A quiet, simple, weekend. Nothing all that great, nothing all that bad.  Just a weekend of low stress and puttering around. 

 

Friday was an interesting day for me.  All week long, we'd been tip toeing around a labyrinth of extension cords all around work.  It really was aweful, but the Friday before, Johnson Controls (the gov's contractor for such tasks) came in to do some electrical work.  Unfortunately, in their efforts, they blew several outlets in the cubes, and even fried a couple of computers and my pair of speakers.  Since they don't get paid for overtime, instead of fixing the problem... they just left.  Well, finally, the paperwork was signed, and they had arrived to fix their mistake.  Unfortunately, that left most of us without our computers for an indefinite period of time.  Thus, I offered to work on a couple of documents from home, and my supervisors agreed. 

 

So around, 10:30 I was home, and sitting on the couch in the sunshine and editing a document.  Not a bad way to work really... but I really did find myself getting terribly distracted. 

 

So, I picked up the kids right around 4:00.  I made some good hamburgers for dinner, and we all just watched tv and played a few songs on Guitar Hero.

 

 

I made it an early night though, because I wanted to get up early on Saturday to go with my friend, Lisa, to a few yard sales.  I do so enjoy yard saling.  I don't know why.  I certainly don't need other people's junk, but it is just nice traveling with a friend, with coffee in hand, looking for a good deal.

 

I can't say we found a LOT of good deals, but I certainly had fun.  It was a misty morning, but there were still a good deal of garage sales to peruse.  I found some nice little storage containers for the boy's little toys, and a neat Matchbox cars table with peaks and valleys to play in.  I also got a neat little steam cleaner for $15.  My old beast of a steam cleaner had recently bit the dust (no pun intended) so this one worked out perfectly.  It's not a powerful as my old one, but it will do just fine for cleaning up quick spills and accidents.  I also got a Legos Star Wars computer game that I loaded on my laptop for the boys and I to enjoy.  It's got a few bugs, but for $1, so I can't really complain.

 

 

Lisa dropped me off around 10:00.  Russ had been good enough to keep one eye open on the boys while I was away.  I know he likes to sleep in on the weekends, and the boys always hit the ground running. 

 

The rest of the day we just puttered around.  The boys and I cleaned up the toy area of the basement, because I told them I couldn't bring in their new cars table until they did. 

 

Around 5:30 our friends Carla & Steve,  brought their daughter, Caroline, over to play.  They were attending a 40 year wedding anniversary party and needed us to babysit.  This was absolutely fine with us, and Liam and Jax were delighted to have a new playmate. 

 

We ordered a couple of pizzas and watched Toy Story 2.  The kids played, and then we got them settled down around 8:00 with some popcorn and pajamas.  They watched a little movie on TV, and Carla and Steve returned just when they said they would, around 8:30.  All the kids played so hard, that it wasn't difficult at all to get them into bed.

 

 

 

Then Russ and I watched a movie with Sean Penn, called Milk.  It was pretty good.  Very thought provoking to say the least. 

 

Sunday morning was quite nice.  The boys and I got up, got some breakfast, and then set to work making some long overdue bedwarmers - one for Russ and one for Jax.  Russ came down just as I was about to sew his up.  He was quite pleased, but I was a tad worried about it staying warm because the Redskins fabric he'd picked out was not as insulating as flannel.  Still, he loved it. 

 

The sun was shining, and though it seemed I would never get out of the laundry room, I did venture out.  I tried to clean and fix the chainsaw, but still couldn't do anything to get it started.  The boys had a nice time playing in the yard.  Later that afternoon, I took the big dogs to the dog park.  Jax and Liam came along too.  It was a good thing I made them wear their boots, but they still managed to get pretty muddy.  It was no surprise that the park was full of canines.  We had a nice time watching them all romp and play, especially the Great Dane and the Great Pyranees. 

 

Then, we swung by home, dropped off the dogs, picked up Russ, and headed to the grocery store because Russ wanted crabs.  I also wanted to try out my new coupon system.  Though we weren't doing major grocery shopping, we did manage to stock up on a few things and get a couple of good deals.  I need to work on making a better pantry system, but Russ and I are dedicated to finding a better grocery shopping method. 

