Emily's 6th Birthday!

Because the Browncoat Ball was the weekend of Emily's actual birthday, we opted to have her party the weekend before. My dad and his wife came into town a few days before and kept Emily with them.

This gave Todd and I a chance to go on a date night as well as get things ready for the party. Todd made her cake the night before and I put together the Lego sets that were going to be her cake toppers. Emily had also requested a Ninjago pumpkin. Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to carve that as well.

The morning of her party dawned very, very wet. This made me very nervous since the party was

outside at the park. And I had no idea how many people were coming because half of her class didn't RSVP.

I tried not to freak out and I went to church. My dad, his wife, Esther, and Emily met us there. After church, we went home and my aunt, uncle and Emily's friend / 2nd cousin, Elliot. We all went out to brunch at IHOP and then went home to wait for Todd's aunt and grandmother.

Finally it was time to go to the park. The sky was overcast but it had stopped raining. We had brought towels to wipe down any surfaces that needed to be and set up in the covered shelter.

Emily had wanted to have a Ninja party because she loves Lego Ninjado. While looking on Amazon, I found inflatable ninja swords and got those as party favors. It was a great purchase because for most of the party the kids were happy to run around the park, waving their swords around.

We all ended up in the pavilion, with the adults blowing up balloons and the kids chasing them about. Todd had forgotten the cake knife at home and while he was going to get it, Emily opened her presents.

Right after she finished with the presents, Todd arrived and it was time for cake. Todd's grandmother has a cake that is famous in the family and no-one has been able to duplicate it before. Todd tried the cake and failed badly but he managed to perfect the frosting. It got his grandmother's seal of approval. He's trying to make the cake - his 2nd attempt was better but not quite it.

The birthday party broke up and we took Emily's haul home. Then we went to see my dad and Esther for a bit since they were leaving early the next day. Emily fell asleep in my arms for a bit - she had had an exciting day.

It's hard to follow up Disney World, but Emily said she had a good birthday.

Old TV and Gender Roles

Image: jimhalterman.com

Autumn is here! It's the time of year for cooler weather, changing leaves and watching my favorite Halloween themed shows.

Every year, I bring out my DVD of Roseanne Halloween episodes. I watched the show when it was on the air, but I don't really watch it anymore expect the Halloween episodes. I decided to watch a few of the first episodes the other night.

In the episode Trick or Treat, there are two different story lines. In one, Dan is very concerned that his son DJ wants to be a witch for Halloween because witches are girls. He struggles a lot with letting DJ dress how he wants.

In the other story line, Roseanne and Jackie's car breaks down on the way to the Haunted House put on by Dan's lodge. Roseanne is dressed up as a burly mountain man and the costume is good enough that even her friend thinks she's a man. She buddies up to the other men in the bar to see what men talk about when they are alone - it ends up being sex, sex and more sex.

Now Trick or Treat aired in 1990 and the world was not as enlightened as it is now. Roseanne being a sitcom usually doesn't get very heavy but it's nice to see them tackling gender stereotypes a bit.

The sex-crazed man bit got old quickly especially since they implied all men care about it getting laid. But the part about DJ wanting to wear a 'girl's' costume was much more interesting and has become more so since I became a parent.

Eventually Dan gets the advise that it's just a phase that DJ is going through. It's a bit of a cop out, but not surprising for the time period.

This year, Emily wants to be a Ninja for Halloween. She also wants a Ninja birthday party for her 6th birthday. A lot of her interests are 'boy' stuff - it makes me crazy with gender descriptions on toys because she likes what she likes. I don't think her interests are just a phase, though they may change as she grows.

Not having do to with gender roles, I do find it odd to see Jackie and Roseanne having to use a payphone to call Dan after their car breaks down. Even though it's only been 24 years, it's hard to imagine a world without cell phones. At least if my daughter ever wants to watch these episodes with me, I can teach her something about the past!