Kate is 12

What?!  Kate is TWELVE????

I don't quite believe it.

A few highlights from her birthday:

Luke got her this sweater.  It doesn't just look cool, it also makes Darth Vader sound effects.

Ally got Kate the pants Kate really likes.

Anna got her a new phone case.
But it was for an iPhone 8,
and the phone Kate was using
as an iPod (for Kindle and music) was only a 6.
Kate knew she wasn't getting a new phone,
Dave and I had made that very clear.
Oops.  Must be Mom's mistake.

But then...

"No WAY!!!"

"Thanks, Dad!  You're the best!"

"You guys totally got me!"

 Kate had a party for her friends the next day.
Pizza, movie, and lots of hanging out.
She's 12 now, so... you know!

Aging dogs

Luke (Kitty Cat, Puppy) and I were cuddling in bed last night.  He said, "You know how dogs’ faces get white when they’re older?"

"Yeah," I said.

Then he held up his puppy and told me, "He won’t have a problem."

Super speed

Luke and I were reading one of his graphic novels together.  (I'm still not a graphic novel fan, but it's with the cuddle time.)

We read a part about one of the characters having super speed.  

I said, "Oh, I have super speed, too.  Want to see how fast I am?"

He said he did.  So, I shook jerked my body back and forth just a bit and said, "I just ran all the way around the house."

He giggled.  Then he asked me if I wanted to see how fast he was.  When I said I did, he jerked his body just like I had and said, "I just ran all the way around the house, down the block, and back."

I said, "You didn't go anywhere."

He looked a me for a second, then laughed and said, "That’s just rude!"

"Drinking" from one of our marshmallow hot chocolate cups

Land's End Jackets

"Mom, this jacket is really nice.  

It's waterproof, windproof, and even lightning proof!"

-Ally

Flexibility

I was on the phone with Charlie's mom.  He wasn't feeling well, and, although he's in daycare this year, I wanted to take him here the next day and cuddle him all day instead.  But then I worried the disruption in his routine, when he was already feeling awful, wouldn't be what was best for him.  So I told her, "I know he's more flexible than my kids were, but I'm not sure it's best to disrupt his routine."

After I got off the phone, Ally said, "I heard what you said to Charlie's mom.  You said he's more flexible than I am.  That's not true.  Look at this."

Operation Christmas Child

We feel so blessed to be able to help others.

We have so much, and one of the best things we get to do because we have so much 

is help others who need it.

One of the ways we help others is making boxes of Christmas presents for kids 

who otherwise wouldn't get presents to show God's love to them.  

The boxes get distributed through Operation Christmas Child.

We pray these boxes are a blessing to those who receive them.

Green Bay

We took the kids up to Green Bay this summer.  While we were there, Dave and I were shocked to see the Exclusive Company, where we used to buy CDs in college, was still in business.  We stopped in to reminisce and, although we now buy all our music on iTunes, picked up an Avett Brother's CD.

We told the kids a bunch of stories from when we were in college, like how we'd wait in line at midnight to buy a CD when it was first released and how we used to have to have towers of CDs in our apartments to keep all our music.  I'm not sure if it seems weirder to me that we used to keep our music that way or that it now all fits in a phone about the size of one CD case, but I know the former seemed weirder to the kids.

Then last week Anna had a field trip to Old World Wisconsin.  When she came home, she told us that one of the leaders had asked the kids to guess what was the oldest city in Wisconsin and she'd gotten it right.  I told Anna I would have guessed Milwaukee.  Anna said the lady had given them a hint and told them it wasn't Milwaukee or Madison.  Anna guessed Green Bay and it was right.

I said, "Green Bay?  Really?  I wouldn't have guessed that."

"Well,"  Anna said, "It makes sense.  I mean, it has really old stuff like that CD store."

Wine

My kids may know more about certain topics than others.

Anna and Ally were helping me prep some vegetables for beef stew.  I'd sautéed the onions and added them to the crockpot with the meet.  Then I poured some wine into the pan to deglaze it.  As it simmered and I scraped the pan, I told the girls, "This is called deglazing.  It..."

Anna interrupted, "I thought that was called wine."

"Yes," confirmed Ally, "that's definitely wine."

Close approximations

Ally doesn't care too much if she uses the exact right word.  A close approximation is good enough for her.

She's often calling any fruit something else.


"Mom, can I have more blueberries."

"We don't have blueberries."

"Yes, we do.  They're right there."

"Those are grapes."

"Same thing."

"Nope.  They're different fruits."

-------------

"Yum!  I love these peaches."

"They're pears."

And it's not just fruits.  Most meat is chicken.

"Can I please have more chicken."

"That was pork.  We're having pork today."

"Can I have more chicken."

"You can have more pork."

-------------

"This is the best chicken I've ever had."

"It's steak."

