Dear Abby - Age 14

 

My dear sweet Golden Birthday Girl - I truly can not believe that you are 14 and headed to high school.  I know, everyone says it, “it was just yesterday and I was holding you for the first time” but, it’s so true!  The years are flying by and I really can’t believe that in just 4 short years (really, the blink of an eye) you’ll be headed off to college and a big beautiful wonderful life outside of Maple Street.  Oh boy, I might even have a little tear just writing about it and it’s still over 1,200 days away.  

It feels like you’ve grown SO MUCH in the last year.  Not just physically, though you have really sprouted up lately - you wear a size 8 shoe and are just a few inches shorter than me.  But you’ve grown a lot emotionally and mentally.  I feel like you are a totally different child than the one I wrote about a year ago.  You’ve matured and are handling challenges and setbacks in such an adult way.  You’ve always been an old soul and a rule follower and a people pleaser.  You are kind and generous and while you might fight with your sister more than I’d like, you truly are the best kid I know.  I love you so so much and I can’t wait to see what freshman year will bring.  It’s a brave new world out there and I feel like you are about to hit your “high school era” where you find your tribe and thrive!

Current events:

• The Israel-Gaza conflict continues. 
• US enters war with Iran - in Feb 2026 we launched a strike against Iran and a key area, the Strait of Hormuz is right at the heart of the conflict.  An important shipping canal that is key to moving oil.  Until this is sorted, gas prices will remain high.
• Russia-Ukraine war continues - over 4 years after it started it’s sadly still not resolved. 
• AI went from the cool new thing to talk about to being a massive capital investment with all the drama that goes along with it.  From towns banning data centers to foreshadowing of a “AI Bubble” similar to the housing bubble…it's really everywhere now and working its way to entwine itself into every day use.  You can’t even Google like the old days anymore, now it’s all powered by AI and searching the old fashioned way is a thing of the past!
• The World Cup (Soccer) - taking place every 4 years, for some reason this year was the first year I ever really heard much about it.  We aren’t a soccer family, but it was everywhere this year.  I think the take away that I got from it is that the news cycle focuses on how different we all are, but the stories from the World Cup games proved that maybe we aren’t so different after all, and coming together for something simple, like sports, can help give us all something to share.
• The Louvre Heist
• Winter Olympics

Are Owies still around?:  You know it!  I bet you thought they’d be long gone by 14, but you’d be wrong.  Those sweet little guys are still here and still go into bed with you every single night.  You’re not too old to have them around.

Current prices:

• Eggs: $3.75 - down finally!  Eggs have been high for years and they still aren’t back to pre-covid levels but they’re headed in the right direction finally.  We love eggs in this family so I buy them no matter the price, but $.97 for a dozen eggs wasn’t uncommon just a few years back.

• Gas: $4.50 a gallon - ugh!  A few months ago Trump started a war with Iran and gas prices have gone up, up, up since then.  It’s less than ideal.  Diesel is over $5.50 a gallon right now, you know, just in time for camper season where we’re driving the big truck every weekend and getting 8 miles to the gallon.  Great for the budget!

• Plane ticket: $450ish.  Up from last year, and the gas prices are probably driving it.  

Things you’ve learned in the past year:

• To try new things - you really have!! This year you had your first “honors” class (Algebra) and now, in highschool you are taking 4 honors classes.  You (and I both) are a little worried about the amount of homework you’ll get, but we’ll figure it out.  You and Hazel also did your first ever musical theater show and it was a really good opportunity for you both.  I’m so impressed with how you handled the stress of being on stage and how you worked through things that you maybe would have just bailed on 2 years ago.  You’ve come a LONG way Peanut Butter….a long way.  I want you to stop and look back.  Look back and admire how far you’ve come.

• Color Guard - we made it through summer color guard practice and it was a lot!  We’ll see how fall goes, but I hope you like it and choose to stick with it.

• Braces off! And you look so beautiful!!  Just in time for Hazel to get hers on.  She just got her top braces on a few weeks ago.

