an art party
June 25, 2013 § 2 Comments
My baby turned nine yesterday – I cannot believe it – and we celebrated in style with a lovely art party. My girls have been invited to a few art parties in recent years at different painting stores in the area. Sophie loves art, so we decided to do our own at-home version complete with real canvases for the girls to paint. For the art project each guest painted her own initial surrounded by different designs. It was a little rainy (typical June Seattle) so we had to set-up the painting in the garage instead of the grass like I’d imagined, but the guests didn’t seem to care. We served our favorite macaroni and cheese and sandwiches and had paint-your-own frosted cupcakes for dessert.
I love the colors we chose – orange and aqua – and had so much fun picking up cool treat bags, candies, straws, flowers and decor to match. I bought the smocks at the craft store but sewed orange chevron pockets to the front and tied on some coordinating ribbon – an easy way to make a store-bought apron look homemade. All and all, a simple and adorable birthday party that made my Sophie a very happy girl. And a happy girl makes a happy mommy!!
finding the time
June 18, 2013 § 4 Comments
I’ve read the blogs and the Facebook updates, and I stand in solidarity with those other frazzled and fried moms out there who, like me, are SO OVER this school year. I’m done – ready for the summer and an end to the madness that is ballet recital rehearsals and teacher gift planning and end of the year parties and volunteer brunches and wrap-up meetings, etc. etc. etc. I’m burned out and sick of the missed deadlines and late arrivals and last-minute juggling. I’m ready for the happy lull that comes with sleeping in late and lounging around in your pajamas and letting the summer days take you where they want.
So why then, you may ask, was I up ’til 2:00 a.m. a few nights ago making 18 homemade party invitations for my darling Sophie’s 9th birthday party? Because despite the fact that I’m tired and jaded and a little overwhelmed by my life, I’ve taken stock and decided that there are some little things that are just too important to let go. It’s crazy times like these that I need to remind myself of the things that truly make me happy, that define my family’s story and that make up the memories that we cherish year after year. For us, one of those things is our family birthday parties. I’ve always done a handmade invitation, and I always go all out to put together a special birthday celebration. For my girls, that’s one of the ways I show my love. And in all the chaos that is our life right now – not only wrapping up a busy school year, but also buying a new house and fixing it up – I don’t want to let go of what’s important to us. So I will find the time to make it happen.
I’ll be late to the meeting and forget to bring the snack and bag out of another volunteer commitment, but I will not forget to slow down long enough to remember what matters. I’m exhausted, but I can rest easy knowing that we will have a few more memories to savor.
little things i love 