Flamingo Birthday Party

So, let's me confess right up front: I adore party planning. Which is a bit weird given that I'm not a details person. I'm definitely a big picture kinda gal. Chris is the nuts and bolts half of the relationship. We joke that I dream up the vision and he makes it a reality. Which, if you know us, is so true. 

I think I'm going to start telling Chris that my grand vision for our daily lives does not include a tidy house. Life, especially with kids, is gloriously messy. This is a great idea, yes?! All in favor of adopting, shout 'aye'!

Anyway, back to the party. Since Ben and Emma have birthdays that are only separated by two weeks, it makes sense to smoosh them together into one glorious fiesta. I plan to do this until they stage a revolt. Frankly, we expected Ben to protest vociferously  but we appeased him with the promise of his Treasure Hunt (aka his buddy birthday) party and he happily went out of his way to tell everyone that he was having two birthday parties. Dude is spoiled rotten, it's true. 

So, now that we were planning Un Gran Fiesta (can you tell that I've been practicing my spanish on Duolingo?!), we needed to pack a birthday punch. 

And really, are there any other birds on the planet that can rival the flamingo for sheer showy gaudyness? (Parents and other birders: don't answer that. Save your blue mot mots, birds of paradise, and other feathered friends for next year's party) 

I found this geometric flamingo file (instant download) for $1.50 on Etsy and then set about crafting a proper invitation. 

Eh. It was ok. But who can resist messing around a bit more? 

(And I just noticed that there was a typo in the first invitation. Eek. Where is my detail-oriented husband?!)

 Or adding pink bunting? Peeps, the world needs more pink bunting.

I also added a few feathered models to the birthday cake. Bad picture, I know. Wind + dying camera does not make for good photographic evidence. Plus I was trying to balance the entire thing on top of a paint bucket (yes, we're still in construction mode) 10 minutes before guests walked in the door. Welcome to my hectic life. Which clearly has no time for tidying. Flamingos always take precedence over house chores, yes?

Here is the cake right before we dug in. This is when I started singing Happy Birthday but Ben halted the proceedings because I'd neglected to turn off every single last light in the house and it wasn't dark enough for him. Got to follow the rules and the rules say that light go OFF. Yes sir.

Ben requested an ice cream cake which was good since our oven wasn't hooked up and thus we had no way to bake a cake. This one was based off of an Ombre Cake and it got high scores from family members. Basically you whip up a whole bunch of whipped cream and layer it in between ice cream flavors of your choice. I picked chocolate, raspberry, and mango. YUM. It was an excellent combo, if I do say so myself.

Give yourself a day to make this cake. You put the bottom ice cream layer down, then a whipped cream layer and then stick it in the freezer to harden for half an hour. Then you put down another layer of ice cream and a second layer of whipped cream. Then harden. And repeat for as many layers as necessary. And then you cloak the entire thing in more whipped cream that takes the place of an exterior frosting.

Next time I'd try to make my whipped cream layers thinner. Or perhaps nix them entirely. Whipped cream simply doesn't it do it for me when compared to a good gelato. 

For the past few years we've done birthday shirts for the kids but I lied shamelessly to Ben and told him that they don't make shirts big enough for five year-olds. The tradition was cute for the first few years but I don't want my sixteen-year-old throwing a fit when he doesn't receive his annual birthday vestment. So we cut it off at age four. Sorry, Bubba. 

This is what I sent to the gal on Etsy that makes the shirts:

And...we got kind of close. It all depends on what she has in stock and I'm not surprised that her stash of oranges is a little thin.  Eh. I can live with it. Don't sweat the details, remember? :) I'm just grateful that she's willing to do custom orders. The one she made last year for Em was perfect. 

The birthday girl was happy and proceeded to show her appreciation by smearing chocolate ice cream over the front. It's my party and I do what I want to.

Sometimes it seems a bit silly to make such a to-do for what is a very small birthday party for only the kids' closest family members. But I remember quite vividly the parties my mom staged every February: the kite flying party. The high heel races. The tea party. They were great fun, even when things went wrong. Ahem. Like the time I lit the house on fire. In hindsight, that one was less fun for my parents, perhaps.

