weekend recap...

we had a great weekend - the weather was decent (fairly nice most of saturday, then rain for the rest of the weekend).....but even with the rain, we managed to have a really great time together ;0)

gabrielle did get an upset stomach after taking zithromax for her strep (just as i predicted), but at least it's not an all out allergic reaction....and it's been just for an hour or so after her daily dose - eating something before taking the medicine seems to help a little

she sailed by jaden & corinn, finishing her sticker chart on saturday and earning a new necklace, picked out of the prize bag.....it's a chain with a different charm for each day of the week.....but of course, miss gabrielle has to wear all the charms on the chain together! and we can't have the charms all bunched together, overlapping each other......no, no......we have to add a bead in between each charm so that all charms can be seen! ~lol~

a pic of the chart - gabby, one sticker before reaching the end.....if only jaden & corinn could earn as many as they lose! gabrielle has the 'go above & beyond' concept down pat - that's my girl! ;0) also, notice corinn's sticker chart below the real chart - her chart shows how all her sons & daughters are doing ~lol~

and the necklace, being modeled at the park...

gabrielle also got to visit Pump It Up for the very first time....a friend in her pre-k class had her birthday party there! even though i'm not a fan of spending hundreds of dollars on a 5 year old's birthday party, this place is soooo fun! i'd been to a bday party there once with jaden, so i was super excited that gabby was feeling better and could go try it out.....what a work-out....all that sliding/climbing/crawling/jumping sure makes you tired! and to be honest, it really ends up being some great one-on-one time....the kids go in every which direction, not really trying to stay together and play.....so it ends up that the parents join in the fun with their son/daughter individually
she's so silly!

more pics from the park....an overcast day, but just fine for scooter-riding & tree-climbing fun!
even met a friendly dog...
corinn took along her camera and was snapping pics of all the pretty things - animals, flowers, trees, etc...wonder where she gets that from? ;0)
gabby's checking out the new buds on the tree in this one...spring is finally here!

then sunday was spent indoors because of the rain....we had a great family dinner at nana's house, and then got out some more old home movies last night when we got home....the kids (corinn especially) are addicted to watching these now!

one of the best weekends in a while - nothing on the schedule....just go with the flow, fun with the fam!

9 years baby!

the 22nd of this month will be our 2nd wedding anniversary - cause you know, we had to do it our way - 3 kids, then marriage!
but saturday marked 9 years together for curtis & i!!! i swear, it feels like we only met yesterday.....except after being by his side - seeing him as a husband & father for 9 years, i love him WAY MORE than i ever thought i could!

darn strep!

gabrielle woke up with a very sore throat an a 100.5 degree fever.....curtis just took her to the doctor and was told "she has very bad strep!".....the one and only day jaden has ever missed from school in the 3 years he's been going, was when he caught strep his first year.....i guess gabby is following suit....and unfortunately, she's allergic to augmentin (what they usually prescribe for strep) & ceftin.....they prescribed zithromax instead, which i'm allergic too and gabby has never had.....i've got curtis keeping an eye on her for a possible reaction, but i'm praying she has a peaceful, restful day at home with daddy.....complete with lots of popsicles & her new fav movie - Pipi Longstocking

outside...

we're loving the spring weather that finally decided to show up....of course, i hear we'll be lucky if today's temperature reaches 50 degrees....but most of this week has been gorgeous!

here are some pics of the kids playing outside last evening....climbing trees...

building another "camp fire"...
"cooking cucumbers with salt & pepper" (weeds & flower stems, sprinkled with dirt/sand)...

and my favorite....playing together...

Then, when they came inside from playing....I got to see this....too cute Miss Corinn - you want me to break that stem off for you? ~lol~

it's baaaaaack...

Jaden first requested a mohawk back in the summer of 2005, right before he started his 1st year of kindergarten. I'm all for self-expression - hey, it's your hair! So he sported his first mohawk all summer long! Then, when it was time for school to start....I encouraged Jaden to let us give him a slick, short cut for his first day of school. He agreed. Since then, we've brought the mohawk back just once - I think it was over the summer and leading into Jaden's 2nd year of kindergarten. Well, it's been a while (I guess over a year now) and Jaden has decided it's time again. How stinking cute is my little man?!

i'm so mean...

i've already fooled my husband 3 times today - he's too easy! ~lol~

april fool's day 2002 - i found out i was pregnant with gabrielle & informed curtis that we would be having our 2nd child.....he, of course, did not believe me since it was april fool's day......ever since then (after i finally convinced him i was for real), i've fooled him every single year with the pregnancy scare trick! ~lol~ today, i've also gotten him to believe that i was afraid i was about to get fired from my full-time job....and that the traffic courts had called and let me know that he would need to take some driving classes because he's gotten too many traffic tickets in the last year (he's really only gotten 2 - but that's too many, if u ask me!) ~lol~

i know, i'm so mean!!!

April is Autism Awareness Month!

Autism Awareness Month, celebrated every year in April, provides an opportunity for families, friends, and local communities to raise public awareness about autism. It is sponsored by the Autism Society of America (ASA). Individuals and communities can get involved by participating in activities sponsored by their local ASA chapter or by promoting services related to autism.

Wouldn't it be lovely if autism only lasted one month? Unfortunately, it is lived day, by day, by day, by the individual, each family member, the community, schools, physicians, researchers, and the world in general. I don't know what we'd do without the support we receive from our families, friends, Jaden's schools, doctors, etc.!

Years ago, when we started exploring the possibility of Jaden being autistic, I really never imagined that autism would be in the news as much as it is today. It's nice to actually have people recognize the word autism or asperger's when you talk about it - and not just think about Rain Man...it's wonderful to be able to find so many websites & support groups out on the net....to actually have local groups/walks/conferences in our area!

