The reason I have gray hairs

On Sunday I welcomed an additional 35 or so adults and children into my home. It's always stressful and yet I do it. I do it for my children. I do it because if I did it in smaller groups then my girls' birthdays would last even longer than they already do.

Jayden was already having 2 parties. Yes, 2 parties is probably overdoing it but I am one of those Mom's that likes to keep things equal if possible. When Ryann turned 4 she had a bowling party and was able to invite friends from preschool, so Jayden was allowed the same privilege. Far be it from me to give them any ammunition for when they are older. "Ryann had friends when she was younger, you never let ME have FRIENDS!!!!" Anyway, I blame all of this on my good friend Obsessive who I have mentioned here before.

Jayden's first party, the bowling party, was a success. It was the Sunday before her birthday and she had tons of fun with her 5 little friends from preschool, as well as her 5 older friends and her sister who were all in attendance. When it was over the day still seemed fresh and I think only 2 of 5 parental groupings left thinking I was an idiot.

On Jayden's actual birthday she left for school that morning in a new outfit, carrying a container of cupcakes (2 of 3 batches made last week), with a spring in her step. After school she went to her gymnastics class where she handed out small bags of sugar to all of her friends, and then we went to Red Robin for what in our house is the traditional birthday dinner. She loved her presents and at the end of the day I still had 3 days to prepare for Sunday's family party. Yeah, right.

By the time the official weekend arrived on Friday at 5 pm all I had managed to do was A LOT of laundry. Laundry is beneficial, it's productive, but guests coming to your home don't really care if you have clean clothes, but they may notice the toothpaste sculpture that is growing in your sink. They may also notice the Dixie cups that are overflowing on to the floor from the garbage can that needs to be emptied!

Normally I would have taken all day Saturday to prepare for the invasion. But this particular Saturday we had tickets to High School Musical on Ice early in the day, a Girl Scout cookie booth to participate in that afternoon and grocery shopping to do at midnight. I didn't have food in my house for my family, let alone the people stopping over to give my daughter gifts who probably thought they could eat while they were there. Needless to say come Sunday morning I was not in a good place.

"You're not good at last minute" my husband said. I should add that he said this after I mentioned to him that he missed responding to my "I'm a bad mother" comment. "You're not a bad mother, you just get like this every time we have people coming over."

Wait, step back, did he just say that I did things last minute? Because does he have any idea what I've been doing.... no wait, I know him, he meant that I don't handle the last minutes well, and yeah, well, he's right. Bastard.

In between bathroom cleanings, frosting cupcakes, making a veggie pizza, organizing goody bags (I love to make goody bags by the way, it's the only part I really enjoy) and trying to shower I was also rushing my 7 year old to get ready for church. We needed to leave the house in microseconds and I was yelling "Let's go!" and she said "But I didn't eat breakfast yet!" and then the crying began. Hers and mine.

I hugged her, apologized for being an obsessive-compulsive, try-to-do-everything-myself-even-though-my-husband-gladly-helps, pain in her booty. I made the executive decision that we were not going to church. (I know it's horrible, but it had to be done) I hugged her again, stressed to her the importance of church, that my craziness was not her fault and hopefully she would not inherit it or learn it, and then told her to go enjoy her Wild Animal Crunch.

I then picked my mind up off the floor and continued to get ready for the party. Or maybe I started to get ready because you see, I have learned something about having people over to your house. About 1-2 hours before people are due to arrive they send their eyes on ahead of them. They do this so that you can see your house through their eyes and freak out even more! Where did all that dust come from? What is all over the bathroom mirror? Do you smell something? Ok, you would need their noses for that, but you get the idea. Suddenly all the progress I thought I had made to make my house look presentable was no more, and I started all over again.

Despite all the drama, and as you might have guessed, the party was delightful. No one thought that my house resembled an abandoned shack in a questionable area of town. Everyone thought the food was great and hair-free. All of the men in attendance helped unload a very heavy upright piano from the back of my Dad's truck and move it into my living room. And Jayden received many lovely gifts. I was even able to sit down and eat a plate of the food I had prepared. That right there is success!

In the end, my husband is right. I am not good at last minute, and I am not sure why I care so much. Somewhere in my life someone did something (it's always someone elses fault) that made me think I needed to be perfect and I wish they'd take it back. The saddest part is that I know how I am, and yet I seem unable to change. I know that I need to worry less and enjoy more, and that is so much easier said than done.