Birthdays and Calendars

I've added a calendar link to my sidebar. I've often lamented that my area doesn't have a good one-stop source for information about family friendly happenings and we often don't find out about some great event until we read the story about it in the newspaper after the fact. So, I've collected event information from many local sources and combined them into one calendar. I've tried to keep the focus on low cost options and so I've highlighted free events in green as a reminder to myself that we don't have to spend a lot of money to live a good life.

On an unrelated note, we recently celebrated my step-son Ethan's 11th birthday at home which is something that we haven't done in a few years. While I strive to strike a balance between fun and frugal when it comes to the kids' parties, we've been holding them offsite for the past few years simply because it's easier. No cleanup afterwards. No worries about things getting broken with 15 kids running around our small house. This year, however, we had a simple birthday celebration and it was a nice change. Ethan decided ahead of time to have a family lunch party at home and then Dad took him to meet up with his friends at the mall that afternoon to go see the new Narnia movie.

The decorations were simple. I hung the birthday banner that I made last year and hubby and Anna took a walk and picked these beautiful lilacs.

The table was very simply set with a vinyl tablecloth that could easily be wiped down (because I have three nieces and nephews under the age of five) and I didn't want to stress over trying to keep a nice cloth one clean. What I really would like to find is a clear, plastic one to protect my nicer cloths.

We had barbecue chicken sandwiches that were cooked and kept warm in the crockpot, potato salad, veggies and dip, and chips. I made a pitcher of pink lemonade and set out another pitcher of ice water. The napkins were left over from last year's party.

The cake was a bit lopsided but yummy. The two layers were filled with strawberry frosting. Here is a picture of the birthday boy blowing out his candles.