Surprise!

On Friday we had a surprise birthday party for my father-in-law.

We had a tense moment earlier in the day when we realized Olivia knew too much and we prayed that Paw Paw wouldn’t stop by for a surprise visit because she surely would have spilled the beans. It would have been my fault because I was chatting it up with someone in the checkout line at Sam’s and told him we were having a surprise party for Paw Paw. Olivia heard this, then exclaimed, “ A SURPRISE PARTY!!!!” Excitement overwhelmed her and she could hardly contain herself. I wonder where she gets that from?

My mother-in-law did an excellent job planning it and keeping him in the dark, literally. She drove him out of the subdivision blindfolded, he was blindfolded not her, to confuse him, only to return a little while later to the clubhouse.

Party Central, A.K.A. The Clubhouse

When he came through the front door, everyone yelled, “Surprise! Happy Birthday!” 

Surprise!!!

It worked.

Birthday flowers

Mmmmmmm, cake!

A little family time out on the deck.

Mom and Lauren.

Yikes. That’s a Daddy look if I’ve ever seen one.

 

Mom and Steve, the M.C.

 

Steve, the M.C., up to no good. Olivia gave him the stinkeye when he starting roasting Paw Paw. She didn’t know what to think at first.

Listening to all the funny stories about Paw Paw.

Gag gift from his fishing buddies.

Hey Paw Paw, when are we goin’ fishin’?

 

Whatever was just said must have been hilarious because Craig is slapping his legs, he only does that when something is REALLY funny.

 

Livie loves her Paw Paw!

Best Buddies!

Midnight swim… anyone?

tomorrow

Tomorrow, tomorrow, it opens, tomorrow, it’s only a day away…

  

 

Our pool opens tomorrow. The girls are beyond excited.

Last Day of Preschool

Today was the last day of Preschool.

 

Olivia and Lauren gave their teachers homemade brownies and reusable water bottles.

Lauren’s Toddler Class

  

Pizza faces. Ice cream mustaches. Giggles and smiles. Best of friends.

Livie’s Three Year Old Class

The class gifts to the teachers were two gorgeous potted plants with all the kids faces on flowers. They were precious.

Look out Summer, here we come!

Never Disappoints

Seriously, the best cookbook, EVER!

If I could only own one cookbook, this would be it. Hands down. Everything I have made from this cookbook has been amazing. Simply delicious! It’s a huge binder with divider tabs for each section. It lays flat which is great for reading the recipes while you cook. The recipes are easy to follow and have widely available ingredients that you could find in any grocery store.

Some of our favorite recipes include…

Guacamole, Thai Coconut Chicken Soup, Tortilla Soup, Pasta e Fagioli, Corn Chowder, Quick Tomato Sauce, Bolognese Sauce, Fettuccine Alfredo, Lasagna, Eggs in a hole, Pancakes, Chicken Divan, Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken and Dumplings, Simple Roast Chicken, All American Meatloaf, Beef Tacos, Slow Cooker Weeknight Chili.

They also have a baking book…

 

Ridiculously good.

Some favorite recipes include…

Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizza:   oh my word people, it is so, soooooooooooo good. Best pizza you’ve ever had.

Sugar Cookies:  Craig’s favorite. I made them tonight for the first time for Olivia to bring to school tomorrow for the cookie reception for the upperclassmen. (a.k.a. four year old preschool graduation) They turned out perfect. Just wish I had some hot chocolate or chocolate milk to dunk them in.

Big and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

American Sandwich Bread, Cream Biscuits, Buttermilk Biscuits

Both of these books are worth purchasing. Warning, you may actually enjoy your own cooking over eating out.

Family Fun

I love Sundays.

         

Blessed

Not only do I have a wonderful mother, but I am also blessed with a wonderful Mother-in-law as well. As far as in-laws go, I pretty much hit the jackpot. It doesn’t get much better than this. My husband and I moved into the same subdivision as my in-laws three years ago and it was the best decision we could have ever made.

My Mother-in law is devoted to her family and to the Lord.

She has endless patience when it comes to her granddaughters.

She loves to laugh.

She loves to cook for her family.

She is a joy to be around.

“Mom”, I love you very much and I feel blessed to have joined your family.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Happy Mother’s Day!

My mother is hilarious. I mean really hilarious. We laugh our heads off all the time. When we are together, all it takes is a look for us to laugh our heads off to the point of nearly peeing our pants. “Nearly” being subjective… She lives in Canada and I only get to see her for three weeks twice a year,  in the Spring and the Fall. She was just here for a visit, only two and a half weeks this time. It was way too short. Luckily I will get to see her again in a little over a month!

Here is a picture of us from my wedding day back in 2003. We look so much alike.

Here are just a few things I love about my mom…

Her sense of humor. We laugh about the stupidest things. We both can never let the joke go and will still be laughing our heads off long after no one else still finds it funny.

