Going insane!!!!!

Do you have kids who just repeat the same thing over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over?
Drew and Louisa could literally spend an entire day repeating the same phrase over and over again. They see something on tv, or hear something on the radio and that's all I hear for the rest of the day.
I'm at my wits end here! Louisa has been singing one line from a Carrie Underwood song the WHOLE ENTIRE DAY! And I only wish I were exaggerating. It goes, "I haven't done this in awhile, and I don't know what to say..." and it's from the song Don't Forget to Remeber Me. She's a total drama queen, too. So each time she sings it she has to put extra emphasis, extra verbrato, extra Umph! into it. She forte's and piano's in different parts each time. Ok, she just did it again, she started out strong with excellent forte..... then dropped to a sweet little piano!
AAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to scream my head off right now! VERY FORTE!
Then she starts quoting a line from the tv show The Suite Life of Zach and Cody on the Disney Channel. "Give me death, or give me chocolate!.... Is there a third option?" It was very funny the first time she said it! Now she's said it over 100 times.
Ok, she just did the Carrie Underwood thing again. Now she's talking the line, but talking very fast.
Now she's singing it scat!
There's opera....
Is there an end to this??!!!! I've yelled at her a few times today, but it doesn't work.
There's scat again....
I could not even make this up if I tried!

**Louisa just read this and I've been corrected. It's "Give me chocolate or give me death...". Because of course, according to her, it doesn't sound right the other way!

The Niagara Falls Crew

Here's the Niagara Falls Crew: (L to R)
My brother in law Ron, nephew Andrew, sister Colleen (can you tell we're sisters!), Me, Drew and Louisa are in front of my mom Nancy, dad Steve, and Ohio cousins Rodney and Cathy (their daughter is in Hollywood working her way up in the acting world and doing VERY well, but I'll tell more of that another time.)

So, here we are! Oh, and I can't forget Hunter, he's alseep in his stroller!
We were excited and ready to get wet at the Cave of the Winds in Niagara New York. You actually get close to the falls, so close you get drenched. It was such a rush to be right there under the falls. It's the smaller of the falls called the Bridal Falls. But exhilerating none the less.
If you plan on going, here's what to do. Buy something called Passport to the Falls. For one price you get all the cool stuff to do on the American side and you can use the tickets when you want to. First, go on the Maid of the Mist. Save your ponchos, don't throw them out like some of us did. Go to the Cave of the Winds second and use the Maid of the Mist ponchos. The ponchos that the Cave of the Winds gives you are the flimsy clear ones you see some of us wearing. They do NOTHING! You are better off going under the falls with a plastic grocery bag tied around your waste. The ones who got the wettest are the ones who are not wearing the nice blue ponchos from Maid of the Mist. But you have to get wet to really experience it. And bring a waterproof disposable camera. My sister had one and I don't know how the pics turned out, but she's the only one who could take pictures. My dad put his little digital camera in a plastic ziploc bag. I don't know yet how well that worked either.

That's part of our adventure, stay tuned for more...

Oops! BIG mistake!

I took the new kitten to the vet yesterday and it seems that Belle is a BOY! So, since Belle is not a boy name, we had to change it. The kitten's grandmother was still living at my cousin's house and she was a good grandmother. She took good care of all the kittens. So we named him after his grandma, Scooter.
So... this is Scooter:

And apparently he's only five weeks old. He weighs one pound, one ounce. He's SO tiny! But he's having a lot of fun playing around with the kids and exploring. Scooter is a very sweet little guy.

And Baby Makes Three

Three Kitties, that is!

