weekend recap...

wow, this weekend was almost a repeat of last weekend.....i got about the same amount of sleep (a little more this weekend) & we did just about the same things - again, curtis helped me tons with the kids so i could finish cakes, we did a lot of playing at the park/playground & we attended a family birthday party :0)

saturday afternoon, curtis & the kids went along with me to deliver 2 cakes about an hour away.....i had packed the kids' lunches for a picnic & on the way home, we visited a park that's about 45 minutes away from our home, so we don't get to go there often (actually, this was our 1st visit this year!)......it's an amazing park - a river runs through it & there's a damn & a shaky (yet safe) bridge over the river......a small playground, hiking trails, ducks that beg to b fed.....tons of beautiful flowers & lots of cool bugs......needless to say, we had a great time!

corinn was nervous about the bridge at first - especially cause her brother & sister were jumping up & down to shake it! ~lol~

jaden insisted on having our picture taken together - awwww! ;0)
of course daddy couldn't resist getting out the fishing pole

see that lady sitting in the tree, perched over the river? see jaden on the bridge, watching that lady? he wanted to do that sooooo bad! but of course, mama wasn't trying to jump in that dirty river to save anyone this weekend! ~lol~
this neat spider would lay down flat against the fence to hide from us - it was too cool!
these gorgeous flowers had about 100 bumble bees flying around/in them!
i got the chance to explain to the kids, how mud daubers work
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that park!

on the way home, we stopped by 7-11 for slurpees......jaden gets a blue slurpee each and every time they have them - regardless of the flavor - well, because blue is his absolute favorite color & if he has an option, he'll choose blue......but u'll never guess what the flavor was this time!!!

DRAGON FRUIT!!!

i know, right?! starburst must have made that flavor specifically for jaden! ;0)

then sunday after church/lunch/nap, we spent some time outside (oh, what a hot & humid weekend! much better out today tho) - we were just killing time until matthew's birthday party.......the kids could not wait & were driving me crazy!

gabby asked me to take a video of her new way of jumping rope......evidentially, daddy showed her that if she makes tinier jumps, she can go faster & get more in! i was impressed by that alone.....THEN she pulls out all the stops & shows me she's learned to jump backwards! loving it! :0)

finally, the time for matthew's party came & we headed to my brother's house..... matthew loved his cake & presents, and a great time was had by all.....especially at the end of the night, when katie's mom gave jaden a ride in her BLUE convertible miata! jaden LOVES jeeps & convertibles......so this totally made his week! he couldn't stop talking about his "fast ride" the entire way home! unfortunately, the battery had died on my camera by then - i took a pic with katie's camera, but i haven't gotten that from her yet - he had the biggest grin on his face when they got back from their ride.....i'll make sure and share that pic with u when i get it :0)

what is this?

omg - if u could have heard this cutie's giggle when he found out he got a tractor?!
priceless!

he had a little trouble getting the hang of holding down the pedal - good thing he had lots of cousins to help him out ;0)

on a side note - thank you guys for all your prayers as curtis started his new job! he began his training today and LOVES it so far - it sounds like a fabulous place to work & everyone he's dealt with so far loves their job! he's still super psyched after finishing today, so that's a great sign! thanks again! :0)

weekend cakes...

first up was another beer cooler cake for a wedding rehearsal dinner - the groom is an employee of MillerCoors - so all the beer cans are their products.....marble cake, iced in butter cream.....i made the "beer cans" out of fondant & hand painted on the logos.....the "ice" is clear gelatin (it was so dark outside, on the restaurant patio, where the party was being held - i had a hard time putting in the "ice" and knowing if i was filling up the blue empty spaces).......the white rim of the "cooler" is not edible


next up was this cake for a co-worker's husband.....she was throwing him a surprise 50th birthday party & wanted the cake to portray him (as a much older man), fishing on the beach (as he does a lot when they go on vacation).....she had me match up his swim trunks & trusty beach hat ;0) the bottom tier is confetti & the top is fudge chip.....all iced in butter cream.....the "sand" is a graham cracker/brown sugar mixture.....i made the man & tiny shells out of fondant.....the chair & fishing pole are not completely edible


then came this Scooby Doo cake for little Hannah......it's chocolate cake, iced & decorated in butter cream


and lastly, my nephew's 2nd birthday cake! Matthew turned 2 yesterday - he LOVES 4-wheelers & tractors.....he especially loves his daddy's 4-wheeler, so i made it into a cake.....this is confetti cake, iced in cream cheese icing......the 4-wheeler is made of rice krispies, covered & decorated in fondant.....the handlebars are not edible

he giggled when he saw his cake & said "4-wheeler!" :0)

10 things i'm loving...

i'm loving that fall is here!

(pics taken november 2007)

it's time to start planning pumpkin patch trips & halloween costumes - this is my very favorite time of year!

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i'm loving me some mr. skates!

(pic taken august 2008)

my hubby’s been extra sweet to me these days – i swear, i probably haven’t done the dishes in like a month! he's been getting dinner going most evenings, he did a TON of laundry yesterday, he's been helping clean house here & there!
i went to bed this morning at 4:30am & he let me sleep until 7am (beginning a busy cake weekend again) – i got up to find out that he had already given all the kids baths/showers, fed them breakfast, had them all dressed & ready to go to school! all I had to do was brush the girls' hair ;0) then he jumps in his car & heads off to work TWO side jobs today - probably won't get home until 7 or 8pm!

he starts his new job on monday, so i'm loving this last little bit of mr. mom! ;0)

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i'm loving the new ford flex!

only, in black - and without the different color top - allllll black! ;0)

i just told ya about my van hitting the big 200K this past weekend, so i'm dreaming of what my new ride will be.....i'd LOVE to b sporting this flex! but i'll probably end up in another mini-van.....we'll see - new car shopping is still a little ways off

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i'm loving this one's style


she's so original! :0)

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i'm loving that this one is always wearing shades these days

and that she feels she must put her hands on her hips, every time her picture is taken! ~teehee~

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i'm loving that jaden is doing so very well in 2nd grade!

he's always excelled at math, but struggled with problem solving - being able to read the scenario, actually retain the information given, then produce the correct answer - especially when it involves money! but this year - easy breezy baby! ;0) not only with problem solving, but with all subjects AND his behavior! that's my boy - keep it up bub!!!

