Seasons Change

Written in September of 2014, I'm going to post this one too.  I actually had the pictures placed and everything....I'm not sure why I never actually hit the "Publish" button!  

It's been months since I've posted, and let me tell you, that break did me good!  I had a restful summer and really tried to enjoy each and every moment.  My urgent demands took a hiatus and I was a little bit lazy.  I really feel like my stress level declined and I think I've made a new vow.  I'm not going to allow myself to take on that much again.  I have always been a people-pleaser and I have a hard time telling someone no.  But at the rate I was going, I was going to eventually explode.  That's not good.  So I'm gonna chill a little and try to enjoy this thing called life.

Things that have changed since my last post:

~ I have thrown a couple great birthday parties.  Big Sis turned 10, a noteworthy milestone.  She had over a group of friends and I hosted her Mustache Bash!  I set up my photo booth, made some awesome decorations, and planned a scavenger hunt.  The worst part was that I got quite sick that morning and had a hard time pulling it all off.  She had a blast though!

~ Baby Girl turned 6 and had a Minecraft Birthday.  If you've never seen it, you won't appreciate it.  It's horribly ugly.  But she loved every pixelated image and enjoyed eating the grass, sand, and mushrooms.  She also broke her arm in late June and learned how to ride her bike just days after getting her cast off.  She is one neat chick!

~ Son #2's Destination Imagination team made it to Globals in Knoxville, TN.  It was an amazing trip and we has some awesome experiences!  The Chinese kicked our tails and we scored pretty low, but the kids had a blast!  If we ever make Globals again, I will make Hubby go with me.  Traveling and rooming with other DI moms was kind of difficult for me.  I was at the mercy of what everyone else wanted to do for a full week.  I missed my family!

~ I did get to travel with my family as we drove the SUV through 6 US States! My cousin got married in June.  I got to cross 3 new states off my bucket list!  We visited New Orleans while down in the deep south and saw all the Duck Dynasty stuff.  The weather was surprisingly chilly but the wedding was beautiful!

~ Two great friends had babies and I had a large part in those baby showers.  One of the showers was done in a moose theme and I slaved away decorating moose sugar cookies.  We ate chocolate "moose" and some of the best shower food I think I've ever had!

~ I bought a Silhouette Cameo.  Yeah, I'm trying to get crafty.  The funny part is, I have found the one crafty bone that is deep within my body.  Honestly, I actually bought it for the above mentioned shower.  We needed a moose cutout for the centerpieces and I had been wanting one anyhow.  (Boy, it sure would have made the mustache party easier....I cut out dozens of mustaches by hand!)  I had the photo booth buy it because I'm going to use it to make stick props (I paid $35 for the last set I bought!)  A friend of a friend was selling hers at a reduced rate because it was overwhelming for her.  Since then, I've been making some cards and I'm really enjoying it!

~ I now have 4 kids in school!  Baby Girl started Kindergarten a few weeks ago and all my kids are grown up.  If you must know, I did cry.  She did great though and hasn't given one objection!  All my other kids were very young (and small) in their classes.  It's kind of nice having a kid who is the oldest.  I'm thrilled that it's going so well!  I started a new tradition of taking her picture every morning on the front porch and texting it to Daddy and Grammy.  I'm kind of loving that.  Big Sis was accepted into the accelerated program in middle school!  She was right on the borderline, which means she's going to have to work very hard.  Because of that, we've decided to take a year off Bible Quizzing to focus on her studies.  Although both things are extremely important to me, I realize that getting her started on the right track in education will help her in the long run.  Plus, she's rubbing shoulders with the cream of the crop rather than the kids who only go to school because they have to.  I hope she can keep up!

~ 5 lbs. (well, maybe a little more).  That's about how much I've gained.  My skirts are getting a little tighter and I've got to nip this in the bud before it gets out of hand.  I worked way too hard to lose this weight and I'm not going to get fat again.  My 20 year class reunion (wowzers!) is this weekend, and I still look good enough.

