weekend planning

I pulled my clipboard out yesterday to put into action. Which only means one thing: there's little sleep on my horizon. It's all fine, though...it's a natural result of my procrastination (I do that, remember). And by the way, does anyone know where March went? Just wondering.

First up: Easter!  And a gift of spring linen pants for each of my little ones. Does that sound like a cruel gift? Clearly, you do not know my children. Some new clothes, and a couple of earth balls, and they'll be thrilled. Though I'm sure Grammie will oblige them with a few sneaks of candy (but where, oh, where is that bunny going to put things?). It will be a very mellow day of cousins and aunts and celebrating spring (that's funny). But first, I need to stop eating the earth balls. And then, those pants need to be made.

Next up will be the hand delivering of these invitations to Ezra's birthday party. Oh, I am so so so in love with his drawing right now.  The drawings are all pirates, but the theme of the party? It's mustard, his favorite food. No really. The kid's a hoot. We'll have a 'mustard bar' with lots of different mustards (oh, he's SO excited about this), and I'm planning on making soft pretzels and veggie kabobs (for honey mustard), but I'm stalled out on ideas after that. I'd love any ideas for mustard-dipping foods! (To Ez, this seriously would be everything, but I'm thinking of us other folk).

And the hand delivering part? Hmn...well, it's the only way they'll get there in time for the party....three days from now. Yes, three days from now. All invitees have been forewarned of the date. But still. The point is that if I'm this behind on the invitations, you might guess how behind I am on the rest of the birthday festivities. So, um, yeah, I'd better get back to work!

See you next week! Have a wonderful weekend!

Comments

[kristin]

march surely flew by, can't believe
it is april and easter time.
those invitations are very sweet.
we're throwing around the idea for
a pirate party here in june as well.
what is it about those pirates?
enjoy your weekend celebrations.

[alicia]

Mustard? That's the best, seriously.

[betsy]

Have I told you lately how much I adore Ez? Seriously. Off to think very hard about the mustard theme. xo

[Andrea]

Mustard! I love it. My daughter had a "noses and milk" party last year for her 9th. We milked a pretend cow, had many different flavored milks (coffee, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry) and we played the "can you tell what it is by how it smells" game(blindfolds of course). Mustard was one of the smells! I love how creative kids can be and I know these unique themes are ones they will never forget. Have fun with the mustard!
Andrea (fan of your blog :)

[Melissa]

PLEASE tell me, where is that orange elephant fabric from?

[jean]

Yes, mustard, how perfect. Those pants are going to be fantastic. I LOVE that elephant fabric. Of course, it's all gone now. Maybe they'll get some more. Happy Birthday Ezra!

[Katherine]

I just knew you would have a copy of Festivals, Families & Food. When I was 8 I had a teacher who used it a lot and so my mum bought a copy, which ended up being mine, I still use it for recipes and for 'comfort reading', over 20 years on. Since I've been reading your blog I always think of you when I use the book. I love browsing some of the other titles that Hawthorn Press does, we have a couple of shops in Edinburgh selling Steiner toys and books and I love to browse in there.

And happy birthday Ezra, I am very curious to see what a mustard themed party will be like!

[Tasha-Rose]

We are doing a fairy tale party next month and I have a mermaid tail to make!

I am right there with your little man and the mustard. LOVE the stuff!! We have this tasty tasty tasty cherry mustard here that I swear I buy a new jar of (at more than $6 a pop!) every other week! Hanny Birthday to Ezra!

[Tasha-Rose]

er, um, happy birthday Ezra! Oy. the Orange Mango Motion hasn't kicked in yet...

[SOULEMAMA]

Melissa - the elephant fabric is from SuperBuzzy, though I think they might be out of it now.

[Nan]

We have 'dipping parties' a lot at our house. We like Morning start farms corn dogs (veggie) or mini-corn dogs for the mustard. WE like the morning star farms veggie chkn nuggets for mustard as well. As well as pretzels (like you have planned)... You can also get veggie spring rolls by the big case at Costco and we do a spicy mustard sauce for them. (they are not health food - but hey - it's a birthday party) We just stocked up for a dipping party for the night before the bunny comes to our house. I don't know if you do meat but along the lines of the asian mustard there is also the chicken satay - which my boys live for. I would think they would be pretty easy to do. Ahhh, dip - this is an awesome party - have fun!!

[annette]

Love those pachyderms! It may sound odd, but I like dipping baby carrots into mustard (and hummus, and black bean dip, and...). Lots of kids like the carrots and at least it's a veggie.

[Oiyi]

Your kids are really easy to please. The mustard dipping sounds wonderful. I love mustard also, especially with chicken sausage.

