A Dozen Months & 6 Years

I'm proud, relieved, and too tired to think of another descriptive word to say that both of my children's birthday parties are over for the year, and were quite successful.  I know many parents go a little overboard when it comes to their children's parties, especially when it is birthday numero uno.  Husband and I kinda did the opposite.  In mid-February, I started a list of invitees for Baby's first party.  After a few minutes of writing, I stopped and counted- 42.  As much as I enjoy the number 42, the thought of feeding 42 people, making 42 people comfortable, entertaining 42 people, and hearing 42 voices in our small house was more than a little daunting.  We decided to reduce the number of invitees by less than half, and ended up with 11 guests.  2 friends of mine did amazing Minnie Mouse themed parties for their 1-yr-old girls, I've seen princess themed parties, Sesame Street, Hello Kitty, Strawberry Shortcake, farm animals...I chose balloons. Baby likes balloons.  I was only a teensy bit embarrassed to say "balloons" when people asked what theme I had chosen for her party.

"Bah?  Bah?"
"Yes!  Balloons!"
"Bah?  Bah?"
"Yes!  Baby!  Bunny!  Birthday!  Ball!  She's so brilliant."

On Etsy.com, I had seen a really cute wreath made of balloons, and a hair barrette, too.  Instead of ordering those items, though, I decided to make them mycheapskateself.  The wreath turned out okay.  Not photograph-and-blogworthy, but I think most people knew it was a decoration made with balloons.  After finishing the wreath, though, I decided Baby wouldn't care to wear a balloon-decorated barrette.

Like every great mom, I had forgotten all about baking her cake the day before her birthday.  So, I got up early and did a whole bunch of math and guesswork to make her an individual-sized, dairy free, healthy-ish carrot cake with orange glaze.  It tasted a little floury, but wasn't bad, considering.  We had practiced blowing out the candle, although not with an actual flame.  Turns out, that flickering orange guy is really tempting, and she felt she needed to grab it.  Singed a bit, maybe, but she didn't even cry!  I did have to scrape some melted wax off her tiny finger, though.:(

Yay!

She dug into the cake like she was one of those TV babies.  Both hands were grabbing huge pieces of cake, shoving some into her face and flinging others onto the ground.  Eventually, some of the treat I had worked so hard on made its way into her mouth, at which point she promptly scraped it out, spit several times, and threw the spat-out pieces at me.  Lucky for our guests, my dear Mother-In-Law is an expert at making ice cream cakes, and with the help of my Sister-In-Law, they provided a delicious one that nobody spit or scraped out of their mouth.

Daddy helped her open presents.

She received great, generous, mostly pink gifts, and seemed truly delighted by many of them.  All the guests left with full bellies, and the party was over quickly enough that she didn't even have a screaming, exhausted baby meltdown.

The next day was Sunday, 2 days before our son's actual 6th birthday.  We had decided to throw a surprise party for him about 24 hours before he asked us to throw him a surprise party... despite that, he didn't suspect a thing.

He loves the show Wild Kratts on PBS (it's about wild animal adventures), so that was the theme for his party.  On Etsy.com, I found (and actually purchased) a personalized Wild Kratts cake decoration on edible paper for less than $10!

Add plastic jungle animals, sickeningly overpriced animal print candles, and you've got yourself a pretty amazing cake for  <$20!

I could not justify spending $23 on the personalized Wild Kratts birthday banner, so I decided to make one. On...um...Etsy.com, I had seen one that I really liked and figured I could copy.  Turns out, I'm better at cutting paper than I am at gluing balloons.

As is my wont, I forgot to take a picture when things looked best; before the streamers ripped and the other balloon bouquet disappeared, and the stuffed wild animals got played with.  

The kids played charades, attacked the zebra pinata like a pride of lions attacking an actual zebra, ate pizza, animal crackers, cheetos, fruit, crackers-n-cheese, blew whistles until every adult was near tears, misused the self-inking stamps to tattoo their bodies, and played at keeping the non-helium balloons in the air by combining perfectly jumping, hitting, and screaming.

He had plenty of help opening his gifts.

The gifts were, again, generous and greatly enjoyed.  The food was (mostly) consumed, the kids got along well with each other, and 6-yr-old had a really super time.  He did ask afterward why we didn't tell him that we were throwing him a surprise party, and seemed a little confused about some of the ways we had tricked him.
"So, did you really go over there to run?"
"No, I went over there to set up the party."
"Why did you tell me you were going to run?"
"Because I didn't want you to know I was setting up the party."
"So you didn't go running at all?"
"No."
"Why not?"

