Party Exploded
July 4, 2008
My mom and I were planning to have a small family get-together for the 4th of July; it was just going to be 8 or so of us for the day. We live on the street across the river from where the fireworks are fired so they close down our street and there are always a lot of people outside. I decided to invite a couple of other people and then a few more, and then a friend found out I was having a party and asked if they could come too. Well I’m not quite sure how it happened but we have somewhere around 30 people that are supposed to come through out the day! I love this holiday so it will be a lot of fun but I’ve never planned a party for this many people before so this has been interesting. I had to make a trip to the grocery store to pick a bit more food just in case we need it.
The kids will be with their dad for the holiday and the weekend so that’s a bit of a bummer for me and for them as well. They were planning to have a lemonade stand like they did last year. Even without my kids here there will still be about 11 kids here to keep us occupied. As much as I love the holidays it still always makes me sad to think about those ones we love who are not able to be with us and enjoy them together with them. Of course for me this includes the kids when they are with their dad. I know that the only thing I can do is to make the best out of it that I can and enjoy the day as much as I can without being too sad.
Well there is a lot of work to be done still and the first couple of kids have arrived so I need to shut this computer off and get some work done. I hope everyone has a great holiday and enjoys the fireworks tonight.
Happy Memorial Day
May 26, 2008
I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. As a single mom, I always treasure the holidays that I get to spend with the kids because they spend every other holiday with their dad. I sorta feel like I’m missing out on when he has them for a holiday.
This Memorial Day the three younger children will be with their dad so it will be just me and buddy. There’s some parades, celebrations, and a bunch of other stuff happening in some surrounding towns. I’m sure that wherever you are that there are towns around you that are having some form of Memorial Day festivities.
We’re going to load up the bikes, pack a picnic lunch, and head out to the Highground for their Memorial Day celebration. Afterwards we’re going to go out for a bike ride and stop somewhere to eat our lunch.
Once we get home we’ll probably raid the game closet and play some board games together. I’m sure he’ll want to spend some time with his friends at some point too. When the other kids get home we’re going to roast smores in the backyard and read a couple more of our Memorial Day books for their bedtime stories. At the end of the day I think I’ll be ready for some much needed rest!
Have a great Memorial Day!
Memorial Day Activities
May 23, 2008
Memorial Day was originally named Decoration Day and is a day that is intended to honor those who have died in service of our country. No matter where you stand politically in regards to war, it is important to teach our children about the men and women who have died in service to our country. An excellent way to do this is to read some books to them. A few books that I recommend are:
Let’s Get Ready for Memorial Day by Lloyd G. Douglas
Memorial Day Surprise by Theresa Golding
The Wall by Eve Bunting, Ronald Himler
Take a trip to your local library to see if they have these or other books that would help to teach your children about Memorial Day. If you wish to purchase these books for your personal library then just follow the links to Amazon.com and purchase them there.
On HighlightKids.com I found an excellent project for children to make a foam Memorial Day Wreath. If you have or are purchasing star shapped cookie cutters for this project have them do double duty and make some Memorial Day sugar cookies to munch after your craft project.
These projects will all make great things to do if the weather is cold or rainy outside. If you want to spend some time outside this weekend how about packing a picnic lunch and heading to the park to play kickball or catch with the kids. If you are allowed to have a fire ring in your backyard top the day off with a backyard bonfire and smores.
Whatever you do this weekend; I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day celebration!
Mother’s Day
May 9, 2008
Being a single mom it can be tempting for you to try to skip mother’s day all together. After all, if you have young children you really can’t expect them to plan the perfect mother’s day for you complete with that special gift you’d really love to have. Skipping mother’s day is not the solution! This is a special day set aside for you and you should spend the day feeling special.
Take a bit of time on either Friday or Saturday to prepare a simple Mother’s day menu so that you don’t have to spend the day in the kitchen doing all the cooking. Perhaps you want to have things that your kids can help prepare like frozen waffles, fruit, and juice for a simply scrumptious breakfast. You can make it as simple or as elegant as you wish but make sure that you do as much of the prep work ahead of time so you can have some time to spend relaxing on Sunday with your children. Visit your library and pick up some books about Mother’s Day or take a few minutes to browse the internet to do some research. While spending some time alone with the children on Sunday read the books or discuss the information you found on the internet.
If your children are in school they will have learned about Mother’s Day from their teachers and if you “skip out” on the celebrating part your children can feel let down and that whatever gift they made in school is unimportant. It is up to you to instill in them the importance of valuing their mother and doing special things for her.
This weekend is all about mom, spend some time together just enjoying each other and showing how much you mean to each other.
