Hadley's Third Birthday - Best Laid Plans

So, I was hoping to have a rundown of the decorative plans I had in mind for the little guy's birthday, along with some pictures of the whole thing for you today. Well, I have some pictures, but they don't show much of anything.

With all three of us under the weather and unsure of whether or not we'd be super contagious, we had originally decided to cancel the whole thing. Then, after talking with my mother a bit, we decided just to have the grandparents over. There are a couple of newborns in the family that we wouldn't want to get what we've got, so we cut it back. Besides, I had already bought tons of food (which there was no way we could save another week or two for a party that we weren't even sure others could attend), so it would be great to celebrate the day in a low-key way.

That said, I still worked hard (which, as a pregnant lady means that I worked until my belly ached -- the belly knows when it's time to slow down, y'know) to bake and chop and grate and assemble. As the time drew nearer and nearer, I realized I wouldn't have the time I'd hoped to do the decorating I had planned on.

No baby blue streamers. No Peter Rabbit cake topper and wall hanging. No poufs. No Pinterestworthiness.

That's not a word, but it's definitely a thing.

But, we did have time to do a thorough cleaning job, and last night at 11pm I found myself sketching chalkboard drawings to bring a little festivity. Oh, in complete honesty, this stuff finally took the place of my spring chalkboard and *ahem* Easter baskets. Seriously. I've been slacking. ;-)

So, from the things I grabbed at the local "dollar store", I used some faux greenery on vines to give a little garden feeling. And, seriously, don't fresh fruit and veggies do a great job at hitting both a) feeding partygoers and b) adding to the 'garden' theme?

 Sorry, beverages. Party was underway and, as usual, Dave took the pics while I did last-minute stuff.

So, we served a pared-down version of the original menu: loads of fruit, veggies and homemade herb dip (Ina Garten), cold cuts with fresh rolls, chips/cheese/crackers, "munchies" (Annie's chocolate bunnies and bunny snack mix...get it? Peter Rabbit??), and our family's favorite pasta salad (Mom brought). Water, lemonade and iced tea for the hot day's beverages. Oh, and chocolate-covered strawberries (Ina, again), homemade carrot cake (good ol' Good Housekeeping - very moist, but took FOREVER to grate the carrots) with cream cheese icing, and an untouched strawberry rhubarb crisp. Admittedly, everyone was stuffed, so that'll be breakfast this week. ;-)

I know it still sounds like a lot, but considering I cut the decorating down to next to nothing and we didn't have tomato pie and sausage bread and stuff...it was far less crazy and more chill than it would've been. Oh, and for the record, it's the only cold cuts I've had (I believe?!) the entire pregnancy. I cheated, but at least I didn't have a beer...right??

Considering we only had three guests (my stepdad wasn't feeling well) plus the three of us, this kid got GIFTS. Thomas stuff, clothes galore, books, a fishing game he's loved at his cousin's, some superhero stuff, a bubble mower and A SHAAAAARK! (We also saved some stuff for tomorrow since that's his actual day, but MAN I'm thinking we should save some of it for Christmas!)

When it was time to nap and he melted down, you could hear how sick he still is. Super runny nose, incredibly raspy...not as croupy as when he sleeps, but not good, poor thing. I'm just glad that his daddy and I have gotten past that "I don't feel goooooood" whiny crappy feeling so that we could focus on how awesome our special guy is.

We felt awful that we couldn't party it up with the whole family (namely, his super fun cousins, and I always love seeing my siblings), but I know we'll see everyone throughout the summer, so we're trying not to focus on it too much. Considering he's only turning 3 and he doesn't have a huge circle of friends yet, it was still a memorable, fun day meant to make him feel remembered. I'd say, snotty noses aside, it was a success!

Now, if he could just feel better. :-(

On a positive ending, we didn't realize how much Hadley has changed in the past year until Dave started putting together his annual video. Wow. A year ago, his words existed but were guttural and communication was highly emotionally-charged. A recent BabyCenter email updated me that he's probably saying 3-word sentences now, but it's sooo far from the truth. Aside from run-ons, he's incredibly verbal, and his vocabulary surprises us with its complexity. We still have our toddler meltdowns, but he's much better able to communicate his feelings.

He helps when we give him a task. He's open and welcoming to the idea of a little sibling (he insists it's a girl and today said her name is "Flamingo"). He's sweet with a tiny mischievous side, prefers running to sitting still, and is dying for us to find him more friends. Somewhere along the way, he's started coming to us with spontaneous moments of love and brief cuddles, which he was never a fan of before. Overall...the kid rocks.

