The night before Maggie’s birthday, we were more patient than usual with her bedtime shenanigans. No matter when we send her to bed, she always finds a reason to come back downstairs. Oops, she forgot her water. Ooops, she forgot her book. Oooops, she forgot to take her asthma medicine. Her last trek downstairs is always with open arms, simply asking for another goodnight hug … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Maggie Style
My way of making the kids’ birthdays special is to take something they love and turn it into a full-blown party. We toned it waaaaay back this year, with only a handful of guests. (See… I actually learned something from Maggie’s giant Bird Party back in April!) For Sam’s celebration, we simply took a few kids bowling, and then came back to our house for … Continue reading Bowling Themed Birthday Party
In case anyone else out there wants to throw a bird-themed party, I thought I’d share a few ideas that we used to pull it all together. When Maggie initially picked this theme, I had no idea what we would do. In the end, we had more ideas than we could use! Designing the invitations is my favorite step in the party planning process. I … Continue reading Bird-Themed Birthday Party
Today we delivered Maggie’s donations to Anchorage’s Bird Treatment and Learning Center. Instead of birthday gifts, Maggie’s classmates brought everything from bleach to toilet paper to help stock the supply cabinet at the Bird TLC. The Bird TLC volunteers and employees were so appreciative that they offered Sam and Maggie a mini tour of their facility. The kids met a crow (yes, a crow… not … Continue reading For the Birds: The Finale!
We survived the bird-day party without too many ruffled feathers. Oh sure, there were a few bonked heads and plenty of tattling, and some odd moments (like when a little girl locked herself in the bathroom with a hijacked doll stroller). But but what can you expect when you invite 14 kindergarten girls to your nest? All you can hope is that you will learn … Continue reading For the Birds: Part II
It’s fun to watch our children develop interests that are completely and uniquely their own. So it goes with our bird-loving daughter, who since the age of two has enjoyed the caw of ravens and the scavenging of magpies. Now that she’s older we drive past a marsh each day, which is alive with seagulls, swans, terns, and geese. At Christmas we gave her a … Continue reading For the Birds: Part I
Profoundly Ordinary 