Author Archives: Jenn Rian
Jenn’s 13th Birthday 1992
(a.k.a. Happy Birthday to me!)
For my 13th Birthday Party I had a sleepover. No photos again, but I did have some video tape that I swiped some images from. I counted there being 8 other girls plus my sister and I.
There was no theme or anything like that. I had a chocolate cake with chocolate icing.
During sleepovers we were all supposed to stay downstairs. I don’t remember how or why but at some point all of the girls ended up in my room. One by one they all sat on my bed. My sister (who was the tiniest of all of us) was the last one to sit on the bed. Once she did…CRASH! The bed frame broke. We all screamed and ran outside of the house (I have no idea why) and then once we had all stopped laughing we began singing and dancing in the street. I’m pretty sure that I slept on just a mattress and box spring until 1998.
That’s me and my best friend, Kelly.
On a movie or tv show or something I had seen a birthday cake with sparklers instead of candles.
I thought it was cool. So I saved some sparklers from July to use on my birthday cake.
Well, the sparklers took forever to light.
By the time one was lit the one before it had fizzed out.
I don’t know how they did it in the movie, but it did not work in reality 😦
All of my guests were quite tired of standing around watching my mom light sparklers.
There I am stressing out about my sparklers not working 😦
This was while everyone was singing Happy Birthday to me.
I’m pretty sure that Kelly is trying to keep me from singing to myself…
which I’ve been known to do on occasion.
Oh, and another thing about sparklers…you can’t blow them out!
We played a game of Twister. I was one of the last two, but didn’t win.
The video camera we were using was one that my parents got when I was about 5 years old.
To use it you had to connect the camera to the VCR and carry the VCR around with you. In this picture my friend was filming and walking and I had to walk in front of her carrying the VCR until we reached our destination. Now you can record video from a cell phone that you can fit in your pocket.
I am an old, old lady!
I was into Treasure Trolls for some reason.
I just really thought that they were cute and I started a collection.
This little fella was one of my gifts.
Behind him was a totally awesome 90s-style shirt that I also received as a gift.
I think that shirt is pretty sweet but I don’t have any memory of ever actually wearing it anywhere.
Another gift…cute puppy dog! I also received the book Dawn Saves the Planet from the Babysitter’s Club series but I wasn’t able to get a good screen shot of it. I was really into the Babysitter’s Club.
I still have all of my books packed away. I would bust them out right now and read them again if I wasn’t so busy being a mom and all. Oh well, maybe in 20 years or so.
And here’s Buffalo Bill the Pink-Footed Cowboy.
He wasn’t a Treasure Troll but that didn’t stop him from being cool.
I mean…he has a pink foot!
Now for a more clear picture of me at 13, that is if the polka dots don’t cross your eyes!
You will be happy to know that this top had matching navy blue coolots.
You might be interested in checking out my daughter, Adaline’s, first birthday party
You can take a look at my 1st-12th Birthdays by following the links on this page.
You can take a look at my 1st-12th Birthdays by following the links on this page.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for my 14th Birthday!
Jenn’s 12th Birthday 1991
(a.k.a. Happy Birthday to me!)
1991 was another year that I didn’t have a party (and if I did I don’t have any photos of it).
So today I present to you my sister’s 4th birthday.
It was all about The Mouse for my sister’s 4th Birthday,
complete with a Mickey Mouse cake and paper products.
And just in case you were having any doubts about what year it was the Cabbage Patch Kids book and My Little Pony should tip it off. (Pssst…It’s 1984!)
A Cabbage Patch Kids purse? Yes, please!
My sister was quite the little tomboy at this age, but she loved purses. One time we were on a hike she was lagging behind as usual. We were in the back seat on the way home and she opened up this very purse and dumped onto the back seat about 10 caterpillars. She had been collecting them as we were walking and putting them in her purse. They were all pretty much dead and the smell that was coming from her purse was indescribable. I was really grossed out at the time, but now I giggle every time I think of it.
