God's Cake

Sometimes we wonder, 'What did I do to deserve this?' or 'What more can go wrong?' Here is a wonderful explanation, an email sent by a dear friend of mine. How could she have known I was in need of a little perspective...

A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack. The daughter replies, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake."

With a smile her mother offers, "Here, have some cooking oil."

"Yuck," says her daughter.

"How about a couple raw eggs?"

"Gross, Mom!"

"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"

"Mom, those are all disgusting!"

To which the mother replies, "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!"

Our Heavenly Father works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But He knows that when He puts these things all in HIS order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!

Pee-Jay-Par-Tay

Jillian's "Pretend Sleepover" was today, and our house was busting at the seams with girls, girls, girls. We. Had. A. Blast. This party was very last minute - only about 8 days to plan, buy, make, decorate, etc. Our local Papa Murphy's had large take-n-bake pizzas on sale for $3.99, and I thought "oh, two pizzas will definitely be enough." Boy, was I ever wrong. Eight girls cleaned out 2 pizzas in minutes. Minutes I tell ya. After dinner, we made soccer hair bands (some girls have them on in the pictures), danced to Jillian's favorite songs, played "would you rather," opened presents, ate cake and ice cream, played with the presents, then had a few "bedtime stories" before the girls were picked up by their parents. Each girl left with a diary, a satin eye mask with lash detail, and a pajama party soundtrack of Jillian's favorite music with a little thank you note written on the disc. The party was a big, HUGE success. Jillian was on top of the world, and all of the girls were terrific, simply delightful.

Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Today is the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I remain humbled by the resilience of those who fought to get their lives back after the extreme devastation of the storm and angry over the current condition of the area.

"A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor -- both black and white -- through the poverty program. There were experiments, hopes, new beginnings. Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched this program broken and eviscerated, as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube. So, I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such." ~~ Martin Luther King, Jr. 1967

Josh is Three!

Happy Birthday to our big guy, nephew, and cousin. We love your outgoing personality, the way you always insist on being in the thick of things, your independent spirit, and your awnry grin. If a game has ball, you are there and dressed in the appropriate uniform I might add. We love you big guy and hope your big day is everything you deserve.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

Well, not exactly. But at least I now know what is the source of all my issues, no not the neurotic mental ones, the bathroom ones. Two words. Intestinal. Obstruction. And yes, I will spare you the details, but just imagine a slow draining sink. I know, I know, already T.M.I. So if you need me, I will be at home, in the bathroom, consuming several trees worth of TP, and hopefully, just hopefully, I will drain normally once again.

Got any missing money?

Who couldn't use a stumble upon a big pile of money they never knew they had. Well, take a trip on over to Missing Money and see if any of it could be yours. PS - I charge a 10% finders fee.

Just one more story, Mommy, puh-leeze!

I have to say this is a K-E-E-P-E-R, keeper. Jillian is infamous for always, always, always asking for just one more bedtime story. We read for about 10 minutes every night before bed, but that 10 minutes is never enough. SO, for her birthday, she received a Barbie bedtime story clock and nightlight. And lets just say, it is magnificent. It has a nightlight and a projector with 3 images, AND two bedtime stories, The Princess and the Pauper and The 12 Dancing Princesses. We, and I do mean we (not just she) love, love, love it.

The Family Party

This year Jillian wanted to have a sleepover for her birthday party, and well since 6-10 five year old girls screaming for their moms and dads at 11 pm didn't sound like MY idea of fun, we opted for a pretend sleepover aka A. Pajama. Party. Which meant we needed to separate the good ole family party and the wild and crazy friend party. Today: Family Party. Saturday: Friend Party. Today's Plan: simple, simple, simple. Saturday's plan: stay tuned...

So we celebrated with Grandma and Grandpa Waishnora, Uncle Matt, Aunt Jennifer, Joshua, and Alyssa. Pizza and Salad then the most adorable cupcakes and ice cream. Unfortunately, I am still not feeling quite well, so I didn't get too many pictures. But I had a wonderful assistant that captured many lovely images of our living room floor. Thanks Josh, you were a big, big, HUGE help!

Happy Birthday Jillian!

~

Five years ago today, Mark went rushing down the hospital hall into the waiting room and through tear filled eyes declared, "It's a girl, and she's beautiful!"

