A Knightly Party

We had a lovely Knight-themed party for W's 8th birthday. About 12 kids in all, a pretty manageable number. They slayed dragons in the yard, hunted for the Holy Grail, decorated helmets, did some sword fighting, jousting and castle building. I think I went a little overboard on decorations but it was such a fun theme! Now I have to get ready for a Star Wars Padawan training party in two weeks for A. Then it's Thanksgiving, then our anniversary, then Christmas, then Grandpa and Grandma are coming to visit, then New Years, then..............REST and RELAXATION! A trip to Cancun would go over nicely (hint, hint, husband). Yeah, right, maybe if we win the lottery....

8 Years Ago Today...

On October 20th, 2000 my life changed forever. On that day, a Friday morning, a sweet little boy was born. Daddy was in California so it was just me and little W, all by ourselves. I remember snuggling him as we looked out the window at the sunset over Boston. It was a quiet, peaceful time. Probably the last quiet, peaceful time we've ever had together. Joking! (not really).

• 7 years ago today we had a Harry Potter themed birthday party. I remember that Julie and Janika and Leona were there. I think Marjie was there as well. We made wizard hats and ate Bertie Bott's every flavored beans.
• 6 years ago today we had a second birthday party. W got a new wagon and we took a walk around Belmont, playing in the leaves that had fallen all over the ground.
  
• 5 years ago today I was 81/2 months pregnant with A. We were taking W to Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday party when I accidentally locked him in the car. I had to call the Fire Department and they came screeching down the street with two trucks, full-on sirens blasting. Then one guy jumps off the truck with an ax over his shoulder and I thought, "I could have broken the window myself!" But they jimmied the lock and got it open for me. The funniest part was that W fell asleep in his car seat and missed the entire thing! I did take pictures of the firetrucks for him. We finally made it to Chuck E. Cheese where he played with his friend Brielle.
• 4 years ago today we had a spider-themed party. The cupcakes had chocolate frosting with black licorice spider legs and we sat on a round white tablecloth on the floor decorated to look like a spider web.
• 3 years ago today we had recently moved to Vermont and had another addition to the family, little M. E had a business trip to Vancouver so we stopped off in Edmonton and left W and A with Grandma and Grandpa for a few days. When we returned from Vancouver we had a Thomas the Tank Engine birthday party with a really great cake with a real engine on top. Cousins and Canada friends were there.
  
• 2 years ago today the party was Krypto the Superdog. We had lots of Super Fun! Everyone got to try their superhero strength and speed.
  
• 1 year ago today it was pouring rain. Our party was all about science. We made Super Putty and different kinds of slime. And homemade root beer using dry ice. That was a lot of fun.

Which brings me back to today. I can't believe my little boy is 8 years old and in Grade 2. He's getting so big and mature, already not wanting hugs and cuddles but computer time and Legos. I hope you know how much we love you, little boy. Happy Birthday.

It's Spelled C-I-N-N-A-M-O-N

We've trained the kids to not wake us up early on Saturday mornings but to head downstairs and quietly watch TV until we get up. This past Saturday they did just that. Only they decided they were too hungry and needed to make themselves some breakfast. We've been making cinnamon toast a lot lately, so W figured he could make that, no problem. Well, when I went to check on them downstairs I couldn't help but notice this really funny, spicy smell. Upon investigation I discovered the toaster, half a loaf of bread, the sugar bin and a container of...cumin. They had mistaken cumin for cinnamon. Poor little 2nd grader, he's such a good reader and they do seem awfully close. I started laughing and explained to W, "You know, this isn't cinnamon, it's cumin. Cumin is used in chili." ""Oh," was the reply, "no wonder the cinnamon toast didn't taste very good!" It was a pretty good try, though, and they kept the mess to a minimum.

The Sweetest Rose

My husband brought me some "Thank You for your hard work and patience this week because I know I've only seen you for twenty minutes" roses. They are multicolored and just beautiful. One of the roses had broken off from its long stem and was just a short stemmed pink rose. M immediately declared it the "Belle-the-Beast" rose since she's obsessed with all things princess. She convinced her big brother to play the beast, slipped on her yellow Belle gown and they ran around the yard playing with the rose for an hour or so. Of course roses aren't really meant to be playthings so the petals all came off. Without me knowing, they snuck up to my room and helped themselves to three more roses, breaking them off to be just like the short pink one. They left the long stems on my bedroom floor. I was not very happy when I came across the evidence! Dismayed, I explained to M that those were "Mommy's special roses" and that they can't just help themselves to my things without permission. She felt bad and went into her room, crying. A just can't stand to see anyone upset so he thoughtfully headed downstairs while I was vacuuming up the mess. A little while later this is what he brought up:
He explained excitedly: "Don't worry, Mommy. M won't have to wreck any more of your roses because I made this one for her and she can keep it forever."

