A Sleepover Birthday Party

This past weekend Benjamin had his first ever sleepover. It was a belated birthday party celebrating his 10th year. We pitched a three room tent downstairs in our finished basement and told all of the boys to bring their sleeping bags and pillows. What fun!

I've never been much of a babysitter, even when I was 12. And being a single mother for four years probably threw me over the edge. However, one thing I have always loved is hangin' with kids in Junior High and High School. I was a youth leader at my church for about 3+ years and loved it. At 10, Benjamin and his buddies are getting close. They are still a little wild and goofy, but I was able to pull out some old youth leader 'games' to keep things interesting. 

Food and entertainment was a 10 year old's dream come true with take-out pizza, fruit punch, fruit salad, make-your-own-sundae, candy & popcorn. 

For dinner, I made up little chit-chat cards kind of like the "Ungame" in case conversation needed some help. It was a bit one sided so I got out my pile of homemade cards and had each boy take a turn picking a card and answering a question. Such as: 

• Can you touch your tongue to your nose? Answer: No
• Would you rather go sky diving or bungee jumping (or neither)? Answer: Sky Diving
• If you could buy your mom anything, what would you get her? Answer: Infinity Cats
• What is your least favorite chore around the house? Answer: Taking out the trash
• Do you play an instrument? If so, which one? Answer: Yes. Saxophone.
• If you could travel to any country in the world, where would you go? Answer: Madagascar

Yes, the boys are in our dining room, which may seem silly but it's the only table we have (minus the island seating in the kitchen). I kind of like it because we actually use our dining room. As you can see, to conserve my energy level for the event, I caved and used paper plates and each boy got one plastic cup with his name on it. 

We also did the classic ice breaker where each person has piece of paper with a famous person's name written on it, taped to their back. They have to go around the room asking their friends yes or no questions to find out who they are. The incentive was: When you figure out who your person is, you get to pick out which box of candy you want for the movie. I had about 10 different 'movie sized' boxes to choose from. They did fabulously, and for Victor and I, it was hilarious to watch. The names we had were:

• Princess Liea 
• George Washington
• Thomas Edison
• R2D2
• Miley Cirus
• Benjamin Franklin

After dessert, we started a typical youth leader type game where I broke the boys up into two teams of three, gave each team a ream of paper and two rolls of masking tape, and told them that they had 25 minutes to build a structure. The tallest and sturdiest structure wins. They loved it, and it was hilarious to watch. 

The Wild-Crazy and Excitable Team

The Quiet, Methodical, Organized Team

The Quiet Team did change their method part way through, but they worked together and stayed focused the entire time.

The Wild Team had a lot of laughs and changed course throughout the project.

It was a taping, papering extravaganza.

No comments from the peanut-gallery, please.

Needless to say, the quiet methodical team won.

The unwrapping.

One of Benjamin's buddies brought over his Wee Game.

Another buddy brought over his extra controllers, so four kids could play at one time.

It was the most, errrr . . . excitable part of the evening. 

They had the chance to vote (secret ballot) on their choice for a movie to make it fair. It was between Star Wars I, The City of Ember and Back to the Future I. It was close, but Star Wars I won. Which of course, they'd all seen before. 

I was exhausted. We got everyone pajama'ed and bagged in the tent by 10:45 pm,  quietly talking and behaving themselves nicely. I finally had to go to bed because I was falling asleep on the couch upstairs waiting for the boys to settle down. Victor said he'd take the night shift and finally was able to go to bed himself at 1 a.m. 

In the morning I made pancakes, bacon and fruit salad for the boys. I think I'm out of shape as a youth leader. Or gee, maybe I'm just getting . . . old. I was exhausted and crabby. I felt like I'd pulled an all-nighter in college followed by a night of partying. It took me two days to recover. The good news is, all of the boys had a great time, no fights broke out, no one wanted to go home in the middle of the night, and we returned all boys to their parents the next day in one piece! 

A Tea Party for Kids

This isn't your typical tea party for kids . . . it's a tea party with purpose. Our second. My mother invented them to teach her grandchildren the importance of grown-up manners. More than just saying "Plleeeeeeeeeease", the boys are required to honor the ladies by escorting them to the table, pulling out their chairs and pushing them in. There is no grabbing for treats across the table, but each person is offered something in time. Did you know a guest isn't to ask for seconds? Drat. Foiled again. 