My cousins in Ohio always have these cats running around. Usually there is a litter of kittens when we go visit. This time around we actually fell in love with a little runt that I named Faith. On Thursday we carried her around, fed her baby formula, and just took care of her. We had to leave for Niagara Falls on Friday, but I told the kids if we could find her on Saturday when we got back we'd take her home. We did not find her again. My guess is she didn't make it. She wasn't in too good of shape when we first saw her. She couldn't see and didn't walk very well. I only found her because her grandma was pulling a Rin Tin Tin on me and meowing at me and running to a car, then meowing again and running back to me. She did this several times before I got up to go look at the car. That's when I saw Faith hiding under the car, and realized what the grandma cat was trying to tell me.
Here is Drew holding Faith:

Faith had three siblings whom Drew named Tink, Belle, and Peter Pan. Belle was very sociable and followed us everwhere we went. I told the kids that if we didn't find Faith again there was a possiblility we'd take Belle home.
When we get back from Niagara, they didn't forget about little Faith. They searched long and hard for her. I told the kids that maybe Faith's Grandma Scooter didn't want us to take her home so she hid her little granddaughter. Could be!

Without further ado.... Here's Belle:

Our guess is that she's about 6 weeks to 2 months old. My cousins didn't know for sure when the kittens were born as the mother keeps them hidden for the first few weeks. But she's eating regular cat food and she's very playful.

Oh, but don't tell my husband yet. He is NOT going to happy about this. I'm a little worried. One of those, What did I do? kind of things! How could you not love this adorable little face, though!

My two older cats, Niki and Socks (the black cat in the picture above) are very courious about her, but they don't seem to mind her at all. I was a little worried. It all seems ok, though. We're taking her to the vet tomorrow to get a million tests run. I guess it's not that easy just to take an outdoor cat with no knowledge of it's history and bring it into a home with other cats. My vet was less than pleased and we have to keep her separated for now until he runs all of his tests to make sure she's healthy. Besides sleeping most of the time, she seems very healthy!

A Blog Worthy of Your Time...

Today I am going to suggest reading someone else's blog. This is one of those things where there is a whole other world out there that most of us don't even know about. There is pain to an extreme that I've never felt. There is sadness to the depths I've never gone.
I met a lady online at Club Mom on the Grief & Loss board I moderate that I now consider a close friend. Funny because we haven't known eachother long. But she's helped me to understand that there is pain and suffering, but there's also healing and hope.
She is a strong, couragous, independent widow who is raising a very smart and athletic 13 year old boy.
Seven years ago she said good-bye to her husband and baby girl within 4 days of eachother, and her father 11 months later. And in her blog she writes about that journey. Please take some time to go through it, and grab a box of Kleenex!
I can't forget about the strapping young lad, Jonathon, whom his mother affectionately calls Jona! This is a mother/son blogging team after all, and a great team they are! So there is a lot of wisdom from him on this blog as well.
If you can, go back in the archives and start with the very first entry, which is a beautiful, heartbreaking poem written by Jonathon about his feelings on his dad and baby sister's death.

Go to Jonathon's Closet now, but I warn you, it's addictive!

