D...

...is for decorator. One of the many titles I have is 'cake decorator' and I LOVE my work! I long to do this full time and get rid of my 'real job'. To have my own hours and more time to spend with my family. I've never taken a decorating class and am completely self-taught (thanks to the wonderful world wide web!). It's a way to express myself creatively and also a stress reliever. However, with the requests I've been overwhelmed with lately, it sometimes becomes the cause of my stress. Regardless, my kids will always have the best birthday cakes in town!!! :0)
...is for dad. My dad and I didn't always have the best relationship when I was growing up. Grand babies changed all of that! I would have never imagined my father being as hands-on, dedicated, loving, affectionate and fun as he is now that he's a grandfather. He was always the disciplinarian and rule maker in our house, growing up. Now, he's a total push-over! He'd bend over backwards to make his grand kids happy and he's always there for us. Yes, us. Becoming a grandfather has not only changed the way he deals with my children (and my siblings'), but also with us - his grown children. He's so much more patient, open & understanding and helpful. He wants to see us do well and he wants to always be a part of our lives. Love you dad! :0)

...is for daddy. My kids have the best daddy there ever was!!! He's my right-hand-man and 'roll-dog'. I turn to him for support, love, advise, comfort and relief. He does dishes, gives baths, does laundry, cleans toilets, cooks, reads stories, does homework...the list goes on and on! My husband - the love of my life - my rock - the best father I could have ever wished for my children! :0)
...is for Deandra. Deandra is my sister's daughter and is only 2 months younger than Jaden (they're both 7). Kelly (my sis) & I had so much fun being pregnant together and we should have known that our kids would be attached at the hip. Deandra is so darn smart and witty! She's always eager to please and is the most generous little girl I know. Almost every time we see her, she has a necklace or picture or something she's made to give to us. She's also a little diva and her outgoing, attention-seeking personality always keeps us laughing! :0)

...is for dreadlocks. I've wanted dreadlocks since high school, but never have the guts to just go for it. I don't know if it's my love for reggae, rastafarians or just the african american culture in general. But I've always let society's views deter me from making the leap and dreading up. I would love to have clean, pretty, smooth, girly dreads (not frizzy, various sized, crazy ones) and to add glass beads to them sometimes and to wear the cool dread caps. Maybe one day. ;0)

C...

...is for Curtis. I met my husband while I was dating his friend back in 1998. He too was dating someone else - we were introduced and became friendly acquaintances. In February 1999, I ran into him again and our situations had changed. He asked for my number and the rest is history. :0)
...is for Corinn Iyanna. My youngest of 3 - the most headstrong of them all! Miss Independent all the way, yet so sweet and affectionate. She's 3 1/2 right now - what a fun age! Her imagination soars and she's always eager to bring everyone else into her world. Her favorite pretend games lately are 'order' (where she's a waitress), photographer (wonder where she gets her love for taking pictures from?), and of course mommy (sometimes human, sometimes animal) & mommy chats on her cell a LOT. :0) We call her Skinny Rinny because she's so thin & dainty, but she's still very tall and has an athletic build. When Curtis and I try to imagine what our kids will be like when they get older, we see Corinn as an athletic, strong-willed, determined young lady but still very girly and sweet. What a perfect balance! :0)
...is for Curtis Jr. & Corey. I met my step-sons when they were just 7 & 8 years old - this past August, they turned 15 and 16! No longer boys, but young men now - and believe me, they'll make sure you know it. Curtis & Corey live with their mother (Curtis' ex-wife) in northern VA. They don't visit nearly enough any more - I guess there are more important/exciting ways to spend your weekend at that age. And unfortunately, our relationship with their mother is strained. We'd love for them to come live with us full time (we've been begging for this for ages) and we hope that now that they're older, they might make this decision on their own. High school years are such important ones and we feel that they would really benefit from being with their dad full time right now. Regardless, we're proud of the new responsibilities they're taking on. Curtis Jr. has a part-time job now and is working on getting his driver's license. Corey is also trying to get a worker's permit so that he can make some cash of his own. They're such smart, sweet boys and their little brother and sisters adore them! I know that the feeling is mutual - they are such great big brothers - they love teaching Jaden how to 'hang with the big boys' and toting their little sisters around. :0)

B...

