WELCOME SPRING! Tea Party….

Well, the first day of spring has come and gone… as has our first (hopefully annual) Welcome Spring! Tea Party! And I do believe it was a success. Although it was chilly at first, it warmed up and it was a beautiful, dry, sunny day. A perfect start to spring.

I had the idea to throw this party while going through some old pics from a couple of years ago. I realized that I wanted to throw more tea parties with the girls… not just on birthdays once a year either. When I saw that the first day of Spring was on the 20th, I figured that was definitely worth celebrating!

When we moved into this neighborhood, we quickly found out that just about everyone we met had a little girl (or two or three…). Why not do a neighborhood girls’ party?! And so the planning began.

Let me be clear…. creativity does not come easily or naturally for me. I am not being modest. I am being 100% truthful. If I was given a set of materials and told to create something cool, without being able to research on the internet or in books, I would be left starring blankly at the said materials. For a very, very long time. Like forever, if no one intervened. However, what I CAN do, is see something and either replicate it or springboard off of it. Clearly I am not a creative purist.

I am also surrounded by creative friends and got some serious inspiration from the following two especially:

Alyssa – check out her Easter Party from last year here… and then the stuff she is coming up with for this year’s party here. holy.freaking.cow.amazing.

Susan – i love love love her sense of style. i am still ANXIOUSLY awaiting her etsy shop to be up and running (hint, hint). check out all of her stuff on her blog, but especially the garden party she threw for her daughter here.

And of course there are all the decorating and creating blogs I have discovered over the last couple of years that are so inspiring… too many to list, so I will just link the ones I used for this party.

The decorations:

I saw these tissue paper pom-poms originally in this post. I was actually checking out the wood pallet daybed (that i am dying to make…), but loved the pom-pom/lantern collage hanging from the ceiling. I got the directions for the pom-poms from Martha Stewart here. I bought the tissue paper at the dollar store! Now that the party is over, I am going to use the pom-poms in the girls’ room (as per the original inspiration picture!!).

When I stumbled on a blog with pictures of these yarn ball flowers, I fell in love and knew I had to make some for the party. I love them so much! I even skipped the hot glue part and just tucked the end piece inside.

And then there were these adorable scrapbook paper thingys… I had scrapbook paper laying around (cluttering my space, really), so wha-la. More cute decorations….

I love all the bunting/garland rage these days. I had a whole stack of felt pieces in my craft supplies, so I picked out colors that matched the fabric I used as the original color/style inspiration for the party. You can find bunting and garland tutorials all over the web. Just google it! (or check out the ones on Alyssa and Susan’s blogs!)

I also purchased several teacup sets to be used as planters for succulents. I got the idea here.

I picked up glass plates and all the teacup sets.  I purchased white tea sets for all the girls to paint their own. I purchased porcelain paints at Michaels to use for the project. I also picked up the ultra cute teapot at the thrift store along with all the table coverings… sheets, curtains, lace… I used my grandmother’s cloth napkins that I inherited. Why let them sit “protected” in a box?! I can bleach them if need be (and yes, I will need to), but I would rather her beautiful stuff be used and enjoyed than preserved.

This is one of my favorite pieces of decor… My sister in law and the girls and her son were all out enjoying a beautiful day last week along the tidal basin in DC, where all the cherry blossoms are. The blossoms have not opened yet, and a crew was out pruning the trees. So Beth and I picked up some discarded branches and I set out to encourage the branches to blossom… by Sunday! And it worked. Water, and lots of warm sun did the trick. I love love them!

The Party:

My idea for the party was to have tea, of course, but also just for the girls to be able to get dressed up and be GIRLY! No problems, there, let me tell ya! Adelaide chose to wear her Mulan kimono dress and Sydy wore her Anne of Green Gables dress. Others came in their Easter best or princess finest. It was so fun to see them decked out. And the moms weren’t bad either! I knew the girls would run around and play, swing and eventually get hyped up in the trampoline cage. I also set up the painting/planting area for moms and kids to paint their tea cups and plant their tea cup succulent gardens. Towards the end of the party, I pulled out a tub of dress up accessories for the girls to play with. And sure enough, many of them ended up accessorizing and posing in front of the mirror. So cute!

i would label the next one: “taxi!”

trampolines make for great fun and even greater hair-do’s!!!

painting time!

and we even squeezed in some mother-daughter shots! love them!

