You say it's your birthday...

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Actually, he didn't say but my sources spies tell me that a certain photoblogger extraordinaire is achieving official curmudgeon status tomorrow, and just in time for Ruby Tuesday too. (So how old is that anyway? What's the official starting age of a curmudgeon?)
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Not being the html wizard that our dear four-pawed friend Tonka is I'll stick to what I know - photos.
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First, of course, there has to be a toast:
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May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door, today and every day, this year and on. May your birthday be full of love and joy, and may you never lose your sense of wonder.
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Wishing you the happiest of birthdays dear friend, and the most magical of years.
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And you can't have a birthday without cake, of course.
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Or a flower, in a virtual vase, to brighten your birthday table.

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And last but certainly far from least, what's a birthday without fireworks (or is that just the flames from all those curmudgeonly candles setting off the fire alarm?).
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Thank you for being such an incredible friend, always ready with a kind word or steady encouragement, reaching out to make our little corner of the internet a warmer, better place. May this be the year that your dreams come true.
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Where the fairies live

Click to enlarge

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And it's got a door, too. (Of course it does, how else would they get in?)
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The party was a smashing success, the birthday girl was thrilled, but I'm utterly shattered and still have a late night conference call with California to get through so the cake will have to do it for tonight. I'm not even looking at the actual party photos until tomorrow. (Excuse the shiny flash reflection, all the natural lighting shots came out strangely discolored. I think all the beige in my kitchen was throwing off the white balance or something but I was too busy to take the time to sort it out.)
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Have a great rest of the day everyone. I'll be by to visit tomorrow.
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Eight

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Yesterday my son Itai turned eight (and no, I have no idea how that happened. I swear he was just born last week.), and with eight my husband and I reached a new stage in our parenting journey - the stage that stabs an icy cold tentacle of fear into the heart of every parent.

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The slumber party.

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We've done the horribly big, horribly loud, invite the whole class of 35 + assorted extra kids, hire a professional entertainer party. Lots of times. It's loud, it's chaotic, and it's expensive, but it's all over in two hours.

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This year he (we) kicked it up a notch and went all out. It started when I agreed to a party with 5 or 6 kids. I know his friends, they're sweet kids and not too out of control, I was confident that we could rise to the challenge.

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Only one small snag. My son is what you might call popular (how this happened I have no idea, his father and I were much closer to the other end of the scale). Once he started inviting, he couldn't stop. If he invited this one he'd have to invite that one, with that one then also that one, so that he wouldn't be left out. And so on. (And they told two friends, and they told two friends...)

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In addition to my own two kids we ended up with eleven invitees - all of whom said yes! (Aack! Panic panic panic!) Thankfully when the day came one was sick (ok, not thankful about that, but you know what I mean), two were no shows (so very Israeli) and one announced that he couldn't stay overnight. That left us with a total of 10 kids in the house, nine of whom were going to be rowdy sugared-up second graders. We stocked up on balloons (the long skinny ones are great for safe swordfights and other low-impact creativity), ordered pizza and let 'em loose.

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It was utter bedlam for several hours and there were two kids who couldn't manage to get along and drove me nearly insane (one of whom decided at 10:30pm that he couldn't fall asleep and asked to go home. Umm, sure. And don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out kid.) Most of them never did settle down to watch movies, but eventually they calmed down a bit and by 11:30 everyone was sound asleep, not to stir until well after 7:00.

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Nothing got broken (except a stupid beanbag snake that sprung a few leaks and shot plastic pellets all over the house), no blood was drawn and no one went to the hospital, so all in all I'd say it was a success. Most importantly the kids had fun and everyone went home smiling (and if I'm very lucky this will now start a trend and other kids will start having sleepovers at least, even if their parents aren't up for a full-blown slumber party).

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And to top it off, Itai actually asked for the world's easiest cake this year so at least on that front I got off VERY easy:

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Where I've Been All Weekend

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Whew, now I can sit back and breathe a bit - the princess party we threw for Maya tonight was a resounding success. Five little princesses in their finest frippery spent the evening cavorting to their hearts' content, going home two hours later spent and happy, wearing the ribbon "crowns" they made and clutching goody bags full of sweet surprises. Their baser side was not neglected either, as they bashed the crap out of a butterfly pinata. This was a new one for all of the guests, pinatas have only just become available in Israel and most people still don't know what they are (Maya saw one on Dora and determined that this was a must for any self-respecting birthday party - her other requirements included "cake" and "decorations").
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This was the first time Maya has had, or even been interested in having, a real "friends" party. Normally children in Israel invite their entire class, upwards of 25 children, plus however many outside friends. (This large size means that parents generally hire professional entertainers to handle the insane amount of kid-wrangling necessary.)
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Maya's not really the big loud entertainer type though, nor does she like large crowds or sound systems, so she and I decided that small and intimate was the way to go. We invited four close friends (the only other two girls in her class and two other friends) and threw a princess party, because there is nothing dearer to Maya's heart right now than princesses, unless perhaps it's chocolate milk. Having so few children meant that we (I) would be serving as party mistress extraordinaire, and I will freely admit that I was quaking in my crocs. The thought of having to entertain a group of children used to a polished, action-packed performance left me with a major knot in my stomach. Still, they are little girls, and I myself was one of those once, so I crossed my fingers, wrote up a list of activities, closed my eyes and jumped.
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And it worked. Everyone had a ball. It was completely over the top girly and very very pink and they loved it. Heck, even I had fun, and my husband outdid himself managing the background logistics while my son discovered his inner DJ. A real family effort.

