Birthday Toy Store Trip

We took Cassidy to the Toy Store after church on Sunday to use her Birthday Club coupon and collect her crown and balloon. She was *thisclose* to using her coupon on another toy when I remembered she had asked for a Monster High camera for Christmas. We nixed it from her Christmas List because it had terrible reviews.

So we set the toys aside and spent some time checking out the camera section.  She ended up choosing a pink Kodak Easy Share camera and a Monster High camera case. The camera will take both pictures and videos, and that was exactly what she wanted.

She's gotten very interested in taking pictures lately (I have no idea where she got that from... HA!). It was more than I was wanting to spend, considering we had just given her several birthday gifts and a party. However, it's easy to justify spending money on high quality items she'll be able to use for many years to come. And I have to admit, I was pretty impressed in her ability to make such a mature choice... even when surrounded by toys.

She's growing up!

The Birthday Girl!

Campbell fell in love with a Barbie scooter and has already chosen a bike to ask Santa for next year!

There Are No Words

The afternoons can sometimes get pretty hairy at our house. My workday is at least 2 hours away from complete when the girlz get off the bus. Sometimes that's not a big deal because I can step away and come back to it after they go to bed. Some afternoons are packed full of meetings and the girlz have to finish homework and entertain themselves for a while before I can turn my full attention to them.

It's those afternoons when my cell phone mysteriously disappears.

About once a week, Lieutenant Sexy and I make a habit to check my photos and videos to see what the girlz have put on there. I usually end up with an assortment of Barbie pictures from the Barbie Fashionista app, some Hello Kitty cakes from the Hello Kitty bakery app, and a few screwball pictures or videos.

But the one we found this week truly takes the cake. And yes, she has the camera turned around to see exactly what she's doing.

There are just no words.  Ok, maybe there are -- WHOSE CHILD IS THIS?!?

Birthday Party!

Cassidy has been planning her 8th birthday party for an entire year.  She attended a Spa Party for her BFF's birthday last January and immediately decided it was exactly what she wanted for her next birthday.  Unlike every other year, her preferences for this year weren't the kind of party that can be easily merged into a big family celebration.

I hated to not have a dual party with Pop like we always have, but I also loved the Spa Party idea.  Part of me was hoping she'd change her mind during the year, but she never once wavered.  So we planned a Monster High Spa Party, and Mama and Papa offered to host Pop's party so we could avoid doing two big events back-to-back.

It snowed Friday afternoon, which had me sweating bullets until the streets cleared up.  I was super-nervous that the party would have to be postponed, which would be a tricky task since our time is packed full of cheer and dance commitments for the next two months.  Thankfully, the party went on as planned and we didn't have to deal with that!

Snow = early dismissal from school... a great way to start a birthday party weekend!

The Party Spread!

It's not a party until we blow up some balloons!

Goody Bags

 Diva nails

Campbell is a pro at being pampered.  The older girls couldn't stop fidgeting, causing their cucumber eyes to go flying every which way.  Meanwhile, the youngest and smallest of them all sat completely still... the perfect picture of zen tranquility.  Hilarious!!

Needless to say, Miss Campbell had a BLAST!

Blowing out the candles!

Happy Birthday, Miss Cassidy!!

Sick Days

The last two days have been an insane roller coaster. The worst part is that I go to bed exhausted but wake up 2 or 3 hours later feeling totally rested and ready to start the next day.

How can that be right? Waking up ready to start the day is awesome. But at 1AM? Not so much.

I took this picture on Tuesday during our second trip to the doctor, this time to test Campbell for cooties. The girlz look like cute little cootie ninjas.

I drove Campbell to school yesterday morning because we needed to drop off Cassidy's school project and pick up the work she had missed. We stopped at Starbucks on the way home so Cassidy could get a hot chocolate. She's been spoiled this week - she got Starbucks both days she stayed home from school!

Trips to Starbucks make her feel extra special and grown-up. Although I hate that she was sick, I love that we got to spend some one-on-one time together. 

We spent the rest of yesterday catching up on Cassidy's school work while washing every bed sheet, towel, and blanket in the house.  We Lysoled every high-touch surface in the house - every light switch, door handle, drawer pull, telephone, remote control, banister, bed rail, everything.  We threw away all the teeth brushes and replaced them with new ones.  We disinfected the entire Toys Room.

I want the cooties OUT of this house!

Birthday Celebrations 1 & 2

Cassidy had her first of several birthday celebrations last weekend. Since we're not having our usual Pop-And-Cassidy Birthday shindig this year, Nana asked if she could bring cupcakes over for a pre-birthday celebration after last weekend's basketball games.

