A Party Fit for a Prince

Nicky was definitely royally treated at Putt U. He had a truly wonderful birthday party. The fun started as we drove toward the mini golf course - it's on the other side of a Jersey wall, so we had to go past and turn around to get to it. The big marquee out front read "Welcome Nicholas"!

Once we arrived, (and once the guests arrived) the kids got a personal lesson from a member of the staff. He helped them learn to putt and play (which of course the boys completely ignored for the rest of the course. Ah, well...) He made sure the birthday boy got first pick of ball color, and got to pick which course we played. The kids had an absolute blast playing the well-maintained course. Although I think they were AIMING for the water hazards.

During the game, the loudspeaker announced a very happy seventh birthday to Nicky, and everyone clapped. He thought that was pretty cool.

After the game, we returned to a warm, covered pavillion with awnings to block the wind. The kids donned their "winner" medals, and got ice cream and soda. The staff member even let us substitute chips for one girl who didn't like ice cream - without us even asking! (Oh, and that last minute store cake got eaten as well. Although, truthfully, I think the kids might just have been happy with the ice cream. And no cake. Don't let's go there.) Nicky got a Putt U T-shirt and a special golf ball with Putt U on one side and Happy Birthday on the other. After opening presents, the kids returned to playing on the stationary golf cart, which had amused them before the game started. Since no one wanted to leave, I guess it was fun!

Here's the kicker. For Nick, 6 of his friends, Kai, and one of her friends, the whole party cost a grand total of $63. (Not including goody bags, or anything associated with a certain dessert that shall remain nameless.) I think that's a pretty darn good deal!

Here's some pictures: (Let's not go down the road about how bad they are, either, 'kay?)

Pride Goeth Before A Fall...

So. Serves me right for bragging up my cake in the last post. Serves me right for making a cake for selfish, boastful, look-how-cool-my-kid's-party-is reasons.

The cake fell. And crumbled. Too much weight, and frosting. Too light cake batter. Generally, an unqualified failure. It happened slowly overnight and into the morning, but the final catastrophic failure was only moments before we SHOULD have been leaving for the party. And I was trying, and trying to fix it, getting more and more frustrated every second. Scott tried to remind me we should just forget it and go. But no. I had to get myself all frostingy, trying to salvage the last remains, and then tossing it in the sink in disgust. So I had to change, didn't I? I ran through the house, trying to get ready and not make us late, especially since we now had to pick up a cake on the way.

Well. Scott decided to be helpful. He grabbed my filthy clothes and tossed them in the washer. I came down about two minutes later, and started frantically looking for my camera for the party. Not in my bag. Not next to the computer. Not on any surface I could see. Wait...

That's right. My camera, which I love, was in the washing machine. It's completely broken. Beyond all repair. And there's no way I can afford another one until my drama salary in June. No dance recital pictures. No Springfest pictures. Maybe even no fifth grade graduation pictures.

All because I had to be a show off. And lose my temper and toss my clothes on the floor.

You see, I know I was just showing off with that cake. Because Nicky had the best party of his life with a plain old boring store bought cake. I'll post about that soon. When I'm in a better mood. And when I get the disposable camera pictures *shudder* developed and put on disk.

I'm having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I think I'll move to Australia.

Eat your heart out, Charm City Cakes

Or maybe not. :-) Okay, so I'm no Ace of Cakes. And my sister could kick my butt at cake decorating with one hand tied behind her back. (In fact, without her phone coaching, I never would have even managed this cake.) But I like the way Nicky's golf cake looks. I liked the way it looked in my head better, but we takes what we can gets. Here's a closeup.

We spent our Friday evening bustling about getting ready for Nicky's party at Putt U tomorrow. I have 7 confirmed RSVPS, 2 "no"s and 11 people who might show up since they didn't tell me either way. We put together little goody bags of sports themed pencils, erasers, and paddle balls, and added cool actual size chocolate golf balls from Josh Early. I even decorated the bags.... at least, for the kids who RSVP'ed. Beyond that, they'll just have to live with plain ol' green.

