All At Once

We've already talked about theses issues: summer heat, bending over and knocking the baby with the knees, worry, multi-tasking, and feeling like a heifer.Well, all these things conspired to hit me all at once today.

It was a busy day...my daughter's school bbq and her birthday party. The parents have raised the bar and I knew I needed a stellar presentation for her cake ceremony. The cake we made last night, the Dora princess castle, remained intact overnite, thank goodness. The gift bags were all lined up ready to go. The decorations and party favors were sitting in a large shopping bag ready to go by the door. My daughter needed to look her best, almost as if she were attending her first communion or coming of age party. Her hair needed to be special. Jewelry, birthday accessories, and finger nail polish all intact? Check. The dress? We had one dress that hadn't been worn this summer, stuck to the side because it has pineapples and oranges on the front. It is yellow, orange and green in color. Not my daughter's favorite colors. She has been avoiding it for a very long time. I had to muster all my negotiating skills to get her to wear it. Everything else was dirty. I guess I had forgotten that detail called...doing the laundry.

Indeed, it was truly a miracle that by 8:40AM the fruit dress was donned and my daughter had all her paraphanalia in place. Off we went to school. Later I had to double back and make a salad I had volunteered to bring to the bbq. The day was quickly reaching 90 degrees. Luckily we live two blocks from the school. I still managed to work up a sweat and start waddling like the oversized goose I had become.

Oops, we were moving the cake celebration to before the lunch as things were way behind. Back home to fetch the cake and ice cream. But before that I had to quickly get the table ready. Two teacher's aides came to my rescue and had it decorated fit for a professional party in no time. I blew up six balloons and taped them to the table and dashed (I mean waddled) home for the goods. Oh, the cake was heavy and I had to get it rapidly into the air conditioned classroom before the spires melted off.  Bending down to take pictures got my baby hit by my knees and crunched in two a few times. No good. I had to stand straight. Might as well have a piece of cake and a scoop of ice cream.  Another scoop.  Oh no, here comes the heifer. Is my baby all right after all that running around?  I've got to clean this mess up then get my daughter home for a much needed nap. But, wait, she had her heart set on two helium princess balloons that I promised she could get. This one last task before we could both collapse for naps required us to walk in the heat to the 99 cents store and cross a busy intersection. I could do it. And I salute all pregnant 40-something moms before me and with me who walk that walk.