This month’s topic is house rules. For some reason, some of my favorite “mom memes” popped in my head:
I joke with my kids and say that they are a “full time job.” 😂but I guess that’s what parenting is…an around the clock, non-stop job. Of course, that sounds kind of negative…I guess I could say we are on a journey.
Anyway, of course we have rules. Well, I call them “rules,” and my kids seem to think they are suggestions. 😂
I’m a structured, type A person. There’s very little “go with the flow” for me. Even if I wanted to, it feels like we are so busy that it’s best to have some structure, so we can stay on top of things.
Here are some of our rules:
*It goes without saying that these rules are a *constant* work in progress. #teens #iykyk
Be respectful.
Make your bed. Have you seen this video? I show it to my students every year, and I always start my day by making the bed. Even if everything else seems to need picked up, at least our beds are made. Also, on the weekends, I usually make the kids’ beds. It’s kind of my compromise with them, and since we are home on the weekends, I like the bed to be tidied up and made correctly since I’m here to see it.
Pick up after yourself. When that doesn’t happen, I end up making piles and telling them to come get their stuff.
On Sunday, tidy up your room. I wish their rooms were always clean, but that’s probably not ever going to happen, so a Sunday “reset” seems to work (AKA appease me)
Put away your laundry. We do one load of laundry per person every week. I end up laying and folding their clean clothes on their bed, and then they hang and put them away.
Help unpack the groceries. Since they eat 80% of the foods, they definitely need to help put it away!
On that note, throw away empty food packages. There’s nothing worse than when I think I’m going to enjoy a cookie only to find that the package in the pantry is empty. haha
Keep up with your schoolwork. School is the priority.
Plug phones up in the kitchen…by 9:00 on a school night and 11:00 on the weekends (if not sooner).
Be honest. I’m always going to find out, so let’s save us all a bit of time and just be truthful.
I’m sure I’m missing a few, but really it’s best to keep it simple with: be kind, be honest, be respectful.
When all else fails, there’s this…right?
Next month:
Next month, we’re sharing a day in the life on the weekend!
We sure hope you will join our link up. We always look forward to it.
I’m hoping for a better week this week, but I’m starting the week battling a sinus infection. Hopefully, I will turn the corner soon!
Hello and Happy Friday! I don’t think I’ve been so ready for a weekend in a long time.
You know I try to be positive, but shew…my first favorite is that this week is almost over. I’ve been at school most days until past 5:30, we’ve had busy evenings, and we’ve all taken turns not feeling 100%.
Anyway, as always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Here are a few favorites from the week:
Hadley helped me with a big Save-a-lot shopping trip to get snacks for the after school credit recovery session I was in charge of this week at school. We had two carts full of snacks.
We had lots of basketball over the past week. Besides Hayden’s regular season games, his team also played in a tournament this past weekend. Their team is fun to watch.
Favorite photo:
…and the team and individual pics came in this week too. I love this one of Hayden.
Favorite kid quote:
The kids’ school is doing a fund raiser for school improvements, and it’s the one where it sends out email blasts asking for donations. My brother’s text to Hadley was so funny…as was her response!
Kids these days will never know about selling coupon books. haha
Favorite recipe:
I tried a new recipe this week. This Cheeseburger Pastarecipe was a quick, easy, and delicious weeknight meal. We even had some for leftovers last night.
Favorite Mom Meme:
My kids are eating me out of house and home. I just go to the grocery once a week, and by the time I go, we really need more food.
Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday
This isn’t that far back of a “throwback,” but I was changing out my sports pics at school…Hayden in 6th grade vs. 7th grade just blows my mind. I know he’s growing up, but the side by side comparison shocked me!
Also, in honor of the Chiefs going back to the Super Bowl, here’s a throwback to 2020 with our little Chiefs fans before the 2019 season win.
Weekly Recap:
It was a short blogging week for me, but I joined a couple of link ups:
On Monday, we have our second Not Just a Mom link up of the year, and the topic is: house rules.
If you have a blog, we’d love to have you join us!
What are your weekend plans? The kids have the 7th grade dance and Hadley has volleyball.