Here is the lovely table setting. I love the colorful ribbon running down the center. And the place cards . . . 

My creative, brilliant mother wrote out each persons name in craft glue, then sprinkled -- get this -- crumbled tea leaves on the glue! Is she clever or what?

We were each to bring a treat for the party that the children were to help us prepare. This is a big draw for the whole event. "Oooo . . . you get to have treats and tea before dinner!" Mom got the award though. Again. Here are her cucumber sandwiches with cream cheese and cucumbers cut out with airplane and star cookie cutters. Looking festive, covered in glass. 

The strawberry tarts were fabulous. She used 'refrigerator' sugar cookie dough for the crusts, pressed them into the cupcake tins, used a fork to make 'crimping' on the edges, and baked. I'm not sure what the filling is. Mom?

Did you notice that the strawberries are cut into the shapes of hearts? Awwww.

Chocolate dipped strawberries.

Another part of the tea party experience is that everyone is required to dress up. No, you can't aways wear your velcro sneakers and jeans. There are times when you must wear 'cute clothes' as Ripley calls them. A good life lesson. 

The importance of wearing cute clothes from time to time was driven home when Ripley decided to have the mother-of-all-meltdowns when we required him to wear cute shoes. He is a sports gear guy and much to my chagrin is in love with sneakers. And, he's hard headed. It was a mess getting them on, but we didn't give in. We stood our ground. 

Mom recently purchased navy blazers for all of the grandsons to drive this point home. A boy should be comfortable and 'at home' in a blazer. Spencer, not yet one, will be the proud recipient of all of the hand-me-downs up to age 10. Doesn't everyone need a navy sport coat at 10 months? He does look stunning, I must say.

Here we all are at tea.

Yum.

We made petit-fours from a left over upside down pineapple cake we'd served the night before. Ripley was in charge of cutting the squares (with a little supervision) and I made the chocolate fondant which was very easy. One cup of milk brought to boiling. Remove from heat. Then add in 8 ounces of chocolate chips very finely chopped, and stir until all of the chocolate is melted. That is it. Pour over your cubes of cake. Mine was a tad too thick, but I'm not sure if this was because Benjamin was in charge of bringing the milk to a boil and it took a dog's age. So, perhaps too much steam evaporated? I may add a scant more than one cup of milk next time. Because we were short on time, we just plunked an M&M on top of each one. Left over homemade heath bars chopped up into bite sized pieces also served as another 'offering'. (Thank you Katie!)

Cute.

The traditional 'stair shot'.

L-R: Benjamin, Spencer, Rosalie, Ripley and Reese

After dinner, there were s'mores.

Spencer enjoying a graham cracker with sport coat. Why not?

Victor and Dad.

The perfect ending to a wonderful evening.

Fun in Florida

What to do with yet another day in sunny Florida? Usually our time in Florida is spent swimming in the pool, going to the beach, playing games, reading and crafting. Once in a blue moon we'll go orange picking. So, yesterday after two days of playing on the beach, we went to the beach for a shell scavenger hunt. 

The list of shells is a little difficult to see here, but I drew simple pictures of each type of shell we sometimes see here on the Gulf Coast and assigned each one a certain number of points. 

• One point for any type of scallop 
• 2 points for a spiny slipper shell (or jewelry box shell)
• 5 points for an olive shell
• 10 points for any type of conch shell
• 50 points for a sand dollar
• 5 points for a "curly-Q" shell (or Florida worm shell)
• 5 points for any two "attached" shells

Here are their findings all laid out.

Counting up his points.

Looking everything over with Grandmama.

The other thing that we love to do in Florida is to play "Take Two". Now, there has been a 'copy-cat' game called "Gone Bananas" or something like that, that you can purchase in a toy store. But, if you already have a scrabble game, you are all set. I learned this game from my very competitive pastor of 8 years from my last church (I moved from southern R.I.). That was about ten years ago long before the silly banana game. I don't know who came up with it, but it's NOT JUST FOR KIDS. As a matter of fact, I would say it's best suited for adults, but good for kids ages 9 and up. This game is cut throat, fast paced and F-U-N! You don't have to be a fabulous speller of large flowery words (although that doesn't hurt) because it's a fast game (unlike your typical scrabble game) you don't have a lot of time to ponder over long words. This is how you play: 

You put the whole pile of scrabble tiles in the middle of the table, face down.

