Sleepover Time!

I love love love a good sleepover so we have lots of them!  I think Ben started having sleepovers when he was three years old.  On this night we planned a huge sleepover with kids from four different families.  The moms are my besties and everyday we collect in the cul de sac so the kids can play, dinners with each other, parties with each other.  All the good stuff besties bring.  In fact I love that saying "friends are family you choose" because these ladies and their children have really become more like family than anything else.

Anyhoo, on this night we had eight kids for a sleepover.  The boys and I prepared carefully.  the right snacks, entertainment and a craft of course.  I would say that we hit a home run with edible play dough. 

By the looks of it I would say we had just as much fun making it.  We made it the night before so it could harden in the fridge over night.

It looks kinda gross here but it was quite tasty.  Peanut butter, flour, corn syrup, and margarine made this dough both playable and eatable!

As the sleepover got underway there were of course kiddies running around everywhere but the play dough quickly became the center of attention.

There were oohs and ahhs as everyone realized that eating it was not only ok but encouraged.  These became even louder as they realized that it actually tasted good!

As the night wore on I put some movies on up in my room.  Due to the basement finishing underway there are two futons up in my room along with our king size bed so it only made sense to let all the kiddies take over my room.  They watched some Smokey and the Bandit and with minimal threats were all off to sleep by 11:30.  They had an awesome time.

And in the morning this was the sight on my couch.  Tired kids snuggling with me on the couch.  Successful mission and a wonderful memory for my boys!

The Melding of New and Old

For me Christmas traditions are what make the holiday.  This could in part be due to my Type A issues.   Truth be told I am a bit of a list maniac and so sometime in November you will see me planning my daily lists almost a month in advance and on this list you will find that I have carefully planned each tradition ensuring that all necessary materials are available with which to complete the tradition.

For example, on November 26th I purchased the foam Christmas houses that we make each year and I planned 4 days throughout December on which we would have time to complete them.  The same goes for paper snowflake making, cookie baking, Christmas cards, decorating, gift buying....well you get the picture.

My husband will tell you that I get Christmas crazy!!!!  Pretty sure I drive him crazy too but also I know he appreciates it because it makes the boys happy to do all of these Christmas things.  

This year we mixed an old tradition with something new and the result was nothing short of fabulous!  A true success all around, one I didn't anticipate would make everyone sooo happy.

We have our little neighborhood crowd which you might remember from Halloween and this year we had a Christmas cookie decorating party.  Yesterday 8 children piled in to decorate gingerbread and have a little gift exchange and it was a little piece of heaven.

The kids were all so excited (I even got a lovely handmade card from one thanking us for having them).  My boys were just thrilled they were having this event.  The Moms all brought Christmas snacks so the counter was loaded with treats.  Kids ran around the house playing until it was time for the decorating to begin.

You know those moments in life when you are just totally happy?  When all worries fade away and you are just in the moment?  Well I had one yesterday and it rocked-literally!  All the kiddies were working away on their cookies and a song came on the radio that all the kids knew.  It was turned up and there were little girls dancing in their seats and little boys singing in their chairs.  I took a moment and looked around and saw these wonderful women who have become like family and all of our children so happy together and I was overjoyed.  My heart swelled because I knew that everyone would carry this moment with them forever and it was a moment worth carrying around for years to come.

Then came the gift exchange which again was just awesome.  There were silly bands and McDonald's gift cards, beads, paints, cool balloon cars for the boys, and Christmas ornaments.  And so the play continued while Moms chit chatted about the things Moms chit chat about and at the end of the day things just felt nice. It was the kind of day that make Christmas awesome.  Which means that next year we have a date...don't worry I will mark it on the calendar.

Halloween Practice

I wish I had pictures of this but I don't. Still a story worth sharing. Remember how I said we lived in the best neighborhood? Well we do and it was further evidenced to me just last week!

Picture it...Friday night and all the Moms and Dads have picked their little ones up from the bus and the usual street play is underway on the cul de sac.

