rainer's birthday

 Rainer turned eight last week!  We had a little family party for him on the actual day and a kid party the weekend before, on Friday evening.

For his family party I made his favorite dinner (Moraccan chicken couscous) and a chocolate cake with white frosting.  My parents came up and we had dinner, presents, and cake in that order. 

We don't usually do an additional kid party, but this year we decided to and it turned out really fun.  Ken pulled it off almost entirely on his own.  I work full time and was in charge of making a cheeseball + veggies and a birthday cake, plus collaborating with Rainer on a birthday playlist.  Ken came up with the theme, made cute invitations, and set up everything.

The theme was "witchcraft and wizardry" (in the style of Harry Potter) and Ken set up a "potions" station (super popular) and a wand making station (using sticks from the yard which people sanded down and added gemstones and leather wraps).  I'm not much of a blogger anymore so I lack good photos of the stations or wands, but it was really neat.  We served pizza and "sunbursts" (orange juice mixed with 7-Up and grenadine syrup). 

All in all it was a really good birthday!  And his birthday really kicks off our fall.  The holidays are ramping up!

And, a little walk down memory lane--

Rainer age 7
Rainer age 6
Rainer age 5
Rainer age 4
Rainer age 3
Rainer age 2
Rainer age 1

scenes from the past few weekends

I haven't been posting any weekend pictures lately, so here is my attempt at catching up a little bit.  There were various January birthdays--Dieter, Jacob, Ken and Ben are all January boys.  Genrally, my weekends have felt a little "off" to me.  I guess I'm still working to perfect my weekend formula! 

Weekend things I love:

• going to Saturday morning yoga class
• having a family swim at the club
• eating out
• any de-cluttering or cleaning I can force myself to do (because the results thrill me)
• movie date nights with Ken
• making a good Sunday dinner

One little weekend tradition that is very dear to my heart right now is the car washing ritual that Dieter and I have going on.  On Sunday mornings, with very few exceptions, we take the new Subaru to a car wash--the kind where you drop quarters in and spray the car yourself and then dry and vacuum it yourself.  I love having this time with my boy and he is a true help!  Usually we also stop for gas, go get cash from the ATM, and pick up any last minute groceries from the local market (I do the big shopping at Trader Joe's on the way home from work on Fridays).  Aside from spending one-on-one time with my boy, how awesome it feels to have a clean car, a full tank of gas, and cash and groceries for the week!

Are there any weekend rituals you are loving lately?

happy birthday Rainer!

Rainer turned 7! His birthday was during the week, but we celebrated on Saturday.  He wanted Swedish meatballs for his dinner.  I made him an ice cream cake and cookies.  He got lots of presents and was super excited.

I'm so grateful that we have this little guy in our family!  He brings me joy on a daily basis.  He is the cuddliest one and such a love.  Happy birthday Rainer!

And by the way, a few recipe notes:

• I always use the Swedish meatball recipe from this book and I buy lingonberry sauce at Ikea whenever we are there.  We love this simple meal!
• the crust for the ice cream cake turned out ROCK hard.  And I do mean rock hard.  Next year I'll use plain chocolate wafers and the recipe that comes with them.  (Instead of using Joe Joe's and winging it).
• Each year he gets the number of candy pumpkins that he is turning.  The first time we used the candy  pumpkins was here.
• The cut-out birthday cookies are half whole wheat this year.  I ran out of all-purpose flour so had to go with half whole wheat.  They turned out great.
• his birthday breakfast was an organic toaster pastry, pears, and pomegranate seeds.

Rainer's birthdays are documented on the blog from year one (here). 

I am going to try to blog every day this week.  I hope I can do it!  I honestly think taking a few minutes to write and post photos helps my mood and stress level so much--by making me take a few moments to contemplate the good things.