it's the big 8 for my oldest today. wasn't it just yesterday that she was refusing anything but my b**b? screaming when anyone, and i mean ANYONE, but mommy or daddy picked her up or held her? sigh, i can not believe how fast it's going.

on a different note, i am going to complain about birthday gifts for kids. let me say first that i am not materialistic. i do not expect anyone to spend a bunch of cash on my little ankle biters; i, in fact, rarely spend more than $10 on a gift for birthday parties - always books and/or art stuff.

what i do not understand is when 2 children from the same family are invited to a birthday party and they come bearing a singular gift (worth $10 - i'm telling you the cost for comparison only). yes, i realize times are tough (although this family is truly not hurting) but really, you can't go to half price books and get 2 books for less than $10? or joann's and get a crafty item for 3.99 each (without a coupon)? the capper is when one of those same children sees a ($15) gift from some one else and says 'oh yeah, i got that for my friend's birthday tomorrow'.

and while i'm ranting about birthday gifts, if you are invited to a birthday party of twins, please, please, please bring EACH child a gift. again, it doesn't have to be something expensive and frankly i'd rather it not be. we all know that these things are for the most part played with for a week or so and then broken, lost, or interest simply wanes.

there is always someone who brings ONE gift to be shared between my twins; and no, it's not a game or something they can play with together. hello. they may have come from 1 egg but they are individuals with 2 minds, 2 likes, 2 dislikes. please acknowledge each child.

yes, even if all 3 of mine are invited to the same party, they each take a gift that they picked from the 'closet' (yes, i'm one of those; i buy a variety of things all year and store them in one place so the kids can 'shop' as needed - you know you get those last minute invitations too; but that's another rant. in fact, one year, i had such a good find that i bought like 10 of the same thing, and every girl). if we, the parents, are invited also, we take something too. i learned, as have my children, that it's good manners for each guest to come bearing gifts.

is it just me? discuss.