Snowflakes & Skating: A Winter Wonderland Party

When it's time to plan my only girl's birthday party, I get to go all out on the prettiness factor.

This year she asked for an Ice Skating birthday (inspired by the Disney movie "Ice Princess") and immediately I went to work on Pinterest, searching for blue and white food, Wintery decor and icy gorgeousness.

Grateful for My Girlie

This is my girl. We call her Miss Fab (because she is fabulous).

Yesterday was her ninth birthday and today I am dedicating my Grateful post to her.

Isn't she flippin gorgeous?

Last night Mr G and I watched her baby video together, where she merged blinking and alert into the world. Somehow we knew she would be special. Clever. A chatterbox.

She is all those things and more.

When she was born I was incredibly grateful. A longed-for daughter and a natural birth (after a caesarian first time round). Having her made me feel like SuperWoman.

Her personality emerged very early on: Feisty, irregular, vocal, fun-loving, energetic.
She was super-quick to get moving, determined to keep up with her boisterous big brother (who loved her to bits from the start and welcomed her home from the hospital by licking her like a lollipop).

Miss Fab started crawling at 5 months, walking by 10 months.
She was the first one to break a bone and ride in an ambulance (our girl keeps us on our toes.)
By age one she had a list of twenty words she could say and she hasn't stopped talking since.

One of the things I love and appreciate most about my girl is her generous heart. Miss Fab is always the first to offer assistance and lend a hand.

She is my right-hand-girl when it comes to party-prep and must have loaded and unloaded the dishwasher at least four times for me between Thursday and Friday.

She's so enthusiastic and excited about every detail, which makes preparing a party for her super-rewarding. The hugs and kisses I get are endless. She is a girl who knows how to be grateful.

[here she is opening presents with her buddies at her party on Saturday]

Here are just some of the things I am grateful for about my sweet girl...

Your sweet smile and hearty full-body laugh. You know how to enjoy yourself and make others want to join in too.

Your loving and affectionate nature. I love it how when I tuck you in at night, you won't let me leave until you have smothered me with kisses. I love that you always want to spend time with me. I love that you treasure the things I do for you, and write me notes and show so openly how you feel.

Your big-hearted kindness. I am always impressed at how you keep helping those scallywag brothers of yours. They are truly blessed to have a sister like you. They might not realise it now but they will one day, I promise you. You are a blessing to them and us.

Your feistyness and strong sense of justice. I love the way you stand up to bullies and speak up for little people. You are a champion. Not many people (including grownups) have the guts to do what you do. I love that you know what is right and good and speak up when things aren't fair.


Your energy. If I could have just a smidge of that?!?! You are a whirlwind, an irresistable force of nature.

Your creativity. It love how you take pride in making your room beautiful. Sure, it can be a bit annoying when you rearrange the furniture once a week, but I understand it. I love your doodles, your "notes to self" and endless journals. I love your stories and the way you keep fiddling with your blog design. I love that *creativity* is something we share.

And finally:  I am so very grateful that out of all the little girls in the world, I got YOU.
I love you so so much, gorgeous girl.

Happy Ninth Birthday 

love from Mummy xxx

BIRTHDAY POSTS

Loving Her at Eight

She's Growing Up (age 7)

Happy Fabulous Birthday (age 6)

Five years Today (age 5)

Turning Five (getting used to the idea of turning 5)

THE PARTIES

Fairy Party (age 4)

A Royal Ball (age 5)

Fancy Nancy Party (age 6)

Tangled Party (age 7)

Baking Party (age 8)

ALL THE STORIES ABOUT MISS FAB

[Click Here]

P.S. If you want to make Miss Fab's day, hop across to her blog and *follow* 

then leave her a comment. She will FLIP!

(Ice Skating Party post coming tomorrow)

Join in with The Grateful Project
Use #thegratefulproject hashtag on Instagram and your "Gratefuls" will show up here automagically...

