Trinity is now 8 years old. AAACK!!! Phew. Okay, pardon the flipout there. I am now fine and will continue this message with no further flusterment (I made that word up. My spell-checker is now confused).

Since she is having a joint party in a couple weeks with two other girls from church, today we had nothing really planned. This morning I gave her a gift from me, which was her own set of crochet supplies (yarn, hooks, markers, scissors, and a case to carry it all in) and then I taught her how to chain. She did a nice long one, so tomorrow we will slip stitch the chain together and learn to single crochet which she can practice until her long connected chain grows into a headband.

She and her sisters got to play Cinderella again today, and since it was Triny’s birthday, she actually got to be Cinderella (since naturally there can be only one). They wanted music that was not Johnny Cash and was princess-y; but apparently nothing I had was suitable so they asked me to turn it back off and then they sang “Sing, Sweet Nightingale,” which is the song Cinderella sings as she mops the floors in the movie.

Trinity advised the other girls that they had to mop by moving their rags around in circles across the floor because that’s how princesses do it. I would have felt bad about making her mop on her birthday except that she was clearly having so much fun. I just got out of the way and told them “thank you” when they finished.

Then I had a bunch of errands to run and Trinity got to go with me, which is a special deal around our house. Dragging several kids on errands is something I try diligently to avoid; and if I make it out of the house, I tend to enjoy having no one with me so that I can hear my brain. We went to Walmart (bought her a crown and some Rainbow Chip frosting for the Funfetti cupcake mix I bought yesterday).

Then we went to Bob’s Red Mill and bought 25 pounds of flour (this is the third 25 lb. bag I’ve purchased in two and a half months). She decided that Jamba Juice might be nice so we stopped there for lunch. Then we went to the very exciting Albertson’s (grocery store) and picked up a few necessities like grapes and BBQ beans. As we were driving around she told me that this was one of her best birthdays ever. Yes, mopping and shopping for flour always make me feel special too….

Grandpa and Grandma came over to have dinner with us (spaghetti, garlic bread, and “cheese quesadillas as a side dish” with cupcakes for dessert, as per the birthday girl’s request), and just as we were finishing up, three little neighbor girls unexpectedly came over with a present for Trinity. They hung around and helped us eat our cupcakes, and then Trinity decided they needed to have a pajama party.

So the little girls ran home to put on their jammies, and then they all sat in our living room for an hour watching Looney Toons and SpongeBob while consuming massive amounts of popcorn (to sit atop their cupcakes and ice cream). Pretty good party for being completely impromptu. I even had just the right amount of cupcakes! Phew.

So now my daughter is eight. What a big girl. Here’s a picture from last week when we went strawberry picking with Grandma. I’m going to start calling this her supermodel pose (she doesn’t consciously do this; you point the camera at her, she looks at you, and this is what you get).

Happy Birthday, Sweetie! I love you.

Mommy

Happy Birthday to Trinity!