She shot me a look that perfectly captured the moment. Part sad, part excited, part happy. All Ali.
"Childishly," she said, finally, with a grin.
With Jeff out of town and Jenna awaiting a day when just she and Ali can celebrate, it was up to me to decide how far to take the plan to have her Herron High School posse over. I pretty much said yes to everything and added a bit here and there.
Below is a fairly accurate journal of what has transpired so far. Toddlers don't care - or often enjoy - a mom with a camera at a birthday party. Not only do teens care and general do not enjoy that, they probably have rights or something. But I do what I can:
Saturday the 4th/Birthday Eve: I drive Ali to a morning AP study session and then hit the gym before picking her back up. We hit the grocery on the way home. While I clean up from a fabulous dinner/champs and bourbon with Nikki and Ehren, Alison finishes homework and chores. She moves on to prepping the family room so everyone has space to veg, watch movies and eventually sleep. She steals half my pillows and scrounges storage for extra blankets before declaring herself satisfied.
4:30 p.m.: I drop Ali off at the HHS annual Food Truck/Art Fair where she met up with various friends and did her last (I assume) volunteer effort for the school swim team.
4:31 p.m.: I decide we haven't decorated enough and drive to the Dollar Tree in deference to the Captain, who will think I overdid it. But you can't overdo it if you shop at the Dollar Tree. #AmIRight?
5 p.m.: I start the process of creating a rainbow of tissue paper pom pom streamers to lead into the family room where movie night will ensue.5:10 p.m: I tire of creating the pom poms and move on to banners and signs knowing the pom poms await.
5:20 p.m.: Back to the freaking pom poms that had seemed like such a good idea at the store. So much better than the original plan, which was to just hang streamers.
5:30 p.m.: My arms hurt. I curse the shreds of tissue paper scattered on the basement floor as if my rainbow has dandruff. (In actuality, I'm a bad pom pom maker and I've torn a few of the petals. I hide the damage as best I can and remove the evidence.) I wonder if she will care that I went to the trouble. I stretch. I have a snack. Back to the freaking pom poms.
6:30 p.m.: Done with the goddamned pom poms. For the record, I had to unfold and fluff 480 petals to form 30 pom poms. I'm 100 percent certain the plain streamers would have sufficed. I stretch my back and wonder if I should finish the champagne left over from the night before.
7:30 p.m.: I pick her up and we hightail it home to finish anything she finds missing and to prepare for guest arrival. She is surprised and pleased at the additional decor.
8 p.m.: Guests begin to arrive and I get to interact before they hightail it downstairs to start their movie marathon. I settle into the couch to greet stragglers and listen in. They find the noise makers and it sounds like an elephant rumble. This is repeated each time a new guest arrives.
8-10:30 p.m.: In past years when I did this, it was largely giggles and screams that would float up the stairs. With most of the girls in their advanced teens it's screams and laughter and more than a bit of profanity.
10:30 p.m.: The champagne long finished, I relocate to bed as the movie noise overtakes conversation and goofy outbursts.
Sunday (Ali's actual birthday)
7:30 -9 a.m. : I would normally awake her with presents and a fun breakfast, but we'll put off family birthday stuff to this evening when Jeff is home. While the coffee brews and my paper awaits, I pull out the three pounds of bacon and ponder whether to cook it all. I do, thinking I'll have leftovers for the coming week. I cut fruit, prepare a buffet of juices and milk and cereal. I decide I'd be an excellent Bed&Breakfast host.
9:05: I creep downstairs to see if anyone is awake. It looks like the aftermath of a tsunami in the family room, but somehow the pompoms have survived essentially intact. I creep back upstairs to enjoy my coffee and paper.
9:45 a.m.: Ali stumbles upstairs and tells me it might be time to wake the girls. I start pulling out the food. The birthday girl, apparently having already collected gifts the night before, wakes the girls with one of the noisemakers. Screams and curses fill the air. I wonder if the neighbors are awake.
10 a.m.: Everyone is upright and filing in for food. I turn off my country music and turn on whatever it is they listen to as they brunch on the porch.
10:30 a.m.: The bake-fest is on. Despite the fact that we have a small kitchen and there are other rooms in the house, the bakers fill one half as they bake and mix and hand bowls and spoons around to be feasted upon, those not baking sit on the floor or on stools in the kitchen. I thread myself back and forth putting stuff away, cleaning a bit and making sure everyone has what they need. Several of the girls offer to help, which is nice. It's a great collection of girls. I love each of them. There's no champagne for them, but fancy glasses are always fun.
10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.: The music blares, there are stops for dance sessions. Among the pop chart music are bits of Phinneas & Ferb tunes like "Squirrels in my pants." They take breaks to watch videos. They sing. They pose. They eat the baked goods as if they haven't devoured three pounds of bacon, cereal, toast and fruit. We discuss Chinese food vs. Taco Bell for lunch.12:30 p.m.: I've retreated to table off the back porch and am about to order Chinese food. From the sound of things, they're back downstairs watching movies or possibly moving on to video games.
We'll see what happens next. I have to go get Chinese food now.
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