WW: Grandpa With a Fidget Spinner {Linky}

We had my son Mica's 12th birthday party this weekend. He got a set of Skull Candy Headphones along with another Fidget Spinner.

Here's my nephew Evan and Mica both wearing a Skull Candy ear bud:

Here's the Fidget Spinner Mica got that my 91 year old Grandpa couldn't put down:

I don't think Mica knew what to do to get his Fidget Spinner back. Ha! 

This same birthday party my 3 year old nephew made this Baby Trump happen:  

Nephew Time

Last week was hectic for sure. My 5 year old nephew Emerson went to the hospital again. I can't even count how many times he's been in this year. He's the nephew I have that has Trisomy 18, which is too much of the 18th chromosome.

It started with him going in awhile back because he wasn't able to breathe very well. He went in and out of the hospital about 3 times for that. My sister wondered the whole time if it was from a hernia he had - possibly it grew. Instead of checking that, they were looking into small seizures he was having. That wasn't his main problem. The hernia was. The hernia was finally fixed. It was pressing on his lungs, and colon. The surgeon doctor decided to put in a tube that would help flush him out when he needed to go to the bathroom. Before the hernia grew he had no problem going to the bathroom.

Since then the flush tube has been a huge problem. We all wish it was never put in. His little body doesn't want to accept this foreign object inside him. He's fine while he's on antibiotics, starts to go off them, then he's a mess. Recently the antibiotics were making him sick. He starts draining through the tube, he gets a fever, his white blood cell count goes up, and he's not himself.

After a few days in the hospital he's fine again. The IV fluids help!

It's a back and forth affair.

Last week at the end of the day I went over to watch my other 3 nephews, and my 2 sons to help out. I was supposed to pay my sister back with a date night. Instead it was a hospital trip night. One nephew was closed into his room because they thought he had Strep Throat. He ended up testing positive to that. Yuck! That's like the 2nd or 3rd time he got that this year. When it rains, it rains hard! He's the one that's Mica's age.

I really only had to watch 1 kid with all 5 I had to be responsible for. Mica, Isaak and my nephew Elijah played and played. No fights! I love watching Elijah and Isaak play together. They are such great buddies. They are only 2 months apart.

They played basketball, on the trampoline, and some video games. They included Mica too. I wanted to get a good photo of just them though.

The one I had to watch like a hawk was Edison - the almost 3 year old. He usually wants nothing to do with me. We became friends after a little time. We made faces at each other. He's really into Back to the Future, so we watched that.

Edison looks like his brother Elijah above!

Edison and I finished the evening out by reading lots of books! He kept handing me Sandra Boynton books, which I've made up my own songs to them. Edison enjoyed me singing to him. He kept say, "Again!" But his favorite word is, "What?" 

Elijah had his big friend birthday on Friday. The only thing he asked for was Orange Fluff for dessert. His Dad was too busy cleaning, and preparing for his party to get the fluff. We checked 3 store's deli sections. No Orange Fluff. I call it "Orange Crap" because I don't like the stuff. Ha! 

Emerson's (the one in the hospital) old Occupational Therapist came in to see him when my sister was feeling really low. My sister told her about the many hospital visits, some doctor's not making time to see him, and missing Elijah's birthday, and him not getting the one thing he asked for. That sweet girl went home to make Orange Fluff. She brought it to Elijah the next morning for breakfast. It's so crazy how something so simple can bring tears to your eyes. Things can be so dang frustrating, and turn your emotions around like a snap of a finger. Then you feel blessed. Orange Crap turned into Orange Fluff Gold in my mind.

What has made you feel blessed this week?

Birthday Slacking

I forgot to give an update on Isaak's family birthday party. We held the May birthdays at our house. That included: Isaak (turned 8), my nephew Evan (turned 11), and my nephew Edison (turned 2).

They all like cats, so I created a Space Cats invite for them. I took out my address and stuff for this post. Edison kept pointing to Isaak saying, "Ikick". He says his name so cute. He's talking more and more.

Isaak got a Lego set and journal from my parents. Aunt Terra gave him grow your own garden things in cans, and boxes. Cilantro and something else is growing in our kitchen. Mushrooms grew in a box. They grow fast! Aunt Angela is taking Isaak out to see The BFG when it comes out.

He's all about being silly lately. Stickers are on his face. Notice the gold wrapping paper that my mom found. Gold is his favorite color.

Isaak wasn't too excited about the mushrooms. He doesn't care for mushrooms, but he likes them in Chicken and Dumplings and Chicken Bitki, so we made Chicken Bitki with them. It was fun watching them grow!

I try and find perfect gifts for my nephews and niece. Edison needed a toddler pillow, and I had a book I reviewed for him with his name in it. 