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Maya, who stayed in her costume (including her crown! And her braids! She asked me for braids!) the entire evening (!) was beaming from ear to ear. She was absolutely thrilled and very much enjoyed her moment in the spotlight. Her smile made all of the behind the scenes effort worth it. There's no question that a professional entertainer makes life easier, albeit more expensive, but the satisfaction you get from knowing that YOU are the one to put that smile on all those little faces and see them gasp in wonder when they discover that the strange thing they've been whacking with that stick is full of CANDY is in another class entirely.

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Happy birthday Princess Maya. You earned every bit of this one kiddo.

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(Photos cropped to remove other people's kids.)

Striiiiiike!

The birthday party report. (And yes, he's wearing the jersey. Are you surprised?)

Through what was apparently sheer willpower alone Itai managed to keep his fever down long enough for us to agree that he could go to school Friday morning (they have short days on Fridays) to celebrate his birthday with his class as planned (just chocolate balls, fruit punch, party favors and a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday - this is party light), then home to nap for two hours (Jay slept, Itai didn't) before heading off to his own birthday party that afternoon.

He'd invited 10 kids to a bowling party, 2 were also down with the flu but the 8 that came had a great time - once we went to the correct bowling alley. Yes, I'm an utter and complete idiot and brought everyone to the wrong bowling alley! I had no idea there were two. I walked in, kids and a few accompanying parents in tow and cake in hand to find out that they had no record of me whatsoever! Luckily the correct location wasn't far away and turned out to be much lower key and a great place for a group of young kids.

Itai was pretty much running on adrenalin alone but he had a great time, and even Maya bowled a few rounds with a bit of help from mom. (Do they call them rounds? I have no idea. I haven't been bowling in at least twenty years...) We even bumped into a famous basketball player at the bowling alley - didn't excite me all that much, truth be told I had no idea who he was, but one of the other fathers was utterly thrilled, even got a picture of his kid sitting on the guy's lap. And to warm my over-achieving cake decorating heart, all the kids flipped over the cake, and the staff in the place even thought it was professionally done (if it had been I'd have overpayed, it really looked pretty amateurish up close LOL).

All in all, Itai had a great, and reasonably healthy, day, but the excitement did him in. He relapsed the following morning and ended up home sick again today. His fever's been gone for 24 hours now though, so it's back to school again in the morning.

Just to keep us on our toes though Jay is now sick, which is threatening to do in our very long awaited two nights away at a fabulous spa up north. Send us all some healthy vibes if you've got 'em. We've had quite enough illness already and mama really really REALLY needs a massage... (Update: Jay's still sick, looks like we're postponing. We'll try again mid-March.)

I'm off to go sleep on the couch now. No need to risk catching whatever Jay's got.

The birthday that wasn't

Poor Itai. Today is his 7th birthday, and where is he? Upstairs sleeping in my bed, his body wracked by fever. He's really sick, and SO disappointed. We had to cancel the celebrations in his afternoon program today, and needless to say he will not be showing all his friends his new Maccabi Haifa soccer jersey* today. We tried to cheer him up a bit by offering to celebrate his birthday this morning instead of waiting until tonight, but the poor thing just couldn't get out of bed.


So instead of the birthday cake and festivities planned for him at his afternoon program he'll get a few cupcakes out of the freezer arranged like a seven (I did at least put his name on them) . I just hope that he's healthy again by Friday - he's supposed to celebrate with his class then, and his actual birthday party (bowling - the latest fad among the 7 year old set) is scheduled for Friday afternoon (and lest anyone think I've lost my birthday cake decorating drive, yes, I'm planning on making an actual cake for that one, I just didn't figure he needed two different ones in one day).

Keep your fingers crossed that this passes quickly - and that it doesn't strike anyone else in the family! Jay and I are supposed to go away for two nights mid-next week and we don't have coverage if the kids are sick!

* The new jersey has quite a story behind it. Last week Itai and I were leaving our building when he saw a man in a Maccabi Haifa jacket waiting for the elevator. He immediately started talking to him about the team. Next thing I know the guy was asking Itai who his favorite player was and what is his shirt size. Turns out, he's the official printer for the national soccer league. He promised Itai a team shirt. Since I had no idea who he was or how likely he was to follow through I warned Itai not to get his hopes up. Imagine my surprise when there was a knock on the door last night and there stood this same neighbor and his 3-year old daughter, Maccabi Haifa bag in hand! He was grinning from ear to ear as he presented Itai with an official #12 soccer jersey - signed by nearly the whole team! Itai was so excited I'm surprised he didn't sleep with the shirt last night. One of the first things he said when he realized he couldn't go to school today was that now no one would see his new shirt. (See my previous post for a picture of my oh so proud soccer fan modeling his new threads.)

