Dreamer

Remember a while back when Malia left some pictures and a little love note on my whiteboard? I recently had a dream that someone erased my whiteboard and when I woke up, I was super sad. As such, I decided I had better just buy a new one. Because sometimes my to-do list requires more than half the board. Malia has taken that as a sign that the first board can be filled with more art…and our DARE song incident report counter. 😂

In my defense, today's rendition of the DARE song was all Malia. It's usually me, but today I can honestly plead not guilty. 😉

Prodigious Pastry

Today Malia got to enjoy the leftovers of her birthday treat. With the cinnamon roll on a plate rather than in the pan, it is easier to see just how gigantic it is. For reference, that is not a dessert plate. It is a normal 9-inch lunch plate. And she assures me it was just as good today as it was yesterday. 

Birthday Buns

As of yesterday, Malia is officially fifteen. Old enough to learn to drive. Starting high school. Navigating the complex social structure of the teenage world. Juggling social engagements with homework. Thinking about what to do after high school. It seems like just yesterday that she was laughing to wake me in the morning. Charming her older brothers into doing everything for her. Stealing Matthew’s Ironman action figure. Starting kindergarten at four years old. Filling sketchbook after sketchbook with drawings of dragons. The time has gone by so fast. It is a bit hard to believe that if I round by fives, she is closer to 20 than she is to 10. Closer to moving out. Closer to being an adult. Closer to discovering whatever life has in store for her. It can be a bit overwhelming to think about the fact that Kevin and I are only a few years away from being empty nesters. But I digress. I was talking about a birthday. A fifteenth birthday to be precise.

While we sang the official song and ate the official cake at my parents’ house a couple of weeks ago and Malia’s birthday present came earlier this summer in the form of a new phone, there were some traditional celebratory elements to her actual birthday. Malia started off her day with a birthday shopping trip and lunch with Kevin’s mom. Nathan was invited to join the event as chauffeur, so the three of them hit Barnes and Noble, Smith and Edwards, and ate lunch at Raising Cane’s, one of Malia’s favorites. While she was out, Kevin went a bit wild and came home with a plethora of balloons. Seriously. So many balloons. It was highly entertaining! My birthday balloons lasted almost seven months before the last one lost its lift this year and Kevin’s mom’s balloons lasted eight months. Malia is hoping one of hers can beat that eight-month mark. We’ll see how it goes. Check back around Easter and we'll see if there are any still hanging around. 😂

While Malia was gone, one of the young women leaders in the ward dropped by a small gift for her and stuck a “Honk, it’s my birthday” sign in our front yard. Malia liked the small gift as this particular leader is in the know where her allergies are concerned and as such, all the treats included were ones she could eat. However, she was not a fan of the sign. She isn’t one to publicize her birthday, and it was just a bit too public. But we enjoyed it and Nathan made sure to honk when they got home after lunch and saw the sign. Kevin was inclined to honk as well but caved to Malia’s preferences and gave a vocal honk rather than a vehicular one. 😉

Over the past few years, Malia has discovered that she likes collecting coins. (It is an interest she shares with Matthew, which is fun for both of them.) As such, a trip to the coin shop to see what they have in stock is always fun. So, after lunch, Kevin took Malia up to a local coin shop that they like. They arrived home just in time for the three of us plus Nathan (have I mentioned that we are all enjoying having him closer to home? Because we are. 😄) to make our way to the Olive Garden, another of Malia’s favorites, for dinner. Knowing that she would be full to bursting with breadsticks, cheese sticks, and alfredo after dinner last night, Malia opted to hold off on her birthday dessert until today. But the evening of her birthday held several more surprises. I had one small present for her, “It's My Bird-day,” a book in the pigeon book series she has loved since elementary school. It was also a book she read to me while we were in Target a couple of weeks ago, one she commented would be fun to have. As a birthday gift. Wink, wink. Daniel and Tawni called to wish her a happy birthday and Matthew, who arranged a time with us when he called last week, called to talk specifically to her for her birthday. Having the opportunity to call home on special days and holidays has been nice for us. And for Malia, who has missed Matthew, ending her birthday with a good long chat with her brother was the perfect gift.  