...is for Bryan. Bryan is my nephew (my sister's son) and I adore him! He & I have always had a special connection and I love that he still gets excited to see me. Even if I pull up with my 3 rug rats in tow, he will still shout "Sharon!" when he sees us. :0) He and Corinn are 2 months apart in age (Corinn is older) and they have a special bond as well. They are especially happy to see one another on the weekends, now that they no longer attend the same daycare. Bryan is such a character and is constantly making us laugh - I can't imagine life without you Bevis (I know, not the sweetest nickname, but it's our thing)! Here's a photo of Bryan's smiling face...


...is for Baking. Baking of course is a huge part of cake decorating. I take pride in the fact that I do my own baking (well, occasionally I 'sub-contract' a friend/fellow decorator when I'm swamped with projects) instead of using mass-produced, frozen cakes like most bakeries. I also love the fact that I get tons of positive feedback about my cakes. One comment I get a lot is that most wedding cakes look pretty, but are dry and bland - my brides (and other happy cake customers) tell me that my cakes are not only pretty, but very moist and delicious! :0)

How to be a mom in under 3 minutes...

things at work have been busy lately....a good kind of busy though - it's customer service week so we're getting lots of goodies, playing games, winning prizes, being awarded gifts, etc...so no time for the 'B' post today....but someone sent this to me and i thought it was great....wanted to share...

A...

...is for Asperger's Syndrome. This was the first A word to pop in my head and I'm having trouble thinking of any other A words - I just keep coming back to this. It's such a big part of our lives now and I'm so hungry to learn more and more about AS.
Jaden wasn't officially diagnosed with AS until almost 7 years old, but him being on the Autism spectrum was suggested at age 2. At that time, I wasn't ready to accept any such thing. I was in denial I guess and was actually offended that the doctors at the developmental clinic would even suggest it. They had only met with Jaden once, for like 20 minutes - how the heck could they make such a hasty call?! I knew he had speech delays and I wanted to make sure there weren't any other learning disabilities, but Jaden was a smart kid! I was just ignorant though - I didn't know anything about Austism and could only think of Rain Man when the word was brought up.

I started to research the whole spectrum deal online and was surprised at what I had found. There's a huge range of levels with Autism and it's not as uncommon as I had thought. The thing with Austism & AS is that it's hard to diagnose kids at an early age. It isn't until they start school that it becomes easier to determine their learning styles and what works for them and where they have trouble. We of course started Jaden in speech therapy at 2, but it wasn't until his official diagnosis this year that we've been able to nail it down the a label of Asperger's Syndrome. Since his diagnosis, I've learned so much on the topic and am encouraged by the amount of research that's going on these days. Not to mention the publicity that Autism is getting. Jenny McCarthy's son Evan has autism and she's been very open about his progress and how by changing his diet alone has made such a difference, including writing a book called Louder Than Words. There's been numerous shows like 20/20 and Dateline covering Austism and how many kids have been misdiagnosed with ADHD & OCD. There's a new book out now that I really want to get called Look Me In the Eye written by a man that's lived with AS. Because of new research and doctors becoming more aware, kids are able to get the resources they need earlier now.

Here's a video explaining what AS is and how if falls on the Autism spectrum. It's actually part 2 of a 3 part series on Autism. If you're interested in the other 2 parts.....here's a link to part 1 & part 3.

And here's a really great video made by a 16 year old boy with AS. He explains his AS using cartoons he created. I can relate to so much of what he says! My fav part is at the end where he says he wouldn't take a antidote for AS if there was one because it makes him who he is. There's no way to know why/how people develop AS - but even if I did know, I'd never go back and change a thing! Jaden is the most loving, caring, funny, interesting, honest kid I know and I can't imagine him not being the way he is!!! :0)



And you know what....Bill Gates was diagnosed with AS at age 9.....so you never know, I might be the mother of the next Bill Gates! :0)

Encyclopedia of Me...

I've seen several bloggers do this recently, and I think it's a great idea.

Each day (well, it won't be every day for me - but you get the idea) you blog about something (or things) that begin with a certain letter, starting with the letter A until you reach the end of the alphabet. And not just random things, things that have some sort of importance/value/meaning to you. I'm still pondering what I shall use for the letter A, so we'll see if that post goes up today or perhaps after a weekend of pondering.

