"Sorry, son. Daddy has to go to work."

Brandon and Xander were playing pretend as usual today. I let them play with David's old poker chips which they love to count and stack and play games with. They cleaned them up and had a snack. Brandon then grabs the metal case that the chips are in and says in a rough voice, "Sorry, son. Daddy has to go to work. I can't play games with you, son." He then heads down the hallway with Xander in tow and says, "I'm going to Applebee's."

I don't know if I can even tell you all the things that were going through my mind as I witnessed this innocent little moment in their play. Sadness, first and foremost, I would say. This is obviously something that has affected him as I'm sure it does any child who just wants to play games with his dad who has to work a lot. He'll often ask me, "Mommy, when is Daddy's day off?" He's too young to understand the reasoning behind David being gone at work all the time.

I was amused by my little five year old's attempt to pretend to be grown up. I was surprised even though I shouldn't be by how much his dad's absence is affecting him. Each day when we pray before our meals both he and Xander will add "Pray that Daddy can play games with us." They love their Dad and enjoy the time that he spends playing "games" with them - usually Xbox 360 games. That's their thing. It's very rare that I will play them with them so they look forward to playing with Daddy. Brandon will sometimes ask me when he can "teach" me how to play. I just smile and tell him honestly that mommy doesn't have time to sit and play. I'm content to let that be their thing that they do with Daddy. :)

Cake Decorating 101



Started a cake decorating class today. The class is supposed to be four weeks long but I missed the first week (although I didn't miss much that day.) We are going to ice a single layer cake each class. I will post pics of my cakes each week. Today we learned to base frost a cake, make stars and handwriting as well as transfer a pattern. Did you know you can transpose just about any image onto a cake using piping gel? Interesting stuff. Basically most of this I learned in a class by the same teacher at the public library. Terri Houdeshell is the owner of Sweetstuff Bakery and teaches classes at the library and Old Firehouse.

Brandon is a goof!

I was by far the oldest person in the class today however two people were unable to make it so hopefully that will change next week. The other three students today were about twelve. One of them lost a tooth during class! Then she accidentally threw it in the garbage. Fortunately though it was found. 

Isabella's word of the day "cheese!" 
She said it for her picture.  She is learning a new
word literally everyday.  She is awesome!

I didn't have time to finish my cake but the kids were all very excited to see me (the cake) when I got home! The boys had to watch me finish icing it of course and helped me decide what to write on it. They wanted all of their names on it :) Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I will learn more things to help enhance the quality of my cakes. In the mean time though my kids will enjoy eating them! ...And I get to enjoy 2 and a half hours of Mommy time! YAY! (I'm learning! I need some time for me so I don't go crazy!)

UPDATE:  During this class, we learned stars and shells, etc.  It was a review for me but I enjoyed making this cake for my kids and they enjoyed eating it!  I did turn out to be the only adult in the group!  I was also the only person to want to move on to further classes.   In course one, we went on to learn drop flowers, roses and leaves which were all a biggie for me.  I've had a few occasions in which to practice but I'm sure it takes lots of practice to get really good.  I'm hoping to eventually be able to make and sell cakes to other people.  In the meantime, I'm continuing my cake decorating education with another class!




So proud of Brandon...

Brandon is five and a half now. I've noticed such a big difference in him this year. He's really growing up! He "officially" starts Kindergarten in a couple of weeks which I am excited about and so is he. He's still going to be homeschooled but on more of a schedule this year. Xander will be doing pre-school along with him. Brand will be playing soccer for the city for the first time this year. Hopefully he will enjoy that. Xander will be playing on a league at the YMCA.

Brandon has been much more helpful with things lately although he still gets into lots of trouble with his brother. He knows better now a lot of the time, but he'll do things anyway and then he'll say something like "well, Xander said to do this or that." He's got to stop listening to Xander!

A couple of weeks ago we were at Applebee's and Xander had to go to the bathroom. My first thought was "oh great, now I have to drag everybody into the bathroom". Brandon spoke up though and said "I'll take him." I happily agreed and they were back in a flash. (We were very close to the bathrooms so I could see them. Besides, it was David's Applebee's...) My baby is growing up to be a big boy!

