Double The Fun!

Ah, Boxing Day ... and elder daughter's birthday! How could you not have a great time on a day like this (she asked, tongue firmly in cheek)?

K.C. decided a few years ago that it would be a good idea to fetch a good running buddy and go do fun girly things on her birthday rather than have a party at a time when lots of people are out of town. So ... each year she identifies which running buddy she'd like to hang with for the day, and Mumma (that would be me) sets it all up. This year she selected friend Jasmine (known to those who love her as Jazz), the elder daughter of Andrew, one of our English friends. The conspiracy began earlier this month when we were all at a holiday shindig hosted by some Aussie pals (and can I just say that they absolutely had the clue ... all the adults were on the ground floor of their three-story home, with the little girlies in their daughter's room on the next level, and the boys and the older kids at the top in the games/telly room ... we could say whatever we wanted in the kid-free zone without having to look around first or apologize or anything ... great concept!), the idea was hatched, and we were off on our way.

When K.C. asked if Jazz could be the birthday buddy this year, we immediately said yes, of course ... so then she asked if a sleepover could be part of it as well, and we immediately said yes, of course ... so then Kendall (having heard this bit of the chat) asked if Rose (Jazz's little sister) could come for a sleepover too, and we immediately said yes, of course ... so then Kieran (having heard the negotiations thus far and figuring, obviously, that his chances for a similar response were better than average) asked if Haze (Jazz's kid brother) could come and hang and stay as well, and we immediately said yes, of course. (It's one of those things where you're in a festive holiday-spirit sort of mood, and it's not till the next day or later that you realize what you've done and quickly begin stocking up on tranquilizers and alcoholic beverages, which are sure to be the only way you'll get through the night, and silently thank your stars that you haven't got an older son who'd want Jazz's older brother to come and crash as well.)

Boxing Day dawned (kind of) with a snow shower in progress. Undaunted, we set out for Andrew's house, armed with several MapQuest pages (one with general directions, three with the streets in the area in varying degrees of close-up); it turned out to be very straightforward and we found it without any to-do of any kind. Having fetched one participant, and with the promise of returning later for the other two, we set off.

First stop was the bank (clever Mumma had forgotten to stop there before getting on the road to fetch, one of the myriad of benefits to being a blonde ... d u h), and then to Barnes and Noble, where we enjoyed a tasty lunch at the cafe (with Starbucks, yay) and procured some reading material for later use. These basic human requirements met, we zipped over to the mall for the main event.

This is the day spa where we'd booked in for K.C. and Jazz to enjoy manicures, pedicures, and the delights of the shampoo/style (because let's face it, there's not a lot that feels better than having someone else wash your hair).

Being that nail-do items were the primary items on the order of business, the ladies were first detailed to the all-important selection of lacquers for their adornment. (I have to admit that I nixed the idea of any black, purple, or dark blue ... evil me, suppressing the natural urge to express one's teenaged self via goth and goth-esque decoration. Oh well.)

Varnishes well in hand (and soon to be on hand, ha ... yes, I know that was lame, but I *will* have my little joke, so just keep moving, nothing to see here), the pedicures began.

Next was time for the shampoo and style. (I didn't get any photos of the manicures or the initial bit of the hair part, since I was back in one of the massage rooms ... and yes, I know it's not my birthday, but I still claim a bit being as I gave birth after being 16 days overdue). Jazz has lovely hair that is naturally curly, but it looked sleek after the stylist was finished with her. (It's important to note that when we went back to her house to fetch her two younger siblings, her older brother asked what had happened to her hair ... to Jazz's credit, she didn't punch him!)

K.C.'s hair is very thick and straight, so of course she wanted it curled (which doesn't hold very long because of the weight of her hair). Isn't that how it always goes?

We shopped for a little while, thinking that K.C. could spend some of the gift cards that she got for Christmas (clever girl, she always wants gift cards because she knows I'll take her to the mall on the 26th and she can buy exactly what she wants - and twice as much of it), but it seemed that everybody else in town and their third cousin from Peoria were already in the stores that she liked, so we left and went to Target to procure fun things to eat for the evening and a birthday cake. (See notes on birthday cake below.)

After Target, we headed back to Jazz's house to fetch Rose and Haze (and met the eldest, Ash, who was quite pleasant). Then, once everyone had been secured in the Big Blue Truck, we went to Mazzio's to pick up pizza, and then back to our house to let the odyssey begin.

Jazz and K.C.

Haze and Kieran

Rose and Kendall

Right, so now about the cake. While we were at Target, the elder girls were way less than impressed with the selection of cakes available in the bakery cold-case. To be honest, the variety wasn't very big (there were exactly three half-sheets and two quarter-sheets) and the color themes were quite limited (two of the half-sheets and both of the quarter-sheets were done in red-and-green Christmas bits, and the other half-sheet was a Baby Einstein caterpillar). Therefore, they met with no resistance from me when they decided to bake the cake themselves, especially since Jazz promised they would tidy the kitchen after making it. All my unvoiced concerns turned out to be for naught (I LOVE it when that happens!) and the cake turned out to be both beautiful (in a rather interesting sort of way) and delicious. (The kitchen was spotless too ... I walked in to find Jazz on her knees scrubbing the floor!)

Jazz is rather a brilliant artist (as well as being a top-notch student, a great cook, and just a very wonderful all-around human being). Her birthday gift to K.C. was a picture that she'd painted herself, having been inspired by the "Particle Man" video by They Might Be Giants. The picture is of Particle Man, Triangle Man, Universe Man, and Person Man. (I'm told that one might find the music video on YouTube, should one be interested in viewing it for oneself.)

We sent Kendall and Rose to bed about 12:30 (yes, that's AM, but this is Christmas break, and it's not like they had anywhere to be the next day). Kieran and Haze sacked out somewhere around 1:00, and K.C. and Jazz tell me they last looked at the clock somewhere between 2:00 and 2:30 (it was after Jazz and I had made some sausage rolls so she'd know how). The next morning was nearly silent until 11:00 or thereabouts, when little cuties began rolling into the kitchen to have pizza for breakfast. We played all day, until around 4:00, when good-byes were said, and our guests and I piled back into the Big Blue Truck to take them home. It was really a wonderful time for everyone, and even Mark and I enjoyed it. I can honestly say that for a while I wondered what the hell I'd let my big mouth get me into, but as it happened, everything was most delightful. All of the children were well-behaved and well-mannered, everyone slept well, and to top it all off, the tranquilizers and alcohol went untouched. I haven't heard how Andrew spent an evening truly on his own, but we all had such a lovely time that Mark and I have no qualms about repeating the night again sometime soon!