6th Birthday Sleepover

For Evie's birthday this year I had originally intended to do something low key and inexpensive.  I managed to achieve the inexpensive (total expenditures ~$30 for pizza, juice boxes and cake) but low key it was not.  Originally it was to be a sleepover with one or two friends, however, Miss Chatterbox talked about her exclusive sleepover to everyone at school (which I know was to be expected, I am perhaps not that naive) so I felt like we'd better invite the whole class.  Lucky for me that meant at max 8 kids.  Perhaps lucky for me 3 did not show so I only had to contend with 5 crazy 5 and 6 year olds, who really in all fairness weren't that crazy.  I coped by letting them all know the rules: 1) No screaming in the house (pretty reasonable I think) 2) Try your very best to not run in the house (I am an optimist but not as previously mentioned totally naive) 3) Go to bed when we tell you to (OK so I didn't expect that to work but I had to try) and 4) Thou shalt be nice to the little sister (that one was the only hard and fast rule, and fortunately the only one not broken during the night).

The sleepover went something like this:
5:10 - Kids start to arrive, immediate sequestration in Evie's room to view current collection of Barbies and Cabbage Patch Kids
5:30 - All kids present, start cooking the pizza
5:45 - Pizza and (many) juice boxes served on outside patio while adults chat in kitchen.  All is well...

6:15 - Cake (complete with 6 candles) sung about and served
6:30 - All parents have now abandoned the premises (except Patrick and I) and children have ingested much cake and juice (well really most just ate the frosting off of said cake)
6:45 - Freeze dance party in the living room. 

7:15 - Sugar has been (mostly) danced from little systems.
7:20 - Patrick puts Izzy to bed.
7:30 - Request costume change to PJs, request was mostly obeyed.
7:40 - Send girls to the TV room to watch Brave, start popping massive amounts of popcorn
8:00 - Patrick and I bring out three mattresses and a bunch of blankets to the living room to make comfy sleeping arrangements.
8:30 - Gaggle of girls mostly over watching the movie, start to play with movie as backdrop.
8:40 - Gaggle of girls totally over watching the movie and decide that wrestling over the popcorn bowls and veggie tray the best course of action.
8:41 - Popcorn and veggie tray sufficiently strewn around room.
8:42 - Declaration of bed time nigh
8:43 - Turn off the movie that is now totally ignored.

8:45 - Send all girls to bathroom to brush teeth, one minor meltdown over the lack of a Hello Kitty toothbrush that was certainly there just hours ago.
9:00 - All girls in living room with marginally cleaner teeth and mostly wearing PJs.
9:01 - Begin reading the bedtime story Princess Bubble.
9:05 - Still on first page of story because of questions and requests to see the pictures, just one more time.

9:30 - Complete first book, going on record for the longest reading of a 10 page book ever.
9:31 - Start reading second book with stipulation that there will be no extra picture displays and please hold your questions until the end.
9:45 -  Finish second book and proclaim good night, sleep tight. 
9:46 - First report from one child of misbehavior by another, accusations are investiaged and substantiated, first warnings provided.
9:48 - Second report from one child of misbehavior by another, accusations are investigated and substantiated, second warnings provided.
9:50 - Third report from one child of misbehavior by another, accusations are investigated and substantiated, child in question removed from crowd, tattling child requests to be removed from chaos.  Misbehaver, who is clearly overtired and distraught, brought to our bedroom, tattler given a place to sleep in Evie's room.
9:54 - Clearly hear Evie making chaos in living room, bring her to our room too.  Set about going to sleep with 2 small children in "beds" on either side of our room.
10:05 - All quiet in Chateau Lacroix.
10:10 - 6:00 am - Everyone sleeps (I am so not kidding! It was an Easter miracle.)
6:00 am - Izzy wakes and begins the process of ensuring all others in house are awake.
6:15 - All kids now awake and eating breakfast.
6:16 - Coffee made, morning is looking possible.
6:20 - Regret decision to not have kids picked up until 9 am as it is almost 3 hours away and I have nothing planned.
6:30 - House is getting loud.  Offer the option of a Sunday morning cartoon, offer is accepted by 4 of 5 girls.
7:00 - Interest has waned in TV, chaos is again brewing.  Try to think quickly, will need more coffee.
7:05 - More coffee brewed.
7:06 - Decide to take girls on a "treasure hunt" in the wash behind our house. Declare my intentions to them and request they get dressed and shoed.
7:15 - Make request again.
7:20 - Make request again.
7:30  - All girls dressed and outfitted with brown paper bag for any "treasures" they find.
7:35 - Journey into wash, first treasure found... a white rock.
7:36-8:00 - Walk through wash, many treasures encountered including: christmas light bulb, old plastic dog toy in the shape of a bear missing only one leg, creostote bush, many many rocks, bones (of a cow I think...who knows how those got there) and cats claw
8:00 - First two girls decide they are finished with their treasure hunt request to return to house (I will note for the record that these were the two who came to the party wearing "heels" not quite wash adventure gear... I am afraid footwear hindered their fun)
8:20 - Remainder of girls tire of "treasure hunt"  with 40 minutes to spare Patrick gets out the power wheels mini-cooper

8:20-8:50 - Much play and hazard trying to teach five 6-year olds how to drive said mini cooper while not crashing into anything or anyone, including small little sisters.
9 ish - Parents arrive and I feel a great sense of accomplishment having not only survived but enjoyed my "first" sleepover experience!