Happy Birthday Laurent


We celebrated Laurent's birthday last Friday in a cozy, family-focused, take the day easy kind of way. Much needed after the busy pace of the last week and month. Waffles for breakfast, some time spent with Nana & Papa (on the last day of their visit), a few gifts, pizza and card games and cakes baked by Nana.


Laurent is a real social kid and when we asked him if we could host another pizza and beer night on the day of his birthday he loved the idea. Laurent loves people. Period. Their age is irrelevant to him. So we hosted Damien's co-workers (which include some family friends), my parents and of course our own crew of five. The kids drank too much soda, ate too much cake and stayed up far too late finally hitting their pillows at 11 pm. What's a birthday without a bit of excess?


There is a story behind this waffle maker. Waffles are our kid's birthday breakfast tradition. In choosing their special foods for the day they always ask for waffles topped with whipped cream, berry sauce and maple syrup for breakfast. (Remember, birthday's are definitely not vegan around here, we consider these treat days in our normally plant based diet).

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Problem with waffles for breakfast is that we don't own a waffle maker, and I don't intend to buy one. Instead we borrow one from various folks as necessary. I like borrowing tools. I like sharing tools. I firmly believe that we don't all need to own lawnmowers, waffle irons and clothes dryers. We just need to be willing to share what we do have and be willing to ask for what we need.


So we borrow a waffle iron three times a year for kiddo's birthday breakfasts. This time around I got an appliance that is probably fifty years old, and is still going strong. The buzzing sound it made as the element heated up gave me a little scare and the first 2 waffles I scraped out had me muttering under my breath but after that it worked like a charm. Many thanks to one of Damien's co-workers for lending it to us.


One of the sweetest gifts Laurent received was a doggy care set made by Celine. The day before she was designing and stitching; locked away in our sewing/guest room and then up till 10pm the night before busy on the sewing machine. She created a dog bed, collar, leash and food bowl all out of scraps from our fabric and notion supply. The little sweater you see on the dog was sewn by Laurent for his special dog, Gray Fur.


Overall it was a very sweet day. Both literally and figuratively. Happy 9th Birthday to my sunshine boy.

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  • exhale. return to center.

    exhale. return to center. on March 1, 2010, 10:02 p.m.

    happy birthday laurent!!

    "I firmly believe that we don't all need to own lawnmowers, waffle irons and clothes dryers. We just need to be willing to share what we do have and be willing to ask for what we need."

    i love this renee and couldn't agree more!!!

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  • Alisha

    Alisha on March 2, 2010, 7:10 p.m.

    Happy Birthday, Laurent! high fives My birthday was Saturday. :)

    I love that Celine did that for her brother. That is just precious. And such a good job she did, too! Cool beans on the crystal growing kit!! My oldest (also 9!) is kind of obsessed with crystals and we had thought about getting one of those. I hope he enjoys it!

    I hope he had a great day. It sure looks like he did.

    And I have to know... did he make it across the puddle or wind up smack in the middle of it?

    reply

    • renee

      renee on March 2, 2010, 8:03 p.m.

      He made it across (smile).

      reply

    • Karen

      Karen on March 3, 2010, 8:56 p.m.

      The sewing room doubles as a guest room so I was privy to Celine's diligent late-night creative labour of love for her brother. Papa was close to la-la land, but since the light was on and this was a chance to finish my book, I read - to the whir of the sewing machine and this young lady-seamstress flitting from table to machine, happily designing and stitching away. No complaining when the thread got messed up - didn't ask for any help but I was happy to get up to assist, as I've worked on that temperamental machine myself. This girl has a mind and eye for design that's well beyond my skills - what a treat to observe and I pray her heart and diligent focus will always remain. Proud Nana

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      • renee

        renee on March 3, 2010, 10 p.m.

        Thank you mom for sharing these memories and insights. I loved going to bed early and hearing her sewing away. I just love that girl to bits.

        reply

  • pennie

    pennie on March 2, 2010, 10:02 p.m.

    i really think you captured it all with that photo of laurent and the puddle. it is so awesome! i would love to have seen myself at age nine doing something that cool. anyway...happy birthday! age nine...is the age my mom, dad, brother, and i moved to maine! what a great age!

    reply

  • Ellen

    Ellen on March 3, 2010, 12:45 a.m.

    Happy Happy Birthday Laurent! It looks like it was a spectacular day!

    And that certainly is a vintage waffle iron, but much cooler than mine, I must say!

    reply

  • Shawna

    Shawna on March 3, 2010, 4:36 a.m.

    what a WONDERFUL birthday. i, too, have a very social little one and i think this will be exactly what she dreams of as she grows up :O)

    as to the sharing - i agree completely! especially large and less used items like lawnmowers - now it's just about convincing neighbors and building relationships and finding things we have to offer when we have so few gadgets to lend out in return.

    reply

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