Mario Party

Well, the Mario Party has come and gone, and all I can say is, "Whew!"  Maybe I'm just lazy, but I don't seem to have the energy for party planning like I used to.

The birthday monkey really enjoyed the day.  He woke up at 7 AM and started asking, "How much longer until my party?"  And he's also been dressed as Mario for the past 3 days.

I must say that Mario behaved himself really well at his party.  I guess the birthday-party-etiquette talk we had earlier really helped.  He was polite and appreciative when opening his gifts, and he shared his new toys without fussing.  I was really proud of him!

We didn't have the Yoshi Egg Hunt after all.  A rainshower popped up right as the party started.  The kids seemed to be having a good time just playing around in Ty's room and on the back porch with some bubbles, so I just let them be.

I cooked up an Italian spread for the guests to munch on...pizza, mozzarella sticks, alfredo meatballs, garlic bread, and spinach dip.  Then we had Mario cake and icecream.

And what about our mustache mugshots?  Well, I think everyone really had a good time with that.  It was funny seeing everyone sporting big, black, hairy, topper lips.  Only Lucy would NOT wear hers.  Oh, and there were a couple of party goers, who shall remain nameless, who stuck their mustaches in some, er, um, interesting places.......

Here we are!

Smashing, don't you think?

Time for presents!

Mom and the Bithday Monkey

Chicken Farming

Thought ya'll might like an update on our chickies.

They've reached that awkward teenage stage.  You know, they're not cute little fuzzy chicks anymore, but they haven't grown into their feathers yet either.

Now I'm not an expert on chickens by any means, so correct me if I'm wrong, but is that a rooster comb starting to grow on this chick??  So far only two chicks have these.

We moved them outdoors a couple of weeks ago, and their coop is over near our garden.  The Tool Man usually lets them out every evening so they can explore the yard.

Speaking of the Tool Man, he has become quite the chicken farmer!  Yes, I spent months pestering him to get me some chickens.  Now that they are here, he actually enjoys taking care of them.  He's out there with them every morning and evening.

Here he is with the coop.  And surprise, surprise........he's on that blasted phone. (I do hate that phone!)

The Tool Man got this baby backpack for his birthday a couple of months ago.  Lucy loves hanging out in it while her daddy is tending the garden.

Reese B. was in town this week, and he came over to check out the chicks.  I think he's trying to catch one here.  Have you ever seen chickens run?  Quite entertaining.  Those little girls are fast! 

Well, he got one, and now he's releasing it back into the "wild."

Some garden goodness.........

The Birthday Monkey

Aren't birthdays great?  I don't care how old you are you just can't help but feel special.  Cards, phone calls, cakes, and gifts.......

I think Ty had a pretty good birthday Friday.  Although, he didn't really understand why he wasn't having his big birthday party on his birthday.  I almost felt guilty about that, but how many people are really able to have their party on their actual birthday?

We did take him out to eat pizza, and what 6 year old doesn't love that?  He got to open some presents too.  The Tool Man and I gave him a bike.  He was soooooo excited.  We've got the perfect place for him to ride up at the restaurant in the parking lot.  (You did know we were opening up a pizza joint didn't you? More about that another day.)

And I made Ty a cake too.  Yeah, I had 3 hours of uninterrupted free time, and I wasted spent it making this.  I know there was some laundry somewhere that I should have been ironing.  The sacrifices we make for our children.

Each year, since the second Ty was born, I have taken Ty's picture on his birthday at the exact minute of his birth, 2:11 PM.  (Thankfully he was not born at 2:11 AM!)

Here's what he was doing this year at that time.

Hopefully one day in the not too distant future I'll post each of his "birthday minute" pictures for ya'll to see.

Happy Anniversary, Tool Man!

Yep.  Today makes 9 years!  Hard to believe, I know.  I was only a teenager back then - Yikes!

I've put together a mini wedding photo album just for ya'll.

This was at a crawfish boil a couple of days before the wedding.

Nothing like sucking a few heads to get you ready for marriage.

Grant and Tim teeing off at the first and only "Tim's Gettin' Hitched" golf tournament

The man I married and the man who married us. It's a wonder we lasted 9 days.....

A few pics of the wedding party.........

And from our honeymoon cruise......

Love you, Tool Man!

Birthdays and Big Trucks

I've got to make four birthday cakes in the coming month.  The first one is for two-year-old Josh, who is all about big trucks.  So I created this dump truck cake just for him.  It's a traditional white cake, and it is decorated with fondant.  Love that stuff!  I also used a marker with edible ink to add the details.  It was just like drawing with a regular pen...super easy.  I first read about these over at Bakerella.  She uses them to decorate her cupcake  pops.  They work great on sugar cookies too.

My monkey's Mario Bros. cake will be next.......

Pomp and Circumstance

Ty graduated from Kindergarten this weekend.  Our local homeschool association had 21 children graduating.  A few of the kids recited verses or sang songs.  Ty said the 100th Psalm.  He did great.  We had some secret signs for me to do just in case he needed some help, but he breezed through it.  Being his teacher, I got to give him his diploma.

After the ceremony Ty was showered with gifts.  He got a balloon, a backpack, candy, a nerf gun, and a real bow and arrows.  Then we took him to lunch at Olive Garden.  That boy loves spaghetti and breadsticks.

We're so proud of him.  He has learned so much.  I remember early on this year when I was worried that he would never learn the number 12.  He couldn't remember the name of it.  He couldn't remember what it looked like.  He couldn't remember that it followed 11....  Now he can count to 200!