Enjoy the gorgeous weather we're supposed to have this weekend. And spend a little extra time with the ones you love! :0)

Carpal Tunnel anyone?

anyone had/got carpal tunnel? can u tell me what it feels like?
the reason i ask.....for like the last 6 months, i've had this pain in my right wrist....well, really only down one side of my arm, from my wrist to halfway to my elbow.....i thought it was just a tired/strained muscle and would get better.....but it's not, it's getting worse .....i used to only feel the pain when i'd pick up one of the kids or put weight on that hand (like carrying a cake box with my hand underneath it)......now, i'm starting to feel it when i type or am icing a cake.....not when squeezing a piping bag, just when having to turn my wrist a certain way.....does that make sense?

i have a co-worker who had the carpal tunnel surgery like 12 years ago and she said she had a lot of numbness in her hand.....i don't have that.....just the slight pain.....but that the surgery fixed her right up and she hasn't had a problem with that wrist since (is now considering having the other one done)

i hardly ever go to the dr and i've been putting this one off as long as i can.....i know that an appt to look at this will only mean x-rays and maybe more appts.....that equals out to time and money for me.....both of which i can't spare.....but i guess u gotta do what u gotta do, huh?
i really am hoping it's not carpal tunnel tho.....not sure of the recovery time for that kind of surgery (my friend's was 6 weeks - but that was a long time ago)......but no use of my right hand means no cake decorating or typing for a little while and that means no work for sharon!
off to make a stinkin dr's appt...

day in, day out...

feeling a little down lately ....mostly because of the stress/wear/burden i sometimes feel with this side gig of decorating cakes....of course, i realize this is self induced ....never the less, it's sometimes overwhelming and i wish i had more time to just be....to enjoy my kids & husband, and not constantly have the thought of "what cake stuff do i need to do tonight?" right there in the front of my brain....the worst are days like yesterday when i get a migrane (or the kids want to spend quality time with mommy, or jaden has a ton of homework, or i'm just not feeling into it, or i just want to cuddle and watch a movie with my hubby, etc.) that i really hate that i can't just quit my real job and do cakes full time! i love to decorate, but sometimes start to wonder if breaking my back with requests every week is worth the headache....i'm already booked solid for the rest of this year and have sooooo many requests on my calendar for 2008! i've stopped taking new requests and pray that i soon see the light at the end of the tunnel....the light of owning my own shop, being my own boss, being able to balance/separate work & home, and making a living by doing what i love

Lovely weekend...

Sadly, I have no pictures to share from this weekend (the camera is with my parents on their vacation), but in the meantime, I've borrowed my sister's for the next couple of days.

I had only one cake to do this past weekend - granted, it was a 4 tiered wedding cake - but still, only one cake! So once delivery/set-up was complete around 5pm on Saturday, the weekend was clear for whatever our heart's desired. Unfortunately, Curtis did have to work all weekend but he was able to catch the Timberville Heritage Days parade Friday evening with us. The kids and i had a great time just hanging out the rest of the weekend. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the porch on Saturday along with some scooter riding....and we finally made it to church service on Sunday (for the 1st time in about 2 months - with Curtis always having to work and me always having cakes to finish up) which the kids LOVED.....and i was really inspired by the guest speaker we had. After church, we spent most of the rest of the day at my parent's house (Nana & Grandpa). It had also been quite a while since we'd had our traditional Sunday lunch and play time with them. Mom made a roast (yum!) and my brother and his family were also able to come by. Of course, there was plenty of swinging, sliding, riding 4-wheelers, etc. until i insisted that 3 little exhausted children follow me home. Daddy got home about the same time as us and after a bath, we all sat down and watched Mary Poppins. This was a fav of mine as a kid and I still know most of the words! But it must appeal to girls rather than boys......Jaden was bored after a little while and daddy zoned out after about 2 minutes! I eventually insisted Curtis watch football in our bedroom (how can you deny a man his football on a Sunday evening?!) and Jaden was content with drawing/coloring while us gals sang along.

The weather was gorgeous - I love the cool, crisp mornings/evenings combined with the super sunny, warm days! What a lovely weekend!

supercalafragalisticexpealadocious!!!! (It's still in my head!)

Gabrielle's 1st field trip!

Today was Gabrielle's 1st field trip and we went to Paugh's Orchard in Quicksburg. Gabby's "buddy" for the day (and the other kid I had to chaperone) was her friend Kaitlyn - they both go to In Motion for dance so already knew each other before finding out they were in the same pre-k class.

