Skye's party and Mother's Day

today, Skye wanted to stay home and not go to school - shocking words from a girl that is always so excited to go to school! but it goes to show you just how busy and full our weekend was and how little time we had by ourselves.

Saturday turned out to be a good day for a party outside. it didn't rain, as predicted, and it wasn't too cold. unfortunately, i had had a bad night - both Claire and i were sick. Claire woke up often due to a stuffy nose. i threw up in the middle of the night and never got to sleep soundly. so, Saturday morning, i sort of had to gather all will power to face the day. i guess i asked for it by doing all the work that i did for the party. rather than buying little trinkets to fill up party favour bags, i baked cookies to send the kids home with. i worried i hadn't planned enough activities and all other stresses that come with entertaining 15 kids for an hour and a half. Phil and i had decided to stick to a budget as these kids parties sometimes end up costing so much and so we kept everything simple and low cost, but it meant much more work for me! at the end of it all, though, i'm glad we did what we did. the kids arrived, they played for a bit running around the backyard, then they did an art project with clay pots (which cost under $1 each!) which they would take home, then they ate lunch and cupcakes, played some more and then went home. i expected complete mayhem - afterall, 15 kids was more than i've had before! - but they were all surprisingly calm and cooperative. they played well, ate well and seemed to genuinely have a great time. i act surprised because i've been to quite a few birthday parties now and they all seem intent on getting the kids to spend a lot of energy. i worried that doing an art project wasn't active enough, yet we ended up doing it because Skye loves to do this kind of stuff.

now, i'm relieved that it is over. if it hadn't been for my babysitter who came to help me out that day, i'm sure i'd be much sicker now! i'm glad we did it and Skye had a blast, but i'm just glad it's done. i'm still recovering...whatever i had has turned into this really bad cold in my nose and is now making its way down to my chest!








i've also been thinking about the whole gift thing...i mean, should Skye get gifts when she gets all she needs? i know many parents have birthday parties and ask guests not to bring any gifts, but Skye really looks forward to getting the gifts! but i also notice, kids REALLY enjoy watching the gift unwrapping. they enjoy seeing their gift get unwrapped and they seem to participate in the birthday girl's excitement/enjoyment of opening her gifts. so, i don't think i could eliminate this one, even though Phil keeps saying, "no more stuff!"


after the party, my parents arrived from Michigan and Phil's family arrived from Illinois, so we had some family time.



so, on to Mother's Day... i was a miserable, sick mother. fortunately, i had my parents who took care of the kids while super-dad Phil cooked all day long. he made some delicious lamb for dinner which he smoked with hickory nut shells. i couldn't enjoy it to the full extent as everyone else, but we all ate until we were stuffed! Skye thoughtfully made me a bead necklace and wrote me a beautiful card.

i think this was the first Mother's day i spent both with my mother and with my children! we never really celebrated it when we lived in Kenya. i have to say, i was pretty out of it to really take it all in, but was so thankful for my mother's presence. when she is here, i feel like it's ok if i fall apart because i know she is capable of taking care of me and my family. not everyone finds their mothers to be so dependable/capable. i hope i can be there for my girls too when they grow up, although i fear i'm not quite so competent as my mother in the area of housework! but our enjoyment of our smoked lamb dinner reminded me also of something my mother has passed down to her children. she always liked to try new things in the kitchen. i'd have to say both my parents are adventurous eaters, but my mother was the cook and she was always looking to learn how to make new dishes. i will always be thankful to her for teaching me that sense of adventure when it comes to trying new foods and i hope to pass that on to my children.

my parents then gave us the best gift - an evening out without the kids! so on Monday night, Phil and i enjoyed a quiet, early dinner surrounded by senior citizens at an italian restaurant. i realize only old people eat out before 6 pm! but we were happy just to be able to chew our food without interruption. :)

would love to hear how YOUR mother's day was...feel free to leave comments!