Sunglasses in my pocket

Sometimes I get these thoughts in my head, ideas of what I want to do, and I have to do it or I go crazy! My niece, for certain reasons, is living with my inlaws temporarily. Her mom, my husband's sister, died in November 2004, and since then my brother in law has been a major pain in this family's neck. So he has gotten himself in a little trouble and had to call on my inlaws for help. Typical.
A very wise friend of mine, who lost her husband and had to go through the pain of seeing how her son was treated, has given me some good tips on staying connected to my neice and helping her to know that she has someone who cares about her. I have started giving her little gifts with notes attached, mailing boxes to her of various items, things like that. When she first moved to my inlaws house, I made her one of those fleece tie blankets and two matching pillows. Haven't heard yet if she likes them or not. Also bought a ton of books because her mother absolutely loved reading and I want my niece to feel that special connection that reading will give her to her mother. I think if she finds her mother anywhere, it will be inside of a book. If that makes sense.
Several of the kids in our family are starting kindergarten this year. My niece and Drew being among them. I had bought my niece two outfits at Wal Mart and gave them to her at Hunter's birthday party. She seemed excited about school. She hugged her new clothes and told me she would take them home and put them in her drawer until school started.
Every once in awhile I go through the clothes that Louisa's grown out of because I know a few little girls who benefit from them, my niece being one. I thought this would be a good time to give her some more starting school clothes. We found tons of pink shirts! So if anyone ever buys Louisa a new shirt, don't buy pink! We've got that color well covered! I think my niece will be excited with all that we dug up for her. I wish I had more pants to give her, though. All of Louisa's too small pants had holes in the knees. Big ones, not just small put-a-patch over them ones.
Then my idea struck me. I got this idea that I wanted to buy my niece some cool, decorated socks. I don't know where the idea came from, but it's one that once I get, I have to buy them because it won't go away. Like, if I don't go buy the socks, I will procrastinate and not get the box of clothes put together and mailed because I know there is something missing from it. Louisa also got the idea of buying her cousin some flavored chap stick. She likes those and would think it's really awesome that Louisa picked something out for her. She looks up to Louisa.
There we are in the girls section of Kohl's department store, looking for cool decorated socks. Not much of a selection, but luckily for us, Drew found some sunglasses for himself on sale! Woo-hoo! Couldn't pass those up! $10 sunglasses for $4! Yup, I know, waste of money. That's just me and my impulsivness. The one that's going to have me in A LOT of trouble when my hubby comes home.
Finally I found some cute socks and lo and behold, they were on sale too! My lucky day. We walked around the store a bit and eventually went up to pay. Louisa had found her chap stick as well, not on sale, though. I felt like something was missing as we checked out. Chap stick, socks.... what was missing? No clue, so we paid and left.
At the car I have the stroller unpacked, and was just about to take Hunter out when Drew says, "Mom, my sunglasses are in my pocket!" Oh, no! That's what I forgot, the sunglasses!
Okay, honestly now, how many of you would go all the way back into the store and pay for the sunglasses? I know it's the proper and "Christian" thing to do, but come on... All the way back into the store? ((sigh)) I was tired, I needed to go home, and it was about to rain any second.
Then Drew says, "Well, I guess we just have to go back in and pay for them!" That settled it. I couldn't say no we won't. I couldn't explain that I was actually just planning on stealing them and going home. We trudged back into the store and God shined down on me as He held off the rain just long enough for me to get the kids into the car and buckled. Then... it poured buckets! Which was an answered prayer to the drought we're in. Apparently God was shining down on someone else, too.

Louisa, Don't Get Married!!!

We were driving in the car today and talking about tattoos. Yep, tattoos! That may seem weird in your family, but with my husband having three and me planning my next one as we speak, it's not so weird.
Louisa was excitedly telling me all about what her tattoo is going to look like. She had quite the disappointed little face when I told her she has to be 18 to get one. But that's ok, I told her, maybe by then they will have found a way to get glitter to actually stick in a tattoo!
Anyway, Louisa was wondering about the pain, and did a tattoo really hurt as much as they made it seem on television. I thought HUH??? They always make it look easy on TV. Even on those reality tattoo shop shows, like Inked, they make it look painless. So I told her in all honesty, yes, it hurts like hell! However, I said, it hurts less than having a baby. Well, okay, she thought she could deal with that.
Then, from the backseat, Drew chimes in with a very serious tone, "Louisa don't ever get married."
"Why?" we asked.
"Because you're my sister and I love you! I don't ever want you to get hurt and babies just hurt you. If you get married, then you have to have a baby and get hurt!" he replied.
Sounded like good reasoning to me! Louisa, on the other hand, laughed her little hind end off!
So now we know, getting a tattoo hurts less than having a baby, and if we never get married, we can just avoid that whole baby hurting us thing and live happily ever after with our tattoos.

