Early Party!!!

I'm sure many of you know a certain special someone has a birthday in our house this week!!! The excitement around here has been building and when they found out I had to be away on the actual date of said birthday, the girls were distraught and crying and the disappointment was crushing. I suggested we celebrate early and have the party tonight so we could all do it together! That appeased them and they got busy making up the invitations!

I did the baking this afternoon and prepped the meal. When the girls got home they whipped through their homework and started decorating. Sweetie spelled out a special happy birthday message with yummy snacks on a cookie sheet! They got out & hung up the happy birthday sign and even blew up a bunch of balloons for their planned photo op with the guest of honour!

Needless to say the preparations were exciting and happy! Birthdaying is big business at our house and one we take very seriously. You will no doubt want to pass on some birthday greetings yourself after reading this, in case you forgot it was coming up so soon!

It was a great party! The snacks got gobbled up, the dessert was delicious and everyone enjoyed every bite! One guest even licked their plate clean! A sure sign of success right?

So although it wasn't the actual birthday, it was enjoyed nonetheless!

Hockey x 2

Although I'm not a big hockey fan, I do have to say that the female hockey group here seems pretty fabulous so far. They helped out at Lovey's hockey school one day and spent a lot of time working with her and they also put on a free clinic today for any girls that wanted to come try hockey and see what it's like. They provided 24 sets of gear so parents wouldn't have to pay for equipment. They provided a free lunch for the players, their parents and siblings. They broke up the day and had games and activities so the girls could get to know each other. You could keep the gear for the year if your girl decided to join the league. Helmets, sticks, everything,  head to toe! They also put on a weekly girls' practice night for free. They realllllllllly want to get some girls on the teams I think!

Honey had decided to go check it out and the price was right for her noncommittal level of interest! This morning as I was braiding her hair, I asked if she was excited about going. She hesitantly said she "kinda" was. I asked her if she was a bit nervous too and she admitted she was. So I asked what she was nervous about and she replied that she remembered Tulip telling her that  she'd seen one university hockey player rip the facemask off another player and smash him in the face and Honey was afraid THAT was going to happen to her today! i assured her that fights like that don't happen at their level and then I promised her that no one would be smashing her in the face at this event!

She spent the day but had a fall early in the day and bumped her head. This soured her on the hockey experience a bit. (so much for assuring her of her safety!!!) Sweetie and I popped in to see how things were going after lunch and they were just finishing a break so we got to talk to them for awhile (and get in the all important photo op!). Lovey was having a great time and had been looking forward to getting back on the ice for days now. Since she'd done the week of hockey school and the rest were all beginners, she was actually one of the better players there (which I'm sure added to the enjoyment of the event!) Honey was about the same level as the others.

At the end of the day Murray asked if she wanted to play for the year and she wasn't sure. She was afraid if she signed up she might not like it and she was afraid that if she didn't sign up she might regret it. (She's already sorry she didn't sign up for gymnastics with Sweetie). Murray told her that more times than not, we regret the things we didn't try, more than the things we did. and then he wrote a cheque reallllly fast. :))) Sweetie, by the way, has no regrets and is very happy she has nothing to do with this hockey business. So as they say Murray, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Midweek Surprise!

Guess who landed on our doorstep the other night for supper and a visit! Grammie & Grandad! The kids had the day off and it was Mum's day off too so they were in doing some shopping (big event coming up so they gotta get prepared you know :))) and came to our house after they finished loading up the car (woohoo!) with purchases.

We had a rather rambunctious meal as my children have never sat at a table before, or used utensils, or been taught not to scream at the table etc. I wish the apes that raised them had done a better job on table manners... :S Oh well, no one will ever claim boredom at one of our "dinner parties".

After supper we took the dogs for a nice walk and the girls next door came along and joined us. You know you live in the sticks when you can pick up your road and take it with you for the walk right?

iPod Part II

So, Lovey gave the matter some thought (almost a couple of hours I think) and decided she too must have an iPod. She'd been saving her violin prize money from last year and then got the same cash influx when I cleaned house & sold off their toys/games/books so was easily able to afford the purchase. After watching Honey with hers in the van, she was pretty sure she needed one. By the time dance class was over that day and we were driving home, she was about 90% sure. By bedtime that night she was surely going to die without one!!!