• 1-4 people can use one set of scrabble tiles, more than that use 2 sets of scrabble tiles.
• Each player starts with four tiles, faced down in front of them. 
• On the word "GO!" all the players flip over the tiles and begin to build their OWN individual scrabble grid. 
• The first person to build a scrabble puzzle out of the four letters says "Take Two!" which means that all players take two more scrabble tiles out of the center pile and add on to your growing puzzle. Obviously, with only four letters, sometimes no one can create words. In that case, everyone has to agree to "Take Two".
  
• Here is an example of what each person's scrabble puzzle should start to look like. 

• You continue building your puzzles until all of the tiles have been used up. Whenever a player uses up all of their tiles, they say "TAKE TWO!" and every one must take two tiles.
• The first person to use up all of their tiles WINS that round. 
• You go around and check everyone's work. Any errors need to be removed from the puzzle.
• Each person is scored using the letters they haven't used, against them. Add up the numbers listed on the tiles. 
• Then, you start another round. Play as many rounds as you like.
• The person with the lowest score, wins. 

Here is Grandmama and Benjamin checking the spelling of a word. You can challenge the spelling of a word, but the tally of that word will count against you if your challenge is incorrect. If the word was misspelled the 'owner' of the puzzle has to remove that word from their puzzle and any other connecting words and count those totals against them in their score. 

Benjamin is doing the tallying.

This was one of Benjamin's puzzles, isn't it impressive? He is still "in training" but in short order he will be a force to be reckoned with! I'm sorry to report that my mother won this game. I was holding my own for awhile, but then got stuck with a 'Z' (10 points) and several other letters. Drat!

Did I mention this game is also fabulous over a glass of wine?

If you have any questions on how to play, please feel free to email me! It is sooooo FUN!

Seed Progress!

Starting your own seeds continued . . . 

As you can see, my leeks and onions have germinated and poked up through the soil. How wonderful! The other benefit of starting your own seeds is seeing that spring is coming in a very tangible (and hopeful!) way. 

A lot of books suggest watering your seeds from the bottom -- where you put water in the bottom tray and let it soak up through the soil and roots. That sounds good, and I get the concept, however after trying it on and off for years I always find that the water doesn't soak up evenly. So you have one side that's managed to get drenched, the other looks like one step from the Sahara desert -- or you'll have 3-8 cubicles that are bone dry. If I water from the top I feel like I have a lot more control and the "failure" rate is zero. I like those odds better. :)

I have started my tomatoes, eggplant and celery. As I've mentioned in a previous post, after starting my seeds (like tomatoes) 8 weeks before the last frost date -- as instructed in books and on the seed packets -- they were only two inches tall (at best) by the time I planted them. Too small. I think this is partly because it was too cold downstairs, but I'm not willing to have mini plants again this year. So -- I'm planting earlier. We'll see how it goes.

Some time this week, I will start my pepper seeds. I am planning on soaking them (for about 8 hours) before planting them. I did that with my tomato seeds and they are already starting to sprout. Exciting!!

It's not to late to start your own! Start small. But, get started! 

During school vacation week, it's a great thing to do with your kids. The younger ones can help stir water into the dirt, and scoop it into the flats. The older ones can drop the seeds into the holes that you make (at the right depth). It's surprising to learn how many children don't understand where their food comes from. You don't need a huge garden. Start with a small raised bed, or a small bed along the side of your house, or even some planters on your patio or porch. 

Have fun!

The Joy of Blocks

Blocks are a very popular in our home. Blocks are fabulous because they are so simple, but let imagination and creativity run wild. The sad thing is, great blocks are hard to find. Go to your basic Toys R Us, Walmart or even most locally owned toy stores and you will find little mini versions of what you remember playing with as a child.

"Where do I find great toy blocks?" You ask? Constructive Playthings. They are a bit of an investment ($49 - $100+), but they will be a toy in your home with longevity. Benjamin, at 9, shows no sign of retiring from his love of blocks. 

One thing that we learned from Ripley's Montessori school is to pair the blocks with two marbles and a little glass or ceramic jar (custard cup). The kids build ramps and roads for the marbles to roll along or down, then into the cup. Believe me, good for at least an hour of fun. Incidentally, Montessori schools believe in using breakable things. This is how children learn to be careful with their things. If they are constantly surrounded by plastic, why worry? Why be careful? Just like potty training, there are bound to be messes, but that's called learning.  