Not that most of us have much control over these things, but I do recommend not having your children's birthdays within 3 days of each other.  It makes for a very stressful few days.  I also advise you to be honest with yourself about your crafting abilities when you're trying to be thrifty and use Etsy.com for ideas rather than for purchases.  And, if you need any help cutting paper into very simple shapes, you can count on me!

Has anyone ever surprised you with a party?

Best birthday party theme?  Other than the obvious, "balloons", of course.

Cake on the Brain

Candles, too.  Pinatas.  Goody bags.  Decorations,  Gift wrap.  Sandwich trays.  Silly string.  See, my daughter, son, husband and sister-in-law all celebrate their birthdays* within 8 days of each other.  I've tried to talk 5 y.o. into moving his celebration to October, with me, but no luck so far.  The next 8 days are going to be pretty (*&^%$#) busy, so you'll have to wait for the first more high-quality, captivating posts.  In the meantime, maybe someone should explain to Mr. Target how sales are supposed to work.

Just out of sight?  A three-pack of $10 gift cards, all for only $30!

  Today, I remind you to use your head while shopping.  Don't be one of the dummies who gets fooled by fancy words like "value" or "sale".

Have you snagged any good deals lately?

*Celebrate because they are the actual birthdays.  Crazy, no?

Wisdom and Weirdness

A wise teacher once said, "Do or do not, there is no try", so it is with that in mind that I give you this more-chock-full-of-advice-post-than-any-of-my-previous-advice-posts.  As always, the advice I share can be taken or left according to your own personal whims, but I recommend the taking.  They say that you learn something new every day, while I add that some days are like the month or so just before taking the SAT or GRE, with so many lessons being crammed into your head that it feels like you must never have known anything before, and that your brain is withering under the weight of all you've newly learned.  Lately, I've had a lot of those pre-standardized test days.

DO: Pay attention to sale tags.  I almost stormed out of Michael's today, thinking that the paper I desperately wanted and had not found anywhere else was $20, when I saw just in time that it was actually on sale for $12.  I'm planning to make a banner for 5 y.o.'s birthday party (it's a surprise-ssshhh!), and didn't want to pay so much for something that will be thrown away after he "awwww!"s over it.

DO NOT: Judge the lady outside of Michael's, holding a sc-uh-reaming toddler in a bear hug for almost the entire time you're in the store.  Yes, it looks bad.  Yes, it sounds bad.  No, it isn't how I would handle a screaming toddler.  But, I remembered that I had no idea what that child was like.  Maybe he has mental, emotional, or physical problems.  Maybe he would have been screaming just as loudly, but also running into traffic, if he hadn't been held so tightly.  Maybe the lady doing the holding is a renowned child psychiatrist who knows way more than me about the handling of temper tantrums.  Maybe they were both getting paid handsomely to perform a social experiment.  Judging others, especially strangers in snippet situations like that one, is simply not a good idea.

DO: Feel free to judge the people who literally haven't the money for their groceries, but smoke cigarettes as soon as they step outside.  Dirty clothes- no judgement.  Shoeless, school-aged kid in tow during school hours- no judgement.  Tattoos- no judgement.  "There was no balance on that gift card.  Do you have another way to pay?"  "No."- no judgement.  "Do you want to put some of the food back and just buy whatever you really need?"  "No."- no judgement.  The grocery cart full of Ribeye steaks, fudgesicles, ice cream, and soda- a smidgen of judgement (just enough for me to decide against buying their groceries for them).  Seeing both adults light cigarettes on the way to their car- bang the gavel, the verdict is in: Bad.  Gross.  Shameful.

DO NOT: Pay chain grocery store prices for lower quality, imported produce.  Instead, maybe become a patron of your local produce market, or visit the weekly Farmer's Market nearby.  Buying locally grown fruits and vegetables helps the environment, your health, and your local and personal economy.  Grocery store price: $3.99/lb for red bell peppers.
Farmer's market price: $1 for 3.

DO: Buy something just because it's pretty.  

I <3 Orchids

DO NOT: Pretend you don't recognize the pastor of your church when you see him at the Farmer's Market.  According to everyone I've asked, it's weirder to feign ignorance than to risk him not remembering that you've met before.  I was worried that he'd feel bad for forgetting my name, and I was pretty sure he didn't recognize me in my super-disguise of wearing sunglasses (I tend to think people can't see me behind them, but they always can.  Why don't I remember that?).  In hindsight, I understand that really, nothing bad would have happened if I had simply smiled and said 'hello'.

DO: Use your senses. There's a good reason that spoiled meat smells bad- it's so that we don't eat it.  Also, if you notice a greenish tinge to ground turkey, it's probably safer to assume that it's not your imagination, and continue under the impression that the meat is no good.