Grandpa Gil

Wow! I'm such a slacker! I've spent so much time doing this stupid My Space page that I forgot all about this blog. Duh!!!
Well, let's see, what we've been up to...
Last night my sister calls me in a panic. She said, "I love you and I never try to tell you what to do..." (thinking, oh crap, now what) "But you need to call Grandpa right now."
I said Okay, no problem. I was kind of putting off calling him and again, slacking on my duties. So I asked why, what was the matter.
"He is really upset that he hasn't heard from you", she told me. Apparently she called him to see how he was and all he did was cry that he hadn't heard from me lately. Well, I try to call him about once or twice a month and get up to see him about as much. He only lives 45 minutes away. And really I should call and visit more often.
We lost my grandma in April, and since then he's been lost. They were married for 60 years, and she just went to lay down and take a nap one day and didn't wake up. Granted she was sick with Parkinson's for years, she was feeling alright that particular day. So it's extremely hard for him to let her go. He cries a lot and wants family and friends around as much as possible.
I called him and asked if we could come by and see him today. He said, "You mean it's that easy? I just say I miss you and you come like that?"
Well, I don't want him thinking this is a weekly thing here, but I said, "Yup, it's that easy!"
Of course, today, we were late getting there. He was standing in the parking lot waiting for us. He lives in an assited living apartment, so he can come and go as he pleases.
Now my grandpa, just so you can get an idea, is a grumpy old man. He's pissed a lot of people off in his 83 years of life, including some immediate family members. He doesn't know when to hold his tounge and he thinks he has rights over others. My mom and I are the only two who can ignore that and just be with him. He loves my mom like she were his only child. I'm not trying to be mean, she has two brothers, but my grandpa thinks the world of his daughter. And he should, all that she's done for him and sacrificed over the years.
Anyway, we take him out to eat at Perkin's. Lunch is ok, not the greatest. Then there is a park the kids like a lot that is a few blocks from where Grandpa lives. So we head over there to let them play. He hasn't seen Hunter walk yet, so that was his big excitement for the day. I can't tell you how proud he is to show off his great-grandchildren. My grandma was, too. Everywhere we'd go she'd tell anyone who would listen, These are my GREAT- grandchildren!
My grandpa has many fears and phobias and they get worse as he gets older. One being that the kids will get snatched up. So at the park he wouldn't let them more than 10 feet away from him. If they went to play in another section of the playground, he was right behind them. Drew and Louisa are oblivious as to how grumpy their Grandpa Gil can be. They just like to be around him.
I love sharing my kids with my grandparents. It's a shame that he's the only one left, but it's nice to have him here. Sometimes he's a handful. Well, a LOT of the time he's a handful. Mostly for my mom. But that's her dad, so she keeps trucking on. Driving that hour and a half every week, getting him to doctors appointments, and running errands. And every time I see him he tells me, That mom of yours is really something else.

Three Little Words

When combined in a sentence, any combination of words can bring us to a dead stop. A lot of times we refer to those "three little words". Usually it means, I love you. But sometimes it could be, I miss you, I hate you, Let's make love, Please don't go....
Three little words took on a whole new meaning to me today and stopped me dead in my tracks. I went to the post office this morning to mail my package instead of yesterday. The post office clerk is usually the same one and always has a nice hello, how are you, when I approach. Today he said something different that made me stop. Dead. In. My. Tracks.
I paid my $8.10 for the flat rate box and as I walked away he said, "Is he safe?"..........
My heart stopped for one second. My breathing quickened. I felt lightheaded. Quietly I managed to squeak out a "No". I didn't look back at him. Only opened the door to leave. He said, "I'll say a prayer". And that was all.
Three little words that effected me so much I was shaking when I got back to the car. I felt ill and wished more than anything I could lie down for awhile.
I don't think he'll be safe until he's home. But that's his job.

The Big One!!!

He's One, he's One!!! Today's the day! I'm so excited for my little guy. But a little sad for me. It's hard when the youngest, and very well the last, turns one. I rejoice, yet a small part is saying, I don't want my little guy to grow up.
Okay, so here's my little guy, one year ago, and here's his story.

My due date was August 11. Louisa was born 3 weeks early and Drew was born 10 days early. So, because of something like a small cervix, which is probably a little too much info, the doc was positive this one would be early, too. When August 11 came around he was shocked that I still had a baby in my tummy. He asked if I would consider being induced. Uh huh!!!! Oh ya!!! {{vigorously nodding my head}}

There I was, 6:30 a.m., August 12. Laying in a hospital bed with hubby at my side. I am GBS positive, so I had to have a very painful penicilin injection first. Then they started the petocin and 3 hours later I was holding my sweet little Hunter Steven in my arms.