Nicky considered this birthday hat, but I don't think it would stay on long at the golf course tomorrow, so it stayed at the store. (Phew.)

I'm crossing my fingers all goes well.... and that the cake survives the car ride!!

Now I just have to learn to tie it.....

Nicky earned his white belt in Tae Kwon Do today. Truthfully, it's the beginning belt, so the earning didn't involve any skill in TKD. But he did have to learn the students' creed:

To build true confidence,

Through strength in my body,
Honesty in my heart,

And knowledge in my mind.

To keep friendship with one another,

To build a strong and happy community,

Never fight to acheive selfish ends,

But to develop MIGHT FOR RIGHT.

Which is a mouthful when you're just seven! So we were proud of him. He also got an "Academic Achiever" patch for bringing in his positive report card to his instructor. Between that, and the fact that he's already calling adults "sir" and "ma'am", we're really starting to like this whole martial arts bit.... even if he does want to spend all his time punching and kicking paper targets!

Happy (Belated) Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter, but it was too busy for me to blog about. Here's some highlights.

First, we had the traditional egg coloring.

Easter Sunday morning found us at church (naturally). The children's program was a big hit, as was the children's sermon I gave. The kids looked beautiful, and the service was lovely.

Easter Dinner was yummy and relaxing. Course, the dog got into the leftover ham, which meant I had to waste it all. *sigh*

The weirdest part of our Easter, by far, was the snow falling the day before! Here's a nice shot of it frosting my poor daffodils.

Even without all of those accoutrements, the very best part of Easter was just the knowledge of our salvation!! Christ IS Risen!! And every Easter, our voices and hearts answer, He is Risen Indeed!

Too Cold!!

What happened to our 70 degree weather?? Nicky wanted to try out his new bike this morning, but he didn't even make it down the street once because it's so bitterly cold. He was even wearing his winter jacket, but nothing doing. Ah, well. When spring and summer arrive full force, I'm sure there will be days when we wish for a chilly breeze!

Rainy Birthday Blues

Well, Nicky's birthday will probably not go down in history as the best one he's ever had. In fact, it may be the worst. First of all, it rained ALL day. Second, the office SWORE to me they'd get him his invitations, which I dropped off yesterday, but either they lied or his teacher just didn't pass them out. So the chances of anyone coming to his party next Saturday (since they won't get the invites until next TUESDAY at least thanks to break) are slim to none. And since his party isn't for another week and a half, we didn't really plan to do much on his actual birthday, which means that if no one comes to his party, his whole birthday will be pretty messed up this year. I wish we had done things differently, but what are you gonna do?

Another mistake we made was in trying to start a "tradition" of sorts that turns out not work at all for our family. For the past two years, we've given Kairi a $100 bill for her birthday. It seemed to work really well - after all, her birthday is two days after Christmas, and our gift ideas are really low. She loves to spend money, and it seemed like fun. Nicky always acted jealous, so what did we get him this year? $100, naturally. Only, it turns out that really isn't so much fun. It's a lot harder to figure out what to buy when it's "your" money. If we buy presents and go a little over budget, no harm done. There's no way to do that with a money gift, without looking supremely unfair to the other child. So when your son makes a VERY wise decision to get a bigger bike with part of his birthday money (that he actually needs, not just wants) and then buys a hoodie, or your daughter buys jeans, you can't say... Oh, those don't count... you need those things, and give them more money. Because spending the money in the first place is taking HOURS AND HOURS.... It's hard to explain, but basically, having money to spend is nice... having your seven year old HOPING that Grandma's gift is gift wrapped because he hasn't actually OPENED a present ALL day... not nice. So after running around all night spending Nicky's birthday money (his choice - we were GOING to go to some sort of fun activity - laser tag, Chuck E Cheese, something) we decided, and told the kids, NO MORE BIRTHDAY MONEY. From now on, we go back to brightly wrapped packages on the dining room table and more time to play.

