Weekend: Turning 13

We celebrated Jasper’s 13th birthday this weekend. Long-time readers may remember him as the author of a few guest posts around here on Disney rides and cruises and movies (though it has been a while…that may need to be a new homeschool assignment! Except he’s working on his novel over the summer so he may not have time.)

In normal times, he probably would have invited a few friends to go see a movie and go out for pizza. Instead, we celebrated at home. But it was still a good day. He requested French toast for breakfast, and a picnic lunch. We did family pool time in the afternoon, and then did the ever-popular make-your-own-pizza night for dinner. After dinner we played several rounds of Kahoots on Harry Potter trivia, with people giving themselves trash-talking nicknames (after Daddy won a round, one child chose the name “Dad’s done on top”). We had talked about playing live Clue, but this seemed a little complicated (I did find versions of the weapons…) so we changed into costumes of sorts to play. I was Mrs. Peacock. I was wearing the baby at the time so I just stuck a blue bow on my head rather than get into the dress. Jasper put on a full suit and the 8-year-old hammed it up as Miss Scarlett. The 5-year-old wore all green to be Mr. Green. My husband wore an old blazer that suggested Colonel Mustard (the kids kept saying “colonial” which…I get). The 10-year-old wore some sort of hat to be Professor Plum.

After a spirited game, I landed on top, though it is possible this happened because my main competition (my husband) was thwarted by a child not revealing a card that he did, in fact, have. I think the blunder was just an error and not spite, though who knows. In any case, we finished up with ice cream cake — bedecked with an “8” and five single candles because we didn’t have a “1” and “3.”

I well remember welcoming my first baby 13 years ago. I gave birth at NYU’s Langone hospital, which has always been a bit crowded. I shared a room with a lady who had just had her fifth child. At the time, that seemed like a lot. Since we lived four blocks a way, we put our newborn in the stroller and walked home!

Now Jasper is a sweet young man who loves a good story (he’s currently reading Crazy Rich Asians after watching the movie). He’s a very empathetic, people-focused person who also has a head for details. Ask him about the top movies at the box office for a random summer weekend in 2005…and he will know the answer. I’m very much looking forward to the next few years!

In other news: I ran 7.5 miles on Saturday. If I’m running a marathon in November, I need to start upping my mileage. I bought the baby a transition sippy cup, so hopefully that will make my leash a little longer as he is back to refusing bottles.

We went for a family walk along the river on Sunday, then went out for Rita’s water ice. This is rapidly becoming our new favorite family treat! I’m a fan of blood orange water ice with custard. Yum.

The 5-year-old went in the pool Sunday for over an hour, even though it was 68 degrees and a little rainy. The heater really wins us over around this time of year.

The dollhouse kit showed up, but now I realize I need a craft table in order to build it. Also, the kit strongly suggests doing things like wallpaper and paint before assembling it from the flat wood and this dimensional analysis thing is just addling my brain. The 8-year-old is not happy with my delay.