Our soon to be 7-year old requested a RED themed birthday party. All the guests have been informed and will, hopefully, oblige by wearing their best red togs. The red balloons have been purchased to tie on the mailbox at the end of the driveway. 

Here’s what’s on the Red Birthday Party menu, so far:

Red Tableware

• Red plastic table cloth
• Red paper cups
• Red paper plates
• Red paper bowls
• Red plastic knives, forks, spoons
• Red paper napkins

Red Food

• Red mac & cheese
• Red cup cakes with red frosting
• Pepperoni pizza
• Salami
• Ham
• Smoked salmon
• Sweet potato oven fries
• Tomato Ketchup
• Tomato wedges
• Dorritos
• Cheese-Its
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Chocolate (for chocolate fondue)
• Water melon
• Red popsicles
• Red berry punch
• Pink lemonade

Red Games

• Hide the Red Action Figures. Whoever finds the most red plastic action figures hidden around the yard wins.
• The Dangling Donut Game. Hang donuts off red string. First kid to eat one without using hands wins.
• The Horse Poop Game. Whoppers (malt balls) in red bowls and kids have to scoop up as many as they can in a spoon using one hand and transfer the Whoppers to another red bowl. Usually two teams. Winner is the team with most Whoppers after 5 minutes.
• Pass the Parcel. Nice pressie wrapped in layer upon layer of red wrapping paper. Every time the music stops one layer is removed. Winner is the one who takes the last piece of wrapping paper off.)
• Musical Cushions. Like musical chairs but with cushions (mainly red, but whatever we have to hand)
• Assault Course. Haven’t figured out how to make this red, yet, but the kids love it.
• Water Balloons. Red, of course. Not so much of a game as a free-for-all. (Parents were warned their kids might get wet!)
• Pinata. Red, High school Musical. Filled with cheap and cheerful non-candy items. It’s supposed to be the ribbon-pulling kind, but our eldest daughter tells us the ribbons don’t work and it will have to be whacked, anyway.
• Red Playdough. Easy enough to make (will add recipe to recipe section). Give all kids a piece and suggest what they make. Then bake the finished result so they can take it home.

All tableware, food, prizes, and miscellaneous other stuff purchased at Walmart, Target, and The Dollar Tree. No favor bags, per se. Kids just get to keep whatever booty they manage to accumulate during the party and take it home in a paper bag (red, of course).

Pics later,

The Brit

Real or not, this classified ad doing the rounds had me crying with laughter. I don’t know why it struck a chord, but it did.

###

FREE! YORKSHIRE TERRIER
8 years old. Hateful little
bastard. Bites.

###

I’m still chuckling.

The Brit

A few days ago we happened upon some Cadbury Creme Eggs. Needless to say, given our predilection for British chocolate candy, we were compelled to buy one (or a few). It seems our children have inherited this liking for chocolate, and we struggled to ensure they ate their greens before indulging. Finally, our 4-year old had downed the despicable meat and two veg we had placed in front of her. The Cadbury Creme egg was for dessert. As I handed her the egg, her little hands trembled. She could hardly manage to peel off the coloured foil.

“Oh,” she said, “I can’t wait for the glorious taste of the egg!”

I can’t imagine where she gets it from.

The Brit

My daughters never cease to amaze me. The Vampire Child had a visit to the dentist and we were told–miracle of miracles–that her tooth brushing is good. It did take several years, one cavity, and 7 crowns (just in case) to achieve this. Ah well, I guess we have to be thankful for small mercies. My recent bout of near-choking on a glass of sherry, reminded me of something my then 9-year old daughter said that astounded me. It went like this:

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Children Make the Best Chefs

Last week my (barely) 11 year-old daughter decided she would cook dinner for us. Little did we know what a treat we were in for. She prepared and cooked everything with the able help of a sous chef (her 6 year-old sister). We were not prepared for hand-made menus, an expertly laid table, and good service. Absolutely amazing! Perhaps it is the Montessori education that gives them the confidence to attempt such an ambitious undertaking.

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Pointy Tooth Predicament

My six-year old was cleaning her teeth the other day (at the full moon, as it happened).  She stopped and pointed to her eye (canine or cuspid) teeth.

“Mummy,” she says, “Does everyone have these pointy teeth at the corners?”

“Yes, my love,” I answered, “Everyone has those.”

“Phew!” she exclaimed, “That’s good. I thought I was a vampire.”

I’m still chuckling. Although, she was nervous and scared that she was REALLY a vampire. Poor little mite!

Yes, she does have metal caps. She had one case of caries (tooth decay) and our pediatric dentist advised capping all the other molars as a precaution. We took her advice. Let’s face it, we are in America. The very least we can do is ensure our children end up with a mouthful of gorgeous gnashers. I haven’t given up the dream myself. I’m a full grown adult with three children, and I’m  just getting into my third year of braces. Sigh.

The Brit

We all seem to take for granted that the big 6 liter SUV’s are gas guzzlers, as are many V8’s in the US car market. Obviously there is a bigger carbon output into the atmosphere from these large engines, which for a lot of people is something that becomes forgotten in our everyday busy lives. Sure, there’s a lot of media coverage about global warming and the facts show that we all need to act now to help the Worlds’ climate change.

So what can be done to make people think more about the consquences of having so many large, family orientated SUV’s? Read More ››

Although we brush our Great Danes fairly regularly, we don’t wash them very often. There are several reasons for this. We don’t think it is necessary or good to wash dogs frequently. And they don’t especially like it. That said, we do understand that the natural oils in dogs’ coats are not very alluring. If left for too long, the Danes smell very “doggy.” Moreover, those natural oils have a tendency to come off on adoring visitors’ hands. Last weekend at my daughter’s birthday party one of her guests asked innocently, “Why do my hands go black when I stroke the dogs.” Ahem. Time for one of their thrice-yearly bath, methinks.

We gave up putting them in the bath when they were about six months old. Since then, we’ve given them the occasional hose down in the yard. Here’s the procedure:

How To Wash a Great Dane

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I just happened to be on Skype communicating with family back in the UK, when in the the background on live tv, I became aware that the latest episode of Top Gear (from series 12) was starting. Thankfully my mom managed to prop her Web cam in front of the TV and so I watched intently as Jeremy Clarkson and crew gas guzzled their way from San Francisco, past Lake Tahoe, stopping in Reno Nevada and then onto the salt flats of Bonneville to test the maximum mph that they could get from their chosen muscle cars.. Read More ››

Today was a good day. My children are all healthy and happy. My husband finished the closets in our kids’ bedrooms. I figured out how to staff some new projects at work (sad that I’m excited about that, perhaps). Our real estate agent agreed that we should offer SIGNIFICANTLY less than the asking price on the house we are interested in. I called my mum and she gave me her secret recipe for rich fruit cake. And I am now supping a nice glass of–um–Cabernet Sauvignon. Sorry, had to check there, obviously no wine connoisseur, but I do enjoy the occasional (ahem) glass. And I finally downloaded all the pics from our office Halloween party. A bunch of us dressed in “churidas” that I purchased in India.

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