Evan was asking for a robe. I didn't think about the fact that it looked like a graduation gown. Ha! It came satin boxers. I tried to pull a Christmas Story by embarrassing him, "Evan try the boxers on! ;)" He wouldn't have anything to do with that.

My house is small. If you remember right I was worried about having extra people there. There were 15 adults, and 7 kids. My niece's boyfriend came, and one of my brother-in-law's invited his parents. I wasn't too excited about the in-laws because they are on their other side. We made it work.

We had Greek food. Funky food is sometimes hard for older people to understand. My 89 year old Grandpa was clueless. He didn't know what 1/2 the things were, and we had to help him. It was all good though! 

We pushed the kids outside to eat. My sister said, "Good thing it's not raining." I said, "Even if it was they'd still go out there. We have a covered porch. Outside is where they belong when there's lots of people." 

Random Tid Bits

1. Awhile back my mom had a cousin that passed away. She had only 1 brother, and a dad. They didn't want anything much that she owned. We went through her things picking out this and that. One thing that we got was all of The Golden Girls on DVD. The boys asked to see it. At first I declined. Then I thought, That is something I watched when I was little. The sexual things went way over my head. She we've been watching it. The love it. No questions have been asked as of yet. I'm perfectly ok with answering anything if a question arises.
   
   

   

   Source

   Who is your favorite golden girl? I always liked Sophia.
    
2. Mica had his first Growth and Development class last week. I asked if they covered anything he didn't know yet? He said, "No." He said, "We just talked about hair growing in special places, needing to wear deodorant, and girls going through changes before boys." I said, "Well if you have any questions we're happy to talk to you about them."
   
   The boys still think sex is naked people kissing. We're ok with that thought process until they ask us.


3. I figured out that the boys actually help clean pretty well as long as they are doing separate tasks.
   
   Mica helped me clean out the microwave. We sprayed it down with vinegar, put a bowl of water in there for 5 minutes, it was steamed and ready to clean.
   
   Isaak helped me clean out the refrigerator. I kept telling him that his job was to take everything out in an organized fashion. My job was to clean it.
   
   What are some cleaning tips that you have? 


4. I registered to have Isaak's friend party at Hummel Park this year. It is a park where I do have to pay. He got to pick 3 activities, and went with: Archery, S'mores, and a Scavenger Hunt. I filled out invitations for 20 kids to be there. I hope some show up! Birthday parties are so annoying because parents are so unpredictable these days. Hardly anyone RSVPs. There's all kinds of split families to. One kid I gave 2 invites - one for mom and one for dad. I don't know if that was right for me to do, but I tried to cover my basis.
   
   I told the boys that I'm stopping friend parties at age 10. Mica will no longer get a friend party.


5. I stayed at work on Thursday night for a Portfolio Review Night. Pros are brought in to look at student's portfolios. It's always a success because some students get jobs through the event. YAY! 

10 Year Old Friend Party

We've told Mica that this is his last friend birthday party. Maybe he can have a friend over for an evening of fun. We're feeling done with full blown parties. 

I have a pretty close net family with nephews my boy's ages, and we have a birthday party always with them.

Mica wanted to take his friends to see Ant-Man. 

Source

I could have cared less to see that movie. I'm feeling about as done with superhero movies as I am throwing birthday parties. I'm such a stick in the mud! 

Dad was the lucky one that got to take 2 girls and 4 boys to the theater. He ended up spending way more on popcorn and drinks then he did on movie tickets. Mica said to all the kids, "Bring your own money if you want anything to eat, or drink." We had to scold him about that one. When just our family goes to the theater, we fill up ahead of time to avoid the cost of all the snacks. For a birthday party that's not what you say to guests. It was kind of funny though.

I took Isaak to the Lowes Clinic, and to run some errands. Then I got lunch prepared for all those kids. 

1 kid has a sister that asks to come to everything, and 1 other kid has a whole family that shows up to everything. Thankfully that didn't happen this time. I'm not trying to sound rude. I know it appears that I am. It's just that I want my boys to develop friendships with who they choose to develop friendships with. I even took Isaak out of the equation, so Mica could be with just his friends. 

Travis said it all went smooth, except for 1 thing. A girl decided on her own to go get more popcorn without telling Travis. YIKES! It took going in and out of the theater twice to find her. He was nervous. She was found. He told her to let him know if she was leaving to go to the bathroom, or whatever. He just needed to know! Then he could stand between the theater, and wherever she went.

Food was ready when they got back. I had to get a special pizza for a girl that was allergic to tomatoes. Get this? She didn't eat the special pizza either. 

We had our rare soda that we never drink. 

Last year I said, "No presents please." This year I said nothing. Noting that kids are all about presents. Even the givers are excited about giving. That's good. 