[paintergirl]

I have come here by way of acumamakiki and I find your work incrediably inspiring.

I love the japanese book you just bought.

I want to know what kind of sewing machine you have.

Peace

[Heather Smith]

Actually, I think the colored eggs will be easy to find in all of the white snow. It does look a bit deep though. I wish my 3 year old son liked mustard; instead, he loves avocados - one a day if we have them. Have fun and I can't wait to hear about the party.

[Sarah]

Have to de-lurk for this one. You have to love those middle children! Things that seem perfectly ordinary to them can amaze the rest of us. And the slightly behind invitations? Hey, at least they are made! My middle, with a December 24 birthday, was lucky if we remembered cake some years! And parties...sometimes in February. She only holds it against me a little now that she's 20, but we try to laugh about it! Thanks for a lovely blog I look forward to each day!

[lera]

a mustard party. gotta love that. he thinks just like me.

what about coctail weiners or cut-up hotdogs on toothpicks (or is that a little too dangerous?).

[Helena]

Mustard, definitely my kind of guy. I know these are small children. All I can think of is making a Hamburger and a hot dog bun pillows tie them to the kids and let them bounce off each other. Roll around and pretend. Mustard seeds come to mind. Types of mustard card game. Where they match the pair. Mustard plant center piece. Faux or real. Mustard colours ..Fishing for mustard. Pig in a blanket on a pole to try and dip in the mustard. The boys have tights felt mustard splats can be tossed and stick to them. Mustard twister....Can you tell I love mustard! Miss A could be the mustard jar hostess. Tack a Heinz label on her smock. March...? There was a March this year? Uh, more caffine please. Sorry about the lengthy post.

[lera]

ooh -- cheese cubes.

[Courtney]

pigs in blankets? you could use the pretend hot dogs for vegetarians...everyone loves pigs in blankets, even if they won't admit it...

[Laura]

Cheese! Super yum with any kind of mustard.
Is everything going to the mustard bar? Are there going to be a lot of adults? I imagine the kids will be fine with anything fingersized and dippable, but maybe a pasta salad with a mustard dressing for the grown-ups? You could also have mini sandwiches.

Um...what's for dessert? :)

This is a fabulous idea! Ezra deserves some extra high-fives.

[lisa]

please share photos of the finished pants and ez party!! i love his drawings too.

[brandie]

love the lists, love the mustard theme and the hand decorated cards, and love the soon to be pants. so cute! and can i say, as a fellow list lover, i love your list paper. is that weird? xo

[Amber A.]

I'm with Ezra on mustard's charms! My own children, however, don't necessarily agree with me.

You can find a form of mustard in many different cultures so I wonder if you could go with that, too? I like asian mustard but that might be a bit hot.

Have fun with that clipboard!

[Melissa]

I'm on an allrecipes.com kick lately so I just searched "mustard" and found an interesting tri-mustard salad and many other ideas. There is also this cookie recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Soft-Molasses-Cookies-IV/Detail.aspx where dry mustard is the secret ingredient! Can't go wrong with molasses cookies.

Have a great party!

[kiwi]

Do you eat chicken fingers? Cuz those are good with honey mustard or spicy mustard. And corn dogs are good regular mustard. Personally, I like cheddar cheese with spicy brown mustard. French fries are good with mustard.

[Jordan]

WOW a mustard party! I live in Wisconsin and live near the mustard museum and every year they have mustard fest. They have a mustard bar like you were talking about and mustard flavored ice cream and free hot dogs. Its a ton of fun:)

[Amy Lu]

I think I'd make "fries" for the mustard. Fries can be made out of everything. Potatoes of course, but we like them out of Sweet Potatoes, Jicama, carrots, zucchini, you name it.

We like sweet things with mustard too. Pita chips are good. Tortillas cut like a pizza and toasted work.

That said, it might be tempting to get a bunch of random foods, cut them to a finger-food shape and let them experiment. Someone might like the taste of mustard covered strawberries!

[tricia]

a mustard party!! that's rad!

[jane]

Kielbasa! cut into diagonal pieces and served with a toothpick.

[heather]

mustard...my favorite way to eat grilled cheese is with mustard and tomato slices. my preference is sharp cheddar and whole grain mustard, but what would ezra love?

and... i just returned from grocery shopping with my easter supply of earth balls... every holiday, never fails. i also found jelly beans that are actually chemical free! who knew?! have a wonderful weekend.

