Party Time

Natalie went to five birthday parties in the month of March. Each party made her more anxious for her own and her wish list for the gifts she wanted grew with each present we bought for a friend. Her big day finally came on Saturday.

We decided to have her party at the gym. It was the perfect party for both boys and girls and the kids had a blast as they had their run of the place.

Kennedy and Sienna showing their stuff on the balance beam.

Lydia, Jacob, Natalie and Ava going through the obstacle course.

Emma stopping for a quick picture.

Owen, Chloe and Jacob on the beam.

Midway through, we stopped for snacks and cupcakes.

Make a wish!

Then it was time for gifts. It thought it was really cute that they had the child whose gift was being opened come and sit by Natalie.

Carson watching Natalie open the gift from him.

I love the excited look on Sophie's face.

Carly and Natalie

A Polly Pocket boat from Emma.

And Littlest Pet Shop dog from Kennedy.

Jacob and Natalie.

I love this picture of Natalie smiling at Ava.

Carly and Alyssa were especially good hoola hoopers.

We presented each child with a medal made from a Ding Dong and then they all stood on the podium for a big salute. So cute!

Several guests wanted their chance to stand on top of the one...

Cami

Sienna

Emma

Chloe

Luka

Lydia

Owen

Here's our little champ who is officially five. Thanks to all who helped make it a special birthday. I think a great time was had by all!

Happy Birthday, Natalie!

I really hate that my baby is five. I'm not ready. Five is so much older than four.

"I'm five!" she exclaimed as she sat up in her bed this morning. Unfortunately, her enthusiasm was quickly squelched when she discovered that her birthday party was not going to happen today. (It's scheduled for Saturday.) She got really sad and decided it must not be her "real" birthday afterall.

Though she'll have to wait four more days to celebrate with all her friends, she got enough pampering to make her big day feel special. And she got to experience it all with her very best friend, Emma.

I picked the girls up from school and headed for McDonald's. On the way there Natalie warned Emma that "my mom doesn't buy Happy Meals." She knows that I am normally opposed to spending money on a meal in which much of the food will be wasted and the cheap toy will find its way into my garbage within a couple of days. But, not every day is your birthday.


The girls knew I had a surprise for them after lunch but they couldn't guess what. They were thrilled when we arrived at the nail shop and they got to sit in their teddy bear pedicure chairs.

They both said that putting their feet in the water was their favorite part.

They got to watch a Barbie movie and eat suckers while their fingers and toes got the royal treatment. Natalie picked green with hearts for her toes and pink with flowers for her fingers. So cute!

After gymnastics, Natalie chose Wendy's for dinner and then we came home for birthday cake.

A slice of cherry chip cake and five trips through the spanking machine made her birthday complete.

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Home Gym

Here are some action pics of Alyssa's "home gym"...

Free to Choose

Several months ago, I attended a class at a Women's Conference called, "Raising Independent Kids." The instructor, a licensed family therapist, taught us that our children need to be allowed choices. One specific suggestion was to allow them control over a space in the house that could be designated as their domain. She even suggested that if we had an issue with a messy bedroom, we should simply shut the door.

I struggled with this concept and expressed to the instructor that I view the entire house as my domain. The way I see it, the children occupy a portion of that domain but should adhere to my standards of how it should be kept. The therapist was quick to point out the flaws of my philosophy. I've thought of her advice many times since that class.

I'm in no way a clean freak, but I'm often frustrated by the chaos that exists in my daughters' bedroom. Perhaps even more annoying are situations like this:

Caleb still refuses to use this laundry basket as it should be used. (Those clothes are on top of the basket's lid.)

Or what about this one:

Alyssa's medals are nicely displayed on her wall but she feels the need to tape posters around them, not even worrying about if they are straight!

This clutter on her nightstand drives me bonkers:

Though I'll let them go as long as I can, the posters will eventually come down, the clothes will go inside the basket and the clutter on the nightstand will be straightened. I'm often reminded of that therapist's advice, however, and do try to allow the kids a bit of dominion over that which I desperately want to control.

Natalie and I went to the mall yesterday to buy some much needed jeans for her brother. Since the jeans were such a good price, I picked up a pair for Alyssa too. Unfortunately, there weren't any in Nat's size. I don't at all subscribe to the notion that if one child gets something they all need to get something, but on this particular occasion, I did promise Natalie she could pick an outfit. After rejecting her selections mulitiple times, I suggested a cute outfit that was available in six different colors. I wandered over a few rounders, offering other suggestions as I went.

"I know what I want," she declared.

Of all the cute choices, she opted for this:

I thought of that class. I remembered the therapist's advice to allow our kids their own choices. I never want my kids to feel that they have to like what I like. But, of the options available, it was without question the last on my list.

"Are you sure you don't like the pink?"

"The red is nice."

"The purple is really pretty."

"It's definitely not my favorite."