Still, there were bright points to the day. Nicky got to take cupcakes that looked like ice cream cones to school. He had his favorite breakfast of bacon, eggs, and cinnamon rolls. He got to choose dinner, and we went to Old Country Buffet (more cinnamon rolls....) He had fun trying all the bikes in Toys R Us and riding down the aisles. He bought a ninja costume, and two new video games, plus his bike and Pirates of the Carribean hoodie. He got to stay up WAY past his bedtime playing video games. He got "Happy Feet" from Grandma and Grandpa and a vacation journal from Grammy and Pop-Pop. And....

He FINALLY got to start Tae Kwon Do. He's been clamoring for martial arts classes for at least two years. We never seemed to get things together for him to try a class. Finally, though, I got in contact with the teacher at Red Eagle Black Belt Academy. She seems to really know her stuff, and Nicky had his first class right after school (and she had Kairi and me participate as well - so of course, Kairi wants lessons now, too). He got his uniform at the end of the class, so he's thrilled, and he's practicing his "student creed" to earn his white belt. Nicky's over the moon about the whole thing. I am a bit concerned, because the cost makes dance look cheap (ow) but I'm going to let him give it a try for a 6 month contract. That was probably the highlight of his birthday - he was still showing Daddy punches and kicks at nearly midnight. Plus, he's taken to addressing adults as "sir" or "ma'am" and doing things the first time we tell him, which is what his teacher told him to do as part of his courtesy and respect training. (We'll see how long that lasts!)

All in all, it was a busy and not very festive birthday, but not too bad, either. I'll be crossing my fingers that SOME of his classmates come to his party!!

Oh... and HOW did my baby get to be SEVEN???

Spring

I have the whole week off for Easter this year. I've been spending my time working on the house/garden and getting ready for Easter. We don't usually really "decorate" for Easter, but I added a few little touches this year. I seem to be on a flower kick at the moment, because I made this wreath, arranged this centerpiece, and bought this pretty floral tablecloth for our Easter table.

We've also been thinking flowers outside. I dug up all the big stones near the house and by one of the trees, and used them to create two flower beds. I added just a few spring bulbs to the front bed (more for next year than anything) and have a few more bulbs to plant that will bloom later in the year. I plan on doing annuals in the porch garden this year, and trying to use staggered blooming perennials in the little oval garden. For now, though, I've stopped planting, because after I put in the daffodils and tulips and hyacinth, I checked the weather and found out they're calling for SNOW from Friday to Sunday. *sigh* I THINK it's spring.... but maybe nature has one more trick up her sleeve.

Happy Birthday! April Fools!!!

It's too late for Pop-Pop's birthday. It's too early for Nicky's birthday. But it's just right for a shared cake and presents! Nicky's birthday falls rather close to Easter this year - he'll be seven just 4 days before Easter. So his birthday party with friends isn't until the 14th. Plus, on his actual birthday, he has an appointment for his first martial arts lesson. So we combined Pop-Pop's late March Birthday with Nicky's.

Nicky picked a Cars cake, which surprised us a bit - there was a Star Wars cake right at the bakery too. But he 'splained that the Cars cake came with a toy, and the Star Wars cake just had decorations. DUH!

Hey... Mom?

The words "I need a costume for Friday" have precipitated many sewing frenzies in our house. But this one might take the cake. 1920's, flapper-style, sequins and fringe, purple dress. Oy.

You gotta admit, though... she's definitely the "cat's pajamas" in this cute outfit for a music video at school!

Jenn to the Rescue! Sort of...

I made a quick trip to New York to watch Faith when my sister had her baby. Luckily, she went into labor on a day that let me be there, with only a little finessing! Baby Julianna is SOOO adorable, and I had lots of fun with big sister Faith, too. I was really glad to get home to my kids on Sunday, though... I forgot how nice it is to have kids who are old enough to follow directions (and not need diapers!) Plus, Scott and the kids really missed me - and I missed them! It was my first time in 10+ years sleeping without Scott next to me!

