Children's birthday parties

Celebrating birthdays is a fun yet expensive occasion. So you can only imagine how much time, money and effort it takes for a child’s party. Ever since I’ve become a mother, I’ve attended more children’s birthday parties with Raychel than I did before I had my own child. It’s almost like a cult – the Mommy cult. As soon as you’re labeled as a parent, you’re immediately attending birthday parties with clowns, balloons, overly sweet tasting cake and children running around uncontrollably. Because I’m thrown into this foreign world, you learn as you go along the children’s party etiquette – the do’s and don’ts for surviving the party.

One thing I’m a huge advocate for is making sure that your child has a nap or had a good night sleep before the day of the party. Last thing you need is a cranky, exhausted child to deal with especially in front of guests. If the party is scheduled during Raychel’s normal naptime, I come prepared with her stroller, bottle of milk and extra blankets so that she’s ready to transition into nap time once we leave or in case the party is a whole day event, need to escape into a quiet area.

Raychel will be 1 years old in a few weeks – my party for her is going to be simple and intimate. It will consist of take-out dinner with family and an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen at home. She loves ice cream so I think that will be a great treat for her since she’s not going to remember anything else that day. This way, I don’t have to worry about my party etiquette and I can save some money too.

I’ve come across lots of websites and magazine articles about children’s birthday party etiquette and I find them very helpful. If I get time, I like reviewing them before we attend or plan a party so that I feel like I’m “somewhat prepared” in this situation.

http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/partytips.htm

http://www.kids-birthday-party-guide.com/kids-birthday-party-etiquette.html

http://chicago.timeout.com/articles/kids/82581/etiquette-for-kids-birthday-parties-kids-birthday-party-guide-2010

Raychel and her baby food

"While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about."
~Angela Schwindt

Raychel likes to eat anything, especially homemade baby food. I can't blame her b/c the homemade stuff tastes pretty good and I always end up making larger portions so that I can enjoy it too. For example, one of her favourite meals is avocado and egg yoke. I use 1 whole avocado and 2 egg yokes. Mix it all together until it's very smooth and then serve. However, before I serve it to her, I put half the portion into a bowl for myself and I'll enjoy my meal after she's finished.

She also enjoys my sweet potato and parsnip mash. I cook 1 large whole sweet potato and 2 parsnips into a pot together for 1h15 minutes. Then I mash them together very well until it's smooth like regular mashed potatoes. I eat this myself and I love it too.

For our Thanksgiving dinner, I made her mashed sweet potatoes and regular potatoes with a little bit of turkey. She loved it. I did notice that the mash was rather thick so we added a bit of baby formula to thin it out.

I still serve her baby food from the jars - she loves all the Heinz ones. I'm fortunate that she does b/c I have tons of coupons for their food. Every time the grocery stores has Heinz food and juices on sale, I immediately make my pilgrimage to the store holding my coupons proudly. Silly as it sounds, I'm happy to make the journey there b/c I know that I'm feeding my child with food she likes and at the same time I'm saving money too.

Raychel also likes her cookies - what kid doesn't? She likes brands such as Baby Mum Mum, Arrowroot, and Heinz. Gerber makes these toddler snacks called Lil Crunchies and she goes crazy for them! I will serve her 3-4 and they don't last for very long. My favourite flavour is Veggie Dip but I'm sure Raychel would rather me not still her snacks.