From Little Girl to Little Lady

This month Kristen turned eleven. As the oldest child, she has always shown maturity in certain areas, and viewing her as a young lady was not a push for me. However, I realized when looking back over photos of the past years just how much she has grown, both in physical appearance and behavior. Not that merely reaching eleven has suddenly caused her to turn a corner in any respect, but the number helps cement what I have been witnessing for the past years. K is growing up. Her time at home is growing short, and my influence over her is waning. Oh, I know I have several more years, but I also know just how quickly those years will pass. By the time she is another eleven years older, she could be in love and thinking of marriage. I know I was at 22.

But why dwell on the future when one can enjoy the present? K is a typical eleven-year-old, with the struggles, attitudes, and dreams associated with many girls her age. She still enjoys her American Girl dolls, but she is also getting more interested in more grown-up activities. Skipping the toys this year, her "want" from us for her birthday was a hugglepod, a little reading nook that hangs from her ceiling. For Christmas, she wants a nail set from Jamberry.

We don't always get along as she searches to find her place in the family and in life as a young lady, but we do enjoy watching corny Christmas specials, baking together, and expressing our creativity through random items found at Hobby Lobby. Her room is a constant disaster, but she will help out with laundry, dishes, and little A without being asked. She will bring me my tea or coffee if it is ready when I am in the middle of something else. She enjoys shopping for others in Operation Christmas Child and the various other giving opportunities that arise during this time of year. She hangs at that half-way mark between childhood and adulthood in so many areas of life.

K dreams of dancing in a leading role in the Nutcracker one day. She is a dedicated dancer, spending hours each week developing her skill and technique. She is hoping to be en pointe by next summer, and she will be attending the Denver Guild for the first time this spring. I love watching her dance, and she frequently brings me to tears as I admire my daughter performing for others so beautifully (she usually performs at nursing homes and retirement centers).

I have a feeling that these next two years will bring major changes in our lives as she continues to grow into a little lady, and I feel privileged to be a part of it.

Double Digits

K turned 10 this year. I can't believe that I have been a mother that long. In some ways it seems longer. In others, it has flown by.

K is an amazing girl. She is smart and talented, but, more importantly, she is helpful and sweet, jumping up to help me should I even mention needing something. She loves her baby sister, and she shares her dolls, snuggles, plays with, and dresses her. K also has incredible leadership abilities. She can find ways to motivate her brothers when I have failed. I am so excited to see what God has in store for her, but I am going to enjoy the years I still have with her before she enters the big, wide world.

This year, K wanted to host her birthday party at home. I was not sure what to do with a houseful of preteen girls, so we decided to bake cookies. I made the dough ahead of time, wrapped it up in individual balls, and put it in the fridge for the girls to use when the party started. The girls each received a piece of parchment paper and a ball of cookie dough, and I laid out dozens of cookie cutters and a variety of sprinkles for them to use as well.

Rolling out cookies

Having fun

Sprinkles make it better

One of her sweet friends

Cutting out the cookies

Since we were already baking cookies, K agreed to have a cookie cake instead of a traditional birthday cake for her party. When the girls finished rolling out and cutting their cookies, they worked together to create a "cake" for K. It was fun to see what they came up with.

The unbaked "cake". They kind of went overboard on the sprinkles

 The cookie-baking process took longer than I anticipated, and we had to rush to open presents at the end. The cookie cake finished baking while she opened her presents, and the girls sang a quick "Happy Birthday" before departing with their plates of cookies.

Opening presents

Watching her open presents

Overall, I would say the party went well. I think the girls had fun, and I know that K did. If the birthday girl is happy, I count that as a success.

H Turns Five

Yesterday, we celebrated H's fifth birthday. Life has been crazy, and I was a little worried that he would not feel special and celebrated. The morning after arriving home from Boston, I baked a cake for his party. H had requested a castle cake, which I had never attempted before. Honestly, I was a little intimidated by the whole thing. When I was done, though, I was satisfied with the results, and, more importantly, so was he.