There was a drinks table… coffee, tea and lemonade. (next time, ladies, we will have some mimosas!)

And all my neighbor friends were kind enough to bring all the food dishes… tea sandwiches, cookies, fruit, crackers and cheese and of course…. cupcakes! It was a perfect garden party menu.

We never actually got around to having tea with the little girls… The ages ranged from 1-5 years old. I believe a high tea party would work great for about 5+ years old. But the moms enjoyed the tea! And some even enjoyed the trampoline.

The weather was cooler that we all wanted at first, but with the warm sun and the wind dying down, it turned into the perfect temp for a spring party. The colors, food, decorations… all of it was like a dose of spring-time therapy for all of us, I think. And it was a joy to put it together for everyone. Thanks to all who loaned furniture, tableware, decorations and food and drinks! Maybe we can do this each season and not have to wait till spring next year!

Spring is about to spring…..

Although losing an hour this weekend was brutal in its own right… gaining another hour of sunlight to play with the girls outside + the girls sleeping in a little bit longer makes it totally worth it!

With the sun being out more and actually warming up the days a bit more… we are playing outside way more! It means short and long walks to local parks and neighbor’s houses… swinging in the sun, sliding down slides… It is a welcome reprieve from winter!

Although I fell off the gratitude list making this week, I am enormously thankful for so much…. the bond between these two is especially beautiful to me these days:

I had this idea the other day…. I ran across some photos of a tea party the girls and I had together in Phoenix in 2009. They made me want to have another tea party. I pulled out the calendar to pick a date and saw that March 20 was the first day of spring. Perfect. We’ll call it the Welcome Spring! Tea Party and we are inviting all the neighborhood girls and moms that we know (plus a couple of others . I made my first shopping run at the local thrift shops and boy did I score some treasures. My mind is racing with ideas…. decorations, food, crafts, projects…. I am not sure who is going to have more fun. Me or the girls? Here is a little sneak peak of some of the inspiring pieces… 

happy trails….

we visited Harper’s Ferry last weekend. it was great fun. the drive, the river, the ice cream. we love to drive and explore. it is very much an integral park of our family DNA.

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- going outside for our “green hour” just in time to see two flocks of geese flying V formation against the blue sky.

- independent free play outside… seeing the 3 year old create her own fun with bubbles, swings, and grass.

- the handyman hubby who built out a crazy huge garden bed for me this weekend. can’t.wait.to.fill.it.up.

- more promises of spring… flowers emerging, tiny and timid.

- photo shoot with my cutest little nephew.

- fantastic family bbq night… grilled chicken, burgers, grilled veggies and salad. yes, we are anxiously, anxiously waiting summer!!

- starting and sticking with an exercise regimen… so far.

- committing to a no-spend month this march (spend $$ on bills and food for the most part… well, and some gardening stuff we needed at home depot)… it really has been GOOD and even fun (in the challenging yourself kind of way).

- sweet times with the girls.

- warm sunshine on my face and through my windows… even when the wind is somewhat biting!

- ordering my first large canvas for home decor!

- successful media fasts = more creative play

- being overwhelmed to tears of the blessings my kids are to me. wow.

 

Good Reads and Resources…

I have been on a reading kick lately. Yes, kick. One would think reading should be a normal staple in everyone’s life. But any mom of young children knows that is virtually impossible. Reading comes in kicks, waves, seasons, whatever. Thankfully I am back on the reading kick and off the no-time-or-mental-capacity-to-read kick.

*shameless plug alert: i am unloading some books on amazon… here is the link to see them, and a pic for your viewing pleasure:

I have been reading some great ones lately… just wanted to pass on some recommendations, quotes and the like if you are so inclined to stick around and read them. This is also a way for me to process what I have been reading…

1. One Thousand Gifts: A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voscamp

i know i have mentioned this one several times recently. its just been a really challenging, min-blowing, deeply moving book. i have taken a break from re-reading through it and am just taking it little by little, trying to digest it more fully and dig deeper along the way. some quotes from the first three chapters that have resonated deeply with me:

“all those years thinking i was saved and had said ‘yes’ to God, but really was living the no.”

