Belated birthday party post . . .

A perfectly good chocolate cake crumbled into this bowl.
The best buttercream frosting I ever made had to be mixed into the crumbled cake.
This is what it looked like. It felt kind of squishy when I had to do this . . .
Roll it all into one inch cake "meat" balls.
The next step was to form these odd mushroom like shapes.
Katy attempting to squeeze a cake ball into a tiny cookie cutter to make it look like the picture above--sort of resembling a cupcake.
After freezing the "cupcakes" for an hour, we dipped them in chocolate and "stuck" them with lollipop sticks.
Eric was recruited for his fancy dipping skills. That is pink chocolate he is using. After he dipped, I placed the m&m and sprinkles.
The nearly finished product . . .
The finished cupcake pop, ready for its debut in Katy's 5th grade class.

And now we have a few photos from Katy's Mini Mani-Pedi party . . .

I took Emma, Katy and 3 of her friends to a cosmetology school to get the manicures/pedicures. First the fingers . . .

Then the toes.
All done and looking spiffy.
Eating ice cream after leaving the salon.

I am so behind these days. I am hoping to do a few quick posts to keep you up on our comings, goings and doings. This round, I will focus on Katy's birthday treats for her class and a few photos from her party.

Did you see those treats. I am sure I was not thinking clearly when I agreed to try to make them. I found them on a fabulous site called Bakerella. They really were fun to make and even tasted pretty good. It was a shame to watch the boys in Katy's class devour them in one bite. Several of the girls were impressed enough to ask for the recipe. Made me feel like staying up until nearly 1 a.m. the night before was worth it. As with most things in life, it was all easier said than done. Now that I have one batch under my belt and over 50 lollipop sticks left over, I may have to try the cake pops!

Katy enjoyed her party. Grammy joined us for the fun and even had her toes painted right along side the girls. It was nice to have a small get-together. While Katy has several friends, inviting the closest ones makes for a more enjoyable experience. It is hard to believe they are all heading into 6th grade next fall. One year left of elementary school and then it is off to junior high!

A little insight into Emma's way of thinking.

A little note left by Emma at night, outside her bedroom door on the floor, for me! For those of you who cannot decipher her writing, the gist of the letter is:

If you let me get my ears pierced I will pay you back, another page---> for getting a hundred on Ramona Also--- I love you & a pictograph of I love you!

This is in response to that fact that Katy got her ears pierced because she set a goal and achieved that goal(the running of the 800M) Emma has to take reading quizzes at school and she does not like them. She likes reading and being read to, but she does not always "listen" well enough to score high on a comprehension test. She squeaked out a 100 on her last test, but only with the help of the student teacher. The ST steered her in the right direction for one of the answers. Anyway, she has been angling to get a reward for that. I have explained that she'll be able to get her ears pierced, just not until she can handle the responsibility of the upkeep.

When I saw this note, I had to laugh. Emma is not a saver. If she gets money, she spends money. She usually tries to "sell" me stuff to make money. In order to drum up a few coins, she'll offer me any number of items she owns. Stuffed animals, books, markers, odd items lying around on her floor--you name it. I generally explain to her that it was I that bought most of it in the first place and that she might try not blowing all her money in one place. It is funny though, she usually only asks for a quarter or fifty cents. Cracks me up every time.

Time for the big bucks . . .

Katy had these big boys removed this morning. The last of her "baby" teeth. The orthodontist tells me that the ones replacing these are actually smaller. That ought to help out on the spacing issue . . .

I suppose this may be the last time the Tooth Fairy(TF) will visit Katy(only because of a lack of baby teeth to lose!) After spending some quality time with an oral surgeon today, Eric and Katy had a conversation about how much money the TF might leave tonight. (She is hoping for $8!) One thing led to another and Katy 'fessed up to knowing the "truth." Kind of a bittersweet thing really. She made it clear she knew about all the "others" too. Eric had her elaborate on "others." She said "leprechauns, the Easter bunny . . . you know!" Yeah, I guess we do know. Katy promised to be a good sister and keep it to herself.

As for the surgery, it went well. Eric took her in at 8 am and they were home by 9:30. I was worried about her reaction to the anesthesia, but there were no problems. She did mention that the room seemed to move a bit before she fell asleep. She woke up and went home to watch a movie and play on the Wii with her dad. The pain was a bit much this afternoon so I gave her the prescription medication to ease the discomfort. Lots of soft foods and ice cream for a day or two. I'm hopeful she'll feel good enough for school tomorrow.

As promised . . .

Brennan, age 5, dressing for a future position at the DA's office.

