big island

Small Person's birthday party went off without a hitch. I baked, Auntie T constructed, and it turned out like this:

Extra fabulous, don't you think? We decked the house and ourselves in leis, grass skirts, and various other island-inspired props, put the five hours worth of music I collected on shuffle, and passed around the mocktails. I do admit to one small gripe: why is the RSVP habit an exception nowadays, no longer the norm? I mean, just let me know, no big deal, I see you and your kid at school several times a week, how hard is it to just mention that you're not sure of your plans? So, big appreciation to those who responded, even those who couldn't make it! 
Anyway, Small Person was pretty dang excited. She was way beyond any normal levels of behavior, and her ears just turned right off. I pulled out the mini trampoline to give her a little physical outlet, but eventually just sent her out of the house with the grandparents so we could finish up.
It was a good group. Enough for a boisterous event, but still able to all play together in Small Person's room. We made shell necklaces and magnets, we limboed, we tore through presents in record time. And then, we excavated the volcano.
The carpet is covered in shard of grass skirt, the kitchen floor is sticky with grenadine and frosting; we must have had a good time.

Today is my baby girl's official day of birth. She's on Spring Break, so we get to cuddle and give her our presents and field family phone calls all day. She also gets to pick dinner, so I'm 99% positive we'll be enjoying something starchy and far removed from the vegetable kingdom. And, we have a lot of leftover grenadine, so it will definitely be another umbrella-drink day.

Happy Birthday!

tiny island

This is phase one of the Hawaiian-style birthday extravaganza:

Pretty cute, eh? So I went ahead and made a whole archipelago for Small Person's classmates:
The frosting is dreadful, of course. I did make the cake part from scratch, but frosting is not my forte, except when making crazy crafty fun with it. So, a couple of cans of goo, some graham cracker crumbs, and a box of cocktail umbrellas. Aloha! It's going to be even nuttier for the party at home this weekend. A friend loaned me a bunch of decorations, I went on a dollar store spree, and I have big plans for cake. I know, I'm a little loony; I can't help but take the theme and run with it. Or marathon with it.

This week has been busy in general. I've never been so busy being unemployed before. There's the birthday party errands, the housecleaning, and, fortunately, interviews and applications to complete. Also, I got to join Small Person's class for an excellent field trip. We got to see "Agriculture in Action" at our local fairgrounds in celebration of National Ag Day. Two days of every possible example of local plant and animal husbandry, thousands of school-aged kids streaming through to touch the wool and eat the apples and watch the sheep dogs and horses and cows and pigs and hatching chicks and... whew!
And tractors for photo ops. And lots of free pencils. It was thoroughly exhausting and delightful, in that order. The best part? It's a toss-up; Smokey the Bear, or piglets. I vote for the piglets.

stormy weather

Makes us all crazy. Add a three-day weekend, and that's a real recipe for disaster. Fortunately, Small Person spent part of the weekend at Baba's, and we managed to fill the rest. Crafts! Games! Roller skating! I've been encouraging craft supplies as presents practically since Small Person was born, so we're pretty well stocked. This weekend we painted a "stained glass" picture to hang in her window. You know, the plastic kind with various squeeze bottles of colors to fill in the blanks? That was a hit. An even bigger hit, however was the Hama midi bead kit. Those little plastic rings that you put together on a pegboard and then iron to melt into a solid shape. Voila!

Small Person had sooo much fun with these. She made four or five before we ran out of time, and then happily played make-believe with them while I fixed dinner. Extra thanks to Maya for the present!

Then, today was the highlight of the weekend: Small Person's first roller skating. The local rink has a tiny tots open session where shoes are allowed on the rink. This means lots of parents hanging out with toddlers clinging mightily to their pants legs. Being the daredevil I am, I opted for my own skates and tried to avoid Small Person's groping hands. She made it around twice before tiring. Not too bad for a first try. I consider it a success that she fell well without owies, and I didn't fall at all. Neither of us is quite ready to try out for roller derby, though.

wax on

This is today's completed craft project: teacup candles!

This project was so ridiculously simple. Really, what am I going to say? Melt wax, place wicks, pour slowly. That was about it. But, the reveal is pretty dang cute. And, I must congratulate myself (someone has to!) on the thrift-to-fun ratio of the project. Thrift store cups, wax, wicks, and scent from the craft store. Now, I'm pretty positive my gift recipient does not read this blog (if so, hi Grammy!), so only we will know that this charming semi-homemade gift took us less than a half an hour and cost less than $15. Shh! don't tell!

Plus, it's one of those projects with a high instant-gratification factor, perfect for Small Person to help and see results quickly. Perfect for me to not freak out when she sticks her fingers where she shouldn't. The wax doesn't get too hot, it's easy to stir and pour, and she can be proud of her skills when it's unwrapped. We'll definitely give it some fancy wrapping to complete the boutique look, and that's that.

One down, countless to go.

project time!

Every year is the same: I plan fabulously creative home-made gifts for everyone, then end up feverishly knitting my fingers off Christmas eve and everyone gets the same scarf. You'll just have to take my word for the fact that my ideas are fabulously creative, because, of course, I have no proof. I'm sure this holiday will be no different, but I'm eternally optimistic. At least I'm getting started before mid-December this time.

For example, Small Person and I finished a fun project this morning. I found it here, and changed it a little to suit our needs. It's a Hannukah advent calendar! Yes, very odd, but we though our friend Her Tinyness would like it. Follow the link for all the project details; it's basically some paper cups and tissue paper, all glued together, plus eight bitsy surprises inside. Pop the tissue paper each day for a treat!

We had lots of fun picking what to put inside and putting the whole thing together. If I can manage it, and can come up with 25 non-candy prizes, I might make one for us, too.

This project also adheres to my gift-giving strategy since I've become a mom: anything my kid makes is automatically adorable, something any person would be thrilled to receive. I'm sure you'll all agree, right? Or, if not agree, at least put a happy face on when you unwrap a mangled and fingerprinty... something.

Halloween part IV: A New Hope

How can I resist a family costume when we're so height appropriate? Here's our rebel forces:

I rushed home from work on Friday, glued R2's chin strap on and put the costume together over Small Person, then cut a hole in a large white sheet and belted it over my white under layer. It took me longer to bun up my hair than it did for the Young Fellow to casually peruse his closet for the Han Solo outfit. In fact, it was so easy for him, I think I'll have to officially change his blogonym to Han.

It rained most of the day, but tapered off just in time for us to hit the streets. We drove across town to meet friends and wander the good candy neighborhood. Small Person pooped out after barely an hour. She had a school day full of treats and Halloween fun, so I wasn't surprised. Then, trading and sorting and eating, oh my! I've since confiscated and hidden the rest of the candy, to slowly dole it out until she forgets about it. Or until Han empties the cache on the sly.

Now I can start planning for next Halloween. Any suggestions for a good trio?