So in the meantime we're going to make a fuss over the kids and let them enjoy (jointly!) their special day. And really, it's also just an awesome opportunity to make delicious cakes.

xo,

Sonja

Summer Camp 2015

Whoa nelly, peeps. We just got back from a crazy camping weekend with friends up on the Mountain Loop Highway.

Here are the stats:

-12 adults.
-10 kids (ranging in age from 1 - 4).
-One group campground on the Stillaguamish River in the North Cascades.


Sounds like a recipe for chaotic trip, yes?

Heck yeah.

But in a fantastic, crazy, hilarious way. It was pure, unadulterated chaos. 

I have such fond memories of going camping with my family and friends when I was a little one and am thus determined to recreate this experience for my own children. So we persuaded family friends  to join us on a group camping trip at the end of July.

I was a little bit nervous prior to the trip. We were the common hub amongst all the families; what if not everyone jelled? Six four-year-olds (plus younger siblings) could very well be a recipe for disaster.

What if the bugs were horrible and it rained the entire time?

How many kids were going to fall in the river?

I shouldn’t have worried.

The big kids turned into a roving pack that tumbled through the camp like tasmanian devils.  They laughed, they bounced, they fought, they made up, and then they did it all over again.

And loved it. Wee ones are perfectly suited to grubby camping.

And the adults traded off on kid duties, cooked up group meals, and discussed the finer points of campfire building. 

Another happy little grubber. 

I am a new convert to group meals. Each family was responsible for providing one meal for the trip for the entire crew. You know me, peeps, I’ll do anything I can to get out of cooking three meals a day while on vacation (or at home, for that matter). 

Our camper build-out is 95% complete. We now have shades on the windows, which means I don’t have an audience when using the pot. Yessss.

Emma rolled out of bed the first night, which wasn’t great, but we made a few modifications for Night #2 and she slept like a champ. Which made this mama happy because I didn’t have a kicking, squirming baby that came into my sleeping area in the wee hours of the morning. Definitely a win.

This was our 4th camping trip this summer and I’m finally feeling like we’re getting the hang of it. Baby steps, peeps!

On Saturday, the whole crew did a 4 mile hike, and the kiddos spent most of it running up the trail. Our family did this hike back in March and practically had to drag Ben up the last quarter mile. Not the case this time around. Friends are good for keeping the enthusiasm levels high. Especially for my fiercely competitive son.

I love this picture of K. She’s a glorious little forest nymph. 

Classic four year old boy, right?!

At last, our lake!

The awkwardly named but beautiful Beaver Plant Lake. Still one my most favorite hikes on the Mountain Loop Highway.

Another perk of this camping trip? Having a professional photographer along for the ride!! Bronwen Houck is a fellow mom, friend, and fantastically talented photographer. These photos were all taken by her and you may remember her work from our holiday card last year. That’s her daughter K, down below, striking a pose with Ben and E.

This little baby girl is rocking those shades. Looking good, Em!

A rest break for some wild blueberry picking.

Back at camp the kids hung out and relaxed after the big hike. Two year old C, below, kept everyone entertained as comedian of the group. Emma was enthralled by his antics.

I am now convinced that a hammock is the most import piece of camp gear ever. This thing is like a non-human babysitter. Good for hours of fun.

And then it was time for a little swimming.  Coal Creek campsite has a fantastic water hole. The water was freezing but weirdly bearable after a while. Perhaps we were just numb.

These brave kiddos were totally killing it. Cowabunga!

Everyone was moving slowly on Sunday morning. We had a gradual wake-up, which included copious quantities of hot cocoa and story time. For both the kids and the story-teller (me). 

Emma got milk drunk and fell in the (cold, not lit) fire pit. E is admiring her bravery. Or the fact that the palms of her hands are solidly black from the soot.

I think that Coal Creek might just be my favorite group campground ever. The small stream was perfect for the kids, it was private, there was nearby hiking, and the swimming hole was a nice perk after a sweaty day spent on the trails. 

Love this crazy family of mine. Two days of grubby camping, poor sleep, and way too many smores, yet we’re still having the time of our lives.

The whole gang.

Can’t wait for next year.

xo,

Sonja

PS: By my count, there were at least four accidental river dunkings. :)

I See You (Alternate Title: The Magical Wonders of LASIK)

Let’s do a little experiment: position your face so it’s a mere six inches away from whatever device you’re reading this blog on (phone, iPad, desktop, etc). 