~ I sort of got a new job!  Yes, I'm still running the photo booth.  I haven't had very many jobs lately, but I  haven't really been working it.  Hubby owns 6 rental units and, up to this point, has had them managed by an outside company.  The company was doing a horrible job and was quite dishonest at times.  We couldn't take it any more so we fired them.  I took over the management of the properties.  It was totally overwhelming at first because I didn't know what I was doing.  But I'm getting the hang of it now.  I just wish I could make these lousy tenants pay!  We've already had one eviction and had to clean horribly disgusting stuff out of someone's apartment.  I don't know how a person could move out and leave all their crap behind!  The last few tenants that the management company put it were hoodlums.  They weren't doing background checks.  We have two great new tenants and two bad ones that will probably be skipping town soon anyway.  People amaze me.

Things that have NOT changed since my last post:

~ People are still self-centered jerks.  I got confronted by someone who asked me why I stopped following them on Instagram.  Seriously.  Then this person proceeded to make snarky, vague comments about me on my friends' pictures.  Silly me, I thought MY Instagram was for MY enjoyment and pleasure.  I thought I had the right to stop following someone who posted 22 photos (the majority being selfies) in one day.  Next time I'll be sure and ask permission before managing my own social media.

~ Couponing and saving money.  My kids have even given me a new nickname, which is a combination of my actual name and the word "cheap."  I adore it!  My grocery stockpile is bigger than ever and my grocery receipts say I've saved over $2,800 in the past twelve months!  We got rid of our satellite provider and are really enjoying the $100 we save every month!  I've missed television very little.  We eat at home more often and have found little ways to cut costs.  It sure adds up when we start listing the ways we're saving!

~ Son #1's attitude.  He's still a bit of a punk.  I'm ready for this stage to pass, and I'm being as tough as ever to keep him on the right track.  Tell me my efforts will eventually pay off!  He's officially taller than his mom and he'll be able to get his temps next month!  Eek!  He's in such a hurry to grow up.  I wish he would just slow down.

~ I'm still trying to be Super Mom.  But my definition of Super Mom has altered slightly.  Super Mom is someone who is NOT always stressed.  Super Mom doesn't yell at her kids all the time (I'm really working hard on that one).  Super Mom doesn't have to impress all the other moms with her actions.  She simply has to do what is best for her family and herself.

I wish you all a Super Mom kind of day and urge you to regularly examine your priorities.  Too many people in this world have their priorities mixed up and they're living for the unimportant.  I'm trying really hard to make sure I'm living for what's important.  Keeping it real...

Updates

Oh dear, I know it's been a while!  I'm worried that life won't slow down til I die.  Hmmmm....

Many updates to fill you in on.  First and foremost- I ran my half marathon!!!  Well, to say I ran might be an overstatement.  I finished it.  My final time was 2:38.  Yes, that's hours!  I'm not at all ashamed of that time.  I was just striving for completion.  To be honest, my actual goal was to do it in under three hours.

The best part of the whole thing is that Hubby stayed with me throughout the marathon!  Well, at mile 10, he couldn't take my slow pace any longer.  He ran ahead and I lost sight of him for a while.  When I rounded the corner onto the final street, I saw him up ahead on the side of the road, jumping in place and waiting for me.  What a prince!  With his long legs and athletic form, he could have easily finished in under two hours.  But it was more important for him to cross the finish line with me!  The emotion of it actually overcame me and I began sobbing for the last block.  I could see the end in sight and we were about to enter a stadium full of cheering people.  Have you ever tried to cry while totally exhausted?  It's not easy.  It comes out as more of a gasp, like a dying patient taking their last breath.  I got myself under control and was smiling in my final photos (which they watermark with a moving logo so you can't share it at all).  My legs were complete and total jelly when I finished and it was very difficult to stand still.  (You should have seen me trying to use the porta potty...I kept crashing into the disgusting side walls like an intoxicated person!)

