Celebrating the Boys

The kids and I will not be home for Aaron's 13th birthday or Father's Day, so we decided to celebrate early. 

Rachel and Hannah made this poster for PK.

Aaron made him a matching survival bracelet.

 

Rachel and Hannah gave Aaron t-shirts and Legos.

 

 



We saved the best gift for last.  PK and I gave him his own laptop!

 

I still can't believe he is going to be 13!  He has reminded me several times over the past couple of months.  He will be camping with his Boy Scout troop from Georgia on his actual birthday.  That is probably the best way he could think of celebrating his birthday.

 

After opening the gifts, we had dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant.



The Morning He Turned 40

PK has a crazy work schedule.  His birthday happend to fall on a Monday this year which meant he wouldn't be home until late, so we had to celebrate early.  He got up and went to the gym about 5 a.m. and the kids and I got up to surprise him when he returned.  We turned out all the lights and sat on the windowseat in the kitchen.  When he finally (he must have been motivated to do an extra long workout since he hit the big 4...0....) returned he walked into the kitchen and we all yelled, "Surprise." 

 

Then we all had cookie cake for breakfast because that is how this family rolls.



 

Wasn't it Just Last Week?

Wasn't it just last week that I was admitted to the hospital after being in California all of two days?  Wasn't it just last week the doctor handed me a little 4lb 14oz bundle?  Wasn't it just last week when I was walking through KMart in Yucca Vallery with a baby propped in her carseat in the shopping cart who looked at me and blew her first raspberries?  Wasn't it just last week she was taking her first steps trying to reach our neighbor who stopped by for a visit?  Wan't it just last week that she wouldn't go to sleep witout her "pasibabyblanket?"  Wasn't it just last week we were spending our days in the cul de sac with all the other neighborhood toddlers?  Wasn't it just last week when Barney, Dora and VeggieTales were the shows we watched over and over and over?  Wasn't it just last week when I snapped that picture of her standing on her tip toes trying to peak at her new baby brother in his bassinet?  Wasn't it just last week when we took her to Disneyland and she insisted on waiting in line to meet every. single. princess?  Wasn't it just last week when I was strapping three little kids into the triple jogging stroller every morning?  Wasn't it just last week when my friend Christine and I took her shopping "down the hill" for her new kindergarten wardrobe which happened to be entirely pink?  Wasn't it just last week she was trying to talk me into letting her ride the bus for her first day of kindergarten?  Wasn't it just last week when she caught the Tooth Fairy trying to slip the dollar under her pillow (so busted)?

Wasn't it just last week?

Someone.  Anyone.  Please tell me how we went from just last week to having a teenager in our house.

The New "F" Word

There is a new "F" word in our house.  It didn't even occur to me that it was a "not so nice" word until I had to use it to describe myself.  Actually, I think the first person to use it in actual reference to me was my husband.

Today is my birthday.  We started celebrating this past weekend.  We went to my new favorite Mexican restaurant and to a movie.  The first sign of old age may be falling asleep in the middle of a movie that started at 7:15.

PK got the kids up


a bit early this morning

and they set up a little party for me.

There were cards (this one was from Hannah)

 

and cake (the same husband who used the "F" word also called this cake a campfire due to the number of candles)

and a present!!

What could have possibly been in that big ol' box?

My brand new KitchenAid!!  I've wanted one for quite a while, but I couldn't bring myself to spend that kind of money.  They were on sale on Black Friday and even with the additional coupon I had, I still couldn't do it.  PK did!!!  Now all I have to do is decide what to make first.

As we are celebrating and eating cookie cake for breakfast (that's just the way we roll), my husband says, "Well, you are (wait for it...think of it in slow motion) fffff.....oooorrr.....ttttyyyy."  He didn't really say it in slow motion, but that is how I remember it.  I looked at him and said, "That is now the new "F" word and we will not say it in this house." 

