Teen Takeover

Okay, I'm about to tell you all about my week and Susie's birthday but first - I'm sitting here at the computer in my den and I keep smelling aftershave. No one in this house uses aftershave.

Do ghosts smell like Old Spice, by any chance? Or maybe I just have a very well-groomed intruder?

So! Susie - the baby of our family who was cute enough to lose her own arm in her dress when she was 2 - turned 13 on Friday. THIRTEEN. We feted her, as is our custom, with homemade cake (not volcano-shaped, though) and cheaply wrapped gifts. I proudly present to you the magnificent strawberry/whipped cream confection that our group effort produced:

Shout out to Rachel, who sliced those strawberries on the side paper thin.

It's a beauty, right? Here's a close-up of the top:

In case you haven't noticed, there are 2 circles of exactly 13 strawberry slices on top of that cake. Which might lead an astute reader to think, "Hmmm, is it possible that someone possessing an aerospace engineer's eye for detail was involved in this creation?" That astute reader would be correct! David flew home Wednesday night from the Texas desert, where he has been helping test rocket engines this semester, bearing gifts and his preternatural cake-decorating abilities.

It was a good weekend for this mom, is what I'm saying.

We did all the birthday things: the cake and the wrapped gifts, the Belgian waffle breakfast, plus Larry and I decided to break the bank, as it were, by taking everyone out to a real restaurant (meaning, NOT ChikFilA) to celebrate not only Susie's birthday but also Brian's imminent high school graduation and David's upcoming Big Birthday - 21.

Remember? The kid who was always trying to make things fly? He turns 21 in June and does that for real. People PAY him. Verklempt does not even begin to describe how I felt this weekend.

Where was I? Oh, yes - gifts:

Michaels has really pretty wrapping paper for only 2 bucks!

And the unwrapped version:

That IS another 5-lb bag of gummy bears. SHUT UP.

We also bought Susie a tenor ukulele last week (in case any of you were wondering at the fact that  our teenager wanted only candy and a tub of Polynesian sauce from ChikFilA for her birthday). So yes, we are now a 2-ukulele household. Not something I'd ever thought I'd write, but hey - I do try to roll with the times.

David gave her the Blue Origin merchandise. Apparently, they have a gift shop - who knew?

And, no, Susie isn't snippy with us yet. Oh, we know better than to let our guard down, but it WAS a relief to see she still recognized us as her parents when she woke up on Friday. 15-year-old Rachel obliges by more than making up for Susie's lack of attitude, though, so we're still well-grounded in  teen reality here, don't worry. She just hasn't passed the baton to Susie yet, is all.

Cynical? Moi? Nah, just beaten down. We're on teenagers numbers 5 and 6 here, with 3 still living in the house. 2 of them look at us every day with expressions of wonderment that people as old and stupid as ourselves can manage to function. I'm sure the youngest is not far behind.

We just want to survive, is all. Preferably with some modicum of self-esteem...