 

After I got things ready for the week for the kids, and got them to bed, Russ and I just watched a few shows on TV.  It had been a long week with a short weekend.  I was pretty tired, so I headed to bed around 10:00.

 

Not a real spectacular weekend, but sometimes those are the BEST weekends!

Well the big weekend had finally arrived. We'd been planning Liam's 5th Birthday party for about 6 weeks.

Like most kids, shortly after Christmas, he began thinking about his birthday. Since Russ and I have agreed to only throw BIG birthday parties "on the fives" for the boys, we were all set to let Liam enjoy a big birthday bash on us. I told him we could have a party at the Go-Kart place, or maybe the Jumpyard, or even bowling, but no... He says, "No, I just want my friends to come over to my house and play."

Simple enough, right?

So, I let that idea sink in a little, and began noticing Liam's latest obsession - Star Wars. Ok, let's be honest here... Knights and Indiana Jones have been pretty cool, but the chance to relive my childhood? No WAY was I gonna pass this opportunity up! I asked Liam what sort of party he'd like to have. He'd already been to a couple of his friend's parties, so he had a concept of the whole "theme" idea. I gave him a few examples - including Star Wars - and he made his Sci-Fi choice, much to my delight.

I'm thinking, this will be great! We'll get a Darth Vader pinata, some plates and napkins, and be off and running. Then I thought, "Well, we ought to have some sort of game, like Pin the Light Sabre on Darth Vader or something like that." With the internet readily at my fingertips, the next thing I knew I was neck deep in great ideas that completely catered to the buried Preschool Teacher inside. I'd forgotten there was a new show on Cartoon Network now.  It's based on a digitally animated version of Star Wars, called "The Clone Wars." In good, geeky, George Lucas style, it's a pretty good show, and Liam just LOVES all the Light Sabre action.

The next thing I knew, I had pages of notes and about 10 games to choose from. Who knew?

As luck would have it, a few weeks ago, our friends, Paul & Sandy came to visit. Imagine my delight when Sandy tells me that her sister planned a Star Wars party for her son just a couple months ago. WooHOO!  So, I bounced my ideas off of Sandy, and she helped me whittle things down to a manageable two hour party - albeit with a guest list of 20 kids!

I can honestly say, I could NOT NOT NOT have accomplished such a successful party without the help of a VERY patient and supportive husband, and some REALLY great friends.

Once such example is our dear friend, Don. Don came to visit earlier in the week, with our friend Paul. Paul has his own glass business, McH Glass, in PA. He got a job installing some mirrors in a Horse arena just a bit North of us. He and Don came down to do the job, and crashed at our place. After working all day long on Tuesday, both men were patient with me, as I ran around the house, gathering Jedi supplies. I thrust a box of pool noodles and duct tape at Russ, instructing him to start making Light Sabres. Don, being the artist that he is, couldn't resist picking up one to "decorate."  The next thing I know, all of us are competing to see just WHO can make the best Jedi weapon.

Friday night, Russ took the boys out to dinner and shopping (for MY birthday!) so I could work at home starting to get the house ready for the party. This worked out SO well, and I really got a leg up on setting up the game stations and a few decorations.

Saturday morning, Liam crawled into bed with us. He quietly asked once again, "Is it my birthday?" This time, instead of saying the same "not yet" answer I'd been saying for the past MONTH, I gave him a gentle squeeze and said, "Yes, Honey, today IS your Birthday." Russ sleepily but sincerely mumbled, "Happy Birthday, Liam." Quietly, though a big smile, I hear my 5 year old son, say, "Thanks."

So, shortly thereafter, I got out of bed and got the boys some breakfast. Knowing that Liam was eager to start the day, Russ, too, came downstairs. Once we'd gotten a little bite to eat, we let Liam open the presents we'd gotten him. He got some great Star Wars things from Grandma & Grandpa, and Grandmom and even his little brother found him some action figures on ebay!  He LOVED the little water fountain I'd found him at CVS, and was soon blasting away Aliens with his Clone Trooper Blaster Gun that Daddy got him too. Even Liam's big brother, Noah, gave him a Happy Birthday phone call.

