“When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone is the house is happy to see you” – Nora Ephron from I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman. The first time I read this, I know I thought it was funny. While I used to joke about doing just this and then went on to do just this  — we now have two dogs — I don’t think I even fully believed I’d be in her shoes. It seems as if one prevalent form of self-preservation in parenting is denial — like when my oldest counts one hand’s worth of years left before he goes to college and I, knowing full well it’s gonna fly by, think to myself “that is a ton of time.”

I am not even a parent who pines for the toddler years. While those years had a lot of fun in them — with the kids and their little curly hairdos and adorable use of mispronounced words like “Fanks” instead of “Thanks” — they were also pretty hard. Having said all that, last week’s episode of “This is Us” — no spoilers, I swear — used haircuts and beach chair metaphors to highlight the push/pull of the ride into adolescence. Between that and being firmly entrenched in whatever happens to a person in “midlife,” I sought out some simpler things to do with the kids that I could share with you.

First, I have some options at Glazed and Amazed. At our house we have two different items from Glazed and Amazed that our oldest painted — a Father’s Day mug and a Christmas ornament. There are two ages 3 and up Storytimes offered at the store Oct. 21 — one at 10:30 a.m and one at 1 p.m. The host will read “The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin” to children and their caregivers, then, you’ll make a project based on the story. On Oct. 25 from 6 to 9 p.m., Glazed and Amazed is holding a The Nightmare Before Christmas-themed Kid’s Night Out for ages 6 and up. Kids can enjoy a pizza dinner, and make two fun art projects, all while watching a movie. The cost for the night — a drop-off event — is $37 before tax, and includes dinner and the project. You can find more information about these and other events on the calendar at GlazedandAmazed.com.

I think that I keep bringing up the cake decorating classes at the Frances Anderson Center, not only because I have been wanting to take my youngest, but because they really crank up the holiday-themed competition shows on the Food Network this time of year. Edmonds Parks and Recreation is offering Cake Decorating: Dia de los Muertos Cake. Students 10 and up will use buttercream, piping tips and edible markers to create these beautiful and colorful desserts. This class is also offered in November for Thanksgiving Cupcakes and in December for Ugly Holiday Sweater Cookies, and each class has still has spots available. For more information, you can contact Edmonds Parks and Recreation at 425-771-0230 or by visiting RecZone.org.

An event I enjoyed when they kids were younger was Reading with Rover at the Edmonds Library. You can participate this Saturday, Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to noon. ReadingwithRover.org says some of the benefits of reading to a dog are “an increased comfort in reading aloud, more empathy and enhanced social skills, and improved confidence.”  I know my youngest, who was reluctant to read due to then-undiagnosed dyslexia, was willing to read at the level he was at to the dogs and looked forward to getting his card stamped when we arrived. It was also a nice option for animal interaction in the years after our dog passed and we weren’t ready for the two dogs mentioned above. For more information you can visit the Edmonds Calendar on Sno-Isle.org

— By Jennifer Marx