The worst part of the story is that I got sick almost immediately after.  I had a sore throat the entire day before.  Then I guess because I wore myself down, I became victim to the attack of all sickie bugs.  I got a horrible cold and a UTI.  I'm just now starting to get some relief from that.

BUT- I have my silver medal and my 13.1 shirt.  I'm one very proud mama.  And if you're wondering....no, I'll never do it again.  It's a bucket list thing and I'm very proud to cross it off.

My second greatest accomplishment since you've last heard from me is that I lost 15 lbs!  I'm so much happier with my current state and feel like I look pretty darn good.  No, I'm nowhere close to looking like those models in the magazines, but for a 37-year old mama of 4....I think I look quite good (not in a haughty, bragging way, of course).  I'll share more later about how I did that.

Baby Girl celebrated her 5th birthday, which blows my mind.  She's not a baby any more and I'm going to have to stop referring to her as one.  We celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese at a joint party with her twin cousin.  They had a great time and I've yet to send out thank you notes.  Ugh!  She always says she's a monkey and requested a monkey cake.  I was relived because it was much easier to design than other things she's asked for in the past!

The kids are back in school and are doing great.  Our district has a new online progress system that is extremely easy to use.  Son #2, who is so very smart with no self-motivation, is doing better than ever.  We check his grades and assignments every day and then Hubby or myself helps him study for any tests.  He currently has one B and the rest are all As and A minuses.  When I know what my kids are capable of, I can't help but demand it.

Hubby has made a big change at work.  Instead of working the inhumane hours he's been accustomed to (leaving before 5 AM and getting home between 6 & 7, or even later during peak season), he's sold his route and truck to the guy who helped him get hired almost 20 years ago.  This guy has been almost like a father to him.  Hubby works directly for him now and does half the work he did before.  He is still leaving early, but after 5 AM.  He gets home most days around 1 PM.  You guys don't understand the difference in his life.  He now has time to do small projects around the house and to be a father and husband to the kids and me.  Yes, his pay went down, but the quality of life he now has is beyond explanation.  He is trying to supplement his lost income by mowing apartment buildings (which he was doing anyhow in his "spare" time).  Come winter time, he might try to get into plowing.  He is also getting a lot more tile cleaning jobs (his other side business) and my photo booth is taking off.  We're going to be OK.  We won't be moving into a mansion anytime soon, but we're OK with that.

Other than those major things, it's just the same old, same old, and some new.
- I'm still doing my teenage girls club at church.
- Son #1 auditioned for, and again was accepted into, the philharmonic orchestra in our area.
- My running buddy got engaged to my "fake" cousin and asked me to be a bridesmaid.  :)
- Some very, very close friends of ours separated due to infidelity and addiction.  It was heartbreaking.  :(
- I still have a messy house most of the time and I'm still saving money couponing.  (Last week, I got all these groceries for $35!  It was my best haul yet!!!)
- My cousin was ordained as pastor of our church over the weekend and my uncle is now the bishop.  It was an exciting weekend and I was able to see a lot of great friends from time past.
- I went to New York City, which was amazing!  (I'll save that for another post.)
- I finished the kids' rooms and realize I still haven't posted Before/After photos.
- I'm still struggling with a mouthy teenager and trying hard to be a firm, consistent mother.
- Son #2 entered the youth group at church, which means he's growing up too.  He seems a lot younger than his brother and I still struggle allowing him to go on outings without me.
- My friend, the designer, finally came over and spruced up my house a bit.  The changes she made make me so happy about how my house looks.  I need her to come over one more time and fancy up one more room.  It's amazing what she can do with very little!
- I'm still taking portraits and even had my first still life photo shoot.  I've never worked with non-humans before and I was out of my element.  My client was very happy with my work, which will be displayed on the website of her brand new business.
- I redid my photo booth website, which is amazing, I must say.  Exercising my design skills has made me improve so much.  I'm really digging graphic design now.

