (Madeleine in blue and Emily in pink) are having their sixth birthday party today. Thinking it would be easier to handle 4 children instead of 15, I suggested each girl invite one friend for a birthday sleepover, instead of having the entire class over for a party...what a fool!Please, join me for a walk through the day.
6:02 AM Madeleine "Emily! Today is the day of our sleepover party!"
6:02:10 AM Melissa thinking to herself "Craaaaaaaaaaaaap!"
7:40 AM Pandemonium during breakfast caused by two children physically incapable of sitting still.
8:00 Breakfast abandoned as a worthless cause. Since today is "special", the girls are given permission to sprinkle their leftover cereal in the backyard for the birds. As Emily stands in the doorway to the back deck, I ask her to close the door, so the cat (Skeeter) doesn't get out. "I figured it out Mom. Skeeter doesn't try to go outside!" I grab Skeeter by his tail as he tries to launch out the door. Skeeter is ticked.
8:05 Breakfast dishes are in the dishwasher. Time to clean. The girls are fantastic as they help vacuum, move furniture, run things upstairs, etc. Although, it is suggested to Emily that if she continues to yammer at me through the vacuum cleaner attachment I will go permanently insane. I don't need extra noise, the attachment makes her sound like the adults in a Peanuts movie and...hygiene! Madeleine supports my opinion "Yeah, Emily!" Ugh. Madeleine and Emily begin the "decorating"!
Putting our Barbie tablecloth on the table. I am highly opposed to this much Barbie stuff, and Barbie in general, but was seriously outvoted on this one. I just keep talking about Barbie's college degree and humanitarian interests. Emily on the far side of the table, Madeleine facing the camera.8:55 See the girls start to pick-up the paper "hand mirrors" they made at preschool yesterday. It is fairytale week. During lunch yesterday, the chant was "Mirror, mirror on the wall, (insert sister's name) is the yuckiest one of all!" I told them if they so much as said a syllable their mirrors were going to the shredder and their party was cancelled. Off to school.
9:12 Warn their teacher "Miss Judy" that today is "party day" and I tried to take the edge off their energy by having them do a good 40 minutes of housework before going to school. She laughs and says they can be the "runners" today and she'll try to send them far afield. I love this woman! I mentioned that should any cars break down on Jamestown Rd, the girls would be happy to push the vehicle to the nearest mechanic.
9:12:30 Madeleine comes bouncing over with Theodore (Teddy Bear Class mascot and veteran of cross-country drives). Oh good! Theodore is at our house this weekend. We need more excitement.
9:13 Feel horrible when "Michael's mom", Robyn, tells me Michael got the girls presents and she'll leave them at the front desk when she picks Michael up. Michael is seriously one of the sweetest little boys out there. His parents were brave enough to have the big class party and now he went and got the girls gifts without being invited to a party. Yeah, lost Mommy Points on that one.
9:15 Leave school with Theodore. In the parking lot I look into his glossy plastic eyes and tell him what is on the agenda this weekend. Theodore begins to tremble and pleads to return to the sanctuary of Miss Judy's classroom. He is wrestled into a booster seat.
Listen to music in the car instead of NPR which has BBC World on after I drop-off the girls. Am proud to be keeping with my self-imposed news embargo. I decided on this last night. Between the banking industry (criminals in suits), Libya, and Wisconsin I had decided to not read any news that does not have "Prince William" or "Kate Middleton" in the headline. Sadly, my homepage is the New York Times...and there was Japan this morning.
10:00 Return home from last minute errands. Stick Emily and Madeleine's "real china tea sets" (birthday gifts from Grandpa and Grandma) in hot soapy water so they are ready to go tonight. As I'm carrying various pieces to the kitchen, I return to the dining room to find Skeeter wiggling his butt in that cat pre-jump-wiggle and looking into the open china cabinet. I inform him I can read his mind; more of a short story than a novel. Should he choose to jump, he will be promptly returned to Heritage Humane Society.
10:05 Upstairs to set-up the girls' room. This involves dismantling their beds and putting their mattresses on the floor (no class structure with elevated beds at this sleep over). Inflating two aerobeds, vacuuming (again appalled by the amount of cat hair and seriously contemplating shaving cats), making four beds and stashing the rest of the girls' furniture wherever I can get it to fit. Their room looks like an orphanage of some sort.
