Last year, when Samantha turned 10, I admit that I felt a few pangs of sadness that day. She turned double-digits and was growing up faster than I would have liked. It felt like it was a turning point in her life -- no different than a Sweet Sixteen, an 18th birthday, a 21st birthday and maybe even a 40th.
But, this year, she really felt old to me and I struggled even more. My little girl is in middle school now and her cherub face is thinning. She has such strong opinions about so many things and she needs me less and less. I don't know how many more special birthday parties she will let me plan for her so we made sure that this one hinged on both the things that we have always done (the friends at our house, the food, cupcakes and candles, at least one good game) and then added in some more sophisticated things (pampering, nonalcoholic margaritas and a chocolate fountain). It was the perfect balance.
I took less pictures than usual, as I realized later that I was just being in the moment. And that night, when she was still glowing with the excitement of being celebrated by the friends that love her the most, I knew that we could still have this every year. After all, there is no more precious holiday than your birthday ...
Her friends arrived in their pajamas, ready to sip margaritas and get pampered.
All of the guests received their own robe (the colors were chosen by Samantha ahead of time and hanging up with their name tag when they arrived).
They settled in at a table where we began with face masks. I had chosen four different types that I mixed ahead of time and they were able to choose which one that they wanted.
Sophia went with the popular "mud mask." While the masks were hydrating their faces, I introduced the girls to the game of Scattergories. They loved it so much that we ended up playing several rounds.
Next, up manicures. I ran this station and the girls loved choosing their own polish (which they later got to take home with them).
Such a fun group of girls!
Pedicures! And what is better than a pedicure? Eaching your snack from the chocolate fountain WHILE getting your pedicure!
Later, we had a full nacho bar and refills on margaritas.
The chocolate fountain was a popular place ...
Singing happy birthday to the soon-to-be-eleven-year-old:
I found this sign online and couldn't resist printing it. It was perfect for the event!
It was a pretty relaxing party -- just as the wooden sign in her hand implies.
********************
Round 2 -- we celebrated her the weekend before her birthday with presents from us and an apple pie.
Every single one of us was happy with her choice of dessert!
Big smiles!
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Round 3 -- as is tradition, I made cinnamon rolls on the morning of her birthday before school. And per her request, I made a whole platter of dirt brownies for her 1st hour class ...
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Round 4 -- her last birthday celebration (what can I say; I LOVE birthdays!) was with our families on Thanksgiving. I surprised her with a homemade oreo cake -- she loves oreos -- and we sang AGAIN to the girl that forever holds a place in my heart as the little one that made me a "mom."
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Friday, November 29, 2019
Saturday, November 2, 2019
And Just Like That ...
... the month of October flew by.
The days have been full of school, school activities, dance classes, me teaching my college courses a couple nights a week, volunteering in the classroom at the Elementary School, field trips and all of the Halloween festivities that come at the end of the month. I don't mind the busyness too much, as I am a person that is constantly 'on the go' and thrive on lists and organization. But at the end of the day, as I settle into bed to read a few pages in a book (one of my favorite pasttimes), I feel a tad bit of guilt that it went by so fast and I didn't slow down enough to document everything. So, here are a few snippets of our month, mostly captured on my phone:
Samantha is settling well into Middle School and I couldn't be happier about this. There is less contact with parents compared to the Elementary School, which is purposeful because it gives more responsibility to the student. I was nervous about this because Sam struggles with organization, but it seems to be working just fine. She enjoys the extra freedom and finished the first marking period with all A's.
********************
James and I try to head to the bakery in town for lunch one day a week -- either on a Tuesday or Thursday after I pick him up from preschool. It is our special time together and I know that these days are limited, so I try to make the most of it.
********************
We have gone to the orchard every single weekend this Fall. It is the one of the kids' most favorite things to do and I manage to get a bit of work done there at the same time. I grabbed this quick picture of Jack out front because he loves this rock and he was looking so big to me that day -- two missing front teeth and feet that just keep growing and growing.
********************
Later that day, we stopped down in the pumpkin patch and let the kids pick out pumpkins. They all went for the BIGGEST ones that they could find, except for James. He opted for one more his size and Jack offered to carry it back to the truck for him.
********************
Sophia won the Candy Corn Gussing Contest in her Reading Group and came home from school with the whole container -- all 1080 of them! She earned a guess for each page that she read that week in a book ... 123 guesses and guessed it perfectly on Guess #16. Smiles for miles that day!
