THE B-I-G 4-0!!

NO NOT ME!! I am way to young for that! ;0)

The Birthday boy and the "waiters" at Los Birthday Club!!

When "Sweetie" came home from work, the kids told him we

were going out to a restraunt for his birthday dinner.  The

table was set and I obviously made dinner, but he went along

with it.  We blindfolded him and got in the truck and drove around

the neighborhood.  The kids pointed the way to "Los Birthday

Club" - the chic-est place in town - and they have GREAT

Mexican food, if I do say so myself! 

After arriving back in the driveway, the kids led Luke up the
 front steps into the "restraunt"still blindfolded.  They led him
to his table and presented the menu to him using their finest
"high class" voices using lots of phrases with "sir" in them.

               This is the menu with the cards he received.

                     We had the traditional birthday pie. 

         Then, we started a one time only tradition of Silly String.
       We got him.  Then...

                                         He GOT US!!
                         Not fair! We only got him a little!!!

                     We had the nightly wrestling match.

                                    And opened presents.

 

The best part of giving/getting presents are the snuggles afterward.

              One of the presents was Mexican Train Dominoes.
 

We did have one casualty of the night.  One of the killer goblets
broke a plate.  It's okay Quince.  :0)
                          HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!!

SICK DAY!!

Wednesday morning Princess Q mentioned her ear hurt, but went on the rest of the day playing with friends and didn't say another word. 

A few minutes after I walked in from playing volleyball, she woke up crying.  She said her ear hurt really badly.  I gave her some ibuprophen. She fell asleep a few HOURS later.  She then woke up about 2:30 am SCREAMING for another 45 minutes.  Finally, she fell back asleep.  In the morning I realized her ear drum had burst. Poor baby! 

This child is a puzzle whiz! Seriously!  This puzzle has over 150 pieces!  She did it in about 40 minutes!  I didn't even help her open the package!  She did it 110% by herself!

A Bit About Tyler...

Tyler just had a birthday.  It kind of snuck up on me, as I have been sewing and crafting up a storm for Christmas!  Two days before his birthday, I realized I needed to make a cake! ACK!  Then, I promptly forgot, again.  I remembered the day before and since his birthday fell on a Sunday, I knew I had to make it then (11pm). 

Luckily, the LDS culture tends to be prepared to a fault.  I went down to my foodstorage room and was able to choose from a vast variety of cake mix flavors to find one that would make my easily pleased son happy.  I made several cakes and planned to cut them into various shapes to make a HUGE Ben 10 Omnitrix cake.

I envisioned something like this.

I got a little impatient since it was after midnight and removed one of the cakes before it was cooled and it totally fell apart.  I promptly put that in a ziploc bag and left it on the counter, redrew my design and continued on to make a marshmallow fondant covered, devil's foodcake, strawberry cheesecake ice cream cake.  It was not nearly so ellaborate as I had first envisioned, but it was yummy and I still have a forth of it in the freezer.  The kids and I just had a piece and it is still yummy 2 1/2 weeks later. 

I stayed up working on it until 2am.  Put it in the freezer, cleaned up and didn't give it another thought.  Until, the next morning when I came downstairs after the kids and Tyler was looking at my Ziploc bag of disaster. 

Tyler: "Mom, did my cake break?" 

Me: Yeah Bud. I'm sorry and I don't have time to make another one because I need to make cookies this morning for the dedication of the Stake Center tonight.   But I'll save some cookies for us and we'll have cookies and ice cream for your birthday.  K?

Tyler:  Okay, mom! (Oh, that kid can melt my heart!)

Me:  Sorry next time okay?

Tyler:  Mom?  What's that cake on the counter?

Oops.  I left out the middle part of the cake I cut out to make room for the ice cream. Hmm.

Me:  Oh, that was just something I had left over from another thing.  I was thinking I could ice it really fast with some of that frosting in the fridge (pre-made store bought yicky stuff - I'm not a fan of the tub frosting). 

Tyler: Well, Mom...can I do it?  (excitement building) CAN I MOM?  CAN I DO IT????

Me:  Um, yeah okay.  You decorate it.

Tyler:  Mom! Can you make the frosting green? I want to make it an omnitrix!! And what's this stuff? (the fondant I left out - good one Amy)  Can I use it?

Me: Sure.

He spends the next 40 minutes concocting his own omnitrix and decorating it with his Ben 10 toys. 

He loved his cake!  And who can blame him?  He did a fantastic job on it!  I was pretty proud of the job I did on his ice cream cake, but I am so much more proud of him and his fantastic attitude.  That kid is so positive I could just squish him!  Most people would have been so disappointed their cake died, but not him.  He just went on and did this.  He is such an amazing boy.  I love you Tyler.  You teach me so much every day about having a positive attitude.  Please stay that way and maybe eventually I can grow up to be like you.

Me

AtHLetE,
sEAmStrEsS,
cRAfTY oNE,
I try many hats,
but master NonE.

MaNY prOJeCTs LEft unDONe.
THaNKful i MArRied A pATiENt oNe!

What's that I Smell??

While driving home the kids (mostly Emma) and I had the following conversation.  I was prepping them for cleaning and doing chores, when we got there.
Tyler said something about already having made his bed, so why does he have to do MORE chores!

Me:  Making your bed is not really a chore.  It's just one of those things you have to do before you GET to do your other chores! :)

Emma:  (in a haughty tone) WELL, I DON'T EVEN HAVE A BED TO MAKE, 'CAUSE CARSON!!

My nephew is staying the summer with us.

Me:  Well, he leaves tomorrow. So, you can have your own bed back! (in my best isn't that so awesome voice?!!)

Emma: (disgruntled and surly) Yeah, but it will still SMELL like Carson!! (exhales)

Me:  We will wash the sheets. It will be fine.

Emma: (still disgruntled and surly) YEAH and spray it!

Me: Why does Carson stink?

Emma: Uh, yeah! (snotty tone)

She has the Matkin nose!  (and attitude!!)

Tyler - if only this could last...

"Mom, why didn't you sign me up for summer school?  Is it too late?  Can I go to summer school?"

Sense of Fashion or Just Plain Ol' Stubbornness?

Emma has had kindergarten preview the last 2 days.  This morning she came down wearing a shirt that I tried to get her to wear to preschool on numerous occassions.  She refused every time citing, "It's ugly" along with tears and body jiggles that resembled a tantrum.  Now that it is almost too small it is a new favorite.  It does look quite cute, but why does she have to refute EVERYTHING I say until I leave it alone and it becomes her idea????   :)  If I were to say the sky is blue, she would say it is orange.  And then IF I came around and said the sky is orange, THEN she would say, "No, it is blue."  She just loves to think I know NOTHING!!  I thought that didn't come until the teenage years?!!  I tremble at the thought of what is to come with that girl!!  ;0)