A Lorax Birthday

Yesterday we had a much overdue birthday celebration.  Little turned eight in December.  December, however,  is a tough month for birthdays.  Thus we've made a habit of putting off her actual party until late winter. 

This year we decided to go see The Lorax.  We made truffula tree cupcakes, embroidered party favors, lorax moustaches and little potting jars complete with a pack of seeds. You can see my inspiration board here.  

I'm doing my best not to go overboard and thus only permitted Little to invite a few girls.  If she'd had her druthers she'd have invited her whole class.  I was definitely not up for that.  I prefer keeping things small and homemade.  

Project notes: 

• The embroidery project was fun.  I found great tufted yarn from Michaels.  It made wonderful Truffula tree toppers.   
• The little pots were on sale at JoAnns.  I used a set of letter stamps and a touch of black paint to add the "unless" to the surface.  
• I found these great stripey straws on Etsy.  I used them for both the moustache handles and the Truffula tree trunks. 
• I was going to make my own cotton candy for the tree toppers but decided that was too ambitious.  We found cotton candy at a local candy shop.  The fresher the better with your cotton candy -- it will shrink up and not look so good over time.  In other words get fresh cotton candy and make your trees the day of the party (preferably just before the party).  
• The moustaches were cut from a yellow school folder -- a six moustaches for .59 cents.  Can't beat that!

Checking out the river before the movie

We had everyone dropped off at the house and then drove them to the movies.  The girls were WILD before the movie -- running, charging, screaming, giggling.  What was I thinking taking five eight-year-olds to the theater?  We made it there successfully and no one fell in the river.

Once at the theater we bought a large tub of popcorn and divvied it up into paper lunch bags; one for each girl.  Thankfully they calmed down once the movie started and a good time was had by all.

Phew!  Another successful birthday complete, for another year at least.

xo.

The Simple Things

"It's the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

We've been busy crafting over here; making embroidered mushrooms and felted gnomes for our upcoming party. As I was digging through my crafting cupboard I came across the very first piece I embroidered (the cat pillow). I must've been five or six years old. This was a school project and I was quite proud of my work.

Little has been intrigued by my sewing and is making pieces of her own. You can see her interpretation of the mushroom house in the green hoop above. She also made a cat of her own design. I'd like to collect her work and make a pillow or even a small quilt.

I love that she's interested in fiber arts. The simple pull of the needle up and down, up and down soothes the soul. There's no better way to to unwind than with embroidery and knitting. It's meditation with a tangible by product.

And now back to it. The party approaches and there are three little girls in need of favors.

XOXO.

Gnomtastic!

Ah the perils of winter. Each day starts with so much promise. By day's end something always remains undone. In summer the days are longer. The energy lasts. In winter not so much.

Case in point. At the end of December the littlest Peculiar turned seven. She was honored with a small family celebration but we've yet to have her "official" party. And yes, her birthday was two months ago.

But I'm on it. The planning has begun (finally). As compared to last year we are going small. Next weekend Little and a few good friends are going to see Gnomeo and Juliet. Our family doesn't often go to the theater so this will be a real treat.

The invitations were born from a Gnome book which belonged to my Grandfather. A quick photograph and a touch of photoshop magic and voila! Invitations. As for party favors I'm planning on making these and these and these. I might even tuck in a few acorns to boot. Oh and I have some old Gnome Nick and Nora pajamas. They will likely resurface as a goody bags. The beauty of a small affair? More time to spend on the details.

I'd like to tell you I'm doing this just for Little and friends. But the truth of the matter is these gnomes and mushroom houses are medicinal. An infusion of cheer smack dab in the middle of a drab winter.

Now off to embroider, that is until a client bounds through the door. Ah life in the ER!

Happy Birthday Baby!

Today is Little's birthday. She is seven. SEVEN! It's shocking really. 2010 has come and gone. My baby is no longer a baby. And I'm pushing forty. Forty. Eeek!

I must admit it gives me pause -- this business of time. Where has it gone? I am reminded of Mary Oliver's famous quote, "What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

What indeed? I have many many plans for 2011. Resolutions of sorts. But that's for another post.