Then, of course, we’ll be cheering on the Chiefs this Sunday! Fingers crossed for a Super Bowl win…or no one will want to be around Hayden on Monday. haha
This month’s topic is: what’s in your medicine cabinet…
Well, we don’t have one! I got to thinking…we’ve lived in three houses, and our first one had a medicine cabinet in the bathroom Travis used, but I didn’t have one in the bathroom I used. Then, our second house didn’t have one. (It was “newer,” so maybe that’s why?) Our current house did have one in the primary bathroom, but when we redid the bathroom a few years ago, we tore it out…and there’s just a mirror there now.
This closet has always been in the bathroom, and it’s where we store all the things…
Given the crazy busy stage of life right now, I guess it’s not in too bad of shape…
Top shelf: That white tub holds travel sized things like small bags we use when we travel, and a few other odds and ends.
Second to top shelf: Sheets for our bed. The kids have their spare pairs in their bedroom closets.
Next: Towels. Since the kids don’t have a closet in their bathroom, this closet holds the towels for them and for me.
Then…I have a tub for small items like lotion, mouthwash, etc. We have another small tub for dental hygiene…mostly the toothbrush heads for our toothbrushes. Then, I have nail polish and a few beauty products.
Bottom shelf: I have a bucket with a few hair things, then my Invisalign trays, and over the counter medicines and Band aids.
Very bottom: My facial steamer, heating pad, old scale (I guess I should throw this away), and a “beauty bag” that I’ve had forever and just keep random things in it like small trash bags, sunless tanner, hand sanitizer and more.
It’s a pretty small bathroom, and it could probably be better organized, but I’d say we at least can see everything and know where to find things. The kids only have a couple of drawers and under the sink storage in their bathroom. Travis uses the basement bathroom, and keeps up with his own towels, medicines, products, etc.
I store my skincare products, daily medicine, curling iron, and more under the sink and in the couple drawers I have in the bathroom vanity.
Do I wish I had a bigger bathroom? Sure do! I honestly wish it more for the kids. They share the world’s smallest hall bathroom. I guess it keeps them humble. haha…”first world” problems for sure.
Next month we look at all time favorite Amazon finds…I better start planning that post now. Y’all know I love Amazon!
How was your weekend? Ours was super busy. Honestly, I was in bed by 9:00 on Friday because I was so tired and kind of grumpy. Then, Saturday was non-stop which I expect…but then Sunday was too which isn’t what I was expecting.
Anyway, I’m starting the week off by linking up with Tanya for this month’s Prime Purchases.
In January, I try to limit my Amazon spending because I feel like in November and December, all I do is buy gifts. That being said, this post is pretty full which makes me feel like I need to explain myself 😂
Here are my purchases this month:
At the end of December (so technically not January), I bought:
This pack of no show socks to wear with my new Shu Shop shoes. I’ve been losing socks left and right lately, so I needed a few more no show socks.
Also, I ordered another tub of collagen. I’ve been adding a a scoop to my morning coffee for the past few months.
Once I got organized after Christmas, I wanted a place for my boots, and ordered this boot bag organizer that fits under the bed. I have two pairs of tall boots in it and then a couple of short boots too. One of the spots is still empty which is nice knowing I can still add to it.
With an Amazon gift card that I got for Christmas, I ordered…
…and these slippers that I had my eye on. I 10/10 recommend these. I love them because they are easy to wear around the house (and outside if needed), and my feet don’t get hot. The come in lots of colors too.
When I got my house organized and put back together after Christmas, I purchased two more of these mini boxwood wreaths. I have one on the candle pedestal on my coffee table, and wanted two more to add to two more candle pedestals.
With a gift card I received for my birthday, I bought…
This seven pack of flameless candles with remote! My friend had a couple on her mantel, but then I found the seven pack. I’m only using a few right now, but they provide a lovely glow in the living room when I’m missing my Christmas tree. The timer can be set for two, four, six or eight hours. Also, using the remote, you can make the candles flicker (or not!) I have a feeling this will be one of my favorite 2023 Amazon purchases.
Here is one of the candles with one of the mini wreaths:
I also picked up a pair of new black cotton leggings. I’ve had a pair from H&M for years, and wear them so much they are almost see through…so this pair has worked as a replacement.