He does so well coloring and doing worksheets now. He is really patient and able to sit for long periods of time while doing these things. He follows directions very well and is able to put together things with his trio-blocks or legos by following the directions. Sometimes I just sit and watch him do these kinds of things...

I've seen many babies turn into kids or teenagers, but this is the first time that I've seen a child grow from birth into a little person. I'm continually amazed by my experiences as a mom and I can't even imagine what my "babies" are going to be like in ten years or even twenty! I continue to pray that the Lord will be with them and help me to raise them to be the best that they can be. :)

Mommy loves you Brandon, Xander and Isabella!

Spending the day with Isabella...

The boys went to MI for the weekend. David has had to work most of the time so Isabella and I have been enjoying some "Mother-Daughter" time. When she's napping I get some much needed "me" time. Now that we've got the new carpet in, I have to finish putting the house back together! My little helper usually slows down the process :)

Yesterday Isabella and I went to a little girl playgroup at a friends house. The girls were all 16 months and under and didn't much care to play together but someday they will. We had lunch there and then stopped at a garage sale on the way home. Much easier to do when you only have one munchkin with you! She took a nap. I read a magazine (Above Rubies - great read!) Then I decided to take her to get her picture taken at JCPenney's. We hadn't been since her one year pictures and she changes so much at this age! I always go to Penney's for pictures. Their prices are reasonable (for most things when you have a coupon!) and they have the FREE Smiles by Wire which usually beats me home. Our photographer was Sarah, again and she did a great job with Isabella. Isabella had lots of fun. We were the only ones there so we were able to take our time and get some adorable shots.

After we left the studio we went to look at the clothes (why do I do that???) I found some adorable clearance shirts for Isabella one of which I had my eye (and hands!) on last year but decided not to get. They had ONE left and it was a 3T. Isabella wears 18 months, but I thought "she would grow in to it." She grabbed it from me - literally! She clung to it until we got to the register and didn't even want to give it up to the cashier. I had to pry it out of her hands!! After she rang it up, I gave it back to her. She was happy to hold it in the car and then when we got to Michael's she didn't want to let go again so she held onto the whole time we were in Michael's and then all the way home! This is a shirt I'm talking about! She LOVES this shirt. Such a girl!

While I was feeding her dinner, I was telling her "hot" as I cooled down her food (which I usually do.) She started saying "hot, hot" and has been saying it ever since! She even said it for Daddy when he came home.

I let her wear her oversized shirt today and she looks so cute! She's wearing it in the picture on her way to take her nap :) (Picture is a little fuzzy because I took it with my phone.)

I plan to lose 50 lbs. by my next birthday...

Calorie counting is a pain. It's not just about making sure that you're eating the right number of calories (1200/day for me right now) but it's trying to figure out how many calories are in something! Everything doesn't come pre-packaged in little bags that tell you exactly how many calories are in them and the stuff that does is usually no good for you. As much of a pain as it is though, it works. It's a simple philosophy. Burn more calories than you take in and you'll use up that "extra" you have hanging around - also known as fat. :)

I have a lot of "extra" hanging around. I've added a lot of "extra" since I stopped eating meat. I guess I was filling up on extra carbs and fats to replace the meat that was no longer filling me up and keeping me fuller longer. I've been doing some research and learning better ways to eat to satisfy my bodies needs. Recently, for example I've been studying "complete proteins." Complete proteins or whole proteins are made up of the correct proportions of all nine essential amino acids and are necessary for the dietary needs of humans. Not all foods containing protein have all of the amino acids therefore a mixture of protein containing foods will provide your body with a more complete protein source. Apparently, meat by itself is a complete protein but if you want to get the result of a complete protein (which your body uses to restore itself) you can eat things like beans with rice or peanut butter with milk. Eggs by themself are a complete protein as well.

I plan to pay close attention to my calories and proteins however much a pain it is and lose 50 lbs before my next birthday. Completely doable if I keep myself focused. I can do this. I know I can.