Later that morning, Russ and Liam went on a few last minute errands for me. By this time I was heading in to Light Speed mode while trying to pull everything  together.

Melanie arrived around 2:00 with a PERFECT R2D2 cake. She also brought her daughter, Jackie. Jackie will often pet sit our dogs for us, and I had asked her to camp out in our bedroom with the canine trio so I wouldn't have to worry about them... And so they'd stay quiet during the party.

I have countless other examples of how our friends helped make Liam's birthday party so special, but that is best shown through the slide show...(sorry the music is rather repetitive).

If you want to read my complete Party Plan, click here...

For the abridged version of Liam's Party, read on.

Ok, so, the party went a little like this...

At 3:00, kids and Parents started to arrive. A few parents came early so they could learn how to facilitate the games.

I greeted the kids, and gave them a name tag and a black or white bracelet.

I showed parents where to hang coats, as the kids took off shoes, and headed to the dining room to color. If the kids finished coloring, the moved on to the craft - Bottled galaxy.

Once most of the kids have arrived, we started the games. I gathered all the kids in the living room, and divided them into two groups (black & white) based on their bracelet.

The Black Jedi group stayed upstairs to do one of two games:

Find and Destroy the Asteroids (Asteroids are little toys wrapped in tin foil)

Save the Princess (Pictures of Princesses or Darth Vader are in balloons. Kids pop balloons, and see who they get).

The White Jedi group went to the basement with Jedi-Master, Russ. They played two games:

Bomb the Death Star (tossing a bean bag onto a red X on a Death Star on the floor)

Put the Light Sabre on Yoda (like Pin the Tail on the Donkey - only magnetic)

After about 10 minutes, the groups began their Jedi Light Sabre Training.

The Black Jedi group went to the Garage and the White Jedi group went to the Den.

The Black Jedi group completed the following:

With Light Sabres (pool noodles), they battled small Alien Orbs (bubbles).

Then with their Light Sabres take they took on the Mega Orbs (balloons).

Meanwhile, in the den, the White Jedi group completed the following:

Jedi Balancing with their Light Sabres (walking along a balance beam while performing simple tasks)

Then they fine tuned their skills with the challenge of putting an Alien Orb (orange golf ball) into a small black hole (black paper cup).

After about 15 minutes the groups switch rooms and the games start over.

When the Light Sabre Training is finished, the initial games had been reset for the opposite groups. This time the Black Jedi Group goes to the basement with Jedi-Master Russ for the games they didn't get to do yet, and the White Jedi Group goes upstairs for the games they didn't get to do yet.

After all the Jedi games have been completed, the Padawans battled the evil Darth Vader (pinata) in the Garage. Luckily, Liam Skywalker saved them all, in just 4 blows! I was a little disappointed that the rest of the kids didn't get a chance to whack ol' Vader, but he was pretty full of candy, and they dove in like a mass of pirrhanas!

After the pinata, I managed to fit all the kids around the dining room table for cake and Jedi Awards. After cake, the kids played a little in the basement, while the Adults got the answers to the Star Wars Trivia game that I had set out for them. Our friend, Sandie, amazingly got all 15 questions correct!!! She won the worthy prize of a Yoda patch!

Then the kids came back up to the living room, so they could watch Liam open his presents. Liam thanked them all, and had a great time opening all his gifts. It was nearly unbelievable that out of all those generous gifts, there were no duplicates! Liam opened his last gift right at 5:00, so believe it or not, we fit all that into 2 hours flat.

After the party, our friends, Bill & Janet, with their daughter, Rosalia, offered to buy us dinner. So, we happily accepted their offer, and placed an order. It took a while for the kids to wind down, but finally, after looking at the party pictures on the TV (via the Wii), they reluctantly crawled into bed. Bill, Janet, Russ and I, had a great time playing some Wii games, and Guitar Hero. We all called it a day just before midnight.

