However I am making myself a lemon birthday cake

36, wearing a homemade dress and an almost-fishtail braid.

I turned 36 this morning.

I don't really think I have anything profound to say about it. Birthdays aren't what they used to be, right? I don't look forward to them like my almost-9-year-old son does, whose birthday is three days after mine. For him it's all party prep and the anticipation of having a whole day just for himself, where he gets spoiled.

For me, I'm just happy to have one more year, you know? Happy to be where I am in life, happy to be mama, wife, friend, writer.

I don't know what I expected 36 to be like when I was younger. I make jokes all the time about how old I am, but (in all it's cliched glory) I don't feel old. My almost 87-year-old grandmother-in-law called me from Germany at 6:30 this morning to wish me a happy birthday and she told me that I was so young. For a second I felt 18 again.

Every so often I have thoughts about what it would be like to live through that time again. But it seems silly to think about going back. What I've got now - a husband who makes me laugh and the ability to watch my kids grow and mature and learn and fight and fly and be fearless - well what else do I need?

I honestly didn't know how it would feel to officially be in my late 30s. Should I start being depressed? Should I have a crisis? But other than having quite a bit more gray hair and buying "youth infusing" face products it's kind of the same as when I was 30.

I do sleep a lot less, which may have more to do with having a puppy and two children who wake up at all hours, but nevertheless I spend most of my time with friends discussing how tired I am.

I am a joy and a delight and the life of the party, is what I'm saying.

Homemade Friday on a Monday: Spaghetti and Meatballs for the Birthday Boy

So I survived the weekend.  The weekend of turning 33 and frantic cleaning and last-minute preparation for my son's 6th birthday Pokemon party, and Germany in the World Cup Final and Germany winning the World Cup Final and making biscuits and gravy for my son's birthday breakfast yesterday and homemade spaghetti and meatballs for his birthday dinner.  (He had a hot dog and grapes for lunch.  There's really only so much cooking I can do in one day.)

And I even survived my daughter being up from 2-4:30 last night (this morning?).

After party clean-up the house is still relatively clean, so that's refreshing.  I do have tons of laundry to put up that I shoved in a closet before people got here, but other than that I'm in pretty good shape.

I thought I'd share my spaghetti and meatball recipe with you today.  I know it's not Friday, and therefore not time for a Homemade Friday post, but I figured you'd forgive me.

This is not a quick meal, obviously.  The sauce (or 'Sunday Gravy' if you will) needs to cook at least 45 minutes.  As my dad says, you can eat it after 45 minutes, but it's done after 2 hours.

The meatballs take time, too.  The mixture has to be combined, then formed into meatballs.  Those have to be browned in a skillet, then finished in the sauce.

It's an immensely satisfying meal, even if you have to work it during the first half of the World Cup Final, running back and forth from the kitchen to the living room every time you hear your husband yell out.

My spaghetti and meatballs isn't nearly as good as my parents', but really, that's how it goes, right?  The sauce never tastes exactly right, the meatballs aren't as tender, but everyone was satisfied.  And next week for the July birthday celebration at my parents' house we get to have it again - the right way.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti Sauce

olive oil
garlic
onions if you like - but I'm usually too lazy to cut them up
3 quarts of tomato juice (or two large, 46 oz cans)
24 oz tomato paste
italian seasoning
sugar
salt

In a large pot or dutch oven heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.  Once hot, add onions if using and saute until soft.  Add a tablespoon or more of garlic and saute until lightly brown - not dark.  If it gets dark it becomes bitter.

Add tomato juice and paste.  I never measure my italian seasoning, which is probably why my sauce never tastes exactly right.  I add a palm full.  And then usually more later.  Add a tablespoon or two of sugar, just to bring out the sauce a bit, then a tablespoon or more of salt.  I usually season it a bit, then let it cook and taste it for seasoning later on in the process.

Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 2 hours with a lid cracked on top.

Meatballs

3 lbs ground beef - lean - 94/6
1 lb italian sausage
oregano, basil, parsley - or italian seasoning
1 diced onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
5 slices of bread, or bread crumbs
grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
olive oil to brown

Mix meat, onions, garlic and seasoning (a palm full - or more) together.  If using bread, soak in warm water to soften, then add to mixture.  If using breadcrumbs, mix with meat mixture.