One more thing I picked up with my gift card is this workout tank. I love it so much, and will probably order it in another color at some point. (I ordered a large, and maybe could have done a medium…but I don’t like my tanks to be tight)
Travis made a rare Amazon purchase, and picked up some Adidas & Nike socks for the kids. He ordered a pack of black and of white. Both kids have lots of socks with holes in them that they refuse to throw away! haha
One more purchase…
from my Gma…She ordered me these Ugg dupes (that I gave as a gift idea) for my birthday, and I’ve been wearing them so much. There are various colors, but I think the leopard print is fun!
So, I still had quite a few purchases this month, but really I used gift cards for most of them!
What have you been priming lately?
I’m not sure how much I will post this week. I will be at school late every day this week and the kids are super busy. *sigh* It’s only Monday, and I already want it to be Friday.
{This post contains Amazon affiliate links…Thank you for supporting my blog!}
This week was super busy, but it did include a snow (icy) day! Now, I think we have milder temps on the way.
As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.
Here are some favorites of the week:
Hadley and I baked a cake last Friday. We’re trying to make a cake a month, and this was our first one of the year. Hadley did most of the work, including decorating it. We made this Chocolate Chipcake, and it was really good.
On Saturday morning, we went to my nephew’s basketball game. He did such a good job, and his sister did some cheers at halftime!
My brother gave my niece his phone, and then sent me this selfie she took. Too funny.
On Sunday, Hayden had an indoor track meet in Louisville. With basketball going on, he has only been running a couple of days a week, but still had a PR in the mile.
Of course, my household was super excited with the Chiefs big win! We are close to Bengals country, so that made this win even more exciting. We can’t wait to cheer on the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
Snow day pancakes on an icy Tuesday morning hit the spot!
Hayden’s basketball team is off to a solid start. They had two wins this week!
Fave Mom Meme:
This made me laugh…but it also reminded me that I want to pick up a couple of things for the kids for Valentine’s Day.
Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday
With Hayden’s basketball season starting up, I love this 3rd grade throwback to these two cute ballers. This is the year that Travis coached Hadley’s team to the championship victory! Hayden was on a team with a great group of kids too.
Weekly Recap:
Well, I continued with Bloganuary on the weekends, so I have a full week of posts:
I guess my blogging streak of 33 posts is coming to an end. I enjoyed tackling some Bloganuary posts on the weekends this month. Honestly, I have a bit more time to blog on the weekends, but readership is down on the weekend, so obviously, Monday-Friday blogging makes the most sense. Who knows, maybe I’ll throw in a random weekend post every now and then.
What are your weekend plans? Hadley has some fun planned with her friends tonight, and Hayden has basketball this weekend. I’m not sure what else we’ll do. See you back her Monday for my Amazon purchases this month.
Today, I’m continuing on with my “Blog Challenge” and answering…
Prompt #11…
Most Proud Moment:
Not sure if this means a time I was proud of myself or proud of others, so let me tag all the bases…
That being said, per usual, it’s difficult to write about myself, but my first thought was that I was proud of myself when I finished my second Master’s degree…
I completed it in about a year and a half while the kids were really young. My school was a part of a grant, and I had less than two years to complete the Reading Specialist degree that went with my literacy specialist job. I didn’t have to have the degree, but the tuition was free and the program was all online. The kids were two to three years old during that time. There were many late nights where I’d write papers and submit assignments through those years. Travis was Super Dad during that time too. I always think about the opportunities I’ve had in my career thanks to my two Master’s degrees. They’ve opened a lot of doors for me, and I’m grateful that I took the time to complete them when I did.
Also, I was proud of myself when I made the decision to move to my current school. I knew it would be hard to say goodbye to a school I was at for 12 years with so many wonderful friends and then start fresh in a very established school. That being said, I knew it was the right call for my family. The kids were just starting school, and I needed to be on the same schedule as them in the same district. An added bonus is that my current district pays more and the drive is less. The first year was a major adjustment, but the second year was much easier. The years are definitely flying by…it seems like yesterday that I started there!