• Your first date to a dance, and also your first break up.  You and Jayden lasted just under a year…it was sweet while it lasted and I think it was really good for your confidence and also a good milestone to have behind us (both the fun stuff and the breakup stuff).  He took you to your first ever dance this past fall and it was very fun for Grandma and I to take you shopping and help you find the perfect dress.  You were ADORABLE.  And, while the breakup bummed you out, it didn’t last long and you’ve moved past it.  Your maturity is truly impressive, sweet girl.

• Your first babysitting job!  That’s right, you are officially employable.  You and Stella are both certified babysitters and now that you are 14 you are legally old enough to babysit.  Don’t tell anyone, but you had your first real job early summer (technically not 14).  You babysat for Destine and her daughter Riley but the funniest thing about it is that Destine you YOUR babysitter not that long ago!  It’s wild how fast things change.  Wild how fast you go from the kid to the babysitter.  

Interest rates: 6.5% average 30 year mortgage rates - up from last year this time but still down from the recent highs in the last few years.  It’s driven by the fed trying to keep inflation in check but also because of the tariffs from Trump, the fact that consumers are still spending even though rates are high (though the pessimist in me says that spending is mostly being done on credit, not an indicator of people actually having more money to spend), and then layer in the wars and honestly, it’s not real great out there these days.  We’re very fortunate to have what we need and to be able to spend on things we want in addition to the things we need. 

Current President:  Donald Trump (yes, still….still here… still messing things up)

Your best friends: 

• Stella

• Kayden

• Evie

Pop Culture:

• Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wedding

• Ozzy Osbourne died

• Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso

• Le Boo Boo toys - the dumbest things in all the land!  The Cabbage Patch Doll, Beanie Baby, Furby of 2026.  

• The phrase “Six….Seven…” (said with hands making a weighing two things motion)  - Ugh!  Every parent on the planet hates it.  But I think we’re close to that one running its course.

A sweet story about you:

I already shared about all of the new things you tried this year but I want to spend a few minutes telling you how much I’ve seen you grow this summer.  I think Graduation was a confidence boost you didn’t know you needed (and I didn’t know I needed for you) but right on the heels of that was the summer theater program.  I didn’t say it out loud, but inside I was really worried that you’d let the pressure and stress of being on stage in front of everyone get to you and that you’d quit.  But, a day or two before the first show I gently asked you about it and you said to me “Mom, I’m really nervous but I realized that sometimes if I try to do something hard and that really scares me, then the next time something hard comes up, I’ll know I can do it”.  Girly girl, my heart swelled with pride.  We’ve been working really hard fo years to get you to understand that…to get you to understand how to push through and to know that whatever is happening your brain is worse than what is really actually happening.  That you don’t have to borrow worry and that you are amazing just as you are!  That you have everything already inside of you…it just needs to be unlocked.  My god, I love you so much and I am so excited for the journey ahead of you.

Fashion trends:

• Fancy nails are EVERYWHERE right now.  I’m talking fancy like everyone is wearing fake nails with cute creative things.  You girls all have at home nail kits, you make them for yourselves and for friends…Erin is spending $100 a month on getting them professionally done…everyone, everywhere is living in nail mania!

• Wide leg pants and strangely Bermuda shorts are back.  I’m all in on the wide leg jeans…they are comfortable.  I’m not so sure about the Bermuda shorts though.  I’m not buying into that one just yet.

• Scarves are back - 90s/2000s baby!

What was on your birthday list this year?  

• More nail colors and nail items

• Birkinstocks

• New Mermaid tail

• Fancy Markers and coloring books

• Robucks

• Mini-brands

• A jewelry box

Summer Crafts

 

I'm kicking myself for the lighting in these photos but they are good enough to give you an idea of the quilts.  Earlier this year I shipped out eight, yep, you read that right, eight quilts to my long armer.  I got 4 back and quickly bound them all so they'd be done done done and ready for gifting.  All these need are labels and they are ready for wrapping.

Quilt 1: Lamb Jumping Over the Moon fabric - likely for a future baby girl.  Quilted in these adorable stars that felt fitting!

