flea | Entries tagged with casper birthday

Today is Casper's sixth birthday! She's also kinda sick and went to school. Here's how the week went: Monday, popped a fever in the evening. Kept her home Tuesday; she seemed fine, just a little cold. Was driven nearly mad by the bickering (kept Dillo home too, as he was on day 4 of a junky cough and pinkeye). Wednesday, she went to school, and on pickup at 5:15 complained of an earache. Motrin fixed it, but she did go to bed on the early side. Thursday morning I had actually pretty much forgotten about the earache and she went to school as usual. Thursday at 4:15 I got a call from afterschool that she was crying from an earache. mr. flea picked up me and we got her and she was in a terrible state, in a lot of pain. Took her home, gave her Motrin, she cried until it kicked in about 40 minutes later, then fell sound asleep. After a two-hour nap, she woke up, ate dinner, did her homework, and went to bed as usual.

Then the dilemma was what to do today. She had a crusty eye in the morning and a little cough. We sent her in (with cupcakes). mr. flea was hoping to get a late afternoon doctor's appointment so she could go to school normally, and then he could pick her up from after school and have her ear looked at. Unfortunately the doctor's office closes early on Friday - they could see her at 12 or not at all. There's an Urgent Care that's an option, but it's $50. So we're following the normal routine, and I'll call after school early on to see how she is. If she starts getting bad again, mr. flea can go get her and take her to Urgent Care, and I can cut out from work early and meet them at home when they're done. I told her she should ask her teachers to call me if she started having a sore ear at any point during the day, and asked her to try to drink a lot of water in hopes of keeping the head mucus loose. It all feels like a terrible solution - aside from the fact that she wanted to go to school to share her birthday with her class, mr. flea feels like he's taken a lot of time off lately (him & Dillo to the doctor last Friday, him & Casper to the dentist Tuesday, cutting out at 4:30 yesterday to pick up Casper) and I had several things to do this morning and took Tuesday as a sick day.

If only we had a housewife.

Yes, it's child birthday party season again. Dillo's went off relatively easily - the child is 3 after all, so social complexities are limited. But Casper is turning 6 and for the first time is wanting and expecting a REAL birthday party.

(Recap: 2: one friend for ice cream cake; 3: family from nanny share for pizza and cake; 4: cupcakes to day care, grandparents in town for family dinner; 5: cupcakes to school, new neighbors with kids invited over for kid playtime and cupcakes.)

I've got a plan. We're doing fairies. It's to be 10-12 am on the Saturday after her birthday (2 weeks from now). I have acquired the Klutz book on making little wire-and-bead fairies, and need to look at it in more detail (practice) and possibly acquire some additional fairy-making supplies at Michael's. The plan is to do a craft time of making the fairies (dining room table), then have some playtime outside with the fairies, and then have lunch and cake outside. I was thinking of making tea sandwiches on the tiny Pepperidge Farm bread, and having "tea" to drink. (Fairies can have tea parties, right?) I'd like to hang the mesh bed canopy in a tree and have blankets underneath as a fairy bower. Not sure if that will work given our actual trees - I plan to delegate the dilemma to mr. flea.

So far, so good.

The complication is who to invite. There is who Casper wants to invite, then there's who I feel like we owe an invitation due to our social connections and the role of reciprocity. Casper's interested in inviting the first 5 only.

Penny: Casper's best friend. No question.
Shannon: Casper's 3rd grade friend from after school last year, who appears to be attending a different school this year. As I do not know her last name nor how to contact her, I think we cannot invite her.
Siena: In Casper's class and after school, and we are friends with her parents. The only dilemma here is not inviting her twin brother, but I think they are old enough that he will understand the concept of an all-girl fairy party and not want to attend. I can explain that to his parents, and if they have any sense they will have him have a boy playdate.
Allison: Lives three houses down, in Casper's class and after school, dad is the principal. Casper wants to invite her, although they are not especially close and there was some issue about Casper not being invited to Allison's birthday party.
Dynasty: In Casper's class both last year and this year, and in after school. Luckily I met her aunt at the open house, and she works at the Tae Kwan Do school, so I have a way to get in touch with her family (I want to avoid passing out invites in class, as potentially hurtful.)
Eliza: Lives a street over, in Casper's class, Casper went to her birthday party and they've had her over for a lot of playdates. They don't seem to have much in common, and Casper doesn't care about inviting her, but I think given how many overtures her parents have made to us we have to invite her.
Hannah and Owen: Neighbors. Hannah is 5, but very tomboyish, and Casper and she don't have much in common. But we spend a lot of time with them. I think if I explain to Mary that we're having a girly party with her classmates it will be fine, and they will not feel excluded.
Spencer and Ruby: Ditto, except Spencer is 4 (and Ruby is 1). I will need to talk to Gretchen also.
Evelyn: In Casper's class, lives in our neighborhood, but they were in Brazil for 9 months & just got back so we haven't had much social contact with them lately. Is good friends with Allison and Eliza, though, and they are all in class together, so they will talk.
Katie Sue: In Casper's class and after school, though she and Casper don't seem to be especially friends. Know the parents in the 'nod in the hallways' sort of way. Could probably not invite her. But if I invite all the other upper middle class girls from Casper's class, she would be the only one left out.

