What I have learned

  It doesn't matter how much I would prefer them to stay little forever, they keep on growing and having birthdays.  So I have learned;

1- That it is still ok to make a 14 year old the same birthday pancake he has been having every year since he was a toddler. He may pretend to resist keeping the tradition alive but underneath he still loves it.

2- That having a daughter who is a way better cook than you means it's ok to hand off the birthday cake making duty to her from here on out.  Everybody is happier that I am not making the cake.

3 - sometimes it's not the gift but the unwrapping of it that is important, especially when you have a friend that has spent all day wrapping it in a variety of mediums  including duct tape and wood. 

4 - Unfortunately for that friend his birthday is coming up soon and I have learned that there is such a thing as revenge wrapping.

Carrying on in this melancholy vein.  I have learned that;

1 - trying to pretend that this is not your child's last year at school is especially difficult when before she has even started her senior year she has been accepted into college. Congratulations and a little bit of weeping were in order.

As far as other things that are living under our roof at the moment, I have learned that;

1 - getting your whole body into the food bowl is just as important as getting your head in...especially when you are sharing it with 4 other hungry bodies.

2 - having discovered the full body food immersion technique, I have discovered that separate bowls are preferable.

3 - even though I am not supposed to have favorites there is always someone who gets extra special treatment in the morning....please notice that I have a lap full of puppies, but there is always one that manages to get some extra loving :)