Monday, October 19, 2009

Perspective

It's days like yesterday that make it all worth it. Perfect fall weather. Happy, healthly husband and kids enjoying the leaf raking/blowing/jumping/throwing. Counting my blessings.....










Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Oh, was this a kid's bday party??

Sophie wanted to be able to celebrate her birthay with her three favorite boy friends as well, and since they weren't invited on Friday to the AG store, they came over yesterday after school for ice cream cake. Of course, that meant that Sylvia and Kathleen would have to come too. It had a been a crazy day for me, I was running all over with the twins to get things done, including taking them to lunch at Sophie's school. Have you been in an elementary school lunchroom lately? How they hear anything in there is beyond me, the noise is deafening. It was fun seeing all her friends, and watching her pass out the Rice Krispy treats I had made for them. Of course, Michael loved the social aspect of it, he was sitting with the 5th grade boys by the time lunch was over. Then we had to go to the gym, the Art room and the Music room so Sophie could give each of those teachers a birthday RK treat. In the gym, Coach D put Michael and Emily on a scooter and taught them how to play Sharks and Surfers. In the Music room Mr. Savage had the class sing Happy Birthday to Sophie while he played it on his recorder. Oh, and Michael got to play the bongo drums. By the time they start Kindergarden there, they will know their way around just fine.


So when Kathleen called to check what time to come, and we discussed how the preschool had been on lockdown for the car jacking a few miles away, I told her to bring wine. I was having a crazy day, but she had been locked in her classroom for 90 minutes with 13 three year olds...not enough wine in the world for that! So here's how the party started...I sent all the kids to the basement while I "got things ready". Here's what that looked like:




Yes, apparently I have a thing for redheaded girlfriends........

We finally released the hounds from the basement and they had a fun time singing Happy Birthday to Sophie and opening presents. Everyone left at 5:20, and my husband walked in the door at 5:40 with Sophie's requested birthday pizza. Nicest birthday party ever!


Sunday, October 04, 2009

September, October.....birthdays again

I have had this blog since January 2006 and this is the first time I let an entire month pass without one single post. I could say Facebook is to blame, and while that might be somewhat true, it is not the only reason. I do think that FB has made me more complacent...who needs to write paragraphs when you can just post a pithy sentence or two? I knew I was really slacking off when my sister in law got a FB account just to see updated pictures of my kids, and to hear about what we were up to. I like FB, that I will admit. It has allowed me to reconnect with dozens of people from all aspects of my life: High School, College, Work and Singlehood. And it's nice to stay connected to relatives and siblings you don't get to see or talk with on a regular basis. But, it also fuels the "instant gratification" fix that people today seem to crave. I started this blog as a way to keep family informed of how the twins were doing. They were only 4 ms. old then and my free time was non existent. As I got into it, I realized how I enjoyed the writing aspect, and soon was blogging to have a creative outlet for myself, and one that provided tangible results. Truth be told, I do miss that outlet, and vow to post more here, and maybe less on FB......


And the trouble with not blogging regularly is that when you do post, what the heck do you say? So instead of trying to recreate the past month, here is what we did last night. I took Sophie and two of her friends to the American Girl doll store. Sophie was allowed to pick out a doll for herself, and each of her friends brought a bit of money to get something for their dolls. We then went to IHOP for dinner, where one child per adult eats free, plus Sophie ate free since it was her bday, plus they got a huge free desert. So...even though the doll was pricey, the whole evening was still less than a regular birthday party would have been. (and a whole lot simpler...no invitations to create and mail, no goodie bags, etc.) The two friends spent the night and this morning they had a lovely time playing till 10am.



We were accosted by the ladies at the "fake hair" booth on our way to the AG store. Before anyone knew what was happening she has clips in Sophie's hair and a fake hairpiece in Sarah's. Can you say "Tears and Tiaras"??






Sophie had been talking about getting Kit for weeks, she is from the 1930's, and we knew her story from the movie of last year. Here's Sarah with her Kit and Sophie with hers....




Until she thought about it some more and decided on Julie, who is from 1974 and lives in San Francisco. I believe the deciding factor was that Julie has long hair, and anyone knows you can do a lot more with that than with a pageboy like Kit's.



Sophie, Sarah and Sarah Kate with Julie, Kit and Julie. Finally done at the store, it's off to IHOP for dinner.


But first a quick stop at the playground so they can run around and get really hungry. There was a big discussion in the car about whether or not to bring the dolls on the playground. I encouraged leaving them in the car, because I knew who would get stuck holding all three of them....



Me and my girl at IHOP. I still can't believe my little bean is turning 8, it just doesn't seem possible. The wait staff came out clapping and singing to her with a huge sundae for all of them, it was one of the few times I have ever seen Sophie embarrassed. Further proof she is growing up.









Who else remembers making these kinds of potholders?



Of course, no sleepover is complete without a manicure. They wanted me to do their toes, but I passed on that.