Cake Deco

I'm halfway through my six week beginner cake decorating course. It's been good for me to a) get out of the house and b) learn a new skill. My soul purpose in taking the class is this: bake my own kids' birthday cakes. That's it. I'm not there to become a professional cake decorator, nor do I plan on opening my own bakery. So, when I go in with my "homework" (a frosted cake), I know it's not going to be the best in the class, but it's not a competition, and I'm certainly not a competitive person (unless I'm playing Scrabble, then watch out). We've only decorated two cakes so far, drumroll please.

When Paige first saw my cookie monster cake, she immediately said, "Mommy I LOVE your monster cake!" And, that was all the compliment I needed.

Nature Walk

We met with our playgroup at the San Elijo Lagoon Nature Center for a nice walk last week. The kids had so much fun running around the wide trails. We saw a snowy egret, blue heron, and a snakeskin from a recent shed. It was a little overcast and chilly, but the kids certainly didn't mind. They kept warm with their exertion of exercise. I hope to return again with Brian and Nemo (yes, dogs can go as long as they are leashed!).

Spring Fling

Paige's preschool hosted a Spring Fling show today for all the parents. We showed up with our camera, video camera, tripod, and extended family. We weren't the only ones. The place was a zoo! Parents with cameras trying to get that one beloved shot are a wild bunch. I'm surprised there were no fights. Because of the large sized crowd, I couldn't even see if Paige was singing or not, too many heads in the way. But, by the looks of it she had so much fun seeing us in the audience cheering her on. Afterwards, we went to visit her classroom to enjoy some cake. Then we went for pizza. It was a great afternoon for us, but most importantly for Paige who thoroughly enjoyed all the attention.

Crazy parent waving hello right in the middle of my shot. Geesh! I'm sure my hand is in the middle of someone else's photo.

Cake face. Oh yeah, and she's dressed as a field mouse.

Global Warming

I go through various phases where I don't believe global warming is really happening. Just look at the crazy winter the Midwest and East Coast have had this past season. I tend to think this is a natural part of the earth's cycles. And no, I have not seen an Inconvenient Truth, and I will totally own up to the fact that I don't have a lot of knowledge in this area. Brian tells me that us inhabitants are speeding up the process by polluting our air which I do agree with. And, if anyone recycles a ton around here, it's me so I do feel that we can do more to reduce and reuse. But boy, with the past couple of days we've had coupled with quite a few heat waves this winter and spring, I might just start swaying to the other side and put Al Gore's movie in my queue.

Greek Easter

Cathy, my wonderful mother-in-law, had us over at her house yesterday to celebrate Greek Easter. We indulged in a fantastic feast of lamb, moussaka, spanokopita, hummus, and one of my favorite foods, feta cheese. She made the cutest bunny cake for Paige and Nick and gave them awesome baskets of goodies. This was the first year that Paige and Nick participated in the egg breaking contest. They thought that was hilarious. And, I actually won by beating Nick in the final round. Woo-hoo! I'm supposed to be granted with good luck all year...or as Brian's cousin, Chris, put it, lots of egg salad.

The table was decorated in Greek colors, complete with a Greek flag.Paige shares some corn with Nana. About the only thing she was willing to eat besides chocolate.Nick and Chris go head to head in the semi-finals. Nick won.

La Playa

We had to take advantage of this little heat wave we have going on by cooling off in the Pacific Ocean. The kids had a blast playing in three little pools of water left by the receding tide. They would run back and forth through the pools with fits of laughter. Even passersby would stop to watch them in their fun. They also could not get enough of the helicopters zipping past and the swarm of ladybugs that have invaded the area. It was a fabulous morning.

Tell Me Lies

Fleetwood Mac coined it best, "Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies..." We've entered the fibbing stage around here. Paige was playing downstairs while I was upstairs changing Nick's diaper. She came up to tell me,
"Mommy, I didn't spill any water."
Me: "Oh good." Not quite sure what she was up to.
Lo and behold a little while later after the kids went down for naps, I came downstairs and noticed water, lots of water, all over the couch. I thought to myself, "Ah...that's what that sweet little lie was all about."
That is just one example of the little lies being told around here. The funny part is Paige always manages to say it in the softest, most sincere voice you've ever heard. Where does she learn this technique? I'm dumbfounded, truly dumbfounded.

Easter Sunday

We had a fun-filled Easter. The kids awoke to find their Easter baskets filled with goodies. Paige was so happy to get some m&ms, but she was disappointed that she wasn't able to give the Easter Bunny a hug. After getting all dolled up, we attended church. Boy, was that place packed! We came home and enjoyed a fabulous brunch with the family. Small group, just the moms, Eric & Stef, and Stef's brother, Dan. We had yummy food, delicious mimosas, and an egg hunt for Paige and Nick. We then attempted to burn off all that food by playing outside. Got some video of Uncle E and Nick on the skateboard (see below).

Skateboard Video:

The best part is we get to do this all over again next Sunday for Greek Easter. Yahoo!

Egg Hunt

Today we got together with our playgroup friends for an Easter egg hunt. We had a great time seeing some kids we have not seen in quite some time. As our kids have gotten older, not as many families come to playgroup on a regular basis. So, it was nice to have a reason to gather for some fun. Paige had a little rough time getting going in the beginning. I think she gets thrown off in large groups of kids. But, Nick not so much. He can keep up with the masses. I found it amusing that he was more excited about finding two golf balls than he was finding Easter eggs.

Nick with his golf balls.

Not so easy getting a group shot. I was the annoying mom trying to get my kid to sit down while everyone waited patiently for me to get out of the way, and Paige, look at that pitiful sad face.

24 Hour Bug

A bug of some sort has flown through the house. It started with Nick Sunday morning. He slept in until about eight or so and seemed generally out of sorts. By late morning, he was flushed with a high fever. I knew my little boy was not feeling well when all he wanted to do was lie on the couch. SO not him. By Monday, late afternoon, he was much better. Then yesterday, Paige got hit. She seems to be feeling better now, but the fever is still lingering. Her dedication to dance showed last night during a bedtime conversation:
Me: "Well, ya know, you're not going to be able to go to dance tomorrow if you're still sick."
I see the wheels turning.
PJ: "Mommy, I'm not sick anymore. I'm all better."
Me: "Really? Why is that?"
PJ: "I have to go to dance tomorrow."
We'll just have to count down the days until next week's class.

Spring Session

I've been looking around dance studios and found a beginner ballet & tap class for Paige. Before I signed her up, I took her to observe a class. She immediately wanted to start. So, in her excitement, we got to have some special mommy/daughter time at the dancewear store to buy her outfit and shoes. She has had three classes so far and absolutely loves it! For Nick, I signed him up at Tumbles for some climbing, hanging, and fun. He loves having special time with me while Paige is in school and he gets to do the class with his buddy, Aidan. I've done this same class with Paige at Nick's age and it's been so fun for me to watch his little personality in a group situation.

Project Fence

One of our home projects has been to stain the fence. This fence was put in about a year ago now, so there's nothing like being able to put a checkmark next to an item on the home improvement checklist. Paige really enjoyed helping Brian out, but after the huge mess she began to make with the stain, we put her on sanding duty. That was a much better choice.
The results of Nemo's test came back. Turns out his lump is nothing but fatty cells. Yay! We could not be more relieved to get good news on that.

Before

After