Emails that Don't Warrant Response, Tayler Turns 14, Rest in Peace My Dear Friend

We are commencing catching up on years of neglect on this blog.  The picture storage on my phone just can't take anymore, and I need to have these memories saved somewhere.  The posts will be a little jumbled as I keep up with where we are currently, but also catch up with all that has not yet been blogged about.

Because I love writing about my life and my family, and I love reading back about the fun things that we've done.

Also, I miss writing in fragmented sentences.

Blogging has it's own style.

Here we go.

I love my job.  Working with the Mayor has completely blown my mind and changed my world.

It has changed who am I.  Not only in regards as to how I view politics and community (because it's absolutely so much more less politics and so much more about community.

At least in Ben's office).

West says it's changed me, and I know it has as well.

That being said, a lot of days I deal with this level of communication (personal info of the other people has been blocked out of the picture):

So there's that.

Making the community a better place one email at a time.

Actually, I didn't respond to that.  I'm hoping she'll figure it out on her own.

Tayler turned 14 on Friday.  She has more ambition than I have in my little finger, and as I catch posts up, we're going to be talking a lot about all that girl is involved with. This year alone, she's on the Jr. National Honor's Society (and serving as the secretary for her school's chapter), AVID (where she won the district film festival award with her short film in her age division (here)), she sits on her school's Senate, has been playing on a comp soccer team this year (post to come), and of course, is very active with her close group of friends.

Every year the girl asks for blue velvet cake, and every year this turns out to be more than my culinary expertise, or lack there of, can provide.  She ends up with black velvet cake.

Six months ago I saw a box mix for blue velvet cake and snatched it up and stored it in the freezer.

Finally, finally, she got her blue velvet cake. 

Also, I might add, my mistake was the base cake.  Red velvet is based off of chocolate cake so I was trying to base the blue velvet off a chocolate cake as well.  Turns out blue velvet is a vanilla base, so, you know, that helps drastically with the color.

Tayler and her friends have a tradition of decorating each other's rooms on their birthdays, which meant I needed some time with Tayler outside of the house.

Sonic.  Of course.

It didn't taker her long to ask, "Mom, are you stalling?"
To which I simply answered, "yes," because let's face it, she knows the drill with her crew, plus also, her friend Casadee really didn't keep it much of a secret.

We decided it would be more fun to go home and catch her friends in the act.

Cali, Casadee, Ellie, Tayler, Abbie

Happy birthday, T-bug.

As another catch up:

Mondays are hard.

And lastly for today, my dear friend and neighbor, Kenna, lost a year long battle with cancer on Monday.  It breaks my heart.  She was always so kind and happy, even when in the thick of her illness.  She's left behind her husband, who was also her high school sweetheart, a son in college, a son in high school, and her daughter who will be joining us in Young Women's in a few months.

My heart goes out to them.

It makes me think of several things.  One, being how glad I am that those kids have such a great father to continue to care for them.

Another thought being how grateful I am for a gospel that teaches about eternal families and that this life is not all that there is for us.

And my heart goes out to her husband, because heaven knows I would not want to face this world without The Man by my side.

Take time for your loved ones today.

Tayler's Birthday Party: And Ideas For An Easy, Cheap Party

I think I have the party scene figured out.

I know, it's about time, since we hold six a year.

I'm not against parties that take effort.  I'm not against having a party budget and letting the kids pick an activity.  Heaven knows we've done it all when it comes to birthdays (here).  But this year Tayler's birthday fell smack dab in the middle of chaos.  I graduated, we went to Moab, she spent a couple weekends in a row with her dad, Mother's day...

So a month later I figured I'd better let her do it already.  Even though life still felt chaotic.

Here's some tips that I've found work for me in keeping a party fun for the kids, but low key and low budget for me as the parent.

Tip #1 keep that puppy at an hour and half.  I've found it gives the kids just enough time to feel they had fun, but it doesn't over extend my patients and ability to keep the entertained.

