C'est ma vie

A 30-something party without kids!

No Kids!, originally uploaded by afoos.

Everyone at the party, except for one couple, has 2 or more kids. For once, we requested that no kids come, unless of course there was an extreme case where a babysitter couldn't be found, and I have to admit that the evening was a lot more 'calm' this way. No running after kids, no cleaning up toys strewn all over, no worrying about feeding them. And, the best part was that we weren't tired at midnight like we usually are and the time went by so fast that it was all of the sudden 2 am and we didn't even know it!

All together a great party and lots of fun to catch up with friends whom we don't see as often now that we're all in our kids, jobs routines. The best part was sleeping in this morning again, but now I'm ready to see Gab and Louise. It was, however, a nice little break.

Gift Theme

IMG_0868, originally uploaded by afoos.

E didn't want any gifts. He has a bday party practically every year and every year, he gets frustrated with the 'gift' aspect because he doesn't want his friends to get him anything.

This year, I found a 'theme' for his gifts. I told his friends that after proving himself a kitchen renovater, a plumber, a carpenter, and a soon to be father of 3, the only thing he lacked was Motivation to start working on his PhD dissertation. So, I asked them to get him something to motivate him, either something funny Texan (his subject is the Annexation of Texas), a nice pen, a notebook to write notes, post its, a book. It was really funny to watch him open the gifts and to find the 'theme' and he really liked the idea. I don't know if he has motivation now, but it was funny.

Birthday Cake

Birthday Cake, originally uploaded by afoos.

I made E's family's traditional Bday cake, which we make for all of the birthdays in his family and sometimes for Xmas. It's really a special and unique recipe and always pleases his friends every year because now they expect it!

And drinks

And drinks, originally uploaded by afoos.

We NEVER go grocery shopping in the big grocery stores because we have everything delivered. Yesterday morning, we relived our 'without kids' days when we would both go to the store together and get drinks, etc... This time, however, we vowed never again to go to a big grocery store, especially on Saturday morning. It took us 2 hours to get drinks!

Drink and Bread table

Drink and Bread table, originally uploaded by afoos.

We moved our kitchen table to the corner and used it as a drink and bread table. One thing about our new kitchen is that it's really practical for this type of entertaining.

Hors d'oeuvres

Hors d'oeuvres, originally uploaded by afoos.

Or, apéritif... we went 'simple'. Veggies and dips (I roasted some garlic and threw it in the food processor with some cream cheese and basil and it turned out delicious, the other dip was a mixture of cream cheese, sour cream and fresh herbs- basil, parsley, chives), shrimp, summer sausage, chips and guacamole.

Fit for a princess

Fit for a princess, originally uploaded by afoos.

When E left to take the kids to his mom's tonight, I decided to tackle the skirt for Louise's Xmas gift. It took a little longer than my liking (whoever thought that a little 2 year old would need more than 3 yards of tulle?), but I am pleased with the result. I did not follow the pattern for the fairy skirt in the knitting book and found a tutorial for a no-sew tutu instead.

I am thinking it might be a little too big for Louise, but that's better than too small and if I'm going to spend this much time making her something, I'd rather she get a few years' use. I found the ribbon 'wands' off of Etsy and they ended up matching perfectly. Normally, I totally wouldn't have time for all these projects, but this year, I am taking advantage of the time I have off of work to work on some of the things I like to do.

Big Pillow Cover

Big Pillow Cover, originally uploaded by afoos.

This has been another project in the works- covers for these big pillows we have. Today I felt like getting out the sewing machine and needed to repair E's pants anyway, so since there was black thread, thought I'd go ahead and make this pillow case as well. I basically just measured the pillow and added some for the seams and it turned out just fine and took only about 30 min. I'll make another one for the one in our room, but out of a different fabric.

A small fortune

I hadn't bought a pack of disposable diapers in almost a year. This weekend my MIL is taking the kids and I know she prefers disposables. (When she's giving us two mornings to sleep in plus a whole Saturday to ourselves, I'll happily not argue when she asks for me to furnish disposables rather than cloth) So, I headed to the store across the street and wow, I had forgotten how much diapers were!!!! 

Don't get me wrong, we did spend a small fortune to supply ourselves with cloth diapers, but we've long since paid that off with the savings we've gotten from having a permanent supply on our hands. 

Talk about small fortunes, we did save quite a bit in laundry detergent: the supply I made in October is almost to its end, so basically the cost comes down to about 50 cents a month (versus the 7 dollars a month I was spending on store bought). Time to make some more!

Every little bit counts... especially these days.

Little Miss

Louise is a true little miss and with a mama like myself who rarely wears makeup and prefers wearing jeans and tank tops every day, I really don't know where she gets it and I've done a fairly good job of 'not' exposing her to the princess culture. Or so I thought. Today I got out the shoes she wore to my brother's wedding last summer to see if they would still fit for Christmas. When she got home, she immediately put them on and pranced around the apartment, asking for music so that she could dance and hear the heels clicking on the floor. I better hide them before tomorrow because she'll want to wear them to the daycare! While I was cooking dinner, she brought me the dress that she wore to the wedding that had been on a shelf in her closet and said "Mama, princess dress, put it on". Then, she pranced around the apartment like a princess and like the whole world owed her something.

What amazed me even more was the transformation that took place in Gab once his sister presented herself to him as a princess. He said "Oh, you are so beautiful Louise" and went up and gave her a hug and took her hand and said "Come with me, I'll rescue you from the monster" And, just seconds before that, they were fighting.

Maybe she needs to dress like a princess more often. That Christmas gift sure is coming at the right time!