Birthday Girl

"It's an American Girl doll," beamed Jannah-Rae when she opened the box. And although it wasn't really an American Girl doll, it was! It was what she had been craving following her intimate experience with the library dolls and she was thrilled to have one she could keep. My friend in Portland had sent her the "Birthday Girl" outfit and the surprise came out all too well. The perfect ending to a great year ahead. Happy Birthday Jannah-Rae, one last time for this year!

Birthday Party Countdown ~ Saturday

Today came too soon. The night was interrupted by Jannah-Rae spiking a fever of 104.5 during the early hours of our sleep and subsequent multiple wakings. We finally got up at five although none of us was ready to start the day.

The first thought that came to me upon waking up, after wanting coffee of course, was to take out the cream cheese and frosting jar from the refrigerator. Earlier in the Fall, and knowing I would be making JR's birthday cake as usual, I had picked up a container of orange cream frosting from Williams Sonoma. It was on clearance and so I had walked out with an amazing product for a few cents over a dollar. It has been sitting in my cupboard since. Also sitting in my cupboard were sugar letters spelling "Happy Birthday" along with a few sugar balloons. I was still not sure whether or not I was going to use them, but had them handy just in case. These, too, were a bargain purchase from the grocery store in the development.

I had been toying with ideas for Jannah-Rae's cake since November. The one I had originally planned required a great deal of forward planning; it was a cake within a cake with the number 5 baked on the inside. I did not have a number 5 cookie cutter and went looking for one like a woman on a mission. When my mother in law finally attained one from her friend, I thought my idea was saved. Alas, it was too high and the inner cake did not fit in the final baking pan. I thought to buy a deeper cake pan, but that would have proven disastrous as the outside would have burned leaving an uncooked center. But I was not ready to give up on the idea yet as I had seen first hand how beautiful the final product looked. Earlier I had executed the idea using a flower in the center and it turned out great. There was no reason why I couldn't carry on with the number 5. So I went searching again, this time for smaller cookie cutters. I found a set at my old employer and brought it home; it was worthless. After baking the first cake and cutting it up, the shapes proved to be too small and light to hold their own in the dense batter; they floated around and baked in any which way. I was left with a cake looking like nothing. I scrapped the idea and pondered others.

Jannah-Rae asked for a palace cake with a prince and princess; I refused! I was not ready to give up the party for a princess theme or go down the princess route. I needed a theme-free fun cake that would both look and taste good. I pulled my favorite chocolate cake recipe out and sought to match it with good looks. I decided on chocolate malt balls facade. I had seen such cakes before and admired them and thought I could execute one without much fuss; I would make a three layer chocolate cake completely covered with balls of chocolate malt. Then, I changed my mind! After talking it over with Jeff we settled on two two-layer cakes instead of my original one three-layer and one one layer cakes; a three layer cake would have been difficult to tackle when it was time to cut and serve as we are rather inexperienced in that department.

When the kids went down for their nap at 9:00am I got to work. I whipped the frosting and stirred the jam. I began assembling. I had not thought to buy a cake circle, so I made one myself from a leftover cardboard box that I wrapped with aluminum foil. Then I lay parchment paper around it to protect the cake stand from frosting drips. I lay the first layer: it was the vanilla cake. While I had intended on making it a fully chocolate cake, I had run out of cocoa powder during the preparation phase and decided to do without. I thought it would be a nice modification to have a white layer a midst the two darks and now I used it as the bottom layer for the first, main, cake. I piped some frosting around the edges to safeguard any filling spillover and spread the strawberry jam inside the parameters. Then I brought over the chocolate layer. Once the jam had settled I began icing.

I am certainly not an expert on frosting. As a matter of fact, I make a terrible mess trying to cover a cake up with anything. I usually eat my cakes plain and simple, if I eat them at all. In reality I like to bake cakes but I hardly ever eat them. I serve them to friends and family but do not approach them much; it is the baking rather than the eating that entices me. I also wipe off any frosting from store-bought cakes and cupcakes. I think they go too heavy on the topping which is either too sweet or too fatty. But Jannah-Rae had asked for frosting and really having it was the only way I could get the malt balls to stick on the cake. So I had to figure out how to do it and I did. I laid a thin layer on and around and did not take much pain in its unevenness since it was all going to be covered with malt balls. But it wasn't!

