Not Quite the Birthday We Had Planned.

As you all know, Tori turned one on Saturday. We had planned to make it quite the event. The celebration we had put together involved a seven hour car ride, the presence of most of our nearest and dearest, lots and lots of presents and a cake made from scratch by her grandma's loving hands.

But you know that thing they say about life? About how it's what happens when you're making other plans? Yeah. Well, life happened this weekend.

Friday dawned, warm and sunny. But instead of getting the early start we had envisioned, Brian had to go to work for a couple of hours. In the meantime, I was supposed to pack up the car and be ready to go the minute he got home at 10 a.m.

Tori had other plans, and when the appointed hour came, I was anything but ready. But that was okay, because Brian was nowhere in sight. 10:30 came and went. Then 10:45. By the time Brian finally called, my face was beet red from the steam I had built up inside.

Steam I was prepared to let loose in a scathing harangue when I picked up the phone. But before I could start, Brian said, "Guess what? I just got in an accident."

Turns out, his car was in the middle of a three car pileup. Everyone was okay, but by the time we got everything straightened out, it was far too late to head to Michigan.

I had just resigned myself to celebrating her first birthday alone, with just the three of us, when my mom called. No way no how was she missing her granddaughter's first birthday. So instead, she informed me, they would come to us.

The hour was 5:30 p.m. My house was a disaster. We had no food. And Tori? Well Tori had no presents. Or cake. Or anything necessary to celebrate a birthday.

Needless to say, some miracles needed to happen. And quickly.

Thanks to Walmart (yes, it is the seat of the evil empire. but sometimes it's awfully handy), we remedied the present-less, cake-less situation, and filled a cart up with food. I even bought an awesome cake mold to make a giant cupcake.

When Friday ended, I was feeling pretty good.

Then, on Saturday, I woke up with a migraine.

Tori woke up with a new tooth coming through.

I forgot to grease the  pan, so my beautiful cake was ruined.

Tori threw up all over the cute little dress I had picked out for her to wear.

Then the cat threw up on a pile of clean laundry.

Then the toilet brush turned up missing.

There were tears. A lot of tears. And Brian was in no mood to deal with any of us.

It had the makings of a disaster.

But, somehow, everything got done. The house, while still not quite spotless, became presentable.

The second cake (not in the cute pan), looked edible.

And my parents arrived with kisses and hugs for everybody, and a boatload of presents.

Smiles were found. Until...

Brian realized he had forgotten the meat for the hamburgers at the store. There was no dinner.

But you know what? That's why God invented takeout.

Tori had Olive Garden for her first birthday dinner. Then she opened a few of her presents, even playing with them for a while before turning to the boxes they came in.

Happy Birthday was sung (although Tori screamed through the whole thing). And cake was eaten with great relish by young and old alike (no one seemed to notice it lacked the adorable shape of a giant cupcake).

Oh, and I got my champagne.

All in all, it turned out to be a very good first birthday party, even if it wasn't what we had planned. But that's life for you. It always seems to work out in the end.

Hopefully I'll remember that when the birthday insanity hits next year.

A First Birthday Gift Conundrum.

As I may have mentioned a time or two hundred, Tori's going to turn one soon. Which means that various relatives and friends are asking me what she'd like for her birthday.

The thing is, I really don't know what she wants. I mean, I'm not sure she even knows it's her birthday. So I asked her. And you know what? She did have opinions.

So here it is. Tori's Birthday List (as interpreted by me).

A Swing Set.

Now, I was thinking about getting her a little something like this...

But she says all the cool kids have Sky Forts (peer pressure starts early). She wants one like this...

I told her she'll need to find new parents first (this set is a little too rich for our blood).

A sand box.

Now that seems pretty doable. I thought this one (with its own little wading pool) would do nicely.

But no. She wants something a little more like this...

I told her that might be a little beyond our budget this year. So next she tells me she wants...

A pony.

Since she can't even walk yet, I assumes she means a rocking horse. Like this.

But no. She saw Hannah Montana riding one like this, so nothing else will do.

I told her I'd get working on that "searching for my real parents" ad for her.

Crossing her arms in a huff, she asked me if she could at least have...

A swimsuit.

I thought that was a great idea. So I showed her this adorable number from Gymboree.

Turns out that my baby girl only wants designer clothing this summer. Her choice? A stylish one piece from Dolce and Gabbana.

I laughed and told her the only designer labels she would be wearing are those from Target.

Hearing this, she threw one of her signature temper tantrums for about two minutes. And afterwards? She told me all she really wanted was a day with her grandparents, lots of hugs and kisses, and maybe a new set of measuring cups to chew on.

That, I said, makes sense. After all, what more does a one-year-old need?