Party Time!

Between social distancing and everyone else jumping the gun on getting parties on the calendar now that things are loosening up a bit, we weren't sure when we were going to be able to fit in Jacob's birthday party.  We wanted to do things safely, but we also didn't want it to be like a couple years ago when we couldn't fit in a celebration until October due to multiple other events and busy schedules.  It ended up that my beloved family reunion at the beach got canceled, which was a double bummer because the camp is up for sale and could close permanently as a result, and the cancellation meant we wouldn't even have a chance to say good-bye this year.  But the good news was that it opened up a weekend on our schedule, and after some checking with family, we settled on this past Sunday.  On the bright side, it meant I'd have my last furlough week available to plan, clean, and shop as needed.  The bad news is that it meant my last furlough week would be busy in some not-fun ways, but as always, it's worth it for the kids to have their special day.

One of our issues leading up to the party was that it looked to be a very hot day, and with our patio trees gone, there was very little shade to be found in our yard.  We decided it would be wise to get a canopy, but reviews seemed very hit or miss, and most were quite expensive.  I finally found one that I was happy with, both in quality and price.  It looked like our local Super Walmart had it, so I stopped by after my allergy shot one morning, and apparently someone had just bought the last one a few minutes earlier!  Then I tried to order one online through my parents' Walmart, only to have the order canceled, presumably because they ran out before the order was fulfilled.  Then I tried again with the next closest Walmart to them that supposedly had five left when I ordered, and once again, it got canceled.  By this point I just needed to get one, regardless of the price, so I found one that had good reviews and was about $10 more at Lowe's, which I was finally able to go pick up--and while I was there I picked up some paint chips for our future kitchen update and fell in love with a solid surface countertop made of recycled glass!  Another decision for another day, though...

Leading up to the party, we'd talked about the cake a bit, and after looking at some Pinterest pictures, Jacob was happy with the idea of a jersey cake.  Last week when I visited my parents, their Super Walmart had a box of Pillsbury gluten-free yellow cake.  I knew we liked the consistency of the Pillsbury Funfetti cake, so I figured the yellow would be good, too.  Normally I use Betty Crocker (always one yellow, one chocolate), which always behaves well and tastes great, but we get frustrated when the leftover cake gets a little dry and dense, to the point you almost need ice cream to eat it.  I'd been pondering trying something else, so I bought the Pillsbury one, figuring that I know Target sells a King Arthur gluten-free chocolate cake, and we had a good experience with that once, so that would be my chocolate layer. 

Well, when I went to Target late in the week, they were out of stock.  Ugh.  So on Saturday, we took a family trip down to Henrietta.  We stopped at Target and FedEx, then made the trip more tolerable for us all by picking up happy hour Freezes for Craig and me at Taco Bell and some Dilly Bars to go at Dairy Queen.  Luckily, Target had the cake mix and a seasoning I needed for my rib rub, and all was well.  However, when I went to bake the cake that evening, I opened up the box to find an open bag!  There was a layer of mix on the bottom of the box, but it was also leaking out of the cracks in the box, too.  I had no way to know if it was safe, fresh, or of the right quantity to bake properly, so I knew I couldn't use it.  I started the other cake layer while I was trying to figure out my next move--either go to Wegmans and get the mix I normally use, or go back to that Target 20 minutes away and exchange it.  Neither option thrilled me, and I felt bad sending Craig back out.

Nonetheless, I finally decided to just hop in the car and take care of it myself.  I just wanted it done and over with, so I drove down to Henrietta again, exchanged the mix, and came home.  I was in a pretty terrible mood by that point, but as I drove, the sunset got more and more beautiful.

I decided maybe God knew I needed to see this one, so the cake mix debacle was just a way to make sure it happened.  It sure was beautiful, and it helped.

I baked the cake that night and managed to get it layered up before bed, in addition to some other early food prep that I knew I'd want to avoid in the morning.  I had until 3pm to get things ready, but that time always goes so fast, and this was no exception.  Once I was up and dressed, I pretty much worked straight through on one thing or another, including a macaroni salad, but mostly it was the cake (again).  But look how it turned out!