I think it's the sweetest rose I've ever seen.

Bugged!

That's it! Everywhere I look today I see bugs! bugs! bugs! It started with a beesting on the inside of my elbow. Finally it stopped raining and thinking to enjoy the lovely sunny day, I was sitting outside on my swing. Unfortunately I was wearing a pink shirt and the bee mistook me for a rose from the Rugosa rosebush nearby and landed on my arm. And gave me a nasty shock. Hours later, it still hurts and now I feel hypersensitive to all the bugs around me. It's like being in one of those cartoons where you can hear the caterpillar crunching and the fly buzzing really loudly everywhere. I go in the kitchen and there's a giant spider crawling across the floor (ok, maybe giant is a relative term); flies are buzzing at the screen; fruit flies have invaded the trash can; moths are waiting in the pantry; there's a fuzzy orange moth sleeping on the front door inside the house. And when I turn on the ceiling lights I can see the cobwebs and spiderwebs all over. They're everywhere! Invasion! I'm kind of hoping for snow to kill them all off.
P.S. W wants me to add, "Mommy, don't forget about all the little spiders in the corners of our rooms." Seriously, it's that bad.

So Crafty

I saw a picture similar to this in a magazine recently. The asking price? $60. I thought to myself, "That's ridiculous! I could make that." And so began my day of craftiness. First I had to find a large cone which is harder than it would seem. After searching in the (only) local craft store and the internet with no luck I remembered a craft my mom had done with a tomato cage. Right, like I'm going to find a tomato cage in October. Well, when in doubt head to Dan & Whit's, the country store in Norwich whose motto is: If We Don't Have It, You Don't Need It. The store is amazing. It's like Mary Poppins' bag where it looks tiny on the outside but is huge inside. I asked this kind man for tomato cages and he looked at me like, "ooookay, lady." But he just said, "right this way" and led me through this maze. Seriously, I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever be able to find my way out again! Sure enough, there they were, the perfectly sized and perfectly priced tomato cages. I bought six. Anyway, after some trial and error with lots of crumpled up paper and surprisingly minimal frustration, I came up with a pattern, actually sewed using my sewing machine and Ta! Da! Here is my creation. Isn't he cute? This one I'm donating to the school for a silent auction fundraiser. I'm curious to see how much money he'll fetch. And hey, I have 5 more tomato cages sitting in my dining room just waiting for a crafty makeover into cuteness!

A Swamp Story

Just had to post this funny little story before I forgot it. My brother came to visit briefly and he brought the most coveted gift of all: LEGO Star Wars characters. A and W immediately went crazy for them and have not stopped playing Legos ever since (2 days). Yesterday they disappeared for a while and when I hadn't heard them in 15 minutes or so I knew something was up. My mommy sense was tingling, you might say. So I began to search the house for them. I certainly did not expect what was awaiting me nor the hilarious (and utterly logical to a 4 and 7 year old) explanation:

Mom: Why, exactly, are you playing Legos in my shower?
Boys: But mom, we needed the mist so it could be Dagobah!

How do you argue with that? Sadly, they don't realize how cool it is that their mom even knows what Dagobah is! For those of you who may not be aware, here's a picture:


What does this say about the state of my shower? Daily shower spray, here I come!

The Proof

My sister and her husband bought M this lovely book called "The Princess Primer." It's written by a fairy godmother and gives all kinds of advice on how to be a princess such as how to choose a ballgown; matching your slippers with your handbag; different kinds of crowns and their pros and cons; how to sit on a throne properly; how to tell a good prince from a bad one, etc. You would think, at age 3, M would be too young for this sort of book. Not at all! She's a born princess from head to toe. I told my sister that M reads this book every single night and that she loves it. My sister seemed a bit skeptical so I'm posting this photo as The Proof: she loves this book! Fell asleep reading it. Too cute! My little princess.