********************
James is in full-on learning mode. He loves doing projects both at school and at home. My favorite thing is to have him work next to me at the table while I am simultaneously grading and working on Answer Keys for my classes.
He loves dot-to-dot books right now.
********************
Samantha had to bring in a food from another country in one of her classes at school. Unfortunately, she was not able to choose a recipe herself; it was handed out to her. But we made the best of it, making a few minor substitutions, and it turned out to be the teacher's favorite dish! She helped me make the tomato chutney on the stove and found that she really did like it. (The tomato chutney went inside some puff pastry with caramelized red onions and sausage).
********************
Jack is doing well academically in First Grade. His math scores are tremendous and he hasn't missed a single spelling word yet on any of his Friday Spelling Tests. We paractice the words all week -- sometimes writing them in flour on a tray in the kitchen.
********************
School days are for learning and for celebrating friends' birthdays!
********************
We went trick-or-treating at Sleepy Hollow a few weekends before Halloween. We love doing this because it spreads out the holiday even more and the weather is typically better than it is on the actual day of Halloween (ahem, SNOW on Halloween this year!). Also, the kids get a trial run with their costumes and then I can make adjustments before their school parade and the big candy night.
Ready to jump in the van and drive the short distance to the State Park:
Most of the campers decorate their sites and it is fun to look at all of the decorations.
Sam's costume was a BIG HIT this year as Mary Poppins. Random people were stopping her and asking to take her picture. Ha! She really did make the most perfect Mary Poppins!
Afterwards, the kids stripped out of their costumes in the Family Room, with the fire going, and bartered their candy. They also filled a bowl of "discards," the ones that none of them wanted. These included Almond Joys, Peanut M&Ms and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, and I wasn't mad about it one bit. Those are some of my favorites.
********************
Jimmy made applesauce with his friends at school and was utterly fascinated by the apple peeler. He is used to seeing me peel and core apples by hand, so this was a real treat for him.
********************
We are working with Jack on some small behavioral issues at school (not always listening or not always being friendly) and one day, we decided to send in a cinnamon-sugar donut from the orchard with a note to his teacher that he would try to be a better listener that day.
********************
We headed down to the park to take some pictures of the kids for our annual Christmas Card and let them be a little bit silly in between.
A real action shot!
********************
I found this school picture of Samantha from kindergarten and teared up a little bit. I remember this like it was yesterday, and now she will be turning eleven (11!) in two weeks. To this day, she still looks like her momma and acts like her dad.
********************
Early morning picture before heading to school on Picture Day. I haven't received his photos back yet, but I am hoping that the photographer managed to capture a great smile and that natural look of mischief in his eyes.
********************
On Halloween morning, when it was raining and about 30 degrees outside, we headed to the local pumpkin farm for Jimmy's field trip. It was downright frigid, but we managed to get a nice pumpkin and later warm up with a donut and cider following the WET hayride.
We were soaked when we arrived back home, but we quickly changed out of our wet clothes, gathered a few things and then headed to the Elementary School. While there, I was in charge of the games in both Jack's classroom and Sophia's, too. I brought my Pin the Eyeball on the Zombie game and a spider toss game and they were both big hits!
Everyone ended up with prizes and we were able to leave school a bit early (stopping to pick up Sam at the Middle School) before heading home to prepare for a night of company, food and trick-or-treating. The trick-or-treating was quick -- home by 7 pm -- because it was a snowing, wet and cold. But, it also meant that the kids were all tucked in bed by 8 pm ... something that is literally unheard of on Halloween night!
The days have been full of school, school activities, dance classes, me teaching my college courses a couple nights a week, volunteering in the classroom at the Elementary School, field trips and all of the Halloween festivities that come at the end of the month. I don't mind the busyness too much, as I am a person that is constantly 'on the go' and thrive on lists and organization. But at the end of the day, as I settle into bed to read a few pages in a book (one of my favorite pasttimes), I feel a tad bit of guilt that it went by so fast and I didn't slow down enough to document everything. So, here are a few snippets of our month, mostly captured on my phone:
Samantha is settling well into Middle School and I couldn't be happier about this. There is less contact with parents compared to the Elementary School, which is purposeful because it gives more responsibility to the student. I was nervous about this because Sam struggles with organization, but it seems to be working just fine. She enjoys the extra freedom and finished the first marking period with all A's.
