Monday, November 10, 2008

Birthdays, Egg Rolls and a Thank You

Okay, guys, Hannah turns 16 in just three weeks or so. She informed me over the weekend that she either wants a) to get her nails done, b) get her hair done, or c) get her bellybutton pierced. She must think I am smoking some crack on the side if she really thinks that I am going to let her get her bellybutton pierced. I mean, really. The past few years, what we have done on her birthday is have an afternoon of us time. I take the afternoon off of work and take her out of school, and we drive to Twin and have lunch and just do whatever. I think this year she would like to do something a little bit more exciting, but I am SO not doing a party. I can barely handle ONE teenaged girl in the house! I know that 16 is a big deal, because it is the beginning of a whole new chapter of her life-dating (YIKES), driver's license (double yikes!), the beginning of becoming an adult. So I understand all of that, and I want to make it a special day, but I am SO not letting her get her bellybutton pierced. Maybe next year. Or not.

Getting closer and closer to getting final approval on the housing thing. There was one Verification left to be returned, and it was mailed on Friday. Maybe right this minute my caseworker is opening the mail and thinking, "Great! Last one!" I am starting to get just a little bit wonky about it, though. All of the additional financial stuff involved in moving-the rent will probably be slightly higher than what I am paying now, so I worry a bit about that. Then what if it costs too much to heat? What if I have to come up with first, last, AND a deposit? There is also the furniture issue-a must have is a bed for myself, and we all need dressers, and...the list goes on. So the sick part of me, the part that doesn't like change (even GOOD change is scary!), is all like "Hm, maybe this isn't such a bad place after all..." and I could very easily mind-fuck myself into thinking that we should just stay where we are. Thankfully, I have learned enough to know that I can feel that way all I want and need to, but I am still moving forward, through the fear and the worry. It will work out-I want this, the kids want this, there are a lot of resources for free or cheap furniture, and it WILL work out. I just have to let this one go, let it fall into place as it will, and trust that God is going to provide what I need at exactly the right time.

It was a good weekend at our house, arguing about the piercing aside. Hannah and I made egg rolls on Saturday, and I blame them on the fact that I didn't lose any weight in the last week. They are SO good, and we made this ginger-garlic dipping sauce to go with them. The fried rice we made was not that great, though, and Sam refuse to eat any of it. He ended up having a bowl of cereal while the rest of us totally pigged out. Even Owen loved them, eating an entire one and part of another, and getting into the fridge and devouring an uncooked one as well (uncooked as in not fried yet, all the ingredients were already cooked!). We try to pick one weekend day to cook something special-and it has been a lot of fun. We have done the egg rolls a lot, we are all (save Sam) Asian food lovers, we sometimes do lasagna or ravioli (a personal favorite, even though it is time consuming; well worth it!), but it is always something we don't have time to do on weeknights. I love to cook, and it is neat to see the kids becoming more and more interested in it.

And we otherwise were not especially productive. It rained most of the day yesterday, and the kids were all pretty wound up. I got slightly disgusted so came down to the office for a little while, and when I got home the kids had apparently disgusted themselves as well. All of them were outside in the rain, playing-even Hannah, who generally doesn't go out much. It just kind of drizzled all afternoon, but even after Owen and Hannah came in, Eli and Sam stayed out there and played together. I don't know how NICELY they were playing, but nobody (meaning Sam) came in bleeding or crying, so my assumption is that they did okay.

Thanks to all of you for your lovely, kind comments about my letter (s). To answer you all as a whole, I think I AM going to mail the letter to the instructor AFTER the class is over, and I don't know what to do about the ones to Hannah and Eli. Perhaps fine-tune them a little, add a little more non-sex stuff (and take out the dick part in Eli's, right?), and put them in their stockings at Christmas? It was good to write them, to put down on paper what I hope for both of them, the things I want them to hear from me. We have touched upon most of them, but somehow it has more impact when it is there in black and white. Anyway, thanks for all of the support; it means a lot.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great idea about sending the letters in and putting them in the kids' stockings.