If perchance you happen to write a grateful post on your blog, you can link it up below. Use the #thegratefulproject hashtag to join us on instagram (and twitter)... or you can share your gratefuls in the comments section. There's even a button so you can let others know you're joining in...

<div class="The Grateful Project" style="width: 230px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://www.greatfun4kidsblog.com/search/label/The%20Grateful%20Project" > <img src="http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy162/donnasimone/thegratefulprojectbutton_zpsf9af8ea6.jpg" alt="Greatfun4kids" width="230"/> </a> </div>

Gratefully Yours,

Slow Goin', Goin' Slow...

OK. So it's Thursday and I am up to my elbows in gluten free flour and eggshells as I bake up a storm for Miss Fab's 9th birthday (ice skating) party on Saturday.
There's bunting to glue, scarves to cut out of white felt and still a bunch of snowflake cookies to whip up.
My body is still aching from two days spent redecorating the birthday girl's bedroom. As you do.
All this and I promised the kids I'd take them to the movies when we finished with the baking...
(I had wanted to give making *macarons* a go but I think that might push me over the edge.)

You know how birthday weeks are. Pure madness.
I say "simple" and then, well, "simple" flies out the window with all my good intentions.

I had an awesome post in my head that I really wanted to share this week.
But then I noticed that things are pretty slow in Blogland. Not many comments.
I figure everyone is busy with school holidays. So I think I'll save that one for when everyone's back in Blog-reading mode.
It deserves an audience.

So this week I think I will put the blog to one side, officially.
I'm on a blog-go-slow until after the party and school holiday madness have died down.
See you next week with lots and lots of party-and-family fun.
Til then, Take it easy...

xx

Mahalo, Hawaii

 "Mahalo" means in Hawaiian, Thanks, gratitude; to thank. It also means, Admiration, praise, esteem, respect.
All this I feel about the magical place that is/was the island of Kaua'i. 

First off it's beautiful. Absolutely picturesque, stunningly gorgeous. 

Palm trees and ocean. Golden sand and warm breeze; a tropical paradise.

A prefect place to relax, chill, de-stress. Read books by the pool, learn to make cocktails, partake in a luau, walk along the beach...

(Actually walking along the beach was a bit tricky; the sand is really soft and hard to walk in. Great calf workout though. And very pretty)

You might get to spot a Kiwi legend on the mic in the hotel bar...

(that's John Rowles, NZ's answer to Elvis Presley)

Nice to take a stroll to the shops, pick up some souvenirs, admire the flowers...

But the magic really happens when you leave the hotel and go on adventures. Kaua'i offers plenty of scope for adventures. We went kayaking (which was awesome) and hiking through the jungle (which was NOT SO MUCH). We learnt that all of Hawaii's flora (including the trademark palm trees) have come from somewhere else. The rich volcanic soil causes plant life to flourish, grow rampant. The palm trees came from Samoa less than a hundred years ago. Now they're EVERYWHERE. Crazy huh?

But the best (and only) way to REALLY see the magic of Kaua'i... is to take a helicopter ride...

90% of Kaua'i can only be seen from the air - and it's worth seeing. It's like the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.
It might be pricey but it's an experience of a lifetime, truly.

Hard to photograph through the helicopter windows without getting reflections but I did my best...

Our pilot was awesome and we had the best weather for flying. Flying up ravines that can only be gotten to once in a while. Seeing the places where they filmed the epics: Jurassic Park, Avatar, King Kong.

Spectacular. 

 

Really I can't convey how we felt flying over this landscape that had been wrestled from the sea, thrown up in the violence of volcanic activity, so raw and wild and inaccessible that it's very remoteness has preserved it, untouched. Stunning.

I loved Kaua'i. The people are as warm as the climate and as lovely as the scenery. One day I want to take my children there.

More Travel Adventures

Grateful for Home and Away, etcetera

It's true what Dorothy said, you know: There really IS No Place Like Home.
The hubby and I are back from our tropical Hawaiian holiday. The galivanting is over; no more relaxing poolside, sipping cocktails or dressing up for gala dinners.
It's back home to Winter, Washing and Work.
(*ahem* WORK = party planning, emptying suitcases and filling invitation orders. Could be worse.)