Moving on…
I’m constantly proud of Travis. He’s a hard worker and is just an all around good guy. He continues to work hard for our family, and has really accomplished so much in his career. Everyone who knows him know what a great person he is, and they always tell me so. I joke that it’s hard being married to someone who is so perfect when I’m a hot mess. lol
Of course, I’ve been so proud of him for coaching cross country both at the kids’ school and for the club team. As his wife and also as a teacher, I know he’s making an impact on so many kids’ lives and he doesn’t even realize it. That’s the best kind of teacher.
Also, of course I’m proud of my kids. Parenting is such a tough job, and they aren’t perfect. We’re doing the best that we can, and so are they. That being said, I see them interact with their teammates, support their friends, use their manners, and try their best, and I’m proud of them for that. I’m grateful that they’ve stayed true to friendships and know that it’s important to be inclusive, and that’s come really naturally to them. Also, they’ve both gone through things, especially Hayden, that haven’t been easy, but they’ve persevered. I hope they always know how proud we are of them.
I didn’t have a lot of time for this post, so these are just my quick thoughts…
This post could be alternatively titled: the tale of two different days.
Since we’ve had two snow days recently, one a traditional day off and one an online learning day, I thought it would be a good opportunity to look at how we spent those days. Ironically, neither day off included any actual snow.
Here’s how we spent our two snow days…
1.27.23
Last Friday, it wasn’t even on my radar that we might have a snow day. (And…that means I didn’t realize that I might write a post like this…so there are very few photos)
I woke up and was so tired that I hit snooze. Eventually, I got up and made a cup of coffee. As soon as I sat down on the couch, my phone started buzzing. Our school district was calling off school. I looked outside and saw dry road conditions. I was confused but already up, so I turned on the news. They were talking about how the north side of town and northern Kentucky had lots of snow and there were many accidents. I decided to enjoy my slow morning.
This was an actual snow day. No online learning.
Hadley got up around 8, and Hayden woke up around 8:30. Both were confused, of course…but then excited about a three day weekend.
I had made Hadley an after school hair appointment for a trim. She said she was all about getting that crossed off our list earlier in the day. When I called, they had a 10:15 appointment, so we went for it.
While we were gone, Hayden lived his best life playing Xbox.
After the hair appointment, Hadley and I went to Target to pick up a few things. Then, we headed home.
We were going to bake a cake on Saturday, but we decided to go ahead and bake the cake once we got home. Hadley did 90% of the work, and I cleaned up. After the cake cooled, she decorated it and wanted a silly pic!
The sun was shinning, so both kids decided to get their runs in. I had their lunch ready for them when they got home (pizza and fruit). Then, Hadley went to a friend’s house and Hayden and I watched a few episodes of Goldbergs.
After that, Hayden played basketball with some friends while I read and then tided up the house.
Later that night, we went out to dinner.
I can honestly say that in 21 years teaching, I’m pretty sure that I’ve never had a snow day with zero snow or ice on the street/in the yard. There have definitely been days where by 10:00 the roads were fine, but my part of town showed no signs of winter weather. That being said, we have a huge district, and many people were posting photos of their driveways, yards, and streets snow covered! Just crazy.
1.31.23
On Monday, with the possibility of rain/sleet/ice/snow, the district was really spreading the message of possible NTI day on Tuesday. Many surrounding counties called off Monday afternoon and night…but my district didn’t call off until 5:30 am yesterday. To be honest, I was kind of glad because that meant that Monday night my kids went to bed like normal! haha
I woke up around 5:30 to the “no school” text, and actually did go back to sleep. I slept until 7:30.
Then, I got up, had some coffee, read some blogs, and finished an episode of The Crown.
I woke the kids at 9:00, so we could get started on our day.’
I made our traditional “snow day” pancakes even though we didn’t have snow…only some ice.
Travis did report that the main roads were pretty much fine, but the kids and I were happy to do our work at home in our pjs.
With the kids having so many classes, I wanted them to have a visual/checklist for the day. Honestly, I wanted to be able to see what they accomplished too.
Most of the morning looked like this:
At one point, Hadley asked to go to a friend’s house and do work (I know that’s shocking…haha)..but I told her no. I knew she had quite a bit to tackle, and wanted to make sure she stayed home and got it finished.
I worked quite a bit on the credit recovery session I’m planning as well as sent emails to teachers and checked Canvas assignments.
The kids were working hard, and requested Cane’s, so that’s what we had for lunch.
