completely random...

some pics my sister caught at the actual recital...

gabby giving a curtsy to Mary Poppins as the penguins exit

the bird lady feeding corinn her worm

this was part of a birthday project in jaden's class.....each student gets a book made by their class for their birthday.....all of their classmates write them a note about what they wish for them on their birthday & draw a picture for them.....here's what jaden wrote/drew for his classmate, jessica.....how sweet it was to see a "girly" pic that jaden drew - i don't think we'd ever see a drawing like this come from jaden otherwise! ~lol~


here he is digging this past weekend.....he LOVES to get out the shovel and dig little holes.....there's one area of our backyard that we allow him to do this.....he usually finds some earthworms as a special treat for his aquatic turtle, socks.....and he'll put the mounds back into the holes when he's finished....

my lovelies...

my sexy hubby beefing up in the back yard....

and that tree he's doing pull-up in?.....one of our 3 cherry trees! LOVE this!!! i'm not sure why (i have a totally black thumb and am clueless when it comes to trees/plants), but this is the first summer we've seen cherries??? this is our 3rd summer here too - regardless, i was literally giddy last night when i saw they are turning red!

gabby couldn't wait for an all-red one :0)

missing my step-sons

after the wonderful weekend we had - filled with tons of family time....i'm really missing my step-sons! it's been over a month since we've heard from them & it's getting harder & harder to 'hold out' for a phone call.....after my post about 'the ex' possibly moving down here, we found out that as we guessed, she wasn't/didn't move down here at all (and probably never actually planned to).....that they are living & going to school in MD - but we don't know where in MD exactly.....she disconnected her cell phone or had her number changed.....we've been mailing the child support checks to her mother, who i assume is getting them to her.....but we literally have not heard a word from them! :0( i hate that not only are they missing out on all the fun that our family has here, but that we're missing out on them! i want to know what's going on with them, what they're up to, what sports they're playing, how they're doing in school, if they're dating, etc., etc.....and i want them to b a part of our life here! i HATE this situation & really wish i had the answer.....i wish i knew what to tell jaden, gabrielle & corinn when they ask us when curtis & corey are coming to see us again! i teared up last time they asked me & i'm starting to wonder how long i should avoid the conversation that i know i'll eventually have to have with them.....i've turned this situation over to God & pray that a resolution will be evident soon - all we can do is pray & wait, i guess

weekend recap...

it was good that last weekend was pretty chill & relaxing, cause we sure had the opposite this weekend! it just FLEW by!

after finishing all the cakes i had for the weekend by early afternoon on saturday...

we threw my dad a surprise 50th birthday party that evening! he had NO CLUE & was totally surprised (awesome job mom!)! then, he couldn't figure out why we surprising him! ~lol~ he just stood in the doorway, looking at everyone, trying to figure out why we were all there....i finally yelled "happy birthday old man!" and he started laughing....his actual bday isn't until tomorrow, so i guess he just wasn't thinking about it! ~lol~ we had a GREAT turnout (we counted around 50 or 60) and it was fun.....curtis & a friend of the family spent all morning BBQ'ing 90 chicken halves & we had everyone bring a side dish.....of course i made a special cake for him....my sister made a kick-ass slide show to music with pics of dad and the family throughout the years....my brother joe, came home from VCU just for the party.....it was great! the best part was that the whole party was also a surprise to the grandkids....we knew they'd spill the beans, so none of them knew about it until that day! they were super excited to yell "SURPRISE"!

curtis, the kids (including my sis' kids), and my brother joe

mom got dad a banjo & lessons!
jaden will LOVE enjoying this with grandpa - jaden recently has become very interested in banjos, fiddles & blue grass music! :0) and coincidentally, my brother cj just ordered himself a banjo too - without even knowing about mom's gift for dad....i guess there will be some picking and grinning going on before too long! ;0)

and of course we had to go over to nana & grandpa's house after the party for some swinging & go-kart riding before dark! ;0)

btw - i'm soooo jealous of their garden! it's just getting started, but isn't it beautiful?!

then on sunday, we attended my sister's church because my niece, deandra, was performing....her & some of the local WRE (weekday religious education) students provided the special music & did a GREAT job! it literally makes my heart flutter & fill with joy hearing kids sing praise to our Lord!


they had a meal afterwards & started some games outside.....the kids played on the playground & curtis was recruited for a game of kickball...

