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Our Last Tween

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We enjoyed 22 months of teenage-free living and then, darn it, if that Scary Baby didn’t go and turn 13 and put us back in that parenting mode. Again.

Though really, her tween years counted double since she had three teen siblings for those years.

The tween and teen years really put the toddler years to shame. Oh how I yearn for those cute, funny days.

Alas, we can’t turn back time and here we are with a teenager once again.

We continue to keep birthdays pretty low key around here at the Humpfreeze house and have never caved to the peer pressure of extravagant, expensive parties and typically opt for family celebrations.

After her birthday weekend was spent with the grandmothers, she patiently waited two weeks to have a few friends over for dinner and a movie at home.

She picked the menu.

Fruit kabob appetizers. She was inspired to make kabobs when she found the funky skewers at a garage sale the weekend before for the bargain price of 50¢.

Chinese carryout – sesame chicken and fried rice.

And a birthday cake.

Selected by her via the Publix website.

Ebony & Ivory cake.

The chocolate pudding was suspiciously missing between the layers as described on their website but the cake was otherwise good.

Side note: I’d personally recommend the Chocolate Ganache Supreme instead. I also have a few customer service tips for Publix about the bakery clerk taking the cake order over the phone. Very surprised to get anything less than stellar customer service from Publix. (Especially since my 3 darling Twenties were forced to work there by their mean parents so they could learn the art of stellar customer service.)

Now we look forward to the next five years with our new teenager. She has so much potential and we can only hope her elderly senior citizen parents can live through it.

College Care Packages

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I’m a big believer in giving gifts that are memorable and that I can add a personal touch to whenever possible.

This leads to some gift procrastination because I’m sometimes a little slow coming up with an idea.

Way back in May, I was stuck on giving several high school graduation gifts that would be personal even though I know that most graduates love good old-fashioned cash or the more hip and cool gift cards.

Easy gifts that are very appreciated from my own experience of having 3 high school graduates who were very grateful!

Finally, I came up with what I thought was a great idea for gifts.

In August.

Not very timely for the May and June graduates.

Until I realized that the gift recipients were going to college and it would be way more fun to mail their graduation gifts as care packages.

So in September I ordered 3 copies of this favorite book.

And then I got busy and started baking. I made 3 different kinds of quick bread (no yeast).

I might have made more than 3 loaves. Good time to freeze bread. You know, I like to bake in batches. Great little gifts any time!

I did this baking over two weekends not all at once.

I made 3 different kinds of cookies. Chocolate Chip were the obvious first choice.

Next I wanted to try these Triple Threat Chocolate Fudge Peanut Butter Cookies and they did not disappoint.

Who wouldn’t love a box filled with 3 dozen cookies?


The chocolate chip cookies were made the weekend before so they were frozen in little dollar store foil containers. I decided the 3rd kind should be chocolate-free so I made Lemon Drops

And 3 adorable mini loaves of bread?

Pumpkin Bread, Banana Bread & Poppy Seed Bread

To share or hoard as I told the new college freshmen in the note I sent in each box.

I’ve heard via texting, phone and a lovely handwritten note that they enjoyed all the goodies.

Send a college kid a care package if you can. Any time of year, for no special occasion, just because you’re thinking of them. In fact, I think you can send anybody a care package and they’ll love it!

Next week I’ll share our new favorite cookies that are the best I’ve made in YEARS!

Twenty is the New Twelve

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Guess who turned twenty on Saturday?

Happy 20th Birthday to the darling twins!

Holy cow! This means I do not have teenagers living in my house for the first time in 8 years. Until next April when Scary Baby turns 13 and the cycle begins again. Yikes.

I will not lie and say I will miss the teen years. I will tell the truth and confess that I absolutely miss this stage…

Zero to two is my favorite time. They were such adorable tiny twins.

Then they get big and talk back and think we’re stupid.

Side note: Twenty feels like the new twelve this summer as we go ’round and ’round about all our ridiculous rules. But that’s a post for another day.

Roger Leroy requested a chocolate chip fruit pizza for her birthday “cake.”

Wizzy requested a chocolate cake.

“Hot” tip regarding frosting = it melts if cake is still warm.

They’ve had to share one cake for so many years that I decided I could accommodate both requests. The bonus was that we had dessert three nights in a row.

They are such opposites in so many ways. Dinner requests were Mexican and Italian. We took them for Mexican on Friday night and Wizzy had an Italian dinner with her dad the next night.

Neither requested the singing, the sopapillas or the…

…sombreros.

Forced cell phone picture. Can you tell?

We thought Wizzy’s hat made her look like a Canadian Mountie. We blamed her big head. She insisted it was because of her bun.

