Dragon Party Time

I always feel like I've accomplished something when I pull off a birthday party. Our house is small and with 11 kids over on a rainy day, feels even smaller. Look at that smile, though. It was worth every minute.
This year's theme: dragons (a compromise of sorts since the birthday girl figured boys wouldn't enjoy a Hannah Montana party - nice of her to consider their feelings).

For those of you who are looking for dragon party ideas of your own, here's what worked for us.

I made dragon wings for each child out of felt so I didn't have to sew the edges. The wings velcro on with ribbon at wrists and neck. Note to self: sew the velcro on better next time.

Each child was given an egg with a dragon inside to take care of for the whole party. They were instructed not to open the eggs. (eggs from Dollar Tree, dragons from Joann's Crafts)

Activities:

Build a dragon out of legos

Make an origami dragon

Dragon egg relay (where the kids race with their dragon egg in a spoon down the hall. Each kids used his own egg and tried not to drop it. We made it harder on the older ones by making them go backwards)

Treasure hunt - I filled a "treaure chest" with bags of treasure goodies - candy necklaces, silver kisses and gold chocolate coins). I made really simple clues on index cards like "Mirror, Mirror on the wall." The kids ran to find the clue but before they cold open it, they had to perform a task (count to 100, do 10 sit-ups, spell their name out loud, etc.) to make the game last longer. The treasure hunt was a huge hit and hilariously funny to see a mob figuring out the clues and working together.

Refreshments:

Dragon cake from Family Fun

Dragon Breath punch (ginger ale, cranberry juice and orange juice in a bowl, set in a bowl of dry ice) The kids could blow in between the bowls to make the smoke come out. Note to self: no need to add ice to the punch, the dry ice froze it solid by the end of the party.

Decorations:

We happen to own every plastic dragon ever made, so the kids went to work hanging them from hooks and light fixtures. Stuffed dragons on the table and that was about it.

For thank you cards, we took a picture of each child sitting on a large stuffed animal. One of my older kids has drawn a picture of a dragon and is going to photoshop each child onto the dragon to send on individualized cards.

birthday boy

Once upon a January

On a day Familiary

A young couple birthed the firstborn son they had been waiting for.

He grew up his hair so curly

People thought he was a girly.

As a teen he was a burley surfer on the L.A. shore

Singer in a group of four

Single then, but not no more.

Went to college, did some scoping,

Found a girl (as he'd been hoping)

Didn't need no cattle roping to get her down the wedding aisle.

Got a job and had a child

Headed north into the wild

in a car with luggage piled

Mile after dusty mile

And they stayed for quite a while.

Teaching, fishing, sons and daughter

In a city made of water

happy as a playful otter raised his family in the rain.

Kids grew up, he was retired

found some land that he desired

planted trees and was inspired

his small orchard to maintain

and all his loved ones entertain.

Now we celebrate a new year

with a song and with a no-teir

cake (we're eating healthy for another week or more)

Soon enough we all with gather

on a trip to honor father

there's no person we would rather

Wish a happy birthday for

Happy day and many more!

Tools of the Trade

My husband believes in tools. He has 2 band saws, a planer, a table saw, a skill saw, and more hand tools than I can count. He's a builder, so he needs and used them all. If I need to use one of his tools, forget about finding the right one for the job. I finally bought myself a basic set of screw drivers, hammer, and tape measure so I don't have to go sorting through his things and messing them up.

As a builder, he knows how important it is for him to have his tools ready and in usable shape. And, lucky for me, he thinks I deserve the same.

So, last week, he surprised me with a new tool for my birthday-- a functioning, usable laptop. I'm already getting spoiled. It doesn't shut down unexpectedly, it stays connected to the Internet, and it keeps its charge.

My old computer is getting an overhaul to be made usable for the rest of the family. As for me, I'm super thankful for my new tool!

Thanks, hubby!

Prayer and Praise

2 big events today.

1. My mom, who broke her back in a fall a couple of months ago, is having surgery to glue her back together this morning. I'm heading over to the hosptial soon to check on her. Pray for her?

2. My nephew, quite possibly one of the cutest boys on the planet, is turning 1 today. Happy Birthday Elijah Hugh!

Hallmark Religion

We have a birthday celebration this weekend for 5 people who camp with us over 4th of July weekend each year (including 2 of my kids!), so I had to stock up on birthday cards. I got the card for the sweet sixteen and for the toddler boy, but needed one for the grown up lady. My eyes roamed to the "religious birthday" section and I picked up a sweet looking card to read it.

Front: On your birthday, may God bless you with the greatest blessing of all.

Inside: Birthday cake.

Really? It's probably supposed to be a joke that got mis-filed under religion, but in a way, that's kind of how people seem to treat their faith. It's fluffy and fun and all about instant gratification with no thought to consequences.

Oh, Hallmark, God has so much more to offer than birthday cake.

New Interview Requirements

Before I make any more new friends, I need to add the following question to my interview process:

Is your birthday in January?

If it is, I'm not sure I can afford to be friends with you.

On the other hand, if I didn't hang out with January folk, I'd miss out on spending time with a bunch of lovabale friends and family members!

Happy birthday, all you January people.

Black Streamers and the Kiss of Death

It's my birthday.

I came home from lunch to a house covered in black crepe paper streamers and signs announcing my age to the world.

Nice.

Thanks, oh sibling who might receive the self-same signs in the not-so-distant future. You shouldn't have. No, I mean it. You SHOULDN'T have.

Can I really be halfway through? Is this mid life? Or is it true what they say? Is this the new 30?

I know some of you are approaching some milestones. How are you feeling? Is it just a number? Or is it the beginning of the end?

Party Line

I threw a birthday party for one of my kids this week, Granted, it wasn't the most exciting party ever in the history of the world, but we had crafts and games, cake and ice cream, party favors and time to play with the birthday girls' new toys.

"Where's the pinata?" asked one guest. "Do we get a present to take home with us?"

(If you're reading this blog and your child was at the party, I promise it wasn't yours.)

It reminded me of funerals in Togo where guests come to soak their grieving hosts dry. If the funeral is a disappointment, the disgruntled guests walk behind the coffin on the way to the cemetery singing something like this:

"It was a lousy funeral
The food was so bad I had a hard time eating it.
And there wasn't enough besides.
There wasn't enough to drink.
It was a lousy funeral."