Easy-Breezy Teenager Surprise Party

Good Monday morning!

The Gallery Pics are from our JSU tailgating party Saturday... AND a couple of Josh's birthday celebration pics. (I'll be posting the rest of those Tuesday and Wednesday.)

RANDOMNESS - I'm participating in a "Photo Challenge." Fun fact for you... I love scrapbooking websites (SHOCK), and one of my favorites offered this challenge JUST for the month of October. On Fridays during the next four weeks, I'll be sharing my October photos! I know! It's very exciting, isn't it?

OCTOBER SPECIAL GUEST - BEVERLY MARTIN - PART TWO - Below you will find a little more in-depth info about my sister, Beverly. While some of the answers Friday surprised me, I knew ALL of these!

9. If you could be an Olympic athlete, what would you be?

A tennis player. (Beverly LOVES tennis. It's one of her passions!)

10. Where in all the world would you like to visit most? Why?

Australia. I'm not sure why, but it has always appealed to me.

11. Name three things you have never done.

I have never bungee jumped, and I'm not going to! I've never flown, but I hope to one day. I have never traveled the United States, but maybe when we retire Tommy and I can do this together.

12. What is one thing you couldn’t live without?

Not counting my family, COFFEE! (She's not kidding either. She can drink coffee in one of those giant Big Gulp cups all day long! If I just look at that cup, I have to stop and go to the restroom!)

13. What cartoon character would you most like to be? Why?

Road Runner. I could do all the running around I need to do and never get tired.

14. What is the hardest thing about being your age?

The hardest thing about being 45 is realizing my body doesn’t like me anymore. (And all the "over-40" crowd said, "Amen!")

15. Describe your all-time best day ever.

The day I got married, and the three days my kids were born.

16. What would be the worst job/profession to have?

Coal miner.

17. What is the best book you've read recently, and why did you like it?

Glorious Appearing. I loved the visual of Christ coming back after the Revelation period.

18. What do you think you will be doing in ten years?

Playing with my grandkids. (And I will be playing with them, too, continuing the tradition of being the best GREAT-AUNT the world has ever known!)

19. What is the best (and the worst) thing you have ever eaten?

The best is Godiva Chocolate Cheese Cake. (Of course!) The worst thing I have ever eaten would have to be shrimp. (I totally agree with both answers... Well, except parsnips are probably a little worse than shrimp.)

20. What do you like best to do with your family? Why?

Camping. More times than not we are at our best, and we enjoy spending time together.

21. What makes you furious?

Being wrong. (I knew the answer to this one, too.)

22. What instantly puts a smile on your face?

My family (immediate and extended). (I didn't add the "extended" part. I promise.)

23. How many siblings do you have, and where do you fall in the mix?

I have one (amazing, wonderful) sister, and I’m the youngest. (I had to put a couple of adjectives in there. She accidentally left them out.)

I think I made 100% on the answers today... which makes me very happy! We'll have the rest of Beverly's interview first thing tomorrow!

Josh's Birth Day Story - Part One - "How many kids did she have?" Is that what you're asking yourself right about now? I only had three, but Josh and Roxie's birthdays are only nine days apart. Thus, you have to suffer a little as I pay homage to my babies. (And, as always, feel free to skip down to the next highlighted section!)

As I wrote on the blog last February, Austin's birth was an emergency C-Section. I didn't care for C-Sections. In fact, I thought the women I knew who had C-Sections and "loved" them were certifiably insane. I didn't like not being able to cough or laugh. I didn't like hurting if I tried to walk upright. I didn't like the driving restrictions. I didn't like the staples. I didn't like being allergic to morphine. The list could go on and on and on. (I'm a whiner. I admit it. I am NOT a good surgical patient.)

That being said, I was determined to have Josh without the C-Section. I told my doctor not once, but many, many, many times how I planned on this birth taking place.

But I've gotten a little ahead of myself, haven't I? Before we arrived at the end of the nine months, we had the pregnancy. Because I had gained 50 pounds eating powdered doughnuts and 3:00 p.m. Sneaky Pete hot dogs every day (and I mean EVERY day) during my pregnancy with Austin, I had decided to be much more disciplined with my eating habits during my pregnancy with Josh. And I did much, much better. By the time he arrived, I had gained 30 pounds... which I think is very, very good.

I had two little complications during my nine months with Josh... the first being my first bout with gestational diabetes. I had taken the test and was waiting for my results. The day I was scheduled to receive the results, I met my friend, Shelly, for lunch. I ordered the hot fudge cake for dessert when she informed me SHE was on a diet, and I absolutely could not eat hot fudge cake in front of her. Shelly was a formidable presence. I knew she was very serious. I also knew if I ordered the cake after she had TOLD me not to, she would throw it on the floor. (I am not kidding!) She was that kind of friend.

So, as a compromise, I ordered the cake "to go." She wasn't happy, but she didn't wrestle it out of my hands either. We said our good-byes and I went to my house. I was walking in the door with my box of cake making my way to the fork drawer when the telephone rang.

Now you have to understand something. I was living in Cullman at the time, and telephone calls (especially from family and friends from Trussville and Hoover) were precious. Also, I didn't have a cell phone with free weekend minutes OR an answering machine. I didn't have the option of NOT answering the telephone. Coming into the house a mere thirty seconds later, I would have missed the call altogether.

"Hello," I answered breathlessly as I started opening my cake box and reached for the silverware drawer across the kitchen. (I had one of those extra long telephone cords. Remember those?)

"Mrs. Faulkner. This Dr. Walton's office. I just wanted to tell you your test came back and you have gestational diabetes," an anonymous nurse-type person said on the other end of the phone.

"What does that mean exactly?" I asked, with a chunk of hot fudge cake and whipped cream dripping off the end of a fork right in front of my face.

"It means STEP AWAY FROM THE CAKE," she said. No, no. Not really. But she might as well have said those words. I lowered the fork as she gave me instructions, growing angrier by the minute at my EX-friend Shelly.

It was going to be a very long pregnancy without sweets... and my EX-friend Shelly was going to pay dearly for causing me to miss my LAST piece of hot fudge cake for the next 25 weeks. Yes... she was most definitely going to pay!

I'll let you know HOW MUCH she paid tomorrow.

Easy-Breezy Teenager Surprise Party

Do you have a teenager with a birthday that falls on a SCHOOL DAY this year? Yuck! Is there anything worse than having to go to school on your special day? (Well, turning 30, 40, 50, etc. can be pretty yuck, too... But when you're a YOUNG person, it's not fun!)

Because it is the week of nine-week tests, homecoming and the Auburn/Kentucky game, having a "friend" party was out of the question. So, after brainstorming for a few minutes, I made a couple of last minute calls last night. (And I used a real phone, too. I didn't text, Facebook or send messages through mental telepathy. It was liberating!)

No matter how many tests, homecoming games or college games you plan on attending this week, kids have to eat breakfast... Right?

I asked a few of Josh's friends to SECRETLY meet Josh at Chick Fil-A for breakfast before school. No gifts. No cards. Just a few sweet friends to share a chicken biscuit with him and start his birthday off on the right note! And to make it even a little more fun, his Dad and Austin joined the party, too.

This is the definition of an easy-breezy party. No clean-up, minimal cost and EVERYONE leaves happy!

If you have a super-busy teen with a birthday coming up, I highly recommend this little party. (It could even become a teenage birthday tradition! You never know!)

Have a glorious Monday. It's October... the most glorious month of the year. Check back Tuesday for a filling, yet easy, fall recipe, Part Two of my interview with Beverly, Part Two of Josh's Birth Day Story and so much, much more!

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda