Mark at 34

We got home the night before Mark's birthday, so my parents were still there for the presents. Nothing like good ol' socks and store-bought cookies for a birthday gift!





That night I was rather unprepared for dinner, and since Mark was still at work when I finished mixing his cake at 6:30 pm, I loaded the kids sans shoes into the van and took them to KFC while the cake was baking. I am NOT a fast food girl, and KFC in particular, but Mark is, so this was truly a gift for him. Unfortunately, the line was long, so I directed Mark to go home and rescue the cakes before they burned to a crisp. We placed our order, got to the front of the line, and... I had left my wallet at home!

It was rather a late night, but Mark was a great sport.

Happy Birthday to me

Mark, knowing that he is a great (but not terribly swift) cook, started my birthday prep on Sunday night so we could have this fabulous chocolate eclair cream puff ring for my cake. My parents had just arrived from the airport and Mom did the dishes. Max is all tired out on my lap from the hard cleaning he did before Grandma and Grandpa came. What a great birthday.

Baptism Day

Felicity was so excited to get baptized. She talked about it for months beforehand. It was a very beautiful day, weather-wise, and we only wish more loved ones could have witnessed it with us.

"I have waited for this moment since the day I was born!"

"I'm Felicity times two today!" (because her name means happiness)

And seconds later, she was climbing on the jungle gym at home...

We are very proud of Felicity and the good choice that she has made to keep the commandments and follow the Savior. She is a wonderful example to our family. Felicity has always tried to be a good girl, and she is.

But I can't wait until I'm 8

Our Felicity recently turned 8. She has been looking forward to this birthday for her whole life. At our house, we do parties every other year, and this is the year off for birthday parties (but there will be plenty of others since life IS a party at our house).

Although it was a freezing cold and windy day, it was a Saturday and Felicity really enjoyed her birthday- playing soccer in the bitter wind, watching Word Girl, and playing on the computer. Felicity generally has a good attitude and liked having her "birth minute" at the church since it was our family's turn to clean that morning.





She finally got some scriptures, with a really stylish looking scripture case, which she was really excited about. Don't worry, she won't actually read them, they're still hanging on the hook by the door in case of a sudden need to dash out the door with scriptures in tow.

I am not too humble to mention that I could use some new scriptures and finally a case myself, since the current ones are hacked up from being jammed in a bag with Cheerios, MagnaDoodles, baby toys, pacifiers that don't belong to us, and so forth. My bday's on the 20th, for any of you who are wondering.

A new backpack! Yessss! She hugged Katrina for "giving" this to her. I'm sure Katrina felt very proud of herself for contributing nil to this present. Felicity's former backpack was one I bought from CVS Pharmacy in 2005 and refused to die in the traditional way of backpacks, i.e. holes and broken zippers. Instead, it got filthy dirty and smelled of undesireables from sack lunches (like slices of bell peppers grown moldy).

Don't these kids look delicious? Wait, not yet, it's Saturday night, they still need to bathe...

And the cupcakes actually were. We never have problems finishing up dessert.

Max Attack

My baby is growing up pretty fast these days, and I'm trying to document a little of it so I don't forget this time with him. Although I only have four, they have blurred together a little in their past, only remembered by reading it in black and white. Max is a mischief maker of the first degree- yeah, he's the baby whose hands are continually in the toilet, sucking on the air freshener that he has already unscrewed from its socket, squirting the green florescent glue all over the carpet. And all this while I'm making the grocery list.

Although it's a lot to keep up with, I'm thankful for his usual cheerful and inquisitive self. He has had a lot of ear infections, so tomorrow morning he's getting tubes put into his ears. We are hopeful that the happy little guy comes back. He has tried to maintain a good attitude despite not feeling well, but it's been tough for him when he doesn't sleep well.

Max wiggles his rump when he crawls. He likes to be chased and crawls all the faster away from you if you call after him. Max thinks the word "No" is a funny joke to be laughed at. He likes spicy food, unlike my other babies, and is a great eater (can you tell?), although when he is done, he refuses to sit contentedly in the high chair and plans his escape immediately.

Max is my most musical baby. He dances frequently as he hears music, even to the little annoying tunes from the toys. The other day, I was doling out the cruel and unusual punishment of changing his diaper, when I bumped into a toy that plays classical music or kid tunes. It was a Bach piece, and he was instantly still, trying to listen.

Curses! Tagged Again!

8 things I did yesterday
1 Drove 2 crazy boys to Max's ENT appointment in Coppell.
2 Went grocery shopping with said crazy boys at Sprouts and Kroger
3 Put the groceries away. Yes, this deserves its own line item... it takes forever and I'm always wiped out by the end.
4 Finally finished folding the dang laundry (and nope, I didn't put it away)
5 Taught piano to 3 little giggly girls who were hankering for Skittles
6 Took Felicity to & from her first ever Activity Days!
7 Attended Katrina's soccer practice in the wind while Max and Matthew chased after the balls
8 Bossed the 3 older kids through dinner prep, dinner, dishes, homework, bedtime
And thankfully for you, that's all I have space for.

8 favorite tv shows (Absolutely depending on the episode)
1 Psych
2 Burn Notice
3 The Office
4 30 Rock
5 Lie to me
6 The Barefoot Contessa
7 Design to Sell
8 Music and the Spoken Word (muchly needed calming influence on Sunday morns)

8 fave restaurants, in no particular order
1 Mi Cocina -brisket tacos
2 Joe Vera's -chimis
3 Leatherby's -ice cream!!
4 The Bright Star (Bessemer, AL)- fish
5 Swirl Bakery (desserts) -cakes/pies
6 Amanda's (Hoboken) -basil polenta, but everything there is good
7 Cappriccio -homeade tortellini
8 Anyplace where there's no kid menu

8 things i'm looking forward to
1. Going to Italy
2. Paying off the student loans!!
3. Max not having ear infections anymore
4. Felicity's Baptism on April 11
5. Mark getting home from Alabama (after he goes Sunday morning, of course)
6. School getting out!
7. Sleeping in on Saturday mornings... someday in my probably distant future
8. General Conference

8 wishes
1 New carpet
2 A kitchen floor that operates like a garbage disposal- you flip a switch and all the dirt/junk/extra food under the highchair, all whirls down a hole
3 No more super glue on my counter
4 Perfectly obedient children (ha! that is a wish!)
5 More time to read
6 A self-cleaning car
7 A guilt-free conscience
8 Someone to make me dinner tonight!

8 folks to tag (no pressure folks, I won't start shunning you if you don't want to do this)
Kent, have you ever done a tag? Ever?
Cuz Pete a la Philippines
Cuz Holly (but again, no pressure)
Melody H.
Melissa N.
H.
Lee Ann F.
Fatso. You can do it! (and no, I'm not being insensitive here)