I know Jacob is a Raptors fan and all, but he does have favorite players that have played elsewhere in the league and I think he sometimes likes different jerseys and colors.  He currently has an appreciation for the Knicks, and since we'd already done a couple Raptors cakes, I wasn't complaining about the color palette change--especially when I realized I could buy the blue frosting and the orange would work for the ball, too!  Of course, I had second thoughts once I tried to mix up the right orange color!  That was a bit of a challenge since it hung out in the peach realm for a while.  But I finally got it right! 

Jacob's face when he saw it done was pretty priceless.  He seemed genuinely surprised how cool it turned out.  We had a little debate previously on the striping on the sides (because the pic I used looked different from one Jacob knew of), but in the end I think it turned out pretty great.  And I got to use my ball cake pan again--I think that's four and counting now, though never with the full sphere!

The party ended up being a pretty small affair.  I didn't invite my extended family initially, although usually only one or two of them come anyway.  I figured with distancing, and not being sure of the weather (and not wanting a ton of people inside), and with family parties coming up the next two weekends, it may be overkill.  But then the weather was going to be nice, and over the course of the week Craig's brother's family had sports come up, so it was just going to be the grandparents and maybe my cousin Lori and her boyfriend, since she's Jacob's godmother and they live close.  I did send a last minute message to the aunts and uncles and one other cousin who has come in the past, but no luck.  In the end Lori and her man stopped in and it was fun to chat while food was cooking and my mom was in the pool with the kids.  But it was definitely a limited group, which I felt bad about because I know Jacob likes having his cousins here to play basketball.  Regardless, we feasted on Instant Pot ribs (my new fave shortcut meal), hot dogs, deviled egg mac salad, broccoli rice casserole, salad, and fruit.  Then it was time to dig into the cake!

Twelve candles is a lot!  I need to buy more for next year!

In the age of COVID, apparently blowing out candles is a no-no, so Jacob tried waving them out.

Then he tried clapping, also to no avail--until Grandpa came in with a better technique!

Now that Jacob's older, it appears that the fun stack of presents at parties is a thing of the past.  He got one present from Craig's parents a few weeks back, and had to wait until his party for the other one from them.  Besides that, it was just a couple cards with money!  Of course, he was no less happy!

Yes, another different team.  At least the name on the back of this one is a guy who played for the Raptors at one point!

In the end, it was a great day and I think Jacob appreciated the effort.  After everyone left, I did a bunch of cleanup before joining the boys for an evening swim.  It was definitely a tiring day but worth it to give Jacob the celebration he deserved--even if we were down a few family members. 

And with that, my summer of furloughs came to an end.  I'm now back to working at home for the foreseeable future.  I suppose it will be good to get back in the groove and try to find my new normal, but I will definitely miss the freedom of those five weeks off.  Now I need to navigate the challenges of keeping my focus while the kids are throwing multiple distractions my way.  It's currently involving way too much screen time for them (stupid Fortnite in particular), and me being jealous when they get to go in the pool.  Hard to believe in about six weeks the kids will be starting school--whatever that will look like.  Currently it's two days in school and three at home for Carter.  I'm nervous, but I'm hoping that the two days in school will be a good motivator for the three days he's home.  I think being at home this spring took him fully out of his element and he lost sight of what he was supposed to be doing and why.  But if he has that reminder twice a week, hopefully that will help keep him focused and appreciative of his home time the rest of the week.  I'd be lying if I wasn't nervous about him getting sick (or bringing something home to us), but I think it's a risk we need to take right now.  At least our local numbers are still low.  As for Jacob, we found out last night that he'll be starting school under a normal model, but obviously with a lot of new protocols, including masks and distancing.  He's pretty disappointed, mostly because going back to uniforms every day doesn't thrill him.  But the school confidently feels they can distance properly (whereas our district simply doesn't have the space), so normal it is.  Well, at least the house will be a little quieter come fall so I might be able to focus.  I don't know that Craig and I will know what to do with ourselves alone two days a week, but I'm looking forward to figuring it out!  I'm not looking forward to being more vulnerable to the virus, of course, but the free-for-all in this house is pretty exhausting right now.  A little more routine might do us all good.  But we still have a lot of weeks before we find out, so hopefully we can still find ways to embrace the rest of summer despite my work schedule and the gentle restart of basketball, which is happening this weekend!  More on that soon, I'm sure!