Picture a day Challenge--171

Ugh....I know, totally lame again. Instead of a ceiling fan like my previous post--this would be a water bottle. No significance, no meaning. Just a plain ol' water bottle that was sittin' on my floor begging for a snapshot...

And I gave in, because I was desperate for a picture of the day.

I SHOULD Have taken my camera with us today--to Toys R Us to use the kids' birthday club certificates (they let me use the coupons together so we got Kaden's christmas present checked off the list)...I should have taken my camera to Olive Garden for a wonderful lunch (yes, all the kids in tow...and hey, it's not McDonalds! Hooray! But it was actually CHEAPER than I would have paid at the Golden arches. I figured a way to feed me and the kids on a budget--order some fettucini alfredo with the soup and breadsticks. The kids filled up on breadsticks and salad, I ate my soup, and we all shared my alfredo. Perfect amount...4 of us for under $9.00. Ye-haw!) ANYWAY....I also should have taken my camera to the mall while the kids played and my sister shopped...

But not today....I just didn't take it with me. Can't believe it myself!!

So, there you have it....a real live story....of my day with no pictures, except a LAME water bottle...

Picture a day Challenge--170

Get ready for the LAMEST pictures of the day EVER...This one and the next. Lame...seriously lame.

I haven't taken many pictures--we have been busy! The inspiration for this one came when we were getting the kids ready for bed and I laid back on the couch after I realized I still hadn't taken a picture for the day....so I laid there thinking...and thinking....and the ceiling fan struck me as fascinating...

Sorry folks....that's all I got.

Picture a day Challenge--169

This is our little Spencer--I love trying out little photo shoots any chance I get, especially since we really don't go for professional pics ever.

He is growing so fast...our little baby is not so little anymore. How time flies...

Jumpin' and Fishin', books, and a visitor!

We had a pretty fun day today. Bright and early in the morning, we went to a fundraiser/carnival for the Rainbow Babies and Children's hospital, put on by a local craft store. They were going to have hot air balloon rides, but due to the weather that part got cancelled. Darn it!!

So, we made the best and enjoyed the big castle bouncer and other activities they had--Jenna was a wild girl on the go--she won 2 free ice cream cones from Dairy Queen and an Usborne Book from the fishpond. Aside from a minor meltdown because we had to pay for a stolen whistle with her last ticket (during which we got many looks and some whispers--nice), we had a nice time.

I must say the highlight of our little outing here was seeing Brandon in the bouncer--the guy taking tickets told him that they kids would probably do better if he were in there. Now, truth be told, the kids could have cared LESS if he were in there or not. But he stayed nonetheless...

There was a point when an older girl got in--she was clearly not as impressed as the young ones were.

Little Girl: This is for little kids--I'm 6 1/2

Brandon: Oh ya, I'm 7

Little Girl: (pausing....should I believe or not believe?? Decides on complete disbelief) No you're not!

Then she took off--

I laughed myself silly....maybe this is a "you just had to be there" experience...but it was HILARIOUS!

We went to the Strongsville Library next--they had a nice little play area and the kids had a great time playing. I loved having Brandon there--he got to pick out a book to read, and I got to wander while he watched the kids. That was a funny experience in itself. I almost felt like I had never been in a library before...I couldn't find certain books, the dewey decimal system was all messed up...I felt frazzled at first. It's amazing how much you lose when you are confined to the children's section only--each and every trip to the library.

But I got some assistance--and while I am sure they thought I was either illiterate or had never been to a library before--it didn't matter to me. I was a woman on a mission. The saddest part was that almost every book I got, STILL ended up coming from the children's section. The only book I got that DIDN'T was because I found it browsing in the wrong section. Pathetic, I know.

On the way home, we had some drowsy children. NOT allowed....no way. I was aiming for a nice, quiet afternoon with all the kids sleeping at the same time. A 20 minute snooze in the car would mean they were up for the afternoon.

No way, Jose!

