Coolest Cakes

Just wanted to share the most awesome cake website. It's called Coolest-Birthday-Cakes.com
Here are some of my own creations that I've made with the help from this website:







And here's a fabulous recipe for butter cream frosting that Cristiana gave me:

1 cup shortening (or half cup butter and half cup
shortening)
2 tablespoons water (warm)
1 Tablespoon Karo syrup
Blend together till smooth

Slowly add 4 cups of powdered sugar
and blend until desired stiffness.
Set some stiffer icing aside for decoration

Add more corn syrup or water to make icing smoother
for icing the cake.

You can also add a little butter flavoring to the icing to
make it taste even better. You can find it in the
spice aisle.

Just Another Day In Paradise

Note to self: Keep the Eucerin Cream out of Andrew's reach.

The Big Three

We spent a lovely weekend with Randy's parents to celebrate Andrew's third birthday. Grandma & Grandpa's place is Andrew's heaven. There's a big yard to run around in, a tramp, lots of attention and spoiling, and Grandma & Grandpa have lots of "oldies but goodies" toys that Randy and his brother and sister played with when they were kids. In the words of Mater: "It don't get much better than this."

He got a fire truck from Grandma & Grandpa (and some other fun things), which is his new sleeping companion:

This is the best picture I can get of him with his fire truck as we still keep him in the buck when he's home.

Grandma & Grandpa Hellyar got him a Ready Bed. The first night he slept in it, he slept an extra 2 hours! Hopefully we'll have the same luck when we take it on our camping trip next week!

When I put Josh in the bed with Andrew, Josh just started giggling up a storm.

Aunt Maranda & Uncle Tyler got him his very own Spidey fishing pole. It was a hit! Another must for our camping trip:

He also got a Savings Bond from Grandma & Grandpa Carroll, a monkey hand puppet (very fitting) from Uncle Russ & Aunt Lisa, and a big stuffed snake from Grandma Doris. Thank you for the gifts and for making Andrew's day special!

On his actual birthday (June 18th), we invited all of the neighborhood kids to eat cake & popsicles and play with Andrew's new Thomas sprinkler. We also took him on a train ride to get a Jamba Juice.

Here are some fun facts about Andrew:

• His favorite color is red
• His favorite foods are popsicles and any kind of processed meat (bacon, sausage, hot dogs, pepperoni)
• He's given a new nickname to Josh, "Cuckoo"
• He loves to jump on our bed (and we let him) while singing "5 Little Monkeys"
• He's happiest when he's playing outside
• He's still obsessed with caterpillars and can make just about anything look like one

We couldn't get the candle on his cake lit because it was too windy outside, so we sang "Happy Birthday" to him and then told him to make a wish, he then made the action like he was blowing out a candle. I don't know why, but I thought it was so cute and wish I got in on video.

Happy Birthday, Bud! We love you!

Whinefest

So I'm going to indulge in a whine-fest. If you don't want to hear it, kindly move on to the next blog.

Go on. I'll wait.





So I just wanted to complain about my stupidity. I love oranges. They give me canker sores. Usually I just tolerate the minor pain and it goes away in a few days. Well, I have a canker sore on the bottom part of my tongue and it rubs up against my teeth when I'm talking or eating-my two favorite activities-so pretty much I'm in pain all the time.

Yesterday my boys (I love saying "my boys") and I went swimming. I didn't wear sunscreen. My back is scorched. Last summer we had a pass to Raging Waters-I didn't wear sunscreen and I never got burned so I thought I was ok-and besides, I had Josh in a sling, so I thought my back was mostly covered. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Ouch! From this day forward, I vow to ALWAYS wear sunscreen. Being burned stinks.

And lastly, I really hate cleaning poop from my child's underwear.

Ok, I'm done.

Here's Andrew tormenting Josh, and Josh loving every minute of it.

It's funny that two people can get together and create two very different babies; but what cuties they both are!

Andrew at 5 months.

We had to do back flips in order for him to even crack the slightest smile.

Josh at 5 months.

He'll smile any chance he gets.

