Monday morning, the first thing I noticed was that Keats hadn’t put on his birthday crown. I had placed it on his dresser the night before after he fell asleep. He’s usually pretty enthusiastic about his crown. I thought to myself that he might have decided that he’s too old to wear it. I was kind of sad about that. We still call him Keatsy-baby after all (but do our best to avoid doing so at baseball games and other social events!) I casually mentioned the crown to him, and he shouted, “Oh!” and then raced upstairs to put it on. He wore it for the entire day.
I know that the birthdays of my children are not about me. Really, I do. But I have to say that Keats’ tenth birthday was my best birthday ever. My happiness is of course directly related to the way that he felt about the day. He is so very specific, that all I had to do to ensure a great birthday was to go shopping the day before to make sure we had ingredients for the three meals and cake he requested. Then of course I had to cook all those meals, and that is what I spent most of his birthday doing. Backing up a bit, it was Gabe and me who went shopping together over the weekend. We had a last minute inspiration to stop at the craft store for candle wick, thinking that Keats might like to dip his own birthday candles. He loved our idea. He did have a hard time though when all the other kids wanted to make candles too and there really wasn’t room for everyone. He’s so meticulous and the little girls are so the opposite of that. (His frustration is evident in the photo where he is laying his head on his hand. He was patient though and soon had everything to himself.) Keats likes to cook so he took charge of making his birthday lunch, Danish Aebleskiver pancakes (I don’t even know how to pronounce that ‘A’ word.)
I spent the afternoon making his birthday cake: Lil Jim’s Puddin Cake from The Grit Cookbook. I remembered to double the vanilla custard that goes between the layers. Beatrix helped me make it. When it was time to add the teaspoon of brandy, she asked to smell it. I warned her that it smells bad. She took a big whiff and exclaimed that it smelled delicious. She then informed me that one of the boys found a small empty bottle like that on the side of the road and that it smelled the same way. She said that she liked the way it smelled so much that she stashed it next to her carseat so she could smell it whenever she wanted to. I guess you can imagine that I stood there a little bit horrified, while simultaneously playing it cool. Clearly, it’s time to clean out the van.
The cake was fantastic, but I nearly went into a coma after eating one small slice. Sugar and I are not friends.
I imagine that at the end of the day as Keats placed his candles on his birthday cake and lit them (he insisted on doing it all himself) that he got that lovely feeling of satisfaction you get, putting something you’ve made with your hands to good use. Of all my kids, he is the most like me I think. Then again, he’s also the most like Jonny. He’s both of us all over and we adore him.
Happy tenth birthday, Keats!
also–this post could have alternatively been called, “my kids have great hair.” I clearly had other priorities than hunting down the hairbrush today.
k says
I love aebleskiver! To my (american) ear, from my (danish) grandmother’s pronunciation, it sounds like “able-skewah” (like you’re saying skewer with a boston accent). But really, tasty no matter how you pronounce them!
Kim says
A perfectly magical day. Happy Birthday Keats!
Katie says
OH my, that brandy sniffing story is too funny! I had to share it with my husband who equally appreciated it.
And, I must say, that I can relate with children having great hair as well. Just not a priority most days.
Happy Birthday to your Keats!
lori says
WOW! what a great birthday day!! looks like he had a blast!!!
have to try and remember to check out the raft shop here to see if i can find the
candle making kit. think my grandson would like to try it!!
thanks and happy birthday Keat!!
Cary says
Happy birthday Keats!!! We celebrated Charlottes birthday Sunday. I wanted to make her a new birthday crown, since hers was the first I made and leaves a lot to be desired:). But, she didn’t want a new one and that made me happy.
The hair thing is a relief- you should’ve seen Charlottes hair today- it was crazy! We had school in our pajamas.
Oh, and the girl in the car next to me thinks I’m crazy, I’m sure, because when I read the part about Bea and the brandy I laughed so hard I cried!!!!!!!! She is such a hoot!:)
Laura says
Your kids really do have great hair. Keats is going to grow up to be a “heartbreaker” as my mom says; great hair and beautiful eyes!
Beatrix is a character… that story with the bottle had me laughing out loud! She’s obviously very into scents, and I agree that she should start making her own perfume! Thanks for a great post.
Rachel Marie says
what a sweet day! and the stashed brandy bottle is HILARIOUS! (i actually found great comfort in the messy hair as i OFTEN have higher priorities than finding a hairbrush for my girls- why bother when they will take out whatever i do in order to be more comfortable, put on a costume, put on a hat, or whatever other reason they come up with to be free from the pigtails or pony tail??)
mandi@herbanhomestead says
Oh Beatrix and her brandy bottle! That is so funny! I must tell you that I had to pull my 6 year old boy over to show him your Keats in his crown. My boy decided on his 5th birthday that he was too big for his crown. Oh the tears!!! Mine- not his.