When I commenced with the malt balls, I had a hard time getting them to stick. The first few balls kept falling off the sides so I feared the worst but kept on going. After the first row was up, I added the second and the third pressing them all into the cake as I went. Once the third row was done I was left with a gap between it and the top of the cake. Unsure of how best to cover it, I let it be and circled the top of the cake instead. Looking at the cake, I was satisfied with where it was it. And as I did not trust that the malt balls were going to stay put I decided to conserve my energy and use what time I had left to get the second, back-up, cake ready. Unable to leave the top plain, though, I reached for the mini M&Ms to personalize it.

The back-up cake was "plain" compared to the main one. Two chocolate layers separated by strawberry jam, leftover orange cream icing and mini M&Ms made it complete. Not having enough frosting left though meant that only the top layer got cover while the bottom one remained exposed. That was not an issue since I was only going to bring it out in the event that I woke up the next day to find all the malt balls in a heap at the bottom of the main cake.

The cakes now done, I moved on to set up and decorations. We hung up streamers, balloon and dangling swirls around the kitchen and in the basement, We split the "Happy Birthday" banner into two and hung one on the wall in the kitchen and another in the basement. Jannah-Rae wiped down the the rented table and chairs was wiped clean and set them up in their corner of the kitchen. We brought out the paper plates and plastic utensils, washed and dried the serving platters, prepped the ingredients for the popcorn maker, blew up the rest of the balloons, covered the cakes and turned out the lights. By then it was time for bed; tomorrow would be a busy day.

Birthday Party Countdown ~ Friday

With Jannah-Rae sick a few days before her party I was really worried we would have to cancel the celebration. When we went to the doctor yesterday, one of the questions I had asked her was whether she thinks we should carry on with our plans. She did not see a reason why not, since the party was still five days away and suggested to see how Jannah-Rae fared on Saturday before making the final decision. So when she woke up feeling slightly like her "old" self, I decided to commence the party preparations, but instead of touting one child like originally planned, I had both of them at hand and had to navigate much while they napped.

Being up at four thirty in the morning meant that they both took an early morning nap. During that time I baked the first two of the four cakes. I had measured all the dry ingredients the week before into plastic containers so it was rather easy to add the wet ingredients, mix, pour and bake. As soon as I started, though, the door bell rang and I had to tend to the dryer delivery people while mixing the chocolate cake but that was not an issue as they knew exactly where to go and what to do. But with all their noise, the kids woke up a few minutes into the nap and were all over the kitchen in no time. Yousef, who did not really understand that the cakes were for later, threw a fit when he was denied a piece of the freshly baked cake. I appeased him with M&Ms and then decided to head out as soon as he was finished from his treat. Our route was leading us to two places: H-Mart and A Ton of Fun.

Months before I had reserved child-size tables and chairs for the party. After calling around to potential indoor party venue, I had decided that holding the party at home was both more fun and more economical. Yet I was faced with an pertinent issue: how was I going to seat over a dozen two and five year olds? Our house was sparsely furnished and the floor was not comfortable enough. Besides it was winter and the hardwood floors would be cold. So the idea of a picnic lunch was scrapped. I needed table and chairs, and I needed to rent them. I did an online search and found two companies that carried child-sized furniture. I called the first one and went with it. Today I would have to pick the material up.

When I had arranged for the pick-up time with the company I had thought I would down to one child with ample room in the car for the long table and the numerous chairs. But when today came, I found myself having to adjust both my schedule and mode of transportation. Jeff and I made a one-time exception and allowed JR to sit in the front seat on the way back from the rental company, a twenty five minute drive on two freeways. Luckily there was no traffic and JR was well aware of the dangers of sitting in the front seat so she stayed put and focused. We made it home in plenty of time for another nap!

Before heading to A Ton of Fun, we stopped at H-Mart to purchase our supplies for the fruit and vegetable platters. Cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, celery and cucumber constituted our choice for vegetables. As for fruit, we settled on apples, bananas, grapes, pineapple and kiwi. I had wanted some cantaloupe or honeydew but we did not see any we liked. With our two bags in hand, we headed out into the cold and on our way.

Once home with the kids in bed, I prepped the vegetables and baked the second batch of cakes. I chopped the celery and onion for the tuna salad and washed and dried the platters. I covered the cooled cakes and refrigerated the produce. I brought the chairs in and wiped them down and sorted the decorations in preparation for tomorrow.

