First things first: look! New pictures of the wee one!

Now that's out of the way....Madalyn's party is now but a memory so it's time to chronicle the event.

The shindig was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Of course we kept with our family tradition of leaving way too much stuff for the last minute so we were running around like maniacs all day long (I still had towel on my head from my shower when guest started arriving). I about worked poor Robert to death but we did manage to get everything, decorating included, done before anyone arrived and that's more than I can say for her party last year.

Th theme was "Movie Night". I borrowed 12 folding chairs from our church and we set them up in rows in our living room, in front of the telly. I had a "red carpet" runner that I ran down the center "aisle". Out front, at the curb, I had a sign in the lawn that said "Celebrity Parking, Tonight Only" and then I tied red and black balloons to the porch railings. Inside I had door curtains that said "Movie Night" at the top and had reels of film, tickets and stars hanging from them, one on each door leading out of the living room. We had various cardboard cutouts on the wall and a banner that said "Hollywood" on the mantel.

In the kitchen I covered our table and put a Movie Night centerpiece and silver star confetti on it and used that to hold the matching plates and napkins. Then we set up our counter as a snack bar. We had different kinds of soda and cups with lids and straws. For food we popped popcorn and put it in red and white popcorn bags. We had a variety pack of candy bars, a variety pack of single-serving Pringles and a huge bag of Skittles. When someone wanted Skittles we used a small ladle to scoop some into little black plastic top hats. I bought play money and gave each kid a $5 bill. Everything at the snack bar was $1 each and they'd pay for however many things they got and we'd give them change. We did cupcakes (cream-filled chocolate with buttercream icing) instead of a cake.

For the first part of the party everyone just ran around and had fun playing in Madalyn's room and outside. Our electric keyboard, which sits on a step in the sun room, was a hit. (You never know what's going to interest kids!) In all my running around that morning I had forgotten one key element -- the movie! -- so Robert went out to get it, and pick up the pizzas, just as kids started to arrive. I meant to call ahead for the pizzas but got sidetracked and didn't so he had to order them and wait for them there. I worried that it might make us run long (the party was due to end at 8:00) but it actually worked out well. He got back, they ate and got done just about the time we needed to start the movie.

The movie was "Meet the Robinsons". We chose this because it was just released on DVD last week and it wasn't in the theater here that long so we figured most kids wouldn't have seen it. What I didn't count on was the distraction factor. You put all those kids together in a house full of toys they've never seen before and they are going to have a hard time concentrating on a movie. I don't think there was any kid who watched more than 30 minutes, total, of the film. There were two or three sitting and watching it at any given time but then they'd wander off and be replaced by some others. The important thing, though, is that everyone was enjoying him/herself, so I wasn't too fussed about it.

Toward the end of the movie we did presents and then handed out cupcakes and goody bags just as parents were starting to arrive. We had told Madalyn that she could ask her good friend from school to stay over. She and her sister both wanted to stay and I said it was okay so Madalyn had her first sleepover! Madalyn and her friend passed out about 12:15.

We ended up having 11 kids total (counting Madalyn and JZ). It was a good number. They ranged in age from 4-9. There were two different factions -- friends she knows from her class at school and friends we know from church or preschool days. The school classmates all know each other, of course, and then the church/preschool kids all know each other so there was no one that was odd man out because they didn't know anyone. There was one boy who came and then a little girl from JZ's preschool class so he was happy, too, because he had people to play with.

Madalyn had a great time and I'm thrilled that it seemed to be a resounding success. After her party last year (when only two of ten invited girls showed up) I was a little gun-shy but I think I had the right idea this year about inviting people whose parents I know. Last year we invited mostly kids from her class, none of whose parents I knew and I just don't think they were motivated to make the effort to come.

For her actual birthday, on Sunday, we kept it low-key. Her friends weren't picked up till after noon. Then we opened presents and Robert took her and JZ to his dad's house to eat. About 5:00 I went to pick up a cake and took it over there. I don't think Robert and I could have survived much more than that after all the work we put in on the party.

If anyone would like to see pictures (they are mostly of the decorations) you may find some here.

JZ: Hee hee! I'm holding the baby!

Eliza: Mother, I'd like to take a moment to point out to you that you have entrusted my body and my well-being to a child who will literally stand on top of an object he is supposed to be locating and scream, "I DON'T SEE IT!" despite your continued strenuous efforts to convey to him that it's right under your feet, John-Zachary, just look down! DOWN, DAMMIT! Also I am not entirely convinced that he doesn't forget his own name from time to time. Please rectify this situation AT ONCE or I may be forced to contact the authorities. Or Grandma.

My father may well disown me if he hears about this but I think he's been looking for a reason to do that for years. (Note to my mother: don't give him the satisfaction. In other words, ix-nay on the elling-tay).

I will admit; the first problem we had with this van was not the van's fault. (I ran over an object in the road which bounced up, puncturing the gas tank.) Nonetheless, it was out of my possession for two weeks while being repaired, which most definitely falls under the heading of Not Convenient. Plus I wonder if the problem would've occurred at all if it had been another make of car. After all, they can't ALL have the gas tanks located in a place where they can easily be punctured. And it's not like a ran over a water buffalo or something. It was a flat object that I just happened to tick with the tire and, presto, burst gas tank.

