'twas the night before the party...

Tomorrow is the BIG third birthday party celebration.

We estimate there will be approximately 34 people in attendance.

Of which, 20 are 2- and 3-year olds.

It will not be at our house.

It will instead be at a local pumpkin patch.
I'm glad for that.

Really, really, really (times 10 to the one hundredth power) glad.

To prepare, Charlie and I have pre-ordered ten large pizzas, for delivery tomorrow morning at the pumpkin patch, at precisely 11:45.

We are blowing up 47 balloons.

12 orange. 15 red. 20 yellow.

Colors of the fall.

We've bought 60 big plates, 60 little plates and 500 napkins.

In orange, red and yellow.

We've got two "BIRTHDAY GIRL!" pins and one "BIRTHDAY BOY!" pin.

We've got three decorative party hats.

We've got 100 juice boxes and 60 bottles of water.

Three fruit platters and one veggie platter.

One hundred plastic forks and one hundred plastic knives.

We're baking 60 cupcakes.

30 vanilla. 30 chocolate.

The vanilla will be frosted with chocolate.

The chocolate will be frosted with vanilla.

Because we're crazy that way.

At the moment, we're drinking hot tea and chatting it up.

We're marveling that three years ago on this very night - we watched the Red Sox in the ALCS, while I was laying in a hospital bed - awaiting the birth of our three babies.

Much like tonight, we watched the Red Sox in the ALCS.

But unlike tonight, I wasn't baking cupcakes and trying to figure out the best way to transfer them from the pan to the cooling rack.

Without scorching my hands or crushing the cupcakes.

Thankfully, Charlie bought three boxes of cupcake mix.

Because I dumped 12 cupcakes all over the floor when trying to flip the pan on top of the cooling rack. Quite unsuccessfully.

The cupcakes fell to the floor and completely disintegrated.

I really (times 10 to the one hundredth power) hope that doesn't happen with any of our birthday honorees, tomorrow.

Although they are almost three and that type of behavior has become remarkably familiar.

But if that should happen, we will also have wine.

For us, of course.