Cakes, birthdays and vegetable seeds
March 2, 2007 at 12:05 PM
by Ashleigh
It's Sebastian's birthday tomorrow. I can barely believe it. 7 already.
Unfortunately he's still a bit sick from his flu last week so instead of our planned trip to Burger's Zoo, we will be staying close to home and going to the movies instead. Night at the Museum seems to be the one to watch, after all reports say that Barnyard was completely crap (and that all the cattle, even the boys, have udders).
I promised him he could even have the over-priced 'kids box' of popcorn, drink and toy at the cinema. I always feel like an ogre when I say no to that kids box, but hey, it gives me something special to allow him to have on his birthday.
He has ordered various foods for his birthday. Pancakes for breakfast. Chocolate cupcakes. A chocolate cake with whipped cream and chocolate ganache and a sweet potato pie. Spring rolls for supper.
Heaven help me! I've made the cupcakes and cooked the sweet potato. Just the cake, pie crust pastry and the actual assembly of the pie to do now. The spring rolls are in the freezer ready to be defrosted and cooked and the pancakes are easy. The worst part is that I can't eat any of this! Still on that diet ...
My seeds arrived from the Johnson's Seeds dealer in Holland - Tabernal Zaden.
I ordered a variety of combination packs and loose packets of seeds and unfortunately my order got a bit messed up.
Alarming when you have to pay up front and then only receive half of what you ordered.
They say they are sorting it out and hopefully they will, but it's not good for a first time impression. Anyway, this is what I got:
Coloured dwarf beans - borlotto, contender, golden wax roquencourt, purple queen
Basils - lemon, lettuce leaf, minnette, red rubin, sweet genovese and thai
Pumpkins and Winter Squashes - butternut, jack o lantern, rolet, sweet dumpling, table queen and turk's turban
Nasturtiums - alaska mixes, golden jewel, peach melba, tall mixed, mahogany gleam and tom thumb mixed
Tomatoes - orange berry, constaluto fiorentino, red pear, san marzano 2, ildi, tigerella
Sweet peas - bijou mixed, butterfly mixed, firebrand, royal blue, old spice mixed, pinkie
Peas - Early May
My sunflowers, salad leaves, other beans, aubergines, carrots and spring onion seeds haven't arrived yet.
I'll be starting some of these off on the windowsills shortly, at two week intervals so that I get a staggered summer crop. This of course means that all the crap on the windowsills needs a new place to live. Argh.
And finally, the Husband wants to buy Seb a Nintendo DS Lite for his birthday. I think it's too much of a gift for a 7 year old. It's not like we don't have other game playing devices - PS2, computer etc.
What do you think? Seb is able to take good care of his stuff so that's not an issue. He's super-into games too and is really good at them, plus the games for the Nintendo are more kid orientated than the ones for the Playstation.
I'm just unsure of whether a 150 euro gift is appropriate for a 7 year old birthday. He's getting other stuff, some Hama melty beads, some books, a game for the PS2 (which hasn't come yet), and he is having a day out tomorrow and a party next week. Maybe a Gameboy Advance (100 euros) instead?
Opinions greatly appreciated!
Comments
Happy Birthday (in advance) to Seb!
Can't advise on the game really, but I'm looking forward to seeing your crops grow :)
You asked me if I'd used growbags - we tried them a long time ago (I think) and they didn't turn out too well. Last year, we just used pots for the tomatoes and they were great, so I think we'll probably go that route again. I might try potatoes in a tub if I can get the right variety - thanks for the tip!
Your spring planting sounds so exciting! Since I can't work on my own garden, I'm hoping I will be back in Canada in time to help my best friend transfer her seedlings outside. Yay for growing your own veggies! I totally understand your concern with the video games. I always felt my brother overdid it with my nephew (now 18!) and both the extent of his game playing and his nonchalance about what it all cost has not done him a whit of good. I would agree with Jane that investing in a PC is a good option, because it's something that can also be learned as a learning tool and is shared with the whole family. Good luck deciding what to do!
Seb's birthday is tomorrow?!
The nice thing about an eldest child like Seb is that he'll take such good care of his stuff that you can use it for the younger kid(s). We do tend to get Max more expensive gifts sometimes for that reason.
Your seed adventures are exciting. Sorry about the messed up order, but the variety you've received so far is impressive!
O dear, there's no advizing I'm afraid. I can only tell you what we do here.
We have 2 gameboy's (advance), there is only limited playtime allowed. They have to ask before they play. (the PS2 goes with an eggtimer!) If I was to buy a DS lite or PB advance, I would choose the first (if money was available). You can do much more on it, also more varied games (not always the shooting-kind). It's also good for eye-hand-coordination, so it's not all bad.
But if you want to give such a pricy-gift in the first place....well that's another question. And totally yours to answer!
It'll be exciting to see your moestuin-garden in a few months time.
Happy birthday for your Sebastian tomorrow!!!
Hi - I saw you on Ali's blog. Your son's menu request made me smile. My daughter turns 7 in June - and she adds something new to her birthday plans nearly every day. Right now her menu includes donuts for breakfast, mac'n'cheese (ew) for lunch, and thai food for dinner.
I know what you mean about the gift. Kids have SO much these days! We've been trying to scale back and not 'keep up' if you know what I mean. On the other hand, there are only a couple of times a year to give those bigger gifts, so....
(sorry, no help!)
Our youngest is soon to be fifteen. The older five children are now adults. How they looked forward to their birthdays! They have fond memories of their birthday's past. We are rather conservative people and kept birthdays very simple. We still do.
Happy Birthday to Sebastian! Time sure flies, doesn't it? I hope he feels well enough to really celebrate!
My advice on the gift?
If you're going to get it for him *sometime* anyway, it may as well be on his birthday. What good is disposable income if you never use it?
Moreover, if you can get games that challenge the intellect, rather than mindless pursuits such as simple shoot-em-up games, all the better (I don't think the latter is appropriate or recommended for kids).
Just consider the repercussions if Joe feels left out everytime Seb plays in isolation.
no advice on the game thing I am afraid. I debated the idea of a PS for my kids for Christmas and decided against it. I'd rather by them a PC - this hasn't happened yet but prolly will during the year. My reasoning is that they'll need free access to one soon for school etc and it seems more versatile and more educational than just a games console. Also with the current OT issues I am inclined to want to detract from TV and games and PC activities anyway.
They do have one or 2 PC games and for now are happy with free internet games.
Quinn got a homework desk for his birthday lol (and other things)so perhaps Seb would prefer you NOT to ask me for advice on this one ;P
March 2, 2007 12:29 PM