Steady Mom

What Do You Think?

  Photo by John Athayde

A Question for You:

How do you motivate yourself when you need to get started on an unpleasant task?

steady thought for the day

Photo by Desirea Rodgers

"Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

A Dinosaur Birthday Party

  Our "Dino Dig" site

So now we have two four-year-olds and a five-year-old. No wonder life is exciting around here. (And a bit hectic!)

We aim for simple parties around here, and the kids love them. I always make a poster for the front door announcing the birthday. Afterward it hangs in the child's room for the rest of the year. As much as possible, books are the main party decorations. With dinosaurs as our theme, it was easy to spread books everywhere (and fun to see little hands leafing through pages).

We always choose a few creative presents (like the Melissa & Doug Puppet Theater above). And we also stagger the opening of the child's gifts. I got this idea from a friend (Thanks, Lisa) long before I had kids, and it always made sense to me.

Basically we open about three presents each day. If the child has more presents, we'll do it again the next day, and so on. This has helped us avoid an "Okay, what's next?" attitude in our children. Instead, they get excited about each present and we take time to play with it immediately. We do this at Christmas as well.

Elijah loved every minute of his party. And when that little guy is happy, it is truly contagious (those dimples, wow!).

I have to be honest and say that I felt stressed throughout the planning of this party. It was very silly and I won't be doing it again (the stress, that is, not the parties!) When I think about my children, I know they will love their party and have fun. But when I compare my efforts to the parties I've seen other people do (in magazines, online, etc) my efforts seem meager.

But it fits us, it's what I have to offer, and it's part of the simple, peaceful "family culture" we're trying to create around here. So it is enough.

Let me know I'm not alone - Have you ever felt stressed about your kids' parties?

what do you think?

Photo by payhere

Imagine....

You have an evening all to yourself. How would you spend your time off?

It's important for Mamas to know how to recharge our batteries so we stay focused on what really matters....