After lunch, I worked on a couple of upcoming work sessions I have with students and answered emails. I kept my Zoom open from 1:30-3:30, but I had a couple of students email me questions.
Hadley had only a bit of work left to do, so I let her go to her friend’s house for a couple of hours. Hayden got his run in before basketball practice.
**Today’s “snow day” was different than Friday’s because on Friday, all afternoon/evening activities were cancelled whereas that wasn’t the case last night.
Even after dinner, both kids still hand a couple of assignments to wrap up.
NTI details:
So here a few NTI details:
NTI stands for “Non-Traditional Instruction”
Many more rural county districts (including the one I taught at previously have been using NTI days for many years…before Covid)
Teachers are supposed to have “asynchronous” instruction assignments for students posted on Canvas or Google pages.
The general rule of thumb is 20-30 minutes of work per class.
The district set Zoom/Google Meet times per level where teachers just need to be online in case students need help. For example, high school teachers have to be online from 1:30-3:30.
Students have three days to turn in the assignments once we return to school. They do this in case students didn’t have their computer, internet access, power (in the case of ice), or just need additional help from their teacher.
We don’t have to make these days up at the end of the school year.
I will say my own kids had quite a bit of work. They have seven classes, and some classwork took them longer than an hour to complete. Both of them had a couple of short assignments to finish after dinner.
I’ve also learned that people will complain about anything. I don’t take for granted that I don’t have to worry about child care on a snow day. Of course, my kids are older, but I’ve never had to worry about child care on a snow day. I am the child care.
The same people who troll the district’s Facebook page and complain about a day off when their road is clear are probably the same who would try to sue the district if their kid’s bus slid off the road. The same people who complain about NTI are the same to complain when kids are still in school on June 3rd. It’s always so ridiculous to me to see these comments.
Well, as I type this on Tuesday evening, I haven’t been to school since last Thursday. Besides the two snow days, I was with Travis at an appointment on Monday, so I wasn’t even at school then. I’m assuming we’ll be in school today, and next week’s temps look mild. Oh…the up’s and down’s of February…
Well, I decided to use this A to Z Reading Challenge to guide my reading this year. So far, I’m just reading what I want and marking the letter. Eventually, as it fills up, I guess I will have to be a bit more specific with what I read.
This month I read three books which tends to be my average most months.
{As always, book summaries are from Goodreads…}
Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories
Summary:
An instant New York Times bestseller from Kelly Ripa–a sharp, funny, and honest collection of real-life stories showing the many dimensions and crackling wit of the beloved daytime talk show host.
In Live Wire, her first book, Kelly shows what really makes her tick. As a professional, as a wife, as a daughter and as a mother, she brings a hard-earned wisdom and an eye for the absurdity of life to every minute of every day. It is her relatability in all of these roles that has earned her fans worldwide and millions of followers on social media. Whether recounting how she and Mark really met, the level of chauvinism she experienced on set, how Jersey Pride follows her wherever she goes, and many, many moments of utter mortification (whence she proves that you cannot, in fact, die of embarrassment) Kelly always tells it like it is. Ms. Ripa takes no prisoners.
Surprising, at times savage, a little shameless and always with humor… Live Wire shows Kelly as she really is offscreen–a very wise woman who has something to say.
Quick Thoughts:
It took me a couple of chapters to get into this book…and I had to remind myself that this wasn’t a memoir of Kelly’s entire life, but really what the subtitle says: long-winded short stories. For example, there was no mention of the Michael Strahan years, which I was curious about.
I have fond memories of watching Regis and Kelly. I actually remember in college watching the day that she was a guest host and the psychic said she was pregnant. Of course, I was disappointed that Kelly and Regis weren’t as close as they seemed on tv. That being said, that might have been more of Regis (and his ego’s) doing…than Kelly.
Even sharing that she and Mark don’t have a perfect marriage which I kind of thought they did was interesting to me.
I think my favorite chapters were the ones where she sent her kids off to college. While I have a few years until that happens, it’s something that I think most moms can connect with…just giving your kids “wings to fly.”
If you like Kelly or the show, I’d say this is an interesting read. I used Christmas money to buy it, and my suggestion would be to borrow it from a friend or from the library.