But, the phenomenon is not exclusive to food.  It's seeped out in other areas.


"I had a dream that I found this cabinet, and went in it but it was really just a run down house."

"You went in a cabinet?"

"Yes."

"Wasn't it really small?"

"Yeah, it was pretty small."

"There was a house when you climbed in the cabinet?"

"Yeah, the cabinet was like a cottage."

"OH, a cabin?"

"Yeah."

-------------

"I wish you wouldn't parent coach so much, so you could do recess studio more."

"Recess duty?"

"Yes, I want you to do more recess studio."

"Duty."

"Dutio."

"Just duty."

-------------

"Mommy!  Anna is trying to take my consequence!"

"Your what?"

"My consequence."

"Huh?"

"She already has two consequences and now she's trying to take mine."

I got up and followed her into the living room where they were playing Risk.

"Your continent," I said.

Inside Ally's thoughts

A few weeks ago Ally told me, "I don't want to be a princess."

"You don't?  Why not?

"Because they have maids who they have to make work too hard."

I thought that was really insightful and sweet.  I gave her a big hug and I told her it was really great that she was thinking of how other people felt.

Then yesterday, she was washing potatoes for me and she said, "I'm glad they got rid of slavery."

I didn't understand her right away, so she explained, "I'm glad they don't make people be slaves anymore."

I told her I was really glad, too.  Then I said, "Did washing potatoes make you think of that?"

"Yeah," she admitted.  "I mean, it's fun to help you wash potatoes, but if you had to do it all day..."

Dreams of Charlie

When I woke up today, Anna came in for a cuddle.

Anna said, "I had a dream that I was babysitting Charlie."

I said, "Weird! I had a dream that I was watching Charlie, too!"

Anna continued, "Yeah, I was a super hero and I had to rescue Charlie and take him down to my secret lair to keep him safe."

That part was different than mine.  Nine-year-old dreams seem much more exciting!

Charlie giving Anna a kiss on his first birthday last month

Traumatizing Anna

About two weeks ago, I had an umbilical hernia repair.  I didn't react well to the anesthesia, so I was in bad shape for a couple days.  I tried to be tough for the kids, to not worry them, but it affected Anna quite a bit.

This morning after she opened her water bottle, she pulled up her shirt and looked down at her belly.

She saw me looking at her so she explained, "My belly button is perfect."

When that didn't clear it up for me, she continued, "Every time I lift something, or just now I pushed down on that water bottle really hard, I check to make sure my belly button is still okay."

Ally, the prosecuting attorney

Although it can also make me crazy, I truly love how persistent Ally is when she wants something and I love how insightful her arguments can be.  If she wanted to become one, I think she'd make a darn good lawyer.

Take this morning.  She didn't want to go to school.  But instead of just complaining about going or playing sick, she put forward the following argument:

"I don't like school, and you're making me go.  I didn't do anything wrong, and you're 'consequencing' me."

That's a pretty good argument for a seven-year-old to make to her mother whose job revolves around discipline.

Highlighting in parenting books

I was reading and highlighting in a couple books "Parenting Teens with Love and Logic" and "Screen Wise" during Kate's music lessons.

I hadn't realized Luke and Ally were watching me until I looked up and saw their somewhat horrified expressions.    

Luke asked, "Why are you coloring all over that?" 

I couldn't help but laugh a little, and then I explained, "It's called highlighting.  I do it so I can remember the important parts."

Ally continued, "Are you allowed to do that?" 

I explained that I could do it in books that I owned, and that I only did it with non-fiction books so I could remember the important information.

Later that night, as I folded laundry in my room, Anna came in and told me, "I'm not going to have to read books like you do to know how to be a good mom when I'm a mom."

"Oh, really?" I asked as I swatted at her with some pajamas I'd been folding.

She continued to explain that she'd just know how to be a good mom, because she would already know everything about what her kids were going through since she'd already have been a kid. 

I countered with, "But, you'll never have been a mom before!" I accentuated my point by throwing a few pairs of my underwear at her her explaining, "I read in a parenting book that it's a good idea to throw underwear at your nine-year-old!"

I don't know why, but later it actually kind of bugged me a little that she'd said that.  I questioned why it was that I was always feeling the need to read more and more about parenting.  The insecurity sat in the back of my mind all that night and the next day.

Then before bedtime the next day, Anna climbed into my bed next to me for reading.  She put her arms around me, and without any mention of the previous day's conversation, she said, "Do you know why I won't have to read any books about how to be a good mom?"

"Why," I asked, ready to have to tickle her.

"Because I have you.  And, you're the best mom.  And I'm going to do just what you're doing."

We still have "Oh, Anna" moments

The kids and I were eating dinner and Anna says, "Does any one else find it fascinating how phones work?  You can talk into one thing and someone else can hear it.  It's like telephone (meaning the game)!"

I don't say anything.