Six inches. That’s what my vision was. Anything beyond that was crazy blurry. Now imagine blindly groping around for glasses in the middle of the night while the baby howls. You can’t find them so you stumble out the door, trip over the dog, and pick up the thing that looks like a babyish blob. Repeat. Every single night.  

I’ve worn contacts since 5th grade. I was going to be the first person in my class to get glasses and for some reason I was absolutely terrified about that proposition.  So my parents got the Most-Incredible-Padres-Of-The-Year Award and let me get contacts. Back then they were the hard ones and you had to pull them out of your eyes with a little toilet plunger. And they would occasionally fall out and I’d be crawling down on the floor looking for a tiny slip of clear plastic. Usually I’d inadvertently find it when my knee came down and cracked it.  

Aside from an unfortunate stint with giant, coke-bottle glasses during middle school, I’ve been relatively happy with my contacts. After 24 years, they’re second nature. I can put them in without a mirror and my eyes handle long stretches with relative ease. 

The biggest drawback however is the environment. In any condition other than my house, they were kind of a pain. Living for six months at jungle stations in Costa Rica? Grubby. Getting water in my scuba mask? Difficult. Camping with porta potties? Ick. 

I was all set to have LASIK done six years ago until my doctor asked if I was planning on having children. Yes. Well then, you’d better wait. Damn. 

As it turned out, she was right. Pregnancy (and hormonal changes) can cause vision fluctuations for a small percentage of women. I was one of them. 

But our bambino-creating days are behind us so I signed myself up for a few consultations at area LASIK centers. My procedure was yesterday and Chris got to sit in on the surgery. 

Crazy note: See those big windows? That’s the waiting room. You can see people having their eyes lasered while you sip your Starbucks and catch up on US Weekly. 

My eyeball is looking slightly stressed. Not that I blame it. It was about to be sliced open...

I have no idea what’s going on here. All I know is that I’d just had my first-ever valium and my eyeball was numb.  The clamp wasn’t particularly comfortable and the laser that cuts the flap makes your vision go black, a slightly disconcerting experience. But it wasn’t painful. And my doctor was amazing. Two thumbs up for Sharpe Vision in Bellevue.

And best of all, I woke up this morning with 20/15 vision. Holy frijole, peeps: The wonderful power of modern medicine.

Full disclosure: my vision isn’t perfect, particularly in my bad left eye. Things at a distance are slightly fuzzy and I’m finding that my eyes are fairly sensitive to bright sunlight. And I’m an eye-dropping fool every hour. But these are normal side effects and will hopefully clear up in the next few months.

In the meantime, who is up for grubby camping?! Count me in.

xo,

Sonja

Easter

Hello My Dears!

I hope you had a fantastic Easter. Or a fantastic weekend, if you’re not an Easter celebrate-r.We lucked out on Sunday morning with beautiful weather.

The Easter Bunny was one busy little gal this year. She hid eggs at our friend's house and at Grandma's house. I love watching the toddlers on the hunt. It's gleeful, joyous mayhem

It took perhaps 30 seconds for the kids to get the hang of easter egg hunting....and then there was no stopping them!

With their haul. Do they look happy or what?!

It'll be a few years before Emma is ready to partake in the egg madness. For now, she was content to snooze the morning away.

I took this one a few days before the actual event. Our little Easter Bear. Many thanks to Bailey Dog for propping her up (that's him in the bottom left). He was a good ole pup; didn't move a muscle the entire time she was wiggling around. 

After visiting our friends, we had brunch with both sets of grandparents and Auntie Alex. And then, a second round of egg hunting. Lucky kiddo!

Emma. And her official Easter portrait. She's still a bit wobbly; ole Cheeks McGee has a hard time lifting up that heavy head!

Ben had so much fun with the egg hunting that the grandmas went and hid them all again for a second round. He couldn't understand why the eggs didn't magically refill with candy though...

I love Spring. The sun, the flowers, the feeling of renewal. We are finally emerging from the fog of Winter.

It wouldn't be a holiday without chocolate. At least not in our house.

Ben was exceptionally proud of his eggs. Hasn't wanted to eat any though. Funny kid.

And last but not least: my most favorite picture of all.

xo,

Sonja