I want to talk about today. Snow is periodically blowing from the west and baby it's cold outside!

Given the weather it's all about snuggling and nesting. This, of course, starts in the kitchen. Meat is boiling for tamales (to be built tomorrow). Alfredo mac 'n cheese is on deck for dinner. No knead bread is fermenting in the kitchen. Chocolate cherry cupcakes will soon be done. We have a family movie for tonight (How to Tame a Dragon). And Mama and Papa have a lovely bottle of wine.

This morning Little opened her gifts. With frugality in mind her present was homemade-- a cash box for lemonade stands (yes, yes -- I am aware 'tis hardly the season but summer will be here before we know it!)

What started as an ugly thrifted cash box turned into this:

I think it turned out pretty good. It's amazing what some spray paint, printed labels and mod podge will do. Now we wait for warmer weather. In the meantime Little has turned this into her piggy bank for safe money storage.

Love the labels? I found many of them here.

I hope you are having a wonderful cozy winter's day!

Fourteen

Today is my son's fourteenth birthday. FOURTEEN! I am the mother of a teenaged boy who next year will be starting HIGH SCHOOL. I'm doing my best to ignore this fact, the idea that I am possibly old enough to be the parent of such a child. But that number 14 keeps sneaking up ever so stealthily and tapping me on the shoulder.

"Hello old lady." says Fourteen.

"Hi." I mutter and walk away.

You see I need more time. Somehow I expected to be wiser at this juncture. I expected to be a veritable bank of wisdom -- handing out knowledge like a millionaire dispensing dollar bills. But me? I'm still making my way. And this poor boy is along for the bumpy ride. Truth-be-told he's taught me more than I'll ever teach him.

And, very soon, this young man will be venturing out into the world without me. Eeegads. I'm still mourning the loss of the toddler he once was. That precious little boy who held my hand and told me all about his day playing on the dar-bee-two (barbeque).

Today he really is a young man. Taller than me and muscular. And living a life that isn't necessarily Mama centered -- fishing, texting, WWF (and we're not talking the world wildlife federation here). Him and Papa are two peas in a pod -- as it should be for a boy making his way in life.

He is a spectacular kid and I'm so very proud of who he is and who he will become.

Happy Birthday Baby!

And now, if you'll excuse me, I must wipe the tears from my eyes and make that child some cupcakes.

❊❊❊ ❊❊❊ ❊❊❊

Birthday Party Success!

I'm going to print myself a tee-shirt that says I hosted a six-year-old birthday party and survived! And we did - we survived! At one point there were twenty-one kids in our house; fifteen six or under and few older kids to boot.

As each child entered the house they were handed a newspaper hat to decorate. This kept the kids busy while everyone was arriving. Then we were ready for games.

Middle Daughter was amazing. She wrangled these little people into line, divided them into groups and sent them to their respective stations. Nary a tear was shed.

We fished for words, had an add em up beanbag toss and a snow globe making station. (The fun was sprinkled with a touch of math, spelling and science. Sorry - couldn't help myself).

After that cupcakes; old-fashioned chocolate and vanilla with a hint of lime (omit the cherry and add a touch of lime zest). Both were topped with buttercream frosting. Each cupcake was different. Some were decorated with deer, some with silver trees and some with cherries. And yet there was no fighting, no tears. We had forty-eight cupcakes. Today only a few stragglers remain.

Finally the presents. Oh the presents. Way. Too. Many. I wish I'd thought in advance about gifting alternatives. My daughter is attending a party today where they are having a book exchange. Each child brings a book and each child leaves with a book. I love that!

My task today is to clean the mess from yesterday's festivities. I may hide a few of the gifts; either to be re-gifted or brought out at a later date.

Two hours was just the right amount of time. The kids were done. I was done. Each child left with a gift bag containing a coloring book, pencil container and roll of Rolos.

I'd venture to say the party was a success. Now I can breathe a huge sigh of relief. I might even find the time to ship those remaining Christmas gifts that are boxed but not yet sent.

Have a lovely weekend!

