Little Mermaid Party

Good Monday morning!

The Showcase Pic today is of me and Mikie after his birthday celebration last night. Party #1 was my side of the family. Taco salad and special cupcakes made by Roxie... you can't beat that combo! Party #2 is coming up this Saturday and it will be a Father's Day/Birthday Combo at the lake. Hopefully, it will consist of cooking out and yet another cake prepared by Roxie. This is her busy season!

The Gallery Pics are just little things we do for birthdays. The Celebration Plate has been in the family for about 13 years now. The lawnmower cupcakes didn't turn out exactly as planned. (Does anyone know where to get really STIFF licorice?) And Mikie in all his 48 year-old glory opening his "fish finder." He had no idea. I love it when we can really surprise him.

So far, so good in the "mid-life crises" department. He hasn't pulled up in the driveway on a Harley or in a Corvette. His hair is still the same (color and style with a little gray on the sides... LOVE IT), and except for the plaid shorts I bought him the end of last summer, his wardrobe is pretty much the same. He's still comfortable in his own skin... which is a good thing since new skin is SOOO expensive nowadays.

The weekend was very good. Mikie and I went to the Original Pancake House on Southside as is our monthly custom and enjoyed a breakfast date. Although we had torrential downpours all night Friday night through late Saturday morning, the sky cleared and Mikie was able to do the one thing he wanted to do ON his birthday... go fishing. Austin was working, so Josh and Roxie climbed in the truck and off they went. Mikie and the kids have rarely caught fish the last three years we've had the boat. However, for some reason the fish were being caught right and left on Saturday. I called at one point, and Mike was taking not one, but two, fish off Roxie's hook (on the same lure caught at the same exact time), and Josh was bringing one over the side of the boat at we were speaking. They had a ball.

You may be wondering what the Topic of the Week is going to be, and after much consideration, I have decided this week's subject will be called "Vacation Mishaps." I thought about "Vacation Disasters," but I've been told I exaggerate at times, so I decided to tone it down. But make no mistake! Vacation Mishaps is Code for VACATION DISASTERS. Just wanted to be clear.

Vacation Mishap #1 - Tornado at SeaWorld

I know what you're thinking. Do I even HAVE a story that doesn't involve a tornado? Aren't you glad I don't live in California. Every other post would be about earthquakes. And although I've never shared it (YET), I live close enough to the Gulf of Mexico, I have a hurricane story, too. But that's for another day.

Mike had a meeting in Orlando. Why is this story about SeaWorld and not about Disney? Well, Mike was in meetings until 1:00 each day. Roxie was only three years-old. And since we had been saving for a Disney trip for five years prior to this little trip, we decided not to rush into anything, and just enjoy the little things Orlando had to offer.

SeaWorld was one of those "little things." We arrived at 1:30 in the middle of the week. It wasn't very crowded. It was beautiful. We loved the shows. We loved Shamu. We were having a ball. And then something eerily familiar happened. Something we assumed only happened in Alabama on a bi-weekly basis. The skies blackened. Lightning flashed. Thunder clapped. Rain poured and poured and poured. We assumed it was just a short-lived Florida thunderstorm, and we took shelter in the Wild Arctic line. Mike and Austin wanted to veer off to a different ride next to the Wild Arctic (which was a walk-through exhibit). That was fine with me. I had three year-old Roxie and six year-old Josh, and we were happy to stay in our line while Mike and Austin ventured away.

Seconds after they left us, people began murmuring in the line around us. "A tornado touched down in Kissimmee," they were saying.

"Where exactly is Kissimmee in comparison to us?" I asked someone nearby.

"Very, very close. It's headed this way," came the unnerving reply.

Great! Another day... another tornado. What to do, what to do? The rain had gotten worse, as had the lightning and thunder. Palm trees in huge stone pots were rolling around us like small limbs. (And I'm talking big, full-size palm trees, people. I know because I grabbed at one as it rolled past us to make sure it wasn't plastic.)

