Safari Day

Since the freakishly cold weather robbed us of our wonderful Florida winter, we have barely made it to Busch Gardens this year. It is now on the verge of being too hot, so we took advantage of a mild afternoon and went to Busch Gardens today.They have just transformed their kids' land into Sesame Street Safari Land. Zoie and Tobin LOVED it! They got to meet all of their favorite characters and ride some new rides. We also squeezed in a 4-d movie (at least the first 20 minutes of one-- the kids started screaming when they were sprayed in the face with water), and a few animal sightings.
Chase spent the day doing this:
And this:
And a lot of this:I am just proud of myself for managing all three kids at a theme park all by myself.

Being A Mom Is Fun

After all of my recent griping and grousing....

I took Zoie and Tobin to the water park.
And had a perfect time.
I love my job.

I'm Not One to Brag, But...

Yesterday I had some friends over for Kassi's birthday. A cake was made in her honor. It was a lovely lavender creation. Instead of proceeding with the birthday celebration, I decided that the beauty of the cake would only be enhanced by my personal touches.

Long story made short-- this was the end result:


I know what you are thinking and the answer is NO-- I have never been trained professionally in the art of cake decorating, but YES-- I really should open my own cake decorating business.

And now to Part II of the "brag post"--

After seeing how quickly I destroyed a lovely dessert, my friend Cindy still allowed me to put blonde streaks in her brown hair.

I do not do hair. Not my own, not my daughter's. Most people with such a lack of skills would not participate in this activity. Not me-- I insisted on administering the bleach myself! Luckily, I had some help:

(I was trying to look like a cool hairstylist. Mental note: Kira, next time you try to look cool, make sure your bra strap is not showing!)

Luckily, Cindy's hair fared better than the cake. I am not going to start charging for my amazing style services just yet, but there have been talks of a cake decorating/hairstyling venture in the near future...

If You're Lucky Enough...

to live by the beach,

you're lucky enough.

Today I Am Grateful For...

(This post was originally titled "Worst. Morning. Ever."-- this is my positive spin on the day.)

1. My house. If we lived in a condo or apartment, the neighbors would surely have complained about all of Chase's crying. He has turned diva on us and insisted on a back scratch at 5:30 am, 6:15 am, 7 am, in order to fall back asleep.
2. Biceps. No matter how weak they may be, they are in high demand this morning-- as this diva baby of mine refuses to be content doing anything other than being held. Every little task is more difficult when carrying a giant baby.

3. The Shop-Vac. Walking into my kids' room, I was greeted with an exploded bean bag chair-- which is bad enough on its own, but I suspect I walked in post "bean-fight". The little beans are in the blankets, the clothes hamper, bookcase, under the beds, etc...

4. Clorox wipes and baby wipes. Today is the first day of Spring Break-- a perfect time to attempt (for the 3rd time) potty-training with my newly minted three year-old, right? He disagrees. We have used many a wipe this morning.

5. Diet Coke. I haven't had one in a solid week. I think I have earned one today.

6. The Book of Mormon. When I became overwhelmed, I read 3 Nephi-- when Christ blessed the Nephite children. It helped. I suppose if Heavenly Father sees value in these kids of mine, I will keep them for another day...

7. Bluto. My 5 year-old Boxer who is the only other living specimen in this house who has not made me crazy this morning. He's a good boy.

I am sure there are a few more things that belong on this list. I have to end this post, as I smell poop and I can only hope it originated from one of the two diapered bottoms in my house-- and not the newly-underweared three year-old.

A Bath Story

Exposition:

Climax:

Denouement:

The Movie Version:

Easter Success

We had a fabulous Easter weekend. It was relaxing and fun and wonderful.

I just downloaded my pictures from the weekend and realized that over the entire weekend-- after all the fun things we embarked on, I have only pictures of me holding a carrot cake and some friends playing UFC on the Playstation.

So... about the cake....
My Mom makes the most amazing Carrot Cake known to mankind. Even people who don't like Carrot Cake LOVE my Mom's version of this delicious dessert. It is a Southern Living recipe-- enough said.

I have never been able to duplicate it. So on Saturday (Mom's birthday), in her honor, I tried again. It was good. Very good. I still cannot compete with the richness of my Mom's cake-- but it was a valiant effort.

Let's hope I can think of something better to write about next time. Otherwise, I will resort to posting pictures of the guys playing UFC (and trust me, no one wants to see those!)

Buddy Boy Turns 3

For Tobin's big day we took the family (minus the baby) to see this movie:
L-O-V-E-D IT! I feel like all of the kids movies I have seen recently rank somewhere between boring and mediocre. This one was awesome.

After the movie:
We also had some friends over for s'mores and chocolate cake (who needs a main course, anyway?) Check out the Ladies' Man...

Tobin's only birthday request was going to Chick-Fil-A. Of course, we obliged. Here is a picture of him and his best friend taken just prior to them running a muck in the play area:(Please note the progress of the afro in the pics...)