Add egg and parmesan.  Mix all together with your hands and form into meatballs - large meatballs, about the size of a small baseball.  Or between a golf ball and baseball.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Brown meatballs on all sides, a few at a time, turning often so they don't burn.

It's best to brown them all and transfer to a platter.  When all are browned, put them in a pot of spaghetti sauce, already hot, and cook in sauce for 45 minutes.

You can freeze them either before or after cooking in sauce.  I froze half of the meatballs after browning them - mainly because they all wouldn't fit in my pot.  This recipe made about 35 meatballs.

Once sauce is about 30 minutes from being done, start a large pot of water heating on the stove.  Once it boils, add salt - a couple of palm fulls, depending on how much water.  Add the pasta.  I usually let it cook for a few minutes, then taste and add salt as needed.  Cook until it still has a little bite to it.  Don't let it get mushy!  Strain pasta and add back to pot.  To keep the noodles from sticking together, it helps to add a bit of sauce to them and stir them around.

Serve a heaping plate full with at least two meatballs and a mountain of parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Here's my mom's original, handwritten meatball recipe.  The woman has amazing handwriting for a lefty!  Probably because she was taught by nuns:

No one believes me but I actually really enjoy the beet juice

I've started juicing, which has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I turned 33* today and everything to do with the fact that I saw a recipe one day and thought, eh, why not.

That's how I tend to start a new diet plan, or eating plan or whatever you want to call it.  Diet is totes a four-letter word that I normally don't use.  And I'm not on a diet, per se.  I am trying to see exactly how healthily I can eat.  Some days it's awesome and I feel great.  Other days I'm starving all day, no matter what healthy foods I eat and won't be satisfied until I've eaten about 10 of the kids' peanut butter cookies.  On those days I have to remind myself that even though the box says 'all natural' it doesn't mean 'good for you.'

Most of the time when those days happen I know that it's hormone related and therefore out of my control and I give myself a break.  But I do try to eat mindfully and I've started running more.  I run every other day now, even with a jacked up knee and shin splints.  (Am OLD.)  I'm up to 3.1 miles all at the same time so I feel pretty good about it.  I add time on every few weeks, when I feel comfortable with where I am, in the hopes of possibly, one day, maybe, probably not but I'm still sort of planning for it - running a half-marathon.
Honestly I don't really want to PLAN plan for it because I think it's a little overwhelming.  So for now I'm happy doing what I'm doing.  Running.  Drinking juice.  Making smoothies.  Drinking far too much coffee.  Occasionally stealing peanut butter cookies.

And as today is my birthday my husband is taking me out to eat so I will probably eat entirely too many 'unhealthy' things.  And I will most definitely open that bottle of wine that he bought me.  He took the kids out swimming last night and when they got home Sebastian told me they went to my most favorite store to buy my birthday present.  I asked what exactly my favorite store was and the response, that I had to discern through all of the giggles, was 'the beer store!'

My family knows me well.

My mother-in-law took the kids swimming this afternoon and my own mother is picking the kids up this evening so they can stay the night with her because I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with what all needs to be done for Sebastian's birthday party on Saturday.  It's a Pokemon theme, which I know nothing about.  So probably everything will be round with the one design of a pokeball I found online that looked easy enough.  I've already started the pinata.

So I'm going to spend the afternoon trying to clean the house a bit and possibly trying to get a nap in because these last two weeks being a stay-at-home mom again has pretty much destroyed my energy.  And ruined my ability to ever pee in peace.  And made me really, really appreciate my job.

It's been a bit HARD is what I'm saying.  In fact - here is a photo to show you how I left the house this morning to drop Sebastian off at his science camp.  It is a perfect illustration of how my time at home is going:

*I actually had to add up how old I am because I can't seem to keep it in my head.  Probably because I'm old and forgetful.

Homemade Friday: The Great Star Wars Birthday Extravaganza (only a month late)

I'm a little behind on my Homemade Friday posts, I see.  There's a really good reason for that, I swear.  At first it was just because I was preparing for the Great Star Wars Birthday Extravaganza and so didn't have any time.  And after that, I wanted to show you all the cool stuff I made for the Great Star Wars Birthday Extravaganza but I knew it was going to be a long post full of link backs and whatnot and I either didn't have the time to devote to it or I just didn't feel like it.  So in my warped mind, I couldn't show you anything else that I've made lately, and there have been lots of things, because I haven't showed you the birthday stuff.  Chronologicality and all that.  (I totally made up that word. And I'm sure you didn't know until I told you, right?)

