Channeling My Creative Side...

This is an article that I wrote on another web site 4 years ago in regards to a desperate attempt to figure out a party locale for my eldest son's 6yr old birthday party.  Oh don't get me wrong I found a ton of places they were just all so EXPENSIVE.  I was let down and going to give up and because we did not have the money to throw a party at a place for 400 bucks for only 2 hrs with a limit of 10 friends more costing extra.  Then I thought back to my childhood and remembered hey I never had a party at anywhere but my home.  A pool party every year since Elementary School.  A whole bunch of five/six year olds and a pool with a deep-end did not sound like a good idea though.  But that got me thinking.  Why couldn't I throw a party for him.  What was stopping me from getting together his friends and making a great birthday party.  But then came the hard part.  Ok I was going to have the party but what was I going to do as a theme etc.  I started looking on the internet and found not all that much help.  A lot of kits you could buy to throw a cowboy party, or a Disney themed party or pirates...Lots of things like that.  For some reason I wanted something different and thats when it came to me...I was going to make an around the world themed party.  And as opposed to candy etc as a goody bag I was going to give a fun facts booklet with some Playdoh to create the Chinese symbol of friendship, and a packet of crayons for the word search part and crossword puzzle.  The party was a great success.  The kids had a blast, the parents just sat underneath the tents we had set up and chatted and everyone was happy.  I highly recommend channeling your creative side and trying to come up with a theme all your own.  I got so many complements and everyone kept saying how fresh and original it was.  Below is my whole outline for the party I came up with.  Copy it and do the party for yourself or go off on your own and create your own Amazing party :)...

Around The World Theme
[4 hr party]

Australia 


Kangaroo Sack Race
Boomerang Relay Race
Outback Jam Session
Mexico
Mexican Jump-Like-A-Bean
Piñata
Sombrero’s


Italy

Bat Spin Dash [Leaning tower of Children]
Finger Paint like the Masters
Pizza [Lunch]


Africa

Toss Across the Savannah 
Great Animal Safari
Face Painting

China


Origami Hat Station
Pet Dragon Coloring
Playdoh Symbol Friend/Friendship

England 


King /Queen Dress Up
Cake [Tea Time]

24 Pack Crayola Colors Word Roll

While blog "surfing" I came across a game on several sites called Crayola Colors Word Roll.  This game is so simple in premise but sneaks in letter recognition, reading, graphing, colors and a tiny amount of number recognition [1-6] and depending on how hard you want to make the game maybe even some foreign language...


"Rules" & Needs for the Game


#1 - 24 Pack of Crayons in Very-Good Condition
#2 - 2 Game Dice, one left plain the other with the letters A-F [taped/glued on, I just wrote it on with magic marker because I had stolen the dice cubes from my monopoly game]
#3 - The "Game Board" ...With Microsoft® Excel I created the grid using all the names of the colors and a few extra whites [but you can use any colors for the extra's]
#4 - Once you have all these items the game begins...Role the dice, find the box on the grid, read the color word, look through your crayons to find the corresponding color, and color that rectangle in.  Repeat until the entire grid is colored :)

[To make the game a bit more difficult, for those children that know their colors very well, Crayons now come printed with the Spanish and French translations of the colors, just use those names as opposed to English]


I set to work immediately to make this game.  "E" [my 6 year old] caught on instantly and had a blast.  He is in Reading Lab and seeing him reading and sounding out the names of the colors without any hesitation was fabulous.  He was so proud of himself when he figured a word out correctly without any help from MOM.  I definitely recommend this game for anyone with a child that is apprehensive about reading [they don't even realize the are LOL].  

Old Boxed Cornbread & Black Raspberry Jam

So that's the kind of day I have been having.  Been a very slow start to a ridiculously dreary day [mainly because of the weather] so I ended up taking a short cut [which I usually hate doing] and made boxed organic cornbread for brunch today, mind you I have had this box for probably over a year.  Plus I completely forgot I had a weight watchers meeting to go to today which is BAD ME!!!The sweetness of the day however [signified by the super tasty Stonewall Kitchen Seedless Black Raspberry Jam] came in the form of my first ever blog post comment YAY!!!...

That is so exciting I never knew that being heard could feel so good.  Whether its 1 person or 100 to know that someone took the time out to read my blog let alone comment on it.  Its so amazing.

"E" & "A" had kind of tough mornings.  My daughter has decided, being five and therefore knowing everything there is to know, that she does not have to listen to me anymore unless SHE wants to.  How nice.  UGH...I am in so much trouble when she becomes a teen.  Attitude and a half on that one, super sassy.  But she is the only one of my kids who will willing go put away her clean clothing or clean her room when its SUPER MESSY go figure?!?..."E" was just out of sorts, he wanted to do what HE wanted to do which basically means anything I said to him this morning other then enjoy playing with your hexbugs was met with a brick wall.  When he shuts down there is just no getting through to him.  My eldest on the other hand was rather good...I LOVE CHILDREN'S THERAPY...2 sessions and I swear I am seeing a change in him...Very little back talk from him and an agreeable attitude, YIPPEE!!!

So to recap I started the day like a slug & took shortcuts and missed a meeting but I am looking towards the rest of the day with open eyes and confidence that it is going to work out alright...

Today was a good day...

I love when things go smoothly.  Its days like this that make all the other days a bit more bearable.  Yeah there were meltdowns and yeah there was some chaos but it was all manageable.  I am finding this blogging thing rather therapeutic.  I have to say my favorite time of day may be when I get up in the morning....Both "A" and "E" get into the bed with me and cuddle and chat and giggle for at least 15 minutes.  Tickle fights usually ensue along with some belly schlerberts and maybe some "back scratchies" cause they love those.

"D" had therapy today and I am really beginning to think things are going to get better between the two of us.  She is really good with him and does not allow him to "win" conversations as he so loves to try and do.  He is definitely a "get in the last word" type of kid which can be quite grating on the nerves.

"E" has been the difficult one today but as quick as he gets worked up he seems to be calming down.  Right now he is on the floor "pretending" to read Dr. Seuss.  He correctly read a whole line of it and is now throwing a mini temper-tantrum because he has decided he didn't for some reason.  Oh to catch a glimpse of what's going on in his mind, maybe I would better be able to help him.  Why does something that should make him happy agitate him so?

"A" was good today.  A bit of "I didn't do it" and "It wasn't me" and "No you did not just see me hit him, I swear I didn't" but for the most part her behavior was sweet little princess. I find it hilarious that even if you were right next to them when they do the thing that's going to get them in trouble they still try to deny their involvement.

So I sign off today with a smile on my face and a positive outlook for tomorrow!

Drowning

Darkness draws me in
Plucking out my delicate petals one by one
I am a forget-me-not
Remembering everything
Can't let go of the pain
Swallows me whole
I cannot breathe
The surface so far away
Can't Cry
Can't Scream
Must remain the rock
Smooth surfaced no cracks
When will it be my turn to grieve