Field Trip... Fun?

Well, okay. It wasn't really as much fun as I thought taking 200 kids to the Franklin Institute. Too many logistical problems kept getting in the way. But the kids had LOTS of fun, so that counts! Plus, I got a really nice preview for when I take my own kids this summer - our vacation plans are to see Philly and visit the Outer Banks.

The kids in my group especially liked the Sky Bike, and anything that blinked, flashed, or made noise. Yup, 12 year olds are still very young in some ways! We also got to see the King Tut exhibit, see a really amazing IMAX film, and teach students about why we don't buy from street vendors. (sigh)

Since the students learned and enjoyed, and we didn't lose anyone... we'll call this a success! (My headache at the end of the day notwithstanding!)

Dance Like Nobody's Watching

10 Things I Learned While Watching My Kids At Dance Class Visitation Days:

1. Nicky loves to dance. He really does, and is not just doing it because he thinks we want him to, or because his sister does it.

2. Kairi is very focused and professional about her dancing. She listens intently to all of the teacher's directions. I hope she loves it... but it wasn't quite as clear to me.

3. Nicky likes tap and jazz MUCH MUCH better than ballet. But he's got serious talent in ballet.

4. Kairi likes tap and jazz better than ballet, too. But her classes are back to back, and by the end of ballet, she's kind of dragging.

5. My kids can speak French. Who knew? Apparently, you just have to rattle off about 20 French words, and they can follow a complicated sequence of moves without even glancing at the teacher.

6. Kids look adorable when they are dancing, but they don't always look happy. And when they do look happy, they're moving WAY too quick to catch on camera!

7. Both of my kids have RHYTHM. Some of the kids in the class know the steps, but not how to keep them in time with the beat. Some can do both. Kai and Nick are option B.

8. Classes have more warm up and floor exercises and barre time than actual practice of their recital dances. They work HARD.

9. I don't really like some of the other parents. Particularly the ones who think Nicky doesn't belong in their daughter's classes - cause he does. Or who think I'm a whiner because when I saw Kai's costume for this year, I insisted that she be allowed to wear a body liner underneath it - she's 10, self-concious, and doesn't need to show belly.

10. Despite all of the hassles, expense, and frustrations, dance is worth every penny.

Coloring Away the Midwinter Blahs

Been a couple of weeks since I posted. Work has had me buried up to my eyeballs, and we've had a lot of sickness in the family, too. Fortunately, we did take a weekend for family time not too long ago. I kidnapped Scott for a night out and saw Music and Lyrics, a really quite sweet romanticomedy. Then, we took the kids to the Crayola Factory. It was great, because we really took our time and enjoyed the day together. Also, since it was the day after Read Across America, we got to meet the Cat in the Hat!

Here's some highlights. First, gotta love this sculpture over the back entrance:

Kai and Nick posed with a few "celebrities". The Cat made it clear he liked Nicky's shirt!

Of course, we created LOTS of artwork:

And we visited the canal museum upstairs, which turned out to be QUITE good. The kids loved the huge model of a canal that let them float boats through locks and under tunnels:


We actually managed to follow all the directions for hitching this mule, too. Although, had he been a REAL mule, he probably would have kicked us several times before we were done!


Why is it that putting laundry in the basket is a chore at home, but they can scrub it for fun at a museum??

The train room was also a big hit...

And all the rest....

Not that I think anyone is still looking at these... but I wanted to finish the blogging of them, since I finished the making of them. I was the only scrapper to finish all 28 layouts... and I won! Which was really neat, but the best part was just getting so many memories out of my camera files and on to paper. I scrapbook because I want to remember things. But someday, I hope my kids will look at these, and remember, too. I'm glad to be done with such a BIG challenge, though, because I don't want them to necessarily remember that I was ALWAYS scrapping, lol!