Thirteen!

Yesterday was Reed's thirteenth birthday.

Thirteen! A teenager!

The saying goes 'The days go slow but the years go fast." It really is so true. I mean really, wasn't I just in middle school, turning 13? And now our kid is 13. Taller than me, and closing in on Tod too.

Reed is a homebody and, given the choice, would rather just hang around home instead of going out doing things. All the better if he can spend his time playing video games (says he). There are more frequent signs of maturity - and believe me, we take every small victory as a true victory - from only having to ask him once (hey maybe someday we won't have to ask at all! wouldn't that be grand!) to do something, to less grudgingly doing chores like walking the dog, taking out the trash/recycling, or doing dishes. School work...well, Reed continues to do really well (7 A's and a B+) without putting in a ton of effort. Things seem to come pretty easily to him, but we hope that when things do get tough, he'll be able to develop study/work habits that will allow him to continue to succeed. Reed didn't want to do flag football this fall, so instead his one activity is the Model UN club at school. There've only been a few meetings so far, so we're not totally sure what that's all about. Reed's best pal is still Robbie Webster, I think that's going on five years now. They don't have any classes together (4th grade was their only year together) but they sit together on the bus every day and get together from time to time. Reed continues to be a picky-ish eater, really doesn't like things that are mixed together like red beans and rice with sausage (he only eats the sausage). But he'll always eat a salad, which I know a lot of kids won't, so that's good. If he had it his way, our family dinners would be burgers, pizza, tortellini soup and salad, tacos, cereal, cereal and more cereal. He also doesn't like anything "spicy" – and let me tell you that is a broad definition for him.

For his birthday, Reed said he wanted to build his own computer. So we bought some parts, Tod had some parts already on hand, and together they built the new computer.

Already enjoying it!

If we can just get Reed to be a bit more tolerant of his loving little sister, we'd be all good. That's probably our biggest issue....bickering kids. Many days are a struggle when the kids end up having their "outside time" at the same time – evidently our driveway isn't big enough for the both of them (and the whole great big rest of the world is uninteresting). Sigh.

But it's pretty cool to have a "grown up" kid who we enjoy being with, and who we find funny and engaging. It's such fun to be his parents. Love you, Reed-o.

Trouble in the corn maze

Last year we went to a corn maze and Reed separated from the rest of us and blasted off in the other direction, trying to beat us out. We beat him, but he still contests it.

Happy group at the start of our expedition.

This year we tried a new corn maze. Turns out it was a lot more challenging than the one last year. We started the same way...team of 3 versus team of 1. Off he went. Tod and I followed Amy, and she observed the strategy of always turning right (mostly...she took a few shortcuts). After lots of dead ends and misdirections, the 3 of us made our way out in probably 45 minutes of walking. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. After about 45 minutes, Tod and Amy went back in to what was kind of a central point of the maze to see if they could see Reed. They didn't see Reed, but they did see lots of families desperate to find their way out ("Can you tell us how to get out?!?" and "We've been walking forever – do you know the way out?"). Then Amy came back out and Tod went back in to walk through the maze and try to find Reed. Somehow he managed to find him within 10 or 15 minutes, much to Reed's relief:

Actual relief not pictured.

I felt SO horrible that he was lost in there so long!! He must've walked 5 miles, and covered and re-covered most every inch of the maze. He wouldn't admit it, but I think he was getting pretty worried. Thank goodness we found him without too much trouble once we actually started looking.

Next time...Reed gets a cell phone in the corn maze.

New furry family member

Meet Eddie. "No, I'd really rather not come out
from under the desk, thanks."

About a month or so ago, one night while Tod and I were watching TV we heard a weird sound outside. Turns out it was a cat, perhaps in some kind of altercation with another cat. When we went out, the cat was lying in the grass in front of our house, and didn't move when approached – we were afraid it was injured, but no...it was just really chill. Then the cat became my pal, wanting lots of loving. It followed me up on the porch and hung out for a while. Super cool cat. After a little bit, the other cat also came by.

Anyway that got me thinking it'd be kind of neat to have a cat. But I wasn't totally sure, so I thought it would be good to volunteer with Friends of Homeless Animals (FOHA) as "cat cuddlers" to see what I really thought. Amy and I volunteered two times before I decided that yes we do have room in our hearts and home for a feline friend.

