Fourteen and Fabulous!

I feel like it's been a while since I did any personal posts. But today is a special day and I can't pass it up. My baby girl, the one who made me a mother, is 14 today! She started the day by getting out of bed all by herself!! Ten minutes late, but I'll take it. We were still late leaving the house though because she had to pack a lunch for her field trip today.

Instead of sitting down with her to down her birthday interview, I actually handed her a copy of the questions in the van and let her write her own answers! Things adjust and change as you get older, right??

She certainly has. She's becoming more responsible. She's my go-to babysitter most of the time now. She gets dinner ready and the table set on soccer nights since she's home and we're not. She carries a purse. It has makeup in it. She puts earbuds in her phone and zones out to music in the car. She sits in the front seat unless Ken and I are together.

We laughed together as she answered her interview questions, though. Some of the answers have stayed exactly the same. I guess she's still my baby girl deep down inside!

1. What is your favorite color? blue
2. What is your favorite toy? "Toys? I don't really play with toys that much."
3. What is your favorite fruit? grapes...or raspberries
4. What is your favorite tv show? "I have three...or five!" Project Me, Mighty Med, Liv and Maddie, Miraculous, Best Friends Whenever
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Pizza
6. What is your favorite outfit? My Hogwarts uniforms with boots
7. What is your favorite game? Clue Master Detective
8. What is your favorite snack? Goldfish and Cheezits
9. What is your favorite animal? Horse
10. What is your favorite song? "Can I just say "Hamilton'?"
11. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter, Unwanteds, Percy Jackson, Prince of Tennis
12. Who is your best friend? Jocelyn
13. What is your favorite cereal? plain Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Read
15. What is your favorite drink? Root beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving and Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? "I don't have time to list everything here!"
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Plain bagel with cream cheese
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Salisbury steak, asparagus, and mashed potatoes
20. What do you want to be when you grow up?A rocket scientist

Wanna compare previous answers?

Frances turns 4!
Frances turns 5!
Frances turns 6!
Frances turns 7!
Frances turns 8!
Frances turns 9!
Frances turns 10!
Frances turns 11!
Frances turns 12!
Frances turns 13!

Double Digit Day!

It's another double digit day!! If you add all my years of parenting experience together, today I hit the big 3-0. That's because my mid-kid is 10!! Henry's excited because it's also the first day of summer. The kids get a Daddy Day, so they dropped me off at work this morning and Henry answered some interview questions for me:

1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? My finger flashlight
3. What is your favorite fruit? apple
4. What is your favorite tv show? Pokemon
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? pizza
6. What is your favorite outfit? my birthday shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Pokemon
8. What is your favorite snack? Goldfish
9. What is your favorite animal? cheetah
10. What is your favorite song? Bad Blood
11. What is your favorite book? NNEWTS (a graphic novel)
12. Who is your best friend? Emerson
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cinnamon Toast Crunch
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play on the swing
15. What is your favorite drink? root beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? books
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cottage cheese
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? seafood
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? scientist

He asked me afterwards if I kept all his old answers to see how they change. I thought it was cute that he'd figured that out. I hope to print them all out someday so they can see all their answers and how they've grown.

My other tradition has been making the kids birthday shirts. Henry got the first shirt when he was 4I guess that means I've made about 21 of those for my kids. I've saved all of those too. Hopefully they go into a quilt some day. It's fun to see how those have evolved over time too!

 

Happy birthday, Henry! I love you!

Happy 7th Birthday, Benjamin!

