I'm Going "Buggy" with Ideas!

I know you will not believe it; but it's true!

My little big girl is turning 4 on Saturday!

I swear sometimes it feels like I just squeezed that little Monkeygirl out the other day... And here it's been four years. Wow. All the cliches are true.

Now I am planning her 4th birthday party. She wants a "Bug Party." I made the invitations and sent them out a few weeks ago. We are expecting 12 kids between the ages of 24-months (youngest siblings of a friend on her guest list) and 8 years (oldest girl on our street--who my daughter idolizes). In any event, I've been struggling to plan a party that might be entertaining for children within that age span.

So far, the menu includes:

Butterfly and Flower shaped PB&J Sandwiches

Ants on a Log (celery, peanut butter, raisins)

Caterpillar Fruit Sticks (melon-balled fruit and grapes on a wooden skewers)

Lady Bug Pizza (pepperoni and black olives)

Bug Juice (lemonade, green food coloring, frozen berries)

Cup 'O Dirt (clear cup, chocolate pudding, gummi worms, oreo cookie crumbs)

Flower and Ladybug Cupcakes

As for games and activities, I have a lot of ideas I'm considering. I want the children to play some games, but it's tricky with little ones, as no one at that age enjoys "not winning." 

Spider Hats (instead of birthday hats, I've lifted this project from my daughter's preschool Halloween activity: black construction paper, plastic eyes)

Pin the Bug on the Flower (no donkey--and the kids get to decorate their paper bug cut-out as a project before we start the game)

Squash That Bug (blown up balloons with plastic bugs inside--children sit on the balloons and pop/collect as many bugs as possible) 

Water Bug Balloon Toss (green balloons decorated like bugs)

Face Painting (butterflies, bees, worms--keeping it simple here folks!)

Decorate Your Bug House (As a party favor, I bought clear plastic containers with lids I've poked holes in. We will have stickers, paint pens, glitter (?), and bug cutouts for the kids to decorate the outside of their "bug houses."

Bug Hunt (Plastic bugs scattered throughout the yard--the kids can use their freshly decorated bug houses to collect the bugs. Afterward they can trade with one another and take home whatever they've found.) 

Of course, I would love any feedback, ideas, suggested modifications to what I've listed above... HELP!!!

I will post the "results" sometime after Saturday!

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Things I Love Thursday

• How well my Monkeygirls did on our road trip to California last week. We did not sleep in the same place two nights in a row and they were so great about it!
• Seeing my family in California--though I obviously wish it were under better circumstances.
• This picture of Piper at her swim lesson:

• This song and video from Peter Bjorn and John for their song, "Nothing to Worry About." (click here).
• Twitter. It seriously got me through my drive and now I'm hooked (click here).
• Watching my Monkeys dance, dance, dance at the West Linn Farmers' Market on Tuesday:

• My car. We bought a 2005 Acura MDX right after the 2006 model hit the dealerships. Because the 2006 model had a new body style we got a screaming deal on my NEW 2005 model. I loved it then; I drive it everyday; and after our 10+ hour road trip (each way) I love it even more!
• This picture of Geneva on the front porch at my grandpa's house in Santa Clara. I'm fairly sure I have a picture of myself at her age sitting in this folding chair (minus the big pillow). She's just woken up from a nap and is loving her new "Wolfie" that Nana gave her.

• Getting back into the gym after having 9 days off and tons of bad-for-me food!
• The amazing weather we've been having in Oregon. It's stunning here!
• The complete un-catlike tolerance demonstrated by my sister Chrissy's cat. Unbelievable.

• These little pins I stumbled upon online (click here).
• The AMC series, Mad Men. My sister-in-law has been telling me about this show for over a year. I finally came across the first season On Demand (Comcast cable) and started watching. I'm totally hooked! I think the third season will air this Fall. It's unbelievably good!
• This stepping stone that the girls and I made for Greg for Father's Day:

• Watching my girls enjoy popsicles on a hot afternoon.
• Thai Green Curry over Jasmine rice. 
• Making my own Thai flavored rice by substituting some of the water with a can of lite coconut milk and grated fresh lemongrass to Jasmine rice before cooking.
• Watching my veggies take shape:

• The Kings of Leon song that's been playing a lot lately, "Use Somebody" (click here).
• The fact that when I pointed out my first few grey hairs to Greg he said, "Beautiful."
• The Friendship Farm. This is the little preschool/summer camp that Geneva did last year and that both girls get to enjoy this summer. They attend Monday and Wednesday mornings--leaving me with almost 4 hours of "free" time! Here they are before their first day:

• The following exchange that occurred in the rest stop bathroom in southern Oregon on our way down to California. It should be noted that it was not the cleanest restroom (by a long-shot). After applying a sufficient amount of toilet-seat covers to the "throne," both Piper and I did our "business." Then it was Geneva's turn:

Me: Ok NeeNee. You're up.