Obviously, I wasn't worth much on Sunday. I was pretty spent. Because MY birthday was on Monday, Russ and the boys wanted to celebrate it with me on Sunday. They slept in, but I chose to get up a little early, just so I could sit downstairs with a good cup of coffee (and some leftover birthday cake) and watch a few Animal Planet shows. The solitude in itself was a pretty nice present to myself.

Around 9:00, Russ and the boys came downstairs, but then encouraged me to get a shower so we could all go out to eat brunch at Bear Creek. MMMMMMMM.

When I came downstairs, I was greeted by warm smiles and a stack of presents! Russ got me a few REALLY nice outfits from Victoria Secret (the kind I CAN wear to work) and the boys got me the Wii Carnival Game that I wanted. I got some REALLY nice cards too, and want to thank all of my family for their generosity!

 

We came home from Bear Creek with stuffed bellies. I tried to put a few things away from the party. Russ did help me get the living room put back together, but I really didn't have the energy to do much else. No surprise that we ordered Pizza for dinner. After Pizza, Russ and the boys sang Happy Birthday to me, while Russ presented me with a cake that he made... Yes, that HE made! It turned out great!!!

It was a great weekend, but I think it'll take the rest of the week for us all to recover!

Early in the week Erin got her Toshiba laptop. It was a long time coming as I tend to hog the home computer. She got an awesome deal with the advice of a former co-worker who helps us get deals a lot of times. He is just one of those guys who stays on top of good deals for a lot of different items. She got hooked into our internet and is off and running.

 

Friday night we went shopping for birthday party supplies. Liam was very excited by all the plans. He is over the moon for this Star Wars party. Erin has been very busy planning this party and I finally kicked into gear to help out on some of the projects. Both of our jobs are super busy currently so it is a busy time in our life.

 

After we got home and got the kids to bed we watched a new favorite show of ours called, Jockeys, on Animal Planet. We then played a little Guitar Hero but our Wii-motes needed a charge.

 

On Saturday we woke to a balmy day. To think, we had a foot of snow on Monday and temperatures nearing 80 on Saturday. In the morning, Erin started organizing the games and party supplies. I worked on the “Pin the Light Saber on Yoda” game. After lunch we went in the back yard and got a lot of the leaves up near the house and cleaned up the porch. We took the remains of the gazebo down that came with the house. It was rusting away in spots and the snow pretty much ruined it. I guess you could call it spring cleaning. We are going to rent a truck in April and haul off leaves and debris to the dump. Erin and I are going to take 4 more trees down first before we do that.

 

The kids enjoyed the warm weather and playing in the back yard while we worked. After nap time we went to the grocery. Normally Saturday’s around 4 is a good time to go. Unfortunately, it was busy. Crab was on sale for Lent so we got it for the whole family. We went in for a few things but it ended up being normal grocery shopping – PLUS we bought a new gazebo!

 

The Crabs were cooked so we just put the stuff away that needed to be cold or frozen and commenced to a great crab feast. We also watched another episode of the “Clone Wars” that Liam likes and two episodes of Little People Big World as we missed it last Monday.

 

After the boys went to bed we watched a biography on Davy Jones from the Monkees and a show about Danica Patrick. We are all pretty excited that we are going to an Indy Car race in Richmond this year. We were both pretty tired and retired after that.

 

On Sunday we got the crib and chest back to the Hoffman’s. It was on loan from them. We raised two boys with that furniture and were most appreciative. It was a quick stop by their house, but we at least caught up for a few minutes with the whole family.  Jen and Sue were going to a cookie sale. Amy and Dave were working on her Senior Class project which will be a Jewelry Chest. All the girls are very talented.  It was good seeing them all again. Maybe we can have a games night sometime down the road soon.

 

We then stopped at Jo-Ann fabrics as Erin had some fantastic coupons. She got some glitter and stars for one of the games and we also got a back drop for the Star Wars pictures the kids will get. We have these life size standees of characters from the Star Wars movies. The kids will get their pictures with them and I will make them into Star Wars photo cards and send them to their parents. After the party Erin and I are in hopes to sell the Star Wars Standees right back on EBay.