1. What is your favorite color? Green
2. What is your favorite toy? Nintendo DS
3. What is your favorite fruit? raspberries
4. What is your favorite tv show? Pokemon XYZ
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? hot dogs
6. What is your favorite outfit? Paw Patrol shirt and camo shorts (incidentally what he's wearing right now...)
7. What is your favorite game? Pokemon
8. What is your favorite snack? peanut butter crackers
9. What is your favorite animal? tiger
10. What is your favorite song? Play That Song (Train)
11. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter
12. Who is your best friend? Aubrey, James, and Jack
13. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play Pokemon Go
15. What is your favorite drink? Ginger Ale
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? stuffed animals
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cereal
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? pizza
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a vet

Benjamin turned 7 on Friday! He had a great day at school and had a pizza party there for a class reward. The little stinker convinced his teacher to schedule the pizza on his birthday! I got to eat lunch with him and I brought him some cupcakes to share with his friends at the end of the day.

Saturday was quite busy. We had soccer games and team pictures before his party at home. The house is still full of boxes everywhere, but you can't put off a birthday! We had friends and family come over for pizza and cupcakes, as well as time to play in the yard and visit with each other.

I love being in a house where we finally have room for lots of company. It will be even better when we get all the boxes unpacked and things put away. Maybe in time for Ben's 10th birthday! LOL!

First day they met each other and yesterday. They still love each other most of the time!

This is Thirteen

When I was a kid in elementary school, middle school made me nervous and high school terrified me. When I actually reached those milestones, they didn't turn out to be as bad as I'd thought. They weren't easy by any means, but I was able to handle things.

Right before a new school year my kids always get nervous. The new grade always sounds so much harder than the old comfortable grade they were in. We do a lot of talking about those butterflies and I've always told them that the new grade is harder because they are ready for it to be.

There's a lot of doom talk about teenagers. I even admit to buying into it. The thought of raising teenagers has made me pretty nervous in the past. But lately I've realized that it's not really that much different. Last night I put a 12 year old to bed and woke up a 13 year old, but she's really not that much different than the kid she was last week.

The day before her birthday she "dressed like a kid" in preparation for not being one anymore.

Sure, there are changes that come with getting older. Hormones come into play. More cognitive abilities and different reasoning abilities emerge. She's growing and getting older, but that's the whole point of life, isn't it? These changes don't usually happen overnight. They are gradual and sometimes we don't even notice them.

Baby's first selfie on her new phone!

Like how Frances runs laundry for me now. Sometimes I don't even have to ask. Her basket gets full and she swaps out the loads. She's been doing dishes too. Don't get excited, it's not a daily occurrence, but she volunteers often enough to take a load off me.

She still fights with her brothers, leaves her socks under the table, and rolls her eyes when I remind her to brush her hair. Some things change and some things stay the same! Even her birthday interview was cute because of all the answers I recognized from previous years.

1. What is your favorite color? light blue
2. What is your favorite toy/thing to play with? snuggling with my blankets
3. What is your favorite fruit? grapes
4. What is your favorite tv show? Henry Danger
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Ramen noodles
6. What is your favorite outfit? My Harry Potter uniform
7. What is your favorite game? Clue
8. What is your favorite snack? peanuts
9. What is your favorite animal? horses
10. What is your favorite song? Cake by the Ocean by DNCE

11. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter
12. Who is your best friend? Desirae and Jocelyn
13. What is your favorite cereal? Mini Wheats
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? pretend I"m in the wilderness
15. What is your favorite drink? root beer
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Puppy and Beary
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? eggs and bacon

She had to settle for emoji pancakes this morning.

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? fried chicken, Brussels sprouts with bacon, artichokes, and fried okra (we managed everything but the fried okra)

Henry hugged her 13 times. You might think it's because he loves her, but really it's because he was excited about her choices for her birthday dinner!

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a vet

He's Mine! He's Nine!

Today my mid kid turns 9! He's the one who taught me how to be a boy mom. There's a lot to learn and I'm still working on it. He's passionate and hot-headed, but he's sweet and sensitive too. He gets mad about injustice and notices all the little things about people. He always knows when I need a hug and his favorite time of day is "tickle time." He plays hard, he loves fiercely, and he prays sincerely. I am honored to be his mom and to celebrate his nine years on the planet today.

