Loving... NOT Loving... Party Prep

(Behind the Scenes of the Wacky Wheels Party)

LOVING My Little Helper
This girl is my bestest helper ever. She sweeps the concrete, pulls weeds and scrubs toy trucks with a big smile on her face. It's so much more fun doing party prep with Miss Fab helping out.

LOVING Baking with The Boy
This guy helped me bake the Birthday Cake. It had been a long day, I was knackered. The last thing I wanted to do was wrangle kids into bed (so I didn't). They were watching TV after 7pm while I prepared to bake. Then my big boy spotted me dragging out the ingredients.

"Oooh! Can I help??" he begged. Sure why not?? It's always more fun doing stuff together.

I loved baking the cake with the Big Boy. He loved licking the spoon.

NOT Loving Cleaning the Oven
I heard somewhere that a great way to make a train cake "engine" was to bake it in a lined tin can. Sounded easy to me.

I lined a bean tin with baking paper. I filled it up with cake batter and stuck it in the oven... before long there was a funny burning smell... I opened the oven to a rush of black smoke. To my horror I had overfilled the bean tin. The cake had risen (duh!) and was spilling out right onto the element. So mid-bake I had to turn off the oven, pull out the racks, and clean the darn oven (trying not to burn myself). Sigh. Oh well, I guess the oven was due a clean.

LOVING Community Cupcakes
On the day before the party (Scrag's actual birthday) I'd planned to meet some girlfriends with our kids down at the local Beach for coffee and a play. But the weather was blustery and showery, so I stuck my hand up and said, "Come over here! we've got Hire Toys..."

Of course it was mess and mayhem, but how nice to have lovely friends for coffee on a special day. And even nicer, how great that they rolled up their sleeves and help me ice the cupcakes. A batch of cupcakes shared is a batch of icing halved. Thanks Gail and Justine! You rock (and there wasn't a single cupcake left over after the party - they were a big hit!)

NOT Loving Feijoa Soup
Er, well actually, I am kinda loving Feijoa Soup. What the heck is that??? I hear you ask.
Well it's what our daughters made in the garden while the mummies were icing cupcakes! Mushed up feijoas and water stirred with love into a soupy gloop. Hilarious.

They thought it was delicious. I actually tasted it (brave I know) and it wasn't too foul. The worst bit was when Miss Fab thought she'd do the right thing and "clean up" i.e. throw it out onto the concrete behind a plant pot. Ugh! At least she was the one who scooped it up and deposited in the right place (after some "encouragement" from me, of course!)

NOT Loving Accidents
Splitting your ear open on the day of your party and having to get stitches is not fun. My poor little guy. He slept and slept. The first guests arrived and he slept on. We had to wake him up. Awwww. But he still had fun. He's such a little star. LOVING my two-year-old.

LOVING Fun with Chalk
I soooo enjoyed marking out the "roads". It was like being a kid again. Fun times.

NOT Loving The Cleanup
That's right. The mess. The crumbs, the mushed up ground in leftovers and sticky puddles of spilt juice. The endless bowls caked with coloured icing and piles of baking tins waiting to be washed...

LOVING that my husband did the dishes. And put away the gear. And mowed the lawns. And trimmed the hedge. And finished the treehouse. And wore a silly orange vest. And pumped petrol. And made kids laugh. Thanks babe. You are awesome. I know you are at times so over my hard-out party-making... but hey, don't we have a blast? Don't the kids just love it?? Isn't all the fun worth it??? I know you think so deep down. Next Party: July for Miss Fab's Sixth! xx


Click here for the Wacky Wheels Party