Tea Party - A REAL one!

On Friday we took our boys to the Rainforest Cafe for a special spring break treat. It's quite a drive from our house and we had been building it up for the whole week so we were really hoping everyone would have a good time. The boys had to wake up very early and were a hot mess from the first moment of the day. There was so much crying and whining that I think Paul and I were both silently miserable through the whole overstimulating, overpriced, over the top themed cafe/ archade/ roller coaster/ outdoor shop/ mall experience. And to be honest, I think the kids were pretty miserable despite all our efforts too. The whole day was a rainy, day with lots and lots of tears. When we got home I took the dog for a lovely run in the rain while all three boys slept off the forced fun in the car.

In contrast, on Saturday we woke up to a beautiful spring day. Eirik remembered that Paul had told the boys the night before that mom never gets to do girl stuff and that they were going to have a tea party for me the next day. Paul and I had forgotten this half hearted promise, but Eirik got busy. He put on his best black clothes and drew a picture of a top hat and taped it to his black beanie. He came to tell me I was invited to a tea party in the back yard. He explained that he did not have a tuxedo or a top hat, but he had put on his best clothes. He told me I needed to get dressed for the tea party. At first I just went and grabbed my longest skirt and pulled it on over my jeans and work shoes, but then I thought about how sweet my little boy was and decided to go all out, just as he had. I put on my fanciest dress that I have never yet had occasion to wear since I bought it 4 years ago. I wore my jewelry that I wore on my wedding day and then spent the afternoon sipping milk, eating cake and dancing to french music with my four boys.

Eirik holding is little finger "just so", and saying "chip chip cheerio"Eirik's top hat

Eirik doesn't yet have a lot of reference for dancing, so I was delighted when he did all his dance moves that he has learned from the barn raising scene from "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". It was hilarious watching him do the donkey kick to our french jazz music. He was so sincere and sweet.

My favorite guy

My little guys seemed to look at me as if I were a real person and not just a slave to get them whatever they want and clean up after them. Joren told me several times that I looked beeuuutiful. Later when I had changed my clothes he said, "you don't look as beeeuuutiful as before mommy, but you're still pretty." They admired me and made me feel like a princess. Eirik said to me while we were dancing, "Mom, I know I have to share you, but I love you so much. Do you think we could have just 10 minutes with just the two of us?" How sweet are my guys?