obsessions/addictions

There are a lot of obsessions and addictions going on in this house:

TRAINS

it does not matter if they are in a magazine
small enough to play withor large enough to ride in

HATSBLANKET AND ELMO
She calls her blanket "winkie"and Elmo "oh-mo"
BANDAIDS SUNGLASSES PACIFIERPretty impressed that I have a picture with all 3 of these things in it? Not me, it is not uncommon ha

Sam is all about the bandaid. Any little mark, or thought of a cut it needs to be covered. I kind of miss the last phase he had about bandaids--- he freaked out when he saw them, and wouldn't let me put them on.
My Sister-in-law gave the kids sunglasses. They are now Sam's favorite accessory
This one pretty much goes with out saying, as at least 70% of all the pictures taken of Molly have this ugly green thing in her mouth.
We are working on decreasing the pacifier time that Molly has, it has not been easy on ANY of us, and I have to admit I do give in more than I probably should, but boy is she a sweeter baby with it!!! I do think she has a stash of these things hidden throughout the house. It also doesn't hurt that her big brother likes to give them to her whenever he finds one either. I will think that we are having a good paci-free time and then see her walking around with one in her mouth--- where in the world did she get that? who knows. Then there is this: You know you are an addict when...you find the pacifier attached to the jogging stroller (because you have a habit of losing them and then daring to get upset with your mother for not bringing extras along) and must stop for a quick "fix"

CIRCUS

It was a last minute decision, but one I am so glad we made... We took the kids to the Shriner circus when it came into town. it was a lot of fun and we had some GREAT seats. (we moved from our original seats during the show, there were not that many people there so we were able to snag some great ones!!) Sam was really fascinated and enjoyed the whole show.
Molly seemed to really be fascinated as well, which surprised us.

Arboretum/ZOO-- Spring Break

We were able to head down to the Arboretum a couple of weeks ago with some friends from church. It turned out to be a beautiful day. The kids were good, just busy as always. (you would think with all the running I do I would be able to shed a few pounds huh?) Sam was camera UN-friendly yet again, so there are NO pictures of a smile from him. Molly was just too busy for the camera to snap, so of the nearly 180 pictures that I took, I only have a few half way decent ones to prove that we were there.Molly LOVES dirt. Does not matter where we are or what we are doing, an area of dirt seems to just call her name. This was the first picture of the day, but it did not matter, I have about 30 more just like it!! notice the way she is sitting---( looks just like Sam.)
notice, more dirt...
We were then able to hear to the Zoo the next day.
Here is the group we were with, Lots of kiddos, none wanting to be photographed. Check out Molly the clepto--she tried to steal that little girl's sippy cup a few times that dayNot many places to take pictures at the zoo. BUT there is a cute turtle figure that Sam and Hanna of course wanted to ride it, so what a perfect opportunityonly there were 3 little boys that kept jumping in as soon as the camera appeared. They would NOT leave either. wish you could have seen Sam and Hanna's faces.. they did not care for the intruders either.

Once they finally left, Molly was on the scene. She is a good tormentor, she loves to pester Sam... here is one of her favorite ways:Yup, she pulls his hair.
Then the 2 big ones have a hard time deciding who gets to sit in the front... and they both start crying... Of course Molly could care lessWhew, it has been a long long day, the big kids get to ride the carousel, Aubree and Molly just have to sit, wait and watch...

Big deals on tax day

Here is a round up for all the great food deals and freebies at restaurants tomorrow! Yum!

Baja Fresh – $2 burritos for their Facebook fans with this coupon

Boston Market Restaurants – Buy 1 plate and get one free (excludes 2.99 – 5.99 meals). (Valid 4/15 to 4/18)

Cinnabon – free bite-sized samples of their cup cakes from 6pm to 8pm at mall-based locations

El Pollo Loco – Free Taco Al Carbon or any item from the Loco Value Menu with the purchase of any size drink (good until 4/18)

McCormick & Schmick’s – $10.40 Dinner and drinks specials at the bar, as well as giving everyone a $10.40 certificate good for your next visit.

Maggie Moos – free slice of their Ice cream pizza from 3pm to 7pm

McCormick & Schmicks Seafood Restaurants - Get different specials plus a $10.40 “tax relief certificate” good on your next visit. And if you are a Tax Preparer, present your business card on April 16th and get free dessert with entree purchase!

