I just checked out my sister's blog and you have to check out her potato!  her son's potato actually.  It is so awesome! (Keeping Up With the Jones' on my blogs I read list)

Robin Hood's Birthday party!  His party was January 30 and he picked the theme- I thought it was a great idea so I really went all out this time.  He also came up with the game ideas himself.  If you love it feel free to use any of our ideas.  :)  

First the invitations:

They said (in fancy font):  Fair Maidens, Princesses, Woodsmen, Knights, and Kings, 

Robin Hood (child's name) requests your presence on January 30 from 4-6 in the Sherwood Forest (your address) to celebrate his day of birth.  Much feasting and frivolity is to be expected.  If you have the famed lincoln green attire or other befitting the occasion, you are welcome to wear it.  However, be forewarned- any flamboyant riches you flaunt will be taken as payment for our generosity in preserving your life, feeding you so well, and providing you with entertainment as you have never seen before.  It is an event surely not to be missed and you will wish you never had to leave such a fine place as the Sherwood Forest. (RSVP info)

Next the party favors:  

I had a hard time finding things to go with the theme.  I happened to be at the fabric/craft store and found a craft idea on a paper in the floral supplies aisle for bubble wands and went with it- they look foresty, right?  I wanted to get pencils that look like sticks, but couldn't find a place that could get them shipped to me on time.  I also thought of forest stuffed animals, but the cost would be too much.  We ended up making book marks (sorry no pic of those) out of brown cardstock with an owl punched out at the bottom and yarn tied at the top.  I wanted to find mini books of Robin Hood, but of course another idea of something that doesn't exist, so I folded plain paper in half and used some fancy scrapbook paper scraps to make a blank book so they can draw or write there own Robin Hood tales.  I printed a little note saying that to tape inside along with an illustration of Robin Hood fighting Little John that I downloaded.  

I also added bubbles and put everything in a brown paper bag with the top edge cut with scalloped scissors and folded over and tied it closed with yarn- super easy and inexspensive. 

Now for the party decorations:

Candles, sticks, and we made a couple of paper trees (in the background with Robin Hood).  For the trees I happen to have a large roll of brown craft paper. I bought the paper at the hardware store in the paint section sold as something to use as a drop cloth, but I use it to wrap presents, on the table under art projects, or for making trees in this case.  It was very easy.  I cut off a 5' or so piece and then cut that piece into strips that widen at one end.  When cutting start wide then make the next cut start thin and get wider as you get close to the other end.  The lines don't need to be straight because trees aren't.  I cut some smaller pieces for the branches and taped them to the wall with masking tape.  cutting up brown paper grocery bags would work too.

Dressing up- I was so happy the kids were excited to dress up!  Here's a few:

And now for the games!

Our gathering activity was painting rocks.

Our first game was a fight on a log over a river just like Robin and little John when they met.  To fight two kids at a time had to try to knock eachother into the river with pillows.

We taped a blue plastic table cloth to the floor and taped a brown paper log over that to make our bridge over the river (you can see part of the "river" with Robin Hood and Maid Marian in the dress up pics).  

We played keep the balloon in the air (not Robin Hood theme, but a favorite)

(notice many wore green:))

We played a stick pull game

Archery of course

hot potato to medieval music, and a feast to end the evening.  We bought colored plastic goblets from a party store and all but one wanted to save his goblet.  One mom told me her son used his goblet everyday for awhile and informed her it isn't just a cup, it's a goblet.  For food we ate grapes, rolls, cheese, giant popcorn chicken, and had water to drink.  We wanted to do little chicken legs, but couldn't find any at the store (wierd), but the popcorn chicken was a huge hit so I'm glad authenticity wasn't our main goal.  And we had chocolate cupcakes for desert.

A happy day :) And a special thanks to my friend who graciously took photos at the party for me and to my husband who entertained the kids so I could clean up as we went and get the feast ready.

