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One of the cruelties of teenage hood is that you’ll never know what your parents were really like at your age, and they’ll never accurately remember.
Una LaMarche.
Celebrating your 14 year old’s birthday is different. We just celebrated SBean’s 10th birthday 4 days ago but 14… is different.
I asked HBear what she would like for her birthday dinner, she said, “oh, don’t worry about me, I won’t be home for dinner. I have commitments Mom. Sorry.”
Sorry?
Sorry for what? Breaking your mother’s heart? 💔 OK then 😭. For real, my Baby is growing up and the reality of it all is just so bloody confusing.
On one hand, I am so proud of HBear. I am proud of the person she is becoming. I am proud of the way she fights for herself every day. I’m proud of the grace she is learning to give herself. I am proud of the friendships she has made and I’m even more proud of the ones she was strong enough to let go of. I am proud of how she weighs out heavy choices and makes well informed decisions. I am proud of the fact that she’s doing great in school, loves to read, and continues to strive for the best in her after school activities. I am proud of how she looks at things with humour and how much she has stepped up this year, when our family has needed her to the most. There are so many reasons to be proud of HBear. She is just an amazing kid with a giant heart, an inquisitive, mind, and empathy for days.
On the other hand, I wish she stayed a Baby forever! I wish I could hold her and hug her and make all of her fears disappear. I wish I could defend her against nasty teenage girls, I wish I could steer her towards the easy road instead of that other road, the one that is less traveled. Although, I have to admit that I admire her greatly for attempting the difficult trek.
I miss the child she was so much but truly love the person she is becoming as she continues to learn and grow and really come into her own. I remember my teenage years being so confusing but I’m ashamed to say that I never once thought about how many changes my parents were going through at the same time!
I felt like there was no prep for HBear’s birthday. Nothing to make it feel like the important day it is. I practically begged, “well, what can we do to make your day special? Anything? Please tell me what we can do!”
We finally settled on a Birthday Starbucks before school and dropping off sushi after curling and in between dance classes.
14. It’s just different.
HBear celebrated her birthday on Friday with her closest friends. I suggested going to the Exit room and HBear loved that idea! I said I would make the reservation and everybody could just pay when they got there and there was the problem! HBear insisted that making her friends pay for her birthday was rude. I explained that birthday parties were done after elementary school and that this wasn’t a birthday party, it was friends going out to celebrate your birthday. Different. She was having none of it! So we met halfway and Ninja and I bought her an Escape Room game for her birthday! She invited her friends over for pizza, sleuthing, and cake!
HBear had a VERY life changing 13th year. She graduated middle school and went off to high school. She even decided to transfer high schools! She cut her hair and dyed it blue, switched from trombone to drums, went to her first concert, The Gorillaz, and worked her first job with our family company, Sparkles. HBear keeps a busy schedule! She enjoys jazz band before school and theatre tech after school. She is on the after school curling team, is on the Penticton Library Youth Action Committee, and she spends her evenings at stretch and strength, jazz, contemporary, ballet and hip hop classes.
She loves watching My Hero Academia and her favourite book this year was, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. HBear took a step back from competitive dance this year but is finding her love for dance again in recreational classes, she loves drawing on her Chromebook, reading, anime, all types of music, and drumming. Her favourite artists are Melanie Martinez, girl in red, Billie Eilish, Ashe and Doja Cat. HBear has made a really great group of friends and loves playing D&D with them, she also likes making videos, crafting, drawing and painting.
Happy Birthday My Love. I’m so happy that I get to watch you transform into a beautiful young adult right before my very eyes. It’s hard to let go but I’m so happy that you are keeping us close as you spread your wings and learn to fly on your own 💛.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #305: 5×15 HERE! Topics: microphones, washroom considerations, Xmas cocktails, family party, Santa parade, CSR incidents, the photo, Hallmark, Hockey update, & (of course) Xmas songs.
HBear asked for lasagna for her family birthday dinner. She said she would prefer a lasagna without ricotta cheese though. So I suggested cottage cheese and that got a giant NO! So I looked and looked and found this one! It is layered with a traditional meat sauce and a creamy Pecorino Romano Béchamel sauce, plus the perfect amount of mozzarella cheese! NO ricotta cheese OR cottage cheese needed! The béchamel is SO creamy you don’t miss the cheese layers, in fact I thought it was richer and creamier than ricotta!
Traditional Lasagna with Creamy Pecorino Romano Béchamel Sauce
Adapted from Cafe Delites
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely diced
4 cloves garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground mild Italian sausage
24 oz Passata
14 oz crushed tomatoes
3 heaped tablespoons herb & garlic tomato paste
2 beef bouillon cubes, crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
1 cup Pecorino Romano, shredded
13 oz (1 package) fresh lasagna sheets
17 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat, add in the onion and carrots and cook for 8-10 minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute.
Add beef and sausage and cook while breaking it up, until browned.
Mix in the Passata, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, crushed bouillon and herbs.
Mix well to combine and bring to a gentle simmer. Season with sugar and salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and cook for about 20-30 minutes, occasionally mixing, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from stove; add the flour and whisk for about 30 seconds, or until well blended.
Place pot back onto stove, reduce heat down to low and slowly whisk in 1/2 cup of the milk until well combined. Once well blended, add the nutmeg and the remaining milk in 1/2 cup increments, whisking well after each addition, until all the milk is used and sauce is free from lumps.
Increase heat to medium and continue cooking sauce while stirring occasionally until it thickens (the whole process takes about 20-25 minutes).
Add in the Pecorino Romano cheese and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper and mix until the cheese is melted through.
Assemble!
Spoon about 1 cup of meat sauce on the base of a 10×14-inch baking pan, then cover with lasagna sheets. (Trim sheets to fit the pan). Layer with 2 cups of meat sauce, 1 cup of white sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers (leaving the remaining mozzarella cheese for the top).
Pour the remaining meat sauce and white sauce over the last layer of lasagna sheets and top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
Cover and put in fridge until ready to eat.
Preheat oven to 350°.
While cold, cut lasagna into even pieces.
Bake for 45 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling.
Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
This week started out rough. I think it was a combination of the change in weather, the busy weekend, and my period. Whatever it was, it knocked me out for Monday and Tuesday. The kids got their flu shots and their Covid boosters, SBean has been ploughing through her birthday books, and Maynard arrived! On December 1 we all started our advent calendars! The Kids and I get 24 days of delicious chocolate, Ninja gets 24 days of British Columbia craft beer, and Oliver gets Great Jack Dog Treats! I am also doing an advent calendar for my Facebook fitness group! So far we have started an advent calendar, begun to read Christmas books, saw a parade, decorated the house, and watched a Hallmark movie!
HBear had a very busy birthday! After school she had curling and 2 dance classes, so she opened presents and we had cake when she got home later that night. She was also able to FaceTime Uncle Kelly and open up his gift together! On Friday Ninja prepped the Christmas tree while I got HBear’s birthday lasagna ready! That night, we watched the Santa Clauses while HBear celebrated her birthday with her friends downstairs! Saturday was the Santa Claus parade and HBear’s family birthday dinner! We wrapped up our week on Sunday, listening to Christmas music, decorating the tree, the house, and our nails! It was a great week, and to top it off I kicked Ninja’s butt in our weekly hockey pool!
