December 2024 This and That

Somehow I didn't finish a re-cap of events in December in time to post at the end of the year, so bear with me as I look back now.

POEM:

Early in December, my sister (who is an officer in The Salvation Army) requested I write up a poem for her to use for her 3rd Sunday in Advent when she would preach on the wise men and the shepherds seeking. Initially, it was merely a poem. But just before I sent it to her, my devotional mentioned the song, "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing." What good fortune! It fit the meter and rhythm perfectly. So, they sang my poem, "Longing for Christmas," to that tune on the 3rd Advent Sunday.

I posted the lyrics on Facebook. A friend who lives in another country took me to task, saying I only shared part of the story. This person argued the emphasis should not be on the birth, but always upon the death of Christ, because that provides atonement. They said the Bible doesn't emphasize Christ's birth or provide a date. While I agree that atonement only was possible because our Savior died on the cross, I celebrate His birth, because without it, we would still be in darkness (and indeed, it often feels as if we are still in darkness in the current state of this world). I will give this more thought (couldn't during preparations for Bryce and Elizabeth's Christmas visit). Perhaps I will add a fifth verse to emphasize the Light willingly entered darkness and separation from the Father on our behalf to reconcile us to God when we trust Him and accept His gift of salvation from sin (as purchased through His death on the cross).

PURCHASES

Our old navy couch set was becoming unbearable because the pressure of reclining had caused the foundation to sag. In 2023, a friend and her chiropractor husband visited. He couldn't even bear to sit in our loveseat. He jumped up and made an excuse to stand during the visit. Thus, on Black Friday, we snagged a holiday deal. I'm thinking now, the pressure for a snap decision, within the sale window, was detrimental. 

I went in with two options in mind, but neither were available to sit in and try out (no floor models for those less expensive sets, of course). The sales clerk led us to the pricier models and encouraged us to buy a set with power reclining (our previous was a manual recliner). When I sat on the loveseat of the one we settled on, I could not believe the softness of the fabric. It was a lighter color than I'd wanted and more expensive than I wanted. Still, the window was closing, and we needed to decide. Because of the extra expense, my husband vetoed the protection plan. I'm a catastrophizer. The whole drive home, I had images of the dog vomiting on the couch or someone spilling a drink on the loveseat. But what's done is done.

The set was due for delivery on Friday the 13th. Hmm. What a fright we received when only the couch arrived. I again jumped to worry, envisioning our holiday visit with only seating availability for 3 people. Thankfully, my husband called and arranged the loveseat delivery on the Thursday prior to Bryce and Elizabeth's arrival. Once both pieces were in place, we realized the set didn't blend well with our carpet. We ordered an area rug, but it did not arrive until after Bryce and Elizabeth returned to Dallas. I'd love to say I feel no regrets, but I'm not sold on this new arrangement. Since the couch is so tall, my feet cannot touch the ground when I sit on it. The power reclining requires longer to right itself than when you just pull a lever. The color is not what I had hoped for. Again, what's done is done, sadly.

PUZZLES

In December, with extra time out of school, Sean and Claire and I worked on two puzzles. The first was a 1000-piece one with cereal boxes. Claire has wicked puzzling skills! If I couldn't figure out where a piece belonged, I'd hand it to her and within seconds she'd be popping it into place.

Our second puzzle was 3-dimensional and more difficult (I hardly helped at all). Here's the box and the final product of the Harry Potter Knight Bus:

PRESENTS

I received some fun presents this year. My husband gave me 2 purple t-shirts with phrases about reading, a book about C.S. Lewis's brother Warnie, and gift cards to my favorite fast-food restaurants. Bryce and Elizabeth gave me a wedding memento mouse pad, and a beautiful framed family photo (plus some chocolate - yum). Sean gave me a Harry Potter puzzle, so I see more puzzling on the horizon, but maybe not until spring break. Claire gave me a Harry Potter Monopoly game, which we played one day during the break (Sean won, but we all had fun, I think).

PARTIES

After Christmas, I went to a birthday party at a tea shop about a half hour away. They offer a British high tea and other such options. How thrilling to get a scone with clotted cream. We all wore tiaras, which was fun!

PROJECTS

I have gone back and forth about a project for the year. It feels empty, not picking up the prayer project I tackled two years in a row. I decided against printing out the whole Bible. My wrists can barely manage my morning pages (daily free association writing/journaling I do after my devotions each morning). Perhaps I could type a Psalm a day. That idea falls flat for me, too. 

Another goal is to spend time in fasting and prayer for my sons. I am starting slow, with liquid fasting (allowing only liquids). Then, I plan to build into more complete food fasting, until I'm fasting one day a week for the whole day. Again, I'm not sure I have the discipline and fortitude to see it through, but I hold the goal, nonetheless. Nothing is more important than lifting my children to the Lord.

