They said what?

I had now established my routine, I 'd order my balloons online, pick up my disposable helium tank from my trusty store and have a great party. We had had a Paw Patrol Themed party, Baby Minnie Mouse and was planning my second child's 2nd birthday Mickey Mouse themed celebration.

It was a packed week so I didn't get the chance to pick up the helium, but I'd taken the morning to pick up her snacks and planned to pick up thehelium. So off I went to the trusty store like I'd done so many times before. This was going to be easy, right?  Wrong!!!

Me: Can I get a helium tank?

Store: No we're out

Me: Ok,  I have some balloons I'd like to inflate

Store: You can do that at the front

(Now at the front)

Me: I'd like to get these inflated 

Store:Where did you get these?

Me: I brought them to the store with me

Store:We can't inflate your balloons, only balloons bought here at the store

Me: Ok, my kids party is in 30 minutes, I'll pay whatever it'd cost just to inflate the balloons.

Store: Sorry Ma, that's our policy here, you could've gotten a helium tank but we don't have any.

I'm frazzled, I mean what store has a product and says no to a sale.

I'm not ready to buy another set of balloons just to satisfy their policy (i'm sulky and incensed so I'm thinking who's going buy your slightly overpriced limited range balloons after that) but I believe that technology and social media will find me a balloon store with helium in 15 minutes. So I google away but it was just too early,  there were very few stores to call and only one picked up (it was quite early and stores were yet to open) and the one store that picked was just too far away.

I was as deflated as my balloons and resolved to have the party without balloons but is was then I decided to join the business of bringing joy to parties in the form of balloons and HELIUM INFLATING SERVICES.

I really think Balloons saved my life

So it's my son's 2nd birthday (he's grown a year older since my last post 10 minutes ago). I'm in Houston at the time expecting my 2nd baby with the toddler in tow.  I set out planning his school shindig.

• Cheese Pizza
• Juice boxes
• Cookies (Jake & the never land pirates and Mickey Mouse Club House themed) I couldn't decide so I did both
• Bubble machine - utterly random choice and eventual hit
• and of course BALLOONS my new found family tradition.

So off I go to the local balloon store and I place an order for what seemed like a million balloons (my indecision  almost always leads to excess) and I continue with the Jake & Mickey Mouse Club House mixed theme. I got my Jake Airwalker (that got decapitated shortly after) and bouquets of Mickey Balloons.

Only  to arrive at my tiny rental and they wouldn't quite fit in. As in the car was stuffed, front passenger seat, rear seats as in  I had no rear view. I was certain I would get pulled over by the police and fingers crossed was counting on my bump to get me off easy.

Well its almost time for the party and I needed to get my nails and make up done before party time, so I drive to Walmart for my pedicure. I rush back to the car only to do the so familiar routine that most women can relate with, digging though my bag for keys that just evade you (i'm at it for a bit) and the some man walks up to me. 

He is polite, he's holding a gas can and trying to get my attention. Call me gullible, but I tend not to have a guard up and will talk to anyone (I believe in treating every one equally and with dignity) so he asks whether I mind giving him a ride to the gas station. He's  run out of fuel and stranded and the next gas station is quite far away. It is sweltering hot and I began to take in the story and actually consider giving this total stranger in a far away land where no one knows me a ride. In fact my head had said yes, but my eyes see the stuffed car (filled with balloons) so in my most apologetic voice I  explain (like an American who can tell a stranger their life's history in a minute) that its my son's birthday and the car is packed and much as I would love to it is impossible for me to help him.

Without a thought, I'm off to make up and the party where the Ballons were a hit and the kids had a wonderful time. The "million" balloons were tethered to the cookies for the kids to take home (all of a sudden the million just reduced to 20). 

So later that day I'm telling my host about my encounter with the stranger outside Walmart and she screams. She's like do you know what could have happened to you. Then I get a lecture on serial killers targeting vulnerable women which scared the living daylight out of me. Whether he was a killer or not I don't know, but this I know that if he was and I did not have my balloons this would be a totally different story (or non-story).

Thanks Balloons and ................................................kids, please don't trust strangers!!!!!  

My love, hate relationship with balloons

Balloons are great! They remind me of babies. Everyone, young and old loves them and can't seem to resist them.

However, I get put off by the look (that dusty dirty 'tired balloon' look) which I've learned is an atmospheric reaction called oxidation.
Then people just seemed to overdo the arches, like there was no other balloon design in the World. And in my day, there would be this mad rush for the decor balloons after  a party (you'd pray your grown up was the tall enough and the interested kind) who would reach up and dislocate the balloon from whatever had it propped up and out of reach.
Then again I get put off or act disinterested in things that everyone is interested in , so I started to kind of have a 'bla' feeling towards balloons.

All of a sudden they disappeared from all events except may be children's parties.

Fastfoward past secondary school, Uni, youth service, work, marriage and babies.

I'm a mum now, that's crazy, I still feel like an unsure school girl (let's skip the nightmares that I still get take me back to SS3 right before exams and I've procrastinated studying for SSCE except in Math.........love you Maths!). Back to the point, I'm a mum who feels like girl.

So it's my son's first birthday so I visit a party store and discover an amazing balloon called an air walker. It's my height, it stands by itself, the character is 'Bugs Bunny', the only one they had and my 1 year old never watched a Bugs Bunny cartoon, but who cares, he would go gaga over a life size helium filled bunny that  could stand by itself and was just for him.

So I happily and proudly fit my bunny into the car ready to surprise him. And it was a hit, from dad to kid. We dragged Bugs around the house, punched him, took pictures and actually had good play time for almost 1 week and from that moment I knew that every birthday from then on would feature balloons.