Skipping Town

Greta turned 11 on October 27. As always, by that point in October, she's been waiting for what seems like forever for her own birthday to happen. We celebrated over a few different days. On the Saturday before her birthday, she had a birthday party with eight of her friends from school. She was hesitant about having a party, but she decided to do it when I suggested we could have a project of making items to donate to dogs at the animal rescue where we got Nutmeg. The party was so much fun. The kids worked together to make snuffle mats (they didn't finish), played Ghosts in the Graveyard outside, and visited with Nutmeg. They had a blast, and all of them were so excited to have Greta open the gifts they'd chosen. It was adorable. Greta was very very happy she'd agreed to the party. Her actual birthday fell on a Thursday--of course, the busiest day of the week. We put number balloons and flowers at her place at the table in the morning, and she opened two small presents...

Saturday October 15 was Lucia's 13th birthday. She loves her birthday more than any other day of the year, and this year--a 'big' birthday--was next level. She decided to have a sleepover to celebrate. She was lucky this year in that her birthday fell on a Saturday, so we could plan the whole day. I had giant 1 and 3 balloons and a bouquet of sunflowers waiting for her in the morning. Then Mom and Dad came over for breakfast (Dutch babies and bacon), and then Lucia opened all her gifts. She actually makes it very easy gift-wise, usually asking for whatever biggish-ticket tech item is big at the moment. This year she asked for an Apple watch. So I got that for her, and tracked down a Lululemon Everywhere Belt Bag, and found some cute mushroom-themed items (sweater, earrings, hairclips) on Shein. Plus a big bag of books. Andrew had procured a cute rabbit-with-strawberry plush from Rumi Life in NYC on one of his business trips, something she'd spotted when we were there ov...

(This is a very belated post about the kids' birthdays. Better late than never. I wrote this but never posted it.) October is almost over, which means both of the girls’ birthdays have come and gone. They both had excellent birthdays this year.  Lucia, as always, was beyond excited about her birthday, and the lead-up was almost unbearably thrilling. She gets excited several weeks in advance; she looks forward to October 15 so much. We have our birthday traditions: the day began with giant number balloons, flowers, and a birthday sign at the table in the morning, along with one present to unwrap before school. Mom and Dad came to Pittsburgh after school, and Lucia unwrapped her gifts first thing. Mom had made scrippelles for the birthday dinner (Lucia’s request--a sneaky way of getting scrippelles outside of the traditional Easter season), and Andrew made a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling. It was all delicious. I put a few figurines on top of little girls who balance on...

Finally, Greta's birthday was yesterday. The two weeks she has to wait after Lucia's birthday always seems to last a hundred years. But today was her day. It was not as I'd planned, for many reasons, too numerous and complex to go into tonight, in a birthday post.  But it began as our birthdays always do, with a giant 9 balloon, flowers, and two presents at the table when Greta came down in the morning. She requested pancakes with chocolate-chip faces for breakfast. Then the school day began--the kids are doing virtual school for two weeks--and went fine. The kids are really self-sufficient with it and navigate the platforms with ease. They had an exciting morning break, where they opened presents from Gra and Pop-Pop (who'd split their gifts for the kids between the two birthdays).  While the girls were schooling, I was working on Greta's room revamp--another beautiful transformation, if I do say so myself. There's a reading nook, a canopy over her bed, and lot...

Lucia turned 11 today, a day she's been looking forward to for MONTHS. I know all kids get excited about their birthdays but Lucia always seems to be next-level excited. It's such a momentous day. Of course, we couldn't go anywhere this year--last year we went to the Statue of Liberty the weekend between the girls' birthdays--but we had a fantastic day right here. Mom and Dad came over yesterday and spent the night so they could be here for the whole birthday. There were giant number balloons and a bouquet of flowers waiting for Lucia in the morning, and two small presents: a new Mad Libs book and a blind-item thing called Mini Brands, which is a golden plastic ball containing five mini food items, like a tiny box of Shake n' Bake. She took chocolate Hostess cupcakes to school.  While the kids were at school, Mom, Dad, Andrew, and I got to work on her big gift, a "room revamp," which included a new reading nook and bedding. We closed the door so we could m...

She's eight! Every year, during the buildup and then the celebration of Lucia's birthday, Greta's birthday seems a million years away. She waits and waits. Finally, it came, and we celebrated her eighth birthday yesterday. She's been sick for days--fever and cough and throat, with two doctor visits and a strep test and lots of time breathing in albuterol through the nebulizer--but is on the upswing, so she was mostly able to enjoy her day. She woke up to find a letter board in her room spelling out "Happy 8th Birthday Greta" then came downstairs to find a giant number 8 balloon and flowers. She (and Lucia) opened two presents right away--a new Fox Trot book and a Kit (American Girl) building set. She asked for crepes for breakfast. It was an insanely rainy day, but at eleven we headed out nonetheless to the Rahway Kitty Hall--a cat cafe in a nearby town. It was a great place. Lots of very sweet, playful kittens, plus toys and treats to entice them with. We p...

And the birthday month begins! Lucia turned ten today--double digits. She's been looking forward to her birthday for MONTHS. Maybe even since her last birthday. And she had a great day today. Putting together a perfect birthday celebration is a lot of work BUT it's ultimately gratifying because she truly appreciates and revels in every single detail. Her day began when she woke up and saw her brand-new letterboard arranged on a chair in her room, the letters spelling out HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY LUCIA! (This was a very specific request she'd made.) Downstairs, I'd tied giant number helium balloons for 1-0 to a kitchen chair (these things are huge--like 34"). I'd also gotten her a bouquet of flowers with a Happy Birthday pick, which were in a vase at her place at the table. Two gifts waited for each girl, and they opened them right away: a Halloween Squishmallow, and a Calving & Hobbes book (Lucia) and a Fox Trot book (Greta). Andrew made waffles. Then the kids...

Grets, Happy birthday, Miss G! Finally, it was your day. Yesterday you brought birthday cupcakes and Halloween pencils into your class, which you'd been so excited about. For birthdays, your teacher has every kid write a letter and draw a picture for the birthday girl/boy, which she binds together, so you came home with a lovely book of messages from your classmates. Last night, we let you and Lucia open your presents from Gra and Pop-Pop, Bobby and Nina, and Aunt Katherine. Lots of American Girl stuff (I was tasked with picking out most of the gifts this year from the grandparents), which you both loved. Then--finally--your birthday. Last night I put a new doll dress on Wee Wee and one of your small stuffed cats, and of course put a balloon in your room tied to your desk chair, and balloons at the kitchen table. You got up quite early this morning, and when everyone else got up we went downstairs so you could open your first presents of the day--an American Girl lasagna dinn...