OK, there's lots more, but that's quite enough for now.  That's what happens when a blogger neglects her blog for so long.  I can't make promises that I'll do better.  It's just tough to find the time.  I know all you busy ladies know exactly what I mean.  If you've stuck around- thanks.  I still appreciate you and feel bad I've dropped the ball.  All I can say is I'll blog when I can!  Such is life!  Hope you're all having a very good one!

A Little Girl, All Grown Up

This little girl celebrated a birthday yesterday.

It's amazing to me how quickly the last nine years have gone.  I don't believe I've ever told the story of her birth on this blog.

I had two little guys at home when I was ready to have baby #3.  They were ages 3 and 5.  I love this picture I have of the boys standing next to me with their hands on my belly.  Their heads were at the perfect height to rest on their unborn sibling.

After I had Son #2, I never thought I'd have a girl.  I saw myself as a Boy Mom only.  We had a house full of matchbox cars and dump trucks.  I was OK with that.  We didn't find out what we were having during our pregnancies, but I was positive #3 was going to be a boy too.  I knew I'd be done having kids after that third boy.  His name was going to be Harrison with a middle name after my brother.

In my first pregnancy, I was nauseated but never threw up.  With son #2, I threw up once.  The third time, I threw up for 3 months solid.  That should have been my first clue what was coming.

We went in for our scheduled C-Section (the only one of my kids who came as scheduled) on May 16, bright and early.  When we arrived, no one could check us in.  They were having a code in the nursery and we were told to just hang tight.  We sat in a room for the longest time, thankful that it wasn't us who was experiencing a baby in trauma.  I calmly crocheted around a baby blanket while I waited.

Eventually, we were told that they had a second emergency and would have to rush another woman into OR ahead of me.  Again, I was just relieved it wasn't me.  My doctor had arrived by this time, so he, the anesthesiologist, Hubby, and I sat in a room and talked.  I got to know them quite well.  Finally, they decided the other woman could wait and they started moving very quickly to get me through my C-Section.  No one was available to start my IV, so the anesthesiologist did it.  She said she hadn't done one in a long time and asked me to be patient with her.  She had to run it wide open to get a bag of fluids in me before the surgery.  I remember sitting there freezing and shivering.  They had to bring me heated blankets.

The C-Section went very well.  I continued to chat with the anesthesiologist above my head while Hubby practically hung over the sheet, not wanting to miss a thing.  When I said I was nauseated, I was given something that made me instantly feel better.

Finally, the doctor announced he saw a head full of black hair.  They saw a face, which they exclaimed to be very beautiful.  Then she popped out.  Hubby announced, "It's a girl!!!"  Saying I was flabbergasted would be an understatement.  There were no words to describe what I was feeling.  "Don't do that to me...that's not funny!" I said.  "Is it really a girl?"  He laughed and confirmed that it was.  I thought he was joking with me.  I then asked the doctor if it was really a girl.  He teased me and confirmed her gender.  I still was not convinced.  I tilted my head up to my new buddy, the anesthesiologist, and asked her if it was really a girl.  She agreed with the others.  We were friends now, so I knew she would lie to me.  I was overwhelmed with emotion.

My brother filmed the moment Hubby told everyone we had a girl.  I still cry every time I see it.  I'm so glad I was able to find it for this post.  My favorite part is when my grandma (in light green), probably my favorite person ever in the world, started jumping up and down.  She wanted a girl so badly!  She passed away a year ago and I'm still so thankful I named this little girl after her.  I miss her.  Watch this video...you'll see how amazing my family is!

Happy Birthday, Big Sis!

The Baby's Birthday

I am really bad about starting a post, not finishing it, and letting it sit as a draft for ages.  I found this almost complete post about Baby Girl's birthday, which was Labor Day weekend.  What a shame.  I decided to finally finish and post it, even though it depicts a 90 degree plus day as I sit here shivering in my flannels.  Here we go...

A friend of mine asked when we're going to quit calling our youngest child "The Baby." I think she'll always be a baby in my eyes.