We did crazy things like singing and shrieking at the top of our lungs and singing songs out of tune. The craziest thing would have been me spewing old warm water through a straw to hit Kaden at the back of the car--the distance from the front seat to the back in a minivan is quite far when you're trying to make water from a little straw hit the sleeping target. :)

But napping went as planned, so I would say it was totally worth it....can't be worse than when I repeatedly held Jenna's face in front of the air conditioner to make her wake up so she would not sleep too late. :)

THE BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL was that we got to make a little trip to the airport.

My sister decided yesterday that she wanted to come help me out this week and spend some more time with us before she and her husband go back to Utah and she has her baby. So, she bought a ticket and flew out this evening. After 3 hours of delays and a bunch of silly excuses from the airline, she got here! YEAH!

We are so excited to have her here for a few days. She has willingly volunteered to babysit as much as I need...and boy do I need it! This also means Brandon and I get a date. Yep, you read that one right...a DATE. Now, this is HUGE considering that we are usually only able to find a sitter when someone comes to town. Our dates are FEW and far between. We totally lucked out having her come right now! THANK YOU ESTHER!!

Anyway, on to a new week...one week closer to being done with CLASSES and to being on our way to enjoy our fun family vacation!

HOORAY!

Let's have a coming out party!

My Sitemeter has a story to tell....

There are lots of you out there---lots.

Lots of you who read my blog and never say a thing. Lots of you from places I have never heard of--lots of you from places I DO know of, but don't know who you could possibly be.

I really, really love to meet the people who come across my blog...perhaps it was just blog-browsing, perhaps you don't think I remember you. But I am DYING to know you....really. I have had several people in the past who spoke up and said something at one point. Not once did I think they were a "stalker" or weirdo....and yes, I have felt like someone might think that of me at times if I comment on their blog while browsing :) But not here...I just want to know who you are!

I changed my comment settings, so that even if you don't have a blog, you can comment now--just PLEASE let me know who you are and how you found me. I am SO curious to see how you came across me--maybe we have a mutual friend or some connection. Maybe it was totally by chance.

SO, let's have it--

The annonymous blog-reader's coming out party....
My blog...
As soon as you read this...

Picture a day Challenge--168

The boys were SOOOO cute playing in the yard this afternoon. They made me smile...and smile and smile....

I think they're going to be really good friends. I love that...

On my own two feet...

Today I'm feeling free...

I'm officially crutch free...and feeling SO MUCH better than I was at the beginning of the week. I feel so blessed that I have healed SO quickly. I honestly didn't think I would.

I'm still tender--and there comes a point where I really just need to rest and ice it for a while. And it's still swollen some...but overall, I feel SO much better.

Sigh....it feels so nice to be on my own two feet.

If You Give a Pig a Party

Today the book we read was "If You Give a Pig a Party"...we were aiming for an all day celebration, but when it started at 5:30 this morning, I decided the party crashers would have to make due with a lunchtime celebration.

We had a PIG PARTY and focused on the LETTER P.

After we read, we put lunch in the oven and made our pink paper pig puppets--You can print them off the website in color or black and white. I wasn't up for coloring today, so I printed in color and we worked on our cutting skills instead. You can find the pig template here. You cut the head and body and paste on a paper bag or on a popsicle stick.
By the time we were done with our project and all cleaned up, lunch was ready to eat. It consisted of PIGS in a blanket (hot dogs wrapped in crescents), Potato Pillows (tater tots), and wrote the letter P with ketchup. (I was really aiming for a good SLEEPY naptime with all my pillow/blanket talk!)
And you know what? The kids went for this kind of party....they loved it, even though it wasn't all day long. :)

The Bucket List

Every once in a while we watch a movie that just really hits home...Last night we rented the movie "The Bucket List". It did just that for me!

