Family Traditions

This weekend was spent honoring my baby's 12th birthday. It was quite spectacular if I do say so myself. In my family, we have a whole plethora of traditions. The birthday person gets to eat off of the special birthday plate that is only used on the special day. The birthday person gets to wake up and open a present. The birthday person gets to have the meal of their choice. The birthday person is queen/king for the whole day.

For me personally, birthdays are a big deal. I love having birthdays. I like it when the entire birthday week is special. Anyone who comes within 25 feet of me gets to hear old I am and how happy I am to be on the right side of the dirt. I want special meals (on the special plate of course), I want cake, I want flowers and presents and I want to be queen for a day. That's how it's always been and will be till the day I die.

I've tried to instill these beliefs on my kids, too. I want them to feel like the most special person on the planet. I can't say that I throw them over the top parties like you see nowdays on reality TV, but if they want a party, we party. If we go out to eat, I make sure the waitstaff sings to them. In fact, at a local restaurant that my youngest kid likes, the staff goes out of their way to make the birthday person feel special. Here's a picture of the item that was given to her. The staff walked in making a loud ruckus and one of them was carrying a huge platter up in the air. We thought there was going to be a cake but this is what they brought. Isn't that funny?

As many of you with teenagers already know, as the kid gets older the gifts get more expensive. And it gets harder to find something cool for them that you can actually afford. This is probably my last year of having an easy time finding my daughter's birthday present. She'll be 13 next year, so when the word "teen" is involved, I just know it's gonna cost me. I have another kidlet who will be turning 18 very, very soon. That makes me feel sort of old. I'm really stumped about what to get her. She already has a car - not that I could afford to get her one anyway. She has a phone - doesn't every single teen out there? I mean it - I am completely stumped.

Hey, I've got an idea...if you happen to read this blog, how about you posting some ideas for me to investigate? I sure would appreciate it.