Nearing Seven

I still find it hard to believe, but I have been on this mothering journey for nearly seven years. Seven years exactly come 4:15pm on Wednesday. After all these years, and despite this having been a very much planned, hoped for and wanted pregnancy, I still wake up sometimes marvelling at how my life has changed. How my family has changed. How that tiny little baby with the matchstick fingers has grown into a real boy. A sports-obsessed boy who's not half-bad with a soccer ball (where did he get that, certainly not from his parents...). How he's been joined by a sister who loves singing and dancing and Dora and Mickey Mouse. And ice cream. They both love ice cream. (So does their mother for that matter.)

My life has changed so much since he arrived in our lives, but I think that inside I have changed even more. I can barely remember what life was like before (though I do have vague recollections of being more rested and less sticky). I am more patient (most of the time) than I would have ever dreamed possible. I get more pleasure out of shopping for my children than I do out of shopping for myself. (Though I think all that extra weight they helped pack on me may account for that - why can't there be some way to preserve the beautiful inner changes without all the not so beautiful external ones?). I know what unconditional love is, and I know about raw fear. I can spend hours poring over birthday cake pictures or choosing the perfect party favor just to put a smile on my child's face as he proudly hands them out at school, even though I know that the silly little favor from the dollar store will be all but forgotten in a day or two.

I've learned that I can be soft, and that I can be hard. I learned that these mothering instincts extend to the children of strangers as well when I ran in to swoop an unsuspecting toddler out of the way of a high flying swing while his babysitter chatted on her cellphone without a care in the world (note to self: do not hire this babysitter). I've learned to be more giving and less selfish. I've learned the importance of setting boundaries, and the importance of allowing those boundaries to bend when understanding is what's needed. I've learned that no two days will ever be the same. Never the same, and never predictable. My world has changed, and I have changed with it.

Into a mother.

And I thank my lucky stars for that every single day.



The Writers Island prompt for this week is changed.

Flower Power

Maya had her preschool party today. She and her friend M (they celebrate in pairs) sang and danced their way through a slew of Hebrew birthday songs and activities, culminating in the perennial favorite "Where's the Cake?" song, followed obviously by the grand entrance of the cake and then of course the "Foo'ing The Candles" song. (And yes, to "foo" is a verb, didn't you know? Actually, it sort of is in Hebrew. They really do tell children to "say foo".)

Maya had a ball - she was thrilled to have her moment in the sun and was just beaming from ear to ear the whole time, and we beamed right back seeing her participating so beautifully and enjoying herself so much.

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(I didn't get any decent pictures today that didn't have a lot of other people's kids in them, so since I don't put other kids' photos on the internet without permission I substituted this one taken by a photographer friend a few weeks ago. It's the same dress, and captures her exuberance today perfectly. If you can't tell, she's actually in mid-air (hence the crazy hair). And no, I don't know yet if I'm having it framed. He took a ton and I haven't made the final selection yet. More on that some other time...)

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Happy birthday Miss Mouse, we love you so very much.

She had such a great day (minus one post-party letdown meltdown of atomic proportions, but we'll skip that little anecdote. Bygones.) that this is where she ended up this evening. Note the half-eaten pita on the kitchen floor. (So that you can truly appreciate this, this is only the second time in her entire life that she's fallen asleep mid-stream like this. The first time was about a year ago and we found her inside a laundry basket LOL.)

Thursday Thirteen, edition 2

Thirteen Things ROBIN still has to do to get ready for her son's 6th birthday party on Tuesday(yup, I'm hijacking the list for my to-do list - at least this way I won't lose it!)

1. Buy his gift from us (new bike), add bow.

2. Wrap gift from little sister (soccer ball) and from grandparents (digital camera (he's gonna flip!) and batteries, books). Wrap gifts from my sister.

3. Make sure the bomb shelter is clean (the party is in our building's bomb shelter). Put up decorations - balloons, streamers, signs, carpets, blankets over old scuzzy couches.

4. Bring down big garbage cans, basket for gifts

5. Put favors in loot bags. Consider adding bubbles, too.

6. Make and shape cake - at least one day before frosting so it can "set"

7. Prepare cake decorations - blue frosting and yellow and maroon stars - and decorate cake (sorry, to find out what it is you'll have to come back in a few days, it's a surprise)

8. Make invitation sign for Itai's classroom door and sign for lobby showing where to go Hang signs in lobby.

9. Buy 40 drink packs, 30 pitot (plural of pita), chocolate spread, hummous, and assorted snacks and candy (bisli, pretzels, marshmellows, potato chips, etc.), water and drinks for adults

10. Cut and stuff pitot - 40 halves with chocolate spread, 10 with hummous, leave last 10 for emergency replacements). Arrange on trays. - Tuesday afternoon.

11. ,Buy paper goods - plates, napkins (including for cake) and birthday sign for bomb shelter door. Get cups from shed..

12. Get cash to pay magician. Confirm he's coming and any special requirements.

13. Charge camera batteries, clear memory card.

Whew, I hope that's it, I'm out of numbers!

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