Speaking of Matthew, this next birthday element can be largely attributed to him. A number of years ago, when Matthew was still in middle school, he was invited to an awards ceremony. The school was planning to serve cinnamon rolls and knowing that Matthew wouldn’t be able to eat them, I provided some that he could eat. And also knowing that cafeteria cinnamon rolls are always big, I made our standard homemade cinnamon rolls gigantic. (The funny thing is that I packaged them in a plastic clamshell container like Kneaders uses for sandwiches and such, so when I initially offered them to Matthew, he looked at them and waved them away assuming they were not safe for him to consume. I guess that means they were up to cafeteria size standards. 😂) The long-lasting result of that particular endeavor is that since that day, I have not once made normal sized cinnamon rolls. My kids always want the ones that are as big as their faces. And honestly, who can blame them? Giant cinnamon rolls are so much more fun than the little ones! And that means when Malia requested cinnamon rolls for her birthday, it came as no surprise that she wanted BIG ones. So, this evening, we enjoyed a mega sized dessert. And it was mega good. I don’t begrudge any of the cooking or baking accommodations I have made over the years to allow Matthew to eat safely, but one of the things I have missed is real cream cheese icing. Especially slathered on a warm cinnamon roll. It was an ooey, gooey, two hands sticky while I ate it delight. Malia enjoyed it as well. Especially since we didn’t make her blow out any candles this time around. And because she got first choice, she selected the biggest one, as well she should. The second biggest one is on reserve for her to enjoy tomorrow. 😉

For the past 25 years, the role of mother has shaped my days, my nights, and my life. As I watch my youngest child grow up, I am suddenly reminded that in not too many years, I will be faced with the fact that my children no longer need me in the same way they have in past. The child raising portion of my life will be done and the relationships I have with my kids will change, as they should. I’m already seeing that shift with all my boys. But having only one daughter, I am finding it a mixed bag to see her grow up. One the one hand, I am loving the relationship that is developing between us. It is different than my relationship with my boys. And Malia is so, so funny! She is witty and sarcastic and not afraid to say what she really thinks, and it just makes me laugh. Every time she cries while reading a book or watching a movie, she turns around and blames it on me, which makes me laugh too. Her confidence has blossomed in the past several years and it has been so great to see her find her place in the world. On the other hand, I kind of miss those days when she watched Rapunzel twice or thrice daily, loved Ladybug Girl, wanted to be a princess every year for Halloween, and would let me experiment with cute hairstyles. The time seems to pass so quickly and on occasion, I feel like I blink and another year is gone. But it also means that I’m more grateful for the little things, the day-to-day opportunities to bond with my daughter, and I’m trying not to take any of them for granted. 

So happy birthday to my girl child. Hopefully the next year will hold even more joy and goodness.

I Am Ironman

Malia’s birthday is a few weeks away, and as such, this evening was her birthday celebration at my parents’ house. Over the past few weeks, she has begun to dig into the massive tangle of movies that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It started with her watching a few Spiderman movies so that she could see the newest one in the theater with some friends and have the necessary background info needed to understand the plot. From there, she began delving into the beginning of this massive franchise, going back to the early Ironman and Captain America films. 

Somewhere along the way, she decided that she wanted an Ironman cake for her birthday. And this may seem hard to believe seeing that Matthew wore his Ironman costume every day for about three years, but I have never made an Ironman cake. I made Ironman cupcakes as part of the Avengers birthday party Daniel requested many years ago, but never an actual cake. Being that she is a teenager, and a highly opinionated one at that, the design was entirely in Malia’s hands. I tossed suggestions at her and showed her pictures of cakes posted on Pinterest, but the final decision concerning design came about after Kevin suggested she use Lego. 

The cake was one of the simpler ones I’ve decorated because all I had to do was frost it red and slap Ironman on top. But it was still highly effective and super fun! The cake itself was Malia’s favorite combination-vanilla cake with raspberry filling. And seeing that it was a traditional egg cake, I used a cake soak to make the layers extra moist and delicious. Egg-free cake is too delicate to hold up under a generous application of simple syrup which is why I’ve never tried it before, but let me tell you, I’ve been converted. It really did make the cake delightfully moist. It was enjoyed by all, and Malia and I came home with just enough cake left over for us to enjoy another slice tomorrow.