But do you know what? I am really really glad to be back. As nice as it is being away on holiday, it is nicer still to come home.
While we were gone, I did NOT miss the housework, but I sure did miss my kids (and my comfort zone, just quietly).

In the meantime I collected a whole bunch of new things to be grateful for.
So here we go, in no particular order:

Grateful I actually got to GO on our Hawaii trip. I nearly didn't, at the last minute. Miss Fab had been off school sick for a whole week; then Scrag came down with the same thing the night before we were due to fly. O the conflict!!! Would a good mother leave TWO sick kids to go on a tropical holiday? I called some friends for advice, talked to the babysitter... "GO!!!" they said. So I went. (Grateful for good advice; the kids were fine.)

Grateful for our angel babysitter, Lupe. Taking on our three (noisy) (energetic) (outspoken) kids for a week on her own. Words are not enough (Duty Free perfume might convey my gratitude slightly better than my inadequate words)... but LUPE YOU'RE A STAR. So Grateful for you.

Grateful beyond words that at the end of  looking after my kids for a week - in school holidays - Lupe said with her amazing big-hearted smile, "I love your kids, aye? And now after this I love your kids even more...!" Amazing. I thought she'd never take my babysitting calls again?!?! But no. She loves my kids MORE now than before. And guess what? My kids love HER more now as well (and so do I, if that were possible).

 Grateful that while we were gone, the kids kept "doing gratefuls" at every dinner time. Lupe told us Scrag would say in his cute lispy voice: "So what are YOU guys grateful for today?" And on the last night they all said, "I'm grateful mum and dad are coming home tonight - but I'm grateful you looked after us too Lupe!" Awwwwww (I'm grateful for Gratefuls and how it is now a firmly entrenched dinnertime thing, even without us).

Grateful for the best family night ever last night. The coolest. Warm fuzzies to the max. So much fun. I have photos. Watch this space for our "Cowboy CookOut  - with Truth or Dare". Did I mention it was the best night of family bonding ever? So grateful.

Grateful for the best sermon at church today. I wept bucketloads. Good crying - the kind where it's not cos you're sad but because God is just flooding you and all of a sudden you are tender and open and wanting Him. He touched something in me and I felt His honest-to-goodness Presence in a way I haven't for well over 10 years. Amazing. So grateful.

And finally: Grateful for cool young role models who don't mind photo opportunities with their young fans. Here are two of the guys from Moorhouse (NZ XFactor) who my kids bumped into after church. At church. Yeah, you heard me. Rory and Brock, two of the nicest young guys you could hope to meet. (I also bumped into Moorhouse Rory right after all that *weeping bucketloads*  - there I was all blotchy and snotty. Awesome.)

[Dash and Miss fab with Brock (L) and Rory (R) from Moorhouse; excuse the blurry-but-precious phone pic ]

The kids are gutted Moorhouse aren't in the XFactor final but I really hope these young guys carry on singing and get to release albums. They're FAB.

(P.S. Photos of Hawaii to come later in the week. When I've uploaded all gazillion of them, and can find a spare moment in between Miss Fab's party prep and school holiday entertainments. Yikes.)


Join in with The Grateful Project
Use #thegratefulproject hashtag on Instagram and your "Gratefuls" will show up here automagically...

If perchance you happen to write a grateful post on your blog, you can link it up below. Use the #thegratefulproject hashtag to join us on instagram (and twitter)... or you can share your gratefuls in the comments section. There's even a button so you can let others know you're joining in...

<div class="The Grateful Project" style="width: 230px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://www.greatfun4kidsblog.com/search/label/The%20Grateful%20Project" > <img src="http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy162/donnasimone/thegratefulprojectbutton_zpsf9af8ea6.jpg" alt="Greatfun4kids" width="230"/> </a> </div>

Gratefully Yours,