B DAY

Today is B DAY.  The Big Day, aka Munchkin's first birthday.  The guests have been invited.  The food has been bought.  The cake has been made.  We have even been for our morning walk in the gloriously cool, sunshiny morning. 
Munchkin is happily oblivious to all the fuss.  Currently, he sits on my lap, alternately crunching an interesting sounding bag, banging on the desk with a pen, pulling things out of the drawers or trying to play with my laptop (by far the most interesting occupation of them all, of course).  It's a good thing my arms are still longer than his...for a few years at least!
Last night was a bit of a mission.  Having just completed 8 hours of housework between Thursday and Friday, I was a bit beat.  I am no slouch, and I have this thing with dust which means that once I start cleaning it I feel like I have to get it ALL.  Now anyone who has ever looked closely at their home will realise that this is a totally impossible, unpractical,  and irrationally silly concept when it comes to dust.  There is dust on chair legs, behind desks, on the backs of couches.  You name it and there will be dust on it.  I have a love-hate relationship with the nifty little duster attachment on my vacuum cleaner.  I love being able to use it instead of having to dust everything with a cloth (plus you can get at dust you'd never get with a cloth - like on cane chairs or cushions), but I hate having to lug the vacuum cleaner around and listen to it whine.  Anyway, I digress.  I seem to be rather good at digressing!  What I was trying to say is that my whole body aches.  I've also not had a lot of sleep due to Munchkin's ongoing teething/leaking nappies/who on earth knows what this time episodes at night.  So the fact that we have food and a cake is more than a minor miracle. 
"Not in your mouth, Munchy!" (He was just eating my eraser!). 
He helped me get a few things before dinner time, which Boyo made last night.  Then after Munchkin was in bed, I headed out again to get the rest.  I must have spent fully 15 minutes trying to choose the meat.  And it is not like I didn't know what I wanted! 
Then when I got home Boyo and I put the cake together.  Boyo was predominantely employed as creative artist and moral support.  "It looks great.  You're doing a good job.  Honest, that's fine.  It's much better than I would have done.  It doesn't have to be perfect you know.  Well, you're learning as you go, so just remember this for next time."  And so on.  He is very good at reminding me that life does not have to be perfect!    Every perfectionist needs someone to bring them back to reality.  My reality being that my son is only 1, and does not notice that the cake had a few icing issues because it is Mummy's first attempt at a proper birthday cake.  As long as there are photos to prove there was a cake, he is so not going to care.  And I should feel proud that I made him a cake.  His card is somewhat haphazard (so not happy with it, but haven't had time to have another attempt), and he might not have a birthday present yet (another long story of hours of research and we can't afford what we want to get and things just haven't worked out to have things sorted by the big day).  But he DOES have a cake, made by his parents with a lot of love, a few laughs, lots and lots of icing (because lots of icing hides lots of mistakes), and some very bleary eyes.
The cake spent the night in the craft cupboard.  This being what we considered the safest place to avoid disaster via our recently arrived resident field mouse...we think it is mouse proof.  This morning the cake was fine, so I guess we must be right!
So, the day is here.  This time last year Munchkin was sleeping peacefully in his bed in a corner of the room.  I was being transfused and you don't want to know the rest.  I am just glad I do not have to relive that day.  And so glad to have my gorgeous son!  We have survived his first year!  He is alive, well, and loved.  We are (mostly) sane, sometimes not tired (okay, so I'm lying!), and eternally grateful to have Munchkin in our lives.  Let the festivities begin!

Amy