More Custom Blog Layouts by April Showers! »
Lilypie Third Birthday tickers
Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

April 24, 2011

It's All About the Bab-ehs

April 23, 2011

Making it Pretty

Here are some detail shots of E's party decor, and a little of the prep work too ; )

Besides the fresh flowers, and the cupcake arrangement, the other flower decorations were "hand-made" flowers.








Petals = Lemon cake and Raspberry frosting, Stem and stamen = Banana cake with chocolate frosting. YUM




(final product for our "hand-made" efforts)

April 22, 2011

A Little 'M'

He picked out the jacket and hat all by himself at Kohl's :)  "I a cowboy mommy. Giddy-up, yaw!"
(note, he was properly fastened in the seat before we actually went anywhere in the car)


Max loves Daddy's new iPod Touch. He's really good at using it and has his own games on it. It's become a special treat to play it after dinner if he eats well.

April 20, 2011

Par-tay

So we finally celebrated Elly's birthday a couple weekends back :)  We were originally going to celebrate in early March, but my grandmother passed away and her funeral happened to be the day of the planned party.
I planned most of the deets with my girl Chibiko months ago. Location (an awesome heated pavillion) and food (cake and lemonade anyone?), decorations (cake and flowers/balloons) and activities (slide, tunnel, and coloring).  Since the original plan was for early March, and, you know, we live in IOWA, we planned for indoor activities :D  Then we have the party in April, and fate shined down on us and gave us an absolutely beautiful day. Sunshine and warmth and(maybe a little too much) wind. So we upgraded our activies to playing at the park and bubble chasing (E got a bubble machine as a gift on her ACTUAL bday). I'd like to think everyone would have had fun with the original plan, but I think we (parents) all appreciated the condition playing outdoors at the park left our kids in!  Early bedtime anyone?
So, what you really want here are some pictures, right? Right? Here is a run down of E celebrating her big day a fat 2 months after the fact ; )
Starting her day off annoying the cat....

Doesn't everyone like to read sans clothing?

A daycare buddy had a birthdy party that morning. So here she is having some fun at Monkey Joes!
(she LOVES this place!)

Snuggling with Poppo at the beginning of the party.

CAKE TIME!
 She did better than Max on his first birthday, but not by much.

The cupcakes were more of a success :)  A huge hit all around (no leftovers!!).

Then she moved on to the gifts.....

Then home for more playtime.
(Hi! Thanks for coming everyone! I had fun playing with you and being smooched on!)


And at last, bedtime. Happy Birthday Party Sweet Girl!
(please excuse the state of disarray I display...it was a long day!)

April 13, 2011

Haircut!

Haircut!

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

April 10, 2011

Sunday Morning Messes Are the BEST!

Sunday Morning Messes Are the BEST!

April 7, 2011

Max wanted to hold Elly. Love these two!

Max wanted to hold Elly. Love these two!

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

April 6, 2011

The Eleventh Commandment

Thou shall perceive happiness, health, and beauty in direct porportion to your weight and body size.

Outwardly, most people would read this and respond publicly with a "screw that" attitude. Inwardly? Yep. We live it as if it were a true addendum to the original 10 written in stone.

With every fiber of my being I can truthfully say I have never believed this. Perhaps it is easier for me because I have always been considered thin. But being thin has never made me happy.  I eat a lot. A lot. People, including family, watch me eat and wonder how I manage to stay so skinny. I laugh it off, while feeling decidedly uncomfortable with the inquiry. Are they looking for an answer? Do they think I have some secret dietary magic I keep to myself? I don't know why I don't gain weight (beyond the same 8 pound flux I've had since high school). My guess for myself is genetics and a high motabalism. And the part I stress the most, being thin does not make you healthy. I DO NOT consider myself to be a healthy person. I don't exercise, I don't eat well. I make horrible dietary decisions for myself. I recognize it, but currently lack the motivation to change it. *I do not inflict my decisions on my children*

Anytime someone talks to be about losing weight I try to stress that your weight is not a goal to be reached. If you want to change something concentrate on the inches/size you want to lose. Whatever you do, make sure it's something that is sustainable (as in exercise and diet changes). Looking back, I feel torn at having supported anyones goals to change themselves instead of encouraging them to love who they are. But I guess, since I don't love my body, I feel more secure in supporting their decisions since I can't practice what I preach and such. And exercise is healthy for you, so there's that. Or maybe that's just me trying to justify my actions.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling going on here. I read this post today, and it really resounded with me. Really articulates how I have always felt. Healthy is a word that encompasses so much, and I hope to live to see our society adapt to a, ahem, HEALTHIER vision of the word. So go read the post and come back and tell me your thoughts.