G: I'm not going potty in there. It looks too mysterious.

• When we took my dad to Santa Cruz to celebrate his birthday the girls went sans nap all day. It was a lot to ask. Near the end of our afternoon, we decided to get some calamari and clam chowder on the pier. Piper was really slowing down so we took turns carrying her. Within two minutes of landing on Papa's shoulder, she was drooling a puddle on his new sweatshirt and sawing logs in his ear. I think my dad was in heaven!

• Watching my Monkeygirls splash in the surf with my dad:

(If you're having trouble viewing any of the links on this post via my facebook feed, try moving over to the actual blog at: www.genevaavery.blogspot.com)

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The Sweetest Soul

I am so happy to have had the opportunity to visit my grandmother recently.

Gertrude Purse (is that not the BEST grandma name???) passed away yesterday morning in her sleep with her family surrounding her.

Her faith asserts that she will be with my grandfather now and for that, I am also happy.

She was the most kind-hearted, gentle person I have ever known.

Goodbye Grandma!

We will miss you.

xxoo

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Swimming!

The girls have been taking swim lessons for a couple months. They absolutely love to be in the water. Their swim instructor is "Mr. Keith."

They've "upgraded" to wearing goggles and swim caps (to keep their hair out of their eyes). I am absolutely aware that they are going to have to go to therapy at some later date to work through the issues they will likely develop when they become aware that I made them look this way on purpose:

The video below (not available if you're reading this on my facebook feed--come on over to the actual blog: www.genevaavery.blogspot.com to watch it) contains some snippets of their most recent lesson.

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Soccer!

Well, we're finally here... Geneva started soccer yesterday. She is so excited.

With hand-me-down shin guards and hand-me-down cleats... she was ready to get her drills underway. (Have I mentioned previously that she is all about dressing herself these days--note the striped shorts and striped tank.)

Chloe lives 4 houses down the street and is only 5 weeks older than Geneva. They are on the same team.

"It's really important to listen to our coaches because they will tell us when it's time to make some goals," reported Geneva.

Here she is keeping up with the boys.

She is a soccer player.

She is really cool.

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60-Minute Salad

I made a delicious dinner last night (yep, I do say so myself). I'm calling it a "60-Minute Salad" because it took that long to make it. Though I suppose, technically, it took closer to 60 days than to 60 minutes.

I bought these raised planters for Greg last year (for his birthday). He had talked at length about wanting to plant a garden with Geneva. I bought the big one for him to actually grow a few things and the small one for Neens to dig around in.

They have sat empty against the back fence for over a year.

I went ahead and took over, planting all "starts" in the beds and in these clay pots. I had a lot of success with the herb garden I did last year in pots (on the patio). My herbs have come back with vigor this year (though, I did lose the basil to snow and decided to replace our stringy rosemary with new plants this year as well).

Between the pots and the beds I have 3 tomato varieties, 2 squash varieties, zucchini, cucumber, 2 red peppers, sweet beans, lettuce (butter, spring mix, red and green leaf), oregano, basil, peppermint, spearmint, chives, english thyme, lemon thyme, flat-leaf parsley and rosemary.

We've had some beautiful weather and the veggies are really taking off. However, we've really only been able to enjoy the herbs so far... 

...until last night when I decided to "harvest" my lettuce for the first time. I noticed right away that I planted my starts WAY too close together so I had some thinning to do. The caterpillars that nested in the two heads made my decision fairly easy.

I picked and snipped until I had quite a bowlful of crisp leaves and a pretty substantial pile of inedible cast-offs (though the bugs might argue the "edibleness" of the leaves I discarded).

Garden lettuce is dirty.

Several rinses and spins later, I was ready to dress up my salad.

I made a light lemon vinegarette and added cucumber, grape tomatoes, fresh basil, chives and mint, kalamata olives, roasted almonds, and feta. Then I topped each serving with a scoop of flaked albacore dressed in the same vinegarette (lemon juice, olive oil, fresh garlic, dijon mustard, salt and pepper).

