The Birthday Boy (And Some Apparently Angry Birds)

Okay, so yet again I have super sucked at blogging lately.  I didn't realize it had been over a month since I'd posted until just looking back at the dates.  WOW, November flew by!

Okay--catch up post.  Where to start, where to start....

OH, What was it that The King said in Alice in Wonderland? 

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end:  then stop."

Yes, I suppose that's what I'll do.  And the beginning (of where we left off) would be Madd's birthday!  I still can't believe that yet another birthday party is in the books and that my little man is now a six year old.  [sigh]

His actual birthday was on a school day, so we started out with surprise birthday chocolate-chip pancakes (complete with birthday candle, of course)!

**Note, I made the pancakes myself.  If you're thinking, "Um SO?" well.... then first of all you can kiss it (and I think we all know what that "it" is) and second of all, it's obvious that you've never read this post.  Judge me if you must.**

Where was I?  Oh yes, I made pancakes.  At 6am.  Because that's just what I do I only have one kid and I guess I can sacrifice a little sleep to burn prevail in the perpetration of pancake perfection!

So rub those eyes and wake up birthday boy....

"Maddy, smile for mommy."

He smiled, but those eyes still weren't ready to open.

The day after his birthday was his party.  It was honestly the least stressful birthday party we've ever thrown for him.  For once, I felt like I got to enjoy the party too.  Usually I'm running from one end of a room to another, so it was nice to sit back and soak it all in.  

Here's a few snapshots from his special day, including a few pictures of his cake I promised I'd share.

Here's daddy with his birthday boy on the water inflatable.

He helped all the kids across (and okay, threw a few off too!)

After about two hours of swimming, we headed upstairs.

Something tells me this was the last birthday 

we'll have to read his birthday cards to him.

[Another sigh.]

And here's the cake and party favor table.

[Sorry about the poor quality of the cake close-ups.  

I took them at the house before the party in a hurry.]

Photo-op while waiting on mommy to light the candles.

I can't help but wonder what he wished for.... 

Oh, how I hope all his wishes come true!

But for now, a more serious question.

Who gets to eat which Angry Bird/Green Pig?

As you can tell by that half exhausted, but ear-to-ear grin, 

my little man had a wonderful time.

And with six birthday parties under my belt, 

I'm beginning to feel like an old pro!

Again, thank you to everyone for sticking with me through my bloggy-blahs, which I'm slowly trying to escape from.  

And a special thank you to my newest readers who found my blog by happening upon my DIY Angry Birds Invitations post and have taken me up on my offer to email me and ask for the Invitation PDF.  It makes me so unbelievably giddy to know that someone is actually taking the time to read a little bit about what's going on in our lives.  

So again, thank you so much.

And yes, if you're reading this right now I'm talking about YOU!

So quit being modest because you really rock my world.

I Miss Her So Much

On June 29, 2010 I lost my great grandmother.

I knew I'd miss her long before she left us, but I could never have guessed how much.  Looking back I was crazy not to have realized how much of a hole she'd leave in me.  After all, she was a part of every special memory in my life.

Every Easter I that I can ever remember was spent in her backyard.

Granny would sit on the porch and watch the children go wild.

Everyone would hunt eggs....

....and spend time with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and siblings.

Our last Easter together, she wasn't feeling well so I'm thankful to have snagged one photo with her.  

Every Halloween we'd stop by to make sure she saw our costumes.

Every Thanksgiving, it was her house the whole family flocked to in order to fill up on turkey and dressing.

And every Christmas Eve, it was her tree that everyone always gathered around to pass out gifts.

She hadn't been herself months before she passed, but two days before she left us she gave us all one last special gift--the gift of her company.  

She was very alert and ready to talk to everyone.  

She even smiled.  Oh, she smiled.  

And she even gave us a hard time and all of us laughed.

I'm so thankful that she gave us one last day to soak her in.  When I get too sad about her not being with me anymore it's these memories, and many more, that I try to focus on.  I'm so blessed to have had a relationship with this strong-willed, opinionated woman that I often see in myself.  

The day she passed was a very bad day, even though we knew it was coming.  And this past year has been difficult for my family as we seek out a new way of coming together to celebrate without her.  In many ways, she was our family's center of gravity and we've all been off balance since her passing.  

But thankfully, she left a little bit of herself in each of us and that gives me the hope I need to know that no matter what, we'll get stronger everyday.  

I miss you granny.  

This post idea came from Mama Kat's Writing Workshop.  Be sure to stop by there for creative inspiration!

**While you're here enter my current giveaway

for a chance to win $30 to spend on Frigidaire accessories!**

The Week of 04.04.2011 In Review

Here are this week's highlights that didn't make it into their own post:

1)  My sister Stevie had a history project due on Wednesday, which meant that we were all up until 1:00am Wednesday morning working on it.  I'm happy to report that she made an 89%!

2)  United States Supreme Court Justice came to speak at my law school Wednesday morning.  I was exhausted, but there was no way I was going to miss it!  Seriously the highlight of my non-existent career thus far!

3)  Maddox had his first t-ball game of the season on Thursday, which was also my first game as coach.  We lost by one run, but he did great!  I'd like to think I did alright as well.  ;)

4)  On Friday, I turned in my graduation application... a very surreal moment for me!!  Isn't she beautiful?

[school identification has been electronically redacted for privacy]

5)  I attempted my first DIY project and failed miserably, ruining these pretty letters which I had such big plans for.  I overestimated my abilities and underestimated the permanence of spray paint, so now they're in the trash.  Live and learn [and go buy more.]

6)  We all enjoyed the beautiful Saturday weather at the park.