I guess my primary goal is to purge excess junk throughout the year. I started off the first 3 days well and then fell off the wagon, forgetting to find 10 to 20 items to purge. On day 6, I managed my goal, only because I purged items as I put away the Christmas decorations. This is why a plan with structure is so important. I am trying to note how many items each day, so perhaps that will help me maintain the momentum.

How about you? Favorite presents? Puzzle exploits? Writing accomplishments? Goals or projects for 2025? I'd love to hear them. It might jumpstart my discipline and commitment.

90th Birthday Celebration

My husband comes from hearty stock! His grandmother lived to 92 and his mother celebrated her 90th birthday on Veteran's Day. She is healthier than most who live to be her age. No walkers! No canes! Few memory issues and minimal nuisance health complaints. Still as feisty as ever!

Most of the family (minus a few grandkids - 2 in colleges in Colorado and Washington, 2 who, as grown adults, work in distant states, and 1 who lives in Estonia) gathered to celebrate this grand achievement. She is thriving in her new apartment in a retirement community where she knows many other individuals. The facility is magnificent. I would welcome a visit anytime as they have an extensive library in the building and even a small puzzle nook. We enjoyed a family dinner in one of their private dining halls on Saturday evening:

Sunday morning, we all attended her Salvation Army corps (John and I even played in the band). The corps officer did a fine job of recognizing my mother-in-law's impact: first, she had all family members stand, then all individuals who had been touched in any way by Marilyn's generosity, witness, or influence. While my mother-in-law doesn't welcome attention drawn to herself, I think it was evidence of her intense desire to serve others.

After the service, church members gathered to celebrate her and enjoy cake together:

Several posters highlighted her full life. My boys reveled in one particular photo from the 80s, where John's hair is wavy and full - ha! Jill and her husband Bob arrived in time for us all to enjoy one more meal together in celebration (they had a wedding and couldn't make it for the first family meal on Saturday):

After a hushed word with the waitress, they brought out a huge dessert. But, I'm sure, the best gift of all for her was the joy of having so many family members gathered together in one place (something that doesn't happen often enough on my husband's side of the family).

Celebrating the Birthday Boy

This is the first year that I felt I managed to give Trevor an extraordinary birthday celebration. He always begs for a party, but most years I've just been too exhausted to think about having a party for him. This year, I promised that he could invite six kids. He invited half boys and half girls. I think this was a mistake because none of the girls attended and thus his party was kind of small. However, I didn't mind the small size. It turned out to be a lot of fun and only moments of stress.

Trevor wanted this skull and crossbones cake that he saw on-line:


(photo taken from the coolest cakes site).

As you can see, mine didn't quite make the grade. For starters, I failed to cut the skull portion of the cake to reflect skull shape (left it mostly round). Then, I decided to use wax paper beneath the cake (as seen on so many tutorials). Alas, I used large pieces and when I went to remove them, they shifted the cake so that the fragile bone sections and the right portion of the face shifted, creating a landslide of frosting (a frosting-slide?):

The two boys who came brought presents that were perfect for Trevor. One boy brought a gross zombie drink kit and the other boy brought a ton of drawing supplies (paper, clipboard, colored pencils).

The boys seemed to enjoy the simple games we planned as well. We started with a bean bag toss which we called "Haunt the Ship" (since we used the ghost bean bags we had made for his Kindergarten Halloween party last year). Trevor drew the ship on foam board.

Then, the boys played "Sink the Ships," attempting to get the most ping pong balls in two pirate ships.


I think their favorite game of all (and the one that led to some stress because the boys got pretty wound up) was the target practice game. We lined stuffed animals up on the book bar and had the boys take turns trying to shoot them down with a dart gun. Eventually, we realized that the game was far easier when we used the ghost bean bags. I think they may have beaned each other a time or two, as well.


We finished with a treasure hunt for the goodie bags.

Trevor loved the gifts he received from us, as well. It seemed like they were a bunch of little things (some even thrift store finds), but all things he loved. He was especially thrilled by the black book he received from his dad. He has shifted his artistic development from drawing skulls and monsters to a dedicated focus on graffiti writing. He watches endless You Tube videos of graffiti artists who draw in these special black books.

My gift was also extra special. I responded to a Vistaprint ad and secured 250 business cards with his blog name on them. I also purchased a pen which says "Monsters and Art - by Trev." He was thrilled to take them to school to pass them out this morning.

Finally, he's super thrilled with the Halloween door curtain:

All in all, it was a very special birthday for a very special boy!

The Lightness and Unbearable Weight of Birthday Shopping

Why do kids want the most inane, pointless toys out there on the market? Trevor has a birthday coming up. On Tuesday, I took him on a special errand (killing time before his afternoon class began) to create a wish list. As I went back to the store to do the actual shopping, I repeatedly found my head shaking, thinking "there is no way in the world that we would get our money's worth out of that purchase!"