My sister was quite the little tomboy at this age, but she loved purses. One time we were on a hike she was lagging behind as usual. We were in the back seat on the way home and she opened up this very purse and dumped onto the back seat about 10 caterpillars. She had been collecting them as we were walking and putting them in her purse. They were all pretty much dead and the smell that was coming from her purse was indescribable. I was really grossed out at the time, but now I giggle every time I think of it.
I know who everyone in this picture is except for the girl next to me that looks like she’s 12 years old.
And once again to give you at least a glimpse of me at age 12, here are some photos from 1991.
- We’ll take the Physical Challenge!
Anybody have a guess as to what was going on in this photo?
You might be interested in checking out my daughter, Adaline’s, first birthday party
You can take a look at my 1st-11th Birthdays by following the links on this page.
Be sure to check back tomorrow
Jenn’s 11th Birthday 1990
(a.k.a. Happy Birthday to me!)
I don’t have any photos of my 11th Birthday.
I’m not even sure I had a party that year. I might’ve had another sleepover.
I’m not even sure I had a party that year. I might’ve had another sleepover.
Today I’m going to break the rules because…
1. I don’t recall actually making any rules
2. They would be my rules anyway and I
reserve the right to change them whenever I please.
1. I don’t recall actually making any rules
2. They would be my rules anyway and I
reserve the right to change them whenever I please.
You shall not see 11th Birthday photos today.
Instead, you shall see 2nd Birthday photos.
And they won’t even be of my birthday…they will be my sister’s!
The fact that I still titled this as “Jenn’s 11th Birthday Party” is now a complete and total lie. Bad, bad Jenn.
Instead, you shall see 2nd Birthday photos.
And they won’t even be of my birthday…they will be my sister’s!
The fact that I still titled this as “Jenn’s 11th Birthday Party” is now a complete and total lie. Bad, bad Jenn.
For my sister’s 2nd Birthday she had a Sugar and Spice theme. She had a Carousel Cake and sugar and spice paper products. Enjoy the photos.
Not to leave you completely in the dark about my 11th year of life, here some photos from 1990.
You are welcome.
You might be interested in checking out my daughter, Adaline’s, first birthday party
You can take a look at my 1st-10th Birthdays by following the links on this page.
You can take a look at my 1st-10th Birthdays by following the links on this page.
Be sure to check back tomorrow
Jenn’s 10th Birthday Party 1989
(a.k.a. Happy Birthday to me!)
10 years old! Double digits are a big deal, right? So the birthday party returned. I didn’t have any photos from the party, but I had some video so all of the pictures that you’ll see are screenshots of the video. There was no theme for this party (except an accidental one that I’ll mention later). I don’t have any photos/videos of the cake, but guests eating cake in the background reveal that it was a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I love chocolate. There were pink, white, and purple balloons with pink paper products. There were noise blowers which we used a lot.
The accidental theme of the party was “J”. The table is set for 10, but there were only 6 of us in the video. It’s possible that more guests came later when we weren’t videotaping, but considering that we were eating cake without those guests…they must’ve been terribly late. Out of the 6 girls that were in the video their names were Jenny (me), Jessie (my sister), Jayna, Julie, Jamie, and Jonalyn. We all had “J” names! I don’t know who the other 4 guests should’ve been, but I’m guessing their names didn’t start with “J” as well. My mom had everyone’s names written on their paper cups and I could almost read one name that said Cara or Cate. Um, I don’t know anyone by those names. While I don’t have a vivid memory of my 10th birthday party, I do have a pretty good grasp on the year as a whole. I didn’t have any friends by those names and I don’t recall having anyone by those names in my class either. Oh well. Whoever you are Cara/Cate, boo on you for saying that you would come to my 10th birthday party and then not showing up. I have obviously blocked you out on purpose because you hurt me so.
You might be interested in checking out my daughter, Adaline’s, first birthday party
You can take a look at my 1st-9th Birthdays by following the links on this page.