The girlz thought it was excellent, of course. Who doesn't love presents and cupcakes?!?

Cassidy's decked-out cupcake 

And last night, we had a little celebration of our own. Since she has the flu and strep, we really didn't want to take her to the toy store like we usually do. We may try to do that tonight since she's not allowed to go back to dance yet.

Here are a few pictures from birthday celebration #2...

Birthday girl!!

Lieutenant Sexy and I got her a Monster High Journal and a few other things.

Campbell got her a Gelarti set.  Cassidy picked it out last night while we were waiting for Target to fill Campbell's Tamiflu prescription.  Yesterday's black cloud definitely had a thick silver lining around it!

Birthday Celebration #3 will be cupcakes with her classroom later this week (that was supposed to happen yesterday, but she stayed home from school).  

The final Birthday Celebration will be Saturday, when we have her friends over for a Spa Party. She's been anxiously anticipating and meticulously planning this party for an entire year!

I'm pretty excited about that party myself!

Happy Birthday, Cassidy!

8 years ago today, we welcomed a gorgeous little nugget into our family.  It had snowed the day before and there was a bitter chill in the air. Cassidy had safely arrived, but she was sick.

The January 22 of 2013 is very much like the January 22 of 2005 -- there is a bitter chill in the air today. And once again, Cassidy is sick.

She isn't acting sick - she has no fever and is upstairs practicing handstands and walkovers as I write this. But the tests the doctor ran this morning tell a very different story. Cassidy has both strep throat and the flu, but you would never guess it by looking at her.

I was convinced I was dramatically overreacting this morning, and Lieutenant Sexy would most certainly give me the hairy eyeball for keeping her home from school. But since the birthday party she's been planning for an entire year is happening in 4 days, I decided to play it extra-safe and be 100% certain her runny nose was just a slight cold.

Obviously, it's not just a slight cold. And now Campbell has an appointment to get tested this afternoon since she also doesn't appear to sick, which makes her health suspect as well.

I'm sure Amoxicillin and Tamiflu aren't what Cassidy wanted for her birthday, but that's what the old girl got. Luckily, we have a few fun gifts for her and a super-awesome party planned for this weekend.

Happy 8th Birthday, Cassidy!!

How a 3 Day Weekend Turned Into a 4 Day Weekend

We woke up to a beautiful blanket of white snow this morning!  I first looked at the clock at 5:45AM and realized the calls and texts notifying us of a school closure would be coming in about 15 minutes, if they were going to come at all.  Sure enough, at 6:01AM the text alerts were sounding and every phone in the house was ringing.

It was a beautiful sound.

SNOW DAY!!!!!  Even better, snow day right before a 3 day weekend!!

We measured the snowfall on the back of the Umi Zoomi car - not quite 1 inch.  Perfect!

So pretty!  Now hurry up and melt so we can get on with our day!

Eat Like a Dog

Big Girl School has dismissed at noon most of this week because of exams. I still have to work, so the girlz entertain themselves while I take care of nerdy business.

I came out of the office to check on them this afternoon, and Campbell was so excited.  "Mommy!!!" she said. "I'm eating my snack like a dog!!"

And sure enough, she had set her placemat and plate of goldfish in the corner - right where Juno's food and water used to sit.  I'm not sure how she knew that... she was only 3 months old when he moved to Dog Heaven.

Hmmmmm......

Snow?

So I've had my eye on my favorite weather geek's Facebook posts, and he's been calling for snow in our area on January 18th for at least a week now.  The local weather has finally caught up, and the word is out - it looks like we might actually get a little bit of snow.

I'm wondering if it will be enough to close school.  My guess is yes, because it typically only takes a cold breeze and 3 snowflakes to shut this entire region down.  I'm not complaining or poking fun - I love our quirky weather!  And since I'm not a huge fan of snow or bitter cold temperatures, I really don't mind that our little corner of the world stops when the flakes start falling.

This pretty much sums it up...

Competition Season Has Arrived!

It's here!  That crazy time of year when we log even more hours at the dance studio - is that even possible?!?

Extra rehearsals... a car perpetually packed full of costumes and make-up... more than our fair share of early mornings... and (hopefully) a few new trophies.

Yes... it's dance competition time again!

Cassidy had a practice last Sunday with the older girls to put the 8 minute production routine together.  It's going to be a phenomenal routine... simply phenomenal.  I'm amazed how these choreographers continue to come up with such creative ideas!