He wanted several different Halloween costumes and masks. We already have two large buckets full of costumes. He wanted Halloween decorations. We have more of those than any family really should have. I think people might begin to wonder if we have some sort of Satanic allegiance or something, given the grandiose display hubby and my boys put up at the end of every September (I wash my hands of the whole affair).

He wanted a four pack of finger skateboards to the tune of $10. Who really plays with those things? I mean, come on ... a skateboard that you push around with your finger???? I'm pretty sure the only reason he wants them is because he noticed skull decorations on the bottom of the boards. Trevor and Sean both purchased finger skateboards at the dollar store (rewards for workbook completion) and the darn things fall apart within minutes.

He wanted Nano bugs ... little bugs that wiggle around. Walmart sells something similar individually for $6 or two for $10. However, I doubt the play value of the toy (wouldn't you tire of that quickly?? so it moves around like a real bug ... big whoop!). Plus, it appears that you are supposed to place the bugs on some sort of arena with various off-ramps. The plastic arena runs $15. Ridiculous!

He wanted Bakugan and a Playstation 2 Bakugan game. He didn't even know what Bakugan were until we went to CBLI and a few boys there carried around the small circular toy. It is supposed to open up into a small monster when you gently drop it. The key word there would be GENTLY. I can't say my boys do anything GENTLY!

He wanted the "Cuponk" game. I did save the Target ad because our Target is too far away, but our Walmart will match the price as long as you bring in the ad. Target was offering this game for $9. Walmart's price this week is $14.95. FIFTEEN BUCKS for a ping pong ball and a plastic cup. O.K., it does have an eyeball painted onto the ball and the cup has skulls, but come on.

I outright told Trevor there was no way in the world I was paying that much money for a game we could recreate at home simply by purchasing a $1 packet of ping-pong balls. Trevor and Sean spent loads of time this afternoon and evening bouncing the ping-pong balls into a cup. Trevor did also inform me that the actual Cuponk lights up when the ball goes in the cup. I offered to shine a flashlight inside the cup when his ball went in.

There were $200 worth of "suggestions" on his finalized list. I think the poor kid is going to be disappointed. He already bears a grudge against the man in the red suit because he didn't bring something that was a "must have" last year. Disappointment is a part of life, kid. Get used to it!

We will remind him that he has so much to be grateful for, including a daddy to play Cuponk with.

This morning, in the town where we visit the library, a firefighter was returning home from his night shift. He was waiting to turn into his driveway, when the vehicle behind him smashed into his car, forcing it into the pathway of an oncoming truck. His wife and 3 year old twin children heard the crash from inside their home (as did his parents, who live next door).

We are reeling from this news. John and I keep going back to it and feeling again the devastation of such news. Our prayers go out to this grieving family. We hugged our sons extra tight tonight.

And, when Trevor's birthday arrives, we will thank the Lord for six loud, interesting, endearing years that we've had with our middle son. We will also thank Him for safety and protection and the chance to play Cuponk, without paying too much money!

Argh - He's 3-1/2 Mateys!

We celebrated Sean's third half birthday this past weekend. The poor kid's birthday falls a few days after Christmas during family gatherings and a focus on the birth of Christ. Thus, we determined early on that we would celebrate his half birthday, to give him a special day all his own.

I can't say it has worked out as we intended. Originally, we planned for him to receive his birthday cake and one gift on his half birthday. Once Trevor caught on to this plan, he clamored to celebrate his half birthday. I don't mind an occasion to bake a cake to their specifications, because that is something I enjoy creating. However, the gift has gone by the wayside. And, many days, I wonder if we should dispense with this whole half birthday effort. Then again, when he is old enough to have birthday parties (Bryce was having annual birthday parties by this age), I'm sure it will be next to impossible to entice friends to celebrate his birthday during that busy and expensive time of year. This year, he was most excited because our annual trip to Indiana Beach Amusement Park fell on his birthday. We had another wonderful experience with limited crowds and fabulous weather.

I love many things about Indiana Beach. Unlike larger parks, where the crowds and chaos exhaust you, Indiana Beach is laid back and relaxing. I so appreciate their smoke-free atmosphere and the music piped over the intercoms is always family friendly. As we rode the sky chairs (Skyride?), I was singing along with "Hey Jude," and "Yesterday."

Side note: the song "Yesterday" always makes me smile because it reminds me of a year at CMI when some guys wrote a spoof on that, called "Leprosy": "Leprosy ... all my skin is falling off of me, I'm not half the man I used to be, oh leprosy has eaten me ... suddenly, all the vultures flying over me, once I had five fingers, now I've three, oh leprosy has eaten me ... why'd it have to come, I don't know, it just won't go. I tried Elmer's glue, but you know, it wouldn't do-oo-oo-oo."