Kate looks at Anna blankly and finally says, "Phones are telephones."

Anna says, "No!  I mean the game."

Luke's first soccer game

Look at this big kid!

First day of school

We switched up our tradition of a little bit this year. 

Instead of me sewing dresses for everyone...

Here's Kate, off to 6th grade

 Kate made her own shirt,

Luke and Ally off to 2nd grade and Anna off to 4th

I made Anna a shirt instead of a dress and we bought Luke a shirt.

They survived the day.  And Luke is off to his first day of soccer.

You may notice Anna looks a little different.  She woke up the morning of the day before school with her eye completely swollen shut from a bug bite.  It healed a lot that day, and was looking quite a bit better by the first day of school, but still a bit swollen.

Luke's new haircut

Luke got his haircut yesterday.  (I clearly explained how I wanted his hair to stay long, but just wanted it neatened up around the ears and neckline.)

The hairstylist had an idea for him, and she cut it completely differently.  (Who's the mom here?)

(Although I consciously had to hold back tears,) Luke LOVED her idea.

When the hairstylist was done, Luke looked at his reflection in the mirror and his expression was (almost) worth the cost of all his beautiful hair spread over the salon floor.

He got down from the chair, pulled his new wallet out of his waistband where he kept it because he didn't have a pocket.  He took out a dollar and held it out to the lady saying, "Thank you so much.  This is a tip."

My helper

Kate has always been a good helper, but she seems to do it because she knows it's the right thing to do.  Anna and Luke also help, but their groans are barely suppressed just below the surface.

Ally, though.  This kid lives to help.  A couple weeks ago, we were cleaning the cottage, and Ally and Anna had been having some conflicts that morning, and Ally was in a bad mood.  When Ally finished dusting, she handed me the cloth and grumbled, "That wasn't even as fun as usual."

Today Ally had been feeling down this afternoon, and I knew the cure for her would be to let her help me do something, just her and me.  She chose to make dinner.  As we were cooking, she practically beamed and commented more than once, "I just love to make dinner with mommy."

I love it, too.

Vacation books

When Kate was a baby, I decided that I would make a book for any trip we went on as a family.  I figure if we spend hundreds of dollars on a trip, it makes sense to spend $40-$50 more to help the kids actually remember it.

Sometimes, as I'd spend hours making the book, I'd wonder if the time and money was actually worth it.

Lately, though, the kids have been reading the books, "Oh, mom, remember the sandcastle we made?"

"Oh, mom remember how we got to jump in that big ball pit?"

...and I know they were worth every penny and every minute.

Babysitter qualifications

This afternoon I had to run Kate up to school to set up her locker.  Anna asked if she could watch the twins for those 15 minutes.

Luke and Ally both looked at me while I was thinking it over.  Then Luke, nervous I might agree, asked accusingly, "Anna!  Do you know CPR?"

Property Brothers

The kids were all getting their back to school haircuts yesterday.

I was sick of stylists messing up Luke's hair, so I took them to a real salon.  (It ended up being the biggest catastrophe of all for Luke's hair, but that's a story for another time... for a time after I recover from my son suddenly getting a big boy hair cut.)

While the kids were sitting there, Luke saw a man walking towards us.  Luke's eyes got big and he said, "That looks like one of the brothers from, um... that show that's on the channel with House Hunters."

I looked up at the guy and he really did look just like one of the Property Brothers.  I said, "He thinks you look like one of the Property Brothers."

He pumped his fist and said, "Yes!  That's what I had him cut my hair like."

Soon everyone in the salon was saying, "Yes, you do look like the Property Brothers."  And all because of Luke's observation.

"One call...that's all"

Luke was watching a little bit of the preseason Packer game with Dave and I was sitting in the room.

A commercial for Gruber Law Offices came on.  

I've heard their "One call... that's all" slogan for decades, so I didn't think anything of it until Luke, processing the advertisement, commented, "But, you can only call them one time."

Soaking in

On Friday we went to Green Bay to go to Bay Beach.

Luke has been really into the Packers for a couple years, since his friends at school talk about them all the time, so Dave decided to take him to see Lambeau Field.

When we got there, there were tons of people.  We realized there was an open practice.  All the players rode by on kids' bikes and Luke tried to get a high five from them.

He was really disappointed, because he never seemed to be in the right spot.  Later, though, he did manage to get a high five from Randall Cobb.  He was ecstatic.

A few minutes later, I reached down to hold his hand.  Instead of taking my hand, he paused, and then asked, "... Do you think it's soaked in yet?"

Laughing, I told him it definitely had soaked in; I wouldn't rub it off by holding his hand.

The next morning, he told me, "Randall Cobb has soaked into my hand, up my arm, and it's soaking into my chest now and making me a good football player."

I said, "Well, maybe flag football...  Dad and I don't love concussions."