Quilt 2: A sea life quilt in neutral colors that could be for a boy or girl (or most importantly a "we're waiting to find out" baby.  Those ones are hard to plan for!).  Its quilted in these geometric bubbles and waves of sort which felt fitting for a sea life quilt.

Quilt 3: My favorite of this batch which probably doesn't surprise you.  I love these scrappy traditional patterns with modern looking color blocking and fabrics.  They are fun to make and fun to display.  I'm not sure who this one will go to yet, either a future wedding/birthday present or potentially a Christmas present.

We quilted this in a butterfly pattern which felt like it matched the little star points on some of the blocks.

(May 21)

I've been on the search for a great hat pattern that is universal for men and women.  It's easy to do a fun pattern and colors for women, but men's hats need to be more plain and Ryan has been asking me for a hat for a few years and I haven't landed the right pattern, until I found this one!  It is a super fast knit (I finished this in less than a week I think) and it uses one skein of bulky weight yarn.  I think it's just what I've been looking for. Because I know someday I'll be looking at this post for reference, this hat is the Purl Soho pattern called Chalet Hat and Hand Warmers and it's made out of Pouf.  It whips up quick and this will be a fun easy gift.

(May 22)

My project for the summer (and maybe the fall at the rate I'm knitting right now) is this Fringe As You Go scarf.  Its made out of this mohair-ish yarn and while I love the look of it, it's not my favorite thing to work with.  Its easy to split the yarn the "hair" gets tangled on the needles pretty easily.  That being said, the pattern is fun in that, as the name suggests, you knit the fringe right as you go instead of adding it as an afterthought.  Not sure where this one is headed yet, probably a Christmas present.

(June 14)

(July 19)

(July 26)

Just 2 months from start to finish on this scarf and it's packed away and ready for Christmas gifting.  Not too bad!  If I'm honest, this wasn't my favorite project to knit and I'm pretty glad it's finished and I can move onto something new.  The yarn was fiddly to work with, splitting often and not easy to slip between needles.  It's pretty now that it's finished, but I probably wont be ordering more of this yarn.

I'm not sure who'll be the recipient of this, potentially it'll go into one of our homemade/handmade gift exchanges, or maybe for my friend Jennifer.  We'll see!

(July 26)

And, as soon as one comes off the needles, another goes on!  I picked up three more balls of yarn to knit the grey hat pattern I posted earlier in this post.  These will come together quickly and will also go into my pile for gifting.  I'll have a nice little stash which always feels good!

(July 29)

I've also got 4 quilts back from the long armer so I'll be sewing on bindings and stocking these away as well.  I'll have lots of finishes in the next month here but it's only because most of these have been in the works for a year + and I'm finally getting to the last step on them.  I've got two of these headed out for gifting in the next month though!  One wedding quilt for Jess and Nick and one baby quilt for my co-worker Kaitlin who is having a baby in early October.

(Aug 3)

(Aug 3)

(Aug 3)

This stack is growing but it's just in time for the holidays to arrive!  Believe it or not, after all these years of quilting and knitting there are still core family members who haven't got a blanket yet.  This stack will put a dent in that list...and the holidays will put a dent in this pile.

(Aug 5)

(Aug 8)

I am really really happy with this hat pattern.  It's be a long process to get to a pattern and yarn that I like, but I think I've finally found it.  I've got two more of these to whip up in time for winter but they are fast knits and the perfect project for traveling.

(Aug 13)

And that's a wrap on the big quilt push of 2026.  I shipped out 8 quilts to Kristy (the long arm quilter I use) earlier this year and I told myself I'd bind them all before I started anything new.  This is the last one and it's done and dusted.  Fear not!  I've got three more quilt kits laid out on the pool table.  I can't wait to start cutting and quilting.  The summer and fall are WILD months for us.  We plan too much, and are never home...we make the most of every moment...but that means quilting waits until the cold dark winter months.  They are closer than anyone wants to think about!

And, with that, I'm going to call the Summer Crafts post complete and start loading them into my Fall post.  Mid August doesn't quite feel like Fall, but it's closer to Fall than Summer, and school starts next week...so onto Fall we go!

Hazel gets braces!!