Things take a dramatic change when one little girl decides to distribute a bag of candy to the rest of the children. I believe we counted 11 of them. One rule applied though, you had to have a bag to put the candy in. 11 children scurry around the cul de sac looking for bags so they can get their candy treat.

I think at this point there were a few girls who had been playing dress up but after the bags and the candy their little imaginations were just pumping! Ben and Jack came home and got bits and pieces of last year's Halloween costumes and before we knew it we had 11 kids running in a pack trick or treating!

As it happened that night about half of our neighbors were away so only the parents of the children on the street were at home. This meant that the kids had free reign to knock on every door in the cul de sac without fear of offending anyone.

Well, the parents who were visiting on the front lawns, enjoying a few drinks all caught the spirit of both their children and Halloween. We all scurried trying to come up with treats for this trick or treat session. I believe at the end of the night each bag contained:

* a Kool Aid jammer
* cheese slices
* gummy candies
* cheese and crackers

Perhaps the best moment of this mock session was when the neighbors across from us pulled in from getting groceries. All the parents were doubled over when we saw 11 children in a mob surround their car and come out with a big bag of cheesies!

Not a bad haul for the middle of September!

Tea for Two and Two for Tea

My Mom passed away when I was in my early twenties and so my boys never got to meet her. This is difficult because I wish so much that she could have met them, listened to their little voices, snuggled them, and loved them. I like to believe that she is sometimes here with us and has seen them even if they never got to meet her.

In the winter my Dad and his wife Pat (who is a fantastic grandmother to these two boys) delivered all of my mother's china and finally today I decided to unpack all of it. A beautiful set all with little pink roses on it. I fondly remember sitting by the china cabinet just looking at it. Probably wanting desperately to play with it.

I was so excited to unpack everything, to touch each piece and take some time to remember my mother. I had totally underestimated their reaction though!

Once I had the set all packed away in my china cabinet there were still many items laid out on the dining room table and once the boys saw all of it they were EXCITED. Jack chose a little teacup with some flowers in it to put in his room. Ben chose a silver vase with flowers for his room. There was even a bit of a scuffle over a few sets of salt and pepper shakers.

One of the items left was a tea set and to my surprise the boys set up a tea party with the set complete with flowers. In fact I was told on several occasions to look away so they could surprise me. They did a fabulous job!

I made some cookies and filled their pot with water and they had 'tea'. My heart was never so warm. They may never feel my mother's arms around them on this earth but to know that the dishes my Mom once touched and carefully saved were now being enjoyed by her grandchildren was a comforting thought.

P.S. yes, that is a shot glass Jack is drinking out of-one of the items he selected...hehe

We Like, We Like to Party!

It would appear that a bit of new tradition has come together at this end of the double cul de sac we live on. Whichever families are home congregate in the driveway of the family who lives at the end of the cul de sac. Everyone brings something from their from the kitchen and the result heavily rivals the one found in the children's classic Stone Soup!

The kids are particularly smitten with these evenings because it means they get to play outside with all their friends until it is way too late and then they get to go into their friend's basement to play which is the BEST part! Last night around 9pm all ten of the kids started chanting "Party, party, party". It was quite a site!

Ben being a bit older than Jack knew that the chances of it being party night were good. Now, earlier in the night I had seen my children's feet and knew they shouldn't be in anyone's home with those dirty toes and I had mentioned this casually to Ben. So later on when he asked me if they were going to be able to go into their friend's basement I was still unsure what was happening so didn't give a firmly positive response. Ben was devastated "But Mom, if we don't go into their house that means I washed my feet for NOTHING!" I checked and those were some of the cleanest toes seen all night. My boy likes to party.

We are fortunate to have great neighbors and we think this 'party' thing is a wonderful precursor for the teenage years. I figure we throw a 'party' every Saturday night at one of our homes for the kids and this way we will always be able to keep tabs on them...crafty parents!