The Minis got the hats to finish off their costumes at practice last night and Cassidy wore hers all night.  We've been tasked with finding long black bobby pins to keep those bad boys on their heads.  The minis are flipped upside down during the routine, so it'll be interesting to see if we'll be able to pin the hats on tight enough to keep them still.  It's going to be interesting!

We're travelling twice this year, and the homebody in me is not overly thrilled about it.  But Cassidy thought last year's travel was beyond outstanding, and still talks about it.  It really is fun once you get there, so I'll deal with it.

I'm excited to see how this season shapes up.  Break a leg, Minis!

Texting Mom

I had very different plans for today's post.  I had intended to share a video produced by Igniter Media about crazy mornings that was shown in church a few months back.  And I was going to write a post about how our mornings look eerily similar to the family in the video, and how nice it is to be reminded that we're not alone.

But while I was sifting through the Igniter Media videos on You Tube trying to find that one, I found a better one...





For the past few weeks, I've been helping Mama plan a luncheon for Pop at one of our most favorite restaurants.  She's run into a few snafus with the invitations and photo montage, but we've worked through it.

This video reminded me of some of the texts she and I have traded recently.  And even though it's a Mother's Day video, a wise co-worker once told me that every day is Mother's Day.

Enjoy the video, Mom!

Strike a Pose

The girlz looked extra-cute this morning, so I told them I wanted to get a picture of them.  Instead of the usual hugging or holding hands poses they typically prefer, they both decided to rock a ballet pose today.

I love their sweet little spirits!

Top 10 Moments of 2012

It's that time again - the end of another year means it's time for the Top 10 Moments of 2012 for the Censored Last Name Family!

2012 was full of highs and lows... it's taken me a while to get this list together.  Not because I didn't want to do it. For some reason, I just don't have a very clear memory of the first half of 2012. It might be because I spent much of that time in a sleep-deprived stupor, blankly staring at computer screens and conference room walls in faraway places.

One thing I vividly remember is being so tired I couldn't feel my face. That one didn't make the Top 10 list. But these moments did...

10. Miss Cassidy turned 7 in January!

9. And Miss Campbell turned 4 in June!

8. Cassidy learned how to ride her bike without training wheels.

7. Campbell learned how to write her name.

6. The girlz completed another season of Upward Cheer and Fall Soccer at church.

6. Sergeant Sexy was promoted to Lieutenant Sexy.  Hooray!

5. Project Ginormous finally ended at the end of May, after a long and difficult 18 months.  It was a H-U-G-E accomplishment and an even bigger relief!

4. Cassidy and her dance team won the StarQuest World Finals in July.  Way to go, Minis!

3. Campbell started her final year of Preschool in August.  It's strange to think it will only be a few short months before we have two school-aged children in our house.

2. Cassidy started learning to write in cursive.  This is a VERY big deal for her!

And the top moment from 2012...

1. Lieutenant Sexy and I finally took our first grown-up trip together - Chicago!

We were tremendously blessed in 2012 with good health, great friends, and blooming careers.  We pray 2013 is just as good or even better! 

Back To Life

We finally got back into our normal routine today.  We all needed a break from the chaos... and while it was NOT a vacation, it was still nice to not be running anywhere or doing anything for a few days.

Here's a little bit of what's been happening since Christmas:

We helped Nana host a sleepover with the girlz and their cousins.  The kids had a great time playing together and watching movies.  Nana brought several craft kits with her, which was a TON of fun.

The girlz painting their volcano

Making the volcano erupt!

We cleaned out part of the garage while putting the Christmas Tree away and brought a few treasures into the house, one being my old rocking chair.  Campbell claimed it immediately and fell over backwards in it less than 24 hours after it came into the house (I'd asked her to rock gently at least 6 times).  It doesn't matter how many times you caution or warn that girl, she needs to learn the lesson herself... even if that means falling over backwards in a chair.

Lesson learned (hopefully).

Cassidy wanted to stay up and watch the ball drop again this year, so we bought noisemakers and chilled a bottle of sparkling grape juice.  She's so proud that she can stay awake until midnight!

Ready to ring in the new year!

Since we were having everybody over for New Year's Day lunch, I was back up at 3AM to start the black eyed peas in the crock pot.  After fighting with the crock and eventually moving everything to a different machine, I went back to bed at 4AM... but was back up again at 7AM to start the collards and apple pie.

Lunch with our family was great, and I was sad to see them go... their departure signaled the official end of Christmas Break.  Boo.

Next up - Upward Cheer Season and Dance Competitions!!