Happy 35th to the Hubs!

So, 14 years ago I met this guy
We started dating.
Then we got married and got a dog.
Then we had a couple of kids.
And then a couple more.
And the other morning I got to wake up next to him, and wish him yet another Happy Birthday.
He's my best friend, my strength, my hero.

My attempt to make this birthday "extra special".
The birthday breakfast of scones.

Lunch with love notes.
His party with the family which included the "burger bar" and instead of a cake, a cookie plate.
It was a little bit of a challenge to get the candles to stand on the cookie platter....lol!
And some fruit...cause it's always nice to have it!

Rich got to do something extra special on his birthday. There was a Father Daughter Banquet that the church put on, and he was soooo excited to go! Brynn and him dressed up and enjoyed an evening there together. From what I hear, it was great!
Happy Birthday Honey! I hope that you had a really, really, REALLY special 35th bday! I love you forever and ever!

Leprechan Trappings and St Patty's Day Celebrations

This was our second time building a Leprechaun Trap for kindergarten.
Just like with Brynn, we let Cannon create his entire trap. He had fun brainstorming ideas, and drawing up "the plan".
It involved a ladder that he made, a trapdoor, a rainbow and a cup that would fall and trap the leprechaun. It also involved a box that was huge, heavy and very awkward to carry. I know this, because I had to carry it on the wettest, most rainiest day EVER and deliver it to his class. Grrrr...

On the eve of St. Patty's day, the kids reset the trap for any mischievous leprechauns that might be in our house, hoping to catch them. They baited it with marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal. Nolan got ahold of a few...he might actually be part leprechaun.
The sneaky leprechaun got away...again... and left a trail of green glitter (that I am still cleaning up) and some gold coins for the kids to tuck away in their pockets.
I made some rainbow pancakes (which made for some interesting diaper changes) and enjoyed our day.
For lunch I made a "green" themed lunch for the kids and a few friends. No one would touch the green tinted ranch for the carrots. I couldn't blame them. It looked a little gross to me too!
Dinner was a yummy Corned Beef roast (anything is better in vinegar right?!?!) with carrots, soda bread, and salad.
And then, because the kids shouldn't get to have all the fun, Rich and I had our own "adult" St. Patty's date night.
I love making these little pseudo holidays fun for my houseful of kids!

Sugared Up

I always forget my camera.
Thank goodness for the ol' iphone!!!
Just found these pics from Vday.
Uhhh. I think he's had enough frosting for the day...
Here are his valentines from the class.
And just because he is Cannon...he did a little something special, just for me!
"I love you Mom!"

This One...

...makes me laugh.
I love her attitude.
I love her thin little scraggly hair.
I love her style.
I love her sense of humor and sarcastic nature.
I love her whispers and hugs.
I love the way she twirls her hair when she thinks she is trouble.
I love the little dances and songs that she is constantly performing.
She is 3....and I love her!

Recently:
Brynn and Cannon were in trouble for one thing or another (isn't it funny that in the moment it is sooooo serious, and now looking back, I can't even remember what it is that they did?) and they were having a talk with Rich in our bedroom. Nolan was already down, and I had a few precious moments with just Maeve. We read a few books, talked and giggled about nothing, and then she gave me a hug.
"Mommy" she whispered. "Brynn and Cannon are getting in A LOT of trouble right now"
"Yep" I said. "They sure are!"
"But I'm not", she giggled. "I am not getting in any trouble at all, cause I didn't do anything bad. I was a good girl!"
Then she rolled over and went to sleep.

Ooops

I won't ever live this down.
Ever.
How was I supposed to know that clippers could cut skin?

Wanna Live at My House?

My name is Lego dude and I live here.
Want to live with me? I have a cool tower, and a great car, a fisher price horse, and although it's drafty in the winter, my log cabin is pretty fun to be in.