Well, she's 4 now and she decided she's all grown up. She asked for party themes ranging from princess castles to rainbows. Finally, she settled on Dumbo. I had no clue how I was going to pull that off. As always, I turned to google and started searching. Dumbo parties have been done, but mostly by professional cake bakers. I've done fondant before, but molding an elephant that actually resembles a famous cartoon elephant is far beyond my ability.

I finally decided to go with a circus theme, concentrating on Dumbo as much as possible.  I thought I could find some sort of toy to use as a cake top, but Dumbo is not popular enough right now to find toys in the store.  I'm sure I could have found something at Disney World, but I wasn't thinking about that right then.  Bummer.  I decided to just print out a picture of Dumbo, attach it to a dowel rod, and stick it in the cake.  With My Crazy Busy Life right now, that was all I could manage.  Here's the result:

 

 

I ended up writing her name on it too, in big blue letters.  For food, I decided that hot dogs, peanuts, and lemonade were the most related to the theme.  (Plus, it was simple and easy, another benefit!)  I paid $2 a box for animal crackers (which no one ate) and couldn't find Cracker Jacks or cotton candy locally.  I considered borrowing our church's huge popcorn machine, but quickly changed my mind when I realized how heavy it was.  I had just returned from vacation, the school year had just begun, and it was Labor Day.  The guest of honor was 4 and would never know the difference.  So we popped popcorn instead and skipped the cotton candy. 

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:

 

 

 

 



The Girl's Birthday

As hard as I try to stop them, my kids keep growing up.  The best part about them is that they get even prettier the older they get.  (Well, the girls at least.)

Big Sis turned 8 on Monday and we had a nice party for her on Saturday.  Since she was little, she's been obsessed with flamingos.  She used to call them BABINGOS.  How cute is that?  When Build-A-Bear came out with a flamingo, she just had to have it.  While browsing the Target dollar bins last week, I saw some flamingo stuff, which gave me the idea.  Big Sis has chosen many, many birthday themes over the past twelve months.  She's already started planning for next year.  But when I asked if she wanted a flamingo party, she exuberantly agreed.

Not many people have entire parties based on flamingos.  Believe me, I've searched.  I did find a couple good ideas online but most people have luaus that feature some flamingos.  So, I had to come up with most of the ideas on my own.  I tried to take a lot of pictures, something I typically fail to do at my own children's parties.  I wanted to show you guys all the cuteness I came up with.

First of all, the food:

I  really wanted to have an all pink menu, but that didn't quite work out.  Watermelon wasn't on sale and there really aren't many other pink foods we like.  I colored the fruit dip pink and chose pink-ish apples, so that works.  Big Sis also requested salami, so that fits into the pink category.  I don't think anyone picked up on my half hearted attempt at a pink theme.

If you can't tell, I have darling little flamingo picks in the food.  They cost a fortune to have shipped here, so please enjoy them fervently.

These pink marshmallows are one of the ideas I found online.  You dip a marshmallow in water, shake off the excess, and cover them with sprinkles.  I had that colored sugar already at home, so I used that.  The kids loved them and said they tasted like Peeps!

The Drink Station

It hadn't rained here in a month and a half.  But all week, there was a high chance of rain all day on Saturday.  I was bummed all week.  The day of the party, I kept checking the radar and looking outside.  It was overcast, but just didn't want to rain.  Finally, I took a chance and started setting up things outside.  Moments later, it began sprinkling.  I grabbed everything perishable and hurried inside.  Fortunately, the raindrops only lasted a couple minutes and we didn't get rained on.  Right now, we're pretty anxious for that rain!!!

The punch in the photo above is raspberry sherbet and cherry 7-UP.  It was amazingly delicious!  I meant to float raspberries in the ice water, but forgot.  Look how horrid my grass looks!  Wowzers!  You'd think I live in the desert!

The Kids' Table

The flamingo boxes were from Target.  I filled them with junk toys like bouncy balls, little rings, and glow in the dark bracelets.  Each cup had a bendy flamingo straw, which also cost a fortune to ship.