I think I’d like this boy of yours- from his specificity to his DIY nature. His day sounds just wonderful.
Jo @ To a Pretty Life says
That sounds like a perfect birthday! I know when I was 10 I would have loved it, especially the candle making. The story of Beatrix and the brandy is hilarious! Your kids’ names are wonderful.
max says
happy birthday to him. i think that is the most beautiful birthday cake i have ever seen, the hand dipped birthday candles are the loveliest touch. your wee girls jersey caught my eye too as a fan of navy and hand knits x
Nadja says
Keats sounds like such a great kid…all the best to him in the year ahead!
And Bea…oh, what a character…you’ll see, at 80 she’ll be like Maude from “Harold and Maude”…she just cracks me up!
Betsy says
HaPpY bIrThDaY Keats!!! Such a happy post. And yes, I laughed at the brandy story too. :-). No one cares about the kids hair. Are they happy? Obviously yes. Are they healthy? Obviously yes. That’s all that we can ask as mom’s.
Blessings,
Betsy
Sophie says
Would you be willing to consider sharing a few tricks in candle making?
Melt beeswax then dip?
Is that it?
Ginny says
yes, that’s it–at least that’s all we did! you dip quickly so that the first layers don’t melt when you dip again!
Rambling Follower says
I am so stealing this idea! My latests blocks of beeswax just arrived.
Ginny says
so easy. I think it might be possible to use hemp twine for the wick. I am going to try that next. I have some very thin hemp twine, but can’t remember where I bought it.
Maria Fitz says
Sugar puts me in a coma, too. I’m just trying to imagine Bea telling you about the liquor bottle she keeps next to her carseat so she can smell it at her leisure. So great.
Kelly says
So great! All of it. Happy birthday Keats!
Kate says
Happy Birthday Keats!! I must tell you I about fell over dead from laughter at Bea’s story. I can only imagine what else is stashed in the van!
Renee Anne says
I’ve found that most small children think brandy smells good. Honestly, it does. And then you taste it…and as a child, it was gross (yes, my mother swiped brandy in my mouth as a child). As an adult, brandy is good. I’m from Wisconsin originally so there’s almost always a stash of brandy in the house.
Looks like the day was fabulous! And who cares if you didn’t find the brush. A day will come when they find it themselves, particularly the girls. ::sigh::
Caroline says
Looks like a magical day!
Meryl says
Looks like it was a wonderful day! Love the candles–and happy birthday to Keats!
Debi Miller says
Happy Birthday, Keats! It looks like you had a swell day!
Laura Jeanne says
Happy birthday, Keats!
My kids’ hair looks the same most days, don’t feel bad. 🙂
rebekah says
mmmm i love Aebleskivers!!
OMSH says
“clearly it’s time to clean out the van.” – Favorite line of the week. So funny.
Rachel says
Oh my word, the brandy!!! Ha ha! I love that they dipped candles for the birthday cake! I thought it was just a fun birthday activity but then I saw them on the cake, what a wonderful, beautiful idea!
Rachel Wolf says
Oh, the crown. How I love that he still wears his crown. Sage stopped a couple of years ago and I grieved that milestone a little. (http://lusaorganics.typepad.com/clean/2011/08/the-ship-is-leaving-the-dock-.html). Happy day to Keats and also you, mama!
Lisa Eggers says
Well, they’re a little bit about you… after all, he made you a mama on that day! Everything looks so nice! Happy Birthday to your handsome boy 🙂
Jane says
What a lovely celebration! I’m glad everything turned out so well!
“Clearly, it’s time to clean out the van.” <- oh my goodness you had me laughing! Thanks so much for keeping it real!
kimberly schildbach says
Ginny,
Sugar and I are not friends either! I go into the same sort of trance after eating any – even maple syrup! And now that I’m taking probiotics it is worse. Doesn’t stop me from having GF pumpkin pancakes though!
Much love,
Kim
dairygran says
love the idea of making birthday candles…going to try with my grandchildren.
Missy says
I love that Keats dipped his own candles and especially that he still likes his birthday crown! Oh, but that story about Beatrix is fabulous. I just love your easy going parenting – I can’t wait to tell this story to my husband!
Nahuatl Vargas says
They do have great hair, and the faces on the opening of gifts are great too. Is he your oldest?, because then is happy birthday as a mom too for you.
I’m glad you all had a good day.
Ginny says
He’s my second. Seth turned 12 last year!
Nahuatl Vargas says
Oh my, 12 years as a mom, congrats. The candles are so beautiful.
Amy says
Happy Birthday Keats! Laughing about Bea and the bottle story, thanks for sharing.
