Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband,

I love you!

Grandma and Grandpa came over for dinner to help us celebrate Dan's birthday tonight. Dan's favorite sweets are Rice Krispies treats so Emma and I made a Rice Krispies treat cake for his birthday. Dan was excited but the kids much preferred the store bought "proper birthday cake" with Homer Simpson on it that Daddy brought home from work :) I suppose I should have gotten a picture of that cake too...

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day is one of my favorite days of the year. I had honestly not given this day too much thought, other than as a day to honor my own wonderful mother of course, until I was finally a mother myself. Four years ago (can it really be that long ago??) Emma was 5 weeks old and Dan and I drove to Chicago to have brunch with Jen, Rick and their son, my godson, Jake. They were visiting briefly and this brunch would be our only chance to see them. It was a perfect day -the weather was gorgeous so our drive to Chicago was a pleasure. I remember feeling very special that day - like I was part of a club that I had longed to be in for quite a while. Before we left the house in the morning Dan had given me a "pocket locket" - a big heart that opened to reveal a picture of our newborn. I loved it and I still do! I don't even remember the name of the hotel where we had brunch but it was very nice - as these things usually are. "Us moms" were all given the obligatory flower as we were shown to our table - my dried rose is still hanging on the wall in my closet - I love glancing over at it every so often and smiling at the memory of my first Mother's Day. We had a wonderful time with dear friends and our beautiful baby girl.

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Today was another sweet day. Some things have changed - Dan and I now have a four year-old and a two year-old. Some things haven't - we went to a tasty brunch and ate too much :) New traditions have been started - I was woken up this morning with breakfast in bead. Emma and Henry had helped Daddy make a bowl of berries and cream for me. They had even been to Starbuck's so I could have a venti cafe mocha first thing this morning. Emma and Grandma had baked chocolate chip cookies earlier in the week so I was given a big tin of them. Emma was very proud of the fact that she had signed her name and Henry's name on my card. In fact, both Henry and Emma had very proud smiles on their faces as they woke me up - I definitely shed a tear or two - they are just too precious! How can I not love Mother's Day!

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I hope all you fabulous moms out there had a wonderful day with lot's of love from your little (or not so little) ones!

Emma and I with Jen and Jake on my first Mother's Day.

Emma at 5 weeks old.

I wish I would have managed to get at least one picture of us all this year - somehow this didn't happen...there's always next year...

Tiara-making with Morfar

Morfar and Emma worked very hard making tiaras from the kit Aunt Eileen gave Emma for her birthday. This little four year-old has so much patience - it always amazes me! She is also a bit of a neat freak. (I wonder who she gets that from? It couldn't be her mother, could it?) Before they started, Emma told Morfar they needed to get a newspaper to "protect the table" since they would be using glue. That's my girl!!

Emma in the finished product.

Not an easy day for Henry...

We went to the year-end show for the local ballet school today. Emma is in the youngest group they have, "Creative Movement", so she is not quite ready for the big times yet :) The children and young adults who performed Snow White today did an excellent job and Emma loved every minute of it. (well almost every minute - she is 4 years old after all...) I had anticipated Henry having a hard time sitting through an hour and a half without causing a major disturbance but I hadn't planned on him really hurting himself while watching the ballet - it's not exactly a contact sport! While sitting in Dan's lap he tipped forward and hit his forehead hard on the balcony railing right in front of us. Poor little Henry - he was in so much pain and cried that awful cry where he almost couldn't catch his breath. Dan took him outside until intermission and then, like the tough little boy he is, Henry was just fine. He hasn't said another word about it - he just looks like he should be hurting like crazy! I feel so bad for him!

Sunny side up eggs for dessert!

For our Easter dinner dessert, Emma and I made sunny side up eggs. It is a fun idea that my mother shared with me. When I told Emma we were making eggs for dessert she thought it was the strangest thing but she didn't argue - she just wanted to help!

Here is what we did:

• We made a loaf of poundcake and put a slice on each plate.
• Then we put dollops of whipped cream on the poundcake slices.
• Lastly we placed canned peach halves on top of the poundcake and whipped cream.

Voila - there is your sunny side up egg!

Easter is so much fun when there are little kids around! Coloring eggs, having an Easter egg hunt and finding their Easter baskets is absolutely thrilling to a four year old and a two year old. Because the kids get so excited, so do the adults!

Now that the kids are napping it's time for Mamma to get her workout in - I have to try and burn off all those chocolate eggs...

HAPPY EASTER!

Emma's Party!

Emma had a wonderful time at her little birthday party last weekend. The party was very small but it didn't matter one little bit to Emma. Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Eileen came to help us celebrate the big day and Emma was thrilled. Homemade pizzas had been requested by the birthday girl - pepperoni pizza to be exact - so of course that is what Mamma made for lunch. (There was also a shrimp and veggie pizza and a cheeseless pizza for Grandpa) Later, for dessert there was a Hello Kitty birthday cake and yummy chocolate covered pretzel sticks that Emma had helped me make earlier in the week. The only other request Emma made was that she wanted a pinata. (I think this is becoming a tradition at our birthday celebrations) This year's pinata was a butterfly and it was filled with the obligatory candy that only Henry really wanted. Emma just liked to pull the ribbons and get showered with candy, she didn't really want to eat any of it...go figure! After the pinata was emptied and a little playing was done, it was time for gifts. Some favorites were a gumball machine (Emma is obsessed with gum!), princess books, a family for her doll house and a tiara-making kit. There was one gift that was too big to wrap so I simply covered it with a blanket. Emma had been eyeing the blanket all day but assured me that she hadn't peeked. She was so excited to see what was under there. When she finallly pulled the blanket off and found the beautiful baby doll carriage Mormor and Morfar had sent, she burst into tears! Apparently, Emma had been sure it would be the "big girl bicycle" she has been asking for the last couple of months. She was so disappointed! (Sorry Mormor and Morfar - she loves the baby carriage now) Luckily there was also a card from Mamma and Daddy explaining that Emma would have to come with us to pick out just the right bike.

By this time, Emma was unfortunately not feeling well. We ended up having to take her to the emergency room at Children's Hospital. Luckily her counts were so good that we didn't have to stay over night.

What a roller coaster day! All in all, I would have to say it was a good one. Emma had such a good time at her party!