Mr Jim’s Pizza - Become a fan and get a coupon for a free small 1 topping pizza

PF Chang’s – 15% off your food purchases with your Warrior card (free to sign up here)

Starbuck’s Coffee – Bring in a reusable travel mug and get it filled with free brewed coffee!

Also McDonald’s and Chickfila are offering free food tomorrow but it varies by location. Be sure to call yours and ask!

Free hat at Disney store 4-22

Stop by your local Disney Store on April 22nd for a free ball cap (click on "upcoming events" for more info)when you bring in 6 plastic water bottles or pop cans. (Last year they offered a free reusable shopping bag.)

Walgreens phot deals

If you miss the Wed only deal, rumor has it that these are the deals upcoming the next few days:

Thursday (4/8): 80% off 4×6, 5×7 & 8×10 Collage Prints

Friday (4/9): FREE 8×10

Saturday (4/10): 20 Prints for 20 cents

FREE prints at Walgreens Today only

ok guys, time to get those cute Easter pictures printed out... now you don't have an excuse... here is a code for 20 FREE prints at walgreens. You can upload your prints and do the checkout process, but you do not have to pick them up today. So long as they are ordered today you are good to go :)


As part of the Walgreens 7 Days of 7 Deals promotion, today, April 7th ONLY, they are offering up 20 FREE 4×6 Photo Prints for only $1.99! Just go here and upload your photos. After doing so, start the checkout process and use coupon code PRINTS20! Your final cost will be FREE!

**You can also print this coupon and create your 4×6 Photo Prints in-stores.

phone stalkers

check this out. It is really cool, but also a little scary. I can see how it could be beneficial like when you have kids that you are worried about etc, but in cases of stalkers it could really be a nightmare!!

hat girl

Molly has decided she LOVES hats. She will go searching through the house to find a hat, any hat will do. Last Wednesday night Molly insisted on wearing Sam's knit winter hat. It was not cold out, and I guess I had forgotten it was on (since she wears it all the time). We were rushing around to get to church and when I took her to the nursery one of her caretakers looked at me a little puzzled and asked if the weather had changed a lot colder. I too, was a little confused, then I took a good look at my daughter and realized she still had that silly hat on. (and yes, she screamed bloody murder when I removed it) Here are just a few that I was able to get a picture of...

the hat that matches her coat

Sam's baseball cap

baseball cap along with cowboy hat

straw hat

cowboy hat

fire hat

She even enjoys wearing a grocery bag--- too bad she won't wear the cute hats that match her dresses, or a hat when we go out into the sunshine to help protect that pretty little porcelin skin of hers!!!well, had to get the hat "master" Sam in here too-- he has on 4 hats!!! wonder where she gets it?!

Do you see what see?

Yes, she is whining, yes, she has food all over her face, yes, her fingers are in her mouth... But these are nothing new, this is what I see all day long during waking hours. What I want you to see is that beautiful CHIPPED tooth. Who knows how is happened.

just because

This is the basket that holds all of the ELMOs that reside in our home. Apparently Molly thought it looked like a comfortable place to enjoy a cracker or two
She knows the drill pretty well, whenever she sees the camera she starts chanting "cheese" and "cheese burger" You can tell she is saying it in the picture above

Look at Mars TONIGHT...

If you look up at the sky tonight, you may notice a bright spot next to the moon. Take a good look now, because this planet won't be as clear again until 2012.

cakes divine

here they are folks... some of my master pieces (well, works in progress I suppose) Here is the fun clown cake
Molly found it, and I guess enjoyed itThe present cake (fondant) Boy oh boy, do I LOVE fondant. it is so cool and fun to work with, kind of like edible play dough--in more ways than 1-- have you ever tasted that stuff? NASTY!! (this was my first time to taste it, YUCK!) I think I shall always consider this edible play dough. But I do want to use it as it is so fun! and you can make a ton of stuff with it! so cool.
and here it is ladies and gentleman... the final--a 2 layer cake. We ended up taking course 1 and course 3. It was a lot of fun, but does take a lot of time and energy (2 things of which I am a little short on) Our instructor mentioned that in order to get this down we need to practice, practice, practice. Maybe I will one of these days, but for now, I will have to utilize my mediocre skills. Melissa and I got our instructor to allow us to share the duties of the final cake (excellent idea Melissa!!!) she baked the top, I baked the bottom. We both made the roses, she made the pink, I made the purples. Anyone ready to get married now? just let me know and I can bake you a lopsided cake with scrunched up rose petals!!!

why do I try?