Here are some of the answers to some questions I asked him:

Favorite Things - Age 3

Color - "Blue." (funny, it's usually orange)
Toy - "My firetruck." (really?!)
Stuffed animal - "My lamby."
Thing to take to bed - "My shark."
Fruit - "I like all of them."
Cereal - "Gorilla Munch."
Breakfast - "Gorilla Munch." (I blame the order of the questions on that answer)
Lunch - "Peanut butter and jelly." (had to answer for him; this is his fave)
Dessert - "Ice cream." (not really, he doesn't eat the stuff)
Beverage - "Grape juice!"
Dinner - "Nothing, nothing, nothing." (I think lunch and breakfast are his big meals; he'd prefer not eat dinner.)
Animal - "Uuummm...a lizard!"
Book - "Pajama Time."
Song - "1-2-3 sing with me...(continues singing own lyrics)"
Game - "Matthew and me used to play golf. And Aunt Mary and Lizzie and Uncle John were there...."
TV Show - "Cartoon Batman" (the 1970s cartoon version, although we know he loves "60s Batman", too.)
Movie - "The Muppets"
Thing to do outside - "Run around."
Best friend - "Cooper." (Actually, equal parts Cooper and Lizzie, so the answer varies.)
Job when he grows up - "Do Daddy's job...Lego Batman exercise!" (He wants to use Dave's old Lego Batman Wii game but knows he can't until he's big.)

Hadley 2.0

Hadman is officially a two-year-old, y'all. It happened. And I was, once again, a kinda crappy blogger. After putting a crapload of time into putting the party together (not a complaint; I enjoy doing stuff like that), I failed to take any Pinterest-worthy pictures. Okay, I failed to take many even halfway decent pictures.

See why I don't own a DSLR camera? I don't deserve one. *hangs head*

But, guess what I do have, folks. *points to head* The memory and the words, so it's time to put pen to paper fingers to keyboard and spill the deets. After all, we all know... I. Rite. Good. Goodly. ;-)

The realization that the day might not go as planned came Saturday -- the night before the big event. See, there's a huge local 15k/5k/wheelchair run that gets mad exposure (and brings mad tourist dollars) to the area. Out of all the run's 30+ years, it never had to cancel, but the impending weather for it (which happened to be Hadman's birthday) was seriously threatening it.

Spoiler alert: The weather turned out fine. Not rain-free, mind you, but not tornadic like earlier in the week. (Not kidding.) Whew.

But, because we knew there was a chance of rain/high winds/severe weather, I decided to nix a vast majority of the decorations. *frowny face* I tossed up a chalkboard banner I had filled in to say "Happy Birthday Hadley" (with ducks and stars cutey-ing it up) and a cool little plaque that I can't wait to reuse every year, as well as a Duck from "Click, Clack, Moo" that I quickly sketched. Add some chevron fabric for the food table, a few party hats, and a smattering of neat duck facts (I'm nothing if not a fact finder), and I called it a day.

 

I kept reminding myself that it wasn't about the fancy. It wasn't about the Pinterestworthy pictures (which I probably would've tried to get if I hadn't been distracted by the weather). It wasn't even about the food, necessarily. It was about Hadley's day, and if he and everyone who came had fun, that was the damn point. It helped me chill out a bit. A bit.

The food wasn't too crazy, but it kills me that I didn't grab a picture of my fruit skewers. Kills. Me. :-P Just picture: skewers with blueberries and strawberries in one mason jar, another with pineapples/cantaloup/watermelon on another set of skewers in a mason jar. *sigh* I tossed the rest of the loose fruit in a bowl near some honey yogurt dip (I wasn't a fan, but I don't like honey; next time just vanilla) as well as some watermelon ducks (watermelon + duck cookie cutter) in a bowl surrounded by blueberries.

Can't you just envision it? Thanks. Thanks for helping out. I appreciate that.

We also had popcorn on tables, some pretzels and chips on the food table, some tomato pie that my in-laws were awesome enough to bring, and a veggie platter with super yummy dip. Thanks, Ina! And I brought out a lemon cake with lemony cream cheese (sorry, Dan!) frosting, plus some classic vanilla ice cream on the side. Hoping to post the recipe soon, since I took two and combined 'em.

At this age, with pretty much just Hadley and his shy-of-3 cousin (and a couple of awesome teen cousins), there's no need to plan much for a party. No need for pinatas or games or anything; not yet. Between providing a less stressful planning experience for Mom and Dad, it's nice to see what unfolds.

And that was, by far, the best part of the day.

Have you noticed how we don't get many rainy summer days the way we did when we were little? (By this I'm talking as a kid of the '80s, but it could apply back to the 1840's; if that's you, God bless ya!) Well, we had one of THOSE rainy days. Awesome!

Hadley fed birds with Grandpa ("Papa"), picked cherry tomatoes with Grandma, rode in his new wagon with his BFF cousin and, best of all, ran around and splashed in the puddles with everyone else.

You know it's a good party when someone needs to be thrown in a bathtub before heading home. That can be applied to adult parties, too, by the way. ;-)

So, even though Hadman had a meltdown thanks to completely missing a nap and it rained lots, it was an insanely awesome party! Thanks for vicariously attending with us!

Best Birthday Gift Ever

Today I've got a different type of recipe for you -- and there are several variations you can try, so feel free to mix it up all you like. Oh, and one warning: the ingredients take FOREVER to find (ahem, make), but they're worth the effort. Seriously.