If you haven't seen it, check out the trailer here:



I just had so many thought when we were watching it. I thought about what my goals were as a child, as a teenager, as a wife and mother. At each time, I think my goals have changed. As a teenager, I longed for the day when I would be a wife and mother. Now I think about the day when I can know myself again! :)

I think it is safe to say that most of us are unsure of when our time here on earth will end. We don't necessarily have a particular time limit to go and do all we want before we die.

There is a line in the movie that asks (this is paraphrased) "Have you found joy in your life?" It then asks "Have you brought joy to others lives?"

That really struck me--I started to really feel like I often let days go by without really experiencing LIFE, only to just "make it through the days". And it also made me look at myself and what I REALLY want in life...what I want to do, and accomplish. And most of all, it made me think about who I am sharing all this with.

I suddenly felt the need to really get to know MYSELF again. My likes, desires, goals...

I WANT my own bucket list...and I want to start crossing things off today...I want to get in all the experiences and joy I can--and I want to share that with others. What a great way to live life...don't you think? Living always for wonderful experiences....living for the everyday moments....and taking full advantadge of LIFE because we DON'T know when our day will come. I know that at this point in our lives, it's tough to follow through with certain things I would write on my bucket list--a trip to Australia, an African Safari, visit New York City, own a home, grow a beautiful garden....but they will be there waiting.

And in the meantime, I can start working on my "bucket list" now...

I'm going to travel (when I can)--and see and taste and experience things I never have before. I'm going to laugh more...love more....share more...I'm going to take a class, have ice cream for breakfast, and run around more with my kids. I'm going to volunteer at a soup kitchen, take more bubble baths, wear my "special shirt" on an ordinary day, and actually sit down and read a book for ME.

Highly recommend this movie! It's thought-provoking and inspirational! (just ignore the few vulgar words that come out of their mouths!)

Picture a day Challenge--167

This just so happens to be a weed in my front flower bed...you get pretty desperate for something to take a picture of when you haven't left the house in 4 days. :) More rain today....and more sunshine....what weird weather we have had.

Fancy Nancy--Bonjour Butterfly

We were sure Lovin' Summer with this book! Fancy Nancy--Bonjour Butterfly is SUCH a cute book! We had so much fun talking so FANCY!
I am so disappointed with the pictures! Our butterfly was SO much cuter in person! That aside, we did this project by shaving crayon pieces onto wax paper and then placing another piece of wax paper and running the iron over the top to melt the crayon and let the colors mix. :)

I found a great pattern online--I actually only printed one side of the wing and folded the wax paper in half. Then flipped it over and traced the other side. Worked great! But if you want to do two different wing patterns, here are the links:

Butterfly Pattern R

Butterfly Pattern L

Picture a day Challenge--166

This child and his tooshie problem...destined to be a plumber? Perhaps...

Mindi, this ones for you!

Finklehopper Frog

Our Lovin' summer book for today was Finklehopper Frog.

The kids loved this book--and I loved the illustrations! So bright and clear.
For our project we made origami jumping frogs. You can see instructions here. I would STRONGLY SUGGEST using something other than construction paper. That was my bad...and our frog just didn't jump as far! I think it would be fun to do this frog again with scrapbook paper--since the book talks about Finklehopper wearing whatever he wants to wear and doing whatever he wants to do, as long as HE is happy being him. So, I think some funky paper would make a great frog! :)

A few more belly pics

I've had an overwhelming request for more maternity pics from my friend Randee's little photo shoot--so, here they are! :) She's having her baby any day now...
(if not already--should call her!)

I sure wish Blogger published the pictures more clearly! These look so much better on my own screen....darn it!

;

Picture a day Challenge--165

Just another picture from inside the sawmill at the Historic Kirtland sites yesterday....nothing exciting from today (though I did take a picture!!).

Made my day...

I feel like my posts have been pretty much DOWNERS lately...my crummy parenting, my confessions of being an outright ninny when in comes to pain, etc.

I haven't meant to be so pessimistic. REALLY. But I had lots of time to think about it today--LOTS of time. And there were several things that made my day today...

