Happy Happy...

...Birthday, Daniel dear. Happy days will come to you all year.
Or, as the kids wanted to sing...
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you,
You smell like a monkey,
And your siblings do, too.
I can't believe he's thirteen. I don't feel old enough, but I guess I am. He didn't get a whole lot for his big day since he got a fancy schmancy iPod a couple of months ago. However, he did lay claim to the bottle of coke and the bag of dark chocolate pretty quick. I don't think he's going to share. (Good thing I didn't get him something I like.)
And, alas, I am still a bad mom and didn't have any candles in the house (Julia's birthday, too) so we lit a match and stuck it in the cake. At least the cake didn't catch on fire. That would have been bad. After we cut the cake, Dan proceeded to tell us how many hugs he had gotten that day. Apparently, he is quite the popular thing to hug at school. I'm not sure why the girls seem to like him--don't they know that he is a smelly boy? Listen up girls, he is a SMELLY boy! (Although, he does shower quite regularly. And he is concerned about his appearance. Okay, I admit, he is pretty cute. And tall. Did I mention that he's taller than me? He is. Not that I'm bothered by that...)

Seriously though, I'm proud to call him my son. He is a good kid. He is talented. He is smart. He can be kind. He is a great leader. He is responsible. He is creative. He is incredibly special to me, and I will forever be in awe of the spirit that was entrusted to me to raise.

I hope I don't screw it up.

To Shave or Not to Shave

Last Sunday, Dan came home and said that Brother Peterson said he should shave.

Let's think about this...

He is 12. TWELVE!

He has a little bit of upper lip hair, but he is 12. Got that? 12.

So, being the blogger mom that I am, I thought: "Hmmm, I should blog about that. I could even take a poll and see what everyone else thinks. I'll take a picture, post it and wait for the opinions to roll in."

Today, I got out my camera and went to take a picture of the offensive upper lip.

There was NO HAIR.

Dan shaved.

I'm not ready for this...

Business

So, most of you know that I have recently decided to make my sewing into a legitimate business, complete with business license, tax license, wholesale shopping in California, website and PayPal. Part of me is wondering what I have gotten myself into. Part of me is excited. Part of me is thinking I was crazy to even attempt this. After all, what was wrong with "under the table" sewing for just Olivia's team? Brandon has thought for a long time that I should advertise and bring in more business. Part of me is wondering if he really knows what that will mean (dinner?!?, who has time to make dinner?) But, then there's the part of me that wants to create and design and make wonderful things.

A few months ago, I was talking about the whole business thing with my mom, and she made this statement: "Once it becomes a job, it is no longer fun". I've thought a lot about that in the last few weeks. True, setting up the business, filling out forms and making sure I'm doing it all by the books is not very fun. But, shopping for fabric in California was TONS of fun. Designing suits is fun, even making suits and seeing them all lined up on a rack is fun. I'm sure having some extra money will be FUN, too!

But still, the best part is (and always will be) seeing how excited the girls are. I made a suit last week for a new girl on the team. When she came to practice the next time wearing it, she had the biggest smile on her face. Her mom had a big smile, too. Then today, I got an email from my website from another girl. She said she loves my suits, they are always so cute and that I am amazing and talented. Not to be big-headed about it, but that made my day! I love doing something that makes other people happy. And in the end, whether it's a job or not, that is what makes it worth it.

P.S. Just as I was about to press "publish", I got another message from the website. Apparently, I need to share my secrets "in case I get hit by a bus". I'll make sure I stay away from those darn buses!

Randomization

Last Friday, I drove to Tucson. Dan plays the bass, and needed a size upgrade. The only one I could find in the Phoenix area was $85 a month, so I decided to make the trek to Tucson and pay only $50 a month. Worth the $40 in gas it took, right?

Since I couldn't find a buddy to make the drive with me, I let Dan play hooky (sp?) from school and go with me. It was an interesting drive. First, we talked about school. It was a short conversation. Then, I tried girls. An even shorter conversation. Finally, Dan started playing his "randomization" game. It goes like this: you say something random. Then you say something else random (that can't in any way be connected to a previous response). Dan excels at this game. Here is a sampling of what most of the four hours consisted of:

aviator

handle-bar mustache

plexiglass

platypus

belly button lint

auxiliary

dial soap

tangerine

tuna fish

moose crossing

laundry detergent

ham sandwich

tooth mouse (which happens to be what they call the tooth fairy in Mexico)

hammerhead shark

bicycle seat

...and the list goes on and on and on. I realize that just reading this list probably isn't funny, but I was laughing so much. Dan has such a dry sense of humor and just they way he says stuff is funny. Add to that the fact that he fires off random words at a pretty quick rate (about 4 to my 1) and I was thoroughly entertained for the drive. Even now, as I write this, he is over in the corner playing the silly game with Olivia. She keeps naming stuff that she sees in the house, but he is completely random. It makes me wonder, "what goes on in that mind of his?" I really wonder if there's something whacked or if he is a genius.

Today, I'm going with whacked.