Want a cheese sandwich? Start with some bread...cheese, of course...a piece of lettuce...maybe two...a tomato (if you're into that sort of thing)...then top it off with another fluffy slice....

Just serve with a carrot or two and you've got an awesome lunch. Yum!

Or you could just pull a Dorky Daddy and have a salad for lunch. (He'd have two salads for dinner...then more salad for dessert. Seriously.) Personally, I'd switch out the tomato for strawberries.

Speaking of strawberries...grab a few for a snack! (Pardon the water spots.)

Oh, you're in the mood for breakfast? We've got that covered, too. Eggs and toast, perhaps?

So, this was my "big present" for the monkey's birthday. It doesn't look like much, but I've worked on them every night for a month or two...so...yeah. Just the hours alone make them pretty valuable. And the fact that he and his cousin started playing with them immediately (and that they're, apparently, a cat toy, as well), which makes all the time worth it. Big time. :-)

I'm hoping to make a pizza or more breakfast items for Christmas. They're not hard to make, just time intensive. Whip stitch...whip stitch...whip stitch.... Yep, there's your tutorial. That's all you need. Cut out the shapes (I free-handed) from felt, whip stitch the edges until you die, then stuff with filling...or fill with stuffing, whatevs. Rinse and repeat. The cheese was just a cut-out of orangey-yellow felt; that one was super easy and made up for how time-intensive the rest were. ;-)

Depending on where we live at that point, we'll also try to work on a kitchen area for Hadman to house all of his spoons, spatulas, and pots the utensils and pots he's stolen from me and for further pretend play. He's in love with them, so I'm super happy that these turned out so well and were well-received. (By the way, he's mixed them with the food toys he already owns -- the ones with the smiley faces -- below...and a stuffed turkey. Which makes sense. Maybe.)

Oh, and for anyone wondering, I'm working on a quick birthday rundown post for this week, too. We hope you had as awesome a weekend as we did!

Flashing What We Know

I recently mentioned falling in love with a few homemade birthday presents for our monkey. Thank you, dear friend Pinterest. I call her "Pinny" and she looks remarkably like Kaley Cuoco (whatever her married last name is, I can't be bothered to Google) in my head. Pinny's my new enabling BFF.

Anyhoo, one of the super easy projects I just HAD to stay up past midnight working on was the toddler flashcards. See, the kid's a toddler genius (but what mom doesn't think that, really?) who is starting to pick words out (for real), LOVES reading, and knows tons of letters, numbers, and animal sounds. Kid's got it goin' on, thanks to his Grandma's diligent work with him daily. So, I don't want all her hard work to go down the toilet while he's lazing about spending intellectually stimulating summer days with me.

So, I spent some time on PicMonkey making and saving a few sets of flashcards. Here are a few wicked easy samples (not the whole sets, that'd be cray-cray):

Numbers!

Shapes!

(Boring as all get-out with the gray, but didn't want to detract.
Side note: I did a rhombus AND separate diamond. We'll throw the spaghetti on the wall and see which one sticks. Child-led learning. ;-))

Matching Game!
(Printing an extra set of the above shapes, he has to match them to the "real life" objects; moon goes with "crescent", by the way. I'm tricky. I would accept star there, too, though.)

Colors!

Now, to print, *evenly* cut, and laminate them! Actually...first, to head to my mom's basement to track down my tiny old laminator. *wink, wink*

By the way, I'm still thinking of making up a few cards for matching with colors as well as a set of friends 'n family ones with pictures and names (especially to learn the folks who love us who happen to live far away, or whom we just don't get to see often).

I am wondering, though -- the game ones I'm obviously going to keep loose for matching purposes, but the others I'm thinking of putting on a metal ring. Whatchya think? Loose or ready-for-car-use?

More Homemade Birthday Ideas

Okay. It's June, folks. In our neck of the woods, that means a couple of things.

1) Inventory in the library. (Also see -- "I don't care, I'm wearing flip flops and yucky clothes everyday. Try and test me.")

2) School's going to be done...sooner rather than later. Side note: Where the HECK did this year go?!

3) Hadley's birthday will be upon us like *snap* THAT. Seriously, the more work I have to get done at school, the faster the time goes. That's a written law in the time-space continuum.

So, of course I've been hunting down some stuff for the big day. Well. Kind of.

More like...gifts. On Pinterest.

Wait, what? Gifts on Pinterest?? What the...how?

See, I know the Hadman gets a lot of...stuff...for his big day. I'm quite sure Dave and I will have a mini shopping spree for a couple of outfits and a book or two, and I think we've already sneaked a couple of toys on a trip to Toys 'R Us. We're normal, after all. *bugs out eyes, sticks out tongue*

But, after I realized I wanted to get him some felt play food (that plastic stuff's okay, but this is a tad cooler...and a touch more earth friendly), and maybe some letters and/or numbers and/or shapes while we were at it...well, of course my attention turned to Pinterest and that old stand-by search term: "DIY." Here's the "Kid Fun" board I've been pinning to.