-Hearing Jenna referring to my crutches and CRUNCHES. "Here's your crunches, mom"..."can I practice with your crunches?", etc. Made me chuckle every time.

-Having Brandon home the whole day. THAT was a lifesaver! He took the kids out for a walk and to play, went to pick up my prescriptions, ran a bath for me, did the dishes, let me take a nap when the medicine kicked in a KNOCKED ME OUT! He basically took over and I sat in pure relaxation on the couch resting my ankle, reading blogs, and watching all the movies that sat unwatched on the DVR for the past few months. I am SOOOO thankful. I really needed this day to rest work on getting back to trying to move my foot. Am happy to report progress--and it is feeling much better. Still VERY sore, but I don't feel completely handicap anymore. :)

-Seeing Kaden in a camouflage hat, denim shorts, pink kitty rain boots, carrying a bubble gun. THAT was funny...

-Spending time with Brandon watching more old reruns of the Office while the kids were napping. Not so much a fan of season 3, but there were some pretty funny parts. :) It was nice to spend time together--even if he was ditching class. :)

-A few very nice concerned phone calls....thanks for thinking of me.

-Getting to spend time with my precious little Spencer and watching him clap to his heart's content. He is growing so fast....I just want to hold him every minute to make sure I remember him being so small.

-OUR FRIDGE IS FIXED! After several days of freezer meals and eating out we get to restock our fridge with fresh fruits and veggies and chilled items to our hearts content! THANK YOU Dave and Jane (our landlords) for taking care of it! I am SO thrilled to fill it back up! :)

-But the crowning jewel of my day...the tip top of all "make my day awards" goes to my friend Lauren. She sent me an email this afternoon asking if Brandon was going to have to cook dinner since I wouldn't be up and around...come dinner time, we heard the doorbell. Low and behold, in comes 2 surprise get well pizzas...from my wonderful friend. Now what is so amazing to me about this, is that Lauren and I have never met in person. We have never even really had a conversation on the phone. She actually bought Christmas cards from me almost 2 years ago, and through a series of emails we just clicked and have been email friends since. I have loved getting to know her and feel like we have been friends for a long, long time. She is such an amazing woman and mom--and having her think of me and take action really made my day! So thank you again Lauren--you really went above and beyond!

Things are looking up--I can't wait to feel strong enough to walk again. I am anxious to get out with the kids and enjoy all this awesome weather we have had (with the occasional, random rainshower thrown in there). I hate being in and confined...I want to be out and explore, free to play (and to grocery shop!)...

Lovin' this pretty good day....and hoping for a good one tomorrow...

LAME

I got a wonderful email this morning from a friend...she noticed I hadn't blogged yesterday and wondered if I was okay. That made me smile...I suppose I blog enough that at least everyone would know if I fall off the face of the earth. :) Thanks Camille for that sweet email....

So where was I??

The hospital...here's the story.

We had big plans for the evening---we were packing the car to steal Brandon away from school and go out for breakfast for dinner followed by the family Snuggle Bug reading time we signed up for at the library.

I had Spencer in the car and was going back in for the rest of the kids when my ankle turned under and POPPED loudly. I fell back into the car and laid there bawling my eyes out in complete despair.

I was SURE my ankle was broken in half--it felt like it. And the pain shooting up my leg was a confirmation that something was wrong.

But as bad as the pain was, I cried even harder over the fact that I knew I was going to have to Take care of three kids with an injured ankle...and I wasn't sure how I was going to do that. I was picturing a big cast, crutches, and most of all I was picturing our big trip we have coming up being a total BUST because we plan on doing a lot of walkin' and a lot of swimmin'. Both of which are not possible with injuries to the foot.


Brandon rushed home and took me to to the Emergency Room. We waited and waited...and waited.....and after 45 minutes of waiting, I sent him and the kids to McDonalds for an evening of play and greasy food.

