Nope, You're Not Seeing Things!

Can you believe your eyes?!  I know it's shocking, but it is a REAL blog post folks!  After 8 months, I'm sure most of my readers have given up on me.  But for those who have been holding out with a small glimmer of hope that I'll post SOMEthing SOMEday, thanks for being so loyal and interested in the happenings of our family!  And while this isn't probably the most exciting thing to report, it was easy and quick.  Baby steps, right?!  At least it's SOMEthing!
Several birthdays have come and gone since posting last.  And for me, birthdays equal cakes (among other things).  Because I'm that mom.  The one that enjoys making cakes for my children's birthdays.  I love that it allows me to put a little stamp of my creativity on each of my kids' special days.
So here they are, complete with all their imperfections!

Allison requested a Hello Kitty themed party for her 3rd birthday...

This next one isn't a birthday cake, but I decided to add it anyway.  I was asked to make this cake for a church activity as a mock wedding cake.  We had a "Newlywed Game Show" date night, and the cake was given to the winning couple.  (And I can't find my pictures of it right now, so a cell phone picture will have to do.)

Next came Ryan's Cat in the Hat themed 1st birthday party...

As most of you already know, I typically make cakes for Keilana and Kayden also (small trade-off for the amazing photography I get from Vanessa!).  This year, Keilana requested a Strawberry Shortcake party.  I was so excited to make her cake.  I could just picture the cuteness it would be!  Too bad I came down with a wicked fever the night before.  I could barely stand up.  Thank goodness for Tylenol, or else poor Keilana might not have even had a cake.  Only thing is, I had to cut some corners and leave out some of the detail I would have liked to have had. Oh well, I think she was happy with it anyway. 

Then came Tyler's 6th birthday.  He requested a How to Train Your Dragon/Night Fury themed party.  I can always count on Tyler's requests to test my creativity.  Man, I was so disappointed with how this cake came out.  I didn't even take a picture of it I thought it was so bad.  The only reason I have some is because Vanessa took them.  Looking back, it isn't THAT bad.  But it still doesn't even come close to making the top 10 list.  Ha!

Then just this past week, we had Allison's rainbow themed 4th birthday party.  (Wow!  A year's worth of cakes in one post!)  The outside of the cake was designed by the birthday girl herself!  Allison was beside herself to get to draw on her own birthday cake, and I think it turned out absolutely adorable!  Please forgive my meager attempts at using fondant.  It just really isn't my thing.  However, I think I redeemed any fondant flaws when the inside of the cake was revealed.  A total show stopper!  I was so pleased with how vibrant the colors came out!

Allison was kind enough to share a bit of her canvas with Tyler, so he drew the little cat picture on the right as a "birthday surprise" for her.  :)

Next up will be Ryan's Construction themed 2nd birthday party in October!

All I Want for Christmas...

Approximately a week or so ago, Billy and I were discussing with the kids what items they wanted to ask Santa for this year.  At the time, Tyler wanted the Doris Tyrannasaurus and Buddy interactive dinosaurs from the show Dinosaur Train.  (Now he wants the Night Fury dragon from How to Train your Dragon).  Allison most wants a "Cookie Bake Oven" (translation - Easy Bake Oven).  Ryan just wants to pull all the ornaments off our Christmas tree!  There are other requests of course, but we were just discussing what would be at the very TOP of their lists.
At the end of the discussion, Allison wanted to know what would be at the top of her Daddy's Christmas list...

Allison:  Daddy, what do you want for Christmas?
Billy:  I want all my stress to go away.
Allison:  No, what do you want for CHRISTMAS???
Billy:  That is what I want.  For all my stress to go away.
I think Allison asked her question even a time or two more, not being able to comprehend her Daddy's wish, but finally moved on when his answer didn't change.

Now, fast forward to this morning at our church's Breakfast with Santa.  After Allison sat on Santa's lap and told him she wanted her Cookie Bake Oven on Christmas morning, she came back to our table and started coloring.  A few minutes passed and someone came over and started talking to Allison...

Bro. S: Hey Pretty Girl (Billy calls her this all the time, so a couple of people have followed suit).  Did I hear you wanted an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas?
Allison:  Yep.....And Daddy wants all his stress to go away.

Precious.  Absolutely precious.

FREE Holiday Cards!!!

Nothing like a free offer to get you blogging again after a 3-month blogging hiatus!

Just for telling all of you about the wonderful products they have to offer, Shutterfly is giving me 50 FREE holiday cards!!!   I am exstatic!  This time of year rolls around, and I start to stress about getting cards out.  And getting them out on TIME.  But first I have to get a cute picture taken, choose where to order from, what design, etc., etc.  VERY stressful for me!  But Shutterfly is taking some of the work out of it this year (since now I already know where I'm getting them from) and they are getting me on the ball early! 

I have been signed up with Shutterfly for a while, but for no reason in particular, don't have much ordering history with them.  I continue to get emails with all kinds of great offers, however, and I always love browsing through their products.  They have an amazing line of cards to offer this holiday season.  I can't believe how many designs there are to choose from!  Go HERE to check them out.  You can choose from stationary cards, photo cards, or folded greeting cards.  And it probably goes without saying, but all of them can be personalized.  I'm quite particular when it comes to just the right design that I'm looking for, but it looks like I won't be disappointed with Shutterfly's options!

Shutterfly also has many great holiday gift ideas available.  What Grandma wouldn't LOVE staring at pictures of her grandkids everytime she refers to her calendar?!  And photo calendars always serve as a great conversation piece when friends are over (again, what Grandma doesn't jump at the chance to brag talk about her kids and grandkids?!).  Click HERE to see the beautiful calendar templates.

Then, if you're REALLY on top of things, they already have their Valentine's Day card designs available to choose from!  They have some super cute designs.  Look at those HERE.

Thanks for AMAZING products and an AMAZING deal Shutterfly!

Oh... and if you want to sign up to blog about and get your own free set of cards, click HERE. 

You're welcome!  :)

Little Caesar

Allison saw this guy as we were driving down the road the other day,

and he seemed to really make an impression...

"Mommy!  I saw a guy with a pizza on his tummy...

and SPINICH in his EARS!!!"

A Little Thursday Cuteness

Allison (on the very HOT walk to the bus stop to pick up Tyler):  I wish our feet was a rocket!  (In other words, it's too bad we can't get this over with a bit more quickly!)

Tyler (after overhearing me ask Billy a question about the iPad):

Mommy, iPad NEVER dies!  I've heard about it on T.V.

Another Budding Artist

Remember the culprit behind this work of art back in October of 2008???

Yeah, that was Mr. Tyler's first experiment with an ink pen.

Well...

Now we have a different culprit.

And a different canvas.

But the same old ink pen.

She went to the bathroom.  I heard her singing and laughing (and no, this didn't make me suspicious because these are not uncommon things for her to be doing).  Then she came back not even 2 minutes later looking like this.  I couldn't help but laugh!

For some reason, Allison urgently wants Auntie Vanessa to see these pictures of her.  She created this work of art yesterday and has been bugging me to get them on here ever since.  Her exact words were, "I really want Auntie to see me like this!"  So I hope it gives you your laugh for the day Auntie!

P.E. Day

While discussing Tyler's day with Daddy at dinner tonight...

Me:  Tyler had P.E. today.
Billy: Oh really?
Tyler: Yeah!  I went to the gym.  And they said P.E. stands for Physical Evalation!

Cute boy!

Keep scrolling to read all about his first day!