A few days later, I found myself in possession of a stack of cheap, CHEAP felt (made from recycled bottles, nonetheless!) with dreams of these inspiration images dancing in my head:

Source

 

Sorry, no source available!
(Please let me know if this was your idea, I'd like to give credit!)

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(So simple, so genius!)

 

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(My fave!)

Awesome ideas, right?? I'm holding off on making a pretend kitchen until he shows more interest (and we have a bigger space for it).

The next inspiration came from the FABULOUS job my mother-in-law has been doing with teaching Hadley his letters and numbers. She uses flashcards as well as alphabet books, so I figured it'd be useful to have some around the house this summer. Enter Pinterest, once again.

It's funny. PicMonkey is my favorite blogging tool for images lately. You'd think I would've connected the dots in my mind to say, "Doy! You should use that to make some flashcards for the Hadman!" Der dee der! Silly me. But, this site right here figured it out for me. Thanks, Mommy's Craft Obsession!

The inspiration from this site also lead me to think about making "friends and family" flash cards. Y'know, with family members' faces and names so he can learn about all the people who love him...and to realize that the only "Bill" in his life isn't the weather man. (Sorry, Uncle Bill!) In his defense, "Mr. Bill" is a family friend.

The other cool thing here is that I purchased a small laminator back in the day (in my elementary ed. days) that will help these suckers last for any possible future kids that come down the line. Look at me working smarter, not harder!

The last handmade thing I'm thinking about would probably be a "sometime this summer" rather than "for your birthday" idea.

Source

Couldn't you just DIE?! I LOVE how she made these -- right down to the color and use of lima beans (instead of sand, which we all KNOW will end up EVERYWHERE)! I could totally see these living on our back porch. Plus, since they're made with a couple of Rubbermaid containers, you can easily put a top on them to keep them safe from the elements. *swoon*

Now, let's see if I can handle that project.

And the invitations. Yeah, I probably should get on those, huh?

(If you'd like to know what we're planning for the monkey, check out my post announcing our second birthday theme.)

And the Second Birthday Theme Will Be...

Yep, we're going kind of classic and traditional on this one. (And that greenish is totally supposed to be blue. Zoinks.)

I pondered several generic ideas (zoo, barnyard, "twinkle, twinkle little star" -- not with animals present on those first two, though...I'm no Kate Gosselin) and a handful of more obvious "kidcentric" character themes he's into (Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Mo Willems, Sesame Street). It was a total tie between Sesame Street and "ducks," and I'm not gonna lie -- it was a tough decision.

I'm not too surprised, either. They're both totally Hadley's jam right now.

We're not huge "buyer of trademarked stuff" people, but he's got a Sesame Street fold-out couch that he uses to watch ANY of "his" shows (a sweet gift), a handful of hand-held character toys (let's call them pre-action figure action figures...of cute and cuddly Muppets), and, of course, his plush dolls of Bert 'n Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, The Count, Big Bird...and I'm a horrible Mommy because I'm forgetting if I left anyone out. *scratches head*

Notice we don't have Elmo (he likes Elmo, but he's not in LOVE with Elmo...ya get me?), or Zoe, or Abby Cadabby, or any of the newer breed of Sesame Street monsters. Let's just say that if we're going to show him an episode on Netflix and he demands requests a particular character, it's usually "hee hee" (the noise Ernie makes when he laughs, you know the one) or "la la la" (Big Bird) or "ah aaaahhh" (The Count). He also does a "bam bam bam" motion (for Oscar) and a "nom nom nom" hand to mouth motion (for Cookie Monster). Um, he's also calling lots of things "Bob" lately. That may or may not be related. Bob.

But, the word "duck" comes out of his mouth about 50+ times a day lately. I bring home duck books (fiction and non-fiction) from school. He quacks. He carries rubber duckies around whenever the thought occurs to him. He didn't want to leave the flower shop we visited just before Easter that has an awesome annual display of a dozen happy, splashing baby ducks.

Kid's obsessed.

And it's just so sweet.

After some more conversation, Dave and I realized that next year, he'll probably still be into Sesame Street. If that's the case (hopefully it is), we can do a Sesame theme next year, or something else he's super into. But, he isn't always going to be into such an endearing little thing like duckies. Plus, it was a huge theme for his baby shower, so it makes this mama a tad sentimental to think about the evolution from shower to second *sniff, sniff* birthday.

Duckies, it is. Plus, Hadley agreed to it when we asked him to pick between the two. That clinched the deal. Not that he in any way knew what he was really voting on.

So, what's this theme about? The invite is just a quick mock-up (sans the place or RSVP info...not even sure of the time yet, really), but can you really have a two-year-old's duck party without the ubiquitous rubber ducky? Didn't think so.