I did find a forbidden toy stashed under Emily's bed. It is a toy I don't particularly care for because it brings out our instincts for hand-to-hand combat. In fairness, I believe the last time I saw was when I ripped it out of a pair of hands and literally threw it in the front yard. From what I can remember the girls were informed if I ever saw it again, it was gone for good. So, maybe stashing it under a bed was a good idea.
Schreiber Home for Girls?10:55 Coming back downstairs with vacuum and large garbage bag. Trip over Lucy who was sleeping in the sun shining on the stairs. Tumble a bit (I'm fine and thankfully so is vacuum). Explain to Lucy, she too could go to Heritage Humane Society.
11:00 Take a break to update blog.
11:46 Phone rings. Miss Judy from preschool. "Everything is okay, but I wanted to let you know Emily has twice complained of chest pain. She was willing to sit down and said it moved to her back." Now I have chest pain.
11:47 Heading to preschool with my solid lack of medical knowledge. Chat with Memy. She seems fine, coloring, personality, etc. is all normal. The girls had their 6 year check-up on Monday...I'm wondering if it is excitement/adrenaline because of tonight. The first words out of Emily's mouth when she sees me are, "Do I have to go home?" Home? No. E.R.? Maybe.
12:15 Back at home to finish cleaning the main floor. Seriously bored by cleaning at this point and sweep "treasures" on the last kitchen counter into a Trader Joe's fabric grocery bag, put the bag in the garage, and call it good.
Finish setting the table for our Barbie Tea Party (as the theme seems to have become), including the cake which is a big old swing and a miss in my neophyte cake decorating career.
1:15 Update blog and gather my courage for the events to come.2:00 Pick-up Emily and Madeleine after "Later Gators" at school. Come home and all of us put on our "fancy clothes".
3:00 Back minivan out of the driveway to pick-up Jayla and Emerson.
4:12 Return home with four girls and screaming headache. Emily has mastered a fake laugh that makes me want to put an ice pick through my ear and Madeleine feels the need to talk at a volume that far exceeds "normal". While driving I reminded myself my first consistent "big city" driving experiences were as a freshman in college, on I5, in Portland, in a 15 passenger van belonging to my college and full of 14 "at risk" 8th graders. I can do this.
4:13 Take Jayla and Emerson's "luggage" upstairs and snap a picture or two.
Left to right, Madeleine, Emerson, Emily, Jayla.4:15 Call Till and tell him we are heading to Ruby Tuesday's. He will meet us there.
4:32 Arrive at Ruby Tuesday's convinced they probably heard us coming.
Happily coloring.4:32-5:30 Dinner which went better than I thought it would. I was picturing four children demanding help with placemat activities from two adults. Instead, they all chatted and colored!!
5:30 Drive home, but decide to sing songs from when I was stuck volunteering on the bus to Camp Dart-Lo and back. Much easier to handle four little voices singing than the random conversations that had been occurring. The girls begin to suggest songs and sing the rest of the way home.
6:00 Lovely gifts from our lovely guests.
Emily
Madeleine (with assistance from Skeeter)6:15 Cake and ice cream. Only one bite of ice cream hit a skirt!
Candles are tricky on a domed skirt, the occupant of which has flammable hair.6:30 Movie time. The movie was pretty much ignored. So, in addition to four little voices, we had Barbie in the background. I joined watching the movie which helped only moderately (at best) and we eventually went upstairs without finishing the last four minutes.
"Watching" the movie in our jammies. Looks can be deceiving. 8:02 - 8:15 Rotation of 4 young ladies through bedtime bathroom rituals. With four empty bladders and countless teeth brushed, it was time to read one of our new books (conveniently a Barbie book) and then be told to go to sleep.
8:20-8:35 I sit in the girls' room as a stony-faced enforcer of silence.
8:40 Phone calls to the two other sets of parents to inform them we are all asleep and unless there is a change in plans, we'll be dropping off their daughters in the morning.
Bliss! 