Brennan is celebrating his 20th birthday today! It seems like yesterday he was that cute little boy at my wedding. Now he is all grown up and home(Las Vegas) from NAU for the summer. We all hope you had a great day! Good luck at your new job. We love you!

11 is Heaven!

Her first winter.
Her second summer. Gotta love that tooth!
Her first fish--well, that she caught . . .
Just a cute picture--Katy must have been about 9 months.
Our adorable 'tween!

Eleven years ago today, in the wee hours of the morning, I became a mother. Kathryn Grace was born a few days after the "official" Mother's Day that year. I kind of think she was the best belated gift ever . . . She has blessed my life immeasurably!

It's a beautiful day to have a birthday. I hope you enjoy it Katydid! We love you!

P.S. Katy has a birthday buddy in the family. Her Uncle Brennan celebrates his 20th today! If I get moving, I might be able to dig up a cute picture from his childhood to post later.

They call that music!!!!

Eric had a meeting in Twin Falls today and he took my car. (It gets better gas mileage than the truck.) Instead of running around town doing errands, I actually spent the afternoon at home. That is not always my favorite thing to do--mostly because there are sooo many things to do at home! Sigh! I have always made time for the laundry, vacuuming, and a general pick up of the house. I just avoid all of the organizing that needs to get done. For example, Katy and Emma's baby books may never be completed. I hope I still have a few years before they want to look at them.

Anyway, I decided to put this afternoon to good use and get started on Katy's birthday treats for school. Suffice it to say, I am taking on a ridiculous food project that you may or may not see evidence of on a future post. That it involves a 2 day prep time should give you enough to question my sanity. Fingers crossed for me . . .

So, while I was standing around the kitchen making a huge mess, I figured it was a good time to check out a new radio station. Katy has been telling me about songs that the girls are singing at school. Several weeks ago, she asked me about the group The Black Eyed Peas. I was really hoping she meant the food. While I am familiar with their music, I had never really given it much thought. Not really the style I enjoy. We, meaning the girls and I, tend to listen to NPR, country or that crazy category called "adult contemporary." Luckily, the internet affords us the luxury of instantly listening to any song/songs online. Well, that turned out to be a fun 20 minutes. Trying to explain lyrics and clothing styles to your daughter can be very educational. Mostly for me . . . Since then, Emma has mentioned that the boys in her class talk about Lady Gaga. Seriously. In second grade. Boys discussing Lady Gaga. I kept thinking that they had just heard the name and thought it was kind of funny. Then today, during third grade recess, I overheard boys yelling "Lady Gaga" and "Poker Face" as they played tag with the girls! Not so sure what to think about it so that is why I decided to give the "pop" station a whirl and see what all the fuss is about.

I did try to listen on the way home from my mom's house on Sunday. Unfortunately, the girls were in the car. While I doubt they could have really made out what was being "sung," I figured it best to spin the dial back to NPR. Today I was alone. No driving to distract my ability to really "hear" the music. Talk about an eye-opener! I swear I am not a prude--well, maybe sometimes--but I knew I wasn't going to let Katy & Emma listen to that station anytime soon. Sure, I listened to Madonna back in the day. I even tried to listen to Paradise Theatre, the infamous Styx album, backwards. I don't recall my mom freaking out about it. That all passed and I started listening to sad British alternative tunes and a quirky group out of Athens, Georgia. I am going to do my level best to not to make snarky, sarcastic "mom" comments about how truly horrible I think some pop music is . . .

Most likely, Katy and I will set some time aside to check out the music online and discuss any questions she might have. She knows what Eric and I think is appropriate for an 11 year old girl to access. I suppose it is a good learning experience for me. Country music is not always as child friendly as I like either, but it does open the conversation up for a few topics now and again. Speaking of topics related to all this, do not get me started on the GIANT leap Miley Cyrus just took from Disney. Holy Cow! What were her parents thinking?

Happy Mother's Day!!

My personal favorite. Emma "can't stand the sun" and Katy has a new habit of posing with her hand on her hip--in this one, her elbow is behind the tree.

My lovely little ladies! Took these on our way out to breakfast at McDonald's this morning. Katy and Emma were treating me today as Eric had to leave early for work.

Wishing all of the Moms in our life a Happy Mother's Day! Thank you for all you do. We love you more than you know.

Where is May and what have you done with it . . .

I took this at 7:50 AM . . .

I think it may be March here in Boise. Snow in the Foothills. Hail nearly every afternoon this week. Me digging my scarf and gloves out of winter storage. Someone is playing a cruel, cruel trick on me! Please let it end . . .