We will be sending Matthew pictures of this cake. I kind of suspect that Malia’s choice was influenced by the fact that Ironman is one of Matthew’s all-time favorites. And the fact that one of her first words was, “Ah-mah!” Meaning “Ironman.” She misses him and while her deep dive into the Avengers movies is the main motivation for this year’s cake theme, I suspect that it was also influenced by the fact that little things like this remind her of her big brother.

Benefits

While she generally dislikes being the lone wolf cub left in the den, Malia has discovered that there are perks. Like the fact that she doesn’t have to fight Nathan over who will get to eat the last of the fruit salad right out of the serving bowl. 

She Put on Her Big Girl Pants

Malia hauled out her courage and decided to go to girl’s camp this year. She hasn’t been since the boundary change brought us to a new ward, and this decision was a bit of a hard one for her. She does know more of the girls now and has some friends in the ward and that definitely helped. We also have a different young women presidency, and that helped too. Most of the presidency is made up of ladies we knew from the previous ward, so they know Malia and know about her food deal and are people that Malia trusts. So, we got the menu in advance, prepped her meals, coordinated with the leaders, and sent her out the door.

Malia was reluctant to go when it came right down to it, but she ended up having a great time. Her favorite activity was archery, and one of her least favorite was the water cannon, although there is a caveat for that one. She had not intended to get wet and was hauled out by some of the leaders but in the end, she laughed and had fun. There was a coordinated effort to heat her meals as needed and a consensus that her food looked better than theirs. One of the leaders, whom we all love to death, reported, “So proud of this girl! She laughed. She did hard things! She had fun.”

I’m so proud of Malia for being willing to go. I know this was a difficult decision for her, and I’m so very glad that she decided to take a leap of faith.

This is Why We Love Our Middle School Principal

Because it’s all for the kids. Even the crazy stuff. Especially the crazy stuff. 💖

What She Doesn’t Want

Malia has been in a musical theater class this semester. She took the class last year and really enjoyed it, so she decided to use another elective to take it again. Unfortunately, they reworked the class, making the 2.0 version a whole different beast from the class she took last year, and she really ended up hating this class. That may seem like a strong sentiment, but it’s valid. She has participated and done what was required of her, but she has not enjoyed it. Having said that, this week was performance week and despite not really digging the whole situation, she did a great job. 

Rather than rehearsing and presenting an entire show, this second version of the musical theater class focused on preparing for future auditions. This was great for those kids who really dig theater and want to pursue professional performance options, but not so great for kids who just really like singing and being in the chorus. There was a lot of focus on selecting and preparing solos as audition pieces and the natural performance that comes from that curriculum was a musical revue. The theme for this review was “What We Want” and the songs included were ones that showcased the desires of a particular character.

After all the in-class auditions and such, Malia was given the part of Edna Turnblad in the song “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now.” She also participated in a bunch of the chorus parts. She has to concentrate really hard on the choreography parts and we can definitely see that focus on her face when she performs, but when she wasn’t thinking quite so hard to make sure she got the steps right, she actually looked like she was having fun. And that’s a win!

For Malia, I think the biggest takeaway from this class is the knowledge that she really doesn’t like participating in theatrical productions. She is not a natural when it comes to dancing and choreography was a struggle. She much prefers to sing in a group in a choral setting rather than solo. And she is so over all the social drama that so very often happens in connection with a show. But I feel like learning what she does and doesn’t enjoy is a big part of taking classes in a bunch of different areas, so in the sense, I feel like this class was a success for her. And honestly, she did a good job! She is her own worst critic, and it can be hard not to compare yourself to kids for whom this type of performance comes naturally, but really, I think she did well. She worked hard, she was courageous, and she learned that she can do hard things. So, kudos to my kiddo. 

