one year older

birthday snow

Last month I celebrated my birthday.  It snowed like crazy but we braved the elements and went out for a lovely dinner. Upon dropping my son off at my aunts I found what felt like gold in a pile of trash. It was covered in snow but something about the shape of what I saw made me insist to my husband that he stop walking. I began to dust snow off this cubed box and sure enough, a painted burner appeared. It was a wooden play stove that was apparently being trashed by the local nursery. We still hadn’t went to dinner so there wasn’t really anything I could do but hope that in a few hours it would still be there.

Granted it was my birthday so sure enough, 4 hours later the play stove was still there. The snow had began to really accumulate so it took me a few attempts to relocate it in the pile of stuff that stood on the street corner. Just my luck because in my frantic state of looking for the stove I also managed to find the perfect wooden craft table for my son. By this time we had already done a crazy amount of holiday shopping so we looked rather foolish stuffing ourselves, and our loot, into a cab but we managed.

I’ve spent the last 2 weeks cleaning, sanding, lacquering and scrubbing our finds. Tonight my son got to use the table for the first time and I think he’s in love with it. For the first time that I can ever recall he played in his room, unassisted. Like one of us didn’t have to entertain him and be his personal muse.

This just might be the best birthday gift ever!

baby got a brand new stove

see it now?

party time!

Make A Wish, birthday matches

Graycen’s birthday celebration was a blast! It was so fun to watch as he explored EVERYTHING. Not a single thing went untouched or unlicked – he literally licked every type of candy we laid out. Yet he actually refused to eat any of it which is funny since I feared he might eat too much candy. He also refused to eat his birthday cake but the rest of us chowed down while he played with his balloons. He never opened his gift, it seemed he just had no interest. In fact the gift ended up sitting around the house for a few days before I finally did the honors of unwrapping it myself. But despite my sons silliness it was clear he loved everything.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I got a great deal of my inspiration from the Dr. Seuss book – Happy Birthday To You! I don’t recall my mother ever reading Dr. Seuss to me as a child so through my son I am discovering his great works for the first time. This book gave me a lot of great material. Here go some party details (though I have to apologize for never getting a photo of the completed table)…

“Today,” laughs the Bird, “eat whatever you want.

Today no one tells you you cawnt or you shawnt.

And, today, you don’t have to be tidy or neat.

If you wish, you may eat with both hands and both feet.

So get in there and munch. Have a big munch-er-oo!

Today is your birthday! Today you are you!”

golden nugget gum, my childhood favorite

festive straws

the birthday boy playing with his goodies

And here comes your cake! Cooked by Snookers and Snookers,

The Official Katroo Happy Birthday Cake Cookers.

And Snookers and Snookers, I’m happy to say,

Are the only cake cookers who cook cakes today

Made of guaranteed, certified strictly Grad A

Peppermint cucumber sausage-paste butter!

Graycen's birthday spread. A few more goodies were added but I never got another picture. We added some additional goodies, his gift and ten balloons.

happy birthday graycen

After a few hours of chatting and munching the celebration ended with some good old fashion balloon playing. Who knew the cheap balloons would be such a hit with both my son and his guests.

birthday balloons

the end

happy birthday graycen!

Happy Birthday Graycen!!

You make me feel like the luckiest person and every day I am reminded that the wait was worth it. I love you – forever.

October 22, 2007

motivation monday

Me with my Wonder Woman cake

Look, that’s me with my Wonder Woman cake! Gosh, I hope in that moment I thought I could do anything. My thoughts may not have been that advanced.. but maybe they were.

I’m all grown up now and for the last several weeks I have found myself making my best efforts on Monday morning to psyche myself up for another week doing the same ol’ same ol’. My methods for doing this vary. Some days the voice in my head chatters away. On other days I make my best attempts at quieting my mind.

Today I found balance with music. There are so many lines from this song that I could quote but I’ll simply start with the beginning..

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
Would you capture it, or just let it slip?

Lose Yourself – Eminem

I’m pretty certain this is going to be a good week.

flowers: pink

My mom unexpectedly came to town last month. Some of you may remember that we had childcare issues and she flew in to rescue us. That unexpected visit happened to correspond with her birthday. My lovely husband wanted to give her flowers on her big day so I selfishly request one of my favorite – ranunculus.

 

My wonderful husband picked up these beauties. Don’t you just love them?

Birthday flowers for mom

Pink Ranunculus

stumbled upon

Speaking of birthday parties (or in our case the “non-party” birthday) check out this beautiful image. It’s from the birthday party of Anna Spiro’s son. Anna has a great eye for décor and you can find her blogging at Absolutely Beautiful Things.

swoon, polka dot lanterns

 

celebrate

I use to be co-owner of un belle fete, a boutique event planning business that focused on personalized weddings. My own wedding was pretty spectacular but I’m not sure you’re suppose to toot your own horn in such a way that screams “I think my wedding was fabulous.” I mean, it was (!!) but that’s not the point. I mention this to say that I l-o-v-e parties with pretty eye candy!! My focus is always on the details, those little things that often go over looked. I haven’t hosted anything since my wedding but one day I will and I’m certain I’ll be going all out.

My son recently celebrated his first birthday and we did nothing in terms of a big bash. It was a little sad but the smart thing to do. For the record, I am not a frugal person but my husband and I did make the choice to skip the party.* You know, to save our money while we can. Here’s the thing, it seems a bit unfair to me that one of the biggest birthdays in a child’s life occurs before they are able to comprehend all the hoopla surrounding them. I assure you that we’ll get to it in a few years. The big party that is. I can’t say which birthday it will be but it will surly be when my son can comprehend mommy’s craziness a bit more. When he can look at me with wide eyes and get a bit loopy over all the things that will go into this production – his first party.

This year, all was not lost on my Mr. G’s first birthday. We did purchase the most adorable birthday hat. Mommy loved it, daddy thought it was pretty nifty and Graycen… well he’s one and hates anything we put on his head. He refused to cooperate for photos but with two dedicated adults tag teaming him (and 50 some photos snapped) we got a few usable images. And that’s what it’s all about – the photo. Who cares if mommy was barking orders and if daddy was annoyed and ready to give up. And heck, who cares if Graycen cried. Somehow we I’ve decided it was fun and a big success. See for yourself.

birthday boy

 

birthday boy take two

I found the hat on Etsy. The seller is Golden and I highly recommend checking her out. Her prices are affordable, I paid $16 for this hat. Everything about it is perfect. From the zig-zag stitching to the fluffy pom-pom on top. Hats can be customized with an initial or number. We went with an initial making Graycen’s hat into a keepsake that he can wear for years to come.

*Footnote: As I have assured you, I’m not frugal. My husband, now he IS frugal. Not that there is anything wrong with frugal people. I married one.