Party? ... Hardly.
I figured that, for the devoted readers of this blog (all two of you, lol), that I owed you at least a brief report on that party Monday night.
It was everything I predicted and more. This was an adult party and no place for children under 5. It was pretty unpleasant ... for me, anyway.
There were the heavily decorated trees. There were perfect-size-for-choking hors de'oeuvres on every toddler-reachable horizontal surface including coffee tables. There were 3 unsecured doors to the outside (two with neck-breakingly steeps steps) and 3 unlocked rooms with toilets. There was a bloody great big FIRE in the fireplace.
But most of all there was a forest of adults, all balancing food and sipping alcohol.
Then there was me. A vast ungainly ship, all in black, weaving through the crowd continuously, eyes at knee level, trying to keep track of my two toddlers. I spent every second I was there doing this and I'm sure that everyone who attended is convinced that I'm the biggest bitch on the planet. I barely made eye contact, breathed out a few "yes, hello, good to see you."s, and swept on.
"Scuse me, pardon me, sorry! Have you seen a little boy? No thank you, I can't drink, I'm pregnant. Yes, again. Yes, this will be number four. 'Scuse me."
How can I pause to chat with you when my 2 ½ year old is contemplating taking the blown glass ornaments off the tree? How can I sit and have a plate of food when my 19 month old is picking up the cheese cubes - one at a time - tasting them, and replacing them on the tray?
My only breaks were that my husband's sister, Melissa, scooped up my youngest (9 months) the instant she laid eyes on her and lugged her around the entire time. *whew* Also, my darling hubby, true to his word, packed us up and got us out of there after only an hour.
There was a lot of short-sightedness about this party invite, but the blame rests entirely on me. I should have stood my ground and refused. I was too concerned about offending someone or hurting feelings. It's inappropriate to bring toddlers to an adult party. It's not fair to them and it's not fair to their caretakers. Next time I'll know better.
The wee party-goers.
It was everything I predicted and more. This was an adult party and no place for children under 5. It was pretty unpleasant ... for me, anyway.
There were the heavily decorated trees. There were perfect-size-for-choking hors de'oeuvres on every toddler-reachable horizontal surface including coffee tables. There were 3 unsecured doors to the outside (two with neck-breakingly steeps steps) and 3 unlocked rooms with toilets. There was a bloody great big FIRE in the fireplace.
But most of all there was a forest of adults, all balancing food and sipping alcohol.
Then there was me. A vast ungainly ship, all in black, weaving through the crowd continuously, eyes at knee level, trying to keep track of my two toddlers. I spent every second I was there doing this and I'm sure that everyone who attended is convinced that I'm the biggest bitch on the planet. I barely made eye contact, breathed out a few "yes, hello, good to see you."s, and swept on.
"Scuse me, pardon me, sorry! Have you seen a little boy? No thank you, I can't drink, I'm pregnant. Yes, again. Yes, this will be number four. 'Scuse me."
How can I pause to chat with you when my 2 ½ year old is contemplating taking the blown glass ornaments off the tree? How can I sit and have a plate of food when my 19 month old is picking up the cheese cubes - one at a time - tasting them, and replacing them on the tray?
My only breaks were that my husband's sister, Melissa, scooped up my youngest (9 months) the instant she laid eyes on her and lugged her around the entire time. *whew* Also, my darling hubby, true to his word, packed us up and got us out of there after only an hour.
There was a lot of short-sightedness about this party invite, but the blame rests entirely on me. I should have stood my ground and refused. I was too concerned about offending someone or hurting feelings. It's inappropriate to bring toddlers to an adult party. It's not fair to them and it's not fair to their caretakers. Next time I'll know better.
The wee party-goers.
posted by MrsEvilGenius at 7:38 AM
4 Comments:
Hi Blue!
I almost peed my pants laughing at your Christmas party story. I saw your link off Large Families BB at Baby Center and decided to follow it. I'm bored at work waiting for a meeting to start. (Yes I'm actually crazy enough to try and hold down a part-time (20 hrs/week job with 4 kids 2 preteen and 2 toddlers)
I'm glad to hear my 20 mo old isn't the only one who like to throw glass ornaments! My future all star pitcher has managed to climb our tree and hurl 5 glass ornaments!
BTW Your kids are absolutely GORGEOUS! Their eyes are oh I just want to reach thourhg and pinch thier cheeks!
Too bad you're so far away - I think we could really do some damage getting your brood and mine together! LOL
Gotta go!
Kathy Mom of 4
Just wanted to let you know that someone is reading your blog. Please say hi to Toddy for me.
Da Bish
Hey it's Lori sorry I didn't get a chance to reply just finished finals. I'm getting a 4.0 (yay) You're children are beautiful! Have a great x-mas!!!
What a great pic of your kids, Blue! Sorry the party was a bust. I would have been going nuts! It sounds like you handled it very well though.
Happy Holidays!
-Kelly
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