Matthew is 5!

Matthew's 5th birthday was a lot of fun. I can't believe it took me this long to put something on the blog. Getting ready for, going on, and unpacking from vacation was part of it. Matthew moved away from transportation themes (trains, fire trucks, trains again) of past birthdays and moved toward character themes. It was tense deciding between Wall-E, Buzz Lightyear, pirates, and The Magic School Bus. I think he wanted me to somehow combine aspects of all these. Perhaps an adventure on The Magic School Bus that explores space and runs into Buzz and Wall-E on the same planet and then takes to the seas and finds pirates. I tried, but had trouble imagining a cake that would incorporate all of this, so I decided to take him to the party store and let him hash out his ultimate desires. There wasn't any Buzz or Magic School Bus supplies to be had and this made things much easier. He likes space, which made Wall-E the clear winner.

Matthew had seen a movie at the Chabot Space and Science Center about kids that made a cardboard rocket ship in their yard and flew to different planets. He wanted to do this for his party. We decided to build one together and have all the kids get in and blast off to different planets. After arriving at each planet they played different games/activities. The kids seemed to like the "moon rocks" (a baking powder and water paste) the best, possibly because there was a little toy that was revealed after placing it into a "special solution" (vinegar) at the "space laboratory".

I was surprised at how difficult it was to find recycled cardboard, when you don't already have some in your garage. I called lots of local stores to no avail. When Home Depot told me to come at 6am to pick out pieces before they went in the crusher, I complied. However, once there I was denied because of liability worries...what if there was a hazardous material on the cardboard which caused harm. I bet they could find a few clean pieces. I went home blurry eyed and disappointed.

I finally met up with a guy who had a truck FULL of it in front of the local mall. It was here that I found myself negotiating with a cardboard dealer and realized there is a cardboard underground. I asked the nice man if I could just have a couple pieces. Silly me...he explained that it took him 8 hours to gather his truckload and he didn't want to do business with someone who only wanted this petty amount. I asked where I should go and he told me Home Depot!!! Sorry, tried it already.

He proceeded into the GNC and promptly came out with 3 boxes full of nicely broken down and folded cardboard. He obviously had a connection! I don't have relationships with stores, so I decided to be persistent with the middle man. I gathered up all my courage and approached him again and asked if he could please work something out with me. I used the same sad eyes Madeleine gives me when she wants something bad. He understood this face despite the fact that we spoke different languages. He wanted $5 for 2 of the GNC boxes of boxes. I showed him I only had $4 on me and he took it. Sweet success! A mother who wants to fulfill her child's birthday dreams will prevail in the end!

I think Matthew had a good day. I enjoyed watching them play. This is the first party where the kids have been old enough to really get into the games and use their imaginations. It's really fun to see them so delighted and joyful in their creative world. I'm very analytical and am mystified by their ability to fully immerse themselves.

The kids also liked coming back to earth and settling down for old fashioned baked mac and cheese and the quintessential party food...CAKE!

It's hard to believe how big Matthew is these days. It really does go fast. He enjoys learning and exploring. When he grows up he says he wants to have 2 jobs...a fire fighter and a scientist. He's hoping the CA fires are still burning when he's old enough to help. He also likes doing "experiments" like putting a crayon in the frig and seeing what happens. He wanted to see if it would blow up but it just got cold. He has learned lots of things about the digestive tract, bugs and space and will gladly talk at length with anyone who will listen. The other day we got a book at the library about weather systems. We learned so much together. Exciting times!