We had his science-themed birthday party last weekend. My family joined us as well as Julie's. It was a nice day to spend together. We had his birthday dinner last night, since Ken works tonight. When I asked him what he wanted for his dinner, he said he didn't care. Some people might take that the wrong way, but my boy just loves to eat! He loves all different kinds of foods and is always eager to try new things. I decided that Wood Grill would fit that bill (and get me out of cooking)!

As is tradition, we conducted a birthday interview this morning. Here are his answers:

1. What is your favorite color? blue
2. What is your favorite toy? Snap Circuits
3. What is your favorite fruit? oranges
4. What is your favorite tv show? Pokemon
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Swiss cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? His "9" shirt (of course!)

7. What is your favorite game? Pokemon
8. What is your favorite snack? anything!

9. What is your favorite animal? tigers
10. What is your favorite song? anything by Taylor Swift
11. What is your favorite book? Pokemon dictionary
12. Who is your best friend? Aiden
13. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play adventure games
15. What is your favorite drink? Orange Fanta

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Baby Tiger
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? grits and/or scrapple
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? don't care
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a scientist mechanic

Here are his previous answers to compare:
Eight
Seven
Six
Five (not an interview, but cute pictures)
Four
Three
Two
One

Birthday Party Planning

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week 12 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. 

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

Baking In A Tornado                            

Southern Belle Charm                       

Not That Sarah Michelle                                     

Spatulas on Parade                     

The Bergham Chronicles            

The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver   

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy                                     

My Brain on Kids                           

The Angrivated Mom                       

Confessions of a part time working mom  

Climaxed                                                                                      

                                                  

My subject is "At work, they've asked you to plan a party for a big client.  You have 2 weeks and a small budget ($1.000.00).  You pull it off and it's amazing.  How did you do it?"   It was submitted by Southern Belle Charm.  Here goes: 

Sometimes I get an idea or a prompt and all kinds of ideas flood into my brain. Sometimes I draw a complete blank, but then ideas slowly creep their way into my conscience. Then there are those times when I am at  complete loss as to what to write. Those are the times that I bend the rules. Because it's my blog and YOU can't stop me! LOL

Henry's birthday party is this weekend. The poor kid's birthday is right at the end of the school year. In fact, it's usually after the end, but because of the calendar this year, he'll actually be in school for his birthday. He's excited about that! He keeps asking if I'm going to bring him cupcakes and have lunch with him. It makes me a little sad that he keeps seeing his brother and sister get those things, but he misses out. But this year, I'm going to make sure he gets a fun school experience!

I've still got work to do with his home party. He asked for a science theme. This is turning out to be harder than the spy theme he wanted a few years ago. He always seems to pick difficult themes for me. Or maybe I'm just brain-fried at this point in the year.

I'd like to take a moment to point out that we really only do family parties. We've had a few friend ones over the year, but the vast majority of our birthday parties are a nice excuse to gather family together. So I'm trying to create a party that will excite the birthday kid without going over the top and confusing the adults!

Even if I had unlimited budget for a party, I'd still drive myself crazy pulling it together. I don't buy my kids birthday presents. They get their birthday shirts, a party, and a cake from me. That's enough in my opinion! However, if I did have a little bit extra budgeted for the party, there are a few things I would do:

• Book a local park with cover in case of bad weather and comfortable seating for all involved. We have these options available, but I'm never organized enough to book early, and I'm always worried about the weather for an outdoor party. If the budget allowed, I could even rent some stuff to make our yard more appealing for an outdoor party. That would give us lots more space and save me a lot of cleaning! ;)
• Stop fretting over the shipping charges. Again, I'm always feeling late when it comes time to gather materials for a party. I always seem to put off looking for supplies until the free shipping window has passed. I hate paying for shipping, but I will when I have to.
• Buy the pre-cut fruit and veggies. I almost always buy my own fruits and veggies to prepare and arrange myself. I'm frugal like that. But if you forced me to spend extra money on a party, I'd buy the trays and call it done!
• Pre- and Post-cleaning services. My house really isn't that bad this time around, but I've still got some things that need to be done. And there's always stuff to clean up after a party. I'd love to go ahead and out-source that.

