Thursday, May 25, 2006

Desert Sunset

 
I think this picture Eric took of the sunset at the party is wonderful. The rain lightened up long enough to get a nice clear picture. It started raining just before the party started and continued for a few hours, the longest rain we've had since October. Posted by Picasa

Awyn's party dress

 
Awyn and her butterfly dress. The hat is more than a bit large, but she'll grow into it. It does provide some shade! Posted by Picasa

Sam takes a bow

 
Actually I'm just showing off Sam's party outfit. The shorts were way to big, size 5, so we swapped them for some similar shorts a size smaller. I just love the lizards! Posted by Picasa

The Birthday Cakes

 
Here are both cakes; the yellow blob is supposed to be a giraffe, the brown blob is a very messed up bear. The cake part went well; usually that's what I mess up. This time I had some serious frosting issues. It just wouldn't stick to the cakes, my frosting was too thick so I kept exploding out the icing bags, I used too large a star tip on the giraffe. Well, they were edible, at least. The pans I used are versatile enough that I'll be able to use them for lots of other cake projects. I also made the 7 layer dip, which turned out very well. Posted by Picasa

Awyn and Cake

 

Awyn liked her Bear cake that I made for the birthday party. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Awyn and Tasha

Awyn loves her dog so much she can sign and say dog, and she takes a couple of steps to the dog too. Nice of her to walk on her birthday, makes it more memorable. Enjoy the video!


Happy Birthday Awyn!

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Cake

Awyn loved her chocolate cake. Today she started walking too, so it's been a pretty big day for our little birthday girl! Posted by Picasa

Daddy tries to blow out the candle

Sam needed help from Daddy to help Awyn blow out the candle. Note Awyn's hand in her mouth, stuffing her face with Cake. Posted by Picasa

Awyn eats the cake

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Sam blows the candle, Awyn eats the cake

Sam was helping Awyn blow out her candle, but really all he did was spit all over the frosting. Awyn was digging into the side of the cake the entire time, eating as much frosting as she could get onto her fingers. Posted by Picasa

Ooh, For Me?

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Spagetti

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Waiting for Cake!

Awyn, just prior to being stripped for spagetti and cake. Posted by Picasa

The Young Chef

Sam is helping me make spagetti for Awyn's Birthday dinner. I decided to make one of her favorites. Posted by Picasa

Making Cake

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Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Sleepy Babies

I sat down and both kids came over for snuggle time, and both fell asleep very quickly. Posted by Picasa

Big Girls use Forks

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Sunday, May 14, 2006

Happy Mother's Day

As I haven't put any cards in the mail yet today, and it is a Sunday, I am wishing one and all a Happy Mother's Day today. The kids and I are at home. I was supposed to work, but nobody wants to babysit on Mother's Day, so I am without a babysitter. The entrance stations will be closed today. Everyone will have to go visit Eric at the Panther Junction visitor center to pay.

This morning I made French toast, as I happen to like it, and Eric doesn't. He'll eat it under protest, but he really doesn't care for it. I was going to put in a Signing Time video for Awyn but Sam took over the DVD player and is watching Superman. I think he's going to be upset when he finds out I won't let him watch it more than once.

I'm not sure what we're having for dinner. I need to clean the kitchen before I even ponder supper. I also have a few loads of laundry to work through. Lately I've been terrible at getting it done; Eric's been doing all the cleaning. Well, not the vacuuming. The robot takes care of the carpets and inspires Sam to keep his toys picked up.

I'm just not very into major commercial holidays, and Mother's Day qualifies. Even without TV, I still am bombarded with advertising. Buy her flowers, chocolate, diamonds, cool gadgets. Write an expensive card, give her a gift certificate. Bah humbug. Pay the bills, help clean the house, love the children. All these holidays are rackets designed to enrich commercialists. If you want to honor your mother, call her and tell her you love her and appreciate her. Then listen to what she's saying because it's courteous to listen rather than do all the talking.

I've been asked by people what Eric is buying me for the big M-Day. Nothing, I hope. I have a long list of expensive yet innappropriate for gift expenses. Glasses, tires, and dental work just don't seem like mother's day gifts. Sure there are flashy me things I want, like a trip back home to visit family, but I think I'd rather have a new pair of glasses, tires, and dental work. Well, I guess I don't want dental work, I need dental work. The tires also fall under need, and I guess the glasses do too, but I also want those.

While I actually like Mother's Day, I don't feel it's a give-a-gift sort of holiday. I think I might even like Valentines day if we could cut out the forced smarmy little cards, candy, and enforced love thy entire class thing. No, I don't think I will ever like Valentine's day. I don't celebrate it. I do like Christmas, but I wish we could get away from the sheer quantity of mass consumerism that surrounds it and get back to the one or two truly meaningful gifts. I'd rather have one nice thing that says, "I love you!" than a hundred little dollar store trinkets that I'm only going to throw away as they break within days of receipt. Besides, while Christmas is about giving, it's not about presents. Think about it. I think all of these holidays should be about giving, but not about presents.

Don't get me started about Birthdays. I will simply say that I think the best way to celebrate a birthday is to have as much family as is available together in one place. Cake is fun, so is ice cream. Maybe a present or two for the kids. But that's about it. As Awyn's party approaches, I am satisfied with the small scale affair we have planned. Cake and ice-cream, and lots of friends to celebrate. We're combining her party with another party; Aidan is also turning 1 this month, so we are having the party at his house. I think some people would be pretty upset at the idea of sharing their child's first birthday. The first birthday is all about the parents! It's a celebration of survival, not just a natal day. I think the poster we're putting up is supposed to say no presents. That may seem tacky, but all of us parents involved would rather just have a get together where anyone feels welcome to attend.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Super Sam!

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Sam loves Superman

Recently Eric started letting Sam watch Superman, the Christopher Reeves version. Sam likes it so much he sings along with the theme song and pretends to fly. So I made him a red cape, see next photo. Posted by Picasa