(ps: That basket the blocks are in? That is from my CD organization project. Presto! A "new" basket.)

Starting Your Own Seeds

Here they are! The first seeds that I have planted for the 2009 season! Exciting. I am going to plant most of my seeds earlier than I did last year. They were tiny little seedlings by the time May came around. One reason may be that it was a bit too chilly for their liking down in our basement. Our basement is finished, but we keep the heat way down unless someone is down there playing. Soooo . . . I'm going to have to try and resolve that somehow. 

The first seeds I planted were from the onion family. Last year I planted leeks, starting them from seeds. Although their growing time is very long (100 days +) they were extremely low maintenance. No one wanted to eat them (bugs or rabbits or chipmunks or deer) and they just sat there minding their own business, plodding along. Even if you don't get to picking them -- they just keep on keepin' on during the entire winter. Wow. What a plant! Yesterday I planted: Siegfried Leek (winter hardy), Bandit Leek (winter hardy), Riverside Onion (stores for 5+ months, smaller) and Siskiyou Sweet Onion heirloom (cold hardy to -10 degrees, but not a good storer, large flat 5-7" bulb). 

Planting your own seeds is simple! And cheaper than purchasing seedlings. Plus, you will have a lot more variety to choose from when purchasing seeds from seed companies.  

• First, buy flats for planting your seeds into. I saved all of mine from last year. With good care they should be able to last you many years. Plain Old Kristi was very resourceful about saving all kinds of containers to plant her seeds into. Check out some of her ideas here.
  
• Buy seed starting soil. Lighter than potting soil, it's best for seeds. Or you could mix your own by combining potting soil, compost and peat moss or leaf mold. I am hoping to make mine either next year or the year after depending on how my leaf mold compost bin does.
• Buy your seeds. It's not too late! I have been happiest with my seeds from Seeds of Change. Abundant Life Seeds and Johnny Seeds have also been very good. In these catalogs there are a wide selection of vegetables and fruits -- with several different varieties of each kind. 
• Fill a bucket with an inch or two of water, dump soil up to the top of the bucket, drizzle a little more water on top and toss. This is a great job for the kids. Ripley was my soil stirrer. 
• Fill your containers with soil. (Another job that Ripley did.) Pack the soil down lightly, so that when you go to take your little seedling out, the whole clump wont fall apart. Plus, soil compacts a bit and your seedling will need some soil to sink it's roots into.
• A good rule of thumb, in general, is to plant each seed in a small hold double it's size. So if you have a small onion seed that's just under 1/8" wide, plant it in a hole 1/4" deep. But this information should also be on the back of the seed packet. I made my little holes with a pencil. 
• Drop your seeds in the holes and gently cover and pat each seed with soil. 
• Plant more seeds that you think you will need. Invariably you will have some fatalities or seeds that just didn't "take". Plus, seedling make great little gifts to friends! 
• Cover your seeds with a plastic top, or plastic wrap, or plastic bags (lifted off the soil with Popsicle sticks or twigs) to keep the soil evenly moist. This isn't imperative, but it keeps the maintenance lower (really no need to water in this stage if the top is on). 

• Seeds with a hard "shell" on the outside sprout even more reliably with soaking. Soak for 4-8 hours in a little water at room temperature. I have not done this with all of my seeds. But frankly, it's a little bit of a pain. The seeds stick to the bowl, and it's tough to drain the water without losing a few seeds. I had several different types of peppers and tomatoes (the seeds that I soaked) and I had every small custard cup and bowl out trying to keep them separate and their varieties "tagged". This is not necessary, but it is supposed to help your seeds along, particularly more challenging seeds. I'd say, if you are up to it, go for it, if not -- bypass this step. 
• Another sure fire way to get your seeds to sprout without worry is to put them on top of a heating pad set on low. This is a miracle worker -- particularly if you live up north and keep your house cool. Many seeds need to be at least 70 degrees in order to germinate (this information should be on the back of the seed packet). I wish my house was 70 degrees! But it's not. Humph. 

• Once your seedlings have sprouted, take off the cover and put them in a very sunny window or under a fluorescent light. In our house, we only have one window with southern exposure -- and it's in Ripley's room! So I had to use fluorescent lights. I bought these cheaply at Home Depot last year for something like 9-14$ apiece. It's a one time investment. Not a big deal. The light needs to be lowered to 6" above the seedlings. I have my lights suspended with sturdy string that is looped through hooks that are screwed into the wooden beams in my basement's ceiling. 

