What I've Been Up To

I've been taking cake decorating classes for the past eight weeks and this is my "final exam." I am quite impressed especially considering that until about 3 months ago I had never even turned a cake out of a pan. I was one of those who baked the cake, left it in the pan, and dumped a can of frosting on top (my mom's secret recipe!!). So after 16 hours of classes and ZERO practice time at home, this is how good I am now. Not too bad, huh? I can do 4 different borders including basketweave, 10 types of flowers, and 3 kinds of leaves. I was going to continue the classes but I am not going to have time the next few months, so I'll just stick with practicing what I have already learned. All in all, I had a really good time learning something new and having a bit of a creative outlet, but ultimately I'd still rather have a yummy cake over a pretty cake any day!!

Butt Scoot and Boogie

Rainbow School or Bust!

Today was the 1st day of preschool and at a whopping 28lbs and 35 inches Max is ready to be the BIG MAN on campus--well his mouth is big anyway!! He is in the yellow class at his school and goes 3 mornings a week. He was ready to go bright and early (and we don't do early at our house).
When we got to school, I signed him in and he was ready to go until....
Another little boy in his class had a bit of a meltdown and Max's little chin began to quiver and he said, "Mommy, I think I need to cry too!" So he cried for about 2 minutes and then was fine for the rest of the morning. When I picked him up he was excited to tell me all about it. They sang songs, learned about crayons (I guess the rules or something but that part seemed very important) and he played with lots of toys. I asked if he made new finds and he said yes and I asked who and he said, "Oh a bunch of somebodies." So we made it through Day One and we shall see what Day Two holds in store. Way to go Little Monkey!! You did good.

Zakky -- Never a Dull Moment!

Isn't this the face of pure innocence?!?!
Zachary is nine months old now and he's long overdue for an update. So here you are. At his last doctor's visit he was 20lbs and 28 inches which puts him in the 50% for height and weight. I think that's the only thing average about this little guy!! He also now has 6 teeth with 4 more coming--including 2 molars! Warning HE BITES!! Just check out my furniture.
Zach has decided that crawling is not for him and is choosing the "butt scoot" as his main mode of transportation. It's the funniest thing I think I've ever seen. I got video and I'll have to figure out how to download it to share with you all. But it's basically what it sounds like. He sits down and then scoots on his bum to get where he wants to go. He also has figured out how to cruise along the furniture if that is an option. I don't know why neither of my kids seem to think it's ok to be "normal" sometimes!
Zachary is a VERY good eater and will eat anything that doesn't eat him first. We gave up on baby food awhile back when he started stealing food off Max's plate. He's also a very demanding eater and will growl and shreik at you if you don't feed him fast enough or offer to share what you have with him. It doesn't matter if he's not hunger and it doesn't matter what you are eating. He WILL take your food, so don't say you weren't warned.
With all of this Zachary is still one of the sweetest, most laidback little guys I know. He's content to follow you around, help with household chores, clap his hands when you sing, and smile till your heart melts. He's into everything and loves to make a mess, but with a smile (and hair) like that you can't help but love him!!

Ohhh Brothers!!

Just some cute pictures to share. So do you all see what I'm up against?!?!?

Love that chicken (and the little boy too)!!!

So I brought chicken home for lunch today and after fixing everyone's plates and feeding both kids I was finally able to sit down and enjoy my lunch. Well I sat down with my plate of a chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and biscuit, Max sat down next to me with the biggest eyes I've ever seen. He said, "Wow Mom! You must be REALLLLLY hungry. That's the biggest chicken nugget I've ever seen!"
Love that kid.

the shopping goddess smiled down on me!

I had a rough week. My kids have been sick, my husband has been gone, my mom has been in the hospital, and we have had a few other unexpected disappointments to deal with as well. Then there are the little things like, breaking a bottle and stepping on glass, forgetting to put a razor away and having my 3 yr old find it--we've gone through a box of bandaid on that one, having the underwire of my bra pop and zing my pretty good, etc, etc, etc.
Anyway, that was not the point of this post. My point was that tonight I'd had enough and needed to get away. I used the excuse of needing to go bra shopping b/c I knew no one would want to join me. So I left Jeff with the boys and went out.
My true intention was to buy a bra, drive around for a bit, and then come home before bath time. Well the goddess of shopping had other plans!!
First off, the bras were buy one get one 1/2 off, so I had to get two. Then I found a sweater on sale--I know buying a sweater in the August desert sounds dumb, but it does cool off in a few months--anyway it was on sale 75% off and in my size and one of my fave colors! AND I found a dress that I love on sale for 55% off and the only one left was in my size. This never happens to me!! And if you know me, I'm a sucker for a sale. This was my night!!
So the short of it is that while I really had no need to go shopping at all, the fates aligned in such a way that it was my destiny. I followed it and was greatly rewarded. Goddess of shopping, wherever you reign, thank you for smiling my way tonight!!

If I Can Do It...

Yesterday I donated blood. I have always found an excuse not to do it--mostly that it's gross and I hate needles, but it didn't turn out too bad after all. In fact I realized some great benefits of "sharing a piece of me" with someone else. Aside from the obvious, saving a life reason, I found some other compelling reasons to say "Why not."
First off, the blood drive was in the mall so it was convienently located. Secondly, you get cookies and juice while you wait AND after you are done. Third, when I tried to use the excuse that I had my kids with me so it was a bad time, the nice lady at the desk agreed to watch them for me. I could see them the whole time but did not have to "deal" with them for almost 30 minutes. Max helped people sign in and Zach charmed everyone within a 50 yard radius. Another benefit was that they fed my kids cookies and juice too. I saved money not having to buy lunch!! And then at the end I got lots of prizes--a coloring book, box of crayons, t-shirt, water bottle, dinner coupons and movie tickets.
So there you have it. A handful of reasons why giving blood wasn't so bad after all. As Max puts it "My momma don't gave (donate) her blood. I may even do it again sometime. If I can do it...can you?