ARRRRGGH is 2!

my baby boy is 2! 

i can't believe it has been 2 years since this happened.

we had a little pirate party for him. L made some pirate patches and S put together a treasure hunt. i whipped up some pirate cupcakes, made with applesauce instead of oil.. pretty good if i do say so myself, and reused a pirate banner from a previous pirate party.

and viola! a pirate party :)

 he really loved opening all his presents. he loved his remote control car, tent with a tunnel, various tractors and cars and dinosaurs... he loved it all.

i just love that little boy so much. he truly keeps me on my toes at every moment, he is all over the place. kind of like a cute little wrecking ball that runs around the house all day. he cracks us up every day, especially his sisters. they just can't get enough of his "rowdy" behavior.

happy birthday my little buccaneer!!!

first piano recital

in case you missed it......

D & L had their very first piano recital.

we were so proud of them.

mazel tov!

we were invited to our neighbor's bar mitzvah a few weeks ago.

it was unbelievable.

like a wedding reception just for tweens.

the girls were asking if they get a bar mitzvah too.

um no.

just need to make more jewish friends.

our whole family, minus R, went to the actual bar mitzvah at the synagogue. it was so cool. it was very long, but so so interesting. i loved seeing the little boy i have seen build forts and make movies with the girls for the last 7 years, get up and make such an important step in his life. it was so sweet when his grandpa got up and handed down his tallitot. he said "i'm handing this down like my father before me gave it to me and i gave it to your dad. i am so proud to pass it to you now."

i just love that sentimental stuff.

the rabbi invited us all up to look at the torah scroll.

and then cooper sang and sang and sang. 

he must have practiced forever.

his parents got up and both gave really sweet speeches to him.

and then cooper gave a sweet and insightful talk to the entire group.

then when it was over, we all processed into the hall where we had bagels, cream cheese, lox, all kinds of egg, fish & chicken salads. cookies, black & white of course, coffee, etc.

heaven on earth.

then the went home to get ready for the other half of the day. my sis came over and dolled the girls up. we just took the 2 older girls since we knew it was going to be a late night. it was like a mini prom. she straightened their hair, applied fake eyelashes, make up... the whole 9 yards. they even got their first high heels. man alive were they excited.

and gorgeous!

 the reception was amazing. they had a dj with 3 extra helpers going around teaching the kids new moves and make sure everyone felt invited to dance. all you can eat/experience cotton candy, cartoonist, photo booth & airbrushed tattoos. (it didn't take long for the adults to get into that action). the tables were separated... adults & kids. the adult side had round tables with amazing red tulip center pieces. the kid's side was set up in long connected tables with huge bowls of candy every few feet. i think the kids thought they had died and gone to heaven. they served an amazing feast of steak, chicken and salmon. the cake was a huge electric guitar. there were cupcakes with headphones & records. there were bags of chocolate shaped in electric guitars & records. they even passed out custom t-shirts.

i feel like i am describing a skit on snl's ny's hottest new night club is...

the kids danced and ate their tuches off.

they were pretty exhausted when it was time to go home.

they still didn't want to take their eyelashes off tho...

rose party

we had our very last mary's club meeting for the year.

we had the girls put together their virtue books and sing a song for the parents.

it was the sweetest ever.

we then celebrated with the best chips & salsa ever

and

rose flavored cupcakes

                this beautiful rose was on top of the box of cupcakes that my friend made. she's amazing.

here are the little angels singing a beautiful rendition of ave maria.

pretty S. she was excited to be included in the "big girl" group.

 the leaders :)

hi yvette! 

 the cupcakes!!!! they had a sweet vanilla taste with a hint of rose.

delicious.

aren't they pretty?

i'm excited for next year!

love

sugar overload

my sis and i headed up to a new cupcake shop in nosco the other day.

it was delicious.

it was pretty sweet tho.

too sweet to even eat a whole one.

we ate until we could feel the sugar rushing thru our veins.

