Ten Year-Old Celebration

Good Monday morning!

RANDOM THOUGHT #1 - Christmas Card Count - 66! I told you so! They just keep trickling in!

RANDOM THOUGHT #2 - Readership Count - I had 29 hits three times this past week. Remember, my goal is 50!

RANDOM THOUGHT #3 - The pics in the Gallery are of Monica and Roxie at Painted By U across the highway from the Galleria. They had a good time painting picture frames. I like it when Roxie paints something useful. She's painted light switch plates, frames, plates, dog bowls and ornaments... all of which are practical as well as beautiful.

RANDOM THOUGHT #4 - The Showcase Pic is just Roxie. I can't beat that... unless I add the boys and Mikie... and they didn't want their picture taken today. Too much like a Christmas card!

RANDOM THOUGHT #5 - If you get a chance, go to http://thompsonfamily.typepad.com/. (I found this website while reading one of my favorite blogs listed on the side.) Scroll down some of the pictures in the last post she's written, and you'll notice a baby in a baby bed with a strand of hearts behind him/her. There is also a big lipstick kiss on the baby's cheek. Very good idea. Very good picture. (I wish I had a one year-old!)

SPECIFIC TIP #1 - We went to my great-nephew's first birthday party this past Saturday. His mom, Brandi, did such an excellent job. You may have already thought of these little tips, but in case you haven't, I thought I'd share some of her ideas.

1. She didn't have a "theme" like dinosaurs or Bob the Builder or zoo animals. Since we don't know what Matthew likes yet, she used colors (bright blue and lime green). The cake was decorated with these colors, the balloons, the tablecloths... everything bright blue and lime green. I thought this was especially clever because if you give a one year-old a Bob the Builder party for his first birthday, you're really not going to want to give him a Bob the Builder party when he's three and that's what he's asking for.

2. She played a very cute game at the beginning of the party. Since the majority of the 21 people at the party were adults (and the others were my kids -- ages 17, 15, and 12), she played "How Well Do You Know Matthew?" She asked five questions. (What time was Matthew born? How much did Matthew weigh? How long was Matthew? What was Matthew's first word? How many haircuts has Matthew had?) The person with the most correct answers got a prize. In the event of a tie, she had a tie breaker question ready. (How many teeth does Matthew have?) I won the game, but I'm pretty sure I would have liked the game even if I had not won. She gave away a pretty scented candle set.

3. As soon as an individual family walked in, she held Matthew and the family stood around them for a "formal" picture. Very good idea... doing this at the beginning of the party while he's still "fresh." She held him so he would not get overwhelmed by being passed around. Smart Mom.

4. She gave him the little cake he was supposed to dig into, but when he balked and didn't get excited about it, she shrugged and gave him his juice cup and Ritz crackers. Flexibility is key!

Anyway, I thought some of the things she did were very smart, and Matthew had a very nice, calm first birthday party.

RANDOM THOUGHT #6 - Roxie played basketball this weekend, too. This was the first official game and we won 38 - 4. I don't know if that is going to be an indication of the entire season, but it was a great way to start out!

RANDOM THOUGHT #7 -Since we couldn't have New Year's with our regular New Year's friends this year (they were on a cruise), we celebrated with some Gardendale friends. However, we rescheduled for Sunday night so we wouldn't miss a year with Kerry, Nancy and the girls. It was very relaxed and easy and pleasant. Their girls are growing up very fast (6 and 7), and they're a lot of fun. It helps me and Mike remember "those days," and while we miss them, it helps us appreciate "these days," too.

RANDOM THOUGHT #8 - I just wanted to share a quote from Mark Twain with you before we get to the business at hand. "I can live off a good compliment for two months." Why don't we all try to give one or two of those today?

RANDOM THOUGHT #9 - I also wanted to mention that the first four days of January, 2009 have had some very precious, sweet moments in them. Time with family and friends. Special events and celebrations. In the sermon yesterday morning entitled "Live Each Day Like You're Dying," the minister told us to tell the people in our lives we love them every single day. On the way out of the sanctuary, Roxie's hand grabbed mine, and she pulled my face down to hers and said, "Do you know that I love you?"

"I sure do. I love you, too."

Then holding my face in her hands, she said again, very seriously, "I mean I really, really love you." And then she was off to catch up with her Dad.

Yes, the first four days of 2009 have had some precious moments.

I told you Friday I had the best ten year-old party ever. I hope I didn't misrepresent myself. I should have said the best ten year-old party ever had by my three kids... but I didn't. Anyway, here it is.

Ten Year-Old Celebration

First of all, this is a family-only party.

When someone turns ten in our family, the first thing I do is find a refrigerator or other large appliance box. I call Sears or Alabama Power to get these boxes in our area. I always start calling a month before the actual party, because sometimes they can be hard to come by. I then paint the entire box the child's favorite color. (Austin's was orange, Joshua's was black, and Roxie's was pink.) Inside this giant gift box are ten gifts.

To be honest, Mike and I do not buy the ten gifts. We put three of the gifts in the box. The sibling gift counts as one. The grandparent gifts can usually be wrapped into three or four different boxes. There are also at least two cards which contain money from aunts and uncles and that makes up the ten gifts.

When it is time to open the gifts, the child literally climbs into his/her gift box and crawls back out with the first present. He/She opens them one at a time. The three gifts Mike and I give are a wrapped shirt box with ten crisp one dollar bills taped neatly in the box; something the child specifically asked for on their list; and a description of the TEN YEAR-OLD TRIP. That's the grand prize, and the one we look forward to the most.

The ten year-old trip should be wrapped in an envelope inviting the child on a customized mini-vacation just right for him/her. No siblings allowed. It will be a trip with just the child and the parents sometime during the coming year (as soon as possible after the birthday). Include as many details of the trip as you possibly can (date, destination, etc.) and fill in any blanks soon thereafter.

If you have more than one child in your family, be sure each trip is unique and fits each individual child's personality. For example, we took all three of the kids to Six Flags Over Georgia for the day, but the second day of the trip was different. Austin's second day was the Medieval Festival held in Atlanta in May. (An absolutely fantastic event to take your child or your whole family to... so much fun!). Josh's second day was a day at Stone Mountain. We went to The Barn, saw the 4-D movie, played four games of putt-putt (his favorite), etc. Roxie's second day was a visit to the Atlanta Aquarium. It is a one night stay, but a two-day trip. The trips can be as simple or elaborate as you want. The main purpose of this one-on-one time is to talk, talk, talk, talk, talk! All three of our kids loved their Ten Year-Old Trips.

NOTE: Again, this is something you can save your money for. You know when each child is turning ten. If you have an eight, five and two year old, you can start immediately putting away anywhere from $5 to $20 a pay period in an envelope to cover expenses for the trip coming up.

Tomorrow I have an easy, hearty crock pot dish... perfect for cold, winter nights. I hope you have a great Monday, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

NOTE FOR DAWN FROM THE INN -- If all of your guests for the party are two years-old, be very flexible. The Thomas the Train ride will definitely work. If the sheet is too hard for them, have a line drawn, and they can try to throw the puffs of smoke (pillows) into the three baskets. (Usually with a two year-old party there are some older cousins that will make these games work just fine... as well as some of the helper moms.) Also, have the most recent or the oldest Thomas the Train DVD ready with pillows on the floor if things move faster than expected. (This goes for any TV themed party. Have the DVD in the recorder... just in case.) If you get a chance, let me know how everything goes.