"I Can't Give You Anything But Love"

I never knew more than the title phrase of this one, I was surprised at what a truly 'Roaring Twenties' tune it was. The songs in this section continue to be fun to sing. Yahoo for that.

Today I survived my daughter's seventh birthday party. We had about seventeen children here, and I wasn't at my best, though I was aware when I entered the zone of not caring enough to panic. Just keep going. So what if the fairy craft isn't working as well as it should. Continue to move ahead. At four o'clock they will all leave, it's just three short hours. Sit down, Liam. Stop running, JD. No hitting with the balloons, no indoor tag. I'll be there in a second to help you with the glue. Why, again, did we invite this many children? And boys?

The best idea, and one we've used before, is the end-of-party story time. While waiting those last twenty minutes I read aloud from one of my daughter's presents, a wonderfully illustrated book called 'The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone' by Timothy Basil Ering. It managed to keep them all wide eyed and paying attention, and made me appear to be somewhat in control when the parents all arrived. All the adults who stayed--and it appears that seven is old enough for most of the children to be dropped off and left--had a good time, and no child bled. Always a plus in my book.