I'm not sure this was the direction I was supposed to take with my prompt, but it is what it is. The jury is still out as to whether my client (Henry) will be pleased with his party. I'll let you know next week!

Benjamin's Birthday Bash: May the Fourth Be With You!

Benjamin asked for a Star Wars birthday party, and being the geeks we are, we delivered! Our birthday parties are really more family get-togethers, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun with the food, right??

X: Six #AtoZChallenge

(I know I missed yesterday, but I'm gonna write it anyway and backdate it. It's my blog and I can break all the rules that I want to!!)

Today is a big day! Benjamin went to sleep last night as a five year old, and woke up this morning as a six year old. Technically, he was born in the afternoon, but I know better than to argue with him about details like that!

I have been super busy with a bunch of last minute things this week, so I didn't get to do Ben's birthday interview until this morning while he was eating breakfast. You may notice that as a theme in some of his answers!

I ask these question every year so that I can see how their answers change as they get older. They have fun answering them and also enjoy going back to read old interviews.

1. What is your favorite color? green
2. What is your favorite toy? Hot Wheels
3. What is your favorite fruit? raspberries
4. What is your favorite TV show? Football (Henry says, "That's not a TV show!)
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? carrots
6. What is your favorite outfit? my 6 shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Dragon Land (app on my phone)
8. What is your favorite snack? cereal
9. What is your favorite animal? tiger
10. What is your favorite song? Radioactive
11. What is your favorite book? Jack and Annie (Magic Treehouse series)
12. Who is your best friend? Jack (but not Annie, LOL!)
13. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play soccer
15. What is your favorite drink? Orange Fanta
16. What is your favorite holiday? MY BIRTHDAY!
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? my cars
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cereal
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? cake...chicken (What kind of chicken?) ROOSTER CHICKEN!
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? vet

Happy birthday, Little Man! We love you very much!!

Happy Harry Potter Birthday, Frances!

Today I am the mother of a 12 year old. The signs have been fairly obvious lately: the eye rolling, the deep, philosophical questions, the comments about how she's "almost as tall as her mom!" (like that means anything!)

She's in 6th grade. She has her own friends that I've never met. She finally has her own room, and she's even gotten an email address. I've long been in the camp that thinks middle schoolers are scary, but I've come to realize that she's not any more scary than she was last week. She's still mine; just older, taller, and more sophisticated.

We celebrated her birthday on Saturday with family and friends. She wanted a Harry Potter birthday party, and I was more than happy to oblige. This may have been just a tiny bit for me too!

I decorated the door as the entrance to Platform 9-3/4. Shortly after she saw it, she walked into it several times. I was proud and heart-broken. She shares both my sense of humor and my Muggle-ness.

Her godmother addressed some letters and arranged them to look as if they were flying out of the fireplace. They turned out awesome!

I put together a fun feast for lunch.

The Veritaserum was lemonade with a packet of apple cider mix stirred in. It had just a bit of a kick to it for some fun. The Quidditch bludgers were meatballs. The Forbidden Forest veggies were...veggies. For Professor Sprout's Mandrake Salad, I roasted some veggies (cubed zucchini, yellow squash, onion, sliced carrot, garlic and cherry tomatoes) in the oven, and then added them to a box of prepared couscous. The Pumpkin Pasties I made by mixing pumpkin puree with pumpkin pie seasoning, and then placed inside 6" circles I cut out of pie crust. I folded them in half, crimped the edges with a fork and brushed an egg over them. Bake in the over for about 20 minutes and drizzle with butter, powdered sugar and cinnamon. I made Deviled Dragon Eggs out of plain ole chicken eggs and the Polyjuice Potion was really a cheesy bean dip. The Broomsticks are big pretzel logs with a fringed tortilla wrapped around one end and "glued" on with Laughing Cow creamy Swiss cheese.