i thought he might ping this kid to tag him out - he refrained and just chased him down ;0)

i had to fix the girls' hair at the church & we drove straight to the recital from there.....of course, this means no nap time...

corinn about to fall asleep on the way to the recital

but the girls still did wonderfully! actually, perfect! no mess-ups, and lots of smiles!!! i'm so excited about getting the dvd that we ordered - corinn ended up in the front when they were circling mary poppins this time, so we could see her whole routine! my sis did take some pics (they said we could this year if we didn't use the flash) - i'll post the good ones once she sends them to me

right before show time - handing them off to go back stage....they stayed back stage the entire 3 hours of the recital (yes, it lasted 3 hours! not 2, like they told us it would ~lol~)....the older girls took care of helping the younger ones with costume changes

me & my girls after the recital

cute pic of daddy & his girls heading to the car....they were asleep before we were 5 miles down the road

weekend cakes...

first up was a cupcake cake for jaden's class - they had an "unbirthday party" on friday to celebrate all the summer birthdays.....these are actual drawings that jaden has done - i just recreated them in icing.....i let him pick out what drawings to include on thursday (he obviously couldn't decide on just one)....then i decorated the cupcakes that night, after he was in bed.....he was SOOO excited when he woke up friday morning! then, when we took them into his class that morning, he had to show EVERYONE! we made sure to take enough for his class & ALL his teachers & helpers

that's him on the left, then a sea monster, a dragon & a robot sweeper ;0)

a graduation cake for a co-worker's son

a simple cake (using gum paste flowers leftover from this wedding cake) for my aunt to donate to her local ruritan auction/bake sale

a 50th birthday cake for "the cake sisters" mom (the cake sisters are regulars - they get at least one cake a month from me & book their dates years in advance)
this is the 3rd time i've done this cake design

and a 50th birthday cake for my dad! his fav cake is carrot cake with cream cheese icing....but he's an ice cream fiend!!! so i made him this....

no ice cream was used in the making of this cake ;0)
it's all carrot cake & cream cheese icing
(the cherries, bananas & spoon are fondant, and the sauces are chocolate...the cherry stems are the only thing not edible)

thanks for looking! ♥

little dancers - part 3

and lastly....corinn's pre-ballet 1 class, dancing to Feed the Birds (corinn was really wanting to stay on the very tip of her toes after seeing the older girl's pointe performance right before her class comes out - she kind of forgot about flapping her wings.....last night when she watched the video, she said "oh! i pointed, but what about my wings?!" ~lol~ she's so funny!)

little dancers - part 2

gabby's pre-tap class, dancing to The Penguin Dance (i missed the very beginning when they come out - the end is super cute!)

little dancers

ok, i'm having trouble getting all 3 of the videos uploaded to the same post, so i'll have to put one on this post & will make 2 more posts with the others

but as promised, here's a look into my girls' dance recital.....last night was dress rehearsal & they did great.....it was a little distracting with all the parents & their many cameras/camcorders (including me - at the same time, running one camera for video & taking pics with the other - i'm sooo talented! ~lol~)....and all the girls were super interested in seeing each other's routines - more so than concentrating on theirs'.....they've honestly done better in some of their practices than their performance last night, but i am still sooooo proud of them! i can't wait for sunday - the LIVE PERFORMANCE! the girls are psyched too! they've been watching the mary poppins movie & our recial dvd from last year (when just gabby took ballet) to get ready!

here's some pics of my girls & the other dance classes in the mary poppins section (the recital will be about 2 hours long - only about half is the mary poppins show....there are also other themed dances - hip/hop, pointe & ballet solos, jazz, modern, acrobatics, etc.)

the main characters

the carousel horses
Stay Awake
Let's Go Fly a Kite
I Love to Laugh
Step in Time
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

here's the 1st video (of 3).....gabrielle's pre-ballet 2 class, dancing to Spoon Full of Sugar (the girls are supposed to be the toys in the movie....some of their entry timing was off - but watch my girl count her toe taps when they're going back and forth across the stage - she's right on time!)

