Birthday Bash

The girls celebrated their 7th birthday (a few days early) at Color Me Mine pottery studio on Saturday...it's a paint your own pottery place.

The theme was puppies, but that was really only for the plates and cups - the cake was pretty traditional. They had such a good time.

Each girl had to pick one piece of pottery to paint....they had a choice of a horse, bunny, starfish, cupcake trinket box, sea turtles or a dog...and I must say the majority of them chose the horse and cupcake. Except for McKenna - she chose the bunny.

Sydney, Hannah, Katie & Alex

All of the girls did such a great job creating their masterpieces - all 13 of them - and really had a good time doing it.

The party crew

After they were done painting, we had ice cream cake (yum!)

Then it was time to open presents! They were so happy - they each got FOUR webkinz (this makes 12 total for each of them!), lots of arts and crafts, gift cards and a few "real" toys.

The loot!

On Thursday - their actual birthday - we will celebrate with family and more cake after dinner. Oh...and let's not forget cupcakes for their class!!!

They've been getting cards and presents in the mail all week - it's the birthday that never ends :-) But they love it and it's fun enjoying it with them.

Happy Birthday (early) Alyssa & McKenna - I simply cannot believe you're almost 7 years old.

Adventures in ice skating

The girls Brownie troop rented out the ice skating rink last weekend and the girls had their first adventure in ice skating! I must say - I was pleasantly surprised at how well they did.

McKenna & Morgan

I can't skate so I figured they'd be better trying it by themselves...and I just watched and took pictures. Both of them took 2 laps around the rink with the assistance of the wall and then they went for it! They took a few spills of course...

but they laughed hysterically which was great.

Towards the end Alyssa took a fall and hit her head on the ice - that ended her adventure for the night - but McKenna hung in there till they kicked them off the ice.

And now they've decided they want ice skates for their birthday - I'm not sure we're quite ready for that just yet! Lessons maybe? We'll see.

No Cavities!

I took all 3 kids to the dentist last week and I'm happy to report that no one has a cavity! I absolutely LOVE this dentist. It's decorated in an "under the sea" theme and it's very bright and cheery. Everyone who works there is incredibly friendly and patient and unfortunately, Dr. Sona, the dentist we've always seen is moving to Greensboro, NC later this summer. We'll be turned over to good hands I'm sure, but we sure will miss her!

One of the "tricks" they use to help kids relax in the chair is sunglasses. Here's Brennan modeling his turn in the chair sporting the adult-sized glasses - too cute!

He did ok - he started gagging during the teeth brushing part, but overall, he did a great job.

Alyssa did awesome - she went first for both her bitewing x-rays and her cleaning. Her teeth are in great shape, x-ray looked great and her 2 top teeth are finally coming in. She got an "A" on her report!

As for McKenna...she was my lil trooper. I was so proud of her at the end I almost cried. Not only did she have bitewing x-rays and a cleaning, but she had to be fitted for a finger sucking appliance....an applicance that is somewhat like a retainer that she'll have to wear until she quits sucking her 2 fingers. She's done this since she was a baby and no matter how many bribes we've tried, she just can't quit. It's not that she won't really - she can't - it's a subconscious habit that she can't break.

So they make the vanilla scented mold, put it in the tray and insert the tray in her mouth. She lasts for about 15 seconds before she vomits on herself. Alyssa begins to gag, Brennan is asking a million questions and I'm about to lose my mind. David makes the kids disappear with him in the waiting room, the nurse cleans up McKenna and gives her a t-shirt from their office....and we start all over. She was a little panicked at that point, but I taught her to breathe in and out her nose and finally on the 3rd try they got a perfect impression so they can make the appliance! She was so patient and worked so hard on her breathing that she made it through without vomiting - and I was so incredibly proud of her. She was able to choose our dinner location for the night as a reward for being so good!

All in all it was a great visit and besides the appliance installation, we don't have to go back for another 6 months.

Say CHEESE!

And the winner is...

DAVID!!!! We completed our weight loss challenge today and he won 1st place. He lost 25.1 pounds during the 6 week program, but he gained much more...$294 to be exact :-) I'm very proud of him and he looks great.

Unfortunately, I didn't do as well - I only lost .6 this week for a total lost of 6.6. I'm not sure what is wrong or why it's taking so long, but I'm determined not to quit. Any suggestions that have worked for you in the past are definitely wanted and welcomed at this point.

I'm off to San Diego tomorrow for work - returning Thursday night - so no posts until then. I have a few to catch up on....our trip to the dentist with the kids and ice skating yesterday so stay tuned.

Have a great week!

Kudos to David!

First - Happy Valentines Day! I'm a day behind, but when I got home last night I was battling flu-like symptoms so doing a post wasn't on my list of things to accomplish before I made my way to the recliner with my big, red fluffy blanket!


Second - I just have to say what an AWESOME husband I have!!! He left for work very early yesterday morning and when the kids and I came downstairs, to my complete surprise, we found gifts for all of us! I had no idea he had gone and bought stuff for them (I had done the same, but he knew about it) and not only did it include the standard candy and toy, but it also included flowers for Alyssa & McKenna....AND....this is the best part....a card for each of them with the nicest handwritten note to each of them from their daddy! Needless to say, I cried as I read the cards and they were looking at me like I was a fool :-) ha ha




The girls with their bouquets from daddy!








Brennan with his power rangers gift from Daddy!





To summarize, he told each of them how special they were to him, how proud he was to be their daddy and how much he loved them. It was simply awesome. I've always known he's an amazing father (and hubby), but yesterday just touched my heart.

I got red roses, a beautiful letter and card and a new pair of running shoes which I desperately
wanted and needed! THANKS HONEY - you're the best!








My beautiful roses!






How was your Valentine's Day?!

Weekend and weight loss...

if you want to call it a loss. I weighed in today - and posted a whopping .8 loss. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy or encouraged by that number. I'm now at a total of 6 pounds lost, which is good, but I'm really working hard and it doesn't seem to making much difference.

This weekend was the first official sleepover for the kids. It started with us watching Jayci overnight since Kerry was on a cruise, but it turned into Jayci, Megan, Alexis and Trevor. Unfortunately, Megan ended up sick so we ended up with 6 kids Friday night including our own. We had pizza, ice cream sundaes, and popcorn while the kids enjoyed a movie (Snow Buddies), playing the Wii (over and over!) and playing in the basement. Everyone went to bed as told, slept through the night and got along...for the most part. All in all it was a huge success and we weren't left thinking "we'd never do it again"! The kids had a blast and it made them happy lil campers. Here are some pics from that night.

As for the rest of the weekend - well it was somewhat less exciting. We went freezer shopping....I know, I know .... you're all jealous!!! We did laundry (it's getting better isn't it?), we went to BJ's to scout prices so we could decide whether we wanted a membership (the jury is still out on that one) and finally, we relaxed!

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Such a SLOW process...

That's how losing weight feels to me. I know they say it's healthy to lose it slow - it will stay off if you lose it slow - but I want to lose it FAST!!! I went for my weekly weigh-in this afternoon and low and behold, I'm down another 1.5 pounds for a total of 5.2 lost. I'm happy with that - I'll always wish it was more - but it's better than gaining! Weighing in on Monday's definitely keeps you "honest" through the weekend ... EVEN on Superbowl Sunday :-) No beer, no chips with Helluva good dip, no nachos - none of that fun stuff. But it paid off and it gave me the motivation to continue yet another week. Stay tuned for the next weigh-in...