Tea for three

I believe part of my calling as a mother is to help create memorable experiences for my children....so I put together an elegant tea party for Sarah to share with some friends. 

(Mommy disclaimer: Of course I neglected my housecleaning this afternoon.....there's a reason why there's a handy thing called the 'crop function' with pictures. You can't see the dirty dishes waiting for their turn to monopolize my attention.)

(Another tangent: No, we don't drink 'real' tea. I served non-caffienated herbal teas and lemonade....just in case you're wondering. We are Mormon, you know.) 

The girls dressed up their dolls in their finest clothing and carefully arranged miniature chairs around the tea table. The dolls shared secrets throughout the party (don't they look like they're whispering something sneaky?)

I happened to have excess chocolate fondue left over from a church activity I had arranged earlier in the week (Oh it was so fun! I get to minister to the single members in our ward. I love socializing with older women!).

The girls were delighted to have an array of dippables for the chocolate. (who doesn't love chocolate-covered cookies, cake, fruit, well....I suppose chocolate-covered ANYTHING is pretty good! I've even seen chocolate-covered bacon in the candy stores.)

They had a lovely time chatting and giggling. For my part, my heart was full just to watch Sarah have such a fun time. I feel so blessed when we get to have happy days like this, just enjoying each other's company. 

When we moved into the country, our lifestyle changed in some unexpected ways. Everything is so far away now that we have the necessity of creating our own entertainment (rather than visiting the library or park or shopping, etc). I had expected this a bit, but I am constantly surprised at how much richer our lives are when we cut out the city attractions. (Okay, the one exception is the library...that one is hard to live without! So we make bi-weekly trips into town to pick up a basket of books.)

Life is beautiful. It just is.

Glimpses of Tuesday Tea

Sarah in my Sunday shoes for tea.

Our tea time lesson this week was "Beauty Inside and Out". We discussed how our bodies are individually beautiful creations. We talked about the importance of a healthy body because a sick or weak body cannot be used in serving others. Sarah and Matthew listed ways we can take care of our body: brushing teeth, cleansing the hair and skin, having a healthy mind, eating good food, and exercise.

My sweet mother made a variety of bow-ties for the boys to wear for Tuesday Tea. They were so delighted to open the box! They giggled while meticulously choosing a color to wear today. It made it so much fun for them! Thank you so much, Mom, for the thoughtful gift! It was such a simple thing that made our tea party much more special for them!

My darling Mr. Kingsley made sour cream/blueberry muffins with sugar sprinkles for our party. He is so wonderful. We relished each bite, and Matthew ate four muffins in one sitting.

Tuesday Tea

A few months ago we added a new family tradition. It's called Tuesday Tea.

It's a time set aside for Sarah and I to enjoy some herbal tea with treats while we chat about important things.Things like 'How to be Refined'. Refinement is disappearing so quickly in our society. I didn't now how to 'be a lady' until I hit college....what a heap of embarrassing memories I have! I don't want Sarah to hit the same road bumps I did, so I'm trying to be proactive in teaching her etiquette now.

We happen to be using a book called "The New Christian Charm Course". It's curriculum with a weekly lesson on today's social graces for girls.  Last week we talked about handling disappointments gracefully instead of responding in anger. Some lessons discuss how to have elegant body language or how to properly take care of your personal hygiene. Some talk about showing charity to others. I've really liked it and so has Sarah. She is always eager to pull that book off the shelf and begin our next discussion. We have fun learning about the topic while we nibble treats and sip either herbal tea or gourmet drinking chocolate. I've enjoyed watching her grow a beautiful personality. 

I try to make muffins, sweet breads, and cookies in advance. I'll make a tripled batch of our treat whenever I happen to be in a baking mood. I freeze them in ziploc bags so I can just reach in the freezer and retrieve the treats for tea without spending every Tuesday baking. If I'm in a pinch and haven't baked in a long time, we will just open a store-bought package of cookies.

It's so fun for Sarah and I to dress up with hats and gloves for the party. We put on dresses and jewelry as if we were going out on a special date night. I'm hoping to sew top hats and bow-ties for the boys (they are invited to participate if they choose to use their best behavior during tea time). It would be nice for them to have something special to wear so they could practice being gentlemen. They have been feeling a bit left out since they don't have anything fun to wear to the party. They are always so eager to join the tea party and help serve the food. Of course.

Most importantly, it's a valuable opportunity to listen. Sarah can tell me what is important to her, or tell me about troubles she is experiencing. It's such a great way to connect with her and let her guide the conversation. She can ask questions. It's such a great setting for meaningful conversation while we linger over our tea. She's asked probing questions about everything from the gospel to childbirth. Don't most parents dread discussing sex with their kids? This was the perfect environment for that talk. It's such a warm and welcoming setting for delving into any topic.

The children look forward to Tuesday Tea a lot. Sarah's friends are now asking to come play on Tuesdays so they can join us. It's been so fun to her to have friends over for tea, and they seem to enjoy pretending to be princesses enjoying a treat together. I'm so thankful for my friend Ashley who introduced us to this new tradition!