Side note: If we do Sesame Street next year, you know I'm repurposing rubber duckies for an Ernie connection. #usewhatyouvegot

Speaking of reusing, most of the stuff I made last year (cake topper, big poufs, even utensils and plates), I'm using this year...if the tissue paper poufs have held up being squished in a bag all year. (Ahem.) 

Last year's party was mostly a colored theme (orange, yellow, blue, green), which all totally work with duckies.

The food will most likely be simple (if you really know me, you're laughing at the use of that word -- last year was SUPPOSED to be simple) - fruits and veggies with dip on ice, either pizza or BBQ-type stuff, pretzels/chips, and dessert. There is much pinning to be done, but we'll either do a nice big cake with yellow frosting or cupcakes (mini duck toppers, anyone?) and a small cake for monkey to dive into. Why do I think he'll dive a bit more this year?

Decor, well, yeah. Ducks. But to keep it cohesive with the mix of last year's colors, blue and yellow tablecloths (blue = water) should do the trick. As the invitation implies, I hope to make some buntings to drape, either across the seating area or behind the food table...or both. Maybe some blue or yellow streamers. En masse, they can pack a punch. And I'm sure I'll probably make a couple of ducky posters or a "year in pictures" poster to hang.

I've seen some cute ideas for the food area, like rafia (hay) as fillers, but the thing I've noticed most is that the thing that makes a table is its organization. Rows, my dears. Rows. Oh, and cute signage. Preferably on sticks. ("Quackers", anyone?)

Beverages can be chilled in a baby pool or galvanized tub (whatever is handy) and an additional small tub can be used as a fun game: everyone picks a duck out and the ones with an "H" (or whatever) marked on the bottom wins a prize.

Oh, and since these shindigs tend to be adult-centric for now (he has one best friend/cousin about a year older; then two teenaged cousins who are incredible...just way older; otherwise, friends in far-off places), those gifts will be, like, plants or candles or something. We'll see. 

I'd do a duck piñata, but like I said, it's gonna be mostly adults. (Although, the image of our moms whacking away blindly is kind of awesome.) We keep things low-key at our events since our friends and family are pretty good at mingling and finding their own fun. One day when more kids are involved, they'll need more fun/structure (structure does not equal zero fun, I promise...says the boring librarian ;-)), so we'll do more games/activities at that point.

For now, just digging out the sidewalk chalk and balls for catch will be just fine, I think.

If you want to see what else I've got up my sleeve, check back on my Pinterest board for Hadley's birthday. (There are also some ideas I picked last year that I never used, which may help me in my future parties, too.) Check back often; I'm sure it'll be growing a ton.

What Women Want

{Wasn't that a wonderfully atrocious movie? Or am I the only one who saw it? I don't remember at what point Mel Gibson became unwatchable, but it was just around that time...}

Anyhoo, extra post this week!! This one is about gifting the ladies. Heck, this could be about gifting anybody, but around our house, 'tis the season for Mom. Er, me.

I have a tough time receiving gifts, mostly because a) I'm uncomfortable being the center of attention (yes, I'm an actress...why do you ask? ;-)) and b) I'm always concerned that I won't like the thing, and I ALWAYS try to find the "isn't that wonderful???" joy in gifts. I'm not picky, I'm just...um...exclusive about what I want to keep around my house. I can't really put a percentage on what I don't keep, but if I don't really like it or if it doesn't find use after a certain amount of time...out it goes. (Wow, I sound brutal. I'm really not!)

Since today's my birthday (woohoo, I'm old! Like, the age my mom always told me to tell my teachers SHE was, old) and Mother's Day is coming up, I thought I'd share a few items that you might not have thought of when perusing the shops for your lady friend/sister/mother/etc. These may not be every lady's cup of tea, but they're mine -- the type of lady who's into history, who doesn't tend to let her bits and pieces hang out in public (ie dressing for "clubbing"...do the kids still call it that? "Clubbing"?), who's equal parts simple yet highly particular.

My God. I'm my mother. And my grandmother.

- Speaking of "cup of tea", tea. Definitely tea. If she's into tea, hook her up with a basket of her faves. If she likes it loose (hee hee), hit up a quality store in the area and get her some nice supplies -- like one of those ball thingies, a bag/box of loose, and a sweet little mug. (Check out Etsy for some Mom mugs that don't suck. You know what I mean. ;-))

If she's a coffee-drinker, get that same mug but hook her (I wrote that "hooker" the first time around...where am I today??) up with a gift card to her favorite cafe or, yes, even Dunkin Donuts if it's more convenient for her. These things sound so simple, but they don't take up a ton of space, they're thoughtful, and she'll USE them. That's the main point here.

And, okay, okay. If she's a wine drinker, a NICE (nice doesn't always mean expensive) bottle of wine (and maybe the suggestion that you'll cook or pick up dinner for the night)  

- Sunglasses. Observe the style of glasses that your particular lady uses (that's the important part; you don't want to go getting aviators when she likes a John Lennon style) and get a pair as similar as you can find. These can be as cheap or expensive as you like, but buy them knowing that one can NEVER have enough pairs of sunglasses. I had a great pair at the end of fall last year and I have no idea where they ran to...so, I had to buy a new pair. (Kohl's for around $8. Not too shabby.) Always great to have several, especially with kids around who mangle them and accident-prone folks who sit on them.