ARGH. My size goal is 4-6 girls. I hate this whole 'being human with social connections' thing.

His birthday is the 11th of July, which is only a week after we get back from our trip, so I need to do invites and stuff before we leave.

My thought is to do a backyard party, procure a baby pool (our neighbors have one, actually), a funky sprinkler, and maybe a slip-n-slide or something. We might do some sort of game of who can throw a water balloon the farthest. His birthday is a Saturday, so I am thinking 2-4pm, say on the invite to wear your swimsuit and bring a towel, sunscreen and bug spray if you're particular about brand. No presents. If I get wild and crazy I might make homemade ice cream sandwiches (toll house cookies with homemade ice cream), or we might just have popsicles and ice cream sandwiches, with some fruit too (grapes, watermelon).

Invite: neighbors (Spencer and his baby sister; Hannah and the Evil Owen, who unfortunately we can't not invite, really, even though Dillo will not be happy about it); from school, his "good buddy" Colin (whose parents we don't know), Hampton (whose birthday Dillo attended, and mr. flea liked her parents, and she has a big sister who is Casper's age). Maybe one more kid from day care - he likes Maggie, but maybe she is too much younger.

Sounds manageable, right? I have a lot of ideas for presents: a drum (a proper one, not a kiddie one); stomp rocket; sandbox (plastic turtle sandboxes are on sale at Kroger for $20); bicycle helmet; rocket sheets (which I mentioned to Mother); baseball tee (he has asked for the "batter batter baseball" he's seen commercials for); Duplo dinosaur set (which he wanted in a toy store last month). He's a happy little dude; he'll be happy with whatever.

I'm pondering the roller-skating rink for Casper; must investigate, as we've never been there.

Kind of amazing, really.

I really must, in the next two hours, come up with 250+ words on the definition of information. Yep, school started last week and it's weekly writing on difficult topics with no direction professor again. At least I knew what I was getting into.

I titled this post "snork" because that's what it feels like in my head right now. I've had a cold for two weeks, but I think I was on the downslope of cold #1 and have now contracted cold #2. So I have the big phlegmy breaking up chest cough coupled with a seriously stuffed up head. I am barely awake; happily it is a low-activity day/week at work. But, that damned assignment, which I need to do today, since my in-laws are visiting for the weekend and it is due Sunday night.

Today is Casper's FIFTH birthday, and what a long strange trip it's been. She went off to school in new clothes, sparkly pink sneakers from Keds and a new Hanna summer dress from ebay. We sent in homemade pink-frosted cupcakes, so I hope that goes over well. Tonight we'll have Breakfast for Dinner (her choice) and open some more presents, and I guess the 4 left over pink cupcakes. We invited the neighbors (4 families, yikes) for cake on Saturday afternoon, and I have to figure out a cake and make/buy it, and also figure out what we're going to do with them all. Stand around chatting while the kids chase a soccer ball around the back yard, I guess. It's meant to be very low-key (lord, I hope they don't bring presents) but we don't have any outdoor furniture and few outdoor toys so I am stressing.

I really want naps this weekend. And we have a dinner out gift certificate I'd like to use while free babysitting is in the house. But I fear leaving hapless grandparents with my wild won't-go-to-bed children.

We're trying to decide what to get Casper for her birthday next month. She has gone through long phases of asking for a bike, so that is a hot contender. Target has a good selection (online), mostly $60-70. Of course they are heavily gendered, and mostly branded besides. A few years ago I saw a bike belonging to a little boy at the park that was jellybean themed - that's the kind of neutral I want. But I may settle for "Cars." The other big question, if we go bikes, is 12 inch or 16 inch? Casper is right between the size ranges for the two, and obviously she's not getting any smaller, but a 16 inch would probably be pretty big at first. Maybe we should wait until Xmas.

I also am DYING for one of these to totoe the Dillo about (not that I have a bike myself): http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=pd_ecc_rvi_3/602-3639453-3157455?ie=UTF8&asin=B000HVAVG0

The other hot contenders, based on a visit to the Ali Cat toy store in Carrboro, is Playmobil. They have a fold-up and carry dollhouse, and several princess/magic sets which, if we're gonna have to do princess stuff, are fairly tolerable (see http://store.playmobilusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-US-Site/en_US/Link-Category?catalog=STOREFRONT_US&name=Maerchenschloss)

But do I really want moe tiny plastic things in my house? I do not, reader.

No updates lately because veejane is here and hogging the computer! Okay, and taking me shopping. mr. flea is in Cincinnati, eating Thai Express.

Seven weeks today, and Dillo is a big strong boy.
He did this all by himself when I set him down on his tummy this morning: http://www.flickr.com/photos/casperflea/228303573/
And the other day he was definitely playing with a toy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T37gwuEmoqQ
It is hard to have mr. flea gone and do the night by myself. He is fine until 2:30, usually with one nursing between 8 pm bedtime and 2:30, but then riotous thereafter. When mr. flea is home we tag-team this part. Still cranky sometimes in the evening.

We had Casper's birthday; her big present was a Lego Duplo Thomas The Tank Engine train set. Seems to have gone over well; still trying to convince her that the Duplo horses CAN ride the Duplo train (I think this has to do with "the rice must be separate from the peas!") She was a little less impressed by the whole idea of being 3 than I was, I think.