It
has been a full week since we had the big weekend of birthday celebrations at
my house. The month of birthdays for
2013 is behind us, the cakes a mere memory, and the balloons taken down and
effectively popped by my overzealous Boston terrier Jolly. In years past birthday decorations went up
shortly before my son’s birthday on August 31 and finally were removed after my
daughter’s birthday on September 29. This
year the time in between birthdays was relatively balloon and banner free. Maybe it is because I am older and really
couldn’t stomach looking at a month long ongoing birthday party. For whatever reason, I took the decorations
down and put up fresh the weekend of my daughter’s 13th birthday when
my husband finally rolled back into town.
While he had been gone, his birthday and our wedding anniversary had
come and gone.
Because my husband wasn’t in town for his own birthday, last weekend became a double celebration. While the fighting Irish of Notre Dame were getting their butts beat in the nearby stadium we descended on the Golden Corral for a feast in celebration of both birthdays and our anniversary. The next day my daughter’s birthday was off to a slow start. In the last several years I have personally baked the family birthday cakes. My daughter wanted a tie dye cake and my husband requested his favorite of angel food. Both turned out really well, decoration and all. We grilled steaks and mashed potato casserole with seasoned green beans completed the menu. Decorations went back up, and for the first time ever we hung up a make shift piñata filled with candy outside for the kids to knock the shit out of with plastic baseball bats. It was a hilarious spectacle to watch and in the end the candy was divided by all.
We took a celebratory cruise of the neighborhood on the golf cart then returned to the house so the birthday boy and girl could open presents. Dinner was eaten, wishes were formulated, and the candles were blown out in one large breath to the rousing musical strains of the birthday song.
birthdays are so much fun...Lets hope your husband is there for your son's next birthday :)
ReplyDeleteSugandha, ideally he would be home for every single birthday but unfortunately with the job he has it is simply not realistic. We always make the most of it no matter what. ♥ Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments!
DeleteI really love that you make birthdays a family event. My thought is why not have essentially two birthdays for each kiddo. On the day, do maybe a small cake, like half a cake and one present being saved for opening when Dad is there and then the other half cake on that day? Or something like that.
ReplyDeleteI really love birthdays being celebrated BIG and LOOOONG. They are the only day that is really just for you.
Jo, I had suggested opening only one present and having 2 cakes but my husband said to just go ahead and let him open his presents, so I did. I like your suggestion. Birthdays without him are just not fun. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind suggestions! ♥
DeleteLoved the family celebrations and the menu that you described made my mouth water.
ReplyDeleteKalpana, the meal turned out really well and we kind of go all out for the celebrations so they are memorable and special. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments! ♥
DeleteI am slowly beginning to learn the reality of being a trucker's wife, in that he may not be home for special occasions and holidays. He told me early on that if birthdays, Valentine's day, etc fall on a day he's out of town, we'll have to make plans to celebrate before or after. And luckily he's only gone 5 days a week. Of course I have no kids of my own and his are grown so we don't really make a big deal out of them anyway, other than dinner out and cake.
ReplyDeleteJoJo, it is a hard life at times. The worst is one year when he had to leave on Christmas day. That really sucked. We celebrated our Christmas on Christmas eve and it really wasn't the same having Santa for the kids that morning. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments! ♥
DeleteOh, what lovely cakes! You have such talent, Kathy. :)
ReplyDeleteI know that birthday celebrations are so much more fun when the whole family can be there. That rarely happens for us as my children are grown, but we do the best we can. Really like the homemade pinata idea, too. Might try that for my granddaughter's fourth birthday.
Love and blessings, and happy birthday wishes to your beautiful children!
Martha, the crazy pinata I bought for a dollar at the Dollar Store. It was so flimsy that we had to wrap it with clear packing tape to keep it together. LOL By then the kids really had to whack the hell out of it to break it. It worked, and they had fun. I filled it with lots of candy from the dollar store and spent a fraction of what I would have to buy a fancy pinata. I was pretty proud of the cakes. My son's was a zebra cake of chocolate and white cake. My daughter's was a tie dye cake. The things I do for my kids! I had to color the batter into the 5 different colors and add them to the pan one at a time. I hand piped the frosting. My writing on top still needs work but on the whole not too bad. :D Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments! ♥
DeleteYou have such a knack for the cake baking! I like that you want the birthdays to be a "family" occasion and not just another desert day. I am certain how ever you end up celebrating, it will be spectacular!
