{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~

{pretty}

 I think colored pencils are so pretty!  I especially love them when they have fun names, like "peacock" and "golden beak!" This extra thick set is the Gold Birds Metallic Pencils from eeBoo, and is what Rose has been using to color her Easter Coloring Page.  

{happy}

The big girls were very happy that we were still having our annual Mother-Daughter Tea Party, even though we completed Little Flowers last year.  

The boys were also very happy to serve for the tea, once they found out that three of their friends were willing to help as well.   The $5 tips they each received were definitely an added bonus!

 I heard one of the boys say "We can each get a new mini-figure!!!" 

Yes, they were very happy, and they did an excellent job! 

 

{funny}

The weather has been crazy this week!  On Monday we had grey skies... Rain... Hail... Snow... More rain... Blue Skies... Sunshine... Grey skies... More hail... and then the blue skies came back.   It is sunny (yet still a little chilly today) but thankfully the blue skies are back. I'm hoping they will stick around!  I'm so ready for summer.

The kids did enjoy the hail and all ran outside immediately before I caught them and told them all to "GET BACK INSIDE!!!"  Thankfully it wasn't damaging hail, but still! 

 Later we discussed hail, and all the potential hazards...  ;)

{real}

Where is this poor little boy's momma?!  He fell asleep half way across the tile floor while I was making pizzas for lunch last Friday afternoon for the kids and our visitors.  Poor baby!  I wasn't going to take a picture (proof of what a awful mom I am sometimes!) but my friend insisted.  Don't you just love the drool and his little toes tucked under his bottom.  And that little bruise on his forehead?  Well, he has started banging his head on whatever is closest (including that hard tile floor) when he is upset or doesn't get his way...  I've never had a baby do that before!

In my defense, he doesn't usually fall asleep on the floor.  

I posted proof on Instagram the other night...  ;)

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment.

Indoor Tea Party Games

In between each course of our tea party, while the servers prepared for the next course, we played party games!  I loved all the suggestions that were shared, but since I ran short on time and since we included some new outdoor activities (Bocce Ball, Maypole, and Graces) this year I opted for a couple favorites from last year's tea party:  the Cupcake Jigsaw Puzzle Race and Little Flowers Bingo.

.: Cupcake Puzzle Race :.

This year for the Cupcake Puzzle Race, instead of using two 100 piece puzzles and having the girls race the mothers, we used six smaller 60-piece Cupcake puzzles and each family worked together on a puzzle (we did have two girls attending without their mother, so they each joined the groups that only had 2 to even out the teams).   

As each group finished I awarded saint medals and crosses to each person! 

.: Little Flowers Bingo :.

Our other favorite is Little Flowers Bingo: Flowers & Gems!   I had brought a basket filled with 13 prizes (one for each girl) and we played until everyone had gotten to choose a prize.   We played various ways - regular Bingo, 4 Corners, etc.  Next time I'll have to add a variation that is just the gemstones, or something like that.  Anyways, if a girl had more than one Bingo I did have a bag of chocolates for additional prizes.  

  

Well this post includes the last of all the games and activities we had during this year's Mother-Daughter Tea Party! I have a busy day ahead, since we are (finally!) signing papers this evening on our home refinance... Still I will try and pop back in soon to share the last of the pictures from the tea, including all the lovely decorations and delicious food.  I hope you all have a blessed day!

The Maypole and our Beautiful Catholic Faith

"The May-pole is up,

Now give me the cup;

I'll drink to the garlands around it;

But first unto those

Whose hands did compose

The glory of flowers that crown'd it"

-Robert Herrick, The Maypole, 1660

As I mentioned in one of my last posts, even though we had a forecast of rain and snow the weather cooperated for our Mother-Daughter Tea and we were able to include some outdoor activities for the girls including a Maypole!

According to wikipedia, a maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost (Whitsun) although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer.

My creative friend, who hosted our tea party this year, made a Maypole with flowers, ribbons, and an umbrella on a stand!  How clever is that?! Even though the symbolism of the maypole has been continuously debated for centuries, and no set conclusion has ever been arrived at, Stasia explained to all the girls that she likes to think that all the individual ribbons represent the many different aspects and doctrines of our Catholic Faith, and when weaved together they create something complete and beautiful!  

We had 13 girls participating in this year's tea, so she attached 14 ribbons to the "maypole" since an even number of ribbons is needed.  (A couple of the moms took turns with the last ribbon.)  

Half of the girls encircle the pole in one direction, each holding a ribbon, and the other half face the other direction.  To start, one line of girls is to go in first, the other to go out first.  To weave the ribbons, a little song can help:

In and out, in and out,

Weave the ribbons tight;

‘Round the Maypole we will dance

To the left and to the right.

The girls alternate between going in towards the pole, and under the ribbon of person coming towards them. Then, they go out away from the pole, raising their ribbon over the person moving towards them.

The girls had so much fun with this activity and it was such a great addition to

  this year's Mother-Daughter Tea Party! 

The Game of Graces

One of the games I choose for the girls to play during this year's Mother-Daughter Tea Party was the game of Graces, as suggested by Eliana.  It was so much fun!

According to Victorian World, Graces is a game that dates back to the 1830s. It was originally intended as an indoor parlour game, but could be played outdoors as well, and due to its popularity, it often was. It was a two-player game which used two wooden throwing rings, (usually decorated with ribbons), and four catching wands. Each player held two catching wands, one in each hand. The first player would place the rings over the wands which he/she held, then toss the rings, one at a time, to the other player. The winner was the player who had caught the most tossed rings within a set amount of time. It was generally considered a "girl's game" as it was meant to encourage gracefulness--hence, the name, "Graces."

We also read the following from the section on Colonial Party Games in our out of print copy of The American Girls Party Book:   Each player has 2 sticks. (Our girls used one "stick" each so that more girls could play at the same time.)  Dowels from craft or hardware stores work well. (I used knitting needles.) The players use the sticks to toss a small hoop, such as an embroidery hoop, back and forth. For fluttery fun, wrap ribbons around the hoop and let the ends hang down as streamers. Keep wrapping ribbons until the entire hoop is covered. 

Here is the link to additional ideas for Little Flowers Girls' Club Tea Party Games.  You can find all our 2013 Mother-Daughter Tea Party Posts here and all Little Flowers themed posts here.

Beginning with Bocce Ball {and a few Group Photos!}

Despite a forecast of rain and snow the weather cooperated beautifully, even if it was cold, for our Mother-Daughter Tea Party and we were able to enjoy a few outdoor activities!  We started with a game of Bocce Ball in the backyard overlooking a beautiful golf course, as we waited for all of our guests to arrive.

"Bocce ball is a game of Italian origin that two to four people can play in the yard, on the beach or on a strip of gravel. Game balls come in two sizes and the goal, in essence, is to roll the large bocce balls closer to the small "target" ball, called the pallino, than your opponents manage to do. In each round, the player who gets closest to the pallino earns a point. It may seem easy, but the game requires precision and patience. Eye-hand coordination is your best asset for winning this game." - Ehow

In the meantime the moms stood around and chatted and the girls peeked through the windows at all the beautiful decorations... They were very excited for our tea to begin.  

Once everyone had arrived, and before letting all the girls into the house for tea, we took a few quick group photos! 

The Little Flowers

(with a few new friends this year from Irish Dancing!)

Mothers and Daughters

Our whole group with our five handsome servers! 

Here is the link to additional ideas for Little Flowers Girls' Club Tea Party Games, 

and you can find links to all my past Little Flowers Posts here.