Sunday, March 29, 2009

Smiling through the pain because what else would you expect Ms. Sunshine to do

For the past several weekends, Mr. Strong and I have been working on getting the garden beautiful for Ms. Sunshine's 18th Birthday Garden Party. Ms. Sunshine had a vision of how the evening would go. There would be lights in the trees, the yard would be blooming and beautiful, a fire would be roaring in the fire pit, and the lantern would hang over the table where dinner would be served (with the quad of parents as the servers).



The lantern was plain white until Ms. Sunshine took it to her art teacher. The hand painted flowers were gorgeous and perfect for a garden theme.

The day prior to the party, Ms. Sunshine had gotten bad news. She was being put on the wait list of the university her sister is currently attending.

Why? There never is a good explanation other than somebody in the admissions department may or may not have been coked up that day. Somebody has some 'splaining to do because I'm ready to go up there and open up a can of whoop ass! Not to disrespect Ms. Busy (who is very busy off at the university), Ms. Sunshine has a higher GPA (somewhere on the edge of perfect) and has taken more AP classes and more electives. In addition, she has been the President of this club and that, the leader of the student senate and on a variety of boards about town. To say the least, she is very involved and a very good student.

But after a short tear-fest because we really would have allowed her to milk this for the weekend we all (by all I mean Mom, Dad [Mr. Strong], Step-Mom [me], and Step-Dad - we all get along because we are weird that way) loaded up and went to eat some Mexican food. In our world, when the going gets tough, it is time to break out the enchiladas and mole sauce and the Coronas with extra lime. Did I mention it was raining? Buckets? The day before the Garden Party?

And the weather report was predicting a 70% chance of rain for the next evening. Which, of course, would be during the Garden Party.

We decided to wait to see what the predictions would be the next morning. And the predictions HAD changed! They had changed to 100% chance of rain during the hours of the party.



Since we couldn't convince Ms. Sunshine to change the theme to a Flash Dance party she said it was no big deal and we just planned to move everything indoors which meant I had to clean like a maniac. She was all smiles as her guests arrived.


Now I've got a little explaining about the icing (and doesn't the green look a lot like poop from a bird who has eaten a whole freakin can of spinach?). You see, when the humidity is 100%, icing goes flat. At the present time, they do not have Viagra for limp icing. So, again, we made the best of the situation and just lit the candles and carried on. Thankfully, the Reece Cup Cheesecake had come out just like it was supposed to come out (it is was rich but delicious!).



I'm not sure what Ms. Sunshine's birthday wishes were for but I can guess what Ms. Poopy was wishing for... For someone to take off her adorable, party dress.



What can I say. She is just happier when she is nekkid.

23 comments:

Deb said...

as tempting as it is to discuss ms. poopy's unfortunate situation, i have to just say how absolutely drop-dead gorgeous ms. sunshine is (and obviously smart, too!)!!!!!! holy moly...

poor thing... those admissions people are so clueless. she will go on to do great things, i'm sure of it.

now, was her step-mother in charge of dressing the dog?

Fragrant Liar said...

I'm with Ms. Poopy. Life is better nekkid! Your step-daughter is precious. What a beautiful smile she has. The cupcake frosting, despite the turdly look of it, looked pretty yummy. What can I say? I am just happier when I'm ogling dessert.

cheatymoon said...

Oh, to be 18...

(We recently had an 18th party for other half's eldest. She did not attend (at the last minute). I decided not to make it blog fodder because it wouldn't be complimentary. Although we all did appreciate the delicious meal and decadent desserts that still needed consuming despite the absence of the guest of honor...)

Your stepdaughter is gorgeous. Perhaps it's a blessing that she may not go to the same university as her sister? Also, way to go for hanging out w/ the other parents. I love when that happens!!

Pseudo said...

She's beautiful and what a smile.

Pseudo said...

PS I thought the cupcake frosting looky quite yummy.

Michel said...

For the record let me just throw out there that I LOVE pictures of cake and/or desserts, no matter the frosting, venue, or reason. They (frankly) looked yummy to me.

