We'll Laugh About This Later... Ok, why wait?

So, in recent weeks, Alicia has complained of stomach pains.  And, it didn’t occur to me that we’ve been down that path before until her pediatrician declared constipation as the culprit and prescribed more fiber to regulate her system. 

Yes! It’s all coming back to me now…  The cycle: Alicia eats nothing but junk for about 6 months.  Her tummy starts to hurt.  Then her tummy hurts daily.  Then her tummy hurts at the mere mention of food.  Then we figure out she hasn’t had a bowel movement in 3 days…  We let her eat some Fiber One bars (one a day), and PRESTO! Like magic, she’s cured! The gears start churning again, and we start the cycle all over again.  Easy peasy.

The problem is, too much of a good thing (i.e., the magic Fiber One bars), is DEFINITELY too much.  At some point, we will hopefully figure out where we cross over from the magic to the tragic well ahead of the actual crossing.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this time around….

Pan to:  THE LUAU.

About 50-60 mom hours of preparation went into throwing the most awesome Luau birthday party on the planet!  We held it at our church yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. For the most part, everything went according to plan.  I had lists to coordinate my lists on how each little Nutter Butter Flip Flop and flower lei was going to happen.  Origami flowers were made.  The 3-tier cake was stacked.  Fruit was filleted and pierced with bamboo skewers. Virgin piña coladas were poured. Hula music was downloaded and playing festively throughout the church-turned-beachfront.  Ahhh, this is going well! 

<<<<sound of scratching record being ripped from turntable>>>

Pan to:  THE BATHROOM SCENE

We have now come to the moment in our story where we cross from the magic to the tragic.

That’s right.  The “too much of a good thing” prophecy has now joined the party.  Literally.

Without getting into the gory details, suffice to say Alicia and I spent a good (ok, not good) half hour doing some mother/daughter bonding in the bathroom… The sort of bonding only a mother is willing to endure.  Tess suddenly found herself corralling 15 girls into playing 25 rounds of “Pass the Coconut” and “Hula Hoop 4-Square” while the girls kept asking “where’s Alicia?”.  And, Stephen made a mad dash to Walmart for a hasty wardrobe change for the birthday girl.

Crisis averted.  Okay, if not averted, then at least overcome.  Alicia rejoins the party.  Gifts are opened, cake is consumed.  Party guests depart with armloads of loot, leis, and cocoa butter.  All’s well that ends well!

The moral of the story: Eat more broccoli!

If you’d like to see additional photos from the best luau birthday party EVER, please follow this link.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150542876663159.389221.523908158&type=3&l=707c9b004d