Chinese Zodiac tat?

i've been thinking a lot lately about my next tattoo...i currently have 2 (both of which need touching up)

a butterfly on my foot
that i got in 2005 with a close friend (she also got a foot tattoo)

and i have a dragon (i know, right?!) on my left shoulder blade
that i got right after i turned 18....literally, 2 months after

i've always wondered if my dragon tattoo has anything to do with jaden's obsession with dragons.....i know that his OCD is a trait of his AS.....and i got the tat years before he was born....but could my tat have gotten the ball rolling on that topic? well, today - i think i found out that maybe, not so much...

so i know that i want this next tat to represent ♥me, curtis & our kids♥....and i most likely want it on/around my wrist....i was thinking about my kids & their loves - the girls & their love for dance & creative play....and of course jaden & his love for art & china/dragons/chinese dragons/sea monsters/aliens/etc.....i already know all our zodiac signs, but decided to check and see what our chinese zodiac signs are - the years/animals we were born under.....would you believe that by being born in 2000, jaden is a dragon?! seriously! how cool is that?!

actually, all our signs seem to really represent who we are....

Curtis – Boar - Reliable & honest

Me - Sheep - Easygoing, calm & artistic

Jaden - Dragon - Confident, Ambitious, resourceful & assertive

Gabrielle - Horse - Free spirit, forthright & outspoken

Corinn - Monkey - Lovable, quick-witted & helpful

i mean really, spot on!

so, now i'm thinking....i might get our chinese zodiac symbols around my wrist???? i don't know, are chinese symbols too played out? i really like the idea if it's dainty & simple - i'm all about simple design

i've also thought about what our names mean....nothing clicking with that....

Curtis - Courteous or Polite (he is!)
Sharon - Princess of Fertile Plain (omg - i am a fertile plain ~lol~)
Jaden - God has heard
Gabrielle - Heroine of God
Corinn - Maiden

our family name skates - the word really has no meaning except for a skate ~lol~ we see those at the beach every year when we go out to watch the fishermen on the pier!

i guess a little family of roller skates would b cute ;0)

what do u guys think?

i guess i'll think on it some more....not in any rush....just always a thought in the back of my head....just like wanting to get my nose pierced! ~lol~ wendy's recent post got me thinking again about this....i've had piercings before too....my tongue twice (cause i wasn't 18 yet the 1st time & my mom made me take it out when she found out....then i did it again as soon as i turned 18 & moved out)....and my left nipple *gasp* ~lol~ (got that one with my first 'real' boyfriend after graduating high school & moving out....he got both of his done too)....of course, not my best decisions & i took them out soon after becoming pregnant with jaden (the nipple piercing hole & nursing - FUNNY story)

but with piercings & tattoos, come cost.....i rarely spend money on myself - i always end up finding reasons/excuses to spend money on the kids, but not so much on mommy.....i've started a little 'me' fund (after some encouragement from curtis) for things like this....so now, i'm just slowly adding (and i mean, slowly).....luckily, i have a friend that's a tattoo artist, so hopefully we can work something out there ;0)

i ♥ body art & actually day dream about really 'painting' myself sometimes.....as i've said before, i'm all about self-expression & admire those who go all out - live in the moment....'document' milestones thru tats - showcase some really kick-butt art

sorry for my rambling today - most of our associates are away at conference in nashville this week & it's a ghost town at work....we're all so b-o-r-e-d! :0P and i was up late last night with this week's cakes....so i'm a lil punch drunk.....i think i'm done now - that is all ~lol~

it's almost curtain time!

last night was the girls' tech rehearsal for the recital on sunday! and tomorrow will be the dress rehearsal....which is also the time that parents are to take pics/video since none are allowed during the actual performance (of course you can purchase a dvd of the recital for only $35! ~lol~)....look for a post with my pics & videos on friday! ;0)

waiting patiently for their turn on stage
gabby's ballet class....this is the big finish to a spoonful of sugar
corinn "watching" the other classes ~lol~
gabby's tap class - the penguin dancecutest pic award goes to....corinn's ballet class - watching on their tip toes
corinn's ballet - feed the birds

i'm sooooo excited for this year's performance! last year, only gabrielle was taking dance & she was just in one ballet class.....so we weren't sure what to expect & we sat through the entire 4hr recital (there's LOTS of classes!) just to see her class' 2 minute performance.....which we still loved, but u know.....this year, we get to see our girls in 3 different dances & they're so much more into the whole dance thing this year - gabby isn't as shy & corinn is a complete natural!

here's a slide i made of last year's ballet portion of the recital (i didn't have this blog then).....it was a wizard of oz theme (*wink to BC*) & gabby's ballet class were the poppies - too cute!

my new motto...

Live your life in such a way

that when your feet hit the

floor in the morning,

satan shudders & says...

'Oh no....she's awake!!'