Another Cake...

This weekend was a good friend's baby shower. I was asked to make the cake for it. The only request was that it match the vehicle theme of the baby's room. Here is what I came up with...

Stuffington Bear Factory...

Field Trip!! I am not sure who was more excited...me or Dillon! Dillon was excited to be going on a field trip, but not any ol' field trip, one that would allow him to bring home a toy! He was equally excited that I was a chaperone. I was simply excited to be going on his field trip. As the children get older, its a constant reminder of how these days come and go so fast.

Field Trip Destination: Stuffington Bear Factory (similar to Build A Bear)

Transportation: Back of a Bumpy Bus

As a chaperone I was given 4 children to keep safe! 4 children, pshhhh no problem I have 4 of my own, I thought! What the teacher didn't tell us was that each child got to pick their "best friend" and then were paired with another group of best friends! Dillon's best friend this year is Draegen (yes you read that right, its a very "original" name to say the least). When together these two are more than just double trouble, try quadruple trouble! With these two wild boys, I had two sweet girls that just drove the boys nuts! As you can see here on the bus ride to Stuffington's!

Unlike Build A Bear, Stuffington's is very old school. They take the children in a "classroom" and explain to them the entire history of the teddy bear. After learning about how the teddy bear came to be, they took the children on a tour of the "factory". I referred to Stuffington's as old school, because when you enter the factory area there are several industrial grade sewing machines being run by workers actually sewing bears together while we toured the room. There was a wall full of fabric, a huge cutting table with the best top of the line cutting tools, piles of sorted parts to sew different kinds of bears, tons of different eyes and mouths, and their stuffing machine! Once the tour was complete, it was time to pick a bear, stuff it, stitch it closed, brush and comb it, bathe it, and pick ribbons!

A Simpson Surprise...

Although Baby #5 is only about the size of a rice grain right now he (or she) has a steady heartbeat and perfect measurements so far! We are all thrilled with this new exciting family news! Estimated due date is October 5th (for now!!, they always seem to move my dates around a decent amount)

The Wii Never Gets Old...

Since it was an icky rainy weekend, we spent all our time indoors. Lots of puzzles and coloring books later, the kids wanted to play the wii! Marc decided he wanted to playing a few games of Sonic and Mario's Olympic Winter Games. This was a game that was new to him (not new to the kids though). While the girls were busy beating Marc, Garrison was busy playing a game of his own! For those curious, Liliana won the most golds, Ava was not too far behind with mostly silvers... Marc on the other hand claimed many 4th place finishes! I guess he needs to put down his xbox 360 and practice a little more wii!!

DOG Cookies Are Tasty?!

During the last week and half, Marc has come home to tell me all about his daily tasks while training to be the best new employee at Petco. Today was no different, except for the statement... "I tried a dog cookie today and it tasted just like an oreo cookie!"

Yeahup after several days of fellow employees insisting he try the dog "cookies", he finally broke down and ate one... and LIKED it!!

Homemade Hair Clips...

Liliana has become fascinated with making flower hair clips. Ever since the neighbor made some for her, she insisted I learn how to make them and show her. They aren't very complicated to make, actually they are pretty easy! Today while the younger kids were napping and enjoying quiet time I took Liliana aside and showed her what to do. An hour later she made almost 20 different ones! She is anxious to find more flowers when out shopping to make even more! After all, a girl can never have too many accessories for her hair!!

Valentine's Day Gifts...

Even the smallest gifts can get the biggest of reactions...

We hope everyone had a loving day with their families! Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Bathtime Buddies...

Tonight, Marc gave both boys a good ol much needed buzz! They make buzz haircuts look goooooooood! Ignore Dillon's wacky attempts at a "smile" he is still not into having his picture taken!

Kindergarten V-Day Party...

Dillon's Kindergarten Valentine's Day class party was a success. As you can see, if was a fun day with lots of learning involved!

Dillon putting his Valentine's in everyone's bags!

Dillon making a heart mosaic.

Dillon making his bead heart.

Dillon watching how to make his Valentine's Day hat.

Still watching how to fold the "ears" for his hat!