 S was pretty excited.

 chocolate was my favorite.

 the sugar cookie was to die for.

                                            my fav still tho.... my sissy's homemade chocolate cake.

bon voyage!

a dear dear friend of mine is leaving on a trip to the most fabulous destination ever.

paris.

ugh.

i want to go too!!!

with another dear dear friend, we decided to send her off in style.

we would create a little parisian cafe for just the 3 of us.

and it was awesome.

1:30 in the am came a little too quickly.

boy did we have jet lag the next day.

                                                                    bon voyage sister!!!

                                                              eat a crepe or two for me!!

catch up...

hmmm..... where to start. i'm not sure i like this new blogging set up. my pictures are all out of order and i don't have time to fix it.....

so anywho......

there have been a few post lenten splurges. here is an example....

 my friend and i had a surprise party for our men. they were both turning 38 within 2 weeks of each other. a lot of planning went into the party and not much of it went as planned..... but it was still fun. won't get into that due to homeland security.

 here is the cutest little soccer fanatic....

 my sister had a baby!!! we had her little boy for a few days. it happened to fall over Easter. so it was fun having an extra kid around. we could take full advantage of the buddy system without a hitch.

this was also during a "broken leg phase" for L. she seems to have healed....

 Easter baskets in the making....

 a few pics from st. patrick's day????

 the birthday cake for the birthday boy.

 sweet Willa June. is that the cutest name??? i love her.

 more decorations for the party....

let's see... what else....


we got a new (to us) bigger car with leather and a dvd player to save mommy's sanity. we spend a lot of time in the car and baby R is still quite a handful. so i am more than happy to give him a paci and put a movie on in front of his face, i'm not kidding... lifesaver.

the school year is wrapping up. the 2 older girls are leaving on a school trip soon. we were a little apprehensive, so we and another school couple planned an adult getaway an hour from where they will be. shhh.... don't tell.

i'm really excited for that adult getaway.

what i like about you...

What I Like About You from whoanellie on Vimeo.

good stuff

hubby brought this home for me.

mad housewife. haha. funny.

some homemade mac & cheese that the kids devoured. wow mom! so good!

just kidding. they did choke some down, but much prefer the preservative infused beloved kraft kind.
got this in the mail the other day. so excited. ERIN GAUVIN..... you ROCK!

pscrubs got R a foam sword from the dollar store. he loves it. he skips with it and kisses it. he slices, stabs and lunges complete with sound effects.

that was dollar well spent.

we also got Ruby a hula hoop so S can teach her to jump through it.
she really loves that dog. she'll have her doing tricks in no time.
a view looking up from the back yard. i am soaking up this weather!!

jane withers moments

i must admit. i may have been having a few too many jane withers moments lately.

so what.

i can't help that in my old age my hormones are making me crazy.

i can't help it.

a line from one of my favorite movies... "how hard is it to be in a good mood and just be in it?"

well i guess it's hard sometimes.

all the underwear i have left in my drawers are the ones i hate and that make me feel uncomfortable all day.

i guess i need to do some laundry.

i would like follow my own favorite phrase..... not that i made it up or anything, but it just really stood out when i first heard it many moons ago........

but i find myself rolling my eyes at everything that is usually very dear to me.

i have been letting everyone's little comments get to me, when usually i let things roll right off my back.

it's no big deal really, but a good reminder to try to build people up and not tear them down.

which is oh so hard to do sometimes.

i took out my bad mood on the dead skin on my feet and a new dessert pinterest board.

take that world.

appetizing right?

i am now rebelling and making this.....

i haven't decided if i'm going to have some or not. yes i have, i'm lying.

but tomorrow is a new day.

the birds will be chirping and the orange blossoms will be spreading their heavenly scent all over the neighborhood.

i will go for another bike ride, hopefully with less falls and whining from the cherubs, and hopefully decide to be in a good mood.

and just be in it.