Friday Afternoon Irrigation

March 26th. They were so excited that irrigation was not on Sunday and was during daylight hours. Heaven.

Kid Island

March 22. "Kid Island" is a restaurant inspired by the real restaurant, "Islands." 2 kids per every adult eat free on Tuesday nights, so sometimes we go to celebrate parent teacher conferences. progress reports (Montessori school does not give letter grade report cards). Our kids love to order macaroni and cheese off the kids' menu. Really? Naturally, our kids were inspired and picked tangerines and hauled my bag of carrots outside for their own restaurant. They made signs and set the "table" and only kids were allowed, with the exception of their friend's mom. They actually wanted to charge neighborhood kids to come eat, and I hope I an not crushing their entrepreneurial spirit by discouraging them from charging $1 for a carrot. I think they advertised out in the front yard. On a related note, on Mother's day, they made a sign for "Mutherlind" (Mother Land) that I got to run through to enter the room, a la return missionary style.

"Finger" Painting

This was all in March. Good thing I said, "Don't touch Madeleine!"

Tea Party

Well, if it isn't obvious now, my kids, especially Abigail, love to have impromptu parties. This afternoon tea party in late February was one of them. I pull out the antique china I received as wedding gifts, we have Powerade and orange smiles and any other random food that is easy to serve. For this one, I think we actually had made sugar cookies and Abigail decorated them all like butterflies, but that is not our usual workload. Just a fun extra.
Abigail really loves to plan events--any event. Sometimes I am a control freak and just want to get something done quickly and I try to sweep her plans under the rug. That never goes well. If I could give any gift to Abigail, it would be letting her live out her plans more often, just the way she wants them. Especially when we practice violin. I'm going to try it. Her birthday is tomorrow--why not give her a gift that will really matter? Kids spell "love" T-I-M-E. And while we spend plenty of time together, it is usually my agenda, or her idea tweaked with my efficiency that we are doing. From now on--ooh, that sounds final--I'm going to try hers whenever possible and semi-reasonable.
{Click on the collage if you want to see it enlarged. Their faces are worth it}

Madeleine's 1st Birthday

{remember, this all took place in February}
On February 25th Madeleine turned 1. I have never been a huge first birthday celebrator--just some extended family, gifts and cake have comprised our celebrations. Well, if it could get more low-key than that, it did. I don't know why I was feeling so overwhelmed or busy at the time, but I remember I did feel that way, and I knew Madeleine wasn't going to care too much what we did. My plans included finishing Madeleine's 1st year book on blurb. (which I did a month after her birthday) and making madeleines, a kind of French cookie, typically eaten with coffee and shaped like a seashell. (You can see a bit of what they look like in these pictures).

Well, this is where I start to get teary-eyed. My sweet children, somehow sensing a need for greater celebration put on a 1st birthday party for my sweet Madeleine. They brought the tables outside, rounded up chairs to sit in--notice the double stroller Avery and Warren are seated in, and had table decorations: fake flowers and candles. They picked tangerines, which are Madeleine's favorite food, so she would have more than just my madeleine cookies. They borrowed one of my HAPPY BIRTHDAY banners, hung it on the playhouse, and then Abigail added her own banner underneath, PRINCESS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS. I remember she was even careful to adjust the way it hung so it was centered. You can see it in the background of the above picture. They set up the roller coaster car and track nearby for an activity, and played on it with Madeleine. They even put that lovely little pink sparkly square sticker on Madeleine's forehead. Look back at the first picture--can you tell that Madeleine felt their love in a big way? (Oh, and right after I snapped that shot and before I put the camera down, Madeleine reached right out for that flame and snuffed it out with her hand. Ouch. But not too bad.)

Oh how dear are little children. They were so excited to give Maddie this party. They planned for it all day and were so proud to put it on for her. Pure. Innocent. Love. That's what that is. Later that night we celebrated again with our neighbor Jim. He made pie and had cake and ice cream, too. He even remembered the candle. I love M's blue eyes in this picture and the delighted expressions on my other children's faces. Truly a joy for one is a joy for all.