The gift of the day was a pink iPod from my parents.  She's been anxiously awaiting her own iPod for the longest time.  I guess the next thing she'll ask for is a cell phone.  Hmmm....

We had a pink water balloon toss and a pink scavenger hunt.  The winners received a dandy little flamingo pen with feathers all over it and a little notepad.  I took a photo of each guest with the birthday girl, which I will use for thank-you notes. 

Finally, we moved on to cake.  I made a 3-tier chocolate and pink cake that was decorated with clearance flamingo lawn ornaments from JoAnn's.  The bottom tier was pink, the middle tier was grass, and the top tier was a pool of water.  Big Sis helped me design it.  My mother purchased the huge flamingo balloon and Big Sis wore an adorable flamingo shirt with sequins and a pink tutu.  I had to spoil her with a pink feather boa and pink feathers for her hair.

Sisters

It turned out to be a lovely and special day!

Baby Girl's Birthday

At least she's only 3 so she won't realize how rushed and unplanned her birthday was.  We were on the train for her actual birthday.  We told her it was her birthday, taught her how to make "3" with her fingers, and sang the song.  She was content with that and didn't seem to require any more. 

But I felt guilty.  I hadn't purchased any birthday gifts, did not have a theme in mind, didn't create precious invitations with her picture on them, and didn't have a menu planned.  When Hubby suggested that we simply visit Chuck E. Cheese the night after we got home, I whole-heartily agreed.  I sent a text message to my closest family members the morning of the party.

Baby Girl loves trains and we just completed a train trip.  So that seemed to be the obvious choice for a cake.  She said she wanted her cake to be green.  Trains are typically for boys so I knew I would have to work hard to make it feminine.  By the time the cake was baked and semi-cool, I had less than an hour to decorate it.  I worked as fast as my cramped fingers would allow.  I ran out of icing and had to keep the smokestack in generic ice cream cone form.  It was sloppy, but it was done.  We were only twenty minutes late for the party.   

She had a super time and so did her siblings.  The boys hit the Jackpot on one of the games 3 times!  The staff finally unplugged it.  With 2600 tickets to spend, we left with two stuffed Angry Birds, an inflatable hammer, and a pink "fire" ball.  I've always wondered what kind of people get those big prizes on the top shelf.  (People who apparently figure out the weakness to the Jackpot game.)

I left the mess there (well, I still had quite a mess from the speedy cake decorating job) and came home mostly stress-free.  That's the way to do it!

I'll plan something a bit more organized for next year.  Who knows what she'll be into by then!

Seven

I don't know whose internet I'm connected to at the moment, but it's working. So I won't complain.  We're still down.

My little Princess Girl turned seven years old on Saturday! We celebrated with a tea party brunch. The girls wore hats, gloves, and fancy dresses. I served chicken salad sandwiches, cheese sandwiches cut into flower shapes, hashbrown casserole, broccoli and cheese quiche, mini muffins, assorted berries with pink fruit dip, decorated sugar cookies, cake, and of course tea. (Yes, I went a tad overboard.  I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of the food!)

I borrowed vintage glass party plates from my mom and flowery tea pots from my grandma. I purchased tea cups and saucers from a thrift shop. Each girl's place card was a tea cup sugar cookie with her name iced on it. The cake was a set of three purses I designed specially for my girly-girl. This was my second attempt at fondant and it went pretty well. (I still think I could have rolled it out a bit thinner though.) I did nick it with my fingernails in a few places but covered it up pretty well.

The party started at least 15 minutes late because I just couldn't get stuff done. I will never again host a brunch party...it's just too early! I planned on making giant tissue paper flowers to hand over the tea table but it just didn't happen.

Because it was 90 degrees outside, none of the adults drank tea. The kids drank it and really enjoyed dropping sugar cubes into their cups. I asked them all, "One lump or two?" They all answered, "Three!"