Frugal Friday: Birthday Edition

My youngest daughter turned six a couple of weeks ago. Next week we'll be having her party. In the past Little's birthdays have been smaller affairs. But this year she is in kindergarten and has gobs and gobs of friends. Her mother is also a sucker and doesn't want to leave anyone out. So we invited all twenty-one kids from her class. Yes. Twenty-one. They won't all show up, will they? No. They couldn't possibly. Nonetheless, if they do all show, we'll be ready.

The party will be at our house. Old carpets, mediocre furniture and scratched wood floors are perfect for a mob of five and six year olds. The theme is "Winter Wonderland". Already we made these fun snowflakes for the windows. The birthday crown has been crafted and I'm hoping to sew a bunting before next week (from my thrifted fabric stash of course).

We'll be making cupcakes -- some decorated with these toppers and some like this (assuming I can figure out how to make the snowflakes). Cupcakes are a birthday tradition in the Peculiar Household and I'm rather excited to get baking.

Now on to activities. Little loves, as in absolutely adores, snow globes. As such we'll be making our own. For months I've been collecting glass jars of all shapes and sizes. I've also been gathering figurines while out thrifting. Plus I picked up a few spiderman and fairy cake toppers that ought to do nicely.

We are working on the snow globe prototype today. The good news is that it doesn't leak (I used a silicone glue around the inside of the lid). However there is quite a bit of "white space" and it would be nice if the figurine were raised a bit. How to do this? How to do this? Back to the drawing board for this one. I am soliciting brilliant ideas - if you have any please let me know.

As for other activities I'm not sure yet. I was considering a game of twister, perhaps pin the tail on something and/or a fishing game. Any suggestions? I'd love to hear what you do for parties.

And, finally, the party favors. Of course each child will get to take home a snow globe. But I also want to send them with a goody bag. I want something that will foster creativity and keep the party goers occupied. I'm not fond of plastic junk that soon fills the landfill. But what to do?

Then yesterday I found a great deal on little colored pencil packs at Michael's - eight small colored pencils for a dollar. And those pencils triggered my memory -- handmade coloring books (something I intended to make for the holidays but didn't quite get around to).

Using this tutorial and this one a coloring book came to fruition. We already had card stock (thank you Stephanie!), paper and ink. Instead of book binding tape we used blue painters tape. It worked quite nicely thank you very much. I did splurge and buy a corner trimmer (what a cool gadget!). We used drawings found online - one animal for each letter of the alphabet. (Twenty bonus points to the person who guesses what animal we used for the letter "x"!). All in all it was relatively easy.

Whew! *wipes brow*. And there you have it. A birthday party for, potentially, twenty plus kids. All that for under $100.00. (The total amount spent thus far is about $50.00 but I'm giving myself a cushion for unanticipated expenses).

Happy Frugal Friday!

Happy Birthday To Me.

Today is my birthday.  I've been on this planet for thirty-eight years.  I learned long ago that birthdays, though special, are also just one of 365 days.  And on that note I rang in my birthday with a midnight vacuuming of the living room.  This morning I ran a load of dishes and also managed to finish a couple of loads of laundry.  This afternoon I cleaned my daughters' room.  

On the bright side I squeezed in a morning bike ride (if you want legs of a behemoth try pumping a bike uphill with a 60# parachute, aka bike trailer). 

 My husband also took me to lunch; mmmm - crispy crab sandwich.   The family gave me a pepper mill and asian wire strainer.  These will come in quite handy when I attempt to fry up the zucchini blossoms growing in our garden.  

I thought the perfect end to my day would be to walk with the kids to the library and farmer's market (the husband had to work).  I thought wrong. 

Things started out innocent enough.  An ice cream truck passed as we left the neighborhood.  The girls were giddy and each bought a popsicle.  But the sugar high was short-lived. As we neared the library things went swiftly downhill.  Middle daughter was thirsty.  She was about to perish. And she desperately wanted her OWN library card.  

This is not a new discussion.  I like to keep all our checked out items on one card so I know what is due and when.  And middle daughter does not have a strong history of responsibility. She's been told that if she demonstrates responsible behavior then she could earn her own library card.  

"But how?" she moans (as if sounding like an injured seal is likely to make me change my mind). 

"By taking care of your room," I reply through gritted teeth. This conversation is all too familiar and I know where the trail leads.  

