So remember the days when it was enough to just write funny stories about your kids on your blog and some people would actually leave comments?
Yea, me neither.
The blogging world has evolved so much in the 7+ years I’ve been at it. Mostly in good ways. But there are some times when I feel like I can’t post unless I have something REALLY IMPORTANT to say. I value your eyeballs and I never wish to waste anyone’s time. So I post less and try to choose my stories wisely.
And yet…
This morning over breakfast, Ian pulled out a book full of blog stories from several years ago. He read it to his siblings while they crunched their cereal and they laughed and laughed over their own antics. I listened to their giggles and I thought of all the stories I sometimes don’t write any more because I think, “What if that’s a story only a mother would treasure? What if nobody else wants to hear it?”
But my kids do. To these seven small people I spend my days with, the pictures and funnies matter. This is their history. And I want to write it.
So I hope you’ll indulge me a bit while I catch up on some family happenings this week. This brood, they are my favorite audience. And I owe them a story or three…
*****
Sam and Ian, the tiny twins o’mine that were, are no longer tiny. They grew. They turned nine. I died a little inside.
During the marathon that we call The Birthday Month, we were blessed to have family and friends who faithfully attended every party, ate every cake, and celebrated like we hadn’t just done this all last week. To honor that, we combined the last four birthdays of the month into one party and two cakes.
Sam and Ian settled on a space cake for their theme. I intended to let them do most of the decorating but they got distracted by something shiny so I did it myself.
A lot of food coloring went into that cake. I hope nobody’s innards were permanently stained.
Grampaw and Meme gave Sam and Ian each a BB gun. And I died a little more inside.
Lest you be concerned they’ll put somebody’s eye out (oh, come on, you know you all thought it), Grampaw gave them a simple acrostic to remember. (Grampaw has an acrostic for everything. It’s his spiritual gift.)
ALT:
- Aim – Never aim at anything you don’t want to shoot. The safest way to avoid this is to point it down at all times.
- Load – Always treat it like it’s loaded. Even if you’re SURE it isn’t.
- Trigger – Never put your finger on the trigger unless you intend to shoot. Even if the safety is on.
They faithfully learned this acrostic, I covered them with holy water and prayers, and then they went in the backyard to shoot. Their birthday? MADE.
Since the twins have the last birthday of six in one month, we were slap worn out when it came to balloon ideas. But we started this stupid tradition of balloons in their room on their birthday morning and we had to follow through. Which is how we found ourselves creeping around at 11 pm with packing tape, twine, and balloons.
We felt like Birthday Ninjas.
And after four birthday cakes, three different balloon concoctions, three parties, and countless gifts? I think we were.
**Edited to Add** Thank you for all the sweet words in the comments. I didn’t mean to fish for compliments, I was just sharing a general trend that all bloggers have noticed: since most people read blogs on their phones they leave fewer comments. However, I love getting to know you all, so comment at will!