Hunter for the fact that my husband's family is huge in hunting. And also, and more importantly for me, because we started our life as a family in Savannah, GA at the army base Hunter Army Airfield. Steven, well, is my dad!

Fast forward one year later and he's walking and talking and playing with his trucks and making animal noises and already asking questions! Yes, he asks "This?" and also "What?" He's already doing it?! What I am going to do when he's 3 and actually in the full blown question asking stage?

Now we're off to a whole new year of adventure and excitement and non-stop learning experiences for all of us.

I'm Sending A Package to Hubby~

Ok, I'm mailing my husband a package today. He always says he doesn't want anything except for tobacco. But I mail him as much as I can fit into one of those flat rate boxes. So this is the list of what I'm mailing, in case you ever need to mail stuff to a deployed soldier:

~20 cans of smokeless tobacco (ok, before you go rolling your eyes at me, I'd rather have him chew tobacco and ruin his own health than smoke cigarettes and ruin my and the kids' health. And anyway, YOU try to tell a deployed soldier he can't smoke or chew!)
~one Two pound bag of licorice
~6 boxes of Crystal Light On the Go (the single packs)
~Two paperback books
~letters from everyone that was at the birthday party (I gave everyone paper and told them to write him a note)
~pictures the kids drew
~an "I Miss You" card I bought him
~letter from me that is about 6 pages long!
~about 30 pictures of the kids I printed up
~several small bags of cookies (Oreos, Chips Ahoy...)
~two scratch lotto tickets (this is the first time I have sent him them, but he could win a Harley! well, he already has one, but it's still fun!)
~and lastly, I printed up the post I wrote about the state fair. He called us while we were there, so I thought I'd share the whole story with him. He won't be very happy about the Build a Bear part, though! So yes, he will get to see the picture of the cream puff after all!

If anyone ever wants a really complete list of what to send deployed soldiers, I have one that my friend on Club Mom, whose hubby is deployed, made up once.
Some soldiers like a lot of stuff, but my husband kind of lives like a nomad and moves around a lot. Whatever I send him he has to carry around with him. So he prefers if I don't send him too much. I usually send about 10 cans of chew a week (yes, go ahead, roll your eyes again!), but I'm a little behind right now. They do have tobacco over there, but it is actually more expensive. I always send pictures in the package, too. And something handwritten. No matter what it is, a little note, a card I bought, but just something with my handwriting on it. There's nothing like the power of an "I love you" written just for you by the ones you love the most!

Our Day at the Wisconsin State Fair: Rides, Food, Animals, and..... Build A Bear?

A great Wisconsin tradition that dates back to... many many years ago, The Wisconsin State Fair! I remember walking through those gates as a child into the land of rides, food, animals.... It was like walking into a whole different world. The sights, the sounds, the smells! I can still remember it like it was yesterday! Oh, it WAS yesterday! hehe!!!
Okay, so ya, the kids and I went to the fair. My mom gave me all of these magical free tickets that my dad got from his work including free admission tickets! WaHoo!! We're off to a good start already!
So, Grandma and Grandpa watched Hunter so we could have a stroller-less day! And was it ever nice! I felt bad for all those poor saps wheeling their strollers through cow poop all day long.
Now everytime I say something like, This is a Wisconsin State Fair tradition, you may say... Ya, we do that at ours, too. But hey, I don't know that, do I? So to me it's a, Wisconsin State Fair tradition!




One tradition that is a must for us at any fair is the rides. Of course! However unlike park admission, I had no free tickets. I had to pay for them and because of that, I had a limit. So they got to do two rides, a small roller coaster and then we all went on the ferris wheel.
There is also this giant humogous slide that you just HAVE to ride on, so we went down that, too.














Another "must do", is face painting. Ok, you are probably sayind, How many "must do's" do you really waste your money on? Alright, I'll admit, I don't give in to everything. I mean, there are some things I put my foot down and say no to. Not many, but some! Like all the cheesy, set up games that the carnival has. I don't like those. There isn't a carnie alive that can sweet talk me into his little dart throwing at the balloon game! No siree... I'm way better than that!








