Mark and a half

There are some things my children can effectively talk me into.  Every time.

1) Letting them eat something so they don't go to bed hungry.  (I am forever grateful that I don't have truly hungry children ever.)

2) Going to pick them up from wherever, even if it's not exactly logical because they have another way home.  If they want me to come, I want to.

3) Baking a cake.

Mark is eleven and a half today.  Since tonight is busy with all the various Tuesday night things (a lot) we celebrated last night.  Last night was also graduation.  Where I grew up everyone and I mean everyone went to graduation.  It is a lot less personal here with these big classes and I kind of think I'd rather be tortured with ants than go to graduation.  I'll change my mind next year when my boy is graduating.  This year we dropped off our songbirds to sing in the choir.  (One was willing and one was an unwilling songbird.  You can guess which was which.  They had to sing for their grade though.  Sorry kiddo.)

I told Braeden he looked handsome and he said "Yeah, I do.  I want more vests.  And different colors.  And some more cardigans too."  Lesson:  don't tell your son he looks handsome.

Adam and I took Mark out to celebrate eleven and half years on the planet.  For as bossy and youngest-child-spoiled as Mark is, he evidently doesn't get the final say very often.  He got to pick the pizza and kept saying, "Are you sure that's OK?  Mom?"

Mark's pizza choice:  not a vegetable in sight.

We had a little time to kill before going to pick up our kids from graduation.  (We drove them instead of Braeden driving because parking would have been a pain.)  We decided to take Mark to a park.  He kept saying, "Are you sure?  That won't be fun for you guys."

I told him that it was his night and we'd do whatever he wanted.  He said, "You two are SO nice to me."

I said, "Yeah, we're probably the two nicest people in the world."

This was a very different conversation than we had earlier when he was super cranky about school and I got...a little cranky...myself.

At the park, Mark ran around like an eager puppy.  That kid has energy.

I baked a chocolate cake with mint frosting.  It's what Braeden has always wanted and now Mark does too.  I'm not complaining.  Mint + chocolate work together.

Today Mark wants to take cupcakes to scouts for his half birthday.  Maybe he's the first scout in the history of scouts to take cupcakes on a half birthday.  Maybe not though.

After all, cupcakes are sort of fun to make.