Tip #2 have some easy, simple group games on the agenda.  Games that the kids, given they're old enough, can conduct themselves.

We have a couple up our sleeves.  The first being the candybar wrap which I posted here.

Another easy game is the M&M suck.

Simply fill a bowl with a large bag of M&M's, pass out straws, and when they roll doubles (or any combination of your choice) they start sucking the M&M's out of the bowl with the straw.  The suction on the straw holds the candy on the end of the straw while they draw it out and let it fall into a pile in front of them.

Never underestimate silly string.  And most likely you can stock up on this stuff at the dollar store.  We just armed them with cans and sent them out into the yard.

The part the kids bragged about to their parents when they got home?

Silly sting.

The part they're still talking about a week later?

Silly string.

Another game that we have up our sleeve is the Skittles game.  Buy a large bag (or two) of Skittles and open it up.  Without looking you draw two skittles out of the bag.  If they're the same color, you eat them.  If they're not, you hold them in your mouth.  As the game progresses mouths begin to get full.  If you draw two of the same color you get to chew everything in your mouth UNTIL the next person draws two of the same color.  Then you have to stop chewing.  People can quit when they want.  Winner is the last one to quit.

Hopefully those games will help you when you're in a pinch.  They've been a huge success with our Circus.

Tayler Turns 11.

T-bug turned 11 last week.

Last week which was crazy busy so the post is happening this week.

We checked her out for lunch at the Training Table.

Cheese Fries.

We hit Target afterwards to find treats for her class and bought her some earrings for good measure.

That night, after I got home from Spanish class, we took everyone out for ice cream, and the next night, when I didn't have class, we met up with Papa Mike and Granny Suzann at Olive Garden for a birthday dinner.

Olive Garden who always seems to hire opera singers as waiters.

I took a video of the waiter singing a long, drawn out version of Happy Birthday to Tay as she stood holding her dessert with flickering candle...

but it would seem that it got deleted (I highly suspect that someone deleted on accident while trying to make room on my phone for videos from the Beyond 5 concert that we went to over the weekend... and no, it wasn't me who did it).

As it is, Tay has spent the last two weekends with her Dad so her birthday party will be coming up in the next weekend or two.

I want tell Tayler how proud I am of her.

That girl is a go-getter.

She's on the student council.
She's learning to play the cello.
She's on a soccer team, and doing surprisingly well.  I only say "surprisingly" because she's never played on a team before so to see her be so aggressive and on top of it... it's impressive.
She's getting good grades in school.
She has a good group of friends around her.
She never complains about getting chores done, and usually has them finished before I even ask.

She almost makes it too easy for me as her mom.

Almost.

Happy birthday, Bug.

I love you.

Tayler's Birthday Happenings. About Singling My Kids Out On Their Day. And I Survived This Semester.

It's finals week.  As in, final group project for English is due on Monday.  As in final for biology is on Monday.

As in homework and studying up to my eyeballs until then.

As in feeling a bit stressed and under pressure and therefore a bit emotional.

As in, we're going out for dinner on Monday to celebrate the end of this semester because the last four months have felt heavy and, hallelujah, it's over.  Though the thought that I've made it through, and so far am pulling solid A's, makes me feel accomplished and proud of it.

I bought The Man the original Star Wars movies on blu-ray to compensate for him having to live with me right now.

He felt that was good compensation, he's been wanting those on blu-ray for quite awhile now.

Tayler's birthday was on Sunday, the big 1-0.

 I have a list of birthday parties.  I did my homework and figured out what variations of parties could be had for the same budget.  The bigger the activity, the fewer friends, the simpler the activity, more friends.  As in family only at Boondocks all the way down to 10 friends at a party at home.  This way they can see up front what they can have and I know whatever they pick will be in budget, and everyone is getting the same amount of a deal out of it, regardless of what they pick off the list.

One thing I put on the list was above budget though.

