Today, we celebrated both James' and Kathrynn's birthdays. We saw no point in throwing two big parties with them so close together. So, instead, we invited a bunch of friends and family and celebrated the children's accomplishments together.
James chose a dino theme and was excited to pull out the box of decorations I'd snagged from freecycle last year to put up at the park. There were even a few balloons that I got although, his wound up getting popped by a jelous three year old sister. Sigh... Even Kitty was happy to see her huge balloon (it's bigger than she is, literally) and her little banner.
Today was one crazy day. I got up before 5 (completely by accident and if I'd realized what time it was I would have marched right back to bed) and was actually ahead for once. Until disaster struck; we had two, yes, two, cake fiascos. The first one was Kitty's. I'd gotten a really cute silicon pan to make a pullapart butterfly for her. I have used silicon before but this is the first time it all stuck so I wound up with a huge mound of cake not in the shape of a butterfly. :( It was easily fixed by turning it into a trifle. It was layered with vanilla pudding, peaches and blueberries. It came out really cute.
Now, as for James'.... well, it wasn't that easily fixed. James wanted this dino cake and I thought, sure, no problem. Wrong although, not in the way you think. The body came out beautifully and even the cake meant to fashion the rest of the head & tail. That is, until it got eaten. Yep, my wonderful husband whom was supposed to be watching kidlets managed to let them sneak into the kitchen and they ate half of an 8" round cake. Grrr.... So I got to make another one at the last minute (it also overflowed and set my oven on fire) and it was cooling when I went to the party, sans cake!
I got to turn around an hour and a half later, go home, spend 15 minutes assembling the darn thing, frosting it, and then hauling it and the other two cakes (oh, we were also celebrating my nephew Jordan's bday) back to the park during which time my MIL & SIL had taken over, children had gotten the idea of cake and were now demanding it and somehow presents were getting opened without me. :( Still, in the end, it was worth it and everyone had a lot of fun. The potluck idea was also a stroke of genius because not only did I spend much less money than I would have providing a full lunch, but there was a much bigger variety. Lots of bean salads (all different types) and fruit salads showed up. And the kids made out like fat rats, both recieving far more than I would have likes. Still, I was happy to see lots of books, outside toys and a few games vs. a lot of plastic junk requiring batteries. There are two presents received that need batteries (one hasn't come in yet, and I don't know what it is) and there other is a little glow worm. I don't mind a glow worm and I'm wondering what the other item is and if I'm going to be strangling a SIL. Actually, there was a third toy that takes batteries, a big plastic dino, but James doesn't know that it can make noises since there aren't any batteries in it and so far he's ecstatic with it.
I was pleased that several members of my homeschool group also came. I wish there had been more, but planning this on Father's Day was the smartest thing to do although, we didn't know that it was Father's Day when we picked the date. Ah, well, there's always next year. I was happy to be able to spend some time with them, and one of the women even had the idea of having an ethnic potluck later this summer. The idea is for each family to choose one or two dishes from their ethnic background and then bring them, introducing the children to all kinds of different foods while giving a bit geography as well. It sounds really neat and I hope it works out.
So, here's the huge slideshow (sorry if it takes a long time to load) of all the pics. Slide your mouse over the pics to pause it and to see any captions.
The musings of my childrens journey in the wonders of love, life, and spirituality. Love, Live, Laugh, and Learn. That's what it's all about. Welcome and blessed be.
* Carey ~ Beloved husband that puts up with everything.
He's majoring in history, loves to read, play D&D and Mech Warriors.
* Ami ~ Me. Busy teacher and housewife. I love to spend
time with the kids, read, garden, cook, knit, sew, make my own soaps
and salves.
* James ~ Our oldest at five. He loves to build with blocks, enjoys the guitar, adores robots and believes he
can't live without his trucks (and skateboard).
* Charles ~ My little monkey! Our youngest son at four, he
is the most precious gift ever recieved on a birthday.
He's a wonderful, sunny little guy that's very inquisitive and artistic.
* Meradydd ~ Our oldest daughter at three.
An opinionated and exceedingly bossy little girl with a temper to match her copper hair.
My little fashion diva that loves shoes, furlies, & hair pretties.
* Kathrynn ~ Kitty is my 1 year old little angel. She's a beautiful, mellow little girl that's extremely patient but is also starting to show her claws.
Abraham Lincoln ~ You have a Bible and a library card what more could you possibly need? You prefer the Charlotte Mason Method of reading living books for everything: historical fiction, biographies, real histories, nature guides, etc. No soon-to-be-outdated textbooks for you. Visit my blog: Guilt Free Homeschooling Take this quiz!
