After Alanna’s last birthday party and me cleaning cheeto fingerprints off of almost every wall in my house, I had decided it would be a while before I hosted another birthday party inside my home. So, we sent out the invites for Sebastian’s 3rd birthday party and planned it at a nearby park. I was very excited about having the party at a park and not having to worry about the disaster my house is in after a kid’s birthday party. (Those of you that know me well know that I have a near anxiety attack if my house is in disarray.) Sebastian was very excited to have his party at “blue park” as my kids refer to our park.
Fast forward to the morning of his party. I awake at 5:00 am to thunder and rain. My heart begins racing, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!” It can’t rain today. It has been beautiful weather all week, please not today. Oh, but yes, it rained that day. In fact, it rained ALL MORNING and most of the afternoon. 😦 Thankfully my parents were at my home that morning and we all chipped in and performed a “white tornado” through the house. I searched the internet for coloring pages and broke out the playdough. I covered the carpet in the living room and the coffee table with the plastic tablecloths I had purchased for the picnic tables. It was going to be a great party. The kids began arriving and Sebastian was so excited. The rain no longer matter and no matter the mess I had to clean up afterwards was worth the sparkle in his eyes and watching him play with his friends.
The next morning was his actual birthday. We got up that morning to see that it was still raining, despite the weather forcast of sun and high of 80. Sebastian had picked pancakes for breakfast that morning so we went to IHOP. He had chocolate pancakes with lots of whip cream. He thought that was the best thing ever. Since it was still raining, we decided to forgo the park and head over to Bass Pro Shop. Never once did he complain. He thought it was the best thing ever. I again learned a lesson from my children: find happiness in what you are doing. They both had a great time playing on the boats, looking at the fish, and riding the elevators. I began to wonder what happens to that happiness in small things as you get older?
That afternoon, the rain stopped and the sun came out. It turned out to be a beautiful day! Sebastian got a bicycle for his birthday, so he and Alanna got their bikes out and we rode them up and down the sidewalk in front of our house. It was the best part of the weekend. 
After that, we let Sebastian pick out his birthday dinner. BIG surprise, he aksed for McDonald’s. 🙂
So, despite the rain, my son had a wonderful 3rd birthday and we had a wonderful family day.
Harris Happenings 