“if i am ruthlessly honest, i may have said yes to God, yes to Christianity, but really, i have been living the no.”

“the only place we need to see before we die is the place of seeing God, here and now.”

“its the inbetween that drives us mad. its the life in between, the days of waking lifeless, the years calloused and simply going through the hollow motions, the self-protecting by self-distracting, the body never waking, thats lost all capacity to fully feel – this is the life in btween that makes us the wild walking dead.”

“how do i give up resentment for gratitude, gnawing anger for spilling joy? self focus for God-communion?”

 

2. Compelled By Love by Heidi Baker

this has been a fast, crazy amazing read. her stories… the testimonies… they are mind-blowing. i want to know more. i walk away from reading this book longing to know Jesus deeper, to love like Him and be loved by Him even more. Heidi quotes Mother Teresa throughout the book and i am now dying to read more about her life and ministry. whatever you believe about  Mother Teresa and her theology, you cannot in a million years question her grasp of LOVE …. love of God and love of neighbor.

“We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean, but if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.” ~Mother Teresa (from Like A Drop In The Ocean)

“God does not command that I be successful. He commands that I be faithful. When facing God, results are not important. Faithfulness is what is important.” ~Mother Teresa from  In My Own Words

3. Positive Discipline for Preschoolers and Positive Discipline A-Z

Really, really good. Practical, helpful, useful. Will write more in another post focussed on parenting books…

4. Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Kids from a Nature Deficit Disorder

WOW. wowowowowowow. i am not even 3 chapters into this book and it is revolutionizing me and the way we are doing things around here. granted, i think my kids have a bit of an advantage with having such an out-doorsy dad (and mom!)… but it could be so much more! and it should be! as the spring approaches us, i am more resolved than ever to spend much of our days outside. we have a yard, we have about 5 playgrounds in the woods within walking distance from our house. we have miles and miles of bike trails through a wooded nature parkway within about an eighth of a mile of us. WE HAVE NO EXCUSES. well, ok, in the summer? mosquitos are my big excuse. and in the winter? coldness. but if i can push through and figure out a way to 1.) get rid of the majority of mosquitos that viciously attack me and mine, and 2.) buy better/warmer outdoor gear for the winter, i will truly have no excuses.

“unlike television, nature does not steal time, it amplifies it.”

“in the space of a century, the american experience of nature – culturally influential around the world – has gone from direct utilitarianism to romantic attachment to electronic detachment.”

” Not yet fully formed or explored [this third frontier of electronic detachment], this new frontier is characterized by at least 5 trends: a severence of the public and private mind from our food’s origins; a disappearing line between machines, humans, and other animals; an increasingly intellectual understanding of our relationship with other animals; the invasion of our cities with wild animals (even as urban/suburban designers replace wilderness with synthetic nature); and the rise of a new suburban form.”

“countless communities have virtually outlawed unstructured outdoor nature play, often because of the threat of lawsuits, but also with a growing obsession with order. many parents and kids now believe outdoor play is verboten even when it is not; perception is 9/10ths of the law.”

” ‘we tell our kids that traditional forms of outdoor play are against the rules… then we get on their backs when they sit in front of the tv  - and then we tell them to go outside and play. but where?how? join another organized sport?some kids don’t want to be organized all the time. they want to let their imaginations run; they want to see where a stream of water takes them.’ “

I have made a loose pact with the girls: if it is sunny out, we are going outside and spending some good time outside. period. if it is rainy or way too cold, more netflix shows are on the agenda. some fun blogs out there refer to daily outdoor time as “the green hour” and encourage families to incorporate at least an hour of outdoor play each day. we do ours in smaller blocks unless we are on a long walk to a park somewhere. but with spring approaching, i am def up for more green time!

yesterday’s green hour:

mission: find worms.

mission accomplished!

promise of spring!!!!

lessons you learn when you are outside: if at once you don’t succeed in jumping off the swing… try, try again.

some awesome resource books to help us enjoy our green hours and outdoor adventures even more! these two are really cool books!