This year seemed far more expensive. Ticket prices have increased, and you don't get as much bang for your buck. We have always enjoyed going one afternoon, playing games and looking around, then staying overnight in a local hotel and returning for a full day of rides and the water park. I think next year, we will just drive up for one day.

The littler boys don't appreciate splitting the two days up into games and rides. The first evening, they wanted to ride rides. We looked into the cost of a mere train ride for the four of us (Bryce had gone off with his friend to play games). You practically had to pick me up off the floor when they said it would be $8 PER PERSON for a train ride. $32 just to ride the train around the amusement park one time. You've got to be kidding.

They used to have a much more customer friendly approach. You could either pay a set fee for a wristband or you could buy a packet of 10 ride tickets for $20. There are smaller rides for the younger children and this seemed fairly reasonable. We would have been willing to pay $8 for the four of us to ride the train once, but $32 - UNREAL!

Needless to say, we waited and enjoyed all the rides the next day, when we purchased the wristbands. Trevor enjoyed riding the Corn Ball Express roller coaster this year and Sean amazed me when he fell in love with the Falling Star ride . He would get off, run around ahead of me, and get back in line to ride it again. What a little daredevil!

Trevor talks about Indiana Beach all year round. This year, he kept inviting all the other kids in his preschool class to go with him to Indiana Beach. He must be their biggest fan. As we headed home, he asked if we could go again this summer. They offer a season pass now, and when the younger boys are older, I might consider that (although, I would want to pack healthy lunches - since there were even fewer healthy options this year).

For Sean's cake, he requested a Jolly Roger cake. I had recently picked up a Jolly Roger flag for a quarter at a garage sale and both boys fell in love with it (they are fixated on skulls these days).

The cake didn't turn out as I'd hoped, but my boys made me feel so much better when they raved about it. I see all the things that didn't go as planned, while they just see a cool cake. It thrilled me that Sean liked it so much.




Here are my perceived flaws: I used the frozen butter cream transfer process I learned on Amber's blog, only I didn't want to attempt to make black icing. For one thing, it never gets black enough and ends up looking like a dull gray. For another thing, it seemed easier to use chocolate store-bought icing for the dark background and homemade butter cream for the skull and crossbones and words.

The transfer ended up being larger than the top of the cake, so the word happy curved over the edge of the top of the cake. Plus, I didn't get it centered very well. When I went to pull the top piece of waxed paper from the frozen frosting, it would not come off. Apparently, the chocolate icing is stickier, even when frozen, than the butter cream. While removing the waxed paper, I pulled apart some bits of the skull. I suppose it makes the skull look more brittle, as skulls are.

Personally, I didn't care for the mix of flavors with the chocolate and the butter cream together. I encountered this with Trevor's dinosaur cake, so this shouldn't have surprised me (or I shouldn't have repeated the mistake). But, John thought the cake was delicious. As for the boys, they only seem to lick the frosting off and barely nibble at the cake.

I can't believe Sean is already 3-1/2. The time evaporates, but inches by on days when they are mischievous or cranky. He thinks he is one of the big boys now. He tries to read, like Trevor, and he tries to talk "like a teenager," like Bryce. I don't mind the reading, but I could do without the teenage talk from the mouth of a preschooler. I say, "Argh, clean up your mouth, little boy, or ye'll be walkin' the plank!"

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For other Indiana Beach posts, see our 2008 visit, our June 2009 visit, our July 2009 visit, our 2011 visit, and our 2016 visit.

Fighting Fatigue

This past week, I have been overcome with intense fatigue. At night, I am finding it difficult to stay awake for my usual late hours. Last night (after what was a very long, tiring day), I laid down with the little boys to help them fall asleep and we were all three out within minutes. When I woke at midnight, I moved to my own bed and continued to sleep until quarter to 8 this morning. Now again, tonight, despite last night's lengthy sleep, all I want to do is head to bed, but the length of time without blogging keeps niggling at my brain. So, I will do my best, even if it ends up a shabby run-down of what has me feeling run-down.

I wanted to share a few photos of the flowers we now have adorning the house. I do this partly because I fear that they will all die and I will have no evidence that a more knowledgeable hand planted them and yet, somehow, I killed them. Ha!

Here, also, is a photo of our blooming crab apple trees. They are already starting to lose those buds and become merely green trees.

Here are the annuals my mother-in-law planted where they had dug up a few small bushes (I have no idea what they are called):

More annuals (don't know if these will grow, since they are on the patio and it seems to be more mulch than dirt there):

They also purchased three lovely hanging baskets. Sadly, hubby informed me tonight that the yellow plant (again, I have no clue about names) is already looking like it is dying. I swear I haven't touched it once!