Knuckle Head

Malia has attended a different middle school than all the boys. There were some boundary changes that sent her to a school that was further away and where far fewer of her elementary school friends were going. At first, it was incredibly stressful. None of us were happy about the change. Malia in particular was equal parts angry and terrified as she started 7th grade. But the change ended up being so good for her and in retrospect, we are all glad that the Lord knew what she needed better than we did.

As a mighty 9th grader, her time in middle school is coming to a close and with that comes all the classic end of year activities, including the 9th grade awards night. Our other middle school handled things differently, and while there were awards given throughout the year that included an invitation for the parents to attend, the 9th grade awards were given during school hours with only the students in attendance. For Malia, however, the ceremony was a semi-formal evening event with parents invited to come and support their children.

The ceremony was handled differently than any other I’ve attended, but I think it streamlined the process. Rather than hand out awards by category, having students come to the stage multiple times if they received multiple awards, each student came to the stage alphabetically and was highlighted only once. A slide showing which awards each student received was shown for everyone, and after a photo op with the principal, they received a packet with all their awards included. The whole shindig lasted just over an hour, which was pretty great considering how many kids were invited.

Malia received multiple awards, including ones for math, language arts, fine arts (she is a choir kid after all), and the presidential fitness award. She was pleasantly surprised by how many of her peers cheered for her, and I was super pleased that she has so much support at the school. Considering the rough start and the small number of other kids she knew when she started, she has come a long way, made a lot of friends, and found her place in the little world of her middle school. Even the principal knows who she is, and in a good way! She is energetic and outgoing and over the course of the past three years, she has made an impression on him as he mingles with the kids during their lunch periods. There have been high fives, short greetings, and other such normal interactions, but Malia counts her relationship with the middle school principal by the number of times she has touched his head. Yes. You read that correctly. She had indeed touched the principal’s head on more than one occasion. Four, to be precise. 

The first two noggin nudges came to pass because the principal’s hands were filled with dirty lunch trays that he was helping to collect. That required a modification of the traditional fist bump turning it into a head/fist bump. The third was a result of a bet/dare with Morgan, one of Malia’s best friends. They were engaged in a water bottle flipping contest where the loser had to rub the principal’s head. As the loser, Malia was the one who had to do the rubbing. And the principal was the one who was good natured enough to let it happen. And I’m sure Morgan was the one laughing her head off. 😜 With that triple head/hand contact in mind, I jokingly told Malia that she should rub his head instead of shaking his hand when she received her awards. She did not go all wacky and do so during the actual ceremony, but after the formal portion of the evening was done, she sure did ask Mr. G if she could rub his head. And he sure did let her. 😂

Malia has done well in middle school. Not only has she found her place there and left her mark (the kids who were in the science class for which she was a T.A. first semester still call her “Closet Goblin” 😂), she has learned a lot both in and out of the classroom. She has grown up a lot and although I know she is nervous, I think she will do well in high school. She will be a little fish in a big pond again, but as she has done in the past, I suspect she will make new friends and find her place fairly quickly. At least I hope she will.

She’s Moving On

This evening was Malia’s final concert of the year and her final concert of middle school. It was also the event where her choir teacher recognized the students who participated in choir all three years of their middle school tenure, of which Malia was one. Malia has loved being in choir. She has gained confidence in her musical abilities and has found joy in singing. While there have been some frustrations as well, overall, her choir experiences have been positive. And her choir teacher is fantastic, just the right mix of dedicated, chaotic and insane that works perfectly in a middle school classroom. She has loved being in his classes.

Although I know she harbors some nostalgic feelings about her middle school choir experiences, I also know that she is ready to move on to a choir where the kids have more focus and she is less bombarded by the social drama that seems never-ending at the middle school. Don’t get me wrong. I know there is drama aplenty at the high school as well, but adding a bunch of new kids to the mix is something that Malia is looking forward to. It will dilute the crazy she has been dealing with and hopefully give her opportunities to make new friends. 

Malia said she only almost cried once this evening. I saw that moment on her face as the last notes of the last song of the evening were sung. She is comfortable in her little middle school pond and wading into a bigger pool, while exciting, can also be scary. But she will be taking some of her middle school choir friends with her, so hopefully she won’t feel like she is taking those big steps alone. And there will be more music and more laughter and more joy to be found. Kudos to the school choir teachers of the world. They have made my world, and my daughter’s world, just a little bit better.

