I am offically the mother of a teenager!

 Christmas break was a busy time here, and I am sure it was at your house too.  It was extra busy here because we had a birthday party, and I officially became the mother to a teenage girl.  Oh. my.  Never really thought this day would come, but it did and much quicker than I ever imagined.  Sometimes time seems to never pass and others it seems to fly like the wind. 

These last 13 years have flown like the wind, and this beautiful girl turned 13.  Love her to death.  She is amazing.  I don't know what I would do without her. 

This year was her year for a "friend" party.  I have a strict formula when it comes to my kids and friend parties.  They get their first "friend" party when they are 5 and then every other year, always on odd birthdays.  The even ones are just family parties.  This method keeps me sane when it comes to birthday parties (sort of), so for this friend party we had seven 13 year old girls in my kitchen decorating gingerbread houses.  What a mess!  I thought I was smart doing this with 13 year olds versus 5 year olds.  But honestly I don't think the 5 year olds could have been any more messy, but we just hosed down the kitchen when they were done, and life is good (just a bit sticky in places that we missed).  So maybe that is the first lesson I've learned as a mother of a teenager--13 year olds are just as messy as 5 year olds.

 

She got a bike for her birthday.  One of the disadvantages of having a birthday 2 days before Christmas is you get everything at one time during the year, even things you really can't use during this time of the year--like this bike that she has only ridden 2 times because it is so cold!  She will appreciate it better in about 5 months, though :)