It's been no more than 6 months since Abby got her braces off and I celebrated that we no longer needed monthly trips to the orthodontist, but I really should know better!  Hazel is getting braces slightly earlier than Abby did and will likely need them for slightly longer than she did, but we've officially started this process and I think she'll have them off before she starts 8th grade.

Dr. Darmon said that Hazel likely will need to get 4 teeth extracted (she's not pleased) because the adult teeth aren't correctly aligned to the baby teeth to push them out.  And, she'll need braces for longer than Abby did but we managed to avoid the expander which Hazel was most worried about.  Hazel's mouth is a little too tiny for her big giant adult teeth...so we've got some work to do, but the process is moving along and like most things, this will go by in the blink of an eye.

Haze choose pink and purple for her first rubber bands.  It took about 3 days before she was eating normally and had gotten use to the whole thing.  I'd told her that there was an Orthodontist Rule that said "by day 3 it's back to normal life".  LOLOL!  We'll see if that comes back to haunt me, or if it becomes family lore that gets repeated for generations.  One can really never be sure!

And, just like that, Hazel is becoming less and less a little kid and more and more like a teenager.  We aren't there yet, but...before I know it....

Summer with the Arts - Theater Program

 

I've had my eye on the summer theater program through our park district for the past few summers but we've never been able to participate because it seemed like we were always going to miss some important part of it - like be on vacation during the final show weekend or during the few tech weeks leading up to the performance.  But, this summer our vacation schedules aligned well enough and I signed the girls up.  I was motivated by the program being a k-12 age range meaning the girls would meet some local kids outside of Riley, specifically for Abby as she's entering into highschool.

The show was called Dare the Dream and it was essentially a Disney music review of sorts.  The kids had their first ever audition back at the end of May and while they were both very nervous they practiced before we went and I have to say they did a really good job auditioning considering they'd never done it before.  They both had to prepare a 30 second solo and a short monologue.  Hazel, who never seems nervous about anything and is the most go with the flow was so nervous she almost froze but with a little coaxing she turned on the charm and was able to land her audition.  Abby, also nervous, really stepped up and just whipped it out!

In the end both girls spent the majority of the time in the ensemble but both had solos!  Abby's was early on in the show, she sang a song from Moana and man...I gotta say, she had me in tears!!  She was SO GOOD!  So many people commented on her solo, it was a real boost of confidence for her.  Hazel had a short, few lines solo and she also nailed it!  

The kids all got to pick the characters they wanted to dress up as - well, they had to rank their top 3, but both girls got their top picks.  Abby was dressed as Princess Jasmine and Hazel was...can you guess it?  Thumper (a bunny, of course!).  The director had the kids do something called Disney Bounding (which is something Disney people know about, but it was new for us).  Essentially it means that they dress in the likeness of the characters, but not as the exact characters.  Each kid was tasked with finding their own outfit and they were told they shouldn't spend a ton of money on it.  No ordering things on Amazon or going to the Halloween stores....they needed to source their costumes from their closets or from their friends or from Goodwill etc.  What do you think?  Didn't they do a great job?

The practices ran three nights a week for 2 hours each night through all of June and most of July and it all ended with three shows at the high school theater.  We sent out the details to the family and SO MANY people showed up!  They came form far and wide to support the girls and to see their first ever musical.  We had about 8-10 people over each of the three nights.  It made for a busy week of hosting but also for a great chance for us to host smaller groups here in Marengo.  

I really wasn't prepared for how proud I felt of these two amazing girls.  For how much I wanted to brag on them and show them off and pump them up.  It has been such a good summer of realizing we're raising really great, cool, fun children and being able to stand beside them as they grow up and try new things and excel at them.  As we watch them find the things they love to do and the talents they have hidden inside of them.  I will never forget these moments.  The moments my heart swells with pride and love for these sweet girls.

We're so lucky to have so many family and friends to show up to cheer the girls on.  It makes them feel special and loved, and me too, honestly!

We had such a good experience with this theater program...I'll be angling for them to try out again next year.  Hopefully the schedules align and we can pull it off again - it sounds like the winter show is going to be Mary Poppins and the next summer show is Madagascar.