MamaPie

Thanksgiving 2011

Where to even begin with the thankfulness, for things huge and small (although even the small are really big)?

A very uncomprehensive list this morning:

• First, and always, for Andrew, Ezra and Reuben--my family: my loud, energetic, busy, messy, extremely funny, extraordinarily cute, loving, kind and (thank god, thank god) healthy pack of boys.
• Baloo: the canine member of our family who very much fits in--he's also loud, busy, messy, funny & cute. He's such a good boy.
• My mom and dad, brother and nephew: all crazy, all wonderful--I adore them and am thankful for the many many gifts they've all given to me. In particular today, I'm thinking of the gift I received in being able to spend lots of treasured time with Zeke when he was a baby and young boy and how that experience crystallized in me the wish to be a mama to boys.
• Our house.
• The food we eat.
• Living in the United States, in Oregon, in Portland, in Sellwood, on our street with wonderful neighbors.
• For woolen and warm clothes.
• For kisses and snuggles and chai and vegetables and chocolate and burgers and fries and books and friends...and so much more.

It may seem trite (it sort of does to me) to make a list like this on a blog. But, I also figure that any moment when I can be aware of this abundance, and remember my gratitude, and remember my prayers and wishes and actions to help those who have less are important moments.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Meow!

Ezra made this in his handwork class at school. I can only imagine what kind of knitter I'd be today if I made this in first grade.

Birthday Pary, Part 2

 

Pass the Orange-- where you pass an orange (or ball) tucked under your neck from person to person down a line using no hands-- was another party game we played at Ezra's 7th birthday party. It was funny because, when we asked the kids to line up and told them they were going to pass the orange down the line, they all shouted out versions of "that's easy!", until we told them about the neck and no hands part. In fact, this game was maybe a little to hard/not as fun for them as some of the others. The height differences also made it challenging.

When is a pinata not fun? I don't know the answer to that, but pinatas have always been a big hit at our boys' birthday parties. This year, in keeping with the Fall/outdoor theme, we had a cute orange owl. I briefly thought about making a pinata: there are some good tutorials out there, but then, you know, I didn't. As I try to keep the boys' birthday parties sort of low-ish on the sugar, I filled the pinata with things that feel like treats, but aren't packed with sugar and artificial stuff: fruit leathers, Yummy Earth lollipops and butterscotch candies and bouncy balls.

I made them all felt "First Place" ribbons as a collective prize for all the games, and I pinned them on at the end of the party.

A good party for a sweet boy. I can't believe he's seven. Seven!?

Games 6 & 7 Year-Old Boys Like

After having Ezra's 6th birthday party at home last year, we decided that unless it was absolutely pouring, we were going to have his party outdoors in the park again. Last year there was just too much physical energy trapped inside for the boys to even really enjoy the craft projects and games we had planned.

We were so lucky that the day of his party turned out to be one of those perfect Fall days - clear and brisk and sunny, with fallen leaves all over the ground. The party was great, and the boys (it turned out to be all boys) really loved these games we planned:

1. Chestnut Toss: We spend lots of time in the fall going to walks on various chestnut trees in our neighborhood and gathering those glossy brown treasures. Ezra thought it would be fun to have a chestnut game at his birthday party. So what we did was give each boy a brown paper bag (old school lunch bag) with his name written on it (a good pre-party project for Ezra to work on: write friends name on construction paper and decorate around it, staple it to bag) and then had them go over to the big sack of chestnuts and count out 8. We had them stand in a circle around a basket and toss one of their nuts in; after each child had a turn, we asked everyone to take a step back, so each round they got further and further away from the basket. They liked this so much that we made up variations (throw with the opposite hand than you've been throwing with, throw with your eyes closed etc.) and played it several times. We focused on seeing how many we (collectively) would have in the basket at the end of the game, rather than on who got their chestnut(s) in each time. Definitely a keeper for Fall birthdays.
2. Going to Grandma's House: This game was as much fun for the grown-ups to watch as it was for the kids to play. I packed two little vintage suitcases with various top layers of clothing (hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters) and the boys divided into two teams for a relay race of carrying the suitcase to the end point, opening it and putting on an item of clothing, snapping the suitcase back up and running back (with the suitcase knocking against their little leg) to the beginning to pass off the suitcase to the next eager friend. So fun. So funny.

I will be back again tomorrow with some more "notes from a fun birthday party"!

I'm here!

We've been having a busy fall and I haven't been here in a while. But I miss this place! So, I'll be back more regularly starting tomorrow - with thoughts about birthday party games, Waldorf first grade, fall cooking and more.

For today, I'll present my king and my knight: