Birthday Time

It's time for my mom's birthday again and this year, since she lives right next door, the girls and I are hosting her birthday dinner. Today Natalie, Leah, and Rebecca made her gift (Noah's Naturals Lavender Sea Salt Soak from me and a set of five rolled beeswax candles from the girls) and the children also made her birthday cards. We are about to make the chocolate cupcakes with powdered sugar on top now. Extra cupcakes are going in lunchboxes as school day treats so I'm not dealing with frosting! I've also got yogurt working in the crockpot for dinner tomorrow.



Tomorrow the children are going to help me make the Black Pepper-Goat Cheese Log with rosemary crackers for appetizer. Then they can help me tidy up the house. I'm going with frozen food for the most part since it's a dinner on a school night and I am taking the easy way out: chicken and rice casserole for the entree and three vegetables for sides (spinach, corn, butternut squash). Salad will be the homemade yogurt with tropical fruit (from a can). The appetizer we are making but the crackers we purchased. And we are making the cake ourselves but it's from a mix. I guess this is what you call Semi-Homemade. We did the candles and birthday cards from scratch!

I think that as long as the children get to participate, and feel like they are helping to create the celebration and make it special, whatever corners you cut are irrelevant. As a single working mom, that's what I tell myself anyway...

We are close to finishing Five Children and Itby E. Nesbit. I've chosen Ribsyby Beverly Cleary to be next. After that, who knows? Maybe I'll go with Pippi Longstockingby Astrid Lindgren. I bought 2010's Newbery winner and all the honor books and am slowly working my way through reading them. So far I haven't found one that would be suitable for a read aloud. I will post reviews of the five when I'm done.