DO NOT: Be surprised if you fail to follow the above rule and then hear the words, "Is this meat...different?" when your spouse takes the first bite of the stuffed peppers you toiled over for hours. It's okay to be upset about the GIANT waste of time, money, and effort when you're forced to discard the whole dinner, quickly prepare something different, and still wash the hardest-to-clean baking dish in your kitchen.  Being unhappy about it is expected.  But don't be surprised.

DO: Take yourself on a scrumptious salad adventure.  Romaine lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, pomegranate whatever they ares, avocado, cajun spiced sesame sticks, all tossed in a bit of ranch dressing and drizzled with the best hot sauce.  A salad like that will make your mouth happy, even if the disastrous dinner has made it frowny.

What lessons have you learned, recently?

Nineteen

I'll just come right out with it.  Stephen King is my favorite author.  My goodness, it's hard to describe what I love about his books!  I've just started and then deleted 16 sentences, because I can't seem to get the words right.  Here are some of the words that I've repeatedly come up with during the last 7 minutes of trying to write 1 or 2 sentences:  Home. Familiar. Imagination. Exactly. Me. Sunset. Gotta. My thoughts. Afternoon. Understand.  Maybe someone else who has read his stories will be able to put those words together in a way that isn't so...nineteen.

As a Constant Reader of his, I've come to notice the number 19 in my daily life, and when I saw that I was approaching my 19th blog post (this one), I wanted it to be special.  Over the past few days, I've been daydreaming about The Dark Tower, and trying to think of ways to work it in to my mostly-about-running-and-kindergarten blog.  Last night, I dreamed about Roland Deschain, and woke up feeling sad, with the words "The Man in Black raced across the desert, and Roland followed" running through my mind.

I then came to the disturbing realization that I'm still reading the same book that I was reading back in January, even though I'm enjoying it and reading as often as I can.

The author, +Jenn Thorson , sent me a magnet and sticker.  Na na na boo boo!  I got prizes and yoooouuu didn't!  (But seriously, you should read this book, and add her on G+.  Awe. Some.)

That I also plan to read books for 2 different book clubs before the end of March, have received 2 free books that I'm really looking forward to reading, and had to return my last 2 library books, late and unread, does not bode well for my finding the time to re-read the entire Dark Tower series anytime soon.

sigh

Now, where was I?  Oh, yeah.  19.  Books.  Blogging.

I decided to share with you an idea I had a couple of years ago that I'm still praising myself for today.  I thought about how cool it would be for my son (daughter was yet-to-be) to receive the entire Dark Tower series as a gift for his 19th birthday.  Then, I started thinking of another favorite book series, and how cool it would be to give him the Harry Potter books for his 11th birthday ('cause that's how old Harry is when the series starts, remember?)  Finally, my Idea (capitalized on purpose, as it is that good) was fully formed.  I would start a birthday tradition from the time he learned to read until he turned 19, and give an age appropriate, meaningful, really special book or series of books as a gift each year.  Also important to note is that the books would be real ink and paper types, and hardcover, mostly.  I worry that 13 years from now, they'll be hard to find in that format.

4 haircuts, 3 shoe sizes, 2 lost teeth, and 1 pants size ago.  Hard to believe it has only been 6 months since his first day of Kindergarten.

 His 6th birthday is coming up soon, and he's been reading since last Spring, so at last, I get to start the tradition.  I was originally thinking of getting the Junie B. Jones books, but then I read some of them.  They're cute and funny, but little Junie narrator uses very poor grammar, and talks back to her parents and is allowed to say the words "stupid" and "dumb", which our son is not.  Even though it's hard to find them together in a good set, I have fond memories of reading the Amelia Bedelia* stories when I was a child, so they win this year.  Next year, he'll get the Arthur chapter books, followed by the Little House on the Prairie series when he turns 8.  My dad gave me a great book the year I turned 9, "Stories for 9-year-olds" which I would love to find for my little guy.  Age 10 will be exciting, too, with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series finally being appropriate.  11, HP (dur) and 12, Hunger Games ('cause when they're 12, they're eligible for the reaping, you know).  Between birthdays 13 and 18, he'll need to read some Tolkien, some Twain, and some not-required-by-teachers Classics.  And then, he'll turn 19...and I don't want to think about my sweet little boy being almost out of his teens, thankyouverymuch.

Today, I spattered advice all in and out of this post, but the gist should be clear, even if you just skimmed (yeah, I know who you are, you skimmers!):  READ!

What are you reading now?  No, no.  Don't tell me.  I can't add to my list of must-reads right now!  Ok, only tell me if you're not enjoying it and wouldn't recommend it.  Deal?

*The set pictured in that link is not what I would consider "good".  They're not written by the original author of the series, there are only 3 books, and they're paperback.