Obstacle Course

I have been so busy with my little projects. I am not proud to say that Noah has had to entertain himself at times. One evening while working on "Once Upon a Pig Chaser,"Noah got bored. His dad was on the computer as well. We busily worked away and Noah had it in his mind that he wanted to do an obstacle course.

He set up cones in the kitchen, filled buckets with water, and so forth. I did happen to watch him run it a few times.  In and out of the cones and then dipped his head in the first bucket of water, and then to the next bucket of water and on to the finish line. It was not the cleanest of activities, but I wasn't going to complain as I was getting some work done.

Rick came out and saw all the water on the floor..."and you let him do this?" "Yes I did!" I needed to mop the floors anyway.

What I learned from Noah: Sometimes the obstacle course is the obstacle, but the floor looked nice at the end of the day.

Party Please!

Halloween was awesome--two costumes, parades, carnivals, and trick or treating. Thanksgiving even better--cousins, Park City and Polar Express with the grandparents. Oh and then there is the excitement of Christmas--parties, shopping, programs, carols, more shopping, wrapping and last minute shopping. New Year's Eve gets you past the "after Christmas" blues. Then January comes--go back to school, it's cold and dark. All Noah can think about is "Mom, when is it my birthday?"It just can't come soon enough and his little friends across the street has moved to Texas.

"I know, we can have a party with my Teddy Bears and Stuffed Animals," Noah exclaims. I think that there is an awful lot to do around the house and in getting organized for the 2009. "Maybe," I say. Maybe became a party, but it would have to wait until the weekend. Noah made the invitations and sealed them tightly in an envelope. Then Noah delivered the invitations to his animals. He was so excited that he wanted the party that instant. Naturally, I said no because it was a school night. He cried and cried and I felt awful, but I had to stick to my word. We did not have it on that school night, but we did put up the tent. We gathered all the animals invited to attend. Noah lined them up just so. I listened as Noah told his furry friends about the events that would take place the next day."We'll play games, and make cookies..." As I observed his facial expressions, I realized, "Wow, this is a big deal for him.  What can I do to make it special for Noah seeing how I had put him off all week."

Noah was at school and the thought came--go get some balloons. Something so simple as putting balloons in his room and I became a full fledged party goer. I was excited for Noah to come home so we could party with stuffed animals. Crazy!!

Noah walked in his room after homework and you could hear pure pleasure in his voice."Whoa!!!

Mom did you do this? How did you make these balloons?" We crawled under the tent and ate oatmeal cookies. I felt like a child again. We laughed over "Crazy Eights," "Go Fish," "Chutes and Ladders,"and coloring. Noah snuck out from under the tent and jumped on his bed while punching balloons. "This is a really fun party isn't it mom?" I could answer with a resounding "yes."

What I learned from Noah:  Any day can be a celebration and a reason to party. If there isn't a holiday in the near future--create one. Thanks for a super idea which became a great time and will be an awesome future memory. Oh, and thanks for inviting your mom.