5 on March 30

Happy birthday, my sweet.

Saturday, MARIO DAY, these two woke up ready to party. We had to video chat daddy right away.

Mario party recap . . . if I earned an A, Nathan is teaching the course. With distinction and all that good stuff. Look what NATHAN did:

1. The invite:

2. The decorations that were everywhere, even the bathroom:


3. Mario and Luigi puppets to make:

4. These Mario plumber pipes he cut from foam, then painted. They made a wonderful photo op for the guests.

5. He organized this idea: Yoshi's Egg Hunt. What fun right before Easter!

More party pics . . .



All of this made for one happy Mario.

Details on how to make these suh-weet hats coming soon. Congrats to my pal, Charity, for guessing correctly in the last post!

Plumbers Always Get the Girl

We are in full mustache mode. MARIO mustaches, that is.

To a stay at home mom, birthday parties are like the Final Exam. The Masters' Thesis. The Medical Residency. The Dissertation.

In five days, my Ian will be five years old. In two days, we will have a grand Super Mario and Luigi party in this house. Over thirty people will pack inside for two whirlwind hours.

These pretties will be there:

So will these. Any guesses as to what this handmade party favor might be?

Rest assured, wax mustaches and lips will be on hand. Here, you see my two trying them out. Quality control testing is a must when party plans are implemented, you know.

Bee sting, anyone? Bless Lilly's heart, she simply could NOT smile without those lips falling out, no matter how many times grandma asked her.

I'm glad to see her putting those hot lips to good use in the second photo.

See you after my final. Think I'll get an A? At least a B+ for effort?

Quirky Talent

It's true. When she is her most upset, Lilly squirts tears in all directions as she cries. It can come on instantly, too.

Is this normal? Does anyone else's child have Calvin/Snoopy/Woodstock/Sponge Bob tears?

A Beautiful Place to Learn

Kindergarten Registration today. Hooray!

Beautiful child. Beautiful day. Beautiful new school. Beautiful memories.

We arrived ten minutes early to be the first family to register. I know--I can't help myself. We met the principal and the capable lady we hope will be Ian's teacher. Two darling fifth grade student council members gave us a school tour. We saw several neighborhood friends in their classrooms, and Ian was greeted with bear hugs. He took pictures along the way. It was a PERFECT day.

My kindergarten memories are lovely. My teacher had a fair, kind face and fiery red hair. A sock puppet named P. Mooney taught us our letters. We traced around classmates' bodies on huge sheets of paper. We colored. A LOT. We had earthquake drills and giggled all huddled in the corner, even though we were afraid. My kindergarten teacher's son was my best friend. He and I square danced together in P.E.

Ian--you have so many memories waiting to be made! I love you!

What is YOUR favorite kindergarten memory?

This and That

Who knows where this fashion forward tike discovered a 6-12 month sized red sock to pair with a cream and blue one, but rest assured, she dressed herself this day. A diva in the making, just add a lowly peasant dropping grapes into her mouth and the transformation is complete.

Speaking of this diva, I ENROLLED HER IN PRESCHOOL TODAY. Yep. Beginning next fall, she will be cutting and pasting with the best of 'em. I found a lovely, lovely preschool where I truly believe she will flourish--especially on the days when she is the designated special helper. Right up Lilly's alley, she grabs life in a huge bear hug and takes it for a ride. On HER terms. I'm proud of her.

Random thought #2: I'm loving this honey's "rock star hair." He selected his hairstyle straight out of a magazine, letting Miss Alissa (hairstylist) and mama know he wanted "rock star hair." I respect that.

My rock star's kindergarten registration is this week. Be still my racing, troubled, excited heart.

Random thought #3: Hello, chocolate chip pumpkin bread. I know it is not the season for pumpkin, but there was a lone can of it leftover in my pantry from the holidays, and I found this delicious recipe! Thank you, Kitchen Sink. That makes two great recipes I have discovered on your blog!

Did you know a can of pumpkin has 300% Vitamin A per serving and 5 g of fiber? This made a great snack for my kids.

Finally, the arrival of this package, courtesy of Jocelyn and The Trendy Owl, in my mailbox made me oh, so happy.

Any random thought you'd like to share here today? Oh, and my one year blog-iversary is Saturday. How should we celebrate?

Twenty-eight/Eighty-eight/Lilly-ate

Happy 28 birthday, Patrick.

Happy 88 birthday, Hoo Hoo.


Happy everything when she has chocolate cake, Lilly.

Thanks for hosting a fabulous birthday celebration today, Patrick and Stephanie. Aunt Steffy makes the most delicious cakes. If you don't believe me, just ask Lilly!

Declaring War on "Ma'am"

Ladies, I'm declaring war on the word "Ma'am."

I despise this word. You might as well call me "old lady" as call me Ma'am.

I can tolerate it when the girl at the drive-thru, the one who looks about 14 years old, calls me "Ma'am," but otherwise, no thank you!!

For the first time this week, I politely asked someone to please not call me that. She was MY AGE--with two kids, just like me! Hmph.