Rock On!

~~~ Brendan decided he wants to be in a band. Leave a comment with potential rocker names. The winner gets a copy of his first demo. ~~~

Locks of Love

Jillian received a thank you card today from Locks of Love for her hair donation. Just look at those long curls. Oh, how I miss them. As we were reminiscing about her temporarily absent locks, she reminded me that there was a little girl somewhere that needed her hair more than she did, "and besides, Mom, it will grow back."

That Time Already?

Ohhhh...Back to School, Back to School

To prove to Dad that I'm not a fool

Got my lunch packed up, My boots tied tight

I hope I don't get in a fight

Ohhhh...Back to School, Back to School, Back to School

~Adam Sandler

Today, is the first day of school, and despite my previous Staples post, I am truly sad that this day is here already. Summer passed before our eyes and days of schedule-free fun are long gone. Good luck, Bubbie! Remember who you are and know we are proud.

Karigan's New B-F-F

Karigan loves, loves, loves the Backyardigans.

And given the choice, Tasha is her favorite - her new B-F-F.

Brendan the Thrill-Seeker

Attempted his first "big boy ride" with no hands

B Shot in a Slingshot

As we drove by King's Island on our way to our hotel, a giant hamster ball shot into the sky. Immediately, Brendan called out from the back seat, "That is what I am going to do!"

And. So. He. Did!

265 feet in the air. 65 miles per hour.

Sorry, the video is sideways. I was trying to capture the full parameter of the launch. And at one point the ball goes off the camera. That would be because...as his mother, not only was I trying to preserve this moment in history, but I also had to make sure he was okay. SO - I wasn't really focusing on the camera shot.

The Suite Life of Brendan and Jillian

~~~

Brendan and Jillian were quite comical when we arrived at the hotel. I have to admit, even I was slightly in awe over the beauty of my surroundings. And of course, Jillian was NOT speechless. She loudly, and I mean loudly, proclaimed "this is suh-weet!" Brendan added, "this is the sweet life" and then it became "the suite life of Brendan and Jillian." And that all we heard, all anyone heard from the front desk, to the elevator, to the room, to the bathroom, to the bed, to the view out the window - you get the idea, right?

How did I spend my Saturday?

Want to find out.

Click here.

Gotta Love a Deal

So as a last minute hurrah before school starts, Mark and I decided to finally take the kids on that Cincinnati trip we have been talking about ALL summer. We are hoping to squeeze in as much as we can in a very little window of time on a very, very tight budget. So, I had been searching all day for a good rate at a decent hotel that was close to where we wanted to be. No luck. Later, Mark called his mom to see if she knew of any steals, and she recommended priceline.com. They now offer a "name your own price" on hotels. So, if you are familiar with priceline for airline tickets you know that you name the price and once your bid is accepted they tell you the name of the airline you will be flying on and the time of your flight. With the hotel option, you pick your star rating and name your price. Once your bid is accepted, they tell you the name of your hotel. I figured with a little strategy, we could get a nice room at a great price, and hopefully we wouldn't be stuck with one that we would have to sleep with our clothes on or wear our shoes in the shower. So we picked out a 3 star hotel and bid $50 - hey there is no harm in aiming low. Surprising, they came back and said "increase your bid by $14 to win." Thank you priceline - $64 a night for a heavenly room at the Kingsgate Marriott. I will definitely be using priceline again for every hotel stay.

The Olympics

Okay, so maybe this post should be titled The Ultimate Tear Fest because that is all I do when I watch the Olympics - cry, cry, cry. Like. A. Baby. Even as a young girl, I remember crying as Mary Lou Retton scored a perfect 10 on the vault and crying as Jackie Joyner Kersee repeatedly broke world track records. This year, the floodgates have yet to close as there have been so many proud moments for our country, the Olympians, and their families. Why the tears? Every time I hear our national anthem and see the victorious smiles on the athletes face, I feel their pride, I sense their accomplishment, and I can't help but think that each person is there because somebody believed in them -- somebody saw in them what he or she didn't even see in themselves. And that is sooo powerful to me. So, the tears come, and I can't stop them. There is no point in trying to hide them, so the tears come.

Mom-cation

Some people go on vacations, some people have stacations, I have mommycations!

Definition: achievement of simultaneous naps without a mommy to do list. TGIF!