Last minute advice needed!

We were invited to our good friends' kids' birthday party tonight...I am starting to dread going, but we really need to go as they have been good friends and generous with hand-me-downs for the kiddos.

However, I really would like some advice on how to manage with the kiddos this evening:

1) It will take us 1 hour to get there and 1 hour to drive home (more if traffic is bad); I might have to wake them early from their nap to get on the road in time!! (I can't believe I am even considering this...)
2) The party is from 4:30-6pm; my kiddos ALWAYS eat dinner by 6pm, take a bath at 6:15pm and are in bed by 7pm; tonight, we will be lucky if we even make it home by 7pm :blink:
3) And the kicker is I have to take them ALONE as DH is away on a business trip

So, I am planning to pack dinner, but I am not sure where to feed them? The party is at toddler gym and they might let me hang around a few extra minutes to feed them dinner. Though, I imagine they will be so hyped up from the party that they might not eat anyways? I have no idea what will be offered to eat at the party.

A friend suggested I put their PJs on before we get back on the road so that is one less thing I need to do when we get home...does that make sense to you? I will still have to change them into overnight diapers...unless I do that before we leave, too? And we are definitely skipping baths!

DH told me to just expect the worse :blink: Awesome.

Anything that you might recommend for this situation? I have a VERY HARD time being flexible with our schedule...and now I have to manage potentially cranky, hungry kiddos on my own!!

 

I would do what your friend suggested and change them before getting on the road again. They will probably have something they can eat at the party, but you may want to pack some favorite finger foods just in case and a drink/sippy. That way if they don't want to eat while they are there, you can spend a bit before heading back home to have a snack without all the distractions. I bet they'll just fall asleep on the way home and that'll be that. I always had a hard time being flexible with our schedule too, but I've learned that once in a while will not do any harm. Enjoy the time. You'll probably have lots of adult hands to help out if needed.

 

Thanks for the advice! I am now headed in to wake the munchies from their nap :angry:

 

Good luck!!! :youcandoit:

Let us know how it goes!

 

I hope you have fun in spite of the worrying.

 

Sorry I missed your post; I hope things are going better than you expected. If not, at least you'll have another one of those wonderful "learning experiences".

 

I hope the party went well for all of you :hug:

 

Hope it went well. I hear ya on the change in schedule. Sometimes it happens and causes little disruption and other times not so much, but I am usually glad I went if for anything just to do something different. But have to :bow2: doing this on your own that makes it even more challenging/stressful.

 

Just an update as you all were so sweet with your well-wishes

After waking the kiddos early from their nap, DS was completely out-of-sorts and didn't want to eat the quick snack I had planned before getting in the car. It was imperative that they eat as I wasn't sure what would be offered at the party (good thing I coaxed him to eat some crackers and mandarin oranges as there was just cake and juice). Needless to say, we headed out the door later than I expected. THEN we hit traffic through the city, so when we finally reached our destination, we were about 20 minutes behind schedule. The party was at The Little Gym and mostly geared to the older kids at the party. My two sat on my lap for about 20 minutes before venturing out to explore. Thankfully my kids had a great time on the inflatable mat (basically the bottom portion of a bouncy house) or I would have been really frustrated if they just sat and watched the other kiddos, especially with all the effort to get there!

We sat down to ice cream cake and juice...I didn't get a lot of help from the other parents, so I was trying to help cut the cake into bite-sized pieces for my DD (who nearly ate a whole, adult-sized piece!) and prevent DS from dumping the open cup of juice in his lap (I failed miserably and he was soaked). DS was not so sure about the cake and started to get crabby (ie. hungry)...he kept wanting to put his socks, shoes and coat back on

Anyways, after dual diaper changes in a tiny bathroom, I got both of them back out to the car and headed home...luckily no traffic, so we made it home by 7:30pm. I fed them "dinner" (PB&J and apple!!) and got them ready for bed. They were definitely beyond tired, but they took forever to settle down. I think they finally fell asleep at 9pm, over 2 hours later than normal. Needless to say, I was exhausted and fell asleep watching TV (Parenthood, on Demand).

The kids did really well adjusting to the crazy schedule...I just wish the party had been more fun for them (and me)!!

 

:woo: Glad the kids did well really adapting to the change!

 

Kudos to you for getting out there and doing it! It sounds like you did a great job (spilled juice notwithstanding ). Don't worry that they didn't have too much fun at the party; it was a new experience for them and something worth doing. :good: