Well people, I may be the worst mom ever. As you all know by now, the end of the year is our busy time - both kids have their birthdays and then, of course, the holidays. This year, Mattie has decided she wants a birthday party. We have attended several of her friends' parties and wow...the bar has been set very high. This is all fine and good but I am not a party person. I don't like to plan them, I don't enjoy all the hoo-ha, and I think gifts are totally unnecessary. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone as I'm the same person who despises such events as Halloween, Valentine's Day, and any other festive, fake holiday occasion.
But, the fact remains...my daughter wants a birthday party and that's what she'll get. Frank and I thought we had it in the bag and planned to have the party at the kids' gymnastics place. Turns out that we were late in the game and the gym is booked through January. Doh. My friend, Darlene, who owns the gym, is like me and doesn't like the party thing. She even suggested I try to talk Mattie out of a party. I thought that was hilarious! We agreed that we were the worst moms ever! Well, it didn't work. So, over the weekend, Frank and I spent some time brainstorming and looking at various places to have a birthday party. Let me also just say that I do not want 15 kids and their accompanying adults at our house. Last year, we hosted our science class every week. We only had 8 kids for that and the house was a wreck afterwards.
After looking at party locations such as bouncy places, ice skating, museums, and everything else you can think of, we came up with a brilliant idea. Our idea will save us a ton of money (most places that host parties are at least $150 to walk in the door...and that is on the low side) and will give the kids good fun and exercise. However, it will be a fair amount of work for me and Frank. Anyhoo, we are going to have a mini-Warrior Dash-esque party. We will put together an obstacle course and lead the kids through it. We'll also do some other activities that involve some teamwork and thinking. We are still in the planning phases but have pretty much outlined the activities we'll do. Now, we're collecting materials and need to map out the actual course.
We sprung this on Mattie yesterday and she was very excited. We're not sure how it will go with 15 kids. But, one thing is for certain...the kids will be very active, as will both me and Frank. Oh, and I'll be two days out of shoulder surgery so that is another interesting factor.