Eavesdropping.  I suppose technically it isn't polite, but I like listening to my kids from another room sometimes.  Like just now my boys are having a great conversation.
"Wouldn't it be great to be a dog?  You wouldn't have to go to school, you could just lay on the floor and have people rub your belly, or run around outside.  Only you wouldn't be able to play video games."
"Oh, oh, I wish people were like dogs and dogs were like people!  Then you could be a dog that plays video games!"
"Yeah! And you could still roll on your back and others would scratch your belly!"
Hmm.  That doesn't really appeal to me, but to each their own.  Maybe it's a guy thing?
Right now I'm listening to a great radio show on the Current (check out the Minnesota public radio link in my links list on the side bar, the click on current at the top of the page).  It's requests of greatest love songs and it's a pretty good playlist.  Yesterday would have been a good time to listen too- it was requests of all time greatest break up songs. You can find the playlist by clicking on "playlist" and then there is a little calendar to the right and you can click on a date and see the playlist for that day.
Speaking of music, my husband found a great site that I love, that I have been keeping a secret, but I'm going to share.  It's www.blogotheque.net  Maybe you already know about it so it isn't exactly a secret.  I love it because it's spontaneous.  What it is, is this guy in France meets a band and has them play something for him and he videotapes it.  Sometimes they are in odd places like walking down the streets of Paris and/or use other stuff for their instruments, but still play one of their familiar songs.  I actually haven't checked it out for awhile.  Somehow surfing the web for great music and music videos has trickled to the bottom of the list, but every once in awhile after kids are in bed my husband indulges me in his finds.  I'll say "indulges" because it is fun, even when it's music I don't like as much as he does.  Maybe it's our three year age difference showing up- I do prefer Eddie Vedder to David Lee Roth.  It could not be the age difference and just my artsy rebel side contrasting with his student government side -he prefers Paul Simon to Siouxsie.  I know, it's neither -we both love a lot of the same music, and one thing about my husband, he knows a lot of music.  One thing for sure, when he pulls out the Muppet Show Cast Album I know it is way past bedtime. :)
Here's a couple I like to get you started.  Browse a bit or look up a band you like and send me the link. :)
http://www.blogotheque.net/Cold-War-Kids,2727
http://www.blogotheque.net/Phoenix,5179
Just for fun here's some old pics from high school days

 

 

HI its me again the little kid who messes around with his moms blog. Might have to stick to it for three more  years. The reason is that today I tried to make my own blog ( with my moms premishin ) and name it life on mustafar. Apperently I was too young, so I put my moms age instead and that didn't work.  wouldn't you think someone 34 years old should beable to blog?  

Kung Fu is awesome!  I should let my oldest son blog this one, but he isn't home.  Last week, some kids in school were telling him that he is too short and small people would be terrible at fighting.  He had to beg to differ, really, on the contrary, small people could be quite effective in a fight.  Because they are small they can dodge easier and can duck for example.  His peers were not impressed and insisted on finding out at recess.  He shrugged and moved on with the day forgetting until at recess when a kid pushes him from behind.  He quickly rolls as he is pushed so he doesn't get hurt landing, a move he learned from his uncles when we visited Utah in the summer.  Then the kid tries to push him again.  He moves out of the way, and gives the kid a helpful push as he's headed for the ground since there was no longer my son in his way to stop him.  Another move my son says he learned form his uncles' kung fu lesson.  Then the kid grabbed my son's wrist and so my son flipped him over just like his uncles taught him.  My son said, "You underestimated smallness."  The kid left him alone.  It was a  proud day, his younger brothers LOVED his story.  Thank you for the brief but effective kung fu lessons.  You have achieved hero status.
(Now you should move here and set up a Kung Fu lessons business- we only have karate- it's not the same.)

Robin Hood (so named because of his birthday party which I will blog about eventually) lost his first tooth!  He is so excited.  Last Wednesday he was so happy to have a wiggly tooth.  He told me all about how he was going to raise his hand and tell his teacher (this is huge- he doesn't talk in class).  While waiting for the bus he kept wiggling it with his tongue and said with a big grin, "Mom, I like having a wiggly tooth".  When he got home off the bus I asked if he told his teacher about it, he said he forgot, "but I did remember to tell (the classroom helper).  We were reading sight words and we had to make up a sentence and the sight word was 'I like...' so I said, 'I like...my wiggly tooth!'"  At lunch he said my tooth isn't very wiggly anymore.  Then he said my tooth hurts.  I looked and it was bleeding a little.  I said go get a tissue and hold it there for a second.  Then his tooth came right out.  He was thrilled.  We had to hurry and make a tooth pillow- it's tradition.  Every time one of my kids starts to get a loose tooth we make a pillow with a pocket to put the tooth in for the tooth fairy.  Each child gets to pick the fabric and use my sewing machine and learn how to use a needle and thread.  Child #3, robin Hood, opted out of the needle and thread option at the end questioning- isn't that the point of the sewing machine- to sew and get it done faster?  He didn't care about the thread showing.

Another fun little thing of last week was, well maybe it didn't happen last week, but last week was when I remembered that I should write it down.  Anyway, once upon a time in the summer or fall a neighbor liked to pretend that there were robbers in our neighborhood and hiding in the pine trees.  He was having nightmares and his mom was trying to get him not to play this so he wouldn't spread the fear to the rest of the neighborhood.  Of course that didn't work- my boys loved playing that there were robbers and they were going to catch them.  Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  My littlest was looking out the window and said, "Oh, mom!  Look at all the robbers outside!  There's robbers outside!"  I said, "No, (thinking "not this game again!") there aren't any robbers outside."  "He said, "yes there are, look out the window, there are robbers in the trees."  I looked out the window and there were a number of Robins in the trees.  I told them they are called Robins not robbers, but he said, "No, (named his brother and two neighbors) said there are robbers in the trees.  They are robbers."