Pay no attention, it is just another day!

My mother hates birthdays. Not everyone's, just her own. When I was little, her sisters planned a surprise party for her. To get her to the secret location, they called and asked her to come pick up my cousin b/c they needed a baby-sitter right away. We had just sat down to eat and mom was a bit stressed about that. I tried to convince her that Megan & I needed to go with her but no - we are eating dinner! Then she cursed a bit and stressed out and went over there to get my cousin. Megan and I sat, awaiting the storm that would come home when she realized she had to come back, get us, and then go all the way back to her sister's house (like a 2 mile drive btw) and "enjoy" a party in her honor. I mean can you imagine - her family wanted to interupt her day to throw her a party. The nerve! I remember her telling us to set an extra place for my cousin before she left and Megan and I debated, do we set it out? He's not actually coming over. Yeah, but she's really mad so we should at least follow directions. But he's not really coming over. I don't know!!! Last year I was thrown a surprise party by my husband and I think she may have suffered some post-traumatic stress because of it.

So for the love of God, if you see my mother today, don't wish her a Happy Birthday. Pretend I never said anything. It'll just be our little secret.

And for the record. She's 29.

I love you Mom!

The best day EVER!

Mia went to a gymnastics themed birthday party on Saturday. Parents - these girls had the best time of any kids at any birthday party I have ever seen! They all learned new things and had a blast! An hour of gymnastic work left them totally worn out for the rest of the party so they actually sat while cake was served and presents were open. A complete departure from the beginning of the party where they ran in circles around the room screaming their heads off. So when you're debating between Chuck E Cheese or bowling for your kid's next party, forget about it - take them to gymnastics instead. Mia said it was the best day EVER!

Hamster Part Deux

At the request of my dear sister, who provided us with this source of entertainment. Here is a little 30 sec. video of The Hamster Wheel:

A few things of note:

My child is too wimpy to walk. Crawling works best.

Layla starts to have a meltdown and the end repeating "my turn! my turn!" When it was her turn, she just sat in it and refused to let anyone near it.

The older kids tried the wheel but it was too small so they curled up in little balls to use it. John Paul uses the head method here:

Also, does anyone else hate the sound of their own voice? Yikes.

Her colors will be Blush and Bashful

Could this birthday get any more precious I ask you? It's like Disney just exploded in our house. God bless my sister who, after going cross eyed looking at all the princess parafanalia, went with something completely different. She gave her niece a life size hamster wheel. Oh yeah, check tomorrow for some video. We're breaking this baby out today!

Mom made this cake. She is amazing! Please feel free to comment if you agree with me and everyone else that she needs to start selling these things!

A glimpse at my future of getting my daughter off the phone. This is, of course, a Disney Princess phone. It came complete with a purse, sunglasses, and CREDIT CARDS!! So mom gave her a little lecture about being careful with credit cards because you can get into trouble using them too much. And be careful not to lose them because then other people can use them and steal all your money. This morning she let Layla borrow her purse while she is in school. She told Layla to be very careful with the credit cards. They're very important.

See the insanity

This is an old video since my daughter Mia is about to turn 5, but it acurately portrays a 3-year-old's frame of mind. Note how once the amazing present is opened, everything else must be said in full on scream mode! Well, you can note it if you can hear Mia over the howls of laughter coming from my family.







This is Mia this past Christmas. You can see that not a lot has changed.