V-girl Turns 8...oh yeah, and I Turn....50!

Gulp.

I really, really cannot believe either of those facts.  Didn't I just have V-girl?  Yes, I was considered to be of advanced maternal age with her during the pregnancy (actually, I think I was considered advanced maternal age for at least 4 of my children!)

I do not feel 50 (although, seriously, once the birthday happened, various body parts started being mysteriously sore for no reason....)

I feel, maybe 30-ish.  Definitely in the "I am a grown up" phase of life, but not the middle aged dowager portion that I am actually in.

My birthday came just as we were moving into our new house.  So, I spent it unpacking. A-girl and L-girl had already started school.  Rainman had to work.  I was torn between selfishly still wanting a fuss to made over me....and saying "oh, goodness, we are all so busy and this new house is all the present I need, dearies." (But, come on, the house is for all of us, not just me....)

But, I will be honest.  I wanted the fuss.  I didn't get it.

I got this at like 8:30 or 9:00 at night, when I had already taken my bra off (notice the strategically placed cake in front of the saggies) and put on my pajamas.  So, yes, thank you, I guess I DO look 50.

Rainman also brought home Chinese food, which is one of my favorites.

My two little girls gave me a hand made coupon book filled with foot rub and back rub coupons.  My friend, Sherri, gave me some cute stationary.  That was it.  I get that my birthday isn't the most monumental occasion in anyone's world, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit disappointed in how my birthday played out.

Okay, enough old lady whining.

V-girl turned 8 on the day of the eclipse.  Oh, my was she excited for the big event. (which ended up being a huge letdown for her - I know how you feel, sweetie)

D-man came home the weekend before her birthday so they could have a special day together since he wouldn't be here for the usual family celebration.

He took this picture of her getting to choose whatever she wanted on their birthday date.  😍

She was happy with all her birthday goodies.

We "watched" the partial eclipse through our homemade viewers.  I thought I had ordered eclipse glasses, but my order was never completed. I think it would have made the viewing much more enjoyable if we could have just looked right at the sun.  :(

For my grown up self, it was still pretty cool when things got a little....dim.....but, not the spectacular event that my kids were envisioning.  D-man, who ended up (skipping classes) driving to see the eclipse in totality, was the only one who was and continues to be blown away with what he saw that day.

Happy Birthday to V-girl who, literally and figuratively, whips through our lives adding fun and joy wherever she goes.

Lest L-Girl Be Forgotten

L-girl also had an April birthday, amidst all my doctor's appointments last month.

We have the no cell phones until you are 16 (and can pay for it yourself rule) and we also have the no devices like iPods until you are 14 rule.  Here is A-girl showing L-girl all the ins and outs of her new to her iPod in the wee, small hours of the morning.

L-girl was also stuck me me for her birthday lunch this year.

I have to put this one in here because it makes me laugh.  We took pictures across from each other at the restaurant where L-girl likes to order fried green tomatoes (Yup...we live in the south now)  Anyway, she took this picture and said to me, "Umm.....maybe you should put your arms down and behind you, or something."

Don't my arms and hands look huge?  I am sure it is partly a perspective thing....and partly real life.  Reminds me of "man hands" from Seinfeld.

Anyway, I complied and put my arms down and it looked much better.

These pretty flowers were along the street by the restaurant.

We stopped and surprised a friend from church who is L-girl's birthday twin.

We opened gifts.

J-girl works at a local monogram store, so my girls have been in heaven with their gifts!

Rainman and I got her a new tennis skirt and a beauty box, since she loves to experiment with make-up and watches countless make-up tutorials.

L-girl has been my biggest challenge in finding a traditional birthday "cake" that she gets excited about and loves.  We have tried and rejected many cakes (she just doesn't have much of a sweet tooth).  She have tried a few fruit type pies.  They were okay.

This year, I think I may have hit on a winner though.  She loves Jell-o.  Her favorites are orange and raspberry, so I tried to do a fancy layered Jell-o pie.  My layers didn't really stay separate the way they should have, but it was a hit anyway.  I think I know what I did wrong, so next year, hopefully my layers will be separate and pretty.

Happy Birthday, my beautiful 14 year old.

A-Girl Turns 16

Bright and early for her birthday pancakes!  (Oh, by the way....look what I have started on my cabinets!!!)