Take a trip to St. George to visit Grandpa Dick and Grandma KC.  I figured a family trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house for your birthday was one thing that would be okay if it was more than the rest of the party options.

This was the option that Tayler picked for her birthday.

So we loaded up for the weekend and drove south to 90 degree weather for some bowling and dinner at Olive Garden.  And of course we slipped in snow cones and watching Grandpa sing with Uncle Mike.

 Casidee was renamed:

 

Free dessert at Olive Garden, because, you know, with the soda during bowling, the snow cones, and the cake and ice cream waiting at Grandpa and Grandma's house, there wasn't enough sugar involved in the day's festivities.

One blue, vanilla cake with zebra candles coming right up.

She got her beloved moccasins.  And her dreamed of rollerblades.
This necklace from Blue Eyed Beads.

 

On Monday I took her on her one on one, birthday lunch date where she got to choose where to have lunch (Cafe Rio, waddup), and then as the tradition dictates, we swung by the store where she chose a birthday treat (M&M cookies) to take back to her class.

I feel very strongly about making them feel singled out on their birthday. I don't want them to feel lost in the numbers of our family, and I know I'm not very good at doing individual time with them every single day,  but I hope as we're interacting as a family that my kids know that they are a part of something special.  And they are a huge piece of that.  They matter.

On their birthdays I try very hard to reiterate that to them.

Tayler Turns Double Digits

Sometimes a birthday happens in the family.

Okay, more than just sometimes around these parts.

Tayler turned 10 yesterday, the big double digits.

This puts us at 5/6 of our kids now being in the double digits.

This also puts us at the end of our "birthday season."  We get to take the summer off from birthdays in our house.  We'll resume "birthday season" come September where we'll start off with a bang with Sean and Brynn whose birthdays are back to back and usually around Labor Day Weekend.

Tayler's favorite color is blue.
Her best friend is Cassadee.
She doesn't know what her favorite TV show is.

She wants to be a geologist when she grows up.  When I asked her what a geologist is she replied with, "Maybe I'm calling it the wrong the thing, but I want to dig up bones."

Tayler likes to play soccer and draw and paint.

She just got a new pair of rollerblades for her birthday and she's pretty into that now too.

With the weather being so nice yesterday the kids spent the entire day rollerblading.

Tayler's favorite song is "White Horse" by Taylor Swift.
Her favorite movie is Narnia.

Her favorite food is Swedish Pancakes.

Tayler's chores are always done without complaint.  She's giggly and goofy and usually mild tempered.  She's tenderhearted which results in a lot of tears sometimes.  She's very forgiving and how grateful I am to say that she was born into my life.

We love you Bug.

forgetter mom

This morning I sat down on the floor of my closet to find the perfect heels for my outfit for work.  I found one right on top of the heap of shoes, but of course, had to dig for the match.  I shoved some shoes aside and saw a grocery sack.

What did I forget to do now?

I hide gifts for the kids there.  On top of my shoes, but hidden under my hanging clothes.  I can say this out loud because the kids already know.  Somehow I've convinced them it's much better to not peek.  It's so much sweeter to savor the surprise.

I've told them how I always found my presents when I was a kid.  How disappointed I was come Christmas morning when I already knew what all the presents were and there wasn't anything left for a magical surprise. 

So far the kids seem to understand that I'm right.

So in my closet, on top of my shoes, but under the hanging clothes the sacks holding purchased goods go until the day they get to be wrapped and handed out.  When I found that sack this morning I knew I'd overlooked something.

Turns out Tayler got two more presents today.  Her birthday was 2 weeks ago.  And it was only a smaller toy that accompanied a bigger one that I had managed to wrap and give her, and a pair of new flip flops.  So it wasn't too bad.

I called Tayler into my room, "surprise! These are for you."  Who can complain about a day starting out with random gifts?

Still...  I had it on my list to buy her a pair of flip flops, and there a pair was already.  How the kids survive with a  "forgetter" mom like me I will never know.