Birthday Parties & The Drop Off

I have a post percolating in my head about how the school year is going thus far. Overall, I'm really excited to see all resources that they are making available to the kids this year. We've been taking advantage of many of those things. The possibilities are quite`exciting.

We have been in birthday party overload. Since school started, we have had a birthday party to attend every weekend. With Jami in school now too, it's a new chapter regarding birthday parties.

In the past, most of the parties have been to were where the whole class was invited. The classes, for the most part, were the same group every year. You really get to know the other families that way. Up until this year, most parents stayed, Jami (the younger sibling) was a welcomed & expected guest. At the end of last year, I noticed an increasingly number of parents starting to drop kids off. This year, the school split up all of the previous classes, so everyone is meeting new sets of friends & families. There are (in the upper grades) no class parties & invitations are handed out discreetly or outside of school).

Our first birthday party this season was at a fun restaurant & even though it was a friend of Lindsi's, we have known this family a very long time & Jami was also invited. I stayed, along with a few other parents & family friends.

The second party was for a classmate of Jami's. It was at a gymnastic center. We have hosted a birthday party there before & I know it is all based on head count. This is a new crowd for us. There were some younger siblings there, but I dropped Lindsi with her grandparents that day, so I could take Jami & stay. Nearly all the parents stayed.

Our next party was for a friend of Lindsi's. An afternoon pool party. I thought, perfect.....I will drop Lindsi off & pick her up later. As the date drew near, & I advised Lindsi of my plans, there was a major panic on Lindsi's part. She can not hear when she's swimming, how is she going to communicate, please come mommy, please...please!! I know the mother, talked with her, & she was perfectly fine with me coming, staying, & bringing Jami. 2 other mothers' stayed, there were about 25 kids, so I found plenty to do, which eased my guilt for crashing the party & also helped the mom enjoy some of the festivities.

This week Lindsi has been invited to a slumber party. It is for one of her best friends. I'll have to drop her off, because I have somewhere else to be. I am almost positive though that Lindsi will NOT want to spend the night. Playdates for us are still pretty much adults visiting while the kids play.

Neither of my girls like to be left anywhere. I sit through dance classes & soccer practice (mostly because we live too far for me to drive back & forth). Many people tell me this time is coming to an end, but I really do not see it happening anytime soon.