Rating:
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️1/2
The It Girl
Summary:
April Coutts-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford.
Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.
Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide… including a murder.
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of One by One returns with an unputdownable mystery following a woman on the search for answers a decade after her friend’s murder.
Quick Thoughts:
I started reading this book on my Kindle in November. I had read about 30% of the book when it had to be returned. So, once it became available in January, of course I wanted to finish it.
I’ve read a few books by Ruth Ware, and this one was just as good as the others. I enjoyed the characters, the flashbacks, and the pieces of the puzzle. With about 100 pages left, I thought I knew how it was going to end, but I was wrong…which actually makes it a better book.
Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Summary:
After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.
Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors–until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.
Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.
Quick Thoughts:
I could not have loved this book more. I instantly loved both Tova and Marcellus. This book will tug at your heart-strings and lift you up. It’s hard to imagine loving a book about an octopus, but he had such a sweet connection to Tova and their stories were woven together so beautifully. There were other characters and subplots as well.
I bet this will be one of my favorite books of 2023.
Rating:
My first ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️book of 2023.
How many books do you hope to read in 2023? My goal is 40.
How was your weekend? Like I mentioned earlier, we had a bonus day off on Friday, so our three day weekend was just right!
…and last night we cheered on our Chiefs and we’re excited about the victory!
Did you catch my weekend posts?
I joined the Share 4 Somthingslink up on Saturday, and then I shared a Bloganuarypost yesterday.
Since it’s the last Monday of the month, I’m sharing some memes that made me LOL recently.
Starting with…
January has felt like a really long month!
This meme is perfect given our Friday “snow day.” I do remember as a kid and even the first half of my teaching career looking for our school district name scrolling on the bottom of the tv screen.
This one is definitely relateable:
Bahaha…this is definitely Travis and me. He worries about very little, and I like to worry about all the things.
I sent this one on a friends group text and we all laughed.
Fun fact: I hate mayo. If a food has mayo on/in it, I won’t even try it. There’s probably a few dips I eat that have mayo in them that I don’t know about…if so, don’t tell me. That being said, I don’t know if my kids have ever even had mayo because since I don’t like it, I don’t buy it.
See, this three day weekend was perfect. We had equal parts lazy, productive, fun and prep for the week ahead.
This year, I feel like I’m back in a lunch groove. I really hate thinking about lunch. So far this year, I’ve pretty much just committed to splitting a bagged salad over two days (and bringing fruit and some chips) and then meal planning/prepping one other lunch to eat for three days. It’s worked for me because I’m eating something new every week, but only making it once. If we have dinner leftovers I can take even just one day, that’s a bonus!
Bahaha! Like what? How was 30 years ago 1992? Crazy enough, that means I was in middle school then which is the age my kids are now!
I hope at least one of these started your week off with a laugh or two.
Blogging note: Some months I might move to “Monthly Memes” now that I have Prime Purchases and Not Just a Mom on two Mondays a month. That only leaves one Monday for Hello Monday if I do memes on Mondays too. We’ll see.
Anyway, I hope you have a great start to your week.
Hello and happy Sunday! Well, we went from cold temps to temps in the 50’s yesterday…and then this upcoming week looks a little messy. Yep. It’s definitely the end of January.
Yesterday’s Bloganuary topic was: describe your perfect birthday cake.
Well, we are cookie cake people, and we are also Bundt cake people.
I did not grow up eating cookie cakes for my birthday, but now I think everyone knows that’s the expectation. I’m sure I’d had a cookie cake before, but I think we started buying cookie cakes for celebrations in the summer of 2010. My brother was with me at Sam’s Club and saw the double decker cookie cake. He said we should get one because it was June and his birthday combined with Father’s Day for Travis…like we needed a reason to justify it. haha
For years, we just bought them at Kroger, but then for quite a few years now, we’ve gotten them at Great American Cookie.
We are so lucky because we have a friend who makes cookies and cookie cakes too. They are delish.
This year, Travis got my cookie cake from Insomnia Cookie. It was so good…and I liked how small it was because I have zero will power when it comes to cookie cake! Plus, it was the right amount of icing.
See…we are big cookie cake people!
Love a cookie cake.