 

With the kids down for a nap, Erin tackled the garage and I tackled the wood pile. I split half of the remaining for six wheel barrows full and stacked the rest for next year. Erin moved everything in the garage to one side and reorganized it greatly saving space and putting order back into it for a bit until we get to our shelving project later this year.  We needed to do this as two games and the piñata breaking will be in the garage at the party. Erin then ran to Lowes while I got cleaned up and watched a bit of the NASCAR race and played with the boys. She got some wood to balance the balance beams for one of the Jedi games. We just ordered pizza as Erin and Liam were making Light Saber pretzels.

 

After the boys were off to bed I caught up on my NFL shows on the DVR and cleared it off quite a bit. Erin worked on her new lap top and played Tomb Raider for a while.

 

Next weekend will be the double birthdays of Liam and Erin. Liam will have his Star Wars party on Saturday. On Friday night I will take the boys shopping for their mother.

On Sunday we are going to take her to the Bear Creek Brunch and then open presents when we get home. Sunday afternoon the boys and I will bake Mommy a cake.

The kids and Erin were pretty excited about my 45^th birthday. They always make it special and this year Jaxson really was into it too. Friday was a pretty busy day at work except for a nice break at Damon’s for lunch for a nice co-worker moving on. Someone tipped the boss off about my birthday that day so I got the obligatory birthday song. I laughed and thank my great co-workers for their rendition.

 

I was busy all afternoon. Erin was gracious enough to invite me to the Osaka Japanese Steakhouse. It had been a while since we had gone there and the boys never had. I showed Liam on You Tube earlier in the week what they do including the infamous onion volcano. Liam was very excited for the show and I was most gracious for a fun night out. A Co-Worker of mine was there for a function so we exchanged waves in the busy restaurant. Our chef was humorous as they always are and was having a great knight with the spatula and egg play. I became a subject once the birthday was let out of the bag including his rendition of Happy Birthday.  The boys got a little frightened of the opening oil flame. I think the heat sacred them but no screams or tears just frightened faces. The meal was delightful and Liam and I were even able to catch a shrimp from the chef. It was very thoughtful of Erin to treat me to a wonderful and fun dinner.

 

We arrived home and before bedtime we had the traditional cheesecake and Erin and the boys had presents for me. Jaxson was so sweet. He was so excited for me to open his present. The weekend before Erin and Liam went to see Mom and Dad Day and Jax stayed with me. We visited my desk numerous times for batteries or toy repairs. He must have remembered because he was sweet enough to pick me out some batteries. He got a big hug and a hearty giggle from me. Liam got me a great project for him and I to decorate a birdhouse. That will be fun to do in the spring. Erin wanted to tune my piano but the gentleman could not tune it so she got me a digital picture frame which I had been eying for over a year. We got Mom one for Christmas and they are pretty cool. I am looking at the boys right now on mine on my desk. It was a wonderful birthday from a special family I am blessed by God to have.

 

We had another special treat later that evening after the boys went to sleep. My buddy Paul and his new wife Sandy were visiting for the weekend. Paul and Sandy recently were married in September and I was Best Man in there wedding. He has a glass job for an equestrian barn only an hour away south of Annapolis. He needed to take measurement of areas in the barn he will place mirrors. Erin and I entertained ourselves with Guitar Hero until they arrived. Unfortunately for Paul the whole ride down was covered in cops and he got a ticket in the way down. They arrived happy to see us and us as well. The last time they were down Paul got sick so we shortened the visit.  They also came bearing gifts. They had a cooler and inside was a 6 pack of “Cole 45” Malt Liquor. I kid you not they redid the labels. That got a laugh from us. They got me a T-Shirt from Disney, where they honey mooned, and a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio. They also got Erin a Pooh Bag and the boys really cool Mickey Mouse Ears. We caught up for a bit but it was late so we retired.