There then followed some relatively minor issues that were still a pain in the butt to have fixed (i.e. seatbelt coming unscrewed from mooring, bad battery cable, etc.) Very soon after that I went out one day, inserted the key, and it wouldn't turn. I tried; Robert tried. The key would not turn for love or money. It was late at night and I was facing the prospect of having to call first thing in the a.m. to have it towed.

In desperation I came in and Googled the problem. Come to find out this is a known issue with Daimler-Chrysler vehicles. In nearly all cases the key can be made to function again properly by giving it a shot with your hand, a screwdriver, or the like, punching it deeper into the keyhole. I tried this and, sure enough, the key turned. Apparently for some people this is all the further the problem ever goes but for others it quits working entirely, forcing them to replace some expensive part in the steering wheel which isn't even guaranteed not to have the same problem. So far (knock wood) my problem is limited to the occasional sticky key. I whack it and we are good to go. But still. The company knows about this issue but can't be bothered to do anything about it. They'd rather sell you the car and let it be your problem.

So, fine, I can live with all of this, questionable business ethics aside. Then came Sunday. We tried to start the van for church. It turned over but would not catch. We noticed the gauges weren't working. Then we got a "no bus" message in the odometer readout. We left it alone for a while. Later that afternoon Robert got it started. I took it to Walmart, where it died on me in the parking lot as I was coasting to a stop -- but it started right back up again. Once again I turned to Dr. Google and read all sorts of horror stories about expensive computer problems and Dodge mechanics who'd never even seen the "no bus" message before. So I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when I stopped by the Dodge dealership yesterday and the guy in the repair shop told me it sounded like I needed a new battery. Uh, yeah, sure....that makes sense. Oh, and they couldn't get me in till next week, either. So there I went, on my merry way, hoping my car didn't stall out in the middle of an intersection.

When we left for Madalyn's soccer practice last night it didn't start on the first try but did on the second. Ditto that when we headed to school this morning. But then afternoon rolled around and I tried to leave with Eliza for her doctor's appointment. Zero, zip, zilch. Nada. I tried for twenty minutes before throwing in the towel and calling AAA. The beast has now been towed to the local repair shop (NOT the Dodge dealership). Oh yeah, and the tow truck driver? He diagnosed it as a computer problem within five minutes, just by testing the fuses under the hood. Those are some well-trained experts down there at the Dodge dealership, let me tell you.

Now, yes, this is all going to be fixed, so what am I complaining about? Well, how about the cost, for one. New computers, I read, cost upwards of a thousand bucks. Then there's the labor, not to mention the fact that I'm probably going to have to rent a frigging car because my husband (possessor of our second vehicle) is gone until Thursday night and then will be gone again as of Monday morning, long before, I'm sure, the van will be fixed. And then there's the principle of the whole thing. Dodge, from what I read online, knows of this problem. Dodge Durangos suffering this problem have a history of dying as they are being driven down the highway. But Dodge will not issue a recall. Apparently they are waiting for an entire family to be killed to take this seriously. I just can't be okay with those kinds of ethical deficiencies. Yes, all big corporations are bastards. I know that. But I'm dealing with this particular bastard and I'm not enjoying it. I see no reason to continue to do so in the future if I don't have to. Perhaps I can find another company whose crap business practices don't affect me quite as much.

So, if anyone from Dodge is reading and you can't figure out why your company is going bankrupt? This would be it. Make a shitty product and people eventually catch on and quit buying. You'd think after all this time someone would've figured that out. In closing I have one piece of advice for my readers: buy imports.

I only wish Toyota made a conversion van.

Grab a napkin and some butter because this baby is positively edible! I'm not sure whether to start at the tummy or the chubby little drumsticks.

Nom nom nom nom......

What is with old ladies' obsession about babies' feet, specifically whether or not said feet are encased in socks?

I was approached in the grocery yesterday by a nice older lady. The first words out of her mouth were, "Her feet look cold!", a comment which left me looking perplexedly at Eliza's feet, trying to figure out how the devil she could tell. Eliza's toes were not blue; nor were they the telltale black of dead, frostbitten flesh. They were normal, pink, chubby baby feet (that I want to butter, salt and eat for lunch because they are so cute, but that's another entry).

I could understand if the temperature outside was in the forties or fifties or, heck, even the sixties. But time of year matters not to little old ladies. In a perfect world there would be nary a naked baby toe in all the land, on any day of the year. "It's 97 degrees outside!" I protest. Yes, they acknowledge, then wag their fingers at me: but the air conditioning is on in here. "I know, and it probably feels good -- because it's 97 degrees outside!!!" Alas, my argument falls on deaf ears -- mainly because their hearing aid batteries have died, which is why they are at the store in the first place.

I suppose this is an issue on which we must agree to disagree. Perhaps at some future date the little old ladies will realize we are not raising a generation of consumptives, despite modern mothers' foolhardy refusal to mummify our baby's feet. Or perhaps a study may be published that shows a strong correlation between increased juvenile delinquency and a failure to sport appropriate footwear in infancy. Then the little old ladies can nod knowingly and mutter, "We told you so!" at us in the shops and, before you know it, I and my generation will be those little old ladies, patrolling retail establishments everywhere to admonish young mothers of sockless babes.

Note to future self: remember to also ask why baby isn't wearing a hat.

I'm here, I swear! Don't give up on me!