And then there were three...

Human Highlighter Suit Tally: 9

On Saturday, we celebrated Milo’s birthday—the third and final event—at the Barcelona Zoo.  We had initially given him the choice of inviting just a few friends or his entire class.  He was very clear that he wanted a small party, but then would come home from school each day saying, “I’d like to invite Mario, too.  And Daniela C.”  Until there were only three kids who were not invited, at which point we told him he needed to invite everyone.  Kindergartners talk about these things, you know, and we didn’t want anyone to feel left out.  When all was said and done, we had 17 kids—Milo, C.C., most of Milo’s class, and a couple of siblings.

I felt extremely grateful that we had decided to put the whole shebang into the hands of a third party.  We have done every other birthday for our kids at our own house, and in recent years the decibel level has become deafening, the wake of destruction left post-party, truly awesome.  I tend to the arts and crafts, and the food, while Alec takes care of the entertainment.  In fact, he is the entertainment.  He has orchestrated “Walk the Plank” at the Pirate Party, “Pin the horn on the triceratops” at the dinosaur party, and countless other activities.  Neither one of us felt the least bit sorry about having outsourced ourselves.  In fact, we had so completely let go of the whole thing that we completely forgot to put together goody bags for the kids.  I don’t think anyone noticed.

Even thought the day ended up being chilly with intermittent rain, the kids had a blast.  They made animal masks and then went out to one of the restaurant pavilions for sandwiches and cake—Milo had “Happy Birthday” sung to him in English, Spanish, Dutch, and Hebrew.  When we got to the lunch tables, we found two other birthday parties in progress.  It felt a little bit like those wedding factories out on Long Island, where they assure you you won’t see the other brides on your big day, but of course you do.  Milo didn’t seem to care.

After lunch, we all headed off to the dolphin show.  The kids got seats right up front, in the Splash Zone, and Milo got to go up onstage with the other celebrants to touch the dolphins and brush their teeth (see Video of the Week).  He loved it. 

Then we took a long walk around the zoo to visit Milo’s favorite animals—the hippos, the spider monkeys—dipping into the reptile area when it started to rain harder.  One kid wanted to go home, so Alec carried him for the rest of the party.  Another said her legs really hurt, so I ended up carrying her here and there, with breaks to rest my back.  But all in all it was a big success.

One of the practices at the kids’ school that I hope to bring home is that the kids contribute a small amount of money for one big present instead of everyone bringing their own gift.  It’s good for the birthday parents because you don’t end up with a pile of clutter.  And it’s good for the guests’ parents because they don’t have to race around buying and wrapping gifts every weekend.  Milo got a bike—fire engine red with flames on it.  Very cool.

After the party, Alec and C.C. went off to get C.C. a new fish, and I took Milo out on his new bike, to rent some videos for the rest of the weekend.  Alec and I had been invited to go out to dinner with another couple and we were very excited not only to be going out, but also to be going out with people over four feet tall whose palates stretch behind spaghetti and pizza.  In fact, we were going for Mexican food, which also made us happy.  We have been craving spice and tang.

Alec and C.C. had not yet returned when our canguro, Andrea, showed up.  She often brings one or both of her daughters when she babysits.  Jennifer, 10, is sparkly and smart, and very kind to our kids.  Yasmin, 5, is a bit of a minx, but of the endearing variety.  I ushered them in, and Jennifer presented me with a paper bag—a gift, she said.  It was squishy.  I opened the bag and found… a fish!  “Of course,” I thought.  Andrea the canguro is Sulma the house cleaner’s sister.  Sulma found Cyclone’s dead carcass and had told Andrea.  Too sweet.

Not 15 minutes later, C.C. returned home with the fish she had picked out.  So now we have three. Cyclone, Carolina—named by Jennifer, and C.C.’s fish, who has yet to be named.

And we had a lovely dinner in Gracia—good company, yummy food, a nice walk home.  It’s been a long time since I had three margaritas at one sitting and, although my head felt a little cottony on Sunday, I think it did me some good.