CNN has been running specials on the entire autism spectrum this week (on TV & the net). Check out some of the articles & videos they have on their page.

Field trip to The Frontier Culture Museum

Last Friday, I went along with Jaden's 1st grade class on a field trip to The Frontier Culture Museum. We worried about rain that morning, but it turned out to be a lovely day - it sprinkled just a little bit, causing us to have to move our picnic lunch on to the bus. But it stopped just as we were finished eating.

I love this place, but hadn't been there for quite some time. We didn't tour the whole museum, but visited just the American exhibit. It showed how settlers would have started a farm in the early 19th century - from their initial camp, to building a small cabin, to finally constructing the big farm house, allowing the kids to return to school instead of working on the farm every day. We got to learn about how they would cook, garden, raise animals....it was very hands-on and the kids loved it! The house we toured - the Bowman house - was built by a German settler that originally lived in Pennsylvania. He moved to Virginia after hearing about how much cheaper the land was here. The house was actually moved to the museum from where it was built and stood vacant for a long time in Timberville - where we live! :0)

On our way...

The settlers' camp...

Jaden (and the other 2 boys I chaperoned) helping to begin work on the cabin...

Each kid got to get an ear of corn from the corn crib to feed to the pigs...

Jaden trying out a Jacob's ladder....no video games back then!

Inside the Bowman house - learning to get the wool ready for spinning...

By the fireplace inside the Bowman house...

last week's cakes...

Another doozy of a week! This is what my kitchen table looked like at one point...


I'm happy to announce that next weekend will be a break for me!!!! I have a cake truffle delivery to make to Sweet Escape, but other than that - no cakes! Soooo, there won't be a cake post next Monday.

Now, on to the cakes...

EEO-1 Report changes

It's pretty sad that this survey is still needed today. There hadn't been any changes made to it since 1966!!! I will say I'm happy to see that the "Two or more races" category has finally been added. Just imagine how many people fall into that category now a days! The last change cracks me up - thank goodness the government "strongly endorses self-identification". ~lol~

I found this info here...

The EEO-1 Report – formally known as the "Employer Information Report" – is a government form requiring many employers to provide a count of their employees by job category and then by ethnicity, race and gender. The EEO-1 report is submitted to both the EEOC and the Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

A number of changes are being made to the race and ethnic categories. The revised EEO-1 report:

*adds a new category titled "Two or more races"
*divides "Asian or Pacific Islander" into two separate categories: "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander"
*renames "Black" as "Black or African American"
*renames "Hispanic" as "Hispanic or Latino"
*strongly endorses self-identification of race and ethnic categories, as opposed to visual identification by employers

we must try this....

this is a wonderful blog that i visit daily - Soule Mama

Amanda made a terrific post today.....i'm not sure why i didn't think of this already, duh! but what a perfect idea for my littlest chef! corinn is always wanting to help, and sometimes it would be easier for mama if she had her own little dish to work on.....i'm definitely going to try this soon!


pure cuteness, right?! ;0)

growing up

i've just realized how nice it is that the kids are getting older and more independent.....usually, the thought of them getting older makes me sad.....the usual, my babies are growing up sulking......but lately, i'm figuring out that there are some pros to this getting older thing.....one being that they are enjoying play time a LOT more - they can go outside, to their rooms, on the front porch, etc. and just play for hours at a time - not needing an adult sitting right by them, keeping watch......of course, i'm looking down from my kitchen window when they're outside - mama hawk, with eyes on her young......it's so cool - my kids are becoming such responsible, independent BIG kids......here's 2 pics of them playing on a wall in the empty lot next door......there used to be a building there, but now there's just the foundation and the steps.....they must have spent 2 hours playing on/around/beside this wall last evening


another pro that i figured out a long time ago......no more diaper bags, sippy cups, strollers, etc. when we go out! this has to be the best pro of all!!!


these ladies (ESPECIALLY corinn!) are cooking fools! they jump at every chance to 'help' in the kitchen.....even if it's just to boil hot dogs.....here they are helping daddy make cornbread last night.....and corinn recently loading the dishwasher


lastly, some pics from the 'photo shoot' that gabby requested last evening.....we had just watched an old home movie from 2004.....gabrielle was 1 1/2 in the video and was such a ham already......she was insisting that her name was jaden "i jaden!" and not gabrielle.....she was singing her A,B,C's and twinkle, twinkle.....telling everyone "no, no!"......all the kids were cracking up! i think that put her in a silly mood...

Easter weekend

We had an amazing Easter weekend! Curtis & I both took off work for Good Friday and had a very relaxing long weekend with the kids. We spent all day Friday just hanging out and enjoying the warm weather. Saturday, we had our Easter dinner at my grandparent's home in WVA. Lots of food & lots of family! And of course, an Easter egg hunt! Then Sunday, we attended our church's very first sunrise service outside. It was cold, but very nice....plus, we had a pancake breakfast afterwards! ;0) Then home for a nap (for the kids...and the adults!), then to my parent's home for our Easter Sunday dinner there. Even more good food and family! And of course, another Easter egg hunt and some egg dying! ;0)

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too and took time to not only enjoy your family, but to also remember the real reason for Easter - to celebrate Jesus' victory over death....giving us new life in Him!!!

last week's cakes...

last week, i had 2 children's birthdays & 3 adult birthdays - one being my mom's....she found out recently that she's borderline diabetic, so i had my first go at a sugar-free cake.....it wasn't half bad.....everything here is edible, except for the spiderman candle, the flag pole & the worm bucket