It was no use. She was sold on the Kermit-the-Frog-green. I knew I had to honor her choice no matter how much I disliked it. So, we bought it. And she's been wearing the ensemble ever since.
Perhaps the pictures don't adequately capture the brightness of this hue. She glows.

"Whoa! What's with the green?" was Alyssa's reaction at seeing the new outfit.

"You're bright today!" was the comment from our gymnastics carpooling friend.

I don't like the color. Not one bit. I find myself cursing that therapist for teaching me that I have to allow my kids control.

I do believe she's right, though. And I do want independent kids. Even if they look like Kermit the Frog.

Chalk City

It was certainly the most expansive display of sidewalk chalk art I'd ever seen. With 8 artists working together, they were able to cover a lot of ground. Literally.

Tacoma was the southermost point and the kids were standing at the "Seattle Center" to the north. You can see just how big their city was.

City features included: SeaTac airport, complete with the control tower

Westlake Center (a mall)

The Pacific Science Center

Puget Sound

Safeco and Qwest fields (betcha can't guess who added those in)

And though this was a fairly good replica of the actual city, they decided that while they were drawing the Space Needle, they might as well include Disneyland in the Seattle Center. Good idea.

Their city also had a couple of hotels, Sam's Club, Krispy Kreme and a couple of hospitals.

They decided a broken piece of gray chalk resembled rocks that belonged in a construction zone. Every city's got them, right?

I was amazed at all the details they'd thought of and every feature was connected with highways and byways.

Here are some of the artists standing behind "Disneyland Seattle."

They were planning to expand on the city of Tacoma when I ruined their fun by telling them it was time to go to gymnastics. While driving to the gym Alyssa realized they hadn't added any schools.

I guess it's a work in progress. Too bad they have to go back to school next week.

Love in Any Language

I've never read the book on love languages but from what I do know, we experienced a bit of all of them this weekend. Gifts, words of affirmation, service and hugs; you name it, we were speaking that language.

Earlier last week, the mailman delivered cards and packages from Grandmas and Grandpas. There's nothing like getting a special something in the mail.

On Saturday night, I debated whether or not to set out the traditional trail of hearts. Ultimately I decided the kids would not remember/care about them so I didn't do it.

Oh fool that I was! First thing Sunday morning, Natalie asked when I was going to make the trail for them. Though they were disappointed that they didn't wake up to them strewn across the floor, they politely assumed that I was just going to get to it later.

After church, I set out the trail which led to their valentine gifts from Aunt Sarah. They were thrilled and I've learned my lesson...never assume the kids won't miss a tradition no matter how silly it may seem.

Jon surprised me with some beautiful roses. He knows I love flowers. He also knows I'm not a big fan of balloons...

...but he a tease, so he also brought home an enormous balloon that plays "Wild Thing" when tapped or pulled. It was done more for the laugh than for an expression of love I'm sure, so in that sense his purposes were fulfilled. We definitely laughed.

I showed my love by serving a special Valentine dinner and caramel corn for a late night snack.

It was so nice to spend our love day with two special Aunts.

Natalie showed her love by styling Maureen's hair. She also spent the weekend serving us treats from the Valentine treat bowl.

Just when I thought our expressions of love were complete, my kids surprised me again. When the kids got up this morning, they made me a scrambled egg and toast breakfast. It was complete with freshly ground pepper, raspberry jam, orange juice and a thoughtful note. I'd gone back to sleep after running this morning so they crept in my room and left the surprise next to my bed.

After I ate, I took my dishes downstairs and found that they'd emptied the dishwasher (and put all dishes away in the cupboards) and cleaned the kitchen/family room.

Seriously, you three. I love you!

Whatever language you're speaking, I'm feeling it.

Super Bowl XLIV

Super Bowl Sunday wasn't turning out to be much different than any other Sunday until some really clever, thoughtful kids decided we needed a party.

After Jon finally arrived home from church, we ate a yummy pot roast dinner with all the fixin's. With our bellies full we were ready for the kids to tuck us into our bed for our Sunday nap.

"Wake me up at 4:45," Jon told Alyssa as she left our room.

It was actually around 5:15 when Alyssa came excitedly in our room, shouting for us to "wake up!"

The kids could hardly wait to show us the party they'd put together while we slept. Right outside our bedroom door was station number one. Each station had a question for us to answer. The first question: "Who are you going for?"

Station two: "How exited (excited) are you?" (on a scale of 1-5) I decided I was about a 3.

Station three: "What is your favorite player playing?" That's easy. Austin Collie...always gotta root for the former Cougar.

Station four contained our tickets for popcorn and drinks and they were eager to serve us. Alyssa was careful to punch our tickets each time.

The popcorn was popped and dished up at the countertop but we quickly decided that turning it into ooey, gooey caramel corn would be that much more fun.

It was a good game. I was fine that the Saints won. It didn't matter, really. It was my delightful kids that made my day.