I did have an inside chuckle when Mica's friend gave him a card with nothing written on it. One of his other friends said, "Um you're supposed to write on the card!" He replied with, "Well my mom didn't leave me with enough time." I said, "Thank you. I'm sure Mica loves the card!" 

The girls found Mica's dress up clothes amusing. One came out looking like Indiana Jones. The boys unfortunately found the boxing gloves and the Hulk Smash gloves. I don't care if my own boys fight with them. When you get other kids in on the scene that could get hurt - well that's when I worry. *Note to self - hide all boxing type gloves when any friends come over. HA 

Mica got a few Target gift cards, and cash from his Great Aunt Becky the week before. Sunday was a day of shopping. Dad made sure they each had a wallet. Isaak never spent his birthday money from May! It took awhile, and some deep cleaning to find their wallets. We found them. 

WW: Friend Party {Linky}

This year I was bound and determined to have a fun, inexpensive, and less stressful friend party for Isaak. Last year I spent time, money, and creative juices on a party, and 1 kid showed up. I didn't want that to happen again. The problem is, inviting only a handful of kids limits how many will show up. Not having it at a fun expensive venue also limits how many will show up.

I only sent invitations out to 5 of his closest friends.

I let Isaak pick a movie or a place to eat. He said, "I want to go to that place that throws food in your mouth, and makes fires on the table." I said, "Think less expensive then that Isaak."  I gave him options, and he went with Pizza Hut.

Instead of going all out I went simple. We go all out for the family party anyhow. By making cakes that look fancy like this:

4 of his closest friends showed up. The one that didn't show, Isaak just started talking about at the end of the year. I know all their parents, or grandparents.

I was going to put Gifts Unnecessary, or to Bring Canned Goods for Donation on the invitations, but I forgot. I learned that even though parents cringe at gift buying, unwrapping gifts is a highlight to any kid's party. Even the kids that give them love gift time.

Note that there are 2 hands in the gift bag.

I felt guilty taking up tables, but we really didn't. There was a limited amount of kids. The place wasn't busy. It is a family establishment, so we weren't too loud.

The kids loved the pizza. We only ordered cheese and pepperoni because that's what kids seem to like. We ordered a combo for us adults.

I bought a few dessert options.
We ate, unwrapped presents, colored, balanced crayons on our noses, taught Isaak's friends how to play Skip-Bo (everyone had a partner that knew how to play), I showed them how to make hand puppets, and Isaak handed out his giveaway bags. The giveaway bags included: A 5x7 sketchbook I found on clearance for $.99, an ink pen, an I'm Cool pin they could attach to their shirts, and a small box of Glee Gum. I told Isaak to draw a Thank You For Coming to My Party picture on the first page in each sketchbook. Each kid admired his drawing. They all started drawing in their sketchbooks when they got them.

Everyone was happy the whole time. There were a lot of giggles. Isaak did get sad over losing Skip-Bo, but happy that one of his friends was there to pick his spirits up. It was fun!

We offered to take all the kids home. We did hear one kid say, "I never ride in one of these." It was a booster car seat. I said, "It will help you see out of the window better." ;)

What's a birthday party that you've had, that didn't cost a fortune?

Enter my new low entry Easy Peasy Patches Giveaway!

WW: Indie Birthday Party {Linky}

My son Mica loves Indiana Jones. For his 9th birthday party along with the other birthdays close to his, I made an Indie poster. Mica is Indie, my sister Terra is Willie Scott, and my husband Travis is Short Round.

Mica got all in character. He was dressed to look just like Indiana Jones at 7 AM, when the party didn't start until 12 PM. It took a few test shots (his words) to make sure his hat was just right.

Mica was a little irritated that his Dad wouldn't dress up like Short Round, and his Aunt wouldn't dress up like Willie Scott.

He put the movie in just to have the intro play in a loop. You could say I was sick of hearing that after 30 minutes. It did make me smile though.

As soon as my parent's got there Mica posed at the door. My Dad opened up his trap and said, "Who are you a cowboy." He just about crushed Indie's little heart.

The kids were of course playing Indiana Jones in the backyard. They were pretending Natzi's were after them.

My Aunt Becky got him an Indiana Jones book, and activity book. She was excited that she found them for a $1 each. Then she put money in the pages. Mica said, "I really am rich now." They were dollar bills. He got a few Lego sets, and some books he wanted.

Here's part of the family:

I couldn't even fit them all in the shot. My small house + 19 people = fun and chaos. It's a good thing it was warm outside. The kids ate outside, and played on the Slip n Slide.

Usually I decorate an elaborate cake with the kid's theme on it. Not this year. Mica wanted Cheese Cake. Hey less work for me. :)

Please enter this low entry giveaway a DVD giveaway for Nebraska Land and Sky.