- Flowers. This may sound traditional or cheesy or "duh, Meg", but I tell you I'm always flattered by flowers. They add some joy to the house, tell you without having to TELL you that you're loved, and they don't clutter the joint up for too long (ahem). And if you're like us and you have a slew of cats, you can either check out this site for some safe options (there are way too many non-safe ones to mention, and they're unfortunately far too often the popular choices) or grab a potted plant or two for her to plant outside. (Hanging plants are cool, too.) Either way, flowers are a grand gesture of romanticism and even sweeter when you have your little one hand them over. *melt*

- Something handmade. Speaking of little ones, what's better than kiddie art?? This can be wicked simple: have your munchkin draw a picture (even the little kids can "make" something that turns out to be wickedly cool and abstract) on a sheet of computer paper. Then purchase a nice frame that'll go with your house decor (can't go wrong with a chic black or white one, but if she's into traditional or rustic, buy a wood one). A beautiful frame really elevates the sketch into a work of art that she can hang anywhere in the house or at work, and the thought behind it will mean even more.

- A magazine or bookmark. Okay, follow me here. I love reading. But, my time these days is either too full to do so or way too exhausted to follow a storyline (sad but true). So, if your lady is like me, check the magazine aisles at Barnes and Noble and grab a new one you think she might like. Put some thought into what her interests are, and I guarantee you there's at least one magazine to suit those interests. By purchasing one, you're seeing how she likes it; if she does, tell her you'll get the full subscription. (If she doesn't, at least you haven't bought an entire wasteful subscription; offer to buy her one of her choosing, in this case.) And if she DOES have time to read, those funky bookmarks at B&N (or on Etsy) are wicked cool and way more fun to use than, say, a wayward receipt or (ahem) a few sheets of toilet paper. 

- Cheesy coupons. While I know for a fact that my mom still has some of these leftover from when both my sister and I made some for her, I think I'd really appreciate a handmade (or computer-printed) stack of these coupons. You know what I'm talking about: "These coupon good for one night of washing dishes." "This coupon good for one diaper change." And so on. Think about what she really does a lot of around the house and what you and your kids could do. (Hadley couldn't really do these, although he could "help." This is more from Daddy in our case.) Right now a "This coupon good for one good, long hug" coupon isn't really relevant (we do plenty of that all over the place at our house), but when Hadman's a teenager, I'd probably kill for one of those. Ack. Don't make me think about it!

- A subscription to Ancestry.com. This is actually what I requested for my combination birthday/Mother's Day. I had received a 6-month subscription for Christmas and I have absolutely LOVED digging into our family history -- all the way back to the late 1400s, in some cases. Seeing that I'll have a touch more time this summer to dig even more, I decided to ask for an "extension" when it runs out in June. It's not cheap (hence asking for it for my birthday AND Mother's Day), but I have to say it's the best gift I think I've ever received. That good. 


So, what do you think? Would you want any of these things? What would you add to the list, ladies? (Notice I said ladies, ha.)   

Minimalist Mama

Similar to my zero-waste and French child rearing posts of yore, I've found a new inspiring (or frustrating, depending on how you look at it) concept in the cause of living simpler - the minimalist mom. Spoiler alert: I'm pretty sure it's not something we're going to adhere to, but stick with me here.

I saw this article on the Today Show's website which, in essence, talks about a British family who, after the mum lost her job and got slammed with the holiday marketing blitz, vowed to strike out against consumerism by not spending ANYTHING on their son (and now daughter -- yes, having a newborn and buying NOTHING for her). This is, of course, aside from any medical costs and food (although she doesn't buy into the "food marketed specifically to kids" thing). And, after a year, they're deeming it a success, and even continuing the project (with a monthly "get out of jail free" card).

After checking out the mom's blog, I get it. The fact that her "rules" on the site go as such --

1) Mama don’t preach. This isn’t about telling anyone else what to do. If you’ve read my blog before, even a couple of times, it should be pretty obvious that I DON’T KNOW. I have no answers. Just a few jumbled ideas and a wobbly will to try to do the best thing I can for the kids. Most of the time. When humanly possible. On good days.
2) Liberation not deprivation. If it turns out that any of us (Johnny, Frida, my husband, me) are less happy, more stressed, less healthy, or just generally flourishing less (wilting?) due to cutting out spending in any area, we’ll reintroduce that thing. This isn’t about being stoic, or even doing without. It’s about blundering messily but happily towards a way of life that makes us happy and content.
3) Honesty is the best policy. I will be honest. I’ll always tell you what’s going on. No sneaking purchases past this blog. Hand on heart.