Mata Kite Kudasai!

Since he served his mission in Japan, Kevin is pretty picky about his Japanese food. We have found several good sushi places around here, but something we hadn’t looked for was a place that serves good ramen. Last week I did a bit of internet searching and discovered a ramen place that received high praise for having good, authentic Japanese ramen. The last really good ramen we had was in Hawaii a year and a half ago, so we decided to give it a try. It always helps when the folks doing the cooking know what authentic international foods should aspire to be, so when we walked in and saw that the owners and cook staff are all Japanese, it inspired some hope. And our tastebuds were not disappointed. The ramen was delicious. Kevin had traditional Japanese style curry, and he said that was delicious too. The takoyaki were also good, albeit the amount of sauce was a bit on the heavy side. And the gyoza handmade in the restaurant did not disappoint. To sum it all up, we came away happy with our meal. 

In addition to the good eats, we discovered that this establishment doesn’t use any nuts. That means it is a safe spot for Malia. She has been all about the ramen for the past sixish months, eating a package for a snack after school, for lunch on the weekends, on nights when I make something she hates for dinner, etc. As such, we were all pretty excited about the opportunity to let her taste something more authentic than Top Ramen. So, this evening we made the trek back to the east side of the valley to expose Malia to a little bit of Japanese culture. 

In addition to authentic eats, this particular restaurant wants to give their customers an all-encompassing Japanese experience. As such, the décor and atmosphere of their shop is modeled to mimic such establishments in Japan. Everything from the music, the art, the anime on the big screen, and the way the wait staff greets the customers just screams out, “Hey!! I’m Japanese!!” It makes it kind of fun. Kevin and I have both been exposed to such situations at previous points in our lives, but our Utah born and raised youngest child has not. We walked in and Malia’s response was, “What IS this??!!” I must admit that I was amused at her reaction. Her life experiences have been fairly limited after all, but she’s not exactly subtle about her opinions. 😂

Malia and I both ordered ramen, and Kev opted for the curry again. Have I mentioned that he really likes Japanese curry? And that I’m not a fan so it’s not something I’ve bothered to learn to cook during our twenty-seven years of marriage? Probably not. So with those tidbits of info, you won’t be surprised to know that he ordered the curry. I was pleased with my ramen, but Malia, who really didn’t know what to expect, was less than thrilled. She described it as different than she expected. And weird. And I’m not sure she super duper loved it. It wasn’t gross or anything, but I think some of the flavors were less…American than Top Ramen. And as such, a departure from what she is accustomed to. But she ate all the noodles, tried a bit of the spicy oil, and enjoyed the gyozas. 

I suspect Kev and I will be return customers of this little shop from time to time. In fact, it is just down the street from his office so on the days when he needs to be in the office, he might just dash over for lunch. And there are some other things on the menu that I’d be interested in trying, so I know we will make our way back there from time to time. I’m not sure Malia will join us. Or if she does, maybe she will opt for a giant platter of potstickers. I really don’t know. But whether she decides to give it another try or not, at least she can say that she’s tasted the real thing!

Way Down Under the Ground

Malia has been counting down to today since about five minutes after the Benson Boone concert ended in the fall. Why, you may ask? Because the other half of her birthday/Christmas present was tickets to see the Broadway touring company production of “Hadestown,” her favorite stage show. She saw a jr. version production at a local high school a year-ish ago and really enjoyed it. She has been listening to the soundtrack on loop. And after waiting for months and months, today was finally the day. We went out to lunch on the way to the theater, so by the time we arrived she was all hopped up on anticipation and Dr. Pepper. And what does that mean, you may also ask? It means that she was talking even faster than normal, approx. five million words a minute and was so, so funny. Rachael and Esther also had tickets to the show (Shoutout to Seth for inviting us to take advantage of his season ticketholder status!) and they normally don’t get to see Malia like this, so she gave them something to giggle about. 