My goal:
To obtain photo of children together and both smiling. doesn't sound very difficult does it?!

My results (after several days of trying):

and the winner is....You mean this is the best you can do?! (yeah, I said that too)Molly got the memo, Sam did not

Have I mentioned Sam has learned to cross his eyes? This was the day he started

I guess Molly thought, "well, if Sam is going to be goofy in these pictures I may as well leave"Per mommy's request... "Sam why don't you hold Molly and smile" Molly not on board with this oneSam attempting to do what is asked of him, Molly, well she wants NO part in itDay 3... they always say that 3rd time is the charm right?! --- what do you say?!Molly had the audacity to "steal" the all important diaper wipe from Sam. (thus causing a complete melt down)After this, I put the camera away and thought "this is why I pay the professionals, guess I better make an appointment"

Birthday part 2

I think this was the first birthday that Sam really "caught on" what it was all about. He was looking forward to it for days. We had the count down going and that seemed to help. He woke up VERY early on Sat. When I got him up, the first thing he asked was "is today my birthday?" After I answered, he started singing the Happy Birthday song to himself. He ran downstairs and saw his cake on the table. He was excited to see it, but wanted to know where mickey was!! (you see, all my son talks about is trains. He LOVES trains, eats, breathes, and sleeps trains. He will stare at the train page in the toy catalog forever. I wanted to do something different for his birthday theme since I did trains last year, but nothing else seemed to fit. Now, fast forward to about 2 days before his birthday. Sam has discovered a new Mickey mouse puzzle that he likes. I ask him what kind of cake he wants for his birthday --- knowing full well that he was to say "trains" but, oh no, he simply states "mickey mouse" insert gasp here. um, Mickey mouse?! What about a train, I asked. Sam thought that that would be good, as long as mickey was on it.) ok, you let me explain the fork that you see there. Yes, it is propping up the engine. I am sort of embarrassed to admit this, but as you know, I took a cake decorating class. Unfortunately, by looking at my cake you would not really know this. You see, I did what I always do, something Susan (the instructor) always said not to do. I waited until the last minute to make the cake and thus ran out of time and patience. It started off fine, I cut up the pieces to make the engine, all went well, or so I thought. True to Susan's words, chocolate cakes have more crumbs... UGH, CRUMBS!!! I had a hard time icing this bugger. Once it was finally iced, I sat it on the board. As I was creating the other cars, I noticed the engine, it was falling, it was coming apart at the seams (literally). I holler (yes, we do that here in the south) for Kirk to help me figure out what to do. It is now around 12am and I have a ton of other stuff to do, and do not need to worry about a fallen engine. This was the solution... fork (believe it or not, it worked... did not look that professional, but it fixed my problem)--- until the next problem arose, the fork pushed the top of the engine up and started creating a whole other problem. But, add a little man, problem solved.So, now you are thinking, oh, great, all problems solved, life is good and we can all celebrate. Insert issue number (well, probably 50 by now) It is morning. cake is done on the table. Sam is so excited about it that he calls Molly over to show her the cool train cake (though still Mickey-less) Mommy made for him. Molly looks then goes away, but only for a moment. She returns and decides that she NEEDS the "smoke stack" and steals the mini oreos off. Well, I have to admit, I was not really thinking very clearly when I decided to place the cake at Molly level. So, this is an easy problem to solve... just move the cake right?! right! Oh, but before you move a cake, make sure you remember that there is a bend on the cardboard board that you used as the base and that one of the train cars is actually sitting on the bend. If you do not remember this it could possibly falland go splat on the floor.
great, now I have a huge mess to clean up, on top of the fact that the cake is on the floor and unfix-able. Or so I thought... just try to put it back together as best you can, then use a super cool feature on your computer called 'photo editing'and crop off the pathetic spot

you know what, now I know why cakes cost as much as they do when you purchase them!!!

Happy train cake Sam, maybe next time I will listen and do a simple Mickey Mouse cake!