katie bug

For her birthday, Kate wanted a ladybug cake with a number 4 candle in it.



I did my best.



I was actually quite pleased. I am not very good at applying smooth icing, but the crazy-huge eyes turned out just the way I wanted them to. It looks like it could be a character on A Bug's Life, and talk with a squeaky, high voice.

Katie specifically asked that the ladybug have bows on her "whiskers."



What she lacks in knowledge of insect anatomy, she made up for in the injestion of artificial food coloring.



Isn't that lovely?

The little ladybug had a strawberry rear, and a chocolate head, also per the birthday girl's request.

Why two flavors?
It makes perfect Katie sense: black head = chocolate cake, red body = strawberry cake.

The ladybug had a delicious demise.




The best part, though, was making Katie happy.

When she first saw the cake in the morning, she was very underwhelmed (which is typical "Katie in the spotlight" behavior). But later in the day she was looking off into space, and I asked her what she was doing.

She replied, "I was just thinking about how much I love my ladybug cake."

That made every minute in the kitchen and every drop of food coloring worth it.

practically empty

I have no creative juices lately. None. Especially none to blog.

Lately my mind has been filled with the practical.

Like figuring out a plan to really, truly get my house cleaned, even if it is only every two weeks.

And how to make the chore routine run more smoothly with less nagging.

And how to adjust my schedule (which I was getting pretty fond of) to the change Lizzie is making from two naps to one.

And how to be a better friend.

And how to remember to pray for those people who need prayers.

And how to be filled with love and joy so that I don't ever yell at my kids.

And how to make sure I am giving Katie enough time since she is sandwiched between the homeschooler and the baby.

And how to make a ladybug cake.

Well, the last one, once the practical side is all figured out, just may get the creative juices flowing.

And then maybe I will be back with more posts, that may or may not include a photo of a ladybug cake with a 4 candle on it.

Which gets me thinking about how quickly four years goes by.

But that kind of thinking makes me cry, so I'll stop that.




Hope you are having a blessed week.

quick thinking

So the other day Katie asked me to play dress shop with her.

Dress shop is when she takes a bunch of dresses out of her closet and hangs them on the crib. She is then the owner of the dress shop, helping you find and buy the perfect dress. She loves this game.

I told her she could play, as long as she hung all the dresses up again when she was finished, but that she would have to play with Joey since I was busy with Lizzie right at that moment.

Joey rolled is eyes and muttered something about not wanting to play dress shop, to which Katie replied:
"Fine. I'll play with my invisible friends."

Not knowing she even had any invisible friends, I asked her the names of these playmates.


"Princess, Jessie and...Hairbow."



I have a sneaking suspicion that she may have possibly made up one of those names on the spot.

But the threat of replacement worked, and Joey played dress shop with her after all.

I guess Hairbow had to go find something else to do with her time.

equals

Today = great

because

Weather = beautiful

Windows = open

Walk at the park = refreshing

Kids = hyper :)

Teaching Joey to use a sewing machine = memorable

The pillow he sewed for Bear = adorable

Washed bedding hung outside = much better smelling than before

Dinner = yummy

Adam = my favorite (grown-up) person to have dinner with

Dishes = done

Tomorrow = Friday with a forecast of more spring weather

Blessings = so very many

staying

(More of our Disney trip.
I am trying to include things here that I won't have in the photo book I am putting together, so sorry if all this is boring.)



Adam treated the family to a stay at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort. It was so lovely. The main building, The Carriage House, and the grounds have an equestrian theme.


(Adam took the kids swimming every night, and they practically had the whole place to themselves.)

In the lobby were these pictures of horses from various animated Disney movies.





I love that special touch. And Bullseye is so cute.


This was our building.



And that was also the warm Florida sunshine. I loved that sunshine. I miss it.

leaving

We're going to Disney World!!!!





I have a feeling I better get my rest now...





The slowest thirty minutes of their lives






The plane ride went well, in part because the flight wasn't crowded and partly due to the fact that when we want to, we use Lizzie's raisin addiction to our advantage.




Wah..Wah!

Lizzie, shhh.

Wah!

Here. Eat some raisins.

Quiet munching sounds.



If she had three hands, she would use them all to shove the raisins in.



Joey had fun with Daddy's various i devices, while Katie had fun things to do like eat teeny pretzels and sip apple juice out of a tiny straw.



And later, when I refused to give her any more raisins because I am the one that suffers from the mass consumption (gross), Lizzie was enthralled with her Dad's magical power that makes music come out of thin black wires.

flew south

We went away last week.

It was wonderful.

It was tiring.

And it was warm.

We enjoyed lots of these:



The kids enjoyed lots of these:






Some posts of the magical fun to come...

snow what

The table misses grilled steaks on a warm night.


The front walk longs for sidewalk chalk graffiti.


The trailer would like to haul mulch.


The lawn wants to be trampled by neighborhood friends.


The forsythia dreams of happy, yellow blossoms.


I must say, it is hard to be happy with all this cold, snowy weather when even the inanimate objects are discontent.

not so poetic

silently snow falls
in my home no peace is found
teething baby screams

when red 40 equals greatness

What does it take to be the world's greatest mom?

The answer is surprising: deprive the children of cereal. Only buy it occasionally, but even then, have a pretty strict ban on any cereal that turns the milk pink.



Then, one Tuesday, tell your son he can pick any cereal he wants when you go grocery shopping. Watch the delight on his face as he chooses sugar coated rings of artificial colors.



Enjoy the pleasure of watching him merrily eat two bowls for an afternoon snack. And then be handed the title of "best mom in the world" from the world's sweetest boy.



Sometimes it really is great to break the "rules."

in blue

My artist has moved away from the abstract art that defined her early work.

Kate's recent pieces show lots of growth in real scenes and portraits.

The subject of this drawing is so recognizable, it can't possibly be required that the viewer be her mother in order to interpret and enjoy it.



Okay, fine -- in case you don't have a trained eye for Katie-art, I'll fill you in:



(I just read this post 5 hours after posting and had to fix 3 typos. Nice.)

the kitty

Buddy the cat came into our lives in November.



He is a great cat; patient, longsuffering, and loving, with enough spunk to keep him interesting. And by spunk, I mean from ten to eleven o'clock every night he turns into a crazy tiger, and the house is his jungle, and any toes that might be wiggling under a blanket are his prey.

He thought the Christmas tree was the best cat toy EVER.




Most of the time, he is perfect.



All of the time, he is loved.



Sometimes this love may manifest itself as being wrapped in a blanket and taken for a ride in the kiddie shopping cart.



He doesn't seem too upset about it.

(confession: I will have to blog about Buddy from time to time -- what else am I going to do with the photos I take of him?)