Celebrating Emma

On the evening before her 14th birthday, I went into Em's room to say goodnight, the words stuck in my throat, my eyes a little teary, full of sadness that my baby is not a baby anymore. She knows her Momma and said "It's ok, Momma. I will be the same girl tomorrow that I am today." A. Why must she be wiser than me? and B. She was absolutely right.

Her actual birthday included lunch at her favorite restaurant, antiquing and buying a new party dress. Dinner was steak, mushrooms, sweet potato fries and birthday lemon pie because my girls are weird that way. Presents included lots and lots of books, an aqua Ikea cart to hold more books, an embosser to mark her books and a tambourine. Quirky kid.

Saturday night was her tea/slumber party. She requested everyone come in a costume. She has not outgrown playing dress up. She actually said to me, I can't decide if I should wear my ball gown, my madhatter hat or dress like a pirate. Clearly she chose the hat and her new party dress. This is my life. I promise you I never know what she will be wearing when she comes down to dinner.

One of my favorite parts of the party was watching the girls faces when they walked into the dining room. We have developed a bit of a reputation with parties so their expectations are pretty high. I think I might have to retire after this one.

We had three courses: lemon poppyseed scones, cranberry orange scones, lemon curd and fruit, followed by finger sandwiches: pbj, orange marmalade and cream cheese on cinnamon bread and chicken salad with sugared pecans on croissants and the grand finale was madeleines, Emma's favorite tea cookies (Trader Joe's Speculoos) and cream puffs. We also had tea with each course. Also, there was a bell involved and I waited on them hand and foot and said the words M'lady a lot. And curtsied maybe more than was called for but it's just plain fun to do and I find that I don't get enough opportunities for that in every day life.

These parties are a lot of work but when your daughter says to you "How many moms out there do you think are as awesome as you?" it makes it all worth it.

But now it's over and I'm feeling so content. This was a long week and I spent more time in the kitchen than you can imagine but it is my place for showing love to the special people in my life and a lot of my people needed some extra love this week. It's possible I might boycott cooking next week to even things out a bit.

For now I am left with a house in need of some love, the excitement of a new week with not a lot on my to do list and a weather forecast that I have been dreaming of since January.