Wizzy also tried to escape from our booth when she realized PhilBillPaul had discreetly arranged for the wait staff to come out and sing for the darling twins. We pinned her in and about seven staff members delivered a rousing performance.

They really didn’t seem to appreciate when their dad and I came out of the restaurant wearing the bonus sombreros they got to keep.

And PhilBillPaul wore one all the way home.

Home Sweet Home

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Since their college exams which they finished in the last week of April, the darling twins have been to drill, camping, a Braves game, several movies and the beach.

This was all in May.

We’ve seen them a couple of times.

There was even one Friday night which happened to be somewhat significant in our lives where we all went out to a Mexican restaurant together for dinner.

ALL. SIX. OF. US.

Crazy, I know.

Remember how I told you last week what Stress #1 was?

The darling twins being home (sort of) is…

Stress #2

That may not sound very loving. Please allow me to explain.

The week of exams Roger Leroy drove home with most of their belongings and dropped them off in the garage and foyer. She also arrived with a little surprise.

Make that two little surprises.

Meet Clarence and Francis

We were not amused.

Scary Baby fell in love with them.

She has taken them on walks. Ridden them around in a basket on her bicycle. Let them wade in the creek. Introduced them to neighbors.

We are still not amused.

Roger Leroy promptly headed back to campus to go load her car with friends and go camping. You know, the end of the semester before summer starts we’ve been with our friends for nine months we don’t want it to end dreading the days of living with our parents who will ask us annoying questions like where are you going and expect us to be home by their stupid curfew even though we get to live for free in their home because we don’t have enough money to live anywhere else please don’t make us have a summer job annual camping trip.

After the camping trip, Wizzy chose to stay with a friend for two weeks deciding if she wanted to come home and live by our rules.

Then she came home on a Friday night and promptly went to a Braves game, took Scary Baby fishing, met a friend for lunch and ended her first 48 hours at home by joining friends for a movie and quickly preparing for her next spontaneous trip.

During all this running around, Scary Baby has been appointed chief duck caretaker. This is not an honor.

Scary Baby has had to administer first aid to one of the duck’s feet. She used all of the hydrogen peroxide and antibiotic ointment. You can thank me now for no pictures of that.

Roger Leroy was home long enough to build an absurd duck pen in the backyard since they had outgrown their cat carrier in about 2 weeks flat. Then she headed out for a 5 night spontaneous trip to the beach with her darling twin and 4 other girls.

Really, the ducks were taken from their mother and then abandoned in our backyard by their new owners. I’ve yet to see Wizzy do anything with the ducks.

Imagine how much the wiener dogs love the ducks.

“Tasty treats” is what I think they are saying in their heads.

Lots of barking and quacking in our backyard.

Roger Leroy also spent a few hours building a fire pit and then took Scary Baby to WalMart to buy a hammock, a chair and a couple of tiki torches so they can chill out while she strums her guitar and Wizzy…reads?!

Photo taken in planning stages before firepit and hammock purchase.

She’s also run an extension cord so she can get back to nature with her electronic devices. We find her out there in her hammock with her iPad and cell phone.

Ahh…those good ole’ days of summer.

The ducks are being relocated to a friend’s pond THIS WEEK.

They are now threatening to buy peacock eggs on eBay.

Save me.

Pot Roast & Bananagrams

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Calm and quiet weekend here.

My favorite kind.

One darling daughter came home for one night.

We watched The Final Four basketball games together.

She took her baby sister to a movie.

And bought her new glasses. Her second pair of these fashion accessory only glasses.

She requested her favorite home cooked meal.

Pot roast, Granny’s noodles, mashed potatoes, corn and rolls.

Gosh, could I cram one more starch in to that meal?

We sent her home with the leftovers so her darling twin sister and friends could indulge in a homecooked meal this week.

Minus the pleasure of our company means it won’t be as good but I hope they’ll enjoy it. 😉

I even included a dozen chocolate chip caramel cookies I baked on Saturday.

After dinner, we played a quick round of Bananagrams.

Have you played this fun game yet?

Back in February when Scary Baby and I played eleven rounds of Boggle and she said we were going to continue to play until she beat me, I had to tell her that was impossible.

When I shared Scary Baby’s relentless quest for a Boggle victory, my friend Ann said she had a great word game she would send us promising as much fun or more for the whole family.

We love it!

Not bragging, but no one has beat me at this one either.

Then we watched a little of the Country Music Awards while the boys headed to a movie together.

So nice to have you all to ourselves Wizzy!

We missed you Roger Leroy.

How was your weekend?

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