• The directions on the back of your seed packets will tell you how many weeks before your last frost you should start your seeds indoors. The directions will also tell you if it's best to sow them directly into your garden (root vegetables for example). Some vegetables are very easy to plant outdoors and quick to grow, so they don't merit the effort to start seeds indoors ahead of time. Examples of these are: Beans, Peas, Cucumbers, Squash (summer and winter), and lettuce. Directions on the packet will also tell you when it is safe to transplant the seedlings outside or sow directly into the soil outside. For most vegetables, this will be after the threat of frost has past. However others, like peas, beans, lettuce, and other cold weather greens can be sowed earlier.
• Now, once your seedlings are ready for planting STOP! It is necessary to go through a period called "hardening off". That means that a week before you are ready to plant your seedlings, bring them outside for several hours, then bring them back inside -- for 7 days, give or take. If you don't do this, there is a very good chance that your new seedlings will die in short order. This process builds up the seedlings resistance to wind, colder temperatures, outdoor sunshine, etc., etc. 

I hope these directions help -- especially for those of you who are hesitant to grow your own vegetables. It's just not that hard. Start with easy things like lettuce, arugula, kale, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, herbs such as basil and parsley (only the tomatoes should be started from seed indoors). Or start very simply with ONLY those things you can easily sow directly into the soil. A girlfriend of mine started a small kitchen garden along one side of her house. She had more lettuce, cilantro, cucumbers, tomatoes, and parsley than she knew what to do with. Of course this year she wants to expand! Beware, growing your own food is addictive! And, that's a good thing. :)

Rosalie is 5!

My niece Rosalie just turned 5. She loves to dance, so for her birthday party a teacher came and taught a ballet class. What a wonderful idea. The grown-ups seemed to be enjoying all of the adorable photo-op moments, and as you can see, the girls were loving every minute.

Everyone was told to come "dressed to dance". Ripley decided he was going to wear "cute clothes" which entails a button down shirt of some kind and non-sports related shoes. 

Tanya and I both received these "cupcake trees" for Christmas from my parents. Aren't these pink cupcakes adorable?

The boys were encouraged to participate in the dance lesson -- we explained that ballet is a very athletic sport, and that sportsmen of all kinds practice ballet to strengthen and increase their flexibility.

However, although the boys enjoyed watching the ballerinas, overall, they were not impressed. 

Too Many Toys?

Recently, I've been wondering about toys. Do my children have enough toys? Sometimes when I go over to a friend's house, I wonder. All of the newest gadgets and novelties, lined up ready for playing. My oldest, Benjamin has been around and "collecting" toys for nearly 10 years (in May). As they break I sift through them and try to keep them "fresh". We have the wooden train set, the electric train, the Lego's, the blocks, dress-up stuff, puzzles, matchbox cars, games, learning games, chess, microscope and other scientific things for Benjamin . . . When people ask what my children need for gifts (birthdays and holidays) I am usually at a loss. We haven't gone down the video game route: the Wee, PlayStation or GameBoy. 

Then, on Monday when I had both boys at home, I watched them play. Most of their "play" is inventive and imaginative. Maybe it involves a few cars, but not on a track. A ball, but not in a net. We have had plenty of snow to play in, so I sent them out to do a little shoveling (you know how jobs go for kids, it's the effort that counts) and to fetch a load of wood on their sleds. They had more fun. In short order they were sledding around the yard. And after lunch we went outside again to build snow forts. 

All day long, we didn't turn on the television or play video games (that stands to reason, since we don't have any). Sometimes I wonder (when my boys were bickering about who was or wasn't doing their job) if parents today don't want to do the work involved in good parenting. At one point, early in the day, I thought "Gee, it would be so easy to just plunk them in front of THE BOX." But, I didn't, and I think my boys are better for it. We had such a blast building "igloos" at the entrance to our driveway where the snow piled high from passing plows and Victor's shoveling. One for each boy.

I joked that they should spend the night out in their igloos. That was a bad idea. They both jumped at the chance and I had to explain that I was just kidding, and that we would need lots of leather, fur, wool and fire to get through the night without freezing. 

With too many toys, video games, computer games and television -- what's the incentive for trudging out of doors to let your imagination run wild?