I have a soon to be 11 yr old that would love to make his own birthday candles…….what a great idea.
Anne Marie says
Aebleskivers! YUM! My kids’ favorites. Danish, tho.
Ginny says
just fixed that! not sure how I got it wrong, considering that I had the recipe in front of me in order to spell aebleskiver correctly!
Jennie says
Happiest Birthday!
I believe the word is pronounced something like “ebble-skibber”. They used that pan once in an episode of Iron Chef America. At least that’s how it sounded when Alton Brown said it.
karen says
happy birthday to your son!! Too much sugar gets me every single time but I still eat it happily. Hope you find lots of money in the van besides empty bottles 😉
Lorie says
Happy birthday, Keats! It looks like the young man had a wonderful birthday.
I started reading your blog a little while back and I’ve been enjoying your stories. You have a lovely family. I had a good laugh over Bea and the bottle. And, I think I’ll look into that making my own candles idea, sounds like fun 🙂
Joy says
It does look like he had a great day. He’s looking so OLD all of the sudden. That is hilarious about Beatrix and the brandy. We had a good friend in town over the holidays (he studies in Edinburgh) and he brought us some high brow scotch. (whatever that means!) Now when my kids are horrified by a smell, they just compare it to scotch. “Something stinks in my room!” “Does it smell better or worse than scotch?”
helene says
Happy Birthday to Keats, I love the candle making idea, it sounds so special..
And… I am bursting out laughing, thinking of your ‘playing it cool face’ when Beatrix was telling you her story ! Maybe it’s time to get her a perfume making kit, see if she can make her own bottle of something nice to smell 😉
Anke says
Happy 10th birthday Keats!!
Hullabaloo Homestead says
Happy birthday Keats!!! It looks like you had a great day celebrating your tenth birthday!
:)Lisa
Kirstin says
What an awesome birthday celebration! I usually don’t look at the pictures so closely, what did Keats get for his birthday? I can only figure out braiding. Thanks for sharing…. Especially Bea’s story.
Ginny says
Thank you! In those photos he had unwrapped Kuhimino supplies, and a nickel album.
meghann says
Happy birthday to Keats! Looks like such a lovely day.
(I love those pancakes as well. My father makes them. I don’t know why or how he learned to make them – that isn’t our heritage at all – but there are a nice treat nowadays at Christmas and other times when we are all together with my parents!) xo
Selma says
Happy birthday!! So cute you guys make æbleskiver 🙂 It’s a Danish word and here in Denmark we eat them at Christmas, with powder sugar and marmelade. Lovely kids activity to make candles for your own cake, I’ll keep that one in mind for later xoxo
Elizabeth says
Being Dutch, let me tell you that the word for Aebleskiver (Apple slices) in Dutch is ‘Appelschijven’. We don’t make these pancakes and we don’t use the æ sound.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Æbleskiver
Funny how all the different European countries and traditions always get mixed up in the US. Both people and their traditions are an eclectic bunch there :).
Ginny says
It was my mistake! I typed Dutch, although the recipe (which was sitting right in front of me) clearly calls them Danish Aebleskiver pancakes!!! I fixed it!
Ginny says
yes, I meant to type Danish! Not sure how I came up with Dutch. I fixed it in the post. 🙂
Elizabeth says
Happy Birthday Keats, 10 years old is a big deal.
Love, love, love the smelly bottle story. I bet this will be a story that is retold many times over the course of Beatrix’s life. It is certainly a classic.
Alie says
Oh my gosh!!?! That Bea just kills me, I’m still laughing every time I think of her sniffing the brandy bottle in the back seat!
Btw, the hair is perfect. We are heading out for a special shrove Tuesday pancake breakfast (all 7 kids & mama); even my hair is scary lol!
Happy birthday Keats, you rock!
Heather says
Happiest of birthdays to Keats. And happy birthing day to you. My oldest turns ten in April – how did that happen. And my youngest gets a whole hand this year too – five years old. Eek. What a wonderful celebration you had. I can see he had a great time, and although frustrated he was quite patient it appears. Thanks for the candle dipping idea. My almost 10 yr old would love that. Perhaps we could get them together. Just say the word!
Sara McD says
What a gorgeous boy! I’m so glad he had a good birthday. I think I’ll be making myself a birthday crown soon. 🙂
Rainey says
Making your own birthday candles is a wonderful idea! I don’t have kids yet, but I wonder if I can remember that for when I do. Heck, I might want to do that for my own birthday this year.
Tracey says
Oh dear Ginny I do love you! Thanks for the laughter you brought to my day and the most happy of birthday wishes to your young man. Now go clean out that van ;)!
Emily T. says
How wonderful! Happy tenth birthday, Keats!
I love the idea of making your own birthday candles. What a fun thing to do!