Happy 13th Birthday, Brett!

Brett turned 13 on December 2!  It was a Wednesday, so we had our normal obligations.  But our friend Bonnie stopped by first thing in the morning to set the tone for a special day.

Brett likes stadiums and jumbotrons, so I bought this scoreboard birthday banner and let him customize it.  

Brett wanted to outdo Lydia with her cake and asked for a 5-layer oreo cake.  I learned from Lydia's cake that the layers take so much frosting.  So I talked him into three layers but two cake mixes.  Instead of cutting the 8 inch cakes in half, I kept them whole and made three of them, rendering a taller cake (that was the selling point for Brett).  With the extra cake batter, we make cupcakes.  The boys took the cupcakes over to our friend's house, who had dropped off gifts for Brett and Lydia, and left them on the doorstep. 

I crumbled up oreos and mixed them in the buttercream frosting.  It tasted like cookies and cream! Brett also wanted to make bath bombs. It was messy and they didn't stick together very good, but we have been enjoying them in the tub!

We had Chick-fil-A and funyuns for dinner. Brett got WWE themed gifts from Reggie and Lydia: a t-shirt and a puzzle.  He got a chrome book from us.

Brett does a really good job of staying occupied in all his downtime.  He oozes creative juices.  He is so creative (and distracted) that there are unfinished projects everywhere! Earlier this fall (before Covid-19 was surging in our area) we participated in a Special Olympics car parade and Brett did a punt, pass, kick event. He placed 2nd in our area!

Happy 12th Birthday, Lydia!

Lydia was flipping through a grocery store catalog that came in the mail a few weeks ago.  It was filled with platters and prepared goodies you could order for entertaining over the holidays. She came to a page featuring a four-layer chocolate cake with pink frosting and topped with ganache and peppermint candies. 

"I want THAT one!" she exclaimed.  

She doesn't ask for much.  She's a pretty low-demand kid who has grinded through this Covid year with only a few meltdowns.  A twelve-year-old should celebrate her birthday with friends, and that wasn't going to happen.

But cake I can do.

On her birthday, which was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, our dear friend Bonnie stopped by to say "Hi" and drop off a gift. 

Reggie and I went to the party store to pick out Lydia's birthday balloon and get gumballs for the cake.  Lydia hates peppermint, but loves bubble gum!  Lucky girl, bubble gum was 75% off, so she has enough gum to last a couple months.

Her other request was to have Red Lobster.  She loves shrimp!  Reggie got Lydia a purple t-shirt that says, "Once upon a time there was a girl who loved books and guinea pigs.  It was me. The End."  Brett got Lydia a set of oil paints.  We got Lydia a piano - which we gave her back in October.

We also tried out an escape room in a box.  Lydia likes puzzles and riddles, so she had fun with it.  I put a little request out on Facebook and Lydia got a few extra cards and gifts in the mail that brought her some birthday cheer!

Lydia loves art and music!  She is taking a virtual art class through community education and piano lessons through outschool.  She is also rocking a 4.0 in school.  She loves to play Roblox with her cousin.  This is a very weird first year of middle school.  I'm partly thankful she is getting a pass on the social drama of 6th grade, and at the same time curious to see how it will play out in 7th grade.  She has always been very sure of who she is, independent, and content with cozy clothes and a good book.  I'm still waiting for the horrors of tweendom to show up, and won't be disappointed if we bi-pass it.  I am very proud of who she is and who is is becoming! 

Coronavirus Thanksgiving

Since mid-October we've seen an increase in Covid-19 cases and it's been surging in our state since early November. About a week before Thanksgiving, the governor announced major restrictions - the most we have had since spring.  Bars, gyms, theaters, museums, and other entertainment venues are closed; restaurants are only open to take-out, delivery, and drive-thru; there are increased restrictions on gatherings such as weddings and funerals.  He also shut down all youth and high school organized sports only a week away from the culmination of the high school football season. Yeah, the governor really upset some people with that one!  (It had already been decided there would be no state-level tournaments; only sectional.) We were given two day's warning, so sports organizations tried to cram in as much as they could in those two days - which was quite opposing to the objective.

We are also not supposed to have members outside our household in our home, though it is openly unenforced.  But that meant no Thanksgiving gatherings for those who were willing to comply with the emergency order (currently through December 18).  For us, it didn't change things anyway.

It wasn't all that unusual for us.  Bryan's parents always stay home for Thanksgiving because of hunting season.  So if we get together, it is with my family.  My parents like to head south in their RV before Christmas, so we often do Christmas at the same time.  I had really hoped somehow to see them again before they leave but it's just not going to happen.

Regardless, there is much for which to be thankful.  Bryan's company is feeling the squeeze of the economy, but it is nothing in comparison to the screeching halt the entertainment and hospitality industries have experienced. He has been back at the office since June, but has little in-person interaction, so I am thankful for that!

We are thankful that we have remained healthy and overall so has our extended family.  A few family and friends have tested positive for Covid-19, but no one has required hospitalization.

I am thankful for every nice day that we - or at least the kids - can get outside and enjoy nature.  As I am writing this post, they are at the park playing basketball.  They have been going down to the pond and exploring almost every day. We checked one more state park (Frontenac) and one more county park off our list. There was an early cumulative snowfall before Halloween, but since we have had very little snow (not complaining - we have plenty of time for that in January!)

I am also VERY thankful for the amount of things we are able to do virtually.  On Wednesday: the kids "went" to 3 different schools, Reggie had a wrestling workout, Brett had speech therapy, and Lydia had piano lessons. I never took my slippers off!  In our normal life (which I will be happy to return to), I would have easily spent 3 hours in the minivan!

Shout out to Special Olympics who did an incredible pivot during the pandemic, and enthusiastically continues to meet the social and fitness needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities.  They have a full calendar of virtual events for athletes to do.  Brett does basketball, art, and cooking classes.

I am glad that we have been able to watch professional and college sports the last few months.  We enjoyed following the shortened MLB season, though the Twins continue to disappoint me in the post season.  We were able to go to a few minor league games this summer.  The Packers have not had any fans at their home games, so I can be thankful that we didn't pay for Bryan's season tickets this year!  Reggie is really into fantasy football, so I'm glad he has had that to occupy his mind while there are very little sports for him to do.

My garden seemed to appreciate the extra tending and attention it received this season and rewarded us with bountiful harvests.  My pumpkins are never great but I got a lovely pie pumpkin for my pie for Thanksgiving.  We had well over 100 pounds of apples on my two small trees, endless cucumbers, and plenty of beans and tomatoes to eat and preserve. We learned how to make zucchini noodles and Lydia loves them! Kale and collards for four meals, more peppers and berries than we could eat, and as always lots of herbs.  

Lastly, I am thankful for the gift of time.  Our kids are growing up so fast.  It has not been lost on me that this year has given me something special - time to connect with them just before friends and social engagements and school and sports take over their lives.  Some days I have to remind myself that this is a gift, but mostly I know I will miss all of this time once life is in it's next chapter.