So, this prompt got me thinking about the kids’ birthday cakes through the years. For their first couple of birthdays, I had a Lexington and then KC party since we were in KC for Thanksgiving. Then, from the ages of 4-10, we always had two parties: one for their friends and one for family. I know it may sound crazy, but I just didn’t want to force family to come to Chuck E Cheese or have tons of kids running around our house since they have a November birthday.
The year they turned 11 was Covid 2020, and I had already told them that around that age they were getting older and too busy to keep having two parties. So, we’ve naturally just gone back to one party with friends…and who knows how much longer that will last.
Anyway, there were quite a few years that I made their cakes…and while I would consider myself novice and cake decorating, it was always fun.
1.
When the kids turned one, we had family over. My friend’s sister decorated cakes on the side, and she made their smash cake and cupcakes that were laid out in the shape of a one.
When we went to KC for Thanksgiving, my mom made them big cupcakes as smash cakes too.
2.
My mother-in-law decorated cakes for years and years when Travis was growing up. So, when the kids turned two and we had a “Oh TWO-dles” party (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse), she made their Mickey and Minnie cakes for their party.
Again, when we went to KC, my mom tried her hand at fondant, and made a cute Mickey cake. We also did cupcakes with Oreo Mickeys.
3.
When the kids turned three, my mother-in-law made their cakes again. The kids were very into the Sprout Channel and all of those shows. She made Chica from that channel as well as Calliou for their cakes.
4.
When the kids turned 4, I was inspired by my friend’s sister who made the one year cupcakes and smash cake. Also, thanks to Pinterest, I made a Curious George and a Hello Kitty cake for the family party.
For the friends party at Chuck E Cheese, I made the Thomas the Train and Elmo cake. These were some of my favorites that I made.
5.
When the kids turned five, I made Frozen cupcakes and dirt cupcakes for their indoor pool party with friends. For the family party, I made a Frozen cake and construction cake. Props helped make the cake even better! When I was looking through photos, I found this one with brownies that I guess I made on the day of their actual birthday. So many sweets in November!
6.
When they turned six, I made this football cake for Hayden and Power Rangers for Hadley.
7.
For the kids 7th birthday, they had their friends party at a tumbling place, so I made cupcakes and then bought the cupcake toppers off Etsy. For the family party, I ordered this gymnast made out of fondant for Hadley’s cake, and then made a football/baseball/basketball cake for Hayden.
8.
When the kids turned 8, they actually had an outside birthday party with friends. It was a mild early-November weekend, so we made dirt cups instead of cupcakes. Then, closer to their birthday, for the family party, I made a volleyball cake for Hadley and KC Royals (#8 Mike Moustakas) cake for Hayden.
9.
For their 9th birthday, the kids requested ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins, so that’s what we got for their (bowling) party with their friends.
This was the year that life caught up with me, and I realized it would be easier to let them pick out cookie cakes for family parties. It was fun seeing what designs they chose. Of course, Hayden loves basketball, and what girl doesn’t dream of going to Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower?
10.
For their 10th birthday, they talked me into a slumber party (girls upstairs, boys in the basement!) We went to an indoor place for them to run around and play soccer and volleyball. Then, we came home for pizza and cookie cake before movies and bedtime.
Hadley’s slumber party cookie cake was perfect, and Hayden wanted Homer on his cake!
This was the kids’ last year having a family party, and I was going to order a Bundt cake. That being said, we had quite a bit of cookie cake left, so I just bought the kids each a mini cake then we had the leftover cookie cake with family.
11.
November of 2020 Covid was still rampant. We took advantage of online learning and had an outside birthday one Friday afternoon in November. Again, I picked up mini Bundt cakes, so they wouldn’t spread their germs (which honestly seems like it should always be that way…haha)
Then, I just picked up one cookie cake after realizing two cakes were too much the previous year.
12.
After going to a trampoline place with their friends, we got pizza and had cookie cake. Then, on their birthday, my brother and his family came over for Bundt cake.
13.
This year was much the same as last year. They went to Activate Games with friends and then we got pizza and had cookie cake.
On their actual birthday, we had a nice dinner out, and then stopped by my brother’s house to share the Bundt cake.
That was a fun walk down memory lane. I’m big on birthdays and always want my family, kids, and friends to feel celebrated!
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