3rd Birthday Cont...

In addition to the party at home, we celebrated Grace's birthday with her classmates at school. Pretty mainstream, par-for-the-course, right? Think again. Unlike most American schools where frosted cakes and juice boxes are a staple in any celebration, Grace's Montessori school only allows unadulterated fresh fruit and vegetables for snack. No cupcakes, no cookies, no icing, no candy and no juice. Just water and fresh, preferably organic, fruit and vegetables. Oh, and don't bother cutting it up for the children. That is all part of their "work."

So, I was left with a dilemma. How can I make Grace's day special and live within the confines of the food rules??

Here is what I came up with:


Fruit skewers stuck in a cantaloupe.

Here's Brandon helping with my creation and wondering what the heck happened to store-bought cupcakes with pink icing and sprinkles:


Just kidding! Our born-again, nutrition loving, former cheesefrier, loves Grace's school and thinks the snack policy is really very good for the kids. Whether he loves my interpretation, or the fact that I enlisted his help at an unfortunate hour in the evening, is another story:


But the kids loved it! And so did Grace.

Oh, and we had our cupcakes at home. Chocolate, of course.

Long Overdue...

With the passing of my brother's out of this world wedding, Valentine's Day, and other random life occurrences (not to mention the gentle prodding from our favorite NJ mama), it appears that a complete post on Grace's birthday is LONG overdue. So let's get started.

First, there was a party.

This year we went with a carnival theme. In other words, we transformed our entire house - from mailbox to tree - into a Carnival.

We had corn dogs & caramel apples:

Face painting:

Carnival games handmade by Brandon:

A bounce house (because nothing says "birthday party" like a giant mickey-clad bounce house):

Fruit salad (gotta have something healthy!):

A three-tiered BLUE - inside and out - birthday cake, made from scratch by your's truly (as if the picture didn't make that last part obvious!):

Along with a store bought, DELICIOUS, chocolate cake from local bakery extraordinaire Mason's Bakery, for my Dad who celebrated his 50th birthday on January 25th:

Now, of course, no carnival would be complete without clowns. There was much debate in our house about whether a clown was a good idea. One of us (Brandon!) has some not-so-fun and friendly memories of clowns from his dark childhood. Nevertheless, we took a shot and hired our own child-friendly type from North Port:

He brought hula hoops:

He brought plate-spinners:

He even juggled fire! A bit child-unfriendly, but we've got insurance!

In an effort to out-do the clown, Brandon gave us his juggling act, but fire beats bean bags, you know...



When the clown brought out Cuddles the Bunny Brandon had to concede the loss. The show was fantastic, the kids loved the show and Juggles the Clown from North Port gets our highest recommendation!

After the show it was time for cake:

Then another romp in the bounce house:

Presents had to wait until after nap, but then, let the unwrapping begin!

It was a beautiful day and a great time had by all. Especially the birthday girl. 25 days later and we are still talking about it!

Happy Birthday Grace & Grandpa!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!