I love your brain

I may have shared that Cole has a g-tube. He’s been fed through it since he was five weeks old…so going on thirteen years! He gets all of his nutrition and hydration from his tube feedings but keeps his taste buds active and keen with regular bites and tastes of fruit, fro yo (chocolate is his favorite), miso soup, sushi, birthday cake, and french fries with lots of ketchup! He drinks sips of water, juice and iced tea (he loves earl grey with a touch of honey and green tea). For much of his life he’s been a self-proclaimed vegetarian, a claim influenced by my husband’s goddaughter who has been a vegetarian since birth, despite having two carnivorous parents. Cole has tried sushi and has recently tried a little speck of hot dog and of a turkey burger but by and large he has little interest in anything meat. Which is fine…

The funny thing is that he’s been an avid viewer of cooking shows since he was a little tiny boy. He watches with intent and interest and loves to help me cook as well. We’ll chop together and mix and stir. He’s sous chef. He’s gone to weeks of summer cooking camp, bringing home the days recipes and leftovers for us to taste. He really loves cooking and watching cooking shows.

So when it came time to plan his 13^th birthday party, we thought of several ideas. I suggested the backyard movie party that we’ve done the past couple of years (Princess Bride for 11^th and Star Wars for 12^th), but he nixed it. Somehow we came up with a cooking party and then after watching some you-tube videos for some recipe ideas, we decided to make confetti cupcakes, and to film he and his friends in action to create a cooking video.

Now the prep begins. Finding the right cupcake liners, choosing favors and planning a snack menu for the kids to nibble on whilst the cupcakes cool so they can be frosted. Here’s where I kick into gear. I’m great at the nuts and bolts of things while Cole’s a great idea man. I’m figuring this is probably the last year of traditional birthday parties. Teens don’t much do the party thing…The fun thing is that we’ll have a tangible memory of this one! Our first you-tube post…

(I’ll share the highlights of the party – it’s not until the 21^st and maybe a link to the video if we succeed in creating the video)…