Federal Furlough — Day 4
Category: nora
Pink Taste is my favorite!
In the car, picking up Nora’s antibiotic from the pharmacy:
Nora: Oh, it’s pink! I love that taste!
Seth: But you don’t know, you’ve never tasted it.
N: Yes, I do. It’s my favorite taste!
S: But you don’t know!
N: Yes I do! I love it!
S: But how can you know?
N: Because its pink and it has pink taste. That’s my favorite taste!
Special Day: Nora’s 3rd Birthday
July Challenge, Day 5: Something that made my day special.
Saturday was Nora’s third birthday. She requested a pink, sparkle, rainbow, Kai Lan birthday party … with chocolate cupcakes and pink frosting. I think the cupcakes were her main request, actually. Anything else was just fun. We turned that request into a dress-up party for Nora, Seth, and five of Nora’s friends. That was the perfect party size!
For reference, I have a Pinterest board and a Flickr set (below) of how the party decor turned out. I want to be completely honest: I had so many “pinspirations” that never made it to production. She wanted cupcakes instead of the pink swirl cake I was going to make – guess who wins since it’s her birthday? I was going to do butterfly sugar cookies, I was going to do tutus as party favors … I even bought the materials for all of that! Never happened. As a matter of fact, I attempted the tutus at midnight on her birthday (same day as her 10:30 a.m. party!), made a mess of it, and gave up. I felt good about it, though, because I’d decided ahead of time that there were things she really wanted (cupcakes!) and things I wanted (marshmallow lollipops!) and that was good enough.
I loved all the little Hobby Lobby decor items I found on clearance (sparkly napkin rings as chandelier decorations!) or not (plastic tablecloths as window treatments!). I especially loved covering the French doors to our dining room with a plastic tablecloth so I could lead all the little girls (and Seth!) in for a birthday surprise. I also dug the dollar store treat boxes with dollar store or Hobby Lobby dress-up jewelry inside for all the girls (and Seth!).
Mostly, though, I loved making it a special day for Nora. She had a great time, and that’s all that counts. I probably could have just made cupcakes and it would have been fine! Oh, and to keep it real (humble) – I totally forgot about feeding the adults. I was so fixated on a dress-up party for little girls (and Seth!) that was egg and dairy-free for our friends’ allergies that I did not even think about food for adults. Tortilla chips, salsa, and a smoked pork loin to the rescue!
Last little tip: we had a church group gathering at our house the previous weekend … we did the big clean for that and then maintained during the week. Made life a LOT easier for a Saturday morning party!
Nora’s 3rd Birthday, a set on Flickr.
Advice to a Newborn (in the form of a song)
Day 2 of the July Challenge (morning of Day 4 – I’m catching up!):
If you could offer any advice to a newborn, what would it be?
Sleep when your mother sleeps. Hahahaha!
I choose to answer this question in the form of songs I’ve picked for my three babies …
For Seth:
“Little darling, it’s been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here …
Here comes the sun … here comes the sun! and I say,
It’s all right …”
Here Comes the Sun, The Beatles
For Nora:
“Open up your plans and [then] you’re free,
Look into your heart and you’ll find
The sky is yours …”
I’m Yours, Jason Mraz
For Jude:
“And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain
From carrying the world upon your shoulders.
For well you know that it’s the fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder.”
Hey, Jude, The Beatles (of course)