Okay. I couldn't wonder about Mikie and Austin. I had to take care of the three Faulkners in my care. Thankfully, Wild Arctic is an underground exhibit. The workers announced a tornado was on the way, and we were immediately let in the exhibit, and we were ushered quickly to the bottom. For the most part, it was pretty interesting. We were in a large room, and we were watching polar bears swimming through thick-pane glass windows. It was crowded, but I felt fairly safe.

All of a sudden the lights started blinking off and on, off and on, and a siren started going off. "Please, please, please, let that be part of the exhibit," I prayed.

This particular prayer was answered with a "NO!"

"Okay, folks. That's the fire alarm. We have to exit the exhibit quickly and quietly. Please follow the guide in front of you."

"Is the tornado gone?" someone else asked.

"No, ma'am," the guide replied. "We're still having to deal with that situation, also."

As we exited the exhibit, it was hard to believe the weather had gotten worse, but it had. Even though we were standing under an enclosed area, rain was blowing sideways on us and we were soaked within seconds. I had no idea where Austin and Mike might be. I had no idea where to go for safety. I had no idea what to do whatsoever and stood there holding Roxie in one arm and hanging on to Josh's collar with my other hand. They were very calm... very quiet. They were watching me, and there was no fear in their eyes. They had complete confidence I was going to be able to take care of them. "Poor, dumb little children," I thought. "Having to trust a tornado magnet like their mother to get them to safety. Poor, poor, sad little children."

Plastered against the wall of the exhibit, I could barely make out the shape of a person standing in the middle of the storm. Palm trees in containers were still rolling around, but this person was just standing there moving his head... as if looking for someone. I squinted my eyes trying to make out the vaguely familiar shape. Before I was sure who the person was, Roxie and Josh both yelled, "Daddy!"

Yes, it was my Mikie. The only thing missing from this super hero was a HUGE "M" on his chest! We pushed against the wind and made our way to him. He grabbed Josh and my arm and started dragging us across the open area. "Where is Austin?" I yelled over the storm.

"He's in the gift shop over there buying a souvenir," he replied, pointing. Somehow, he had found us without ever losing sight of Austin. Good daddy... very good daddy.

We stayed in the all glass gift shop (notice any similarities in my other tornado stories... all glass... get it?), until the storm blew over. You would have thought we would have had enough. We were all drenched. I was exhausted from worry. But then we looked around and the park was pretty much empty. I'm talking maybe ten people in the entire SeaWorld Park. We would have been crazy to leave.

We had a wonderful time. We stayed until it closed. We saw every exhibit, every show, rode every ride and never stayed in line over two seconds. Except for some chafing that occurred from wearing very wet blue jean shorts (Austin and Josh and Mikie), we were really pretty happy.

Later, I called that scrapbook page "I've Seen Fire and I've Seen Rain." Get it? Remember that old song? Mike wanted to call it "Stayin' Alive," but ultimately it's my scrapbook, so I have the final say... and I think my title was HILARIOUS!

Tomorrow is another day, and I have another mishap/disaster to share. Won't that be fun?

New National Holiday #2 - I put a lot of thought into my National Holiday for today. I wanted it to be relevant and meaningful and something people looked forward to each year. It came to me yesterday while I was preparing for Mikie's party. I was on my feet all afternoon getting everything ready, so by the time everyone arrived, my 47 year-old feet were not feeling great.

Thus, I decided every June 15 from now on should be "Take Turns Massaging Your Mother's Feet Day." (The "Take Turns" part only applies if you have more than one child. If you've just got one kid, they have their work cut out for them because I'm talking at least a 30-minute rub PER foot.) I can see this Holiday being a biggie. I know my three guys are super excited about celebrating today. At least that's what I assume they were mumbling as they made their way out of the room when I explained the new Holiday to them. You know me. I'm just trying to bring families closer together. If you're a mom, enjoy your new Holiday. Oh, and just so you'll know... Tomorrow's Holiday is very enjoyable, also.

Little Mermaid Party

You knew it was only a matter of time before we had a Disney Princess Party, didn't you? This one is easy, fun and inexpensive. My three main criteria for a great birthday party.