Gals, join with me in this campaign. No more "Ma'am." We're not old yet!

(Am I alone in this? Am I crazy?)

And now, a yummy dish I made last night--homemade rigatoni mac 'n cheese with ribbons of kale:

Find the recipe (and MANY more superb food ideas) here.

And no more "Ma'am" okay? Do it for me, please.

Designated Reader

Ian: "Lilly, let's make a surprise for daddy when he comes home from work--because daddy loves to read to us."

They worked so hard. My favorite part? Daddy's picture in the middle--Ian's idea.

Thank you, God, for a daddy who reads to and loves on his children. MY children.

What is your favorite children's book? Who did you most love to read you stories when you were a child?

Kite Flying

Meeting my brother and Amanda, Caleb and Sam at the park for kite flying made for a perfect afternoon, until this guy almost broke his coccyx flying down a slide (No Uncle Rico jokes, please). He has since spent most of his awake time standing up:

And if you don't know who Uncle Rico is, see Napoleon Dynamite.

Sadly, a park visit on a Saturday can lead to your child vomiting on a Monday. Seriously, there should be warning signs at park entrances to that effect. You know that friend you have whose house is pristinely clean, almost hospital sterile (I know, I'm insanely jealous, too)? While having dinner there last night, Ian started rocking from side to side. My head was spinning. I knew what was coming. Sure enough--vomit--ALL OVER her bathroom, her perfectly white walls and immaculate white rug. I've never seen so much nastiness in all my life. Why there?!!

Needless to say, after 45 minutes of intense scrubbing on my part, my diseased crew and I promptly exited the premises. I'm sorry Robin!

Soooo . . . last night Ian vomited over and over again--one of those scary nights when you pray for God to protect your child, to hold him in His hands, because he can't even keep a sip of water down.

Flown any kites lately?

First (Temporary) Tattoo

They may look alike, but he's a Luke at heart.

"The force is strong with this one."

Time for Two

Sweet little Paxton Bridges is two. He was such a cutie pie at his birthday party with that darling little grin and those perfect eyes. He made my day when he opened our gift and slipped this right onto his arm.

With some felt, embroidery floss and a good movie to watch, you can make one in no time. The watch is the width of my camera strap at the widest part, and I traced a quarter to make the face. Lilly's wrist is about 4 inches around (she was my model), and I added some inches after that for the velcro.

Thanks to Dana at MADE for this excellent idea featured on her blog. Go here for pictures of other felt watches.

Food Rules

Thank you. Thank you. Thank YOU!

Your encouraging comments in the last post brought me out of my funk. You guys are the best!

After several months of being on the wait list for Food Rules at the library and still being #39 in line, I broke down and purchased this book from B&N. It is an excellent, easy read, and I love the simple rules like, "If it's the same word in every language, it's not food (Think Big Mac, Cheetos)."

I finished reading The Book Thief last night. And what happens to Himmel Street at the end, well, I find it constantly in my thoughts today. Narrated by death (but not in a scary way at all), the book takes place in Nazi Germany and follows the story of a young girl.

Anyone read The Book Thief or Food Rules (or one of Pollan's other food books)?

Wanted: Pixie Dust--URGENT

Ever have a day that makes you feel like this?

Poor Tink. No amount of Pixie Dust or "I DO believe in fairies" can repair her pelvis, torn in two by Lilly as she attempted to dress her in Ariel's mermaid tail. Normally, I'd bet on the Neverland fairy in a Tinkerbell-Ariel smack-down, but I guess Ariel was having a good day.

And Tinkerbell wasn't.

Neither was I.

I feel like Tink today. For a couple weeks, I've been stuck at 29 pounds lost. Finally, yesterday, I hit 31 lost, only to land back at 29 this morning. Even with all my hard work, self-deprivation, healthy eating, running, swimming, consistency, and fitness goals reached, my body fat percentage is still, in my opinion, astronomical.

To top it all off, I attended a new fitness class yesterday and, well, I'm just sore.

This morning, my trainer and I confabbed and she outlined a whole new strength training program for me. She said I'd graduated: no more machines, only free weights.

I start the new regimen tomorrow. I'm tired. I can only hope this works. I'd like to get to 40 pounds lost.

Encouragement? Tips? Ideas to pull me up out of this pesky plateau and body fat funk? Thanks, dear reader. Your opinions, to me, are worth their weight in Pixie Dust.

Speaking of . . .

Thought I'd give winter one last hurrah with these icy images. Happy March 1! I am ready for spring! Above, you see a quote that makes me smile.

And below, you see a quote that, if you are local and like me, you have driven past this gas station and spewed coffee (almost) upon reading this sign. Considering the abundance of snow and slush again and again this season, the locals aren't keen on the Groundhog this year!


One final favorite quote of mine from yesterday . . .
Lilly: Ian helped me unbutton my coat. He's my handsome boy.
Awwww.

Now it's your turn. Leave a comment with a favorite quote or Scripture here. Maybe it's as simple as a funny random thought from one of your kiddos. Please share!
Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Jolly by Golly--scanned into my computer, chopped up + quote added in Photoshop.