The last week before Lucas turns 3

Last weekend was crazy! On Friday evening we went to a potluck at one of the professors of the South East Asia Department - fantastic Thai and Vietnamese food everywhere! Before we started eating there were a few speeches in which time Lucas managed to scoff half a chocolate cake and 4 chocolate chip cookies. He looked great covered in chocolate but it took a DVD and the watchful eye of some older children to calm him down again. Saturday morning Lucas was invited to a third birthday party at the Madison Children's Museum, a place I had only been to once when it had been free entry Sunday and it was sheer hell. On a sunny Saturday morning it was much more pleasant, and then we went into the party room and had cake. Lucas still doesn't get the concept that not all birthdays are about him and so he was blowing out the candles before they were even lit - fortunately his friend didn't mind. In the afternoon it was Family Day Picnic in a local park, organised by Lucas' preschool. There was a huge table covered with dishes - Lucas made a beeline for the chocolate cake again - and fortunately one of his friend's parents had had the foresight and intelligence to bring a case of beer - this woman is of Dutch descent but I think that is circumstantial to the presence of alcohol in her coolbox. After hanging out on a quilt in the park drinking beer the last thing I felt like doing was going for Indian food - but that was next on the agenda. I met up with some colleagues for dinner, Lucas had fallen asleep in the car and had to be woken up and the combination of sugar and lack of sleep made him very challenging (as the books call it, I have a different word for it GRRRRRR) but in the end we had a nice time though after 24 hours of parties I left swearing never to eat again! Sunday morning Lucas slept really late so the day was half gone by the time we got going and I decided to bounce off some of his energy I'd take him to the Trampoline and Bouncy castle gym, he was very excited about going "jump jump" but sadly when we got there I realised it was closed due to an athletics competition. I had to think on my feet to come up with an acceptable Plan B and so we went to the mingolf place I had been keen on trying out. It was hilarious, the place itself really fun and well-equipped, Lucas totally uninterested in the golf. He spent an hour picking up golf balls and throwing them in the little stream that runs through the course, and I spent an hour apologising for this and retrieving people's golf balls. It was fun though it did wear a little thin after a while... Then the BIG moment! At 5pm that day Lucas had his first soccermatch!! (sorry folks, I have got to call it soccer. The football/soccer thing is WAY too confusing for my little brain otherwise.) All the kiddies were given purple Little Caesar's Pizza t-shirts, Lucas' comes down to his ankles. His ankles of course are covered in the sewn-in-the-sock shinguards so all you can see is T-shirt, shinguards, shoes. It was a little rainy so he was wearing a baseball cap too - he looked like a 20-year old rapper in a 2-year old's body. I am sorry I took no pics and the mom who did hasn't sent them to me yet so be patient. Lucas had no interest in the match, when it was his turn he walked onto the pitch and lay down on the grass. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to die. Then whenever it was his turn (they play 3 against 3) I had to hold his hand and run alongside him - it was very tempting to kick that ball in the right direction myself but fortunately I managed to remind myself that this was the 3-4 team, not 40+. As no one kept score and there weren't any goalies I can't be sure who won but if it was us it was in no way due to my son's efforts. Mmm. There goes my retirement plan.
The week at work was manically busy with meetings and courses, and on Monday evening I was so preoccupied with something at work that I drove my car into a kerb with a boulder that then lodged itself under the car. Fortunately this happened outside Lucas' old daycare so we could wait for the towtruck inside, and once "Tow Bobby" got there I was back on the road again in no time. The car less damaged than my ego, and I made a mental note to try to leave work at work from now on. However much I love being a full-time working mom, I do find it hard to keep the two parts of my life separate and this little mishap showed me I must try a little harder. The worst thing about it was that on Monday evening we had arranged to have dinner at Lucas' favourite friend Nate's, and that of course had to be cancelled. Nate apparently was inconsoleable, Lucas less so as he was occupied with the drama of mummy's car on top of the large stone and then the Tow Bobby. The good side was that we now had this to look forward to on Tuesday, Lucas was wildly excited that we were finally going to see Nate (they used to be at daycare together) and both boys of course virtually ignored each other when the happy reunion finally occurred. Men! At the end of the busy week I had a very productive Friday after which my to-do list was finally shorter at the end of the day than it had been at the beginning. I am looking forward to a quiet-ish weekend - a friend's housewarming party this evening and soccer tomorrow, but nothing else major. I have to get some stuff for Lucas' birthday and we'll drop by his grandmother's but other than that - relax!!