NO EXERCISE BUT RESTING AND SLEEPING

WE'LL SLEEP WHEN WE'RE DEAD posted over at Kiddos on a Mountain. Check it out if you are so inclined.


I'm going to sleep now.

MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

It's only 11:15 right now. The night of Maddy's slumber party. So far so good, but I'm ready for sleep. I may have a long night ahead of me.

I made each child agree that 11:30 was quiet time. I made the parents leave contact info on a form I provided so I don't have to search to hell and back to come up with the nighttime number if should need to reach them. One of the moms from the new school asked me if I was a teacher. (No, just a former tech writer. Oy vey.)



Here is a shot of my kid. She's happy. Imagine 8 happy girls having fun with her. Got that picture? Now imagine them doing warm up games, big art projects, dinner, presents, cupcakes and ice cream, dancing to HSM2, nail painting, board games and puzzles, truth or dare, spin the bottle (what? I have no idea - but no kissing), and movie watching. We didn't get to the bunko. Or the karaoke. But the night is still young.


Our neighbors stopped by. OK, I had called them with a false die emergency (I didn't think we had enough dice for bunko - not that we ended up playing the game, but the situation was remedied with ransacking all of our board games, so emergency averted). Anyway, after my call I think they wanted to make sure I wasn't losing my mind. Here is Bob with his beautiful son and daughter. Not officially checking up on me. But kinda, maybe.


More importantly, here are Nicholas and Cambria up close. They woke up shortly after this and we got to hold them and kiss them. Yeah! That is the very best kind of visit. I love them and feel so lucky to have them nearby every day but especially on slumber party night.


Here is the art project we had them do. Each girl decorated 2 wooden blocks with cut paper, known as paper piecing. One block needed to be monkey - that one goes to Madigan. The other is to take home. We have a bear, a sea cucumber, an afro dog, and a LOT of monkeys. The project was a huge hit and Maddy will have these works of art to remember her 10th birthday for years to come. Awesome.


And since I am the Crummy Cupcake - here are the rolled fondant monkey cupcakes I made. Kinda crummy, dontcha think. Just what I was going for.

I will post more on Kiddos when I get the express written permission from all of the parents involved. Stay tuned. I have some lovely pics of the girls on their adventures. What a delightful thing that I get to help my kid celebrate her birth with this amazing group of girls. I am feeling very grateful and a little guilty that I was so nervous.

I say that now, but the night is not over yet...

NO ONE LOVES IT MORE THAN ME

Birthdays. They are so wonderful. I really don't understand people who don't want anyone to know. People who won't tell you their birthday. What the hell is that about? What a setup. Do they expect me to ask around? Do they secretly want a surprise party, cause only when groups of people have kept this silly secret will they feel valued? Whatever. Surprise parties are dumb. And not just cause I've never had one. I think they are so dumb that I have never thrown one. It's not like you don't know that you are growing a year older. And someone always blows the surprise. Here's a secret for you - that someone is usually me. How do you like that?

This week I had a delightful series of small celebrations. After my jam making extravaganza with my family on Sunday I had a lovely lunch with Lisa on Tuesday. We went to our regular joint, had a delicious (and not at all low-cal) meal and talked and laughed. Perfect. Just what I wanted.

On Wednesday Lori took me for a Hawaiian pedicure at lunch. We and ate salads and relaxed while being scrubbed with Orange Peel & Pineapple Sugar Glow and smoothed with Caramel Ribbon Glaze. My toes are Strawberry Margarita pink and I feel as delicious as I smell.

Tonight Heather invited a couple girls to her home for a birthday dinner. We talked forever about everything and dined on Salmon and asparagus. She made molten lava cake with raspberries. I floated home tonight.

I don't expect this kind of attention and treatment all year. I receive it gratefully this special week. These are my friends. I love them. And I want joyous memories of time spent together. This week I will remember for a long long time.

A WOMAN OF A CERTAIN AGE

I turned 36. I am in my late 30s. This life goes by really fast. Which makes me remember that I'm going to die. Someday. I am a bit of a worrier. Often about things that are not really valid concerns. Apparently, it is just my way.

The truth of the matter is I love my birthday. I love taking time to really consider what I like. What I really want to spend my time doing. Telling my family, with my choices, that they are the things I love the most. That what I want are the homemade cards, the photos, the time spent together. I want to snuggle on the sofas watching Tim Burton movies after Boston Cream Pie. Cause soon enough my kids will be grown. They will be busy with their lives apart from me. They will be choosing careers and partners and places to live. I'll be thrilled to pieces for all of that (as I assume it will fall on the heels of the teen years) but until that day comes I want to be here. To be with my children. To hug them and love them in a way that is only possible while they are small.

It goes by so fast. On this day I want nothing more than to be living this day.