The Things We Do

Hannah has been planning what to do for Holly's birthday for months.  She wanted to have her friends come over and bring their dogs.  I am all about the kids having fun and making wonderful childhood memories, but I have to draw the line somewhere.

I told Hannah she could make Holly a cake and I would buy her whatever she needed to do that.  She made three layers.  The first layer was soft dog food.  Holly regularly gets dry kibble.  The smell of the wet stuff makes me gag.  The second layer was crumbled dog treats.  The third layer was chicken baby food.  It is one of Holly's favorites which we know from her training classes. 

Rachel wanted to help make it, but her face really expresses what we both thought about it.

The girls decided to top the cake with an "H" made out of kibble.

Holly was in heaven when Hannah put the cake creation on the floor.  She tried her best to eat around the kibble.

This picture is right after Hannah got her.  She was about 9 weeks old.  Altough she is still small compared to a lot of dogs, I think the kitchen tiles are a good measure of how much she has grown.  The yellow duck she has in her mouth is also in the background of the picture of her eating her cake.

Holly got a few new chew toys as gifts from the kids.  The girls spent the rest of the night taking Holly out for extra bathroom breaks as I wasn't sure how her tummy would react to all that goodiness.  As far as I know, she did fine.

The Birthday Sleepover

The pizza and the peeps and the big sister who was the designated "helper"

The craft

The craft at the other end of the table

The presents

The cards and the peeps

The cupcake cake made of cupcakes

The candles and the singing

The silliness of first graders on extreme sugar

The fun and evidence of sugar and more sugar

The brother and his peep who only appeared for food

Anniversary and Birthday Wishes

Happy 14th anniversary, P.K. I love you! Unfortunately, P.K. is out of town. (This can be a test to see if he is keeping up with my blog.) Just when I decided I no longer feel like I am a military wife now that he is a reservist and no longer on active duty, he is doing the Navy thing for a couple of weeks, will be home for a few days and then do the Navy thing for pretty much the rest of the summer. (I don't think any reserve wives read my blog, but just in case, I am not saying they are not military spouses. Their husbands are deploying along with the active duty spouses and I think they face a unique set of challenges.) Those of you who are military spouses (in any respect) will appreciate the fact that my husband is missing our anniversary and the day after he left, my four year old spiked a temp of 103.5. I thought I was going to have to call my only local friend at 4:00 a.m. so I could take her to the emergency room. Luckily, the combination of Motrin and Tylenol brought it down to 102. At least I felt like her brain wasn't in danger of frying before I could get her in with her pediatrician. To my "a" local friend's credit, she would have gladly taken my kids at any hour to help me out. I totally digress.

My husband made a huge deposit in the love bank before he left. Since he knew he would miss the actual day of our anniversary, he planned a great day for us to celebrate last week. Make sure you understand this was without any prompting from me. I received an email about a week prior to last Thursday that contained an itinerary for a date with my hubby. He had arranged childcare for Hannah while the other two were at school and scheduled a one hour massage for both of us followed by lunch at Olive Garden. That was my first ever professional massage and it was wonderful!! I remember that P.K. was concerned that things were going to get costly when I developed a strong desire for lattes at Starbucks. Oh, boy. Before we were even finished I was thinking of other days that would require celebrating with an hour long massage...my birthday, Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, Arbor Day, Saturdays. All of you moms can appreciate having a meal alone with another adult in a restaurant that doesn't have a play area.

Today is also our youngest goddaughter's birthday. Noelle is seven. That number just sounds so grown up. She and Aaron are only a month apart. Shannon and I arranged their marriage before they were born. (Shannon, how can it possibly be over seven years ago that we were pregnant together?) Noelle, I want you to know that Uncle P.K. and Aunt Jody love you very much. We wish we were closer so we could celebrate in person. Your gift is on my counter and will be mailed eventually (in a tradition that your mommy and Aunt Jody seem to follow, the birthday gift will actually be mailed after your actual birthday). Have fun and eat extra cake today. I would even let you have it for breakfast if I was there (Sorry, Sassy!)