[Barbara]

a mustard party, genius! :) my boyfriend is big on this little recipe: tater-tots with a bit of mustard "injected" into the middle of them (with the mustard that comes with the pointy tips). I'm not a big fan of mustard, but he swears it is the best! (would be cute too :)

[viv]

If your boy is a mustard fan, has he had wasabi? When I lived in Japan I was a huge fan of wasabi peas (crunchy snack) - sounds weird but they are really good. You could find them in any of Portland's asian stores or even in health food stores. Have fun!

[jennifer]

have a wonderful weekend! our egg hunt is in a similar quandry - surprise Spring snow, ugh.
as for mustard yummies, how about veggie corn dogs (i think morningstar farms makes some), and quesadillas filled with savory delights, and how about something sweet to contrast, like maple candy or honey-anything. our girls would probably dip pineapple and berries into mustard if it were available - kids crack me up. have a fun one and happy birthday to E!

[Kristy]

Amanda, I was wondering if you could recommend some resources for festivals and holidays? My daughter is wee yet, but I'd like to start doing some research into various holidays (like Solstice) so that we can start our own family traditions. We aren't religious, so I'd like to look into more nature based holidays, instead of just mindlessly celebrating the Christian holidays. Any ideas?

[Veronica TM]

wonderful preparations, no much time! i hope you can sneak some sleep in here and there.
i love those drawings too!

[pokettiger]

Happy Birthday Ezra! I am a mustard lover too! Bestill my heart. I heartily agree with one of the posts above - cheese cubes are a must. Little crackers, pretzel sticks (though I know you already had pretzels on the list) sweet pickles, tomato and cucumber are also yummy accompaniments.

[anna]

I would totally be dipping hard-boiled (Easter) eggs. Though we usually get carried away and have the kids out hunting for at least 50 of them.

[QueenK]

Okay - I'll make everyone else cringe, but I love pickles and mustard. I'm not pregnant - really! There's a great local pub that does a Ploughman's lunch platter with local cheddar, mustard, pickles, sourdough bread and apple chutney. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The pickles go really nicely with the mustard. Don't know how many kids would go there, but it's a thought.

[Kati]

Not sure if y'all are vegetarians or not, but if not then some sausages (bratwurst comes to mind) could be an option. Some crackers of some sort, like home-made cheese crackers. Swiss-cheese cubes, maybe..... Um, apple slices to go along, because apples, swiss cheese, mustard and sausage go together SO well! Oh, and rye bread!

Or, maybe make some crackers/bread-twists flavored with mustard....

Sounds like a fabulous birthday party, and I love the fact that your middle one is already doing the taste-testing type parties, at such a young age. Ezra's got serious class!!!! ;)

[lavender]

deviled eggs are so yummy and made with mustard...

[allysonhill]

Peanut Butter and Mustard Sandwiches (if no peanut allergies of course). I used to eat them as a kid with yellow mustard. Seriously, they're good!

[allysonhill]

Peanut Butter and Mustard Sandwiches (if no peanut allergies of course). I used to eat them as a kid with yellow mustard. Seriously, they're good!

[ilse]

I wish you all a lovely easter weekend. and if it is possible with some sunshine right?

Ohh amanda, i really love your clipboard and list, really, i know maybe this sounds extremely weird, but I do. Maybe I'm weird too ! but then again if I'm weird you must be weird too. let just say we blogmama's are all weird, right. hihi

happy easter hunt and a more happier mustard party !
can't wait to see pictures of that.

xxx

[ann]

Morning Star corn dogs are great for dipping in mustard. Someone probably already mentioned corn dogs, but I didn't have time to read the comments.

[Selah]

You could have a mustard taste test or you could have the kids pick their favorite mustard and graph the results! Pin the mustard on the hotdog or the tofupup would be a hoot! The kids could make a mustard recipe book together. They could hold a "down with ketchup" rally. Okay enough already, and now I must plan my own son's birthday. I LOVE kids parties. I love that your son is having a mustard party and I'm so impressed with his detailed drawing. Happy Mustard B.Day to Ezra and have a blast.

[Geertrude]

The first thing that came to my mind when reading about the mustard party was: bitterballen. We love them and you need to eat them with mustard. It's also a very dutch thing, I guess.
To my surprise, my google search on "bitterballs" which is a wacky translation if you aks me, came up with a recipe: http://www.recipes-on-cd.com/game/dutch-bitterballs.htm

[katie]

I love it! A mustard party. How very original. I say mini hot dogs always go well with mustard. Or you can make a mustard dip to go with veggies. Oh the possibilities

[Amy]

Chicken nuggets, fingers, are good.

[Lorien]

Oh my lordy! A mustard party, or as my highschool sweetheart from Montreal would have said, a "Mute party" I bet your little dude will have the whole thing planned out exactly the way he is picturing it. I am really looking forward to hearing the details.
Love and Light,
The Feral Beetle