So, since most of this post would say the word "WAITED" I will just include the highlights:

--sitting in the little room watching the lady across the hall from me eat gross hospital food...and being so hungry I almost wheeled across and snagged some from her.

--Finishing 1 complete magazine from start to finish (this is monumental because getting through the MAIL usually takes several interrupted attempts!)

--Regretting that I read the magazine so fast and had nothing to do for the reamining three hour wait.

--WISHING we had family close to take the kids...

--Realizing there was a TV in my room...watching whatever lame shows I could find...dreading commercial time because it was BOOOOOOORING, and totally feeling grateful for a DVR at home. I do not know if we will ever be able to watch tv without it again,. :)

--Watching the clock and knowing it was WAAAAAY past the kids' bedtime...

--Going for x-rays and having the x-ray tech toss my foot around like a hot potato (and yes, it HURT)

--Wishing I had shaved my legs that morning (and maybe used a nice self-tanner.) Nobody (and I do mean NOBODY) should look at one's legs as closely as they had to. :) EEK!

--Watching the guy across from me get his fingertip stitched back on--while I waited and waited some more.

--FINALLY seeing a doctor...who told me in high tech medical terms that I had a possible torn ligament...

--FEELING THRILLED that it wasn't broken, and kind of happy (in a sense) that ALL THE PAIN I had been feeling wasn't because of something as silly as a sprain. Nope, a "torn ligament" felt much more official for how terrible I felt.

--Being told by Mr. Medical Terminology (a.k.a. Brandon) that the Dr. really was telling me I had sprained my ankle.

--FEELING totally humiliated that I hurt so badly over a stinkin' sprained ankle. I mean really....that's IT?!

--Seeing it confirmed on the discharge papers...

--Feeling completely ridiculous that I have now been to the ER twice in a week...once for a "sore throat" and once for a "sprained ankle".

--Being handed a pair of stinky crutches. Stinky because I have to use them, and stinky because they DID stink like burnt rubber. (and Brandon says he is sure he has changed a diaper or two that smelled like them)

--Getting the fancy little pillow-like brace put on. The kids were back at this point and Jenna was very curious about everything.

--Finally heading home...9:00...way past bedtime....starving....tired kids....good sport of a husband...ankle still throbbing. No fun family dinner, no Snuggle bug reading time...bummed.

--Not having any pain meds because by the time we left all the pharmacies were closed...

--Spending what's left of the evening with some pizza, an ice pack, Brandon, and some old episodes of "The Office"...

What an evening....

I am supposed to check in with an orthopedic Dr. in a few days to make sure I ddn't tear anything.

In the meantime, I am hoping and praying I can make it around my obstacle course house with crutches (over skates, toys, laundry, and through pressure mounted baby gates). Am crossing my fingers AND toes and hoping my foot will work and not HURT anymore...

All this while changing diapers, making meals, and keeping the kids going.

Thank heaven for Brandon who took the morning off of school to help me...and has been SUCH a help. What ever would I do without him?!?!

Picture a day Challenge--164

We actually had a wonderful day (before our evening events). I took the kids up to Kirtland to visit one of the Sister Missionaries who is getting ready to go home, who previously served in our area. It was such a beautiful morning! The weather was perfect and the kids ran around and played so nice--with the exception of Kaden's pants that continually fell down and the fact the Spencer crawled into a totally muddy (camoflauged) spot in the grass. Good times were had by all. We love Kirtland!

Picture a day Challenge--163

We've had the rainiest afternoon....rain, rain, rain...storms, thunder, lightening. A huge contrast from this morning's beautiful sunshine and perfect temperatures...

But there is just somethin' about all those raindrops that make the world so beautiful...

(in case you're wondering, this is WET sidewalk chalk...thanks kids for putting it away when you were done with it yesterday!) :)

Buying Some time

My sob story carried long into the night--or early into the morning. Kaden finally fell asleep at about 10:00 p.m.--which I was thrilled about. But he also woke up at 2:00 a.m. (which is unusual) and stayed awake until almost 6 a.m. We were SO exhausted.