You can take a look at my 1st-9th Birthdays by following the links on this page.
Be sure to check back tomorrow!
Jenn’s 9th Birthday Party 1988
(a.k.a. Happy Birthday to me!)
Today is yet another day that I don’t have any birthday photos to share with you. I know, I know it’s sad. I’ll wait while you go to get a tissue.
I also don’t have any riveting sleepover details to share with you either. However, I do have an awesomely bad photo from 1988 to share with you. Hopefully it will make up for everything!
I also don’t have any riveting sleepover details to share with you either. However, I do have an awesomely bad photo from 1988 to share with you. Hopefully it will make up for everything!
Just in case you can’t see it…here’s a closer look!
While my sister and I were away on vacation in FL with my grandparents, my mom redecorated our bedroom. Just in case you can’t tell, those walls are Pepto Bismol pink. My favorite color is blue. The walls were blue before they were painted pink. Needless to say I was unhappy about the change. In particular I was sad that our snuggly well-loved comforter had been replaced. I’m certain, though, that I was the most unhappy about my unfortunate hairdo. I don’t how my sister managed to slide by with a cute side ponytail while I got the “night at the Grand Ole Opry” special. My word, that is some poufy hair!
Now I will tell you a semi-related story that has nothing to do with birthdays but everything to do with the doll that I’m holding. When I was four years old I still had a bad thumb sucking habit. My aunt told me that if I stopped sucking my thumb she would buy me this porcelain bride doll. I think that it was on display in a Hallmark store and little 4 year old me thought it was so pretty. I successfully quit sucking my thumb and Betty the Bride (I know, I’m so creative, right?!) became mine. I still have her, but now I think she’s pretty scary. I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of her, though, 4 year old me would be so sad.
You might be interested in checking out my daughter, Adaline’s, first birthday party
You can take a look at my 1st-7th Birthdays by following the links on this page.
Be sure to check back tomorrow
Jenn’s 8th Birthday Party 1987
(a.k.a. Happy Birthday to me!)
There aren’t any photos from my 8th birthday. After giving it some thought I figured out that this was around the age that my sister and I started having sleepovers for our birthdays. No party, no photos. We usually had the same two friends over and watched videos and slept on the sofa bed.
For our birthdays we got to choose what we wanted to eat. I can’t think of a time when we didn’t pick my mom’s homemade chicken fingers.
This was a favorite of ours and all of our friends as well. It was something easy to have at a sleepover (or any party) because it didn’t require any silverware. It didn’t even require a plate if you weren’t using dips and the kids were old enough not to make a mess. Speaking of dips, my mom makes an awesome honey-mustard dip…but often times we ate these au naturale. We would also have chips, pretzels, and other snacky things. Salt and Vinegar is my favorite chip flavor but at some point Tato Skins became a favorite birthday chip over all others. If we had pop (that’s what we call soda here in Western PA, people) I think we always chose Dr. Pepper. We would usually get some candy too (3 Musketeers was a favorite of mine).
We also got to choose our dessert. Since we weren’t having parties we stopped asking for fancy cakes. I would usually have cheesecake or some other dessert like Cherry Delight or Oreo Cookie Pie.
Here’s a list of some of our favorite movies that we watched at sleepovers:
The Last Unicorn
The Neverending Story
The Goonies
The Last Unicorn
The Neverending Story
The Goonies
Below are photos from 1987, the year that I turned 8.
If you think that my sister’s hair bow is cruel and unusual punishment, wait until tomorrow when you see my hairdo! Clearly our mother wished to expose us both to bad 80s fashion equally.
I’m sure that you are very disappointed at the lack of birthday photos on this page. To cheer up, check out this little gem right here. You are welcome.
You might be interested in checking out my daughter, Adaline’s, first birthday party
You can take a look at my 1st-7th Birthdays by following the links on this page.
Be sure to check back tomorrow.
You can take a look at my 1st-7th Birthdays by following the links on this page.
Be sure to check back tomorrow.
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Fun and Dysfunction 