Viha's Birthday

So long, long ago, when G was 2 years old, she started dance classes. One little girl was in her class for two years straight... the darling Viha. Viha's birthday was at the end of August and it was a grand affair... a dress up tea party at her house. There were costumes and jewelry, cakes and muffins, an assortment of nosh, and of course MY favorite, authentic Indian tea. I've never had anything else like it, and each time I visit Viha's house I look forward to that cuppa tea. Delicious!

Signs of Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season. The crisp, (seemingly) clean air that blows the hot, sticky, humid, mosquito-filled atmosphere somewhere far from here is one of my very best friends. The smell of the ubiquitous cinnamon broomsticks at the grocery store makes my nose tingle and puts a smile on my face. The colors of the fall - deep golds, spicy oranges, chocolaty browns - are some of my very favorites. And nothing beats the taste of pumpkin pie in my book.

The other day G spotted this dark berry that had fallen to the ground. Or maybe it's a nut. In any case, it was deep and dark, hard and shiny, and looked like it was preparing for a long winter before it would rise up again and grow to be some sort of fresh and dewy plant in the spring. It made me happy to think that my friend Autumn would be here to visit soon.

good morning...

I woke up this morning to my Little Guy with his hands of my cheeks staring me right in the face. "Heddo Mommy. I dove you" he says before climbing on top of me and snuggling his head into that place between my shoulder and my ear, giving a contented sigh.

After having a night filled with dreams of foreclosed houses and insurance deductibles chasing me down dark alleyways, all was right in the world once again.

bum toe

oh no.
i've got a bum toe.
slipped in the bathroom.
now walking's no go.

Water! Pizza! Cupcakes! What else do you need??

So G was feeling a little blue that she wasn't going to have a birthday party with ALL of her friends this year. She was only going to get a week long trip to the happiest place on earth. So, we made a deal... she could have a party at the neighborhood pool and invite all of her friends, but that meant that she couldn't buy a new princess dress at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

Well, it seemed like a fair trade at the time....

So, to the chagrin of Miss Manners and Emily Post, I invited everyone over to the pool, you know, a week before the big day. And I did invite everyone... well everyone whose address I had handy on my desk and/or who I spoke to that week anyway. And so little miss had her big blowout birthday bash.

It was nothing fancy... a single balloon and some mismatched dollar store banners and tableware served as decorations. Sustenance was in the form of cheese pizza from Domino's, cut into squares just the way she liked them. (I calculated the square inch area required for the volume of guests before hand...we ended up with nine pizzas. Yes, I was an engineer...once upon a time) She and Little Man helped me make and frost the cupcakes the night before. Mister even tried to help with the sprinkling of them, bless his heart. It was a family project.

Everyone came to the shindig. The good weather even stayed until the party was over. It may have been the very best party ever.

Time for some swimming!

Remember Baby Eli?

Little Guy slept through the rest of the festivities.

The princess and her loot. Oh my.

We are STILL working on the thank you notes...because I am one of those moms that requires her to at the very least write to to and from names. It is a long process.

5:41 am, August 30... 2003

Five years ago. You can guess what happened then. Amazing all the changes in just five year's time.

Happy Birthday, Sweetness!