On Saturday morning, I went to get the mail and discovered a huge amount of litter right along the edge of our lawn (I have no patience for the rural litter problem). Apparently, someone was transporting some furniture late Friday night, and an entire vacuum cleaner fell off their vehicle. It was in about a million (o.k., maybe 15) pieces along the road. Later, hubby told me that there is a television on the side of the road around the corner, near our neighbor's farm. Crazy!

I actually took a video of the vacuum cleaner debris, but when I watched the footage, I realized how ridiculous I sounded giving a play-by-play of trash strewn at the edge of my lawn. It was kind of hilarious though, because as I was filming several bikers were riding by (they probably thought I was more of a lunatic than the lunatic who dropped their vacuum off their vehicle). Plus, MS came running out of the house asking me what I was doing. I tried to ignore him as I panned the debris, but then heard him shouting, "Is that YOUR VACUUM??" Give me a break, boy!

Actually, the boy did give me a break. Several weeks ago, his best friend, Evan, had invited him to a cool gymnastics birthday party. It was on Sunday from noon to two. I spent most of Sunday morning on the couch with a stomach ache and somehow completely forgot about the birthday party.

I sat MS down the next morning and primed the pump by explaining that I had made a mistake and it was something that was probably going to make him feel a bit angry with me. I apologized and said that I had forgotten to take him to Evan's birthday party. I braced myself for tears and angry retorts (like I normally hear - things like "You're the worst mom ever!").

Instead, he looked up at me and gently said, "It's o.k., Mommy, we have a trampoline we can jump on any time. Plus, we can invite Evan over to our house and then he can jump on the trampoline with us and we can show him the cool lamps big brother gave us." (ES cleaned out one of his closets and gave the boys his cool lamp collection including a disco ball, lava lamp and aqua lamp, plus a whole slew of car posters.)

On Monday, the two little boys began a two week stint of swimming lessons. Unlike ES and MS, who both went with me to the Hopkins Park Pool in DeKalb almost every summer day, YS really hasn't had much exposure to pools. ES taught himself to swim at age 4 and began doing flips off the diving boards at age 5. MS, at age 2, would toddle over to the edge of the pool, lower himself into the water and either cling to the edge (without floaties) or paddle the water to make himself spin (with floaties).

YS has cried and screamed the whole week (3 lessons, so far). MS thinks it is great fun and can't wait. YS spends all day agonizing about what is coming and begging me, "please don't make me do this again."

On Tuesday (after a long morning - they were told they couldn't do anything until their room was clean), the half hour prior to leaving for the pool was sheer torture. YS took 3 cups of water and poured them all over the floor of the bathroom. I had just cleaned that up and was preparing the swim bag. YS must have dug around in it while I went off to get my shoes. I returned to hear MS yelling, "Mom, look what YS did!"

The dog was covered in sunscreen, so much so that there was a puddle of sunscreen oozing off of him onto the floor. We were supposed to be leaving any minute. I grabbed up a towel and began sopping up the mess as best I could. Just then, the doorbell rang. As I opened it, the dog bolted out the door. I had to chase after him to get him back in the house and secured in the crate.

By the time we returned home from the little boys' swimming lessons and ES's drum lesson, the workmen (who had been laboring for most of the day) had finished the swing-set we recently purchased:


Thankfully, the boys have spent a lot of time playing on it since then. (I have always wondered about these wooden swing set structures, because so often we drive by others and barely ever see kids actually playing on them.) Selfishly, I would have rather spent the money on a trip to England to celebrate our 20th anniversary this year. Then again, the boys are really thrilled with it. Besides, I wouldn't even have the energy to pack my bags.

Then, this morning, for who knows what reason, YS decided that he would cover the dog in mulch. Now here's the irony: When someone's vacuum cleaner drops off their truck, I document the experience with photos and videos. Sadly, I failed to capture either the sunscreen slathered Harley or the mulch maculated Harley. I'm only glad that I delayed washing him until after the mulch experience.

And thus, (with my run-down complete) I will head to bed because I, myself, am a rather pooped pup!

Spurting Spider Cake

Many years ago, when all we had to deal with was one small boy, I used to throw Halloween parties every year. Those were such wonderful times. The kids had a blast and I had such fun planning and executing the parties.

One year, I made a Spurting Spider Cake that was a tremendous hit. I found the idea on-line. You simply make your cake batter and pour it into two bowls - one large and one small. The large cake becomes the abdomen and the small cake, the head of the spider. You cut the large cake in half and round out a well in the inside of each half. Then, you blend up green jello and pour it into the cavity, covering it with the top half. I frosted the cake black (it came out gray - I can never seem to get colors rich enough) and added pipe cleaners for legs. When we cut into the cake, just as promised, the green guts spurted and oozed out of the middle of the cake. It was fantastic.

This year, as we approached Trevor's half birthday, I began to ask what kind of cake he wanted me to make. He requested a brown, hairy tarantula. I suggested a brown, spurting spider cake. He agreed.