********************
James and I try to head to the bakery in town for lunch one day a week -- either on a Tuesday or Thursday after I pick him up from preschool. It is our special time together and I know that these days are limited, so I try to make the most of it.
********************
We have gone to the orchard every single weekend this Fall. It is the one of the kids' most favorite things to do and I manage to get a bit of work done there at the same time. I grabbed this quick picture of Jack out front because he loves this rock and he was looking so big to me that day -- two missing front teeth and feet that just keep growing and growing.
********************
Later that day, we stopped down in the pumpkin patch and let the kids pick out pumpkins. They all went for the BIGGEST ones that they could find, except for James. He opted for one more his size and Jack offered to carry it back to the truck for him.
********************
Sophia won the Candy Corn Gussing Contest in her Reading Group and came home from school with the whole container -- all 1080 of them! She earned a guess for each page that she read that week in a book ... 123 guesses and guessed it perfectly on Guess #16. Smiles for miles that day!
********************
James is in full-on learning mode. He loves doing projects both at school and at home. My favorite thing is to have him work next to me at the table while I am simultaneously grading and working on Answer Keys for my classes.
He loves dot-to-dot books right now.
********************
Samantha had to bring in a food from another country in one of her classes at school. Unfortunately, she was not able to choose a recipe herself; it was handed out to her. But we made the best of it, making a few minor substitutions, and it turned out to be the teacher's favorite dish! She helped me make the tomato chutney on the stove and found that she really did like it. (The tomato chutney went inside some puff pastry with caramelized red onions and sausage).
********************
Jack is doing well academically in First Grade. His math scores are tremendous and he hasn't missed a single spelling word yet on any of his Friday Spelling Tests. We paractice the words all week -- sometimes writing them in flour on a tray in the kitchen.
********************
School days are for learning and for celebrating friends' birthdays!
********************
We went trick-or-treating at Sleepy Hollow a few weekends before Halloween. We love doing this because it spreads out the holiday even more and the weather is typically better than it is on the actual day of Halloween (ahem, SNOW on Halloween this year!). Also, the kids get a trial run with their costumes and then I can make adjustments before their school parade and the big candy night.
Ready to jump in the van and drive the short distance to the State Park:
Most of the campers decorate their sites and it is fun to look at all of the decorations.
Sam's costume was a BIG HIT this year as Mary Poppins. Random people were stopping her and asking to take her picture. Ha! She really did make the most perfect Mary Poppins!
Afterwards, the kids stripped out of their costumes in the Family Room, with the fire going, and bartered their candy. They also filled a bowl of "discards," the ones that none of them wanted. These included Almond Joys, Peanut M&Ms and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, and I wasn't mad about it one bit. Those are some of my favorites.
********************
Jimmy made applesauce with his friends at school and was utterly fascinated by the apple peeler. He is used to seeing me peel and core apples by hand, so this was a real treat for him.
********************
We are working with Jack on some small behavioral issues at school (not always listening or not always being friendly) and one day, we decided to send in a cinnamon-sugar donut from the orchard with a note to his teacher that he would try to be a better listener that day.
********************
We headed down to the park to take some pictures of the kids for our annual Christmas Card and let them be a little bit silly in between.
A real action shot!
********************
I found this school picture of Samantha from kindergarten and teared up a little bit. I remember this like it was yesterday, and now she will be turning eleven (11!) in two weeks. To this day, she still looks like her momma and acts like her dad.
********************
Early morning picture before heading to school on Picture Day. I haven't received his photos back yet, but I am hoping that the photographer managed to capture a great smile and that natural look of mischief in his eyes.
********************
On Halloween morning, when it was raining and about 30 degrees outside, we headed to the local pumpkin farm for Jimmy's field trip. It was downright frigid, but we managed to get a nice pumpkin and later warm up with a donut and cider following the WET hayride.
We were soaked when we arrived back home, but we quickly changed out of our wet clothes, gathered a few things and then headed to the Elementary School. While there, I was in charge of the games in both Jack's classroom and Sophia's, too. I brought my Pin the Eyeball on the Zombie game and a spider toss game and they were both big hits!
Everyone ended up with prizes and we were able to leave school a bit early (stopping to pick up Sam at the Middle School) before heading home to prepare for a night of company, food and trick-or-treating. The trick-or-treating was quick -- home by 7 pm -- because it was a snowing, wet and cold. But, it also meant that the kids were all tucked in bed by 8 pm ... something that is literally unheard of on Halloween night!
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