Cupcakes

I'm a wee bit obsessed with cupcakes right now.
I know, I know, its all the rage.
I just feel like it might be something that I can actually do.
A cake is too much to eat, and I am a totally idiot when it comes to frosting one.
A cupcake is small, and there is really nothing to frosting them...right?
I took a class with a friend and came home with a bunch of cool recipes, and these beauties to eat.
I also did these ones for Dr. Seuss Birthday, and all said and done they turned out ok.
And then I found a recipe for Vanilla Chai cupcakes. It looked really yummy, and I experimented a little bit. Tried using up some of the HUGE bag of flax I have in the fridge in place of the eggs. I think that might account for the fact they didn't rise....or I might have over beaten the batter...who knows.
And then I opted to use shortening for the frosting...and discovered that I don't really like shortening. But instead of throwing it all away, I frosted the rest quickly and sloppily, and fed them to my family.
They are kind of like goats.
They will pretty much eat anything that isn't nailed down.
I am hoping to get a lot of use out of the standing mixer I am borrowing from mom...and hoping to try a whole bunch of cupcake recipes and finding a few gems that are really yummy!
My kids will love me for this right???

Oh Barf (cont)

Aaaannnnddd now Brynn's got it.
I am ready to fork out some money and live in a secluded hotel by myself for a couple of days.
Seriously. I. Need. A. Break.

Oh Barf

On Sunday night #2 went to bed declaring that he needed a break from school and wasn't going to go the next morning, so I had no sympathy for him Monday morn when he woke up and said that his tummy hurt.
In fact I think my exact words were "Yeah, right. Get dressed."

We pulled into the school parking lot and he asked for a bag to barf in. I called his bluff and tossed one back to him. "Go ahead", I said over my shoulder.
Then I looked in the rear view mirror.
And noticed his face was flushed.
Very, very flushed.
And he was gagging.

When we got home a few minutes later, he ran into the house, and threw up.
6 times.
It was a loooooooonnnnnggg day for me.

Maybe I should believe him when he says stuff like that?

Thursday night at dinner, while she was prancing around, spinning, dancing and singing, Maeve calls out "My tummy hurts".
She then downed most of her dinner, and some whip cream off her pie.
She continued to complain as I made her clean up, and I dismissed it as a convenient stomach ache. You know, the kind that that you get when you don't want to do something?
I used to get them all the time.
Especially right after dinner when my sister and I had to clear the table and do the dishes. I would skip off to the bathroom, and see how long it would be before she realized she was doing all the work, and come pounding down the hallway yelling at me.

We loaded all the kids in the car and headed home. 2 blocks before we turned into the driveway, I heard the dreaded splash.
And then smelled it.
I pulled over, and frantically looked for something to catch whatever was still going to come out.
The hubs, out of instinct, put his hand out to catch it.
*Which by the way, he now regrets that choice*
We drove home windows down, and the rest of the kids gagging.

Guess I should have believed that one too!
I wonder how long its going to take me to start catching on to this "My tummy hurts" thing....

Dr Seuss Cupcakes

Brynn's teacher asked me to make some cupcakes for Dr Seuss birthday. I said "sure!!!", thinking that I could find something really cute to do. I found two ideas on pinterest that I thought for sure I could do. Mostly because I stink at frosting, and these ideas used marshmallows for cat in the hat type hats, and cotton candy for Thing 1 and Thing 2...both of which I didn't think I could screw up.
I pre-baked my red velvet cupcakes (gag) and pulled them out of the freezer the night before so that they would be ready to go early in the morning to frost.
Here's what I learned:
When your house is 50 degrees inside, frosting is hard as a rock.
My "tools" for frosting are terrible.
When I am under stress at 6am, 3 kids prancing around me in the kitchen is enough to produce tears.
I stink at frosting things.

I almost threw them all in the trash and bought some, but thankfully my ever calming hubby talked some sense in me and kept me focused.
They did turn out well, but I seriously need to learn some things so I don't stress out so badly in the future.