Valentine's Day Treats...

For Valentine's Day, Liliana asked me to make a special snack for her class. I decided to try out a new recipe I came across on a fellow mom's blog site. These are called Meltaway Meringues. http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com/2010/01/meringue-heart-cookies.html

I made 2 cookies for each student and bagged them in super cute heart decorated snack baggies!

I also made red velvet cupcakes with my special recipe cream cheese frosting topped with a meltaway meringue for a few staff members at our wonderful school!

Bagel Face...

Bagel Breakfast has become an obsession for the morning food of choice. For Garrison it means a cream cheese face. For Ava it means using her finger as the cream cheese spreader!

Dillon Is Good At Soccer?!?

Today Dillon brought home another cute picture craft he made in kindergarten. It read...

ALL ABOUT ME

Some kids tell funny jokes

Others are great in art

What makes me special?

What sets me apart?

________________

The blank spot was filled in with

"I'm good at playing soccer"

So as I read this line, I began to laugh! I looked at Dillon and asked how he knows that he is "good" at playing soccer.

Lets rewind for a brief moment in time... Back in January of 2008, he asked us to sign him up to play soccer with a good friend of his. With no hesitation, I signed up him, bought his gear, and took him to his first practice! This practice also happen to be picture day. Not only was he NOT happy to be there, but he CRIED and BEGGED me to go home. We stuck out the morning just for the pictures and then ended up home to NEVER return to the soccer fields to play soccer ever again! His response to my question was "well I tried to play soccer and I was good"

I can't say I agree, but its cute that he still remembers "trying to play soccer"

Here is my proof that he was NOT a "happy" soccer player! Minus the smile in the picture above... we had just arrived and I bribed him with donuts (his FAV morning food)! Notice him sitting in the far right corner in the group shot!

New Job...

Today was Marc's first day at his new job... Petco. Marc hasn't enjoyed his time at Dollar Tree these past 2 years, so it was no shock to me that he was anxious for a change. Even though on the outside it seems a very solid company to work for, (come on EVERYONE shops at the dollar stores these days) there were many things he saw internally that he didn't want to be a part of. I will not go into details but Marc's choices throughout the 11 years I have known him have never failed us! The only issue I had with him taking a job at a "pet store" is that we have NO pets. Not that working for a pet store requires one to have at least one pet but... I KNOW Marc and I KNOW the day"S" will come when he will come home from work with the line "Hunny please, the kids will just love a new pet". I assure you all, I have WARNED him and hopefully he respects my warning!! For now it seems as though weekend trips to different store locations to "tour" the store satisfy the children! I am not too sure how long that will last though!

The Definition Of A Hooker...

Webster's Dictionary defines the word "hooker" as ...

Main Entry: 1hook·er
Pronunciation: \ˈhu̇-kər\
Function: noun
Date: 1567

1 : one that hooks

2 : drink Scotch>

3 : prostitute

Ava's definition...

1. a hanger

2. a grabber toy (similar to a liter grabber but a toy version)

Just like every other morning, Ava wakes up, travels down to our bedroom, where she says goodmorning to those awake! This particular morning, she decided to bring her toy grabber with her. Garrison was awake and noticed the toy in her hand and began throwing a fit in hopes that Ava would give him the toy! As I exited the bathroom, I saw/heard Ava patting Garrison's head while saying "Yeah buddy do you like your hooker?"

Now this wasn't the first time she had called this item a "hooker", so although I let a little chuckle, it was sorta old news!

As if calling the toy grabber a hooker wasn't bad enough, Ava has another item in the house which she refers to as a "hooker". One morning while Marc was still home before leaving for work, Ava picked up a couple hangers that were on the floor of our closet. She took the 2 hangers and hung them on the drawer handle of Marc's dresser. She entered the bathroom, where Marc was brushing his teeth and said "Daddy I put 2 hookers on your dresser for you"! I laughed so hard, mainly because Marc didn't have a clue as to what she was talking about and what a "hooker" was! Obviously I explained what she was talking about and we both laughed a bit more!

Gotta love the innocent vocabulary of a 4 yr old!