We didn't play any organized games since we only invited one friend, in addition to the cousins. The girls just played on their own until it was time to open gifts. She loved the DS, by the way, and was totally surprised!

It was a beautiful day and lovely party. I even had help cleaning up! I'm just glad I have a whole year until her next birthday...she's already picked the theme!

May 30

Today is Hubby's birthday.  And how nice that it falls on a lovely Monday holiday!  I'm thinking watermelon, cornhole, sloppy joes, and a lot of sitting outside on the patio.

It's funny because my birthday falls only three days after Hubby's.  (I think one sign that a marriage will last is having birthdays close together!)  And our anniversary is two weeks earlier, so we have lots of celebrations all at once.

I remember how not special my birthday was the first year of our marriage.  Like I said, we had only been married for two weeks.  It was a Sunday morning and I woke up happy and excited.  Three days earlier, I made sure my new husband's birthday was extra special.  When I first saw him that morning, he didn't say anything.  Well, I thought, he's still sleepy.  He'll say something in a little bit.  A little bit came and went and nothing was said.  We got dressed for Sunday School and drove to church.  Still nothing.  We were sitting in the young adult class; I had my arms folded and was getting grouchier by the minute.  A friend of mine leaned up in her seat so she could see me at the end of the row.  "Happy Birthday, She!" she said.  "Thanks, Katie," I replied, glaring at Hubby.  His response was, "Oh yeah, it's your birthday!  Happy birthday."  I was quite irritated...that was no way to start my 20s.

Fifteen years later, he has learned to make a bigger deal out of my birthday to avoid being in the doghouse.  But today is all about him.  I'll make sure he has an awesome day.

Surprise!

(Picture edited to remove name)

Saturday afternoon, we had a surprise 10th birthday party for Son #2.  He thought we were just having the family over to the house that evening.  But instead, I reserved a party at a local park that had miniature golf, bumper boats, bumper cars, rock climbing, batting cages, and so on.  Therefore, I had to do very little work!  It made the $15 per head (plus pizza) easier to handle. 

A couple friends from school came.  #2 is a really shy kid, which makes him come across slightly rude sometimes.  When we all yelled "surprise," he just stood there like someone said "Today is Tuesday."  I tried to explain to the parents that he's just very shy and I apologized for his behavior.  They all seemed to understand.  I hope he eventually learns how to be a better actor and play it up for other people's satisfaction.

He requested a golf cake, which I made myself.  It featured a fairway, rough, and green, sand traps and a water hazard.  He provided Lego golfers, a flag, golf balls, and trees.

We had perfect weather and it was such a great party.  I may do destination parties from this point on!  The worst part was coming home to a messy house.  Boo!

May 17

Happy 10th Birthday, Sweet Boy!

He's been good looking since the day he was born - May 17, 2001

What Happened to My First Baby?

He is 12 today.

That is almost more than I can handle.

It was just a couple years ago that I heard Hubby exclaim, "It's a Boy!"  I laid my eyes upon an adorably bald 8 lb., 8 1/2 oz. baby with big brown eyes.

He continued to grow up quickly.  He knew all his colors, shapes, letters, and numbers by 18 months.  He could sing before he could talk.

On his first day of Kindergarten, we peeked through the window after we dropped him off.  He was holding back tears but never let them fall.  I can't say the same for myself. 

He is now in middle school.  Almost as freckled as me, he has his dad's big brown eyes.  He is a cut-up and a goof-off.  He is taking tuba, French horn, guitar, and piano lessons.  He reads a novel every couple of days.  He fights with his brother and sisters like cats and dogs.  He is a smart mouth (which reminds me a lot of myself at that age). 

Where has the time gone?

Cakes Throughout the Years

Here are some pictures of different birthday cakes I've made for my kids' birthdays. I'd like to take a class some day to get better. I've never had any training. I've had lots of fun though! I wish I could find all the pictures...I can think of a train, a camouflague cake, and an octopus that my kids really enjoyed. Those pics must be from the pre-digital age. :)