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A birthday, holiday, long weekend... done
November 30, 2009
I'm exhausted tonight, vegging out in front of the computer going through my photos from the past few days. So thankful that the living of the those days is now through.
If you are a mama you know how much making birthdays meaningful is a huge (and for me daunting) part of our job description. Ok, maybe not huge part of our job description but for the days leading up to and the actual party day(s) it is an energy and time consuming task. A special birthday is something I give to my children, even more so than their actual gifts, out of my own love for them; but that doesn't seem to make doing so any easier.
Brienne's birthday especially is a challenge coming so close to Thanksgiving, sometimes on the actual day. When she was little it was easy; singing happy birthday at the end of the Thanksgiving dinner and calling it good. Now, not so much.
This past Wednesday was Brienne's actual birthday and we celebrated with our traditional gluten free waffles, whipped cream and strawberry breakfast. She choose the menu for the day (with a few boundaries, ie: she got to choose her favorite salad dressing for our salad lunch), escaped all chores and basically had the day to play with her new gifts, which this year were many.
For months Celine has stashed away a few of her prized toys that Brienne likes and that Celine is no longer interested in keeping. Then in the last couple weeks she has hidden away in her room to wrap them for her sister's birthday presents.
From us, Brienne wanted a rather expensive birthday gift; a set of twin dolls. So grandparents, parents and even herself pooled resources for that special purchase. While waiting for breakfast to be finished Laurent wrapped up some small stuffed toys he had made. Brienne was blessed with many gifts and thankfully only one of them had any packaging.
Her day was spent playing and after a take out pizza supper we watched the movie Up. A very good day indeed.
(handmade by Celine)
Whenever possible I like to have parties on the actual day and get the whole she-bang over with at once. The kids don't always choose a party either, which is kind of nice. But a birthday so close to Thanksgiving gets complicated.
This year we planned a (gift-free) Fancy Nancy Goes Bowling Party on Sunday afternoon, with cake and fruit at our house afterwards. Of course I have no photos of the cake and most of the party since there is only so much a mama can do. Cut, serve, pour, photograph, smile, sing.
Birthday, Thanksgiving, making family Christmas gifts day, party prep day and Birthday party day. The story of the last 5 days. The kitchen and I have spent a lot of time together. It was fun while it lastly but I'm thankful it's over. Almost.
My own birthday is coming up this week on Wednesday. On the menu for that day... a well deserved rest. And a date night with Damien next weekend. Perfect.
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exhale. return to center on Nov. 30, 2009, 1:46 p.m.
that picture of the doll bed is just magical.
exhale. return to center's last blog post... sitting here in limbo
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Jody on Nov. 30, 2009, 2:46 p.m.
Happy Birthday to Brienne! She has always been such a bright ray of sunshine ~ such a great smile and twinkling eyes. Challenging & full of energy....but, it's good to be one who challenges the world she lives in and dares to be herself. Give her a hug. xo I do not have to tell you that your work spent to make the day special is NEVER wasted. Tiring as it may be....it's never forgotten in the memories of your children. :>)
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kyndale on Nov. 30, 2009, 5:59 p.m.
Oh, gosh, I know what you mean about being glad it's over!! I enjoy birthday celebrations but it is a lot of work. My son had a birthday party/sleepover with pinata, rock climbing on Friday. Renee...his birthday was 6 months ago!!! LOL We didn't have the party then, we've been putting it off. I am so glad it's over even though it was tons of fun.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIENNE!!
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nicola@which name? on Nov. 30, 2009, 8 p.m.
oh my goodness. i love celine and laurent's contributions to brienne's birthday. how very special and thoughtful. i find the kid's birthday PARTIES exhausting, but i actually am enjoying (so far) celebrating them on their day in our own little family. finnian's is coming up on saturday, the day before st. nicholas' day (which we celebrate), so it is a bit ill timed, but better than his papa's which was 2 days before christmas. because of finn's birthday, so far, we have combined the two kids and celebrated both birthdays with friends, nearer to lala's september birthday. can't do that forever, though, and this year, i did not really enjoy celebrating their birthday with friends. too big and tiring. boy, that was babbly. sorry. i think you did an amazing job and i was thinking of brienne on her birthday last week! looking forward to wishing you birthday greetings on yours! nicola http://whichname.blogspot.com
nicola@which name?'s last blog post... a week of homemade:: gifts completed and a GIVE-AWAY
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renee on Nov. 30, 2009, 11:54 p.m.
Yes, I'm hoping soon we will be done the "party" scene and can transition to more family only activities. What we do is give the kids a budget that includes the gift, activity, and/or party, special food, etc... And they can choose what they want to do with that.
This year Brienne really wanted to have friends over AND go bowling but we couldn't afford to pay for everyone's bowling so we asked her friends to pay their shoe rentals (our kid's paid their own also) in lieu of gifts and we paid for the lane rental. This was a win-win. No plethora of plastic presents and Brienne got an activity she wanted WITH friends.
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Mariah on Nov. 30, 2009, 10:10 p.m.
Lovely! My daughter asked for a bowling party this year too :) I have a couple of weeks to prepare for the special day. Thank you for sharing...
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renee on Nov. 30, 2009, 11:49 p.m.
We didn't go with the bowling party package. The food they serve and the whole scene is too disposable and loud for my tastes. But bowling as an activity was fine and then back here for party treats, it was good.
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kate on Dec. 1, 2009, 1:37 a.m.
Birthdays are so exhausting, aren't they??? But as your comment to your own mama proves-- putting forth the love and effort means so much to our babes. Thank goodness, though, that they only come once a year:) Hope you have a WONDERFUL day on Wednesday-- take advantage of a full plate getting wiped clean for that brief and wondrous rest. And PS-- bless your kiddos and their sweet handmade/hand me down gifts. I love that about siblings! My boys just had a field day choosing a doll from MY old collections to wrap and give to their sister on Christmas. So much fun:)
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Karen on Nov. 30, 2009, 1:17 p.m.
Thanks for making so many wonderful memories for your children - the work is worth their being shown how special their birth-day is. What a cute picture of Brienne and her doll.
renee on Nov. 30, 2009, 11:57 p.m.
Well mom you know... I learned about making birthday's special from the master. You, my dear friend, are a hard act to follow. Just ask Damien how many times during party prep I say "how did my mom make this look so easy??" I always felt my birthday was so special and except for the year I got a jean jacket, I was maybe 12?? I can't recall a singe gift. But I do remember the parties you threw. Mostly the family ones with Christmas decorations and food, food and more food. You were the best mom!!
Karen on Dec. 1, 2009, 1:44 a.m.
I guess the party tradition goes back yet another generation. Your Grandma (Mom) set a great pattern - she threw the best parties for us five kids...even for Uncle Lorne, whose celebration was always a day or two earlier than his Christmas Day birthday.
renee on Dec. 1, 2009, 2:09 a.m.
I didn't really know that before. Of course I always remember other gatherings at Grandma's, and she was so great at throwing a party, but I wasn't around when you were growing up and she was giving kid parties. Thanks for sharing that mom. I feel so blessed to have come from such great women!