"But I don't like that!"

"Well part of responsibility is doing things you don't like." 

 (In an alternate reality I'd have already strangled her but in this world part of being responsible is avoiding public strangulation and as such I demonstrated my role admirably.  Her head remains firmly attached to her body).  

Middle daughter proceeded to pout and stomp her way though the library.  At checkout time my youngest daughter was taking the security cases off our movies.  It seems middle daughter also wanted to participate.  They managed to get into a SHOUTING MATCH in the lobby.  Then middle daughter shoved my son who was trying to reason with her.  I stood between them and shoved them both to break it up (Parenting 101: Proper Ways to Shove Children in Public).  

Gaaah.  So I threatened to go straight home and skip the market.  

"Noooo mom.  Nooooo! We'll be good."  

Yeah right.  When has a promise like that ever panned out?   But I wanted to go to the market and it was my birthday. 

They were each given a $3.00 spending budget.  Middle daughter immediately bought a drink for $2.50 that she didn't like.  It ended up in the garbage.  Then she borrowed a dollar from her sister to buy a brownie.   In the meantime little sister freaked out because she only had two dollars.  I gave her another dollar.  She wanted candy.  The farmer's market does not have candy.  They have cookies and brownies and rice krispy treats and candied nuts and lemonade and blueberries and cherries and all kinds of other goodies that most children would love.  But no.  Not her.  CANDY!

That was it.  We left.  Picture a woman, thirty-eight-years old (to be exact) lips pursed pushing a stroller.  In the stroller is a five-year-old frantically waving three dollars and shrieking, "I WANT TO EAT SOMETHING!  MOMMY I WANT TO EAT!"  

Lucky for us we still had a mile walk uphill.  So, yes, happy birthday to me.  Those same children are now peacefully playing Jenga together on our wood floor.  Go figure. 

And now it seems the laundry and dishes beckon.  They will pair well with an entire bottle of wine.  

+++++++++++

I had another topic, another post, for today.  It seems it will have to wait.  

++++++++++ 

Happy Birthday Baby!

Dear Sissy,

Eight-years-ago today you entered this world. I felt those early labor pains, familiar after your brother, and knew you were coming. But we had time. We took your brother to preschool. We told him he’d be able to meet you when school got out. I called Grandma and Grandpa. We went to the mall; all of us - you, me, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa and Great-Grandma. We bought a rug - the one that sits under the coffee table at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. We walked around the mall stopping only when the pain demanded. You were getting closer.

We needed to eat. Actually you and I didn’t eat but the rest of them did. We went to the Olive Garden. We sat at the big round table in the back. The waiter was concerned. He did not understand why everyone was eating and chatting when you were on your way. I didn’t want to get to the hospital too soon. I didn’t want to be chastised by the labor nurse. I cheated. I took one bite of ravioli - did you enjoy it? We left a big tip. Then we went to the hospital. It was time, you were coming.

The doctor broke my water (the sack of fluid that cushioned you from this world). There was no going back. The anesthesiologist was busy, someone was having surgery and required his assistance. You were coming despite the pain.

We were all there; you, me, Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa and Great-Grandma. The room was big and had south-facing windows filtering the afternoon light. I pushed and pushed. Suddenly you came, a full head of black hair, two inches long, an afternoon baby, bathed in gorgeous light. You were quiet. I was worried. I should have known you were merely taking it all in, observing. And then you cried, your lungs filled with oxygen, you had decided to join us after all. You, my smart, sweet, gorgeous little baby had arrived.

Papa went to get your brother. You looked up at me with those big blue questioning eyes, “Are you my mother?” The nurse bathed and swaddled you. Great-Grandma held you in her arms, 92 years between generations, the continuum of life. Your brother came. He looked at you and said “Hi baby!” He showed you how to turn a straw into a whistle. He watched you eat. He asked, “Mommy, is there chocolate milk in your boobies?” You would ask this same question in another four years.

And here we are, 2922 days later, leap years included. You are still my baby, my smart sweet sassy gorgeous little baby. I love you more than you’ll every know. Happy Birthday little baby! Happy Birthday!

All my love,
Mom