But face painting, I just can't help myself. It's so cute and the kids are so proud of themselves. Until about an hour and a half later when Louisa is picking hers off and I'm yelling at her cause she just threw $5 down the toilet! Up until then, though, it was really cute!

State Fair... continued...

Next on our State Fair adventure we come to the Food! A fair, as we all know, is a dieter's nightmare and a junk food junky's dream! I, if you haven't noticed, am the latter. So I was in heaven... fried this, fried that... buttered this, battered that... greasy grills and oh yummy! I can smell it and taste it all over again. I love fair food.
In the midwest, it's not a real fair without the corn roast. And this was no different. Hello corn roast! For $2.50 you get a not only a ginormous ear of corn, but it's dipped in real butter. After you liberally add the salt, it's good to go. Hot, buttery, salty, sweetness!
As you can see, the kids are all in for this one. How could anyone pass up something this good?
Not to mention the fact that with two of my mom's nifty coupons, I got two of them for free! As my wonderful hubby would say, Can't beat free!









Speaking of free.... this brings me to the next, absolute must have Wisconsin State Fair tradition.....
The Cream Puff!!! And yup, I had tickets to get two of them for free. Between me and the kids, we couldn't even finish off two of them. They are so rich and so creamy and so big. But very delicious.




After we had demolished our two cream puffs, I had realized I didn't take a picture of it. There was a family of four at the table next to us who had just sat down. I warily approached them, knowing they'd think I was really bizarre for what I was about to request. I asked if I could take a picture of their cream puff quick. Explaining that we ate ours before I thought of it, and that my husband was deployed and I thought it would be fun to send him a picture of a cream puff. The man looks at me, and very seriously says, "You're sending a deployed soldier a picture of a cream puff? That is so cruel!"
Well, um... yes, I guess it is kind of cruel. I hadn't thought of that. But at least I got my picture. Apparently I won't be mailing it to my husband, though!

Next we come to one of the kids favorite parts. Yes, there was indeed a Build A Bear at the State Fair! And me, being a BAB addict, I couldn't refuse! So we journeyed on in to the big BAB trailer that was complete with many animals to chose from, stuffing machine, hundreds of outfits, and naming station. I was, again, in heaven! Drew got a teddy bear which whom, when you buy him, part of the proceeds go to help give underprivaleged kids books. Because of that Drew named him Helper Bear. Complete with matching striped polo shirt, they were best pals! Louisa, who is more non-traditional, picked a husky dog she's had her eye on for awhile now! She named him a very appropriate Scamps! Instead of houses they gave out these cute little back packs. And again, good fun was had by all!

After this it was on to the animal barns. Something that is hugely popluar in a state like Wisconsin. We take our livestock very seriously here. Laugh all you want... I'm not horsing around here... hehe.... get it?

Anyway, we saw piggies and sheepies and moo cows and bunnies and goats and did I mention cows? Oh ya, this is Wiscosin, we've lots of cows! We've got cows coming out our rear end here! We're even the first state to premier a new flavor of milk. Both chocolate and strawberry milks were first tasted here, in Wisconsin at the state fair many years ago. So many that I don't feel like looking it up right now! We tasted cherry vanilla milk and can I just say, YUM!!! They also had root beer milk, and mocha chocolate. The mocha and cherry vanilla were the most popular.

Then, of course, we can't forget about the pig racing! This isn't a Wisconsin thing, but still something we enjoy watching. The kids saw the pig racing for the first time ever. Along with goat racing and duck racing!

After the racing it was the end of the day and time to go home. Kids are dragging their feet and it's after 8:00 when the fair becomes time for grown-ups to drink and party and get rowdy. And time for me to get the heck out of there before we get trampled on by this big drunk biker guy who seems to like precariously sway back and forth in front of us.

As we get back to Grandma and Grandpa's house, this is how we find baby Hunter...