When Jannah-Rae woke up she asked to be given a role, and I had the perfect part for her to play: put together the "Party" sign. With a brush, pink paint, a sticker and glitter glue, she set about her task. Before long she had finished the sign that would direct out guests away from the front door and towards the garage door; the party would commence in the basement with free play and organised games while the kitchen/dining area upstairs were reserved for food and cake in the second hour of the celebrations. Once complete she moved on to allocating the party favors among her guests and organising our "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" game.

All that was left to do today was one last stop at the store to buy milk and juice for drinks and cream cheese for the frosting. That we did after picking Jeff up from work. Our day was now officially over. Tomorrow would be dedicated to assembling the cakes.

This is FIVE!

Five is a month-long celebration.
It is three birthday cakes in three days,
and one more party coming up.

Five is a pre-celebration with Teta and Jeddo,
A surprise party at the school,
and leftover cake with Baba.

Five is an excited little girl with a beautiful bright smile.
It is balloons, and streamers and birthday banner.
It is gifts waiting to be open.

Five is three presents from Teta,
three from Grandma,
and three from Mama and Baba.
It is a hug and a kiss from Yousef.

Five is a new backpack, a pencil case and a toiletry bag,
new cooking tools and pretty doll outfits,
a popcorn popper, books and crafts.
It is an 18-inch Madam Alexander doll with curtly brown hair and shiny brown eyes.
It is more to arrive.

Five is ~ correction ~ a year long celebration!
Happy Five Jannah-Rae,
Here is to a wonderful year.

Happy 5th Birthday Jannah-Rae

Happy Birthday, Jannah-Rae. 

I love you.

I woke up extra early, and went to bed extra late last night, to get things ready for your big day. I dangled streamers, blew up balloons, and hung up a banner. I baked a cake, frosted it and hid it away. I planned the surprise party with the school, I sneaked in the treats. I wanted to be ready for you today. I wanted to be prepared.

When you came to us on your own time that cold January morning in 2010, I was not ready, we were not prepared. My bag was not packed, my journal was not complete, my pregnancy scrapbook was still missing photos. I still had appointments to make and things to do. I had work deadlines and shopping lists. We still had not bought you a crib, and we hadn't yet decided about a changing table. We needed sheets for you, and blankets, a bouncy seat and a play mat. You needed a "going home" outfit. I needed more time. Yes, we were not ready; but you certainly were. 

Since then, I have been trying to be ready for you, to be prepared for your wants and needs and yet I never am. You are your own little self, my dear, and always one step ahead. I do my best, and you do your part just as well. Together we keep each other in check. I tell you to be thankful for what you have, to be happy with what you got, to enjoy what is here. You look to what more could be had, what can be improved, what else needs to be done. With my reminders you balance yourself and remember to be content. You are content. But you are also ambitious. You are eager. But you are also patient. You are loud. But you are also quiet. You are a mysterious mix of seeming contradictions. You are everything you were meant to be. 

"Happy Birthday," the banner above your head read, repeatedly covering the entire length of the wall. Happy Birthday, it sure will be. 

Birthday Girl Through 2014

It's the day before the birthday and JR is over the clouds. Yesterday she picked out the cake to celebrate, the third pack of candles, the birthday horns in preparation for her first celebration. She glowed when she set the items on the checkout counter and was asked if she is getting ready for a party. "You are turning five, right?" she was asked and shyly she nodded, amazed that they had guessed. 

I had spent the last few days invested in making her gift. I sorted through a thousand photos from the past months selecting those that portrayed her through the year. From her fourth birthday party in Beirut, through the snow in Morocco, the airport in Paris and her time in Arlington, VA to our move to Columbia, MD, her outdoor life in the suburbs and her time spent on vacation, the photos ran through her many moments and faces. There are happy faces, sad faces, sun-kissed faces, and glowing faces. There are faces on horses, faces on trees, astronaut faces and butterfly faces. There she is with Yousef, with her doll, with her self. She is running on the treadmill, riding her bike, jumping from higher and higher up. She is kneading, rolling, cutting. She is making bread, crackers, sushi. She is eating, hugging, kissing. She is checking us out at Trader Joe's, riding the duck boat on the lake, feeding the animals. She is picking fruit, reading books, smelling the flowers. She is guiding a military aircraft, dressing her dolls, getting her nails painted. She is building a city, playing with foam, dancing in the rain. She is serving me from her play kitchen, laying on a bed of nails, coloring with sidewalk chalk. She is being a girl, a four year old girl, a big sister, a first born. She is being Jannah-Rae.   

