Poor Max :(

So, here we are and Max has a virus the week of Easter. Poor guy...I left work yesterday to pick him up from daycare with a fever of 102 and his cough was terrible! I was thinking in the morning that his allergies were bothering him, but it's obviously a virus of some sort. We have been blessed with an overall healthy family. Each of us probably only get sick once or twice a year, but for some reason we have a pattern with Easter. Here Max is in 2010...

Max sleeping off his fever with Pap Pap in 2009 - sick on our trip to WV :(

We were healthy in 2008 (mommy was very pregnant though), but here Aiden is in 2007...he woke up Easter morning with a fever and his virus lasted a full week. He was so pitiful!


I'm sure Max will be healthy by this weekend so he can enjoy the festivities of egg coloring and egg hunts, but right now his fever and cough persists. In the mean time I will enjoy my time of cuddling him since he's normally too busy to let me hold him all day :)

Welcome Baby Charlie!!

One of my favorite cakes (and surprisingly the easiest) is the pregnant belly cake. It's so cute and fun for a baby shower no matter what gender the baby is :) I think it celebrates the mom and baby at the same time!! And to go with a great design, it's one of my favorite flavors too! White almond sour cream cake with strawberry filling. It was all I could do not to eat it! Congratulations Michelle! Can't wait to see baby Charlie!

The monkeys are made of modelling chocolate. I had one casualty (to my dog, Brody) while I was making them, but no problem...I had enough to make more! I think they turned out adorable!

The finished product! However...I must say that my belly was at least twice this size with my pregnancies!!

Boys Will Be Boys

This weekend has been an interesting one to say the least! We had Aiden's first soccer game on Saturday morning and we were soooo excited about it! As Aiden was completely confused and upset that everyone was 'taking the ball away from him' our excitement quickly went from smiles to tears. I quickly tried to explain the game of soccer to him, but have you ever tried to explain soccer to a 4 year-old boy crying uncontrollably?? Not so easy :) Up until this point in practice all the boys played with their own soccer balls and soccer was nothing but fun. Now, when there is only one ball to play with it was a COMPLETELY different story! So...I got him calmed down and even resorted to bribery which is normally not my tactic. (FYI...Chic-fil-a was the prize!) So back to the field he went...and back he came 2 minutes later crying harder than ever! Oh....this was NOT how I envisioned his first game :( By the end he did calm back down and go on the field to shake hands, but all I can say is I hope and pray that next weekend will be much better. So, we spent Saturday afternoon (and hopefully today too) trying to rough him up playing take away and explain soccer to him. Don't get me wrong...there are worse things in life than having a boy cry along the side lines, but I thought I would blog so everyone else could laugh along with us. If you have any advice....PLEASE leave a comment :)

I actually got one photo of him playing...and as you can see he actually was doing good...but he obviously didn't think so. He was actually running fast, but as you can also see he was worried about everyone else behind him that would soon take the ball :) To be fair, the boy with the ball was playing like he was Beckham! I'm surprised more kids weren't crying!



Oh...I almost forgot my other funny story! Today (Sunday) during naptime I hear Aiden yell from the top of the stairs..."Mommy...I was trying to get lotion and its all over my bed!" I'm in the kitchen thinking of the mess I have upstairs of all the J&J lotion covering Aiden's bed. I get up there to find out it wasn't lotion. Aiden some how found a tube of lanolin I had from when I breastfed Max. Lanolin was all over his bed, the footboard to his bed and floor. But Aiden was quick to point out that you can't see it on the floor...so I guess that meant it was ok :) Then I look at Aiden and he has lanolin all over his legs and arms. At this point I was wishing it would have been J&J lotion like I first imagined! We got things cleaned up and put him back down for a nap. But then I can't help wondering how he got so much lanolin out of that tube? I remember fighting with that tube when I was breastfeeding because lanolin is so dang thick!! I guess where there's a will, there's a way! Oh...what will the boys have in store for me next?? Well...one thing is for sure...Aiden's skin won't get dry or chapped anytime soon!

On a wonderful note...Max pee peed on the potty this weekend!!! Yeah Max!!! We all did the potty dance and jumped up and down for joy! Maybe the end of diapers isn't too far off....until the next baby of course :)

Excited for Eeyore!

I've been excited about this cake for a while....well...first I was nervous as to how I would actually sculpt Eeyore, but then the excitement came to show everyone my finished product! This weekend I finished the cake and I was very happy with the final product! The first tier is vanilla almond sour cream cake with raspberry filling and buttercream icing while the top tier is chocolate with buttercream icing. Eeyore is carrying a blanket that says "Happy Birthday Vince". I hope the family enjoyed the cake because I had a blast making it! Happy 1st Birthday Vince!

Say "Cheese"

Just say "cheese" and this is what you get!!! I hardly ever dress the boys in matching outfits...mostly because they aren't twins, but also because it's too confusing to keep the clothes in the right rooms and drawers :) However, we somehow ended up with matching PJ's lately, so Justin couldn't resist dressing them alike a few nights ago. I have to admit...they DO look cute dressed as twins...but then again they look cute all the time!!