In their defense, however, they had just returned from a long walk and he fell asleep only minutes before we arrived. I had called my mom telling her we were almost there, so she didn't want to disturb him. He had spent the whole day being entertained by Grandma, Grandpa, cousin Andrew, Auntie Colleen, and two of Andrew's friends. Hunter was plum wiped out! And so were we.

Mommy, what happens if....

Being as sick as I have been lately has apparently made the kids start to worry about me. Drew broke my heart today when he asked me, Mommy, what happens if you get in the hospital? I told him I won't, but he said, What IF?
Well, Grandma and Grandpa would take care of you for a little while, I guess. I said.
He wanted to know if I got sick could Daddy come home. I let out a big sigh..... I'd have to be really really sick for Daddy to come home. Do you want me to be really really sick?
Well no, he guessed not.
Louisa told my mom the other day that she was worried I'd have to go to the hospital and she'd get taken away from me and her brothers. Of course my mom reassured her that wouldn't happen.
What have I done? I've made myself so sick that my kids are worrying about me. I don't know exactly how to get better, but for now, I'll follow doctors orders and mostly just pray a lot. I need to get better. I'm tired of being in pain, I'm tired of not being able to eat or sleep, I'm tired of being tired.... I'm just... tired.

Hunter's First Birthday Party

Today was Hunter's first birthday party. His birthday is a few days away yet. But we had the party today at a park. I rented the pavilion last March because it is a very popular park. When I woke up this morning it was raining! Of course, because that is exactly my luck. I hopped on the computer to check the weather, and it showed no end in sight to the rain. (((sigh)))
So, I pack up the food (which I didn't have enough of and had to stop quick and buy more!) and packed up the kids and off to the park we went. In the rain.

Lady Luck did shine down on me, however. After we got to the park the rain cleared up and the sun shone down!







So, we ate lunch, played, the kids made a craft and then... it was CAKE TIME!!!
Hunter's first birthday cake!
My mother in law is our official cake decorator. She does all parties, weddings, holidays... It's just a given that she will make the cake. And not only does it save us a boatload of money, we usually get exactly what we want.

We call the first birthday the "carrot cake birthday". Starting with Louisa we've always had carrot cake for the first birthday. No clue why, just something I started.








Hunter kept wanting to stick his fingers in the cake. He had no patience for us trying to make him wait and sing Happy Birthday first.
I would have loved nothing more than to just let him stick his whole hand in there. That would have been classic. But, well... I was trying to be nice! In my head I was thinking, Stick your hand in the cake, stick your hand in the cake...








And this is what happens when we let Nana feed Hunter the cake! BIG HUGE MOUTHFUL!!!

But really, he ate half a piece of the chocolate cake, two pieces of carrot cake, a big bowl of fruit salad, countless crackers and some lunchmeat. Why do I feel like I'm reciting The Big Hungry Caterpillar?

All in all it was a very fun memorable day, with one big very important part missing from it......
DADDY!

My Two Little Swimmers

I took Hunter and Drew to a little wading pool today. At it's deepest it comes up to the middle of my thigh. I just wore a t-shirt and shorts. No sense breaking out the razor for a little wading pool! (And anyway, I have the worst farmer's tan and a swim suit is just not a good idea right now!)

Here's some pics of my two little swimmers.

Hunter found it most amusing to walk all the way around the edge of the pool.

He sat down in the most shallow part, but wasn't too sure. It said the shallow end was seven inches. Ya, I know, we were living dangerously today!
There are two little whale slides that Drew likes to play on. So here he is, and here I am trying to get artsy fartsy with my photography. It was eveing and the sun was coming through the trees and hitting the water just right. I kept making him go back up on the slide over and over so I could get just the right shot. That perfect shot came and I was so excited.... until I saw there was a little girl standing right next to Drew. Oh.. Man!!!! I hate when that happens! So this is the best I got of just Drew. (Yes, he's really that skinny! But he eats me out of house and home. I don't get it either!)