The bottle situation has been a source of conflict here--we were a house divided. I felt EXTREMELY stressed about yanking Kaden's ONLY source of comfort at night. He doesn't have a blanky, or a binky, or anything like that. He just has his little bottle, only at bedtime. That's his security...

Brandon, however, was feeling the age issue...he IS 2 years old now. He shouldn't have a bottle anymore.

I agree. I saw his point. But I FELT mine...

So, after the weeping and wailing and screaming last night--and after ZERO sleep for Brandon and I, resulting in an emotional morning where I cried at anything and everything--we let Kaden have a bottle for naptime. He was out cold...it was wonderful.

WHY, you ask? Why would be undo what we just started?

A couple reasons. For the first time, we are finally together on the issue. I think Kaden can feel our differences when dealing with it--we came to a good middle ground, and I think we will be much more effective the next time around.

Second reason? Kaden is still very much a baby. I think sometimes we overlook how young he is since Spencer came into the picture so soon. It isn't that I think all two year olds should have a bottle, but Kaden is really developmentally still YOUNG...maybe younger than many others. I feel like this is something he needs for a little longer.

Why else? Everything we have read says to throw the bottles away when you wean the child...let the child toss the bottle and see it go bye-bye. Sounds good, sounds easy...right?

EXCEPT that Spencer still takes a bottle. And Kaden sees that--and HE wants it when he is tired.

So, new plan? start weaning Spencer off the bottle (he does well with a sippy now anyway, and doesn't take a bottle to bed) so that when he turns a year, we can have a big bottle tossing party and everyone can move on to a bottle-free life.

Will it work? We hope....

Thanks for all the words of wisdom--and support. It's true, Kaden WILL grow out of it sometime...I've never known a groom to walk down the aisle with a bottle in hand. (Thanks Lauren for that funny visual)

As for me, I am looking forward to a peaceful evening--Kaden's already fast asleep (no screaming) and we are hitting the sack early tonight, THANKFULLY.

Good night...

Picture a day Challenge--162

This is it--the only picture we took today--and I didn't even take it!

It's gonna have to count... :)

One giant potato (thank you West Side market for our REAL Idaho Spud)

YUM...

My Saturday Sob Story

I have nothing to really report--nothing that matters, at least.

It's been a day. Period.

There was good, there was bad.

I won't be writing about my day because right now I can hardly think straight. My bad parenting has put me at the point to where I have been sitting and listening to Kaden scream for an HOUR now because he is EXHAUSTED and wants a bottle--but we are trying to wean him....finally.

I know, I know....2 years old is TOO old.

But, we didn't change it before now--there was too much going on. Moving, baby, dealing with school and short nights, and we took the easy route. Good sleep--QUICK sleep.

And all it cost was one little bottle.

Facing the music is tough. It is stressful.

And I just don't know how to deal right now...

I hate bottles--I hate hearing screaming--I hate being tired and feeling helpless.

And that, my friends, is my Saturday Sob Story....

Paddleboats and Pirates

Today we had SUCH beautiful weather--and we just couldn't stay in the house! So, we headed somewhere new to us--Wallace Lake, in the Mill Stream Run Reservation. What a great little place! We rented paddle boats and went out on the lake, but they had swimming too--I think we will definitely go back for that sometime.

Spencer looked SO cute in his little life jacket! :) He could hardly move!
The kids sat facing back--we sat facing forward. I was scared to death Kaden would jump ship--but he sat there calmly the whole time (with the exception of the time he tried to throw his shoes overboard)

Here's proof--I WAS there! Pasty skin, flabby arms and all.
Jenna wasn't so sure about the water at first. Within 2 minutes of leaving land she started crying to go back--but then we saw another family out in a boat and created a whole story of how we were pirates and they were trying to steal our treasure (Backyardigans anyone?) She got so excited! Our entire boat ride was spent collection treasure and treestars (leaves off the trees we got close to) and talking about our special map (I LOVE her imagination) and how we would escape the other pirates. It was such a wonderful, magical time!