Egg Rolls...almost as destructive to my diet as potstickers! Would you send me your ginger-garlic sauce recipe, please! I'm always looking for good Asian sauces!

Tara R. said...

MAYBE... if the verification for the new digs comes through, MAYBE for her birthday you can take the $$ you were going spend on the day out, and let her use it to decorate her new room. Just a thought. That's what we did for our daughter one year. New stuff for her bed, some artsy stuff for the walls, girly things here and there. She loved it, it didn't cost all that much and she had a place she could really call her own. I like the idea of putting the letters in their stockings. I bet they will keep them forever, after.

Anonymous said...

You sound like a really nice mom.

Unknown said...

You are an inspiration. I love the idea of a weekend to cook with the kids, we make a breakfast together, as ours are still 7 and 10, they are still learning, but we love to cook breakfast together.

It's always been my experience that my awareness is what is the most important. Even when I'm scared, it's still my awareness that keeps me moving forward.

Hugs to you!
G~*

Kori said...

I am so keeping my fingers crossed and my prayers lifting for the new digs.

Mama Smurf said...

I love Tara's idea!

Also, (you're probably already aware of this...but humor me) Craigs list has a whole "free" section on it...people list furniture on there all the time (in my area anyhow). Start watching every day cuz that stuff goes QUICK!

Also, OMG! You actually have cooking date nights at your house! You're my hero. Seriously. You are really a cool mom.

FreedomFirst said...

You should definitely distribute all of those letters. But yeah, I'd take out the dick part too. That's gotta be really embarrassing to hear from your mom. I'm sure no teenage boy likes to think that their mom thinks about them getting head, LMAO.

Hmm, I see that my word verification down below is "clappe". Does that make anyone think of an STD?!

I hope Hannah has a great birthday. Every 16-year-old should do something special for their birthday. I was so bummed when mine came and went with nothing. Well, actually, my mom did try to do something special by taking me to have lunch with the girl who became my first teenage female friend, and a few years later my sister-in-law. We were born on the same day. But it wasn't quite the birthday bash I'd always dreamed of. My 21st birthday was lame as well. I guess I'll have to really do something amazing for my 30th! Lol.

April said...

That's it. My girls are coming for a visit to your place so they can learn to cook for me :)

Love you.

Ronda's Rants said...

The letters are good...yes please take out the dick part in Eli's! I wouldn't give them at Christmas...I would give them at a time you could be available to them to talk with after they receive it! It would be excellant if you could just say these things to them...but anyway they are good letters...oh and take out the hooches part of Eli's too! Tee Hee! :)

Jennifer said...

Wishing you lots of luck w/ the housing thing!!

I have never made eggrolls before--eaten plenty but never made them! They sound so good...

I don't blame you for saying no the the belly button piercing--maybe when she's 18??

for a different kind of girl said...

It's probably good I don't know how to make egg rolls, because I'd crave them constantly! It's bad enough when we get them from the fantastic Chinese place across the road.

I always told myself I'd get my belly button pierced one day. I'm still pierceless. I'd probably feel the same way you do about my child wanting to get that done.

Julie said...

I agree that hearing the dick part from your mom could be embarrassing, but I think that sentence sent an important message. Because a girl could do "everything but" and then change her mind. So I would at least leave in "Even if a girl is naked..." and maybe "touching" or you could just make it slightly less crass by saying "performing oral sex on you..." You'll have to figure out what would be least embarrassing, but I think it is important to let Eli know that a girl could change her mind at any point.

You're an amazing Mom, Kori! Those letters are great and the fact that you are so open and honest with the kids is AWESOME!

Rachael said...

I hope the house thing goes quickly and that it works out for you. I think it sounds great.

I also definitely think that you should give the letters to your kids. I have a letter my Mom wrote to me when I graduated high school 10 years ago, and I still keep it in my bedside table drawer and read it periodically, and it almost always makes me tear up. They will love them.