When I had asked H what he wanted to do to celebrate his birthday, he mentioned some neighbor boys he wanted to invite over to swim. I therefore planned on a relaxed swimming party where the time would be filled in the pool. Unfortunately, H could not swim because of his chin. The glue was supposed to remain dry for another week. This left me mentally scrambling to figure out how to entertain the kids. Fortunately, H is a good sport, and, after a couple of races and a water balloon fight, he said that they could still swim. He came inside with me, and I let him watch some Animaniacs. Then, he went back outside and got in the pool. He was good and stayed on the steps to keep his chin dry, though it did get splashed a couple of times.

After the kids got out of the pool, we got out a veggie tray to snack on and the cake. The party was about over, so after cake and ice cream, H opened the present from his friends, and we said goodbye. When they were gone, he opened his presents from us, and the kids played superheroes for the rest of the day (he received four superhero costumes).

I think he had a good time. He told me today that he likes birthdays. I take that as a sign that all went well in his eyes. I love my sweet H, and I am glad he feels like we took time to make him happy.

Snow Day = Chocolate Day

We have experienced a lot of snowy weather recently, and it has occasionally resulted in the kids' activities being cancelled. This was true last Tuesday, when both karate and ballet were cancelled. I have to admit I was somewhat relieved. I look forward to the days when we don't have to hurry around to various activities.

Faced with an unexpected evening of free time, the kids and I decided to make it an evening of chocolate. First, we mixed together the ingredients for the center of some chocolate truffles. Then, we made the dough for chocolate cookies. Both needed to be refrigerated for two hours before finishing them.

When the two hours were up, K and I rolled out balls of truffle filling, stuck them in the freezer for several minutes, and commenced dipping them in white chocolate. The whole process was somewhat tedious, but we were very happy with the (tasty) results.

Unfortunately, we did not have time to finish both the truffles and the cookies on the first night, so we baked and dipped the cookies the following evening. S, H, AJ, and K all helped cut the cookies out, and K helped me roll out the dough. Once they were baked, the kids took turns dipping the cookies in melted chocolate and various extras.  The kids chose mini-chocolate chips, crushed graham crackers, and crushed peppermint candy.

During the whole process, I told myself that I would never again attempt something as involved with all four children by myself. However, looking back, it was not so bad. It means so much for them all to be involved. Sometimes, the memories are more important than a perfect outcome.

K's Ninth Birthday

My beautiful ballerina turned nine this year. She is an amazing girl who has strong leadership skills, a

helping heart, and a love for reading and baking.

This year, K wanted to help decorate her cake. She told me she wanted a candy-decorated cake, with crushed peppermint candies for a walkway leading up to a graham cracker house. We used Andes mints for the roof and door, and she placed gummy bears and flower-shaped hard candy around the cake to decorate the "yard". Of course, the base was ganache. We love that stuff.

Her birthday party was relatively simple, celebrating at home with family members. We enjoyed a home-cooked dinner, followed by cake and presents.

Six Already?

We celebrated AJ's birthday this month. Timo was away for his actual birthday, so we held his party the following weekend. This year, he was able to invite more kids since he has had more of an opportunity to make friends through the co-op. It was great seeing so many kids come to celebrate with my (not-so) little guy.

AJ wanted a knight-themed party, so we purchased plates, cups, plastic blow-up swords, sheilds, and masks before the party. Then, I decorated some chocolate cupcakes with crowns, sheilds, and swords to match the theme.

I have to take a moment to thank my wonderful hubby for taking the kids out of the house so I could have the uninterrupted time to get these done. They took a lot longer than they probably should have, but my birthday boy was happy with the end results. I tried to put some creativity into the sheilds, placing Lego pieces, a puzzle piece, a car, a swing, a cape, and a slide on the sheilds instead of the usual symbols.

AJ seemed to have a ton of fun playing with his friends at his party. I don't know how much of his sixth birthday he will remember, but you never know what kids will recall. If he can look back with a smile, I will count it as a success.