Amy and I picked him because he was a really relaxed cat, and one we felt was least likely to bite or scratch or be really crazy. Plus he'd been in a foster home with two big dogs and he loved them, so we figured that would be a positive thing toward getting him to like Shelby.

We have tried to come up with a better name for the cat but we can't agree on anything and haven't hit on the right thing. I'm afraid he might be stuck with Eddie.

So far things are moving along slowly. I think it's possible that Shelby thinks this is another (weird looking) dog to play with. She is very much playing the stereotypical role of over-exuberant dog who's desperate for a new friend. Eddie has logged a lot of time hiding in the spot pictured above, and today he's been under our bed all day.

Maybe one day they'll be friends?

May the force be with you

Amy was always adamant that she was NOT interested in watching Star Wars. Sometimes she'd say it was too scary, other times she said she just wasn't interested. Tod was always sad to not share his Star Wars geekdom with her.

Then everything changed. Earlier this year, Tod took Amy's Girl Scout troop kayaking and it was a bit of a car ride. Amy's troopmate Lily wanted to bring her Star Wars movies to watch on the ride. Now she's an absolute convert. Tod is delighted! Amy is even thinking she'll be Princess Leia for Halloween...not the Princess Leia who wears the white robe, but Princess Leia as a jedi. Which apparently technically she is not, at this point, but Amy believes she will become one in the movie that comes out in December.

And BTW, the kids both ask every month or so whether Tod's bought tickets to see the new Star Wars movie the day it comes out. 

Amy knows herself so well

I feel pretty certain that when I was 10, I didn't have the kind of self-awareness that Amy does. A couple of weeks ago, we had to work together to complete a self-assessment for the Futura (aka "gifted") program that Amy goes to once a week. She had an informed and thoughtful opinion on her preferred learning style - she likes to hear something once, then apply it...she doesn't like hearing things more than once, and she definitely doesn't like repeatedly practicing things. She says she always "gets it" on the first explanation.

Amy also has pretty good awareness about her emotions and what's behind them. She still gets really angry at us from time to time, but eventually she comes around to realize that though she was yelling at us, she was really upset with herself. I'm proud that she can recognize that and even more proud that she feels comfortable voicing it, and doesn't just dig in and stick with the anger.

She's a pretty great kid.

I read an interview recently with someone who's an expert on giftedness. She talked about some gifted kids being very spiritually sensitive, specifically mentioning someone she'd worked with who asked "What if I'm living in someone else's dream?" That reminded me that a couple of times, Amy has called me into her room at night, teary-eyed and sad, and when I asked why, she said "What if the world isn't real?" Try answering that!

Baker, baker, cookie maker

That book was one of Reed's favorites.

Cookie Monster
Cookie eater
Mixes batter
With his beater

Now we have two very interested bakers on our hands. Both kids are only interested in baking or making desserts of any kind. Reed most frequently wants to make cookies, usually chocolate chip. One recent weekend, Amy and her pal Morgan had made cupcakes and used up all my baking butter for the frosting. But Reed wanted to make chocolate chip cookies. So he searched online for a recipe that didn't use butter, and went for it. He was successful, but having cookies that used a cup of oil in the recipe only reconfirmed why the Nestle Tollhouse (read: recipe with butter) is the best.

Amy loves to make cupcakes, often finding recipes online. Yesterday she found a recipe for baked donuts and she made those for us this morning - they turned out great! Her fifth grade science project is even baking related - she's going to test the differences in how cookies come out if they're baked with softened butter vs. melted butter.

Reed is taking what used to be called "Home Economics" this semester...it's now called "Family and Consumer Science." He brought home a recipe for cookie dough dip which we tried out at the river last weekend - it was dee-lish! That one will go in the next family cookbook, for sure.

With any luck, perhaps one day soon they'll both be interested in cooking too, and I can hand off some of my duties to them! Fingers crossed!

It's like her brain went in high gear again

Amy did some reading over the summer, but not heavy duty like she sometimes gets. But this week with school starting....I think she's read at least 5 books this week. Brain is back in gear, ready to learn!