For some reason, these pics are much darker after I loaded them onto here. They looked good after I photoshopped them. Oh well! Trust me, they look good! Just in case you're going, Ya...so... what's so great?! They look over exposed to me!

I tried to get Hunter to go down the slides, but apparently getting constantly sprayed in the face by the whale's spout wasn't appealing to him. He's a weird one!

Drew discovered that his shorts fill up and get all puffy! A classic passtime for any young boy, watch them poof, squish them down, watch them poof, squish them down...

So, after awhile my little swimmers started wondering when I was going to stop taking pictures and making them pose over and over again! I said, Ok, let's go get ice cream! And THAT is the magic word!

Like a shot, we were out of the pool and on our way to the best frozen custard joint in the world, Culver's! Oh, and while we were there anyway, a delicious Butter Burger to go with it!

Major Pain

And I don't mean the kids!
In my family I'm known for having all sorts of aches and pains and sorenesses and illnesses. I feel like maybe God didn't put me together very well. Like when I was going through the transporter to come down to earth, some of the molecules didn't get put back in the right place. And as a result, I'm always in some sort of pain.
Migranes, leg pains, stomach pains, back muscle pains... it just doesn't end with me. Oh, and let's not forget about the new one I found out about yesterday, the small hernia I have. That's always fun!
So as I write this, I'm actually kind of hunched over with this painful muscle spasm in my back. I feel like my Granny sometimes. She was always a little hunched and complained about her back a lot. I tried to pick up Hunter this morning, only to have my back lock up on me and we ended up on the floor, him laughing at me and me clutching my back crying for my mommy. He was saying, Weee that tumble was fun, Mom! Then he decided it was crawl on mommy time, so he jumped up on my side and bounced around a little. I realize he's not even one yet, but enough was enough. I'm not a jungle gym, kid!
Well, after a minute of writhing on the floor, I could sort of pick myself up by holding onto anything within reach. I stumbled to my feet and tried to pick Hunter up again. This time it was a little better. At least we didn't end up on the floor.
Now I'm off to lay my sore, broken body on my nice new heating pad I just bought today. Oh, the IcyHot patches, not sure what they are actually supposed to do, but if you use one, do it with caution. They kind of stink and you will get funny looks in the grocery store! Especially when your son gives you a hug and then backs away and goes, "Ewww Mom, why do you stink?"

The Diary of a Cat and a Dog

My sister sent me this joke in an email and I love it!!! If you have ever had a cat or a dog, you can agree that this is just how they seem to think!

A Dog's Diary

7 am - Oh boy! A walk! My favorite
8 am - Oh boy! Dog food! My favorite!
9 am - Oh boy! The kids! My favorite!
Noon - Oh boy! The yard! My favorite!
2 pm - Oh boy! A car ride! My favorite!
3 pm - Oh boy! The kids! My favorite!
4 pm - Oh boy! Playing ball! My favorite!
6 pm - Oh boy! Welcome home Mom! My favorite!
7 pm - Oh boy! Welcome home Dad! My favorite!
8 pm - Oh boy! Dog food! My favorite!
9 pm - Oh boy! Tummy rubs on the couch! My favorite!
11 pm - Oh boy! Sleeping in my people's bed! My favorite!

A Cat's Diary

Day 183 of my captivity.
My captors continued to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from clawing the furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another house plant.
Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded. Maybe I should try this at the top of the stairs.
In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair. I must try this on their bed.
Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body in an attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little kitty cat I was. This is not working according to plan.
There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary confinement throughout the event. However, I could hear the noise and smell the food. More important, I overheard that my confinement was due to my powers of inducing something called "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage.
I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously a half-wit.
The bird, on the other hand, has got to be an informant. He speaks with them regularly, and I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room, his safety is assured. But I can wait.
It's only a matter of time.

When I read the dog's diary, I can hear Will Farrell in the movie Elf doing the voice. And if you've ever seen the adult cartoon Family Guy, think Stewie for the cat!
Hmm... this gives me an idea! Maybe I should let the cats post on my blog. Then we can all find out what they are really thinking. We can all see how happy Socks is to be a book holder!