Swedish Semlor



One of the semlor I baked. I forgot to put the powdered sugar on top
before I took the picture. 

 Since we no longer live in Sweden, I found it necessary to bake my own semlor this year for Fat Tuesday. Semlor are a blend of traditional Scandinavian flavors, combining a cardamom bun, almond paste, and whipped cream in a decadent dessert. I found this recipe online, and I decided it was as good as any. Having never baked semlor before, and having only eaten them a couple of times, I was nervous about the result. All things considered, I think they turned out great. I shared some with the only Swede I know in town, and he was impressed. My family enjoyed them, too, and that is what matters most.

Random Activities with Friends

I recently added a subject to K's curriculum -- Cooking/Baking. She has been baking with me since she was one, so this isn't technically new, but we are making a more deliberate effort at her education in the kitchen.

When Katarina was here, we combined baking bread with a Swedish lesson. Katarina took the lead in baking the bread, and we kind of made it up on the way, building on her basic recipe.

K times two

K wasn't the only one who enjoyed Katarina's visit. AJ really opens up to her, and here he is sharing a story with her in Swedish.

I love the looks on his face. I can really tell that she holds a special place in his heart.

Home Economics 101

I decided to start a new subject in homeschooling this week: home economics. Once a week, K will cook something. This month we are baking breads. This week's bread: pumpkin with a chocolate spice frosting. She did a fabulous job, and she even gave this loaf to a neighbor lady. We found out later it was her birthday, and she ate a slice of this bread as her birthday cake. The other loaf didn't last long at our house.

Baby Shower Time

Last night, some friends and I hosted a baby shower for a very sweet new mom. Danielle, the hostess, and I had talked about throwing the shower months ago, but life got busy. We finally figured that it was now or never. Our move takes place this week, so the timing was a little stressful for me, but I enjoyed myself once I was there.

My job was to help make the cupcakes. We had seen some cute bib cupcakes in a magazine that didn't look too time-consuming, so we decided to go with those. The other ladies put out fruit, sparkling juice, and some cute chocolate-covered mini-marshmallows.

I wasn't feeling the best, so my friend, Katarina, helped me decorate the cupcakes. She was a little timid at first, but she quickly got the hang of the simple decorating we were doing.  I was thankful for the assistance, and she had fun "learning from the master," as she put it.

Some of the cupcakes. We drew pacifiers and ducks on the bibs, and we also used some cute little bear sprinkles.



The chocolate-covered marshmallows.



The beautiful spread

Once we were done, we cleaned up a bit, then went to the other room to hide and surprise the guest of honor. I didn't take any more pictures, but I enjoyed the evening. We played several games, oohed and ahhed over her presents, and consumed entirely too much sugar.

This was my last time to hang out with most of these people, and I will miss them dearly. I am thankful for the friendships we have developed during my time here.

Saying Goodbye

K told her class last Friday that she would be moving back to the US. According to her teacher, they crowded around her, crying, "No!" Then they said that they would call the police and have them stop the flight.

So this afternoon, I took cookies to K's class to mourn her departure. She wanted decorated cookies, so we chose sugar cookie cut-outs with a buttercream frosting.



The hearts are for the girls in her class. AJ got the yellow star.




The boys got airplanes. I'm not really happy with how they turned out, but I will have to experiment with this cookie cutter to find a better design. Those blue spots are supposed to be the windows.



The teacher's cookie

The farewell part was short, but so sweet. K got up in front of her class and read a short note to them about how much she would miss them. Then, they gave her a card with notes and pictures from each member of her class. The girls all crowded around K to hug her, and some of them even picked her up and spun her around. Then three of them made a chair with their arms, and they carried her around a little. Meanwhile, the boys were eyeing their cookies, asking me if they could eat them.

I almost started crying while watching all the commotion. I know K is sad to leave her friends, and that breaks a mother's heart.