-- is refreshing and lovely. She doesn't seem to be doing this to jump on the "a year doing *fill in the blank* to get tons of press" bandwagon. She genuinely knows how toxic it can be (figuratively) to have to deal with the constant onslaught of C-R-A-P as parents (and children). I mean, just look at this video:

Adorbs! Doesn't that just say it all?

Ahh. Stuff. That recurring theme of ye olde blog. I mean, just think of the influx (dare I say FLOOD) of toys (this isn't including outfits) we received for Hadman's birthday. Cuh-razy! (We've got a buttload more since Christmas, mind you. Le sigh.)

We're of the mindset that if folks would just give ONE toy (and maybe one outfit, if they get "the itch") for these special occasions, it'll make everyone a lot more comfortable (my mother's officially "scared" to get him ANY toys, and it's not because of me...simply put, it makes me super sad) and help Hadley to realize that it's more about showering him with love and kindness and appreciation and to let him know he has true worth. No one is allowed to "buy" his love, as far as I'm concerned, and we're going to have plenty of family conversations with him about it as time goes by. Y'know, when he starts to understand things better.

We also don't buy into (ha! Get it?) the "toy of the season" mentality. There's nothing he "has" to have. Not the latest Elmo thingamabobber. Not everything-Sesame-Street-because-he-likes-Sesame-Street. (Although the Easter Bunny has mentioned wanting to bring one SS-themed toy. Darn him.) Lord knows munchkin HAS more than enough already. If you took the sheer number of toys, he's reached his life quota. Seriously, that many. And he's not 2 yet.

Stop the insanity! (Remember that? From the '90s? Er...'80s, maybe? Susan Powter?)

The items that we get him tend to be creative or pretend toys that will hopefully stick around for years and years of use. Other toys that he has make him feel overwhelmed and bored SO. QUICKLY. Can you imagine? Having two huge containers of toys, literally overflowing, and feeling bored? I can imagine it. Because I see it. (Heck, when I look at all of his toys, I think, "Um, yeah. I'm going cross-eyed. Too much.") It makes complete sense.

We want him to have an imagination...and to use it. To play WITH him using OUR imaginations; inside, outside, with pots and pans and bowls and spoons, with sheets and boxes and recycled egg cartons. What greater gift is there than that? My best childhood memories are of just these things.
And there's also SO much to be said for "free play." You know, going to a park or running around your backyard like a giggling fool or digging in the dirt or...well, you know.
So, let's meander back to the topic at hand. Could we go a year without buying ANYTHING child-oriented?

It definitely got the ol' brain juices flowing. I buy him Annie's bunnies (but I eat them, too, and they're not necessarily kid-centric...just cutesy), but I also buy the whole milk yogurt that's perfectly portioned for toddlers (I swore I'd never do it, but saving 5-7 minutes in the morning? Psht.) I don't buy a lot of clothes or toys for him (family hooks us up on this front, mostly), but we have failed at cloth diapering. (Sad to even admit that.) So, purchasing dipes 'n wipes is a big one on the list.

Clearly, we couldn't fully go without getting him ANYthing...plus, I'm too spineless/lazy/imperfect/flip-floppy to do one of those "for a year" challenge thingies. Hey, at least I'm honest. *wink, wink*

However, there's a lot that I (or we, if you find it appealing) can learn from this experiment. I haven't utilized Freecycle much...er...at all. Ever. And I should. Same goes for Craigslist. So much of what she says is true, though. There's definitely a stigma that they have to be playing with the "right things" or wearing the "cutest" stuff. I find myself by nature anti-licensed character clothing. (I think it's because I didn't have much as a kid and realized I didn't really like it; exceptions are the ONE Punky Brewster t-shirt and a TMNT shirt {Michelangelo FTW!} that I owned, and maybe a hand-me-down Betty Boop sleep shirt.) I also find myself turning away those gifts because I don't want those obnoxious cartoon faces to inundate our own animated munchkin's face, y'know?

That's a tug-of-war right there. If it's willingly given, do you just accept (I actually know for a fact that doing that tends to open Pandora's box, causing us to receive even MORE stuff) graciously (which, believe me, we ARE truly grateful!) or do we pick and choose what we allow through our doors to better control what he (and we) are subjected to? Like...he's never seen a full-length Disney movie. (He knows Mickey and the rest from short films and watching his playhouse at Grandma's.) So...should he have shirts and pj's with a million images of Lightning McQueen all over them? Then there's the slipppery slope that we simply MUST own that movie (and a million others). Again, I only owned a handful of Disney flicks, and they were ones we already knew that (as a family) we loved watching over and over again. Not 50. Not 20. A handful.

And I turned out just fine. ;-)

Obviously, my head's still wrapping itself around this concept. I highly doubt we could do a full-blown challenge (even a month's worth...? Maybe? Maybe not.) like this, but it definitely is good to help consider our needs vs. our wants vs. society's perceived "you need to want"s.

Whatchya think?

