first borns get so much awesome stuff , seriously! they got all the one on one parent attention, they were doted, cooed and coddled over...they could write their name, knew every animal and could count to 10 in another language by the age of two and a half. do i even need to mention the loads of unnecessary retail products we purchased for them, probably not! then theres the second child, well your just pleased their accounted for in the car with pants on inside out, hair unbrushed, day old snack in hand and their shoes on duckfeet style....asking "mom, what comes after the number 5"? now, this in no way implies that you love them any less then the first, your just WAY busier.
same goes for birthdays, my first born got home based, mommy made fondent cakes with hours of prep going into decorations and goody bags. hours and weeks where spent on THE BIRTHDAY.
the second got (drum role please), the YMCA party. done and DONE.
what's the problem you ask, mommy guilt! i keep hearing my european mother say "yu du evereee ting fair" (you do every thing fair) between your children that is and i could say with clarity it wasn't "fair" in my house when it came to the birthday parties!
this is my last year of hanging with my second born...soon to be a full time "student".
kindergarden...sigh.
i broke. well, she broke me (actually), with requests of tea, cookies and a riveting game of freeze dance all to be done at home with her closest friends. FINE CHILD! (i screamed)," you will have your birthday at home" (but between you, me and the fence post i secretly desired to make a special birthday at home for her, to make it fair!).
and so began the alice in wonderland prep, as i suspected...many hours were gobble up to make this birthday special (between the research, sourcing, buying, hunting in my garage for props and setup). finally, we were ready to have the party only to be postponed on the eve of her big day due to her sister catching the stomach flu...bummer.
four days later it was back on (thank god).
it wasn't the fanciest, nor did i make the cupcakes (thank you dina neil of red velvet cakes) but it was just about perfect for a wee little alice and her tea attired posse of preschoolers (ohh.. try saying that 10 times fast)!
and my mommy guilt is done and DONE!