I had spent hours going through the photos. I narrowed them down to a hundred. Then, I added a hundred more. I made them into a movie. I added music. I watched it over and over again. I edited it. I shared it with my friends. I then deleted it. I took it down. I removed it from the public sphere. It was my gift to her, and it was too special to spread out. I kept it on my computer, for her to see. She will love it, I am sure. I cannot wait to see. 

Happy Birthday Jannah-Rae

I love you!

Happy Birthday Teta

December 1st, was Teta's birthday. I would know since I handle most, if not all, her medical matters and I am always asked what the birth date is. 12/1/19xx I say with confidence now, when once I used to hesitate and stutter. Yes, there was once a time when I did not know my mom's birthday, or my dad's.

Growing up we never put a lot of emphasis on birthdays. We celebrated mine and my sister's randomly at best, and with a little fanfare at most. I do remember some birthdays shared with cousins either at a local attraction the equivalent of McDonald's these days or at my cousin's house. Some years there was cake at school. But rarely did we have a "party" at our house. It was only during my teenage years where I could plan, fund and produce my own parties that I have vivid memories of having them; it was my sixteenth and my eighteenth that I recall best of all. After that, birthday dinners were the rage and we followed suit.

I don't ever recall celebrating my parent's though. I don't even know why. My aunts and uncles celebrated theirs so it was unique to us that we didn't. We were even questioned about it, "what are you doing for your mom's birthday?" We would respond with an empty look, "nothing." We didn't even buy them cake, let alone gifts. I guess they didn't care, so neither did we.

Then they moved to the US where every occasion is celebrated. It's a Hallmark culture with a card for everything you could think of. So, we started a new tradition, albeit hesitantly at first. In the early years I would rely on my aunt from Beirut to remind me of my mom's birthday. She would be on the phone and ask what we were doing or what am I buying. That would jolt my memory and entice me to actually do something. That something would either be a cake, a coffee and dessert date, a casual dinner or a gift. Sometimes it was a combination of an outing and a gift. Sometimes my sister would pitch in the idea of what to get her and some times I would be on my own. A coat, some shoes, a new purse, a Starbucks gift card, a facial, or some year nothing at all.

This year we celebrated with a view, a breakfast buffet, lotions and a new hat. But the biggest gift was the company. With us in Ifrane, my mom turned a new age all by herself last year. This year, however, she made up the difference. John and Susan, Yousef and Jannah-Rae, Jeff and I, and my dad were all seated around a table in the Concierge Lounge overlooking the National Mall. Originally our plan was to go to a local favorite for breakfast but when we saw the view from the hotel we were staying at we changed plans. Smoked salmon, imported cheese and cheap coffee were part of our meal, and so was good conversation and hugs and kisses. We didn't sing "Happy Birthday" but let the song hang in the air above us. Jannah-Rae had made her a card and Yousef sat in her lap.

Soon it was time to go; we had a story time to catch and my mom had to get to work. It turned out to be a gorgeous December day. With the temperature in the mid-70's and no breeze, we all spent hours outside. My mom enjoyed her pre clock-in and post clock-out walk and the kids and us took a long walk and played outside as much as we could. Then the sun set on another day.

Happy Birthday Mom. Here's to many more!

18 months

 18 months ago we were waiting for Josephine to make her way into the world. While Jeff and I anxiously looked at the clock, counting the minutes to C-time, Jannah-Rae was with my mom getting ready to meet Josie.

I remember the first "Just Josie" book JR and I had purchased. It was at the local Barnes and Noble one winter morning. When JR was little we spent many a mornings walking the streets of the Courthouse-Clarendon corridor up to B&N to meet friends, read and play. The book on the clearance table. It had a red dot and much potential. There were a few copies for grabs, and one was ours. Having loved the book as much as we did, and learning that there was another in the "series" I went hunting for the second one. For a reason I cannot remember I had a personal and intent interest in acquiring both books. I scouted near and far, online and in stores. I made calls, reached out to friends, asked for favors. I finally found a copy in Portland, OR, at "the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world." I ordered it and completed the collection.

Over the years we read both books multiple times. When I got pregnant we decided that whether girl or boy the baby was going to be Grandpa Joe's namesake. And thus Josie became part of the family. For months it was "Josie this and Josie that," until it was actually time for Josie, and then we had a miracle. Josephine quickly became Joseph and Josie retreated into the storybooks.

