Mind of an orchid

July brings with it plenty of birthday frenzy to our home. Not only are we acquainted with plenty of July born people but we also get to celebrate two birthdays at home. That's right, Li'l A and me were born in July!
This year was Li'l A's 5th and of course, that meant I had to celebrate. More so since all plans for a celebration had to be cancelled last year owing to my surgery. The guilt weighed in heavily and even before I was over my jet lag, I started the planning. Of course, I meant to keep it simple but things snowballed, I got carried away and we ended up hosting about 40 people at home. But it was a lot of fun, Li'l A was appreciative and I was able to shrug off some of that guilt and in the end that's all that mattered

I (that's right) decided on a jungle theme for two reasons. One, Li'l A really really enjoys the jungle book movie, two, I cannot even begin to express my dislike for Disney characters/superheroes/movie character themes. But putting together a jungle theme b'day party was harder than I imagined. No really, towards the end I almost believed that there is some kind of a huge conspiracy spawned by the movie folks. Can you believe that none of the regular party stores carry any of the birthday paraphernalia with animals on them. That's right- no party ware, no banners, no party poppers, nothing! There's plenty of batman, transformers, Diego stuff but nothing with good ole animals on them. Made me wonder if I am really that old fashioned. But I wasn't going to be defeated that easily either. I shop hopped and in the end this is what I managed - home made handcrafted caps (with animal print felt bought from hobby lobby), loot bags with animals on them (also from hobby lobby), goodies (from party America), party ware from dollar tree(found some pretty pastels with animals on them) but later ditched them for the more vibrant zoopals party ware (from Walmart).
The cake was from Tom thumb and I had to go with the Madagascar cake (despite wanting to stay away from Hollywood), but remember the cake had to have animals on it!
But the best part, the party decorations which tied everything together were all handcrafted by *ahem* "ME". I had a blast making the animal print cutouts with construction paper and squiggly wiggly eyes and whaddaya know, moi is pretty creative after all!!!!! And oh, we had some live animals too. That's right, the 10 odd jumping, hopping, bouncing, prancing 3-5 yr olds that had a whale of a time in the bounce house despite the Texas heat!

Finally, I pulled it off!! Maybe I didn't have to obsess about wanting to coordinate everything with the jungle theme but once I got sucked into the idea, it was hard not to go all the way. Maybe, the kids didn't care but I wouldn't have been happier with anything else and that's just me. After all, it's not everyday that my boy turns 5!

And that brings us to the second birthday - mine. Really, we are so exhausted by all the fan fare that accompanies Li'l A's b'day that by the time mine rolls around its even a surprise if anybody cares to remember. It's always been a muted affair since Li'l A was born - a quiet dinner, a few fresh flowers, some time off - things of that nature mostly. This time also I didn't expect anything else but some things were different and in a nice way, of course. The night before, Li'l A actually asked me if I was ready for my birthday the next day. He remembered!! And thanks to the social networking sites, the wishes were aplenty. It just surprised me that I know so many people- many acquaintances but even more friends. Phone calls, instant messages, emails and more kept me occupied most of the day. Again, the same thought- so many people cared to remember. And the gift, oh yes, no birthday is complete without one?? Well, at least this year I wasn't expecting any. All that shopping in India have temporarily satiated my shopping urges and when Uj asked me yesterday , I was completely clueless and that's a first! I really could not think of anything I wanted. But as I sat watching Li'l A play in the backyard , Uj handed me a little box and whispered happy b'day hon. Of course, it was the most beautiful solitaire I have seen and I was touched. It is the thought that counts and I felt serenaded. Today we are back to routine, Li'l A and I start yet another year but this week we were both made to feel special and for that I am grateful!

YOU WOULD BE A GOOD TEACHER!!

Y You Should Be a Teacher

You are patient, optimistic, and good at explaining things. You work well with all types of people, and you are a good role model. Success and positive outcomes are extremely important to you. You are both a good leader and instructor. People look up to and depend on you. You do best when you: - Can see the results of your work - Are able to teach someone a new skill You would also be a good nurse or non fiction writer.

of all things that I could be doing a comeback post on, I choose this!! I know , I know, I could be writing about Uj like I promised many moons ago or I could write about my trip back home or maybe even something about the big birthday this week (yes Li'L A turns F-I-V-E !!!!tomorrow), but no, all that's got to wait.....
and hey, check out the last line...see I knew I would totally rock at this blog thing (if I wouldn't do the disappearing act every now and then ) :)

Anyhoo, howdy folks?? all well? and if I sound a bit tizzy, blame it on the heat..it's a frikkin' 103 out there!