Isaak's Friend Birthday Party

One things is true about us: We have trouble keeping the house clean during the week. Seriously we both work all the time. When I'm not working, I'm blogging. When Daddy's not working, he's making sculptures. Isaak loves to keep anything and everything. On the weekends it's scramble time. We clean in a hurry.

Isaak's friend birthday party was this Saturday.

Note to self: NEVER schedule a birthday party on Mother's Day weekend EVER again! I didn't even think about that.

I cleaned pretty much every night last week. Laundry was one night, floors were the next, dusting was another, and so on and so forth. Cleaning should be that way all the time. To be honest it usually gets saved for the weekend. In my mind since we work much of the time we're lucky we get mostly home cooked meals. I do keep up with the dishes. *See I'm trying to justify my sloppiness.

Friday night Daddy was working on an art project that he was accepted to for the whole month of May. *More on that later. The cleaning was mostly on me.

Saturday was Isaak's big day: His friend birthday party. 

No one had RSVPed. I gave them my email, Daddy's cell phone #, and our home phone #. The school no longer gives out directories; due to privacy. Getting a hold of parents isn't the easiest thing.

Many true things in the US (in general):

• People just have trouble picking up the phone to RSVP.
• People are always busy.
• People don't give thank you cards.
• People sometimes just show up. 

True things with kids:

• They expect all their friends to come to their party.
• Most of their friends tell them that they are coming.
• They want the best birthday party ever.

Isaak's party started at 10. It was 10:20, and no one was there. When I wrote on Facebook that I didn't know what was going to happen, a few people sent me personal messages saying that same thing happened to them, and other commented saying that has happened to them as well.

What no one knows that day, is that I went into my room and cried for a brief moment. I don't know if I cried because I was sad for Isaak, maybe it was more because I was sad for society as a whole, or maybe it was a mixture of everything.

I couldn't help myself after seeing this:

I decided to put my big girl panties on, so to speak, and gave Isaak a gigantic hug. I said, "Honey if no one comes it's ok to be sad. Just remember that we will have a special day for you on your birthday, and a family birthday party. I will let you open up a gift from us today if no one comes. We will have brownies and ice cream." Then called 2 parents that I had numbers for.

One was coming, but was late. A sigh of relief. I thought they would come because Isaak had a play date with this kid before, and he said his mom said he could go. I just didn't know if they had forgotten. So...one person came. In this case I was soooo happy that his friend's sister, and her friend stayed to! The more the merrier! His friend's mom said that his friend had a birthday party that no one showed up to as well. She had a bounce house, and no one was there to enjoy it. :(

His friend with a Transformer mask on.

Isaak likes brownies way more than cake, so that's what we went with. Everyone asked for 2nds, so they got them. We had strawberries, carrots and lemonade to.

I did have games planned, but since there wasn't too many guests they just played. They had fun on our swing set. They loved their trinket of a Superman ring, and got way more candy than I wanted them to with limited people for the piñata. 

Isaak got a Hot Wheels extension from his friend. They got the Hot Wheels stuff down, and happily played with that.

With the one kid showing up everyone was happy! :) 

What do I do for next year?

Do I just have a few friends over to spend the night? 

Do I try and have a friend party again?

Do I just stick with a family party?

Part of me wanted to have a big party for Mica this year at Hummel Park. It's a little ways away. There would be archery, and more, but I risk spending the money, and not having kids show up. If I invite everyone, then I might get too many people showing up when the limit is 20. I'm so in limbo.

What are your thoughts...

WW: Captain Underpants Birthday Party {Linky}

We had Mica's 8th birthday family party this weekend. He wanted a Captain Underpants party. Capes were made, and underwear went over tan shorts for Mica, Isaak and their Cousins Evan and Elijah.

Here's the cake:

It's not perfect, but I was happy with it. I printed out his invite backwards.

Tape the image with wax paper on top of it to a cutting board. Just put the details on with frosting, freeze. Frost the rest, freeze. I put a white coat of frosting over that, freeze. Then flip it over carefully to put on the cake, freeze. Then SLOWLY peel off the wax paper. I was so unsure if this whole process would work, or not work. It did! YAY! It wasn't perfect, but hey it looked like Mica and Captain Underpants. I'm pretty sure I froze it too many times, but I like working over frozen frosting much more than melted.

Somehow more and more kept being added to Mica's Captain Underpants costume. Super hero cape, tan shorts, underwear, water gun, baseball helmet, and an Indiana Jones Satchel.

Here's Grandma and Isaak. Isaak has her wrapped around his little fingers.

I  have a giveaway up to win an 8"x10" Easy Canvas.