She is a giver. Every time she comes to visit she is always finding little gifts and things for her loved ones, she loves to find little things to let people know she was thinking of them and to make them smile.

Selective hearing. Both of us frequently mishear things, usually resulting in hilarious outcomes. My husband swears we do it on purpose, but we don’t.

Sweet tooth. Yeah, thanks Mom. I definitely inherited your sweet tooth. I am surprised my teeth have not turned to dust from all the candy I have consumed over the years. Long live Mike n’ Ikes!!!

Her tender heart. My Mom has a tender heart and a soft spot for animals just like me. Neither one of us can stand to see anyone or anything neglected. It just breaks our hearts. (and makes us mad)

She is fiercely loyal. She would do anything to protect her family.

Social butterfly. Mom loves to go out to lunch or dinner with family and friends. She just loves spending time laughing and telling stories.

Incredible baker. Seriously, my mom can bake like nobody’s business. She doesn’t bake much anymore, but when we were little, she and her Aunt Mary used to bake for days to freeze delicious treats for the holidays. Yummy. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. My sisters and  I used to sneak downstairs and steal some from the freezer every chance we got. (We actually hid a paring knife down there so we could unlock the freezer.)

Family comes first. My mom makes a big deal out of every possible event in the year.  Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Grading Day, birthdays, Halloween, etc. You name it, we celebrated it. She always made us feel special and still does.

Penmanship. My mother has beautiful handwriting and she always takes the time to include a handwritten note in the cards she sends. It means a lot to know she is thinking about us.

Nanny. My mother LOVES her granddaughters and she has a grandson on the way. Oh my, this little man has no idea what a wonderful family he is about to be born into.

Wii Bowling Phenomenon. Wow, this woman can kick some serious Wii Bowling Booty! You have NO idea.

Clearly, I could go on and on.

Mom, I love you so much, I wish we lived closer so we could see each other more often but we definitely make the most of it when we do. We can’t wait to see you in a month! Get ready to laugh your head off!

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

Best Friends

Lauren and John Will are the best of friends. They just adore each other. Whenever they see each other, they hug and hold hands. John Will came to our house for a playdate this morning while his mom went to the hospital for her pre-op appointment. Baby number three arrives on Monday. I think I am almost as excited as they are, if that is even possible.

I picked up John Will at carpool this morning and he and Lauren were chatting delightedly in the backseat the whole way home. It was precious. They were so excited! All the toys to themselves without their big sisters taking things from them.

 

 

Aren’t they just the cutest?

Eventually, they had to use the potty. Both are recently potty trained. I slightly panicked. I don’t have boys. I have no idea what to do with boys. Luckily Kristen gave me a small tidbit of advice before leaving John Will in my care. It was no big deal, actually, it was quite hilarious, but we survived no problem.

Worn out.

Whew! This end of the year stuff is getting exhausting! Everything wrapping up all at once has us running around like chickens with our heads cut off. Celebrations, parties, reunions, get-togethers, mother’s night outs, book club, bunco, tennis and a part-time job have seriously pushed the limit. It has been fun but I am definitely looking forward to some lazy days by the pool, whatever, there is no such thing as a lazy day by the pool when you have a two year old and a three year old, we’ll have fun. One of our favorite things to do is order pizza and have it delivered to the pool, it’s so much fun to play for a while, enjoy dinner, then play some more before heading home to bed. Essentially the  perfect recipe for two tuckered out toddlers.

 

Two tired girls

Every time we drive out of our subdivision, Lauren wants to get out of the car and go swimming. They are still preparing the pool for it’s grand opening in a week or two.  I picked up some sunscreen at Target. They had bonus packs of the tear free Banana Boat Kids and Baby SPF 50. Basically it was buy one get one free! Sunscreen is so expensive so you can imagine how delighted I was to buy two tubes, for just $8.99. I went back today and bought another bonus pack so we should be set for the summer! 

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with friends. They are due to have their third child on Monday so it was also a last chance to get together for at least a few weeks. The kids had the best time. The girls dressed up like princesses, John found a few cars and played with those and then squealed with such delight over our dog, Fergus, that I laughed until my stomach hurt. We enjoyed homemade guacamole, cheesy mexican rice (not so good) and yummy chicken enchiladas.

Wednesday was Muffins with Mom in Olivia’s three year old class and then we had Lauren’s end of year party for her toddler class. I charged the camera battery, put the camera in the bag and promptly forgot it at the house. I went back to get it for Lauren’s party later that morning.

Today was the last day of MOPS for the year so now we are just winding down and enjoying the idea of not having to be anywhere or do anything for most of the summer other than occasional playdates at the pool and playgrounds, Vacation Bible School, Summer Camp at Preschool and lazy days at home. Yahoo!

On a final note, Livie was singing in the car yesterday as she so often does… and this is what I heard…

“There was a man who had a dog and Bingo was his name-o!  B-I-M-B-O,  B-I-M-B-0… “ and well, you get the idea. After laughing my head off, I quickly taught her the correct spelling.