Home-grown Therapy

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler

Between 6:30 and 7:00 am you will find me at my smallish 4' x 8' garden plot amidst a beautiful community garden. I feed Josh, bundle him up, and we head out while Andrew is still asleep and Randy is getting ready for the day. The sun is just up, the air is cool and breezy, and the world is quiet. I love to get my hands dirty and I love that I can be a part of creating something so beautiful.

Here's what's on the menu in a month or two:
Sunsugar cherry tomatoes
Roma tomatoes
Cherry chili peppers
Green bell peppers
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Basil
Chives
Parsley
Sage
Cilantro

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in
the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity. ~Lindley Karstens

The Naked Method

Treats, toys, stickers, charts, threats, scowls. Yes, these tools probably will help toilet train your child, but thank goodness I listened to Lorena & Cristi's advice and let my child run around naked-our path to potty training has been........well, pleasant. I say this trepidatiously (is that a word?) because I know we're FAR from having this down pat and I expect to have many accidents along the way; but for now, I'm just feeling so stinkin' proud of my little monkey.

A is for Frog

I'm just starting to teach Andrew the letters of the alphabet. We do a letter a week and we started with the letter A:

Mom: A is for apple. A is for Andrew.

Andrew: No mom, A is for Frog.

Mom: No really, A is for apple. A is for Andrew.

Andrew: A is for Frog.

Then a few days later, Randy came up to me and said, "We've got a problem," and showed me one of Andrew's Baby Einstein Alphabooks. On the front cover of the "A" book there was a.........yep, you guessed it........frog. Upon further investigation, apparently J is for mouse, N is for turtle, Q is for baby, U is for dolphin, and W is for Owl. I thought that maybe Baby Einstein named these animals and that was the reasoning, but when I looked on their website, the frog that's on the letter A is named Shakespeare. Holy heck, let's just confuse the crap out of my child. If Andrew didn't LOVE these books, they'd be in the recycling bin right now.

Butterflies

Sometimes I miss our dating days when Randy could take my breath away with just a look. I still remember vividly the first time it happened: Randy walked me home to my apartment. I think he gave me a hug goodbye (keep in mind, it took him 25 dates before he felt adventurous enough to kiss me). For some reason, I had to walk back out to the parking lot to get something out of my car and Randy was just getting into his car. I said something to him to get his attention and he got out of his car to turn and look at me-and POW! I felt my knees buckling, the butterflies were in a flurry, and I literally had to catch my breath. Randy gave me butterflies like no other-that's how I knew he was a keeper.

Well, 6 1/2 years of marriage later, I wouldn't say that our marriage is perfect; on some days, it's far from it. But then again, we have moments when Randy still has the ability to take my breath away. Yesterday, we took the kids on a hike-the wild flowers were in full bloom and it was an incredibly beautiful day. Randy spotted a deer off in the distance and we stood still for a few moments to look at it. Randy leaned over to give me a quick kiss-and POW! I felt the butterflies awaken.

With the rush of life, these moments are few and far between, but I sure do love it when they come along.

And the Award for the Worst Mom Goes To....

Yep, that would be me. I really scare me. We were on our way to soccer. Deborah was with me and was helping me load the kids in the car. The Ford is in the shop, so I had the Kia-no automatic locks. It's a habit for me to unlock the doors and then throw my car keys onto the front passenger seat while I load the kids in. I unlocked the Kia (you have to unlock each lock manually), threw the keys onto the front seat, loaded Josh in, and then locked his door and the passenger front door, walked around to the other side to load Andrew in. The doors were locked, with Josh locked inside. Thank goodness Deborah was there-she waited with Andrew and poor Josh while I drove to the hospital, ran up to the 4th floor, grabbed Randy's car keys ("Don't ask me questions, just give me the d@!# keys!") and got back-it took me about 10 minutes. A tiny miracle: Josh didn't scream and was fine. What would I have done if Deborah wasn't there?!!

p.s. I didn't really swear at my husband.

Soccer, Week 3:

No whining. No crying. Only a couple of moments when he wanted me to hold his hand. He did such a good job. The coaches tried to get them to play an actual game-it was hilarious. Grandma came with us today; I think she's good luck.

5 Months

Joshers is 5 months today. He is sweet, sweet, sweet. Oh! He's so sweet! His smiles come easily and he LOVES to talk and coo to us. He's eating cereal like a pro now, and I love having a good eater. We love you Josh!