She also chose me for her birthday meal (Rainman was working, so she would have had to wait...and she isn't really a patient girl)

We went out for burgers at her favorite place down here.  Honestly, she has eaten there for everyone of her birthday meals since we moved!  (They were out of fried green beans though....a yearly tradition...we were both equally bummed.)

From there, we went for eye doctor appointments.

Woo Hoo!  Right?!?!?

See, part of A-girl's Christmas present was that Rainman and I would pay for a contact lens eye exam.  She would be on her own for buying contacts, but we would pay the money for the exam.  We don't have eye insurance, so it can get pretty expensive.

I have been having trouble with my prescription and ever since my girl's trip last year to Minnesota when my sister had me take off my glasses for pictures, I have been mulling over the idea of getting contacts again too....so....off we went.

We left the eye doctor successfully with contacts for A-girl!  She looked so beautiful and so grown up.  I think she looks awesome in glasses too, but I know sometimes you just want to be able to see the world without frames (plus prom was coming up).

We did gifts after Rainman got home from work (and I just realized that A-girl's contacts were bothering her by now, so she had changed back into her glasses for these pictures!)

I didn't have time to make her actual cake on her birthday, plus we were still eating S-girl's birthday pie.  A-girl didn't care, she got a few of the gifts she really wanted....a phone (we make them wait until they're 16 and they have to pay for it themselves) and contacts.  So, she was happy.

They played a crazy amount of loud, raucous games of Jenga! Seriously.  They are loud.

We finally did her cake a few days later.  Usually, I do a Peeps cake for her.  But, this year, I found a 9 pack (like 9 of the 4 per pack) of the different Peep flavors at an after Easter sale for like $5 and decided to show her and see if she would rather just have them to eat without being on the cake.  She thought that was a good idea.  So, this was her boring cake.....

 I promise she really did get contact lenses.  It just took her a few days to get used to wearing them.  I have some great prom pictures coming soon of her without her glasses!

Whew! It Has Been a Long Time....

Luckily, I don't think my blog falls into the "I must read this before I can start my day" kind of blogs for anyone, so, while you may have noticed that it has been a while since I posted, I am pretty sure nobody has been devastated.

It has been a crazy, busy spring and I have been trying to keep my head above water....and really just try to enjoy the moments that I am getting with the kids.  D-man is a senior in high school, so I am starting to have those little epiphanies about that fact that he won't be here next year for all those little things we take for granted.

I honestly have a ton to update you guys on.  Some good stuff.  Some bad stuff.  Some scary stuff.  Some funny stuff.

I will start with some birthday updates:

S-girl turned 9!

Sorry about that picture.  One of my other things that happened is that Rainman and I both upgraded to smart phones!  Gasp!  I  LOVE two things about mine.....I can Facetime with my mom (well and other people, but she is the only one I have so far) and I can take really nice pictures.  The problem was that I didn't know I was taking those "live" picture thingies....which is what happened with S-girls'.  Oh well....

S-girl is at that interesting phase where she is very much little girl, but is getting more and more like a little lady everyday.  She  takes time and plans outfits, including her shoe and accessory choice.

L-girl even straightened her hair for her.

She chose  me for her birthday meal companion. We went to Subway.  Her choice.  Then she asked if we could go to the playground my our house.  See?  Still a little girl.

The funny thing about S-girl is that if you were to line up my kids in front of strangers, everyone would say she is the most shy.  But, get that girl alone and she talks non-stop.  Like, really, non-stop.  It is like she is storing up all her ideas and plans until she gets a captive audience.  LOL

We talked and talked and talked over our sandwiches, while we drove and while we walked back into the house.  She told me about her tree house plans, her desire for a real tea set, what her friends have done and said lately.  Her plans for her sleepover that she was finally getting to have with a friend from church.  Seriously.....non stop..

We went to the playground, but it was spring break, so there were a ton of kids there.  Other people may love that, but.....

We are spoiled homeschoolers.  When we go places during the day, usually there is nobody around....restaurants, grocery stores, libraries and even play grounds.

So, she and I wandered over to the old buildings in the park and took some pictures.

We came home and spent the afternoon with babies, where she got to be my main helper.  Special treat/privilege. (because usually they are all fighting over who gets to feed them lunch, hold them, etc.  Although somehow it is all me when a diaper needs to be changed.....)

We opened presents at night when Rainman got home from work.

I made her a french silk pie for her cake.  It was super yummy, if I do say so myself.

I think S-girl had an awesome birthday this year.