The result was as delicious as it was time-consuming. 

We ate the whole bowl. 

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"I Think I Want a Dog Instead."

Geneva's school has a tradition of giving away little fish (as pets) on the last day of school. They end their school year with a unit on Ocean Creatures so part of the "Discovery Room" is a tank filled with these tiny tropical fish called Danios. Parents get to decide whether to accept the "gift" or decline. We accepted.

Which meant a trip to the pet store to purchase what we would need. Apparently, Danios do well in filtered water (though they can survive in a bowl). They eat blood worms (mosquito larva) and some other disgusting thing I don't recall (but can survive on tropical fish flakes). We upgraded the environment with a fancy little tank and downgraded the diet to something I could manage: flakes.

Greg took the preparation of the tank on as a "Daddy Project" with Geneva. Of course, Piper needed to get involved too. Everything needed to be cleaned and assembled. 

Geneva had a part in all of it. She was really pleased with the rock gravel she selected at the pet store.

We found a nice place in the kitchen to set up the tank. On Friday we introduced our fish (everyone got a "pair" because Danios do better in pairs) to their environment and Geneva named them. The tank seemed so big for such small fish.

On Saturday they got new names.

On Sunday they got different names.

On Monday there was only one fish in the tank.

?

No sign of the other fish. The tank is much bigger than the fish--but it's not THAT big! I didn't want to call too much attention to the missing fish. I texted Greg at work...

Hmmm... did one of them eat the other one? Not likely, since there were no 'pieces' of the deceased and I found it terribly unlikely that it could be consumed entirely.

What happened?

Geneva never noticed the absence of the second fish. Or if she did, she hasn't mentioned it.

Monday night (after the girls went to bed) Greg did some more thorough investigation. Mystery solved: the filter sucked the tiny fish up; it was dead inside.

Poor fishy.

I think I'll replace it with a bigger, more colorful fish. Though, Geneva might notice... hmmm good or bad?

No matter. She wasn't all that interested in the fish--considering she "wants a dog instead."

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Things I Love (Friday)

• Getting back into the swing of things with my blogging!
• How much I've accomplished by not blogging so much...
• Sisters who play cuddling games:

• The "Girls' Weekend" I had with my good friend Simone. Simone came up from California a couple weeks ago so we could have a couple days "off." It was fabulous! Greg did everything and I got to come and go as I pleased; wake up when I wanted to; be excused from bedtime, bath-time, and meal-time; ignore the house, dishes, laundry (like I don't do that anyway!); and pretty much explore the great places Portland has to offer with my girlfriend. I didn't even have to miss my family because I slept every night in my own bed and kissed and squeezed my husband and girls every day! Bliss.
• How well Geneva did at her first dentist appointment. Great X-rays, raspberry-flavored teeth cleaning, flossing, dental exam and the best part: NO CAVITIES!

• Playing golf with my husband and our friends.
• Anticipating Geneva's first soccer practice (more to come, I'm sure).
• Avery's first haircut:

• Thunder storms (yep, we've had a couple).
• Looking forward to having our friend John (who's in town from CA) over for dinner tonight (but wishing Betsy was coming too).
• That Piper's cough has miraculously not turned into Croup this time!
• Progress and Growth (both literally--below... and figuratively):

• Mint. Delicious. Fun. Great atmosphere. Lovely company.
• Paper airplanes... more specifically, how entertaining they can be for my 3 year old (who is almost 4!).
• Organization. Though it truthfully doesn't look like this this morning... it will by tonight!

• How often I'm hearing Journey played on my satellite radio--and I'm not even listening to an "Early 80's" station. Oddly enjoyable.
• Playing together:

• So You Think You Can Dance. This is such a great show... once you get past Crazy Mary (one of the judges). Give it a shot... I mean, is there anything else on right now anyway???
• The pillow box and stationary set I made by recycling a page from my calendar:

• All the stuff I've taken the time to make in the past couple weeks.
  

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Self Portrait

(I know I've been MIA of late... I'll catch you up on all our craziness very soon. But here's a quick post I just had to get in.)

Sometimes our children are a mini self-portrait of ourselves. This can be flattering and not so much so... as in the example below:

I distinctly remember despising when my mother would do this to me and I had no idea I was doing it to my children until Piper began doing it to me and to her stuffed animals.

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