This orchard was so cute and fun! Paugh was such a character and had the kids laughing and enjoying themselves the whole time! We took a tour of the orchard and Paugh showed us how the pickers use their baskets, how the tractor moves the apple bins once they're full, the difference between the 6 types of apples they grow, explained what feeder corn is, showed us the peach trees (which of course are without peaches at the moment) and much more. The kids were allowed to eat/pick as many apples as they liked as well as try some cider, pick out a pumpkin and take home an ear of feeder corn. Gabby couldn't wait to go home and leave her corn out for the squirrels!

Here's a slide - what gorgeous weather we had!

Drawings by Jaden...

this is a worksheet that came home from school....i LOVE things like this! he had to come up with words that start with the letter at the top of the column....then spell the word and illustrate it.....my favs are the monster chasing him and the pic of space (complete with black hole)

the front...
the back...

Weekend recap...

my kids were in party mode all weekend!
we started out slow on saturday and did some painting....i bought these little wooden model kits from michael's for $1 each and they were a huge hit! i had to help the girls get their's glued together, but they really enjoyed painting them
saturday, was my company picnic.....i'm on the social committee so i helped plan and set up and had to be there early......we had arranged to have a moon bounce and pony rides which the kids LOVED! the pony actually ended up being 2 big ole horses and were definitely a favorite

then sunday was my nephew's 1st bday party.....it was at my bro's house which the kids love cause he has a huge back yard with a slight hill.....they must have rode matthew's wagon up and down that hill a million times.....the barnyard cake was a huge hit and i felt bad having to tell everyone that i wasn't accepting any more bookings for this year it was fun getting to cut/serve this one and i let all the kids at the party pick out a fondant animal to eat......the best was watching matthew with his 'smash' cake.....he wasn't sure what to do at first, but soon figured it out!
his cake...

ramblings...

i just wanted to share 2 things...

1 - for those of u that pick on me for dressing the girls alike (Travis, this means u!), i want u to see how they dressed themselves this morning...



2 - i love these shoes...

so darn comfortable!

Gabby's turn...

Gabrielle couldn't be left out.....it just so happened that she had a project to do last evening for her pre-k class.....her class is making a book about everyone's families......they were to decorate a page with pictures, cut outs, drawings, etc to show/describe their family and then write a story about it......here's Gabby's...


She chose the pictures (she was stuck on the beach vacation album ) and also drew a picture of everyone.....then she cut out things that she, Jaden & Corinn like.....princess & mermaid stuff for the girls and dinosaurs and a dragon for Jaden (she couldn't find a dragon picture, so she had Jaden draw her one - that's a baby dragon and it's mama looking at it).....we wrote the story about how her other 2 brothers live kind of far away with their mom and how we all like to go to the beach and the zoo and camping and ride bikes together.....she mentioned how she hopes we'll go to disney world some day and she also remembered at the last minute to include Socks, our turtle.....luckily there was just enough space in the top right corner to draw a picture of him.

a day at home with daddy...

yesterday, miss stephanie (our daycare provider) had to take a personal day for some family doctor appointments.....gabby & jaden of course are in school for most of the day, so corinn got to stay at home with daddy all by herself yesterday!!!
when they picked me up from work last evening, i got to hear all the details of her day....

first they made "panacakes" and she got to help - daddy said that she commented "you're gonna put the butter in the pan and it will melt".....he said "yep, that's right".....and then she said "i'm just so smart, ain't i?"
they played hungry, hungry hippos and watched spongebob squarepants
then, they had to take mommy's van to get fixed......daddy said that corinn had all the mechanics cracking up at her asking him a million and a half questions about what was going on......"what are they doin'?"....."who's that?"....."are they making mommy's car better?"....."look, he's washing his hands! why's he washing his hands?"....."what's this do?"
she got to have sandwiches for lunch (her favorite!) and play "order" with daddy.....that's where she pretends to be a waitress with a little notebook and pencil.....she's picked this up from our few trips out to eat and it's one of her favorite pretending games (along with mommy/baby kitty & school)
corinn also helped daddy put up a new light in the kitchen (really she just watched).....mommy's been wanting this forever (so she can see while cake decorating) and is sooooo happy it's finally up!

then they went to pick-up jaden & gabrielle from school (she always loves a trip inside school!).....daddy took all 3 to the playground and to do some fishing before they had their chiropractor appointment and it was time to pick mommy up

corinn had a great day! and daddy did a great job of not only entertaining her, but getting a lot of honey-do stuff done for mommy.....love u baby!