Birthday season starts today

Between now and Christmas, our family will celebrate 7 birthdays:

ONO's
Bethany's
mine
my dad/Granddad
Logan
Carter
ONO's mom/Grandma

And 3 major holidays which feature high levels of food consumption.

Sugary, fatty food.

So every 2 weeks, roughly, there will be some extra form of temptation in our house -- staring us RIGHT IN THE FACE!! (Note the operative word EXTRA because we are well versed in the sugary/fatty-snack-while-watching-TV-at-night ritual.

SIGH.

Oh well. Who ever heard of birthday broccoli, anyway?

Apparently, these two people:



Personally, I'd choose the one on the right....it's an actual cake. The other one is a meat loaf cake, "frosted" with mashed potatoes, and decorated with broccoli florets.

Now THAT'S a creative person!

4 years already?!?!

It's really hard to believe that four years have gone by since Brennan's birth. We are SO happy to have him in our family. We worked, and worked at his conception, "failed" to conceive by the standard method so had to resort to getting assistance. I never forget that, even in the darkest moments of being his mother (and they're not really that dark....or that frequent).

In keeping with his "Lightming Aqueen" obsession, Brennan asked for a red birthday cake, which you see here:



The icing looks like blood dripping down the sides to me, but he liked it.

Here's the inside of the cake:




I know.....pretty scary. I searched and searched on line for some non-chemical way of making a cake red, and actually found some options, but they required lots of work and even more time. And, being the thoroughly modern mother that I am, I waited until the last minute to take care of his cake. So, I broke down and bought a package of red velvet cake mix. I figured with the amount of red dye #2 in the cake mix and that icing, we'd just take Brennan over to the hospital and ask them to hook him up to a line of chemotherapy -- a preventative measure, so to speak.

Mommy and Daddy love you, Brennan! From the moment you were born.....actually, long before that.


A few days old

1 year old

2 years old

2 years old -- YAY!

For some reason, Logan's birthday holds special significance for me.  I guess it's because it means I'm that much closer to being able to reason through situations rather than waiting out a tantrum.  Maybe it's because I'm that much closer to wiping my last poopy bottom.  Or, it could be because I'm that much closer to never again having to say "Logan! Don't put (insert one of the following:  Lamby, my clothes, the toothbrush, Daddy's watch) in the toilet!"  

So don't be surprised if you see me giddily putting baby and toddler stuff curbside with a huge sign saying FREE!!! PLEASE TAKE!!!  

Happy Birthday Logan!

44

That's how many years I have lived, as of today. I've celebrated so far by having a Pumpkin Spice Latte (thanks, Mom, for the Starbucks gifts card!), an omlette for breakfast (thanks George!) and a nice, long, ALONE run (also thanks to George).

Running helps my mind flow. I typically work out little problems (like what we need from the store), untangle the complexities of parenting both toddlers and teens, and how to handle client stuff.

But today, I let my mind run (no pun intended) with the whole birthday thing. I started thinking about how LONG 44 years is and what has changed in that time. For example, in high school I took typing (now it's called "keyboarding") on a real typewriter and used that skill to prepare my own and others' research papers in college (aahhh, the smell of White Out and typewriter ribbon ink). In grad school I learned to use a computer, which was seen as an improvement, but my papers came out on dot matrix printers and took forever. And right now I'm typing, oops! keyboarding these, my thoughts, on a laptop in my kitchen and when I'm done, the wireless router in our house will distribute this post to the Internet once I click on "publish post." A-MAZING.

I thought about how being born in 1963 technically classifies me as a Baby Boomer (1946-1964) but how sometimes I feel a little more like a Gen X-er (1964-1976). I counted how many times I've moved since birth (23), how many schools I've attended (11) and how many hairstyles I've had (lost count early in the process). In my 1 life I've had 2 careers, 3 mates, 4 children, and 5 cars. (I could actually go on, but you'd stop reading).

I thought about how much I've changed in 44 years, and how much I've stayed the same. I thought about what a comfort it is to know that my basic personality has been with me since birth, so I can know myself, but that I can also transform a few of the less-than-lovely parts. I'm pretty sure I'll always have freckles, though.

Towards the end of the run my mind started to wander towards the future and I realized that I didn't sense any anxiety or questioning. I thought "It's been 'all good,' (yes, even the crappy, painful stuff), and it will all be ok. Then I decided to enjoy the sun on my face, be grateful for it shining down on me and for the One who made it.

Happy Birthday, George!

Today we are celebrating 42 years of my husband's life. He asked for chocolate cake, as he always does, and I had lots of help with the baking.


George also asked for a new apple keyboard to go with his new apple computer, both of which he's wanted for a long, long time. He had lots of help blowing out his candles and opening his present. I think someone else was WAY more excited about this birthday than George was.



Love you, babe. And many more.