Of course, the two little boys were determined to assist me every step of the way. Here is a photo of them enjoying the beaters after we mixed up the buttercream icing:



It didn't exactly turn out as picture perfect as the first spurting spider cake I made. I think last time I must have used two cake mixes. This time, I was trying to cut my husband a break (since he has a wellness screening tomorrow and has been worried that eating too much cake will somehow skew the results, despite the fact that he works out regularly) and so, I only made one cake mix.

When I pulled the cakes out of the oven, it became clear there would be no way to cut the larger cake in half and insert blended jello. Thus, I went back to the
drawing boardkitchen and made another large bowl cake.

I'm pretty sure I also had a different large glass bowl back then, because this one ended up with more of a squared off appearance. It worked much better when I blended, filled and frosted, the morning of the party. This time around, knowing that I would have helpers if I waited until the morning our guests were slated to arrive, I filled and frosted the cake the night before. When we cut into the cake, there was NO SPURTING. The filling had cooled back to a solid form. Anyway, it still looked fine, it just didn't turn out quite as well. The boys didn't mind in the slightest. It was still a big hit!

This is what it looked like after frosting it:



This is what it looked like when we added chocolate licorice legs (far superior to the pipe cleaner legs used for the previous cake, but less stable):


Trevor invited his favorite little friend from school, Evan. Evan's mother brought along Evan's six year old brother, Oscar (whom Trevor also loves). They were feverish in excitement (yes, it would have been impossible to frost the cake, since my husband was away at work that morning). The four boys played inside, then we ate the cake and resumed playing outside.

When Trevor went to bed that night, he declared it "the best day of his life." We put them to bed early, ordered a pizza and actually managed to watch half of a sweet movie ("Ring of Bright Water") before hubby had to head off to bed (he can't do the late nights and I can't do the early mornings). It truly was a really great day!

One Hand Old

As we approach the big day when my MS will turn 5, it makes me think of my favorite little twins, Coleman and Caden back in December of last year when they celebrated being "one hand old." MS has certainly been thrilled about this event.

I was amazed that he didn't choose a snake cake this time (since snakes are still his favorite thing in the world and he is still begging to receive one). Instead, he asked to look at several cake possibilities on the computer. At first we were looking at reptiles, but then he saw a picture of a dinosaur cake and decided to go with that. He watched the video and emphasized what the demonstrator had said, "it is very easy to make." Thankfully, he was right.



I did panic when I removed the french vanilla cake from the pans. The two 9 inch round cakes turned out to be only one inch thick, which I thought would make for an anorexic dinosaur. Thus, I baked a second cake, in chocolate, and layered both parts. Knowing my MS would request either the head or the tail, I cut those portions from the vanilla cake and made the body from the chocolate cake.

I think I would have liked the placement of the head and tail better if I hadn't been trying to squeeze it onto my transportable cake pan, but since the cake was bound for Chuck E. Cheese's, I scrunched those appendages in (I think it looks too much like a dog-shape, but I'm probably just being too critical). I'm pretty sure MS's favorite part about this cake were the chocolate chip and Hershey kiss decorations. He helped line the back with the Hershey kiss spikes and place them upside down for large spots.

I was a bit anxious about the party because we don't really know anyone very well. MS invited one boy, Devin, from his preschool class last year and two kids, Evan and Andrea, from his preschool class this year. Plus, we invited his old preschool teacher and her three sons (unfortunately, they couldn't come).

I'm often sad to recognize the difference between the experiences of my ES and my two smaller sons. When ES was this age, he had parties full of kids we knew really well. Poor MS and YS, like me, have much fewer friends here in Indiana. I'm sure that will change once they begin elementary school. And, I'm equally convinced that MS was just happy to have a party at CEC.

I was happy to have table duty for the entire evening. Each guest received a goodie bag filled with 25 tokens, two tubs of Play-doh, an airplane and an Airhead. One of the parents mentioned that the place was mobbed when they had their older son's party there earlier in the week. We lucked out and the place was almost empty. I think everyone had a very good time (even though one boy, with food allergies, couldn't eat the pizza or the cake, so he munched on a cookie which his mother had sent along). And, the cake was so delicious that it is almost completely gone already.







When we arrived home, ES handed MS a wrapped present. It was so touching. ES gave MS his old game-boy and games. For the rest of the evening, we couldn't pry that out of his hands.

Tonight, he received another gift that we cannot pry out of his hands. His daddy took him to the pet store to pick out a pet. I was thinking they were going to pick a rabbit, because my husband had told me they were very easy to care for and gentle to hold. They returned home with two white mice. Apparently, the deciding factor was cost. The mice were $1.25 each and the rabbits were $20. But the rabbit cages were far more expensive than the equipment for mice.