On Wednesday that week we made a pit stop on the way to violin and snagged one for her and made her life complete ;))) I'm not sure that last bit is entirely true, but so far, she's definitely getting her money's worth.

Have Compass, Will Travel!

Or at least, we would, if anyone had remembered to bring a compass! We didn't let a little thing like lack of compulsory equipment stop us from entering and enjoying an orienteering race this weekend! That's why God made iPhones right? There's an app for that! This is why we hang around Murray's brother, he keeps us current :)

The kids had a great time tearing through the woods in search of the different stations or checkpoints or whatever they're called. It was a nice day for a stroll through the trees and my glutes got a workout on the steep hills!

The girls took good care of Mr Bojangles and got him through all the tricky sections when he got afraid that holes in the earth might suck him in.

We had a great afternoon in the fresh air, won the race (only 1 other family participated though LOL)  and got home in time for a fabulously delicious turkey dinner!!! Nice way to end a day :)))

Beanie Boo Town

These are all the rage at our house these days, they play with them all the time, they go almost everywhere with us, we can't go to bed at night until Waddles, Safari, Pepper, Slush, Coconut, Midnight, Cashmere.... and on and on, are all accounted for, tucked in safely and cozily.

They've been collecting for awhile, getting new ones for birthdays and Christmas and saving up for others. Every new addition is sooooo exciting! They dress them up, develop dramas to act out and do plays for us to watch with dialogue, lighting effects and costumes. Some of their little shows are quite creative and always entertaining! I love to see their imaginations working hard and watching what they come up with for a storyline and how they incorporate the characters.

More stuffed animals usually drive me crazy but ones they actually use and put down their DS, TV and laptop for, I like a lot better. So yay for Beanie Boos!!!

 

Hi Tech Kid

Honey  has been saving her money from birthdays, little chores and when I sell their old toys, books, games etc.  Her sisters tend to go through their funds a little more quickly with buying things for  the online games they like. When asked what she was saving for, Honey didn't really know, until recently. Suddenly she was very interested in having her own iPod to play games on so she wouldn't have to borrow our tablet or let her sisters mess with a game she'd started etc.

When I gave her the most recent earnings for the used items I'd sold, that put her very near her goal. Then when we browsed the flyers this week to see what the exact price of an iPod was, they were on sale at Future Shop. Murray told her that if she had enough for the price tag, we'd pay the tax for her. She ran to count out her pile and it was pretty close. Lovey decided to raid the laptop savings bucket that never got used and gave Honey a $20 and suddenly SHE HAD ENOUGH!!! She could hardly get to sleep that night for being so excited about it. 

Mondays are very busy so Honey knew she'd probably have to wait til Tuesday to go to the store and was OK with that. I picked them up from school on Monday and made sure we had enough extra time before dance to make a detour at Future Shop!

She kept saying "I can't believe it!!! Is it real??? Am I dreaming??? Someone hit me!!!" It was pretty cute to see her excitement and enthusiasm. She was so worked up that she forgot to be shy in the store and told the sales guy what she was there for, how she was paying for it with her OWN money and everything. Even after she bought it and we were back in the van, she still kept saying "I don't believe it!!!"

This event of course has launched a major case of the "I WANTS" with other household members. Lovey actually had enough money since she never spent any of her violin prize money but I told her to think about it because she doesn't look after things as well as Honey. Only one day of watching Honey play her games and listen to music has solidified her position on the matter. She is getting one!!! The rest of the laptop bucket fund was quickly dissolved to enable this purchase.

Sweetie hasn't been as diligent in her savings and had no prize money to fall back on and was quite a ways behind on being able to make the purchase before the sale ends on Thursday. She is scrambling for jobs to do and her sisters are campaigning hard for her. Lovey counted out what she's going to need for hers and then donated the rest of her money so Sweetie would be closer (roughly $30 I think). They all did an hour of weeding tonight to add another $12.50 to her pile (we really hate weeding and pay the kids $5/hr if they'll do it but Honey lost interest after half an hour). She's taking the compost out every day ($0.50/trip) and plans to vacuum the vehicles tomorrow ($2/each). I may do some laundry so she can fold & put away and bring her a little closer. She's at $170 right now and needs to earn another $10 by the end of Thursday... stay tuned for exciting progress reports!