Eighteen months later JR still tells the tale of how Yousef was supposed to be a girl, how we were going to name her Josie and how she misses Josie. She opens the story by asking mothers with babies if their baby boy was supposed to be a girl or if their baby girl was supposed to be a boy. She then proceeds with her narrative. The mothers then look at me with astonishment and disbelief and ask me to confirm the story. We get the same reaction every time.

It's been eighteen months since JR started telling the story and yet it has not lost one bit of its luster. It's still as fresh and as exhilarating since day 1. Happy 18 months Yousef; we all love you.

Happy Birthday Jannah-Rae

You surprised us three years ago, and still do, every day!

Getting ready for JR's 3rd ~ the invitations

 Before I send out the "formal" invitations to any even JR is hosting,

I always like to send out a Save The Date email. Above was created from a Clipart image I found online.

Once the email goes out and I hear back from the guests,

I start working on the traditional paper invites.

For this party, I decided to create multi-colored invites to match the multi-colored balloons

JR will have at her party.

What you need:

* Craft paper cut into 5 X 7 rectangles

* Multicolored plain balloons

* Ribbon

* Stickers for extra decorations

* Sharpie pen, I went with red

* Scissors

The invitation itself will be written on the balloons.

To do that, blow up the balloon just a little, and while holding it shut with one hand,

write down the details of the invite with the other using the sharpie pen.

You will end up with something similar to the above.

The writing is not exactly straight, but that comes with the fact that the balloon itself is not!

Deflate the balloon.

Puncture two holes in your craft paper and thread the ribbon through both sides.

Insert the tip of the balloon between the ends of the ribbon, tighten and tie the ribbon from the back.

Decorate with stickers and add any fun phrase you want to the invitation.

I decided to put the address on the back of the card so as not to crowd the front

or have too much writing on the balloon itself.

Voila!

You now have yourself a fun, creative birthday invite

the recipients will enjoy until the birthday itself.

Getting ready for JR's 3rd ~ the inspiration

It all starts with an idea. Sometimes the idea comes to me, other times I seek it out. 

Last year, JR's favorite "character" was Frosty the Snowman. And so the "theme" of the party was snowmen. I needed a cake that was made of made "two" pieces and a snowman cake was just perfect for that.

The year before that was cupcake year and I made enough to spell out JR and draw out the number 1.



This year requires a cake with three parts. After much thought, I browsed the Internet. Balloons popped up (no pun intended) as the top contenders. Three cake "balloons" tied together with string and brightly colored with frosting. And that set the wheels in motion. Balloons it shall be. Next, the invitations. But before that, a Save the Date email need to go out. 

Gone West

Headed West and turning 35!

See you around the Bend!

A Lemonade "Tea" Party

was the highlight of the day. After much planning and work, the result was simply REWARDING. I am thankful that I have the time, resources, support and friends to make it happen.

After organising JR's second birthday party and seeing how much fun it was to throw a party, I decided I was going to have regular "tea" parties for JR and her friends. A few months after January, namely in March, JR hosted a tea party where the girls chatted over chamomile tea, peanut butter and jelly tea sandwiches, anise tea cookies, almond cakes and lemon scones. For favors JR gave her friends a tea pot shaped cookie cutter attached to a chamomile tea bag.

Following that success, and again the fun, I put together JR's first annual lemonade party. It took a lot of planning and quite a bit of work: the pineapple muffins that were my first choice ended up getting stuck to the pan; I put too much starch in the lemon curd and had to start again; I almost burnt the pie crust while trying to rescue it. But the end result was captivating. And worth it.

The menu included homemade lemonade, mini yellow corn muffins, green leaf-shaped pancakes, lemon pound cake, and a fruit basket. Each girl decorated a lemon and a lemon leaf for JR's Lemon Tree of Friendship (more on that to follow) and took home a mini lemon loaf.

Jeff's Birthday

Lots to be grateful for today.
- A roof over our heads.
- Hot/Cold meals when we are hungry.
- Wheels to take us places.
- Money to make our life easier.
- Family members who love us.
- Jeff's birthday.
- An easy drive back to DC.
- A free breakfast.
- A wonderful time away.

And best of all, a family dinner of sauteed salad, shrimp and french fries while reading books on the floor in the spare bedroom also knows as "the office" and "Jannah-Rae's room".