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after my very first trip, i'm loving the driving range

i'm on the social committee at work & i headed up organizing a golf outing for us on wednesday - 1 round of putt-putt & 1 medium bucket of balls at the range (then we enjoyed an italian catered lunch afterwards)....i wasn't sure how i'd do - but i did pretty well - plus had a great time!....and knowing that curtis loves driving balls (he got in plenty of practice on his lunch breaks, at the course, at his old job) - i'm thinking of planning a little date for us here :0)

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i'm loving the almost instant relief - the cake decorating weight, being lift off my shoulders


even tho i've still got to make it thru september, i can see the light at the end of the tunnel, & that in itself has helped my stress level go down

i admit - i'm having a reeeeaaaaly hard time turning everyone away (i got 6 requests yesterday alone - probably 14 total just this week!) - but i'm sticking to my guns - and i feel good about it!

and i don't feel like i'm in a constant panicked rush any more, wondering what it is i've forgotten - cause i know i've forgotten something!

my skin is clearing up - i was really starting to look like a 14 yr old boy who's going thru puberty! ~lol~

my headaches are popping up less often (i'm a migraine sufferer - ugh)

and i am spending lots of time daydreaming about what fun things i'm going to do with my extra time, come october - with AND without my family!
do u know how long it's been since i've read a "real" book?! (if you give a mouse a cookie at bedtime & skimming thru US weekly do NOT count!)

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i'm loving the newly acquired jump rope skills!

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most of all, i'm LOVING these nuts! ;0)


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what are YOU loving right now?

back to dance...

this week, the girls' dance season started again (it runs sept. thru beginning of june)

we had to limit the girls to 1 class each this year.....we realized how expensive dance can get with 2 girls taking multiple classes last season (not only tuition cost, but costumes, recital pictures, etc.)......plus, jaden is now taking jiu-jitsu - another costly activity.....so, we decided to scale it back a bit this season

they did get to pick which class to take tho......corinn chose tap (she took ballet last year) & gab chose acrobatics (she took ballet & tap last year)......both were super psyched to start & they were even more pumped after finishing their first class!

corinn went first on tuesday

coming down the stairs, right after class - look at that face!

she couldn't wait to show us some moves!

(sorry for the blurry pic!)


then yesterday, gabby started acro - she had been standing on her head at home for the last week, in preparation! ~lol~

and after class, she couldn't wait to show us her bridge!

i'm so glad that they made the decision as to what class to take, and then were happy with the decisions they had made!
it sounds like this season is going to be a lot of fun!

sweet note from Corinn's preK teacher...

i got the following email from Corinn's preK teacher this morning ~grinning ear to ear~

"I wanted to let you know that Corinn is doing so well in school. She is bright and articulate. She knows a lot about nature and the world around her. She is an AWESOME student. I can see her being a leader and helping others in our class."

Never Forget!

I'll never forget where I was & how I felt that day!

I thank God that we live in a free country &
I appreciate each & every man & woman that's willing to fight for my family's freedom!

I'll never forget!

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

show your support

I mentioned Danielle back in July when she was about to testify in front of the Joint Economic Committee in DC about the price gouging going on at Questcor, the manufacturer of Acthar Gel (ACTH) for infantile spasms (IS).

Today, she posted an open letter in response to Don Bailey, the President/CEO of Questor.

Please hop over there & show her your support. Just post a comment to say hi & let her know you're praying for her & her family.

She's currently going through a relapse of her son's IS - Trevor went 8 months seizure-free, after Danielle & her hubby fought to get his first 5 vials of the ACTH (at $25,000 a vial!!!). But they just found out last week that his seizures have returned. She's currently playing the waiting game AGAIN - for the vital drug from Questor, that's needed to stop Trevor's seizures.

No mother should have to go through this!

Hugs & Kisses Danielle! I can't stop thinking about & praying for your family! Love you girl!
Sharon

pie in a jar?

mama j, over at Give. Live. Love. sent this to me - she thought i'd find it interesting after my dabbling in the cupcakes in a jar idea.....and i did! these r sooooo pretty! and probably much yummier than cake! (can u tell i'm not a huge cake fan any more?!) ;0) just wanted to share it with u....now, go try it - and send me some! ~lol~

corinn's firsts

yesterday, corinn decided she was ready to be dropped off in front of the school (in the drop off/pick up zone) instead of having me walk everyone inside, like i've been doing since the first day.....what a big girl! i know she looks nervous in this pic - but she's not....she just wasn't looking at me until i snapped the pic ;0)

and actually, we've changed the breakfast routine too - the kids used to eat breakfast at school, cause everyone was going in different directions & we had to leave the house earlier in the mornings....but this year, we've discovered that we have plenty of time for the kids to eat at home - and it's cheaper (believe it or not!).....and since they're all going to the same place this year - the morning routine has gotten a lot easier, in general :0)

then last evening, corinn had her first homework assignment! the other 2 kiddos have had homework every day since returning to school, after having labor day off - but last night was corinn's 1st!

look at that concentration!

LOVE IT! ;0)