We were fortunate to have a home with a hot tub in the back yard when we had this party. If you have access to a pool, hot tub (or even a jacuzzi tub inside), of course, let the little mermaids swim to their heart's content. We had six little mermaids (4 year-olds) in the hot tub, and they played and splashed and swam around for about 45 minutes to an hour. After we dried them off, we played the following games and made the following crafts:

Make an Ocean - This was their favorite. I had an empty two-liter soft drink bottle for each child. With the help of their mom, they poured 1 cup of oil into the bottle (taking turns using a funnel). We then filled the bottles up a little over half full with water. Next we added drops of blue food coloring (again with the help and supervision of the moms). The best part was adding small plastic fish I had found at a dollar store. (Make sure the little fish fit through the opening of the bottle.) Just to make it a little prettier, we put pieces of silver confetti stars (starfish) in the bottle, also. Make sure the lid is on super tight and then turn the bottle sideways. The oil, water, fish and bright blue food coloring make this something they will enjoy for a long time. (Most of the kids still had their "ocean" several weeks after the party was over.)

What's Missing Game - You will need to buy the Little Mermaid plastic figurine set. (You should have at least five or more figurines from the movie. If you can't find that many, use some of the plastic fish you used to make the ocean.) Have the children sit in front of you. Let them look at all the figurines and then cover them with a towel. Without letting them see, slip one of the figures out from under the towel. Now remove the towel and see who can guess which one is missing. You can do this several times. They love playing this game.

Where is Flounder Game - Run off several pictures of Flounder (eight or nine), and several pictures of other kinds of fish (ten or more). Hide these pictures all over the back or front yard (or in the house if you're having the party inside). Give the kids a time limit (four or five minutes) and let them run around trying to find as many of the pictures as they can possibly find. For every picture of Flounder they have found at the end of the five minutes, they get two points. For every picture of another fish they have found, they get one point. The child with the most points wins a piece of candy to be put in their goodie bag to take home.

Musical Gifts - When it is time for the gifts to be opened, let the birthday girl sit in a chair. Have all the other guests sit in a circle on the floor in front of the birthday girl. Play a song from The Little Mermaid. As the song is playing, place one gift in the lap of a guest. She is to pass it to the next person, who then passes it to the next person. The gift continues to be passed around the circle until you stop the music. Whoever is holding the gift stands up and takes it to the birthday girl. She gets to stand next to the birthday girl while she opens her gift. She gets a piece of candy to put in her goodie bag and then sits in a chair next to the birthday girl. The game continues until there are only two girls (and two gifts left). These two girls pass the remaining two gifts back and forth until the music stops. Whatever gift they are holding is the one they give to the birthday girl. After she opens the remaining two gifts, those two girls get their pieces of candy for their goodie bags, and it is time for the cake. (A helper mom will need to take the gifts inside to a bedroom and close the door while the girls are being distracted by the cutting of the cake.)

Little Mermaid cakes are easy to find in most grocery stores. However, you can make individual cupcakes decorated with blue icing and put an individual Little Mermaid figurine on each cupcake. The figurine would also go in each girl's goodie bag.

After the girls have eaten, the party will be finished. You will have spent an hour in the water, and at least 15 minutes with each of the crafts and games, as well as another ten minutes or so eating the cake.

Each girl will take home their "ocean," goodie bag with candy and figurine. Other things that can go in the goodie bag are theme pencils and/or Little Mermaid underwear (you can buy these in a pack of four or six). It's also very easy and economical to run color sheets off the computer of The Little Mermaid for the girls to color when they get home. (Or you can buy one coloring book and tear out the pages to make four to six smaller coloring books.) Most four year-olds have a huge supply of coloring books at home, so a few sheets for them to color when they get home will be enough for them to remember the good time they had at the party.

Remember, this party works best for the four or five year-old crowd... and when I say crowd I mean four to six little girls. Have fun!

Have a terrific Monday. Tomorrow's recipe is chilled blueberry pomegranate soup... just kidding. I wish I knew how to make it like Miss Rosemarie's, but I don't. And it might be something that wouldn't fit in the "If-Belinda-can-make-this-anyone-can-make-this" category. In fact, I know it wouldn't. That being the case, come back tomorrow for the "If-Belinda-can-make-it-my-dog-could-probably-make-it" recipe. It's sure to please!

Take care, and I'll talk to you soon.