Easter Eggs, Scallops and Cake Bites

According to this blog we do lots of celebrating.  In real life not so much, but when we celebrate we pack in lots of fun. 
Dad and I share birthdays near each other in early April.  Each year mom lets us place our order in advance and Dad and I always collaborate on the menu plan.  This year we chose an ace. 

Before the big feast, though, we dyed eggs with the kids.

We left the intricate work in the capable surgeon's hands.

Then, just before the big egg hunt we prepped our birthday meal.  Bacon wrapped scallops and red wine. Why, yes, I think that is a fine start. Apparently the appetizer was so good I got all caught up in the fun and forgot to take pictures of the rest of the meal, but you can never go wrong with shrimp, filet mignon, salad and twice baked potatoes.

Stinkin' cute adorable niece.

Dad and daughter. or #1 Daughter and Dad, I should say.

The #1 daughter reference drives my sister (#2 daughter) crazy. Really, it only refers to birth order rather than genuine love and affection, but because we know it drives her crazy we use every opportunity we can find to make the reference.

And, finally, who can expect children to show their maturity when their own parents encourage them to do things like this....

This from the same man who once (with the help of his brothers) cut all the "sides" off a round cake to make it square just because they wanted more icing.  Love you, Dad, for lots of reasons, but also because you are a kid at heart.



Minnie Matney Turns Two

Ashley and Matney

Matney Paige is such an awesome girl. One moment she is girly as can be showing off her new nail polish and sparkly shoes. The next she is playing in a mud pit with her three favorite cousins. She turns two on Tuesday. We celebrated her spunky preciousness with a Minnie Mouse themed party her mama worked very hard on. She loved it and entertained the guests for hours with her boisterous, fun, sweet personality and quirky little antics.

A new doll and stroller.

A shiny new set of wheels from Papa G and Nannie B.

Cupcakes and decor by Ashley.

Kennon and Matney Paige sharing the love.

Mama School - Sushi Making 101

A few weeks ago in a moment of complete brain numbness due to lack of adult thought process stimulation I signed up for a sushi 101.  I had high hopes I would become an at home sushi chef wowing, wining and dining friends with my newly acquired skills, but mostly I just wanted to learn something new.  When you can eat what you learn it is even better.  I invited the ladies from our MOPS group to join me.  Several were scared of the raw fish, but Ashley and Cassie - two awesome mama's - joined in.  We had fun and were SO proud of our new knowledge.  I'll save the step-by-step tutorial for when I've acquired the necessary goods and refined my techniques, but for now the fruits of our labor:

Ashley and Cassie sharpening their sushi skills.

My results.

Spring Break

It rained nearly every day of spring break with few opportunities to play outside and Brian was on call a lot after being gone the week before.  The boys and I had lots of fun inside, though, doing science experiments and...

 ..just acting generally nutty.  The boys played cowboys for almost two days, we built bedroom campsites and stayed the night in the driveway with our friends in their Airstream trailer.

We tried to spend some time every day learning something new. We played with the geoboards the boys helped me make a few weeks ago.  I had forgotten how much fun those little boards can be.  The boys can practice making numbers, letters, patterns and so much more.  Kennon uses his to make music with the rubber bands, but also learns about colors and shapes we make with the rubber bands. 



After three days of inside play due to the rain we (translated I) really needed a break and to get out of the house.  In a moment of insanity I thought we were ready to take in a movie at the theater.  It was Kennon's first movie at the theater.  He is 22 months old. BAD idea. The boys split a box of candy.  Once the candy ran out (approximately half way through the first trailer before the movie started), Kennon was all over the place.  He wouldn't stay in his seat, wanted to visit our neighbors in the rows below and was generally what most sane mothers would expect a 22 month old to be like in the movie theater.  Will give it another try in a year or so.  I did manage a picture during the 43 seconds he sat in his chair. Friday we found an awesome indoor water play area and had fun with friends.

I was completely exhausted by Friday, but we revived ourselves enjoying a beautiful bright and sunny weekend.  We spent Saturday at Nannie and Papa's riding four-wheelers, playing outside and helping around the farm.

The highlight of the week was easily the adventures we shared with about five other neighbor boys.  The wet weather creek behind the house had plenty of water to wade in after all the ran.  The boys slipped into their rubber boots and promised to only get their boots wet, but it didn't take long until they were completely soaked.  They turned the old wagon into a "jet ski trailer" and the tricycle into their "jet ski".  They submersed the trailer and then one of them got on the tricycle and backed it into the water just like they've seen us do at the lake.  I completely love their creativity. 



Day at the Park

Kennon and I enjoy lots of adventures when the other boys are at school.  K loves the park and feeding the ducks. 

Happy B-Day, Daddy!

Brian was on call for his birthday this year and he and I had just returned from a quick trip to Miami so his birthday kinda-sorta got pushed to the wayside.  The boys did help me make him his favorite, chocolate cake with white icing. 

Uninterrupted Sunny Escape

Brian asked me to tag along with him to a conference in Miami in March.  Now that I don't travel for business I hate to be away from the boys and try to avoid us both being gone, but sometimes mama needs a break and it is good for Brian and I to clear our heads and relax together away from the demands of a busy household (for me) and a busy career (for him).

Every now and then there is something very liberating about walking through the airport with my purse over my shoulder and the No*k loaded with ebooks and nothing else in tow..i.e. stroller, car seats, and the occasional not-so-angelic child(ren).

My top five highlights:
5.  Uninterrupted reading time.
4.  Dozing by the pool soaking up some Vitamin D, uninterrupted.
3.  Long walks along the beach, uninterrupted.  
2.  Freedom to sleep as late as I want and still accomplish all the things I had planned for the day, uninterrupted.
1.  Long, uninterrupted, conversations over dinner with Brian.

Breaks are always nice and completely necessary to maintain a mama's sanity.  It's even nicer when I can wrap my arms around the boys again with a fresh and invigorated perspective.