Girly Cake

I get excited when I get to do girly things....that isn't too often in my house of boys, bugs, balls and building blocks! I had the opportunity to make a cake with butterflies and flowers and this is what I came up with! Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Soccer Stud

This week was Aiden's first soccer practice. He was pumped ever since we bought the gear and Dick's Sporting Goods the weekend before. We kicked the ball around with him in the yard last weekend, but of course neither Justin or I know anything about soccer !! So Tuesday was the big day and he did great! The first practice of soccer was MUCH better than last year's first practice of T-ball when almost every kid cried at least once :) Soccer was much more fun! He listened and did great at all the drills they did. All the kids had a blast! Of course I'm biased, but I definitely think he has some natural talent! We'll see how it goes...but so far we're all really excited!! His first game is March 20th at 10:00...can't wait to see all the kids run in one big glob up and down the field...I'm sure it will be entertaining to say the least!










Of course Max had a great time at practice too! He ran around eating his food, playing with his ball and then he found an even better toy...the cones on the field! They double as a hat!

More Weekend Fun

So...please don't call social services on me!! When the boys weren't playing outside this past weekend....they were pushing each other around in this plastic tub. It's really true...they have all their toys and they would rather play in a plastic bin! Well...of course they wanted me to close them inside so I grabbed the camera! I promise this wasn't their punishment!!

Sleeping Like a Baby

There's not too many times these days that we find Max still enough for pics like this. Even at naptime or morning time he usually pops right up when he hears the door open. This weekend he was extra tired with all the playing so it was an extra treat for us to watch him sleep and realize just how big he is getting! Where did our baby go??


That sleeping position doesn't look too comfy! If that were me, I would wake up with both arms asleep!

Playful Weekend

The sun was out and the weather was warm this past weekend!! Spring is right around the corner :) We didn't make it to the zoo this past weekend, but we did play outside all weekend with Aiden's new soccer ball, driving the car/jeep, throwing ball and anything else we could think of. Aiden even had a play date and it was a blast! Here are a few pics of the boys this past weekend. Brody was out playing with us too...so of course he got his picture taken!!


Aiden's friend Calib from school

Modern Preggo Momma Baby Shower Cake

Ok all....this is one of the cakes I am most proud of so far...thanks to Tiffany! She challenged me to make something new. I was a little scared at first (for fear of letting her down), but I knew I was up for the challenge! I tried a new sugar medium this time too...modelling chocolate :) If any of you watch Cake Boss on TLC I'm sure you have heard them talking about it. It drove me nuts so I had to find out what it was and try it out for myself. It works so much better for making figures rather than fondant. Modelling chocolate is my new friend :) The stroller is made of gumpaste and the bags are made of modelling chocolate. This cake was really fun to make! The pics could be better....that is my next project. Trying to figure out how to take better cake pics!

Bye Bye Snow...

Happy Friday everyone!! I don't know about you, but we're super excited about the nice weather we are supposed to have this weekend. Spring is right around the corner!! Now, we just need to decide what to do...the zoo, the park, long walks with Brody...whatever it is we'll definitely be outside running off some extra energy and getting some fresh air! I know this isn't a 'springy' picture, but I love this pic...so I'll say this is my "Bye Bye Snow" pic :) Have a great weekend!

The Little Things

If you know me, you know I am a big list maker. There's just something about making a list and getting tasks crossed off that gives me a huge sense of accomplishment for my day! I not only cross things off my list....I cross them off with the biggest, fattest marker I can find. For some reason a little pen just doesn't do the trick :) Well...in a world with a list for everything and a deadline to go with it, I think it's important to throw the lists away from time to time and enjoy the little things. Ok...so I'll be honest...I don't ACTUALLY throw them away...maybe just hide them for a day or two :) If you never put your list away, you may miss the little moments in life that carry you through the yucky ones.

This past Sunday was a day filled with things on my list...but quickly Aiden reminded me that Sundays should not be about lists. So instead of baking with a goal in mind...we took our time and baked together! Aiden is the biggest helper ever and he makes everything more fun. If I didn't put my list down I would have missed this glimpse of his little hands at work. His hands are so little...but it reminds me of how much he has grown the past few years...and how fast those years have gone.




And another pic of our baking time together. Shortly after this pic I asked Aiden to show me the egg for a picture and the egg slipped out of his hand, over his shoulder and 'crash' on the floor behind him...in Brody's tail! We both had a big laugh and it quickly brought back another story about eggs on a busy Sunday morning when Aiden was 2. Justin and I had been upstairs changing clothes and all of a sudden I hear...

Justin: "Aiden! What did you do?"
Aiden: "Eggs go CRASH!"

Yep...that's right...Aiden found the eggs in the fridge and had 'CRASHED' about 9 eggs on the kitchen floor! That was definitely NOT on our 'to do' list that morning, but it's a story of Aiden and the day he learned 'eggs go CRASH'