The cake was a Harry Potter necktie with crimson and gold stripes.

The food was fun, the company was great and the birthday girl had an awesome time! To round out the evening, we watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone together. We had just finished the book, so it was perfect timing!

And as always, here is Frances' birthday interview:
1. What is your favorite color? light blue
2. What is your favorite toy? my world
3. What is your favorite fruit? oranges
4. What is your favorite tv show? Mythbusters
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Salisbury Steak
6. What is your favorite outfit? Harry Potter uniform (a red plaid skirt and necktie)
7. What is your favorite game? Clue
8. What is your favorite snack? Goldfish
9. What is your favorite animal? horse, tiger, dolphin
10. What is your favorite song? Bad Blood
11. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter
12. Who is your best friend? Aiden, Robert, Desirae
13. What is your favorite cereal? Mini Wheats
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Make fake food (out of grass, leaves, and sticks)
15. What is your favorite drink? milk
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? my stuffed animals
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  waffles
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? fried chicken, fried okra, and Brussels sprouts
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A vet or inventor


Happy birthday, Frances!

Henry's Birthday

Today is my mid-kid's birthday. He's turning eight years old! He just finished second grade and he gets to celebrate the first week of summer by having a birthday.

We had his party at the coveted "Rainbow Park" in town. He requested a monster theme, so that's what inspired his birthday shirt and cake design. We had a good time visiting with Grandpa, Uncle Alan, Papa, and Julie and her kiddos. The kids had so much time running up and down the hill, they almost forgot about the playground!

Please enjoy a few pictures from the weekend and the traditional birthday interview!

 

1. What is your favorite color? Blue

2. What is your favorite toy? Solar dancing turkey

3. What is your favorite fruit? cherries

4. What is your favorite tv show? Odd Squad

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? meat and cheese

6. What is your favorite outfit? monster shirt

7. What is your favorite game? freeze tag

8. What is your favorite snack? veggie straws

9. What is your favorite animal? tiger

10. What is your favorite song? ABCs

11. What is your favorite book? Frogs versus Scorpions

12. Who is your best friend? Adam

13. What is your favorite cereal? Golden Grahams

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play in the water

15. What is your favorite drink? Orange Fanta

16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? my monster doll

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cottage cheese or grits

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? macaroni and cheese, cucumbers, pork

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? racecar driver

 

 

 

 

Benjamin is Turning Five!

Today is the last day I get to spend with my 4-year old, because tomorrow he'll be my five-year old! We had his party two weekends ago because of other stuff going on this past weekend, but I saved the pictures to share today. I also asked him our traditional interview questions just to see what has changed (and what has stayed the same)! You can see his 4th birthday, 3rd birthday, 2nd birthday, and first birthday at those links.

1. What is your favorite color? orange
2. What is your favorite toy? 4-wheeler (he got a remote controlled 4-wheeler toy for his birthday)
3. What is your favorite fruit? straw-bee-bee-bee-bees  (He said it just like that!)
4. What is your favorite TV show? Odd Squad
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Colby Jack cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? My monster truck shirt. And my favorite costume is Batman
7. What is your favorite game? tic-tac-toe
8. What is your favorite snack? Colby jack cheese
9. What is your favorite animal? lions and tigers
10. What is your favorite song? Taylor Swift
11. What is your favorite book? {He was being silly and declined to answer}
12. Who is your best friend? Simon, Paige, Raven, and Jack
13. What is your favorite cereal? Apple Jacks
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? football
15. What is your favorite drink? Gatorade
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas, Halloween, and Easter
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? my lion, Baby Tiger, Spot Swat (the snow leopard) and Spotty (the giraffe) and Zipliner (zebra) and Trumpet (the elephant)
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? lime yogurt
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? pizza from Little Caesar's
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a police

Blowing out the candles!

Mommy and Daddy serving cake and ice cream

Yum!!

He's got Baby Tiger again!

Even the wrapping paper was fun!

His buddy D testing out his toys