First Potty Adventure

So, I introduced the potty to Andrew yesterday. He wanted nothing to do with it. It's amazing how he KNOWS how to annoy me in just the right way. So we practiced putting Lamby on the toilet; he thought that was fun. I made a big fuss when Lamby sat on the potty, pretended to feed him a skittle, and then asked Andrew if he wanted a turn. Uh uh, no way.

Then Grey's Anatomy came on, so I decided to put the potty in the living room while I watched TV. I enticed Andrew with a popsicle and said he could have one if he sat on the potty-it worked! He sat on the potty while he ate his popsicle, and amazingly he peed! Randy and I made a big fuss over the 3 drops of urine that made it into the potty, had Andrew carry the bowl to the toilet, flush it, and wash his hands. He thought it was so fun, that we repeated the process about 6 times. So I'm thinking he's ready. Am I ready? Maybe in a couple of weeks...

A New Frontier

I'm feeling brave today so I got out the potty chair that's been sitting in our closet for almost a year. I'm not going to start training until Andrew is over 3, but I guess I feel like we need to start talking about it at least. This is something I've been dreading ever since our pediatrician told me at Andrew's 18-month checkup that it was never too early to start. I looked at him like he was a crazy person and threw his advice to the wayside. I guess I just haven't felt the push-I'd much rather change a diaper than have to find a nasty public restroom wherever we go. And not one person has told me that potty-training was a pleasant, easy experience; and I'm all about easy.

Does anyone want to come over and potty-train my child for me? Anyone?...........Anyone?..............Hello?

Here is one of my all-time favorite pictures of Pete & Andrew (March 2006), it cracks me up every time I look at it:

I know, Andrew, I'm a little scared, too.

I think Joshua is starting to warm up to Andrew, even when his big brother does things like this to him...


I even caught him laughing at Andrew yesterday.

Bribery. It's a Beautiful Thing.

Soccer, week 2:

Mom: Are you ready to play soccer today?

Andrew: No. No, play soccer. Not today!

Mom: Do you want to run around and kick the ball and play with your friends?

Andrew: No.

Mom: If you go play soccer, then we can go to the store and get a treat after.

Andrew: Mm. Hmm.

And that is how we got through our second week of soccer-I had to keep reminding him that we'd go get a treat after. He did pretty good. He whined most of the time, but he did what his coach asked him to do. Sometimes I had to hold his hand (literally) for him to do anything. We didn't make it the whole hour, but I think we're making progress.

We got Slurpees from 7-11 afterwards. It was Andrew's first Slurpee experience, and he hasn't stopped asking for one since.

The Best Time Is Summertime

I read a license plate frame recently; it read: THE BEST TIME IS SUMMERTIME

I love all the seasons, but this year I especially welcome the summer, it really is the best time of year:

1. The heat puts my kids into a sluggish trance and they sleep better.
2. Popsicles.
3. My garden and the hope of fresh veggies grown with my own two hands.
4. Flip-flops.
5. Ice cold water after playing out in the sun.
6. Eating dinner outside.
7. Being able to go for a walk with my kids in the early morning hours.
8. The sun doesn't go down until 9 pm.
9. Sprinklers and kiddie pools.
10. Getting dirty and sweaty, and then taking a nice warm shower before bed.

Q3

This is a shout-out to my husband who works very hard for our family. LOVE YOU!!

Randy is doing a 3-week rotation in the ICU and Q3 means that he has call every three days. What this really means is every 3rd day he works a 30+ hour shift; sleep is fleeting and the work is very busy. I LOVE that we're just a five minute walk away from the hospital-we get to bring him dinner on his call nights, which hopefully, makes his burden a little lighter. Some intern programs do this for a full year. We will not be applying to such programs.

Maybe Someday...

I'll be able to get some decent pictures of my two boys AT the same time. The first attempt was when Josh was 6 weeks old; with my mom's help, we took the boys to Kiddie Kandids-we had to wait 1 1/2 hours before they were ready for us. Josh was an angel. Andrew was toast.

The second attempt was last March, my good friend Danielle took some pictures outside; it was windy. Andrew was a sweetie. Josh went ballistic:

I must say, I have the cutest, handsomest, sweetest little boys on earth in the universe.