Both Esther and I had seen this show previously (I took Matthew to see it about three years ago), but Rachael was going in blind. She had never even listened to the music and purchased a ticket based on the rave reviews of family members. At intermission I asked her what she thought and she literally had no words. She just loved it. So good day for all of us, and we definitely need some of those right now! 

And as a final comment, even though the story has not changed and I still know exactly how it is going to end every single time, I still found myself hoping that it just might be different this time around. And that’s the power of a well written and beautifully executed show. 

And as a final, final comment, Malia was making jokes about going to Hell the entire drive downtown. 😂

(And now that I’ve given my final comments, here are a few thoughts from Malia.)

Hadestown. We went to hell. I’m kidding. Sort of. I was waiting for that for MONTHS. LITERALLY MONTHS. It was so worth the wait though, that’s for sure- the cast that they had was fantastic and the story is truly amazing. You can tell it’s a good show when you hope it turns out differently this time even though you know it won’t… that is some FIRE musical writing. OKAY BUT I STARTED CRYING WHEN HADES AND PERSEPHONE DANCED. CURSE YOU GENETICS >:(

Final, final, FINAL comment, I promise...see what I mean about the Hell jokes? 🤣

Quote of the Day

 Malia: “Have you ever microwaved blue tape?”

From My Artist

A New Skill

As of this morning, I can officially add money laundering to my resume.

It would seem that Malia forgot to empty her pockets when she did laundry yesterday. 😉

Guess What I Just Found?

We’re down to five…

The Definition of a Vain Attempt

Today during class, Malia’s seminary teacher tried to bribe her with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. 😳 When she said she didn’t want to die, he looked all confused and offered to get her something gluten free. 

Clearly, he did not read her “about me” page that he had the kids complete on Friday. Four days ago. Or clue in when she turned down the doughnuts he brought to class on Thursday. 🙄 Malia has not been impressed with this particular teacher for a variety of reasons, but I’m pretty sure this event tolls the death knoll of her hope that things will improve.

Now and Then

This afternoon, Malia was roaming the local shopping center with her friend Acie. They discovered a record store, and Malia sent me pics of a couple of albums.

She knows me so well. 😂 (Kevin got pictures of Flash Gordan and They Might Be Giants. Apparently, she has him all figured out too. 😜)

“Freaking Deer Poop!”

In terms of caloric delights, there are certain times of year during which we consume specific treats. It is always pie in November and cookies in December. This year we still had Christmas cookies in the freezer post-holiday, so those were enjoyed in early January. Then I opted for cake for my birthday, also in January. Once those treats were consumed, I asked Kevin and Malia if they had preferences for upcoming family home evening treats. They gave me a couple of desired delights and while Kev’s apple crisp made it onto the menu fairly quickly, some scheduling conflicts of Malia’s (she has had someplace else to be three of the past five Mondays) put her selection on hold. It’s totally on her, but in her mind, she has been waiting for-ev-er…which is basically a month in teenage lingo. But she was actually home this evening and so after the middle school version of eternity, she finally got her “freaking cinnamon roll!” Yes, she is a teenager. And yes, she often speaks with exclamation points. And the word freaking pops up often.

FYI-Malia was not amused.

Now for all of you who might be wondering what in the world deer poop and cinnamon rolls have in common, let me give you a little context. Last week while we were talking to Matthew, Malia made a comment about the little presents left behind by the deer that roam the neighborhood. Kevin, in typical fashion, turned an adjective into a verb in order to play it for laughs. And it was pretty darn hilarious. At least to us. 😜 So this evening provided us with an opportunity to extend the joke, like we so often do…

This is What Happens When Your Oldest Brother is an Engineer

This evening, Malia used the term “fluid dynamics” in a normal conversation. And she used it appropriately, I might add. She said that Daniel would be proud. And he was very proud. 😁

FYI-Malia was pouring milk into a little bowl so she could dunk her Oreos and was pleased that no milk splashed onto the counter this time. That led her to comment on how the milk normally acts when poured into a small, shallow, empty vessel. So, it was definitely an accurate application of a fancy engineering term applied to her dessert!