The Birthday Boy got the first three episodes of Star Wars for his birthday.

But today I just decided to go ahead and get it over with.  It may not be the exciting, detailed post I had planned, but at least there will be lots of pictures, right?

Sebastian decided awhile before his birthday that he wanted a Star Wars theme, but not just any Star Wars theme.  He wanted an Angry Bird Star Wars birthday theme.

Okay.

If you search for Star Wars birthday ideas, you'll find tons.  But there aren't too many Angry Bird things, unless you want to pay $35 for a fondant cake topper.

Spoiler: I didn't.

So I incorporated a lot of different types of Star Wars shows - and THERE ARE MANY.  We ended up with Clone Wars, Lego Star Wars, Angry Bird Star Wars, and just the regular, normal Star Wars.

Sebastian also insisted that he have a costume, which is a part of his personality that I adore and encourage every chance I get.  The kid loves to be in character!  He wanted a Luke costume.  I used the same pattern as I used for his Ninja costume and leftover fabric I had around, so it really didn't cost me anything but time.  He loved it, but then was a bit disappointed that it didn't come with boots.

Sorry kid.  My sewing skills only go so far.

Once it was finished and he was in costume, both Chris and I decided he was more of an Anakin than a Luke. 

See?  Almost twins.

Sebastian also wanted a pinata for his birthday.  We settled on the Death Star since there seemed to be a lot of instructions online for it and I thought it would cause me the least stress as I was already up to my eyeballs in it because I've never actually made a pinata before, and I have no memory of making a paper mache anything ever.  So I dove right in.  As I do.

I used instructions from here and here. 

I used a beach ball to make a round shape and lots and lots of old newspaper.  I think I did 3 or 4 layers - enough to make it sturdy and strong to hold all the candy that Chris made me to put in it.

I was actually pretty proud of it.  Especially considering I didn't really know what a Death Star was and couldn't remember ever seeing one before this.  Here are a lot of pictures of the pinata:
 

I let them hit it with pool noodle lightsabers that my friend Laura helped me put together.  Basically I just cut large pool noodles in half and duct taped the end to make a handle.  They were supposed to have designs on the handle, but I ran out of time and energy.  Here's where that idea came from.

Once they all attacked it at once, I let the kids each have three swings with a tobacco stick.  I didn't blindfold them as I didn't want to have to take anyone to the hospital.

In the end I 'helped' by ripping it open.  Here's the aftermath:

 

I also made lightsaber napkin wraps, which I found here.  Here are mine:

And I used that same person's idea for R2D2 cups that I put in the gift bags.  However I don't really recommend them because as soon as the cups got wet all the ink bled all over the place.  It was kind of a waste of money and time. 

I used the cups as party favors and put them in Star Wars bags I freezer-paper-stenciled for all the kids. I thought I took an actually picture as I was painting it, but I can't seem to find it.  Here's one I took this morning: 

I think they're pretty awesome myself.

With it you can see the popsicle sleeve that I put unfrozen popsicles in to make little lightsabers.  I got that idea from here.

I also freezer-paper-stenciled Yoda T-shirts for Adele and Sebastian, which I saw here.   I think Adele's actually turned out better than Sebastian's.  The black looks a lot better with the silver spray paint than the blue does. 

For drinks I made my version of Yoda Soda - which is a punch I fall back on regularly because it is delicious and simple.  Plus it's green so it totally fits.  All it needs is a big can of pineapple juice - I think it's about a quart and a half - with 2 liters of Ginger Ale and a container of lime sherbert.

And here is a blurry picture of the double-sided Angry Bird Star Wars banner that I printed out, cut and strung.  It's still hanging in that window, mostly because I forgot it was there.  Eventually I'll put it in Sebastian's room.  Whenever I remember.

 Vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing and lightsaber sticks in Star Wars cupcake liners:

And a chocolate cake with white chocolate icing in the shape of a 5 that was supposed to have little Star Wars Angry Bird figures on it but that I forgot about until after the party:

I did put a lot of work into this party, but the thing is, Sebastian is so excited.  He gets really into the whole thing so I want to make it as special as possible for him.  And he appreciates it, you know?  He understands that I'm doing this for him and is grateful.

That means a lot.