Hubby said he requested two females, since the females are more docile. MS had already named them, while in the car on the way home. I laughed out loud when he told me they are "Jessie" and "Sammie." These are the names of two girls who have been ES's girlfriends (and thus, as MS confirms, his girlfriends, too).

Alas, when my hubby took them from the box to place in the newly outfitted aquarium, he noticed that one is a male and one is a female. Just great. Now we will be hosting mice babies, as well. Hubby assures me we can sell them back to the pet store (this is what he did when he was a boy and had pet mice).







MS says the names will stick (although he did almost change the name of the male one to be his own name - ha). At this point, the male is Sammie and the female is Jessie. All three boys are crazy about the new pets. I can see that these first few weeks are going to be challenging, because they seem to want to spend every minute holding the mice. We already lost one under the couch tonight. I made an executive decision at bedtime and decided the mice must sleep on the shelf in the closet at bedtime (I had visions of YS waking in the middle of the night and releasing the mice). At this point, all the boys in my house are tucked in bed, and at least one is dreaming of how fun it is to be all of one hand old.

You Know Life is Hitting Hyper Speed When ...

Tonight I went to the library website and renewed 22 books on-line. Twenty-two, for goodness sakes. Granted, many of those are snake books and train books, but quite a few are ones I was sure I would get to, and yet am renewing for like the fifth or sixth time.

I'm actually thankful I had enough brain cells left to remember to do this. Just a few weeks after I paid my $75 fee for out of township library card renewal at the end of August, I proceeded to forget about renewing those books which are due. Thus, I added an almost $8 fine to the money I had already relinquished to them (all the more infuriating because it was totally unnecessary given the ease of on-line renewal). May they purchase excellent books with the funds I have contributed!

Further revealing that brain cells are at issue ... Around 10:30 p.m., my ES called me into his room. (Oh, the number of times I get comfortable in my private throne at the outlet to civilization, only to have one of the boys call out for water or some other necessary assistance.) Instead of asking me to recharge his I-Pod, turn off the television, plug in his cell phone or refill his water, he asked me if he could get his hair cut tomorrow.

Now, how could I possibly turn down a rare opportunity like that? I looked at him in amazement and exploded with an affirmative, only to retract it when I remembered that tomorrow night we are having a birthday party for MS at Chuck E. Cheese's (at this point, I shred my own hair, negating any need to book an appointment for myself, as well). In addition to putting together the party bags, I still have to frost and decorate the dinosaur cake tomorrow. I'm thinking tomorrow won't work, but I did promise to accomplish this before the weekend is out.

As if I suddenly realized what time it was, I looked back up at him (in his loft bed) and said, "Are you awake?"

We both immediately caught the sheer lunacy of this question and began to laugh.

May October bring slower days and rejuvenating brain cells (o.k., a little extra sleep might not hurt either).

Its Raining, Its Pouring, My Boys are Probably Driving my Husband Crazy

It is the Fourth of July here, and the rain just keeps coming down. Although it is wonderful as an incentive for cleaning the house (which I swear I have been doing a fair amount of - despite the fact that I am now on the computer), it is driving my children crazy. I called them at Grandma's house, just to be sure.

Yep, ES is whining and disgruntled because he can't do fireworks in the rain. For the past several years, my brother-in-law has invited us to his house, where they set off their own fireworks. This is not my idea of a perfect Fourth of July celebration. I worry about injuries and I miss watching "the real thing" - you know, the ones that professionals do up in the sky, the ones that make me go "ooh," and "aah," instead of "yikes - that was a close one! One of these days you're going to burn your hand off!"

The little boys are, in hubby's words, "busy and destructive." I asked if they had broken anything yet, but he said no. Then again, when I called, it was only 1 p.m. and they hadn't even been at her house for a full 24 hours.

Now, since I've taken a break from cleaning, I might as well share a photo of the cake I made for YS's half-birthday last week. The poor guy is so neglected when it comes to birthdays, even with our efforts to recognize it on his half birthday. His birthday comes just days after Christmas and so we determined to celebrate his half birthday every June.

Last June, he received one half-birthday present and no cake. This year, he received one cake and no present. When ES saw the cake, he said, "How many times are you gonna make this cake?" I purchased the cake pan for $2 at Target before ES's 2nd birthday. I made a practice cake and frosted it in front of my students (who then devoured the whole thing, without a photo op). When I made it for ES's birthday, I forgot to take a photo, so I made the dern cake again three weeks later for my own birthday and finally snapped the photo. Then, I made the cake again for MS's 2nd birthday.



So, I say, "Let them eat cake," and "Rain, rain, go away, my boys just want to go outside and play ... with fireworks!"

A Very Quiet Birthday

This weekend, my husband decided to give me the best birthday gift I could desire these days - some peace and quiet and downtime from my intense boys. Originally, he was supposed to take only the two little boys on a trip to visit my in-laws for Memorial Day weekend. ES planned to remain here to hang out with friends.

Friday was ES's first official day of his summer break. I wanted to make it a good one, so I took the boys out for Pizza Hut. The two little boys had earned a free pizza from the Book-It program through their preschool. I had a coupon for the lunch buffet, but I wasn't sure it would be honored in conjunction with the Book-It certificates. Still, I went ahead and asked my waitress anyway. She told me that she would check.

The little boys were able to get the buffet (instead of a small personal pan). ES ate 10 pieces of pizza (no stomach issues rearing an ugly head these days, thankfully). They were all well-behaved (except for one moment, when I was up at the buffet and MS yelled out for all to hear "Mo-om, B----- spit on me!"). It was really a lovely experience.

Then, our waitress went and made it even lovelier. She brought me the bill and attempted to explain what she had done. I still don't really understand it. She handed the buffet coupon back to me and said "Use that next time, dear." Our bill came to $8.52.

I left the little boys home with ES and went to two local garage sales (hoping to find a twin bed frame for ES, who is getting a bit lanky for the loft bed). I was thrilled to find an extra booster for MS for only $5 (now we won't have to swap the car seats out of the van and into the car when hubby drives them) and a turtle sandbox, with lid, for only $5. (I had hoped to upload a photo of a twin bed frame being offered for $50 on one of our country side-roads, but first I must learn how to blur the phone number.)

At some point, on my drive the tire pressure light came on. Later that night, when hubby checked it over, he couldn't find a puncture so he merely refilled the tire.

O.K. That was our lovely Friday. Enter not-so-lovely Saturday. I woke to a note from hubby, informing me that the tire on the van was flat again and that he would have to take the car to my in-laws' house. He didn't think anything would be open for fixing it since it was a holiday weekend. I had visions of a weekend stuck at home with my ES and his social agenda. (Thankfully, I asked hubby to refill the tire before they left and I drove it to Wal-mart and they had it patched in a little over an hour - ya-rah!)

It would be nice if I could blame the little boys Saturday morning behavior on the pop-tarts I allowed them to have for breakfast, but alas, I would only be fooling myself (they behave this way even on whole grain cereal). They were whirling dervishes of disaster. They trashed literally every room in our house. They pulled all the costumes out of the costume boxes. They pulled the cushions off the couches. They dumped every container of toys. They sent a push toy hurtling down the stairs and ... surprise, the wheel broke off.

When ES called from his friend's house (after a sleep-over), I had to tell him to walk home. The minute he got in the door he wanted to invite friends over and wanted my camera. On Friday, ES and a friend had begged my camera off of me, saying they wanted to make videos of themselves doing stupid things. For some reason Saturday morning (little boy behavior??), I just didn't want to hand the camera over. The more he begged, the more suspicious I felt.

When I viewed the camera footage, I began to understand exactly what they had been up to. I was livid. So livid, in fact, that when hubby returned home from work, I informed him that ES would be joining them on the visit to my in-laws. I won't upload the videos, but I'm pretty sure he was thinking he was going to upload them to You Tube at some point. I don't think so.

In one video, ES has shoved two small balls into his shirt to provide a make-shift bust. He is standing by the side of the road, holding a sign which says "Honk if you like my b@@bs!" In another, he has a basketball under his shirt, with a sign reading "Honk if you support teen pregnancy!" In another video, he is beating himself on the legs with a prickly plant to reveal the large welts and boils which quickly pop up as a result. The most infuriating one, shows him offering a suggestion for curing a stomach ache. He sprays his stomach with AXE (hmm, shall I now confiscate all AXE and allow him to smell like the ripe teenager he is au' natural?) and then lights it on FIRE!

Oh my word. This is the very start of summer, for crying out loud. Of course, I wanted to tell him that he will now be spending the rest of his summer in his room reading a thousand pages (which could feasibly take that boy far longer than one summer to complete). Instead, my camera and the lighters have all been hidden. The signs have been shredded into the trash. He won a free trip to Grandma's house for Memorial Day Weekend.

What did I win? A very quiet birthday. Today, I slept in this morning. I lit into the house with an enthusiasm that only comes when I am home alone without whirling dervishes to destroy every effort I make at cleaning this house. I spent 7 hours cleaning. Then, I took myself out to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant and ordered a cheese and a spinach quesadilla (yum-yum). I sat in the booth, ignoring the Indy 500 coverage and reading a good fiction book (forget those darn non-fiction ones I keep trying to complete). It was an odd, but truly wonderful, relaxing and productive birthday. And did I mention it was QUIET?? Oh, the bliss!

Apparently He Supports the Death Penalty

Today was a full day. I know that I mentioned last month that my reading might taper off because I was in love with my niece's song. However, I have to confess that my reading was also affected by that blