Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. It was a perfect day–a normal day! I did school with the children in the morning, and that went well. We’re winding down our school year already, finishing a few of the subjects for the year, so we don’t have as much to do. In the afternoon, I got to play in the garden for awhile, and got some more things planted. Then, I cooked one of my favorite meals in the evening (steaks from a steer we raised, roasted kumara/sweet potatoes, and Silverbeet/Swiss Chard, with a delicious dessert I hadn’t made since I did Home Ec in high school). I was amazed at the gifts my family gave me. Mr. Sweetie gave me that beautiful bouquet, Elijah gave me a bay tree, and James gave me a lavender plant. Then, Gayle brought in a gift, which I didn’t expect: he replaced the touch lamps on our nightstands, which came with the house and were much the worse for wear since they were loved by a toddler, with new ones! I feel very spoiled.

I am not one to plan a wonderful birthday party, but Seth turned 12 today and we had a small party for him. He got to have a friend over for the night last night, and another friend’s mother brought her children for a couple of hours this morning and then took the first friend home with her so his dad could pick him up. I had imagined that the boys would spend their time playing outside–but it started raining this morning! They were out for about half an hour, but then came in. We had to quickly think up inside games for a group–not my forte, either! They ended up playing Musical Chairs, and then Elephant Stop, which is a fun variation of Blindman’s Bluff. After that, they each made an individual pizza, and while the pizzas were baking they played Pin the Tail on the Donkey. I learned how not to do that! I had printed out a donkey, on four sheets of paper, and they felt the edge of the paper. Then, they felt each other’s tails and used them as a reference point to put their own on. I decided that it would have been better to trace the donkey onto a larger sheet of paper, and then draw the tails on with pencil or marker–have to make it more challenging for my crew! They seemed to have fun, though.

Musical Chairs–down to the last two!

Elephant Stop

The birthday boy with his cupcakes!

Enjoying his ice cream!

Birthday

Thank you!