Annika's rainbow birthday party

This afternoon was Annika's "rainbow" birthday party.  We invited 6 girls from her class, and 4 came, which was just enough (one of the moms also stayed, which was very helpful).  The party was from 1:00-3:00, which was just the perfect amount of time.  I think a good time was had by all.

Annika's rainbow outfit

I didn't get a shot of the kids making their crafts (too busy helping everyone), but they all seemed to have fun making these "treasure chests" with colored craft sticks.  After the glue dried they decorated the lids with stickers, and we put "gold coins" (chocolates) in them.

While we were waiting for the glue to dry, the kids played "Twister" and then we did this "science experiment" - jello powder, baking soda and vinegar.  The kids really enjoyed it.

While I was getting things cleaned up from the "science", Carey played a version of "musical chairs" with the kids on the Twister mat.  They had to dance around while the music played, and then when the music stopped they had to stand on a circle on the mat.  Carey then spun the dial, and whoever was standing on the color it landed on had to sit down.

The decorations and the food.

Rainbows everywhere - white chocolate pretzels with Smarties, fruit tray, layered jello, colored ice in Sprite and the rainbow cake (each layer was also a different flavor, due to being colored with jello).  Too bad the kids barely touched the food.  I guess they were just too excited to eat.

Birthday girl!

And even a little rainbow here!  Just a clip-on, but I thought it was fun.

It was a great party, but I'm so glad it's done now.  I'm just going to ignore the clean-up for a little while longer though...

**edited to add...**

I forgot the picture of the loot bag goodies. Each girl went home with Skittles (taste the rainbow), rainbow licorice, glow bracelets (a favorite of Annika's) and multi-colored bendy sticks. 

Let the celebrations begin

This evening we kicked off our birthday celebrations (Annika's is on Sunday and mine is on Monday) at my in-laws. The rainbow loom was a present for Annika, but I think I'm going to have just as much fun with it as her! ;)

Puddles

When I grow up, I want to be a...

I think I may have finally figured out the answer to that question (other than "mom", of course).

A few months ago we had a doula come to my Y Neighbours group and speak about birth and postpartum doulas.  I was quite familiar with the role of a birth doula, since we had used one with Annika, but I hadn't heard of a postpartum doula before.  The more the lady talked about the role of the postpartum doula, the more I thought... I could do that, I'd like to do that.

For those of you who don't know, a postpartum doula works with the family after the mom and newborn baby come home from the hospital.  Here's the official job description from the CAPPA website:

The Postpartum Doula is a trained professional that offers physical, emotional, and spiritual support to a new mother and the rest of the family.   Postpartum Doulas also offer breastfeeding support, light household maintenance, family nurturing and instruction to mom and/or other family members in the care of a newborn.  The Postpartum Doula’s job is to make the transition to parenthood easier for new parents, to help mom during her recovery period and to ascertain what the family needs help with and provide the instruction.  The main objective of the Postpartum Doula’s role is not to take over complete care of the newborn, but to educate and support the family so that they will feel empowered to care for their newborn themselves.  Postpartum Doulas do NOT offer any medical advice or perform any medical or clinical procedures, but instead can offer parents referrals to appropriate studies and published books. Postpartum doulas should be good with children, patient, non-judgmental, and knowledgeable about newborn care and breastfeeding.

After giving it much thought, I ordered the materials for the distance training program two weeks ago, and they arrived today!

In addition to watching the DVDs and reading the manual, there is also a list of required reading and I have to get certified in CPR/first aid, as well as attend a breastfeeding class.  Part of the training also includes working for 3 families (for free - lucky them!) and being evaluated by them. I don't really plan to work much before Emmett is in school, but it will be good to get the training all done before that, so I'm ready when he starts school.  Even though I know a lot of this will be stuff I already know/have already experienced, I'm excited to get started!

Movie night

Carey went to the hockey game this evening, so the kids and I popped some popcorn, snuggled up on the couch under the Snuggie, and watched a movie.

Given the recent weather, this seemed an appropriate choice...

Spring break day 3

Busy day today!  We started off this morning by bringing in my car to have a light fixed (turns out it just wasn't plugged in), and while we waited for it, we had breakfast with Carey at the Pancake House.  They had a new pancake shape on the menu for Easter, so Annika of course had to try it (it's a bunny, if you couldn't tell).

We did a little shopping after breakfast, picked up the car and headed home.  We were home for lunch and then headed out to get Annika's hair cut.  It was just supposed to be a trim, but we had a little fun while we were there.  Annika got a hair feather, and while she was getting hers done, I decided I wanted one too.

Emmett would've liked to get one too, but he was happy to settle for some red hair gel (which he referred to several times as "jello in my hair").

After our hair adventures we headed to Build-a-Bear, to get some new accessories for the kids' stuffed animals.  With mine and Annika's birthdays coming up, I had received two $7 off coupons - no minimum purchase necessary.  Annika picked out a headband and some sparkly bows for her kitty (only one bow pictured, on her tail), and Emmett picked out some sneakers for his bear (I have no idea what's with the face - the attitude must come with the hair gel, right??).  Total cost with coupons - $2.83.

More rainbow fun

Another "test drive" for Annika's party. Oh the fun created by baking soda, vinegar and jello powder (plus it smelled delicious!).