10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Hello magical people!  I’m posting this late for the past couple of weeks or early for Monday, since it looks like we’ll be out of town.

Baby Fiona and I are doing great.  She’s up to 9 pounds (she was 8 1/2 at birth) and she’s an extremely happy, sweet baby.  We all adore her, and her older siblings rush to kiss and care for her.

I am recovering very well from the surgery, which is a huge relief.  Fiona’s birth made five C-sections, which is a truly alarming number!  We had planned on only having three children because more than three C-sections is considered so risky, but I am quite happy that Alex and Fiona thwarted our intentions.  😉 

In any event, I thought I’d dash off a list of ways to make a little magic this week.  Here’s a few ideas…

1.  Leave a spooky family message on the answering machine or voice mail.

2.  For a fun twist on bobbing for apples, hang donuts from strings and challenge the kids to eat them without using their hands.

3.  Make junk drawer pumpkins.  These are so cute!

4.  After Halloween, let the kids go nuts smashing pumpkins.  It’s surprisingly fun!  😉  For more fun pumpkin ideas, click here.

5.  Add water balloons to your child’s bath.  No, you don’t throw them, but they’re fun to play with!

6.  Go hiking someplace wild and wonderful.

7.  Start having an international day once a week for lunch or dinner.  Play music from a chosen country and serve a traditional meal from that region.  If you like, try to dress family members in suitable clothes or add some games or traditions too.  You can start with relatively “easy” countries that are pretty familiar to most of us in terms of cuisine and culture or dive right into new and different ones.  Some possible countries are China, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Germany, Greece, Australia, Ethiopia and Iceland.

8.  Learn the polka, hokey pokey, macarena or another silly dance together.

9.  Have a pajama party with another mama friend and her kiddos.  Everybody camp out in the living room or head home at bedtime.  Pop popcorn, watch movies everybody loves, play games and be silly.

10. Rake a leaf maze in the backyard and take turns running it.

And with that, chickadees, I’m off to snuggle a little girl and feed some masses. 

Have a magical week!

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Meet Fiona Rose!

Fiona Rose was born Monday, October 10, 2011 at 7:41 a.m.  She was 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long.  She has dark blue eyes, fuzzy blonde hair and the most lovable personality.  Though of course I’m biased.  🙂

Her big sister Victoria (13) took photos and created her baby announcement (isn’t she talented?!) and I thought I’d share it here…

We are all over the moon in love with Fiona.

I’ll be back soon!

Flight

Victoria wearing wings made out of an old sheet, Summer 2000 (age 2)

I am alone tonight. 

I was alone last night, too. 

This is the first time I’ve been absolutely alone (without at least one of the kids) for this long in over thirteen years of parenthood!

Daryl and the kids are volunteering at a wonderful event called History Fest out of town.  We volunteer there as a family every year, but this year I am too pregnant to go along and take part.

They are staying at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and I was going to go with them and stay there, too, but I haven’t been feeling very good and I have so many things I wanted to get done around the house before Monday (when our baby comes!).

So at the last minute, we decided I’d stay home on my own.

I have friends nearby who can come if needed, and Daryl and the kids are not too far away.  And I never, ever, ever go into labor early. 

I’ve actually enjoyed my new-found time alone!  I’ve accomplished a ton of things around the house, got lots of extra sleep and have relished the quiet in this house this is so used to being so noisy!

Just the same, it will be nice to have my family back tomorrow.  I suppose I’m good at chaos.  🙂

This time on my own reminded me of a poem I wrote years ago when I only had two little girls.  I think about the lines of this poem often, because after all these years it still sums up how I feel about my family.

I plan on updating it soon, to reflect the changes we’ve gone through since I first wrote it.  Just the same, the meaning remains.

I thought some of you might like it….

Flight

……

    I know women
    who would lose their children
    like throwing off a robe,
    unbraiding a red ribbon
    and discarding it, to let
    their wild selves fly free.

    I know women
    who put aside their children
    like cheap jewelry by the side of the bed.
    I know women
    who never seem to wear them at all.

My girls, I do not want
to be free of you.
You are like my wedding rings
which I could have easily slipped out of
but wear
every day that my heart beats.

I want you near me.
My girls, my husband,
when I see a sunset
I want these two eyes
to be part of the eight who see it.
I want our laughter and stories
to be so tangled
that our memories weave into one dream.

This is my time with you.

Soon enough, you will be off
swimming your own new seas.
Soon enough, we will step back and watch you
blooming and bursting in solitary ways
in your own fresh, separate skins.

How could I waste this?

Oh my darlings, you are not my cage.
You are my wings.

~Alicia Bayer

 

 

10 Ways to Make Today Magical

Happy Tuesday!

We’re less than 6 days away from meeting our little one and I’m feeling awfully tired these days.  So today’s list of ways to make the day magical is courtesy of Pinterest!  🙂

These are all crafts and activities that I’ve pinned to my boards lately.  Click on the photos to visit the sites…

1.  Marshmallow shooters/pom pom poppers

2.  Power drills and pumpkins (eek! love the idea but with CLOSE supervision!)  🙂

3.  Angry birds in the back yard

4.  Cave of stars via cardboard box and Christmas lights

5.  Lawn Jenga

6.  Homemade cough drops and cough drop lollipops (honey based)

7.  Wand tutorial (we made these and loved it!)

8.  Scratch-off pumpkins (black spray paint, then scratch your design)

9.  Teacher Tom’s fabulous, kid-friendly version of crayon melting art

10. Quick epsom salt geode egg shells

Hopefully I’ll get a post or two in before our new babe arrives, but otherwise I’ll be sure to arrange for some pictures to be posted ASAP when we meet her.

Have a magical week!