Your stepdaughter is VERY pretty -- and smart too?? I'm considering whether or not I will resent her. Will let you know.

As for Ms. Poopy; Seriously! I love that dog.

Smart Mouth Broad said...

Ms. Sunshine is Beautiful! I love the curls. Happy Birthday to Ms S. I'm with Pseudo, I think the cupcakes looked great. Well.......maybe the green was a little weird. Way to make lemonade out of lemons. BTW, we do Mexican when things go South also. Ole!

Kulio said...

ohhhh!!!!! Beautiful daughter! Everything will work out...just like the party.

Jason, as himself said...

I'm happier nekkid, too.

Such a bummer about the rain.

Andrea's Sweet Life said...

Could any family be more go-with-the-flow? I am totally envious - I would have been crying in the cupcakes at the first hurdle!

Thanks for stopping by Sweet Life the other day!

Aracely said...

Ms. Poopy looks divine, and so does Ms. Sunshine. The cupcake tray is darling too... except for the , well you know. Reminds me of the armadillo cake ;-)

Jan said...

This is the second "my kid has perfect grades and was still rejected by the college of their choice" post I've read this morning.

Must be an epidemic.

Ms. Sunshine is a lovely young lady. As for Ms. Poopy...I have to agree. Nekkid is the only way to be.

Beth said...

Deb - You are right. I did dress the dog. And I have no doubt that Ms. Sunshine will go on to big things! We just hate to see her disappointed.

Fragrant Liar - Thanks for the compliments. She does have a great smile. And she smiles a lot.

Only a Movie - Yikes! You just reminded me of how thankful I am to have great step-kids. And as for getting along with the exes - it really hasn't been hard.

Pseudo - She has a smile that lights up a room!

Michel - Hilarious! If you met her, you'd love her. And glad to provide pictures for your drooling entertainment.

Kulio - I agree. I do think everything will work out.

Jason - We were disappointed about the rain, too. Oh, well. And good to know that you like to be nekkid. Remind me to call before I come over. Just in case.

Andrea - We aren't always go-with-the-flow. Sometimes we have hilariously dramatic moments over the smallest things.

Threeboys1mommy - Those armadillo cakes are both gross and captivating. Who would think up such a thing?

Beth said...

Hey Jan! Did you guys have a fantastic weekend? How was B.B.?

kel said...

Hi! I love your blog! Followed ya over from Holy Mackerel!! And did you just say Reese Cup Cheesecake????

cheatymoon said...

Beth - actually Other half's girls are lovely and wonderful. That day was just a moment. It happens, I guess.
We are also experiencing some drama regarding college acceptance and financial aid letters...

Unknown said...

Oh Beth, Ms. Sunshine is absolutely gorgeous and that smile will see her dreams come true!

Too bad about the rain. (I hope you guys thought to bring in the handpainted lantern!)

Love the idea of individual cupcakes instead of a huge standard birthday cake (but the green icing is really icky!)

Hope all works out well for Ms. Sunshine.

Tricia said...

Your stepdaughter seems gorgeous, inside and out.

Michele said...

Oh Beth ~ I'm so glad everything worked out. I know how the hormones can be on an 18 year old! Now that my 20 year old is back home, I'll be dealing with them again!

Your stepdaughter is beautiful...and I KNOW everything will work out at the university. That just burns me when they do crap like that...especially with someone who is as smart as she is...sheesh!

Hope you're having a good day...but then I hope you're at least GETTING through your day at school!

Hugz,
Michele

Candice said...

Are you sure they don't have Viagra for limp icing? ;)

Your stepdaughter is beautiful. looks like she was able to have a decent party despite of eveything.

By the way, I think the cupcakes look great!

Dee-Zigns Handcrafted Jewelry said...

What beautiful pictures of your step-daughter and the cupcakes! Love your story, I could just picture the garden party - typical weather for Georgia in March. So happy it turned out great! And your dog is way too cute in that dress.

Liz Wilkey (a.k.a. A Mom on Spin) said...

Who can tell what it takes to get into some of the top universities these days?

I hope she makes it off the waiting list.

Dr Zibbs said...

What a pretty smile.