Justee's Bday Celebration

Yesterday was Justee's "birthday." She is getting so big and grown up. She keeps saying that she is a not a little girl anymore, she is a grown-up.
She told me a few days ago that she would like a giraffe cake...then she switched it to a spider cake...luckily she went back to giraffe. I found a cute picture of a giraffe in one of Sydnee's coloring books and used it as a reference.
Unfortunately it was snowing and yucky outside, so by the time I finished the cake there wasn't much light to work with for pics.

Justee seemed pretty proud of her cake and she even thanked me for making it a girl giraffe.

She was super excited about having her friends come to her birthday party at Bounce. It was a great time, and we even had the place to ourselves for the last hour and a half.

She got lots of great gifts...including a Love Dollar from Great Grandma P. and a dolly from Gma and Gpa Hyde. (Sorry again to Gma Hyde for not being notified of the bday change...your gift got here today, so one day late is not bad at all. She loves it. ;)

Olympic Dream

As I have been watching the Olympics this past week, I have come to realize that my childhood dream of being an Olympic Gold Medalist may not come to pass. Most of the athletes are younger than me...with the rare exception of 30 year old Chinese skaters who won their gold out of pity...seriously they were good, but that medal was theirs before they stepped on the ice.
*On a figure skating note- How would you feel if after watching the Olympics your son looked at you and said, "I want to be a figure skater!" That would scare the crap out me I think.
I'm 28 and I have no gold medals. I would be happy with even a bronze, but nope ain't got one of those either. I feel like a loser. What great things have I ever accomplished? Today I managed to fool a 2 year old that it is her birthday. I'm going to be gone on her birthday, so today is her birthday as far as she knows. I want her to have the whole 3rd bday experience and believing that the day you celebrate your birthday is in fact your birthday is crucial. So now I am off to finish her giraffe cake (so glad she settled on giraffe after going back and forth with giraffe and a spider.) Maybe she will give me a gold medal for best giraffe cake she ever had...still not Olympic gold, but I guess it would suffice.

Happy Heart Cookie Day!

Sydnee had her Valentine's Day party at school on Fri. After having a child in school for almost the past 3 years, I have realized that school parties just aren't what they used to be. When I was in elementary school (here we go) we had great parties. We had V-day box contests. All the kids would come up with creative ways to turn a box or other materials into something cool to put their Valentines in. I remember a toaster being made with some saying (can't seem to remember right now) and a VCR once (Vicki did you make this one?), a lamp that said something like "you like up my life," a tv and so on. They were placed out in the hallway and everyone voted for the best one. It was a big deal. We also did this for pumpkins on Halloween. I remember making a baby one... I cut a Barbie's hair and put in in the top so it had a little curl and I put real baby pajamas on it and placed it in a doll carrier for it's little bed, stuck a binky in a hole and Vicki "helped" paint big eyes on it. It was really cute and I loved it....I may or may not have treated it like a real baby for some time after I got to take it home. I tied for 1st in our class competition (I remember the other boy had a Bart Simpson carved pumpkin)...our class had to re-vote several times and then I lost. :( I could go on about all the holidays, but...My point is....It is too bad that holidays aren't what they used to be.
I told Sydnee that when she got home we would decorate our V-day cookies. She was so excited and said that it was going to be the best day ever.

Her little (and I mean little...this girl is smaller than Chuck and she is older than Sydnee) neighbor friend Katelyn came over and joined in on the fun.

Every year I get better about letting go of control and letting the girls do what they want all by themselves. It is much messier, but less stressful and the girls have more fun. I think they are picking up on the less is better concept because their cookies this year aren't completely covered with layers of candy.

For Love of the Game

I was so excited about going to play basketball last night at the church. Our Stake finally organized (might be the wrong word...is wasn't organized at all) a women's bball night. I think 20 women ended up showing up. 7 or so after the first game we started was half over. Then they wanted to be able to sub them all in. What? You show up late and want to take playing time from those of us who were here on time? So after some discussion (the talk of playing half court was shot down immediately by me...and others...I think, 5 on 5 half court just doesn't cut it) a second game would follow. Didn't seem that hard to figure out to me.

It didn't take long to remember that being in shape and being in basketball shape are two different things. I had a lot of fun despite a couple of injuries. I cannot remember the last time I jammed a finger...excluding last night of course. Going after a loose ball can be hazardous. It isn't a severe jam, but my ring doesn't come close to fitting over my fat, bruised finger. Braiding hair and typing are two things that become more complicated with a stiff digit.

It wasn't long into the game when I came down on some one's foot. I have never sprained an ankle or even twisted one, so it really sucked when I had to leave the court because of this...after some walking it off I returned. I think it is actually my foot that was injured...stupid foot still really hurts. I must be getting old. I'm turning into such a delicate flower. ;)

Big Day

Several major things happened today...

1. I got a new calling... I am now the Young Women President.

2. The Saints won the Super Bowl. (I honestly didn't really care who won.)

3. I was reunited with a long lost love...Mint Oreos...mmmmmm

Crazy Kids and Dumb Animals

just some stuff to give me an excuse not to do the dishes...

It is getting close to Sydnee getting her own room. The basement is coming along slowly but surely. She is so excited to pick out her colors and things. The other day at Home Depot, I had to explain to her that pink carpet might seem like a good idea, but it really isn't.

Justee is going through the clothes changing phase. She dresses herself in different outfits throughout the day....that is when she isn't running around naked or at least bottomless...I guess after going potty it is too much work to put her panties back on. When she isn't driving me crazy, she is tormenting Dozer and Cash. I think Dozer was enjoying this particular time though.

Charlee and Justee fight a lot during the day, but they also come up with some pretty cute games that they play together. Charlee likes to take care of her little sister, but Justee doesn't always want the help.

While shopping the other day, we walked past the little girl training bra section. Char turned to me and said, "Look at those teeny boobs, Mom!"

It is crazy to think that she will be in Kindergarten next year. She gets really excited when we talk about her going to school with Sydnee. The last couple of times that we have had popcorn, I have found this in our empty bowl:
I would have thought this bowl was much too small, but Cash didn't seem to agree. Stupid cat.