 

On Saturday the girls and the kids went party hunting and planning for Liam’s 5^th birthday party coming up. Paul and I rode up to the barn so he could get measurements. It is gonna be an impressive place when done. The outside was really cool. The owner stopped out by the barn and conversed about dates and plans and they matched up with Paul. Paul and our Buddy Don are coming back mid-week in a couple of weeks and they will stay overnight at our place. We are looking forward to seeing Don if only for a night. He has never been to our new house. The girls called and checked and we all planned to meet back around 2ish. Paul and I took a ride to Bear Creek to get pulled pork. He digs that place like a lot of our friends and family who visit. He didn’t have to twist my arm.

 

Erin and Sandy did a great job getting supplies for the party. Sandy’s sister had thrown a Star Wars themed party before so she had a few suggestions that Erin is definitely using. Back at the house we got a chance to enjoy Sandy and Paul’s wedding photos and video. Sandy and Paul did not have the best experience with the photography. We felt their pain having a horrible experience ourselves this past summer. Regardless we enjoyed both and the special conversations we got to have with them about the wedding and the honeymoon.  We debated where to go out and eat. The last time they were down they said they were taking a walk by the pier. Little did we know they paid the tab on the way out. I was out for some friendly retribution and wanted to take them out. We went up to Prince Frederick to Red, Hot, and Blue. We had eaten their a few weeks ago and enjoyed. Sandy had been to one in Kansas and liked it. We planned to bowl up in Calvert while we were there. While we had a great dinner the weather turned iffy but we decided to stop at the alley since it was around the corner. I ran in and there was a wait and we would have been fourth on the list. We decided to just head back home and play the Wii, which was an introduction for them.

 

When we arrived home we broke open some wine and let the kids play a Wii game before bed. We then played bowling, which we all enjoyed. Sandy and Paul caught on by the fifth and their scores quickly went up. I got 213 and was glad because I hadn’t bowled in months. We then tried tennis. Sandy is a tennis player so she was a natural and we got a lot of laughs playing that. We tried golf and Guitar Hero too. It was a nice evening as we got to know Sandy more. She had some great stories about her family, who are very close.  I felt like it was the evening we were heading towards having the first time we met her.

 

On Sunday the weather forecast for the whole Mid-Atlantic was ominous and the radar was starting to show signs to reinforce the forecast. Paul made the call that they should get on the road before noon and we could not blame him. We bid adieu on a wonderful weekend full of laughs and great conversations. It pleases me to no end to see Paul with such a wonderful wife. They truly are a perfect pair.

 

In the afternoon our friend Janet stopped by with Liam and Jaxson’s friend Rosalia. Janet had to attend a viewing. Ro and the boys played Cowboys and Cowgirl and had popcorn and watched Clone Wars. Ro is a great kid and the boys love when she comes over. While she was their the rain turned to sleet and then to big flakes. Thus began the March snowstorm of 2009. As of Monday at 1:20 I see another line in Richmond.

 

In the evening  we watched Jockey’s we DVR’ed with the boys. After that Erin and I watched TLC all evening with a nice toasty fire going as it poured snow. About 11 we heard the gazebo collapse. The top was getting rotted and was ripped and we knew last summer was the last season for it. We didn’t lose power but the snow just kept on and on and on. We always get VERY cold rain and D. C. gets big snows. The reverse was true this time.

 

On Monday we got up at 6:30 and looked out and then looked at the forecast. With snow still coming down through mid-morning we both called in. We will work Friday instead.  I then shoveled the driveway. The wheel barrow and Erin too were a big help. I took a ride around the neighborhood. Looks like every body was digging and nobody working. We were lucky enough not to lose power. A few trees dropped in the neighborhood form the high winds last night. The 12-13 inches is the biggest storm we have had since I moved here in 1996. We then had fun playing with the boys and pushing them down teh hills in laundry baskets. I started doing that with Noah when he was a little boy. Our house has great hills for little boys!

 

This week the kids are in week 3 of 4 in swimming lessons and next weekend Erin and I will be in full preparation of sewing projects and game building projects for Liam’s Star Wars Themed 5^th birthday party.