As of last week, when Kelly turned 13, I officially have 2 teenagers in the house! Everyone tells me that teenagers are tough…but so far my experience has been uniquely positive and I sure hope it stays that way!…

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So, when I asked my daughter, who turned 7 today, what she wanted to take to school as her birthday treat for her classmates (mind you, I’m rebelling and ignoring all of the suggestions from the school wellness committee that birthday treats for school be healthy, like apples or smoothies…) she stated “I want a cookie cake!”. A cookie cake….great! I can make a cookie cake. When she got home from school yesterday and I asked if she wanted to help me make her special birthday cookie cake, she said, “No mom… I don’t want one of your cookie cakes. I want a cookie cake from the grocery store! You know? With the really cool pink and blue frosting?”

So, food blogger reputation aside, I hung my head low hoping no blog readers would see me at the bakery of our local grocery store, and my sweet daughter and I picked out store bought cookie cakes for her to share with her classmates.

Now, if I do ever get the privilege of proving to my daughter that I can actually cook, and cookie cakes I make can be just as pretty and delicious as the ones from the grocery store bakery, I have this recipe from Food.com locked and loaded and ready to try. And happy 7th birthday to my sweet, sweet girl, Kelly. You are truly a ray of sunshine in my life and I love you very much, cookie cake defiance and all.

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake from Food.com

1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour, plus
4 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Beat butter and sugars together.
2. Add eggs and vanilla.
3. Mix flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
4. Add dry ingredients to the batter and mix until well blended.
5. Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Spread dough into a 15 1/2 inch round pan.
7. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

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I am excited about having another girl, but at the same time I am worried about what bringing another girl into the mix will do to the relationship Kelly & Ella have. You know how sometimes having three “friends” is just too much and there is always someone left out or conflict? I just hope that doesn’t happen with these three. I know realistically that things won’t always be perfect, but I hope that Ella and Kelly can remain close, even through those times of jealousy that I know is sure to occur.

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I’m just putting this out there under the category of “Things that make me go hmmmmm…” about my daughter Kelly. I bought this Inch Worm riding toy for my youngest, Ella, last spring. Ever since this little Inch Worm has came into our house, Kelly has decided that it is her baby, Alyssa. She holds it, carries it around, feeds it pretend bottles, etc. Everything a mother would do to their baby, Kelly does with her inch worm baby. Mind you, this is a riding toy, so it is big and bulky. On another note, Kelly has tons of baby dolls, so it isn’t like she is filling a baby doll void.  Hmmmmmmm…

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Kelly has become very attached to a little frog sticker and a ring. Over the past week she has been taking these two items with her everywhere. Anytime someone notices (which it is hard not to because she shoves them under their nose) she proudly exclaims, “This is my special ring and special sticker. They are special because they are from my mom.” Sweet preciousness, isn’t it? The only thing is… I am her mom (at least the only one I’m aware of) and I did not give her that ring and sticker. I honestly have no idea who gave these two things to her and why on earth she thinks it was me, but she does. Even today, she came home from school and told me that her friend wanted to try on her ring, and she let her but told her “not to lose it because it is special and is from my mom.”

I guess I will take the credit for now, but if Kelly’s real treasure giving mom could please stand up, I have some college tuition funds set up that I would be more than happy to let you contribute to! In the meantime, thanks for the ring and sticker. She loves them.

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Kelly, our three year old, is not a fan of Santa. You can try to explain to her that he’s going to bring her presents, that he is giving out candy if you sit on his lap, that he lives with reindeer and other cute furry animals but she isn’t buying it. The second she sees Santa, her day is ruined. She wants nothing to do with whatever we’re involved in if Santa is involved. She would just as soon give up Christmas all together if Santa has anything to do with it.

Needless to say, after waiting in line for nearly an hour, Kelly was not pleased that Santa was the end result. She cried, she wailed, she clung to her daddy’s chest begging for him to to protect her from having to sit with her brother and sister on his lap. Nick finally had to go sit with Santa too, just so we could get the picture as proof that they actually saw Santa this year.

Later in the day, I had this conversation with Kelly.

Me – “Kelly, why don’t you like Santa Claus?”

Kelly – “Because I don’t like the white stuff on his face, I don’t like his glasses, and he wears his clothes backwards.”

Me – “He wears his clothes backwards?”

Kelly – “His clothes are always backwards and I don’t like that. Santa is stinky too, and I don’t like him because he’s stinky. He does have nice boots though.”

Oh my… my shoe loving fetish daughter would of course point out that Santa has nice shoes. Maybe if I told her that Santa made shoes in his workshop in the North Pole, she’d like him better. Then again, maybe not. That is the joy of a 3 year old. She defenitly has her own very defined opinions on things and it takes a lot to persuade her differently.

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