ReplyDeleteHumor after 50, I always go all out for holidays and birthdays for my little family. I cook up a storm, decorate, and plan fun stuff to do. My mom used to be like that too. Once my folks were gone I realized that it was up to me to make my own traditions and make the party happen. I do my best to make it special and do just that. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments! ♥
DeleteHope your husband is home for all the celebrations. This year our son was not home for his birthday and we felt so sad and lost! The cakes look so yummy!
ReplyDeleteLOL @ 'Maybe it is because I am older and really couldn’t stomach looking at a month long ongoing birthday party".... this is SO me :D
Shilpa, it makes things a lot better if he is. The cakes really did turn out really well and tasted awesome. I used to love to drag those birthdays out and now I just want to get on with it! Especially mine. LOL Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments! ♥
DeleteI love that you make everything so special for the kids. I love homemade cakes. Bummer that the hubs can't be there for everything BUT I love that you're willing to work around his schedule. Sometimes it's just that way, huh? LOVE your cakes and I pinatas are always fun. :) Happy Belated Birthdays to ALL!!!
ReplyDeleteMiMi, yes you got to do what you got to do. So much better when he is here. Sometimes I just miss him so! Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥
DeleteHow I love to make birthdays special. I guess it dates back to my birthday celebrations as a kid. The decorations would go up for my Birthday party in the first week of December and would be taken down only after the first week of January. What fun times we had in that entire month of holidays and festivities. Loves the pictures Kathy. God Bless.
ReplyDeletejyothisdayout, how cool! I was lucky to be the only birthday in May months away from Christmas, so the celebration was all me. Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments and sharing your memories here. ♥
DeleteHappy belated birthday to all. And happy anniversary too. Love the cakes Kathy - wow you are talented.
ReplyDeleteSuzy, I am getting a little better at the decorating. It takes practice and the right tools. My daughter is interested in getting possibly into cake decorating for 4H next year. If so, they offer workshops for the kids at the fairgrounds that I will look forward to learning from as well. Thank you for stopping in and for your sweet comments! ♥
DeleteAs Suzy said, happy belated birthday to all. Birthdays are such happy occasions, great excuses to celebrate. My father, mother, 3 of my cousins, one niece and I, we were all born in October. Lot's of parties this month for me. :D and to top that we have navratras, and dusshehra festival too. :D
ReplyDeleteShilpa, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and a great time celebrating with your family. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind comments! ♥
DeleteLOve love love the memories you share with your family, with us!!! Precious culture you are releasing and the joy on your children's face. One thing tho, soooooooo can't get the bat and smashing the dangling creature for candy. SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF ME EVERY TIME I SEE IT!! :)
ReplyDeleteBrenda, you make me smile. My kids have been whining and begging for a pinata for years. I just never could say spending 12-15.00 for a pinata and even more for candy. I happened across this at the dollar store and thought what the hell. It is a buck. I filled it with dollar store candy. It was flimsy as hell and I had to tape the living piss out of it so it would stay together but it worked. LOL Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet comments! ♥
DeleteThis was a mixed post for me. I am happy you celebrated the birthdays. But somewhere I could sense your pain at the absence of your husband :( I can somewhere understand that his travels make life tough for you guys. God bless you and your family sweetie :)
ReplyDeleteRicha
Richa, I shouldn't have celebrated without him. It just wasn't the same. We should have held parts back to celebrate with him. Life can be awful when he is not here. He is usually always here for Christmas, although one year he had to leave Christmas morning and that was awful. He has missed Easters, Halloweens, and Thanksgiving. It is rough, but in those instances we celebrate when he is here or share many photos through our phone. Thank you for stopping by and for the kind comments and blessings. ♥
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