Who Says You Can't Eat Your Cake and Enjoy It Too?

Oh how time does fly.

My baby girl just turned 14.  It is still so hard to believe that I have two teenagers.  Not to mention a preteen and a 9 year old.

For Lauren's birthday we went to my mom's house and swam.  They fixed burgers on the grill, and we had homemade ice-cream.  I made Lauren's favorite cake......chocolate cake with chocolate icing......yum! 

We let the kids swim for a bit, then had them come in for the cake....

Lauren REALLY enjoyed her cake!   

Learning To Let Go -

Last night I went into the local grocery store to pick up a few items, and was met by the strangest sight. Two boys that my son played Baseball with back in Elementary School were working as Sackers..... My oldest has talked about starting work next year, and I know that day is coming.  But seeing those boys with their light fuzzy facial hair, WORKING, came as quite a shock.  I suddenly felt so OLD! My baby boy is becoming a man.

The Birds and The Bees - (proceed with caution: some material may be offensive to some)

I always wanted an open relationship with my children so that when they got to be teens they could come to me about anything.  ANYTHING!  And so far..... they have.  Do they talk to me about drugs? yes!  Do they talk to me about sex? Absolutely!!  masturbation? Yep, that too.   There really isn't a topic that is "off-limits", and I don't think that there should be.  I may not always answer a question if it is too personal, but they are always free to ask.  I answer them honestly and matter of factly.  Is this how parenting should be? By being open about these issues, does it diminish my authority as a parent?  I don't think so......My daughter often tells me that I am her Best Friend because she can tell me anything.  Can we be our children's "friends' and still be "the parent"? Or am I setting myself up for difficult times ahead?

13 And Glamorous!

This weekend  I got some great shots of my oldest daughter Lauren. I consider this a great achievement for a couple of reasons, number one being she posed willingly for numerous photos and had fun doing it.  In the past she has always been resistant to getting her photo taken.  I had managed previously to get some shots of her and a friend while they were goofing off being silly, dressed up in her 8 year old sister's dress up clothes, but other attempts were unsuccessful.