Birthdays

 I feel like I've done a few posts on Facebook - lots more than usual - about birthdays and don't really want to do it again.  But I will, because Facebook might be a thing of the past one day - and so might this blog.  Who knows.  

I can count on three birthdays the first 6 weeks of the new year, and this year we celebrated one more.  The girls' friend upstairs turned 10 while everyone was shut down for a few days over the snow, ice, and wind, so we just gave her good wishes in passing.  Her grandparents from Florida also spent the week with them, so we didn't see her except in passing.  That would not do for Graysen and Katherine though.  They wanted a REAL party and wanted to plan and do it themselves.  They're amazingly good at planning and carrying things through.  Sometimes the preparation and decorating are more fun than the actual event.  

I was in charge of food, and I knew it would be simple.  I'm glad of that decision, because the grapes and popcorn I put on the table were completely ignored, although the Lemon Loaf was devoured.  It wasn't what you would think of for a 10-year-old's party, but they all love Starbucks, and I found a copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf I wanted to try.  It turned out pretty well.

Without the lemony glaze, there wasn't much to it.  I didn't have any lemon zest and don't think it would have made much difference.  The combination was just right - to me.  Mary, Noreen, and I had a piece on our Scrabble morning, and I think we all thought it was pretty good.  I was going to post the recipe, but I can't remember the one I used.  It seems to be a fad right now, and I'd like to try a few more versions - and there are many.  

Before I iced it, I had it on the counter and mentioned to Graysen that that was the birthday cake.  She looked at it for a few seconds and then politely said, "I don't really like cornbread."  Poor baby.  Once that sugary lemon glaze covered it, she dug in and didn't leave a bite.

As soon as the girls got here, they got to work.  Kate wanted to make a Pin-the-Tail-on-the Cat game.  I think one of the overpriced kits Emily had bought for Graysen's party last year had one, and they loved it, although I would have thought that particular game was long out of style.

Kate asked if I had a big piece of white paper, and when I gave her a piece of white foam board, you'd have thought it was the best thing EVER.  I love all that excitement.  She got busy and drew a cat.

I offered her black markers and black construction paper to make it show up better, but she reminded me that the players had on blindfolds, so it didn't matter.  Makes sense.  She spent more time fighting with the double-stick tape to hang it with than the actual drawing.  

It was a hit though.  I can't imagine a game they would have enjoyed more.  I gave them a sleep mask that was perfect - except if you look at the ceiling, you "might" could see the cat.  It didn't matter, they spun each other around and shrieked and make some strange pins.

The "prizes" were well received.  They had cats on them, and then they had more screaming and tumbling around to do.  I loved every minute of it.  It makes me to happy to see them thrilled over simple things.

Such a fun day.

Emily had a birthday on the 31st and Alan had one on February 4th. I'm not sure they had quite as much fun as these girls did, and I don't have any pictures, but I'll work on a mention later when I have more time.  They deserve their own posts!  I just need more time.

I have so many problems with videos.  Just when I think I've figured it out, something else comes up to frustrate me.  On this last one, I was able to watch it, but at the end there were "suggestions" of disturbing videos to watch.  I've tried over and over through the past couple of years to end a video without this stuff, but I've failed.  Right now, it just shows a frozen one, which may be best after all.