Perfect Party

FINALLY! Yes, I'm finally going to chat about the Hadman's first birthday party. It was almost a month away, so you'd think it was about time, right? You're invited...to the recap! Here we go.

The day was perfect. Seriously. There were no major glitches (and only a couple of minor ones). The rain, all but for a gentle mist, even stayed at bay. Lucky, lucky, lucky. The only thing, after the fact, that saddens me is that I didn't get pictures of the decor (well, a couple)...or food (nada)...or activities (zilch). I know folks took some pictures of other stuff, but I should have taken a bunch of the decorations (y'know, the ones that took me hours of nap times to craft) and all that before folks arrived. Here's what we've got....

 

Bad blogger. Horrible blogger, actually. *slaps wrist* I made three different sizes of poufs totaling about 12 altogether, in various sizes...several strings of pendants...a sign for the front yard. Here were a few "before" shots from home...

But, I digress. It wasn't a day about me. It was totally a day about the Hadman. And it was awesome!

The celebration was at my mother's house (thanks, Mom! Not that I'm sure you're reading...?) since she has the most useable space for such a shindig. My sister was sweet enough to come out the night before to help with decorating and setup, and man was there food. Like, at least twice what we actually needed. Yeah, 'twas nuts...and a blast.

We had some awesome family and friends come to celebrate, which made the day so fun and special. To give us some more space (with some shade), we erected a screen house/tent in the lawn for extra people to sit under, in addition to the carport area that my parents use as a nice, private patio.

So, folks arrived around 1pm and we directed them towards the food. (Not sure how many times I said, "There's food! Please eat, or it's going home with you!!" It didn't. It went home with us. Full disclosure: I just found a half-eaten pizza at the bottom of the piles on my dining room table. There was mold, people.) The funny thing was that they lingered quite a bit before finally digging in. I don't know if it was because of our set-up or what, but we ended up grabbing the snacky stuff and throwing them in bowls, and plating up a variety of the pizza, and putting them at the tables. Somehow, it worked.

That said, a quick shout-out to our buddies. The few pictures we did get make it look like we had, seriously, 8 people there. We didn't. It was upwards of 25, give or take. Just lots of playing and in-and-out of the house and playing in the yard going on.

I can't remember the order, but after awhile of eating and bringing the birthday boy around to see folks, we did cake. I think. Yeah, cake then presents. Here's a little snippet of what it was like. Our often very serious, cautious, (over-thinking) boy was pretty...dainty. Hee hee.

First. Sugar. Ever. I also shared a cupcake or two with him in the days following. Oh, and I did use a variation of this recipe. I tasted it. 'Twas good, but not "birthday cake-like" (spongey) as we might hope. But, it got the job done, and he liked it.

While the root beer floats were being served (somehow, I even had time to taste one), we got the gift-opening underway. Holy crap, we lucked out. It is, however, where I got this post (and subsequent "shopping trips" from our ottoman in months to come). Love it!

As far as the nitty gritty, here was our menu:

 

Except my "H" cookies were as hard as a rock. And seeing "sandwiches" sitting all innocent and tiny like that makes me laugh. For real. I ordered bread. I stocked up, then stocked up again on piles of roast beef, turkey and the makings of an "Italian mixed sub" sort of thing. (Time to vote: What the heck do YOU put on a mixed sub?? The girl behind the counter and I were racking our brains, and a woman nearby who mentioned bologna lost all of our respect. Seriously, bologna??) Yeah. Add on homemade horseradish sauce (in addition to the usual condiments) and a variety of cheeses AND lettuces (arugula, anyone? Spinach?), and I spent hours planning and assembling those puppies. They were epic.

There was a bit of fun to be had, too, like...

We also printed off some facts about July 13th (it's a holiday now, y'know) for the tables, and put party hats around for folks to wear. (And those that didn't get worn did double-duty as decor.)

A few interesting facts: Hadley shares his special day with Julius Caesar, Patrick Stewart, Harrison Ford, and Cameron Crowe. Some pretty strong men, oof! Also, it's the day that JFK was nominated by the Democratic party, the day of the Live Aid rock festival, the day of a big power-outage in NYC (in 1977) that wreaked havoc, and (my favorite) the day the "Hollywoodland" sign was dedicated. So cool!

Anyhoo, after the cake and gifting, we shoved everyone into the living room for a viewing of the sweet, tearjerker video that Dave made. I may or may not be able to persuade him to share it on his blog. ;-) There were laughs. There were tears (many, many tears). There was gratuitous thievery of popular songs (ones that we had sung or heard a lot before he was born, except for "Beautiful Boy", but since our wedding song was "Real Love", we had to include it). No harm meant. :-)

After the movie viewing, folks were free to leave (sounds like jail) or to hang out. The birthday boy got a nap followed by a ton of backyard playing with the cousins, while we got to chat with folks more casually (and clean up...and clean up...and clean up). All in all, it was a very "Hadley" day: fun, yummy, silly, a bit scheduled (it kind of had to be to avoid meltdowns) yet casual and laid-back.