 

I asked Ty if he was nervous when he said his verse.  He said he wasn't nervous then, but he was when they were walking into the sanctuary.  He said the fancy music made him nervous.

Speechless Saturday - Vol. I

Party Preparations

It's hard to believe, but my oldest monkey will be 6 years old in a couple of weeks.  Seems to me he should only be 6 weeks old.  He'll be graduating Kindergarten this Saturday.  Can you believe it?  We finished our first year of homeschooling without killing each other  Woo Hoo!!!  I think we did all right, especially considering neither of us had any idea what the heck we were doing!

Ty's birthday party theme is Super Mario Bros.  He's been looking forward to this for a few months now.  I'm usually pumped up about the big day, working on party paraphanalia for months in advance, but this year not so much.  Maybe the kidney stone sucked all the energy out of me, or maybe it's the demands of a 9 month old monkey, but the party must go on!

So yesterday we set out on our first party shopping spree.  I snagged some festive plates and napkins and a few favors for the kiddos, but there is so much more to be done.

Here are a few of my ideas for the party:

1. Food - What do all self-respecting Italian plumbers love to eat?  Pizza, of course.  Too bad Fox's won't be open in time.  Oooo...I just thought of this...some mozzarella sticks would be good too!
2. Games - "Pin the mustache on Mario", "Yoshi Egg Hunt" (Does anyone know where I can get plastic eggs this time of year?  Oy, I wish I had thought of this game before Easter!),  "Mario Obstacle Course" complete with your favorite Mario enemies
3. Decorations - replicas of your basic Mario Bad Dudes (I'm not really familiar with their official names) like the man-eating flowers, the barking ball-and-chain, and ghosts; also coins, stars, and mushrooms
4. The Cake - Ty has only one request for the cake.  On the top he wants Mario standing on Toad's shoulders???  Why?  This is not going to be easy for ole Mom!
5. And the Pièce de résistance - stick-on mustaches for EVERYONE! And I do mean everyone.  Wouldn't this make the cutest group picture?

Well, that's all I've come up with so far.  If you have any more ideas, please share them with me. 

You Might Be a Redneck......

......if you have one of these in your back yard.

When I drove up to my parent's house this weekend, this is what greeted me!  A horny tree!

What's worse is I think this was all my Mama's idea. Oh, deer!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms, aunties, and "grannies" out there.  My recent illness has made me realize just how much I enjoy being with my monkeys.  I'm so lucky BLESSED to be able to stay home with them everyday.  I think that I need them just as much as they need me.

"Making the decision to have children is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."

I love this quote, but I must say that these children were not the result of some "decision" we made.  They are a precious gift from God, planned from the beginning of time.

I just hope I don't screw them up! ; )

They're Here!

We picked up our baby chicks today!  Ty was soooooo excited he was squealing, literally.

We let the chicks out of their box for a while this afternoon so they could get acquainted with the place.  They were a little shy at first, but they soon warmed up to us.  Now they are back inside, in their box, and we're keeping a close watch on them to make sure they are staying warm enough.  So far, so good!

Remember I told you earlier that Ty had picked out a couple of names for the chicks?  Well, the one on the left is Blacky Smooth.

And this is Wipey. Wipey Cutie, actually, but Ty calls him Wipey for short.

Goodbye, Farewell, Amen

Yep!  It's gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm kidney stone free.  Whew!  I'm glad that's finally over.

Surgery was at 7:00 this morning, and I was back home by noon.  Ahh.....the wonders of modern medicine.  Now maybe things can get back to normal (well, as normal as possible) around here.

Ya'll wanna see my pet rock??

Just pickin' chicken.  Although it did feel MUCH bigger than this.

And speaking of chickens......We're headed out the door to go get them.  I'll post some pictures soon.

Ty has already picked out a couple of names for the chicks:  Chickee, Wipey, and Blacky Smooth.

Don't ask me. 

Lucy - 9 months

I'm a little behind in posting Lu Lu's 9 month photo.  This whole kidney stone business has gotten me all messed up.

This monthly picture is getting harder and harder to take.  Lucy will hardly sit still long enough for me to get her set up with the doll and then back away to snap the picture.  She was far more interested in crawling down the hill, eating grass, or trying to catch Buddy.  So here is the best that I could do.

I also tried taking the picture inside.  "Maybe if I strap her in her swing...."

Well, she wasn't into that idea at all as you can see.  Oh well, no sense pretending that she never pitches a fit.

So what's new with Lucy?  Well she's speed crawling for one.  Man, she's fast!  And she has learned she can take her toys with her by carrying them in her mouth.

She's pulling up all the time now too.  And once she pulls up on something she pulls everything else down.  Like books, coasters, cups, plates, remotes, toys, etc.  So now I'm facing the task of relocating everything to at least 3 feet off the floor.

Well, if everything is put away, what's a girl to do for fun?

PLUNDER!  This is her favorite pastime.  And after moving all the dangerous stuff to higher drawers, I just let her have at it.  She can empty a drawer 10 seconds flat!

Lucy is now taking a bath in the big tub.  She really enjoys getting to get in with Ty. 

She is eating more baby food now, thanks mostly to the fact that she had to while I was in the hospital.  Her favorite foods are carrots, sweet potatoes, and apples.  She usually likes the mixed vegetables too.  But she does turn her nose up at the macaroni and cheese and most of the meats.  Who could blame her?  Pureed meat?  Yuck!  Gag!

I've also been sneaking in some table food here and there.  She's had baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, pancakes, fruit loops, and brownies.  I know! I know! Brownies?!  Hey, a girl has to have her chocolate!