PIctures from Jayden's birthday

The lovely cake I managed to throw together.


Birthday Sprinkle Pancakes and chocolate milk on a birthday table cloth.


A present all wrapped up and taunting him all afternoon.


A super cool motorized solar system that lights up! WOW!

Yep....it's definitely hormones! I have been a crabby crank all weekend and bleeding into today. Nothing special going on except Jayden's birthday, but I can't figure why that would get my panties in a bunch.

Dave rented a cement mixer this weekend to work on the steps for the side of the house, out back, and in the front as well as filling in the holes the contractor dug out when they were working on the foundation. He didn't get nearly as much done as he wanted, but there is now a step out the side door and the hole is filled in over there. As soon as he cleans it up over there, that side of the house will be kid friendly.

He did a lot of work during the time he was working on it. I just wonder why he dilly-dallies so much when trying to accomplish a goal. He didn't get the cement or the mixer here until mid-day on Saturday. By the time they got the step poured, it was nearly 8 PM. That left the birthday-shopping we were planning for Saturday to become Sunday's task. But, Sunday was fine.

We started the day with special Birthday Sprinkle Pancakes (which I made WAY TOO DRY). The kids loved that. It may become a tradition! YIKES! Then we took the kids to Toys R Us. We stopped at the Customer Service desk so Jayden could tell them what a special day it was. They honored him with a paper crown, balloon, and a little Hulk toy. We then proceeded to spend 2 HOURS perusing the store for just the right toys. Jayden was allowed to pick out any one toy that he wanted as his special birthday surprise. Then he would get to pay for it--which is just as much fun for him as the shopping part. He ended up with a Transformer toy that was only $30. I was expecting something much bigger. I pushed him towards things like Hot Wheels tracks and the like, but he found his passion in the Transformers. He didn't even want to look at Power Rangers once he saw the Transformer of his choice. So....we made it out of there with out spending a fortune (YAY).

Next stop, Lucky's. I needed cake filling and frosting. It took Dave and I over 30 minutes to finally give up looking for cake filling, ask the girl behind the bakery counter about it, reject the Jello brand Oreo Cookie custard (which is all they had), and get an offer from the girl to put some bakery filling in a tub for us. If I had known that getting her to put some filling in a tub for 99 cents was all it took to get the filling Dave wanted, I would have gone there right from the beginning. But...oh well. We got that, went home, and I took a nap.

I woke up to cake disaster part 3. Let's catch up on this...I made the cake right after breakfast, but I didn't have any crisco to grease the pans with. I sprayed with Pam instead. But, I didn't get the sides well and the cake didn't rise on the sides. Part 2 of the disaster was the fiasco at the market. So...part 3. I now needed to put the jelly filling on one layer, put the second layer on, and frost the whole dang thing. Well....I've never done jelly filling. I used all of what the girl gave us. It was like 2 inches of filling!!!! Oops! When trying to disassemble the mess, I ended up breaking both cake rounds. GRRRR!!! But, eventually, I managed to scoop out enough of the jelly, put the two rounds together and frost the POS! Luckily, it looked decent when I was done.

From there, the day went smoothly (well it was almost over after all). Dinner and cake at my folks' and then one more gift for Jayden to open (from Grandma and Papa). Then home to bed. Ahhh....bliss!

Hormones SUCK!

So I am having the kind of morning that leaves much to be desired. I got up and made blueberry muffins; emptied the dishwasher; loaded the dirty dishes into it; washed the rest of the dishes; washed and dried the muffin pan; scrubbed the sink and surrounding countertop; threw out the crappy ol' toaster that kept burning my fingers and stealing my waffles; and started the laundry. Ordinarily, this would lead to a quite satisfying feeling of personal achievement. But, today, I sat down feeling empty and lacking. I called my mom. The ensuing conversation was a catalyst to my emotional breakdown. I assume that everything I am feeling is a hormonal response to being pregnant again, but none-the-less, I am a basket case. Perhaps a day of doing laundry and cleaning and vacuuming will make me feel a bit better about things.

Just a quickie!

I know I said I was going to do this more often, but then life got away from me again!!! Anyway, Monday we took the kids up to the houseboat to enjoy some quiet family time. The highlights....

Jayden LOVED fishing with Daddy and caught his very first fish. I'm not sure if the experience was quite what he expected, but he was thrilled to have caught the fish and just as thrilled that Dave released it back into the lake. Ellie was very curiou

s about the whole thing until the hooked fish flipped and splattered her with water. After that, she retreated to the stairs to wait for the fishy-release.

Eliana's highlight...she learned that she could float/swim in the lake with her life-vest on all by herself. Essentially, she didn't have to hang on to a grown-up with every fiber of her being. She loved her newfound freedom. At one point, she was so ready to hit the water, she was climbing down the ladder all by herself, no one in the water waiting for her, and no vest on!! ACK!!! Good thing we caught her!

Here's some pics from the trip.

Ok...really?? It's been a month and a half since I had anything to post?? Unbelieveable! The summer seems to be flying by. No one is missing us, but we are pretty busy these days. Not sure what that says, but, I'm going to guess that it means everyone else is busy, too.

Jayden is almost 5. We will have a birthday party to celebrate the weekend after his birthday. That just seems to be a more convenient time than his actual birthday. I can't believe he is almost 5 already! Wow! In fact, we went to a little celebration the other day for Kayleigh's 5th birthday and I just couldn't believe how big all the little ones are! Not only were Jayden and Kayleigh having a great time jumping in the bounce house together, but Eliana and Ryan were jumping in there having a great time, too! It amazes me to think about how much growing these little guys do right in front of our eyes and yet we don't really notice until we look back at all the pictures of them as babies! I am resolved to working on my photo albums. I really want to do the scrapbooking thing. I save all kinds of shit to put in them...maps, menus, pictures, tickets, etc. But, I am terrible about setting up a work space and actually sitting down to put the darn thing together. Maybe now that I am not working anymore, I will make the time.

Anyway, moving on....

Eliana is growing up so fast, I can hardly keep up. She is now potty trained (sort of)...Only with reminders does she actually make it to the potty before she wets herself. BUT, she is fully capable of handling all of her potty needs by herself. I am hoping she will soon, get the hang of it. Tomorrow we will go for another growth check on her. I am expecting to see some results tomorrow. I think she has sprouted a bit since her last check-up. However, I am still concerned about the sleep apnea. We'll get a decision on the tonsillectomy tomorrow.

Little sister seems to have just gone through a growth spurt also. I feel like a balloon. I will have a check-up tomorrow too, just to see how this little one is doing. I think Dave and I have also agreed to disagree on the name. I told him if we can't pick one before she is born, her name will be Strawberry. I actually kind of like it, but he is opposed. BIG SURPRISE! :)

Things are coming along on the house. We bought some bookshelves at Ikea this weekend for the upstairs...they are huge, but don't hold nearly enough. We are either going to have to get rid of some crap or buy more shelving...or both! Anyway, I am emptying boxes. I am thrilled to finally have someplace to put stuff! Dave, in the meantime, is working on the front yard. We picked out some great pavers and he is laying the walkway and a patio out front for me. We'll have to work on the 'tilling and the sod soon. I want it in before the rains (I hope) come.

Well....hopefully, I'll update again soon. Please leave me a comment if you read this so I know you are still out there. :)