Tag Archives: family

Wren’s Birthday bash!

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A few thoughts… and a few photos for you, dear readers.

90 degrees, buttercream frosting.

Hhhhmm, not exactly what I had planned, but most of the yummy cupcakes I made were thankfully consumed before they completely succumbed to the late May heat wave (and *they* say that climate change is a hoax, hhmph).

Taking care of a tired, hot, over-stimulated 1-year-old while frosting her cupcakes and placing cookies on a tray.

Again, never once when I thought about Wren’s party did I even–for one second–think that I would also be taking care of her at the same time. Duh. Hello?! Let this be a lesson, lovelies. Bring in the troops! Although I am 125% sure that I became a major pain in the a** to the people I love most, my family pitched in and made the party happen. “Mom, feel like doing a little ironing?”  To which she responded, “No… But I will.” Remember, it was 90 degrees.. Only a Mom will iron your party clothes when the needle hits 90. Thanks, Mom.

Go ahead and invite a bunch of your friends with small children, but don’t expect to be able to talk with them.

After a couple hours, the yard cleared out and just my family was left. But I hadn’t really talked with anyone other than to ask if they wanted something else to drink or to order them to “please come sing ‘Happy Birthday! Now. Before the frosting puddles on the table. Please?” Turns out when all the adults are busy running around after the little people, we all just orbit around each other and rarely connect except with a few knowing glances, shrugs and a quick hug. The upside of this is that you don’t need many chairs for a kids birthday party because only a few people have the luxury of sitting down for a few minutes.

Now for some eye candy. So glad I asked my (favorite) brother to be my official party photographer. Don’t you think he did a great job?


Only once in your life do you get a plate of “1” cookies. This photo makes me smile.

“Wren’s nests,” courtesy of Grandma Judy.

Wren knew the party was all for her, especially the round of “Happy Birthday!” Here she is, so excited about being the center of attention. Trying her best to be as cute as possible. Funny how the wee ones pick up the signals, eh?

Happy Birthday, dearest Wren Sabina!

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Tummy Tub, of course!

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I’ve been asked a few times recently for gift ideas for new parents. There are so many great things out there and while handmade items are always trump in my book, the Tummy Tub is a unique, thoughtful, useful gift that we love to rave about. Shortly after we first brought Wren home from the hospital and looked at each other, like “now what?” we bathed her in a traditional tub and she screamed. Oops. Fresh from the womb, exposure like that is not fun. For anyone. But she took right away to her Tummy Tub. And so did we. How cute is a baby in a bucket?

We started using it shortly after she was born. According to the manufacturer (and we agree!), it’s “an easy, stress-free and safe way to bathe and settle your baby. Developed in cooperation with physicians, midwives and nursery nurses, the TummyTub eases the transition from the secure environment of the womb to the new world. The unique womb shape helps your baby to relax and become calm in the familiar fetal position. Surrounded by water, which stays warmer for longer due to the small surface area, your baby feels confident and secure.”

Here are some shots of Wren in her Tummy Tub. So cute and fun!

Wren first started pulling herself in her Tummy Tub and then we really couldn’t be doing dishes at the same time anymore… Damn!

Bonus, dear readers! It’s green. The ultimate green baby bath tub: saves water, energy, space, and is fully recyclable. Designed and produced in Europe with very high quality standards, the TummyTub is completely BPA, PVC, lead, Phthalate, and toxin free. Not to mention it has passed all worldwide safety regulations and testing.

Don’t you love those Europeans and all their great ideas? Cheers!

Invites. Check!

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So I’m a bit behind in Wren’s birthday party planning. I JUST got the invites out and the party’s on the 30th… Did I mention that I was a bit behind? But I’m really happy with the design. Just wish I had gotten it done last week. Alas…

  • Invites. Check!
  • Birthday banner. Check! Although I had a ridiculous (?) thought yesterday that I would make a new one in fuchsia and tangerine to match the other party elements…
  • Cups and napkins. Check!
  • Cupcake ingredients. Check!
  • Candle in the shape of a number one. Check!
  • Menu of sugary goodness. Check!
  • Thumbelina zinnia plants growing well for the favors. Check!
  • Party dress. Check!
  • Beautiful weather…. ?
  • Thinking of making some of these wheatgrass centerpieces for the dessert table. Have you ever done this? I like these. How springy!

Now I’m pondering a fun activity for the older kids – other than eating sugar. Any ideas, dear readers?

budgeting for organics

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I don’t know about you, dear readers, but our family’s quest to eat more organic produce sometimes leaves my wallet feeling a bit too empty. This is one reason I’ve been planning a big garden this summer, but this IS northern Michigan and we can only grow so much of our own. We still find ourselves reaching for a banana or orange every day no matter how far it’s traveled. Sigh.

Soooo… when I stumbled upon this handy wallet chart from My Paper Crane, which depicts the organic produce that *always* should be chosen and the low-pesticide foods, which we could skip over if we needed to save a few bucks that week, I cheered. Plus, it’s cute as a button, right?


You can download a copy of it here for your very own wallet. Thank you, My Paper Crane, for such a lovely, clever idea (and nice photos). I already know that next week’s shopping trip will be a helluva lot more fun. Who doesn’t love vegetables and fruits with googlie eyes?

Mother’s Day Musings

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Happy Mother’s Day weekend, dear readers!

I’m excited to celebrate my first official Mother’s Day with my family. We were planning a picnic and a trillium/morel hike, but 40 with a chance of a “wintery mix” is more than enough to send me and my babe back inside. I am not suffering on Mother’s Day; I will be no weather martyr this weekend. So there. Do you have any big plans, lovelies?

In honor of all the Mammas who make the world go ’round out there, I wanted to share one of my favorite poems by Billy Collins. It makes me laugh and cry. Always a winning combination in a poem, I think. You? Enjoy!

Lanyard

The other day I was ricocheting slowly
off the blue walls of this room,
moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly—
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift—not the worn truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hand,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

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