(She just found a treasure!)
The water was calm--
And the scenery was beautiful!
It was the perfect thing to fill our afternoon!

A tale of two cakes

I love BIRTHDAYS...I do. And the part I love the MOST is making the cake.

It isn't that I am some fabulous cake decorator--I'm not. But I love planning creative themes and making somethin' cute.

I had such ideas for Kaden's cake! But I had a few obstacles too...

And so I present, A tale of two cakes.

There once was a girl who lived in a nice little rental house and had 3 small children and 1 wonderful husband. This girl's fridge seemed to lose it's chill about 3 days before her son's 2nd birthday. She just went about trying to keep the fridge closed tight to keep the cold air in as long as possible, and prayed her food wouldn't go bad. She really didn't want to humiliate herself by calling in a problem to her nice landlords, since the last time there was a problem it promptly fixed itself as soon as the landlord set foot in her house.

So, she pretended the problem would just go away.

Food stayed pretty cold the first day...slightly chilled the 2nd day...and plain room temperature the 3rd day...that's when she finally called her landlord.

But in the meantime, the food in the fridge wasn't looking so good anymore.

But the birthday boy needed a cake! This girl set out the day before the big birthday and made a delicious chocolate double layer cake--the next day it was ready to frost and decorate and fill with a yummy cream cheese/peanut butter filling.

But she realized that everything had lost it's chill....the cream cheese was room temp, the milk didn't look so healthy, and she started to question her cakely efforts.

But she went forward with the plans...(she really dreams big--and unrealistic, right?)

As the day went on, she realized that she had this potentially awesome cake, that not only might not be so good (or healthy) to eat, but was ALSO totally melting.

And so, this girl ended up throwing all her food away and cleaning her fridge sparkly clean (which she is grateful for) and for some reason she put that cake right back in the fridge, mumbling something about not being able to toss all that work quite yet...

So here we have cake #1...double layer devil's food cake with a peanut butter cream cheese filling and chocolate frosting with crushed chocolate graham crackers on top...with our cute little bulldozer and little man whose name just so happens to be Roberto (or so says the package he came in) and he looks like he's gonna be headin' down to file a workman's comp claim for a severe head injury.

(it was really cute before--the 2 was in the bulldozer scoop, which I am not clear on the actual real name of it and we had been going to add a few splashes of color around...

I finally gave in and tossed the cake--I just wasn't too sure if the cream cheese sitution was gonna be good, and I figured if I was second quessing, I should just err on the side of caution instead of facing the possibility that we would all lay around for days with food poisoning.

I am avoiding buying fridge food at this point--at least for a few days until the part comes in to fix our fridge completely.

So, my backup unplanned PLAN became this...THE FAKE CAKE.

Tools required:
-1 cutting board, package of cosmic brownies, 6 crushed chocolate graham crackers, 1 birthday candle, and 1 Fisher Price Little People construction worker set with a little guy named Roberto.

I didn't have eggs. I didn't have milk. I didn't have anything I needed to throw a cake together again--and the weather was just too warm for baking anyway. I'm not really sure how my brain processed the whole cutting board idea, but it actually worked--and I just might use that one again! We just picked it up and scooped all the crumbs away. Easy cleanup! :) And I put some cut up pieces of Little Debbie cosmic brownie and covered the whole thing with crushed chocolate graham crackers.

Kaden loves the Little people sets right now--he plays with them ALL DAY. So, I knew Roberto would be a hit! He was....

And that was that...not quite the birthday cake I planned on, but really, he's two. And he didn't seem to mind. Whew! I'm off the hook for this year... :)

Picture a day Challenge--161

Happy day after your birthday with a fake cake...may all your wishes still come true!