A His and Hers Birthday Celebration

We're in "morning after" mode here at the moment, meaning a slow moving, tired mama, lots of playing with new presents and cake for breakfast (with plans for leftovers for lunch!).

I think that the party went well for the most part. There were, of course, the usual assortment of mishaps...there was the neighbor who decided to come over and introduce herself an hour before guests were due to arrive ("so nice to meet you, but we're rather busy at the moment...", "oh, I'll just stay and chat for a bit..."), the full blender that I managed to accidentally turn on, sans lid...the frosting that outright refused to thicken, and a certain variety of cupcake; moist and lovely the night before, but glued to the liners by morning (one child actually returned his to me declaring that it "didn't work"), a pinata that refused to die, in a too small room with a too long stick, and a whole, whole lot of noise (quite a bit more then several of the adults could stomach to be honest). But there was also a lot of sledding and a lot of laughing, and a lot of friends that we haven't seen in a long time, all together at last. The kids had tons of fun and amazingly few things broke, so I'd say it was a success. One eight year old approached me at the end of the day, looking very earnest indeed, and said in a confiding sort of tone, "I just wanted you to know that this was probably one of the top three parties I've ever been to." So there you have it!

His:

Brownies and double chocolate cake in a woodland night theme.

I looked more into those India Tree natural food colorings and in my irritation at the price ($30 for food coloring? Seriously??), decided to get creative and come up with my own: blueberries, strawberries, bee pollen, and (don't tell the kids!) spinach.

Hers:

A bunny carrot cake with lots of fruit and cupcakes topped with "rosebuds" (raspberries and mint leaves).

The bunny cake was not my best work. I've made much nicer, but it was thrown together at the last minute (see "mishaps" above) and I didn't have enough frosting to do it right (and the frosting that I did have wasn't really the right consistency, again, see above.) and I never did find those toothpicks that I was going to use for whiskers...

I'll be back with another home made Christmas post tomorrow!

Scenes

Little glimpses of everyday life.

2009

home for the holidays

We're all here still trying to settle in, trying to settle down. Things are mostly going very well. I'm walking around the edges of a migraine today, which always gets me down, but I know that once the fog clears, life will be good again (I know that it's good now too, but it's also rather painful and blurry).



The pajamas are coming along, though sadly, I suspect today is going to be a loss sewing wise. I'm almost done all the pajama pants, I finished a bonnet (ideally I would love to add a bit of embroidery...), and one robe is complete, with the patterns traced for two more.



Maybe today is a day for baking? Maybe it's just a day for rest. I know that it's a day to step back, take it easy on everyone and see where we end up.

Into the woods....

and back home again...

A New Chapter

Well, we've arrived, more or less safely and soundly, at the threshold of our new life.

Màiri came down with a fever our very first night here. This has all been too much of a strain on her tiny body and soul. She needs to hibernate and do absolutely nothing for a while. It's been three long nights of sitting up in motherly vigil. She's sick in the sort of way that leaves me sitting up into the morning, holding her just so, for hours on end, just to let her rest. Every 40 minutes or so, she'll cry out in pain and I'll slip her some more aconite and sooth her back to sleep. I miss her sweet smiley self. I'm eager for her to reemerge out of this cloud of illness.

I'm finding the house to be very beautiful. Though it doesn't completely eliminate it, it does somewhat cushion the blow of loosing our home. I think we have a chance at being very happy here.


In those rare moments when Màiri is resting peacefully, I'm devoting my time to getting to know this place; exploring the nooks and crannies, observing it's different moods, it's various quirks and idiosyncrasies, the way the light moves across it throughout the day...


The house is a traditional New England cape, built in the 1790's, rich in charm and history. It certainly has a lot of character.


I had forgotten how noisy a house with things can be! The water pump, the washed and dryer running, the dishwasher. My ears aren't used to the sound of modern life. Oh, but I do so welcome the chance to acclimate!


I had thought that once we landed, I would immediately spring into action, preparing for the holidays. So far, all I've managed to muster is a bit of knitting around Màiri while she sleeps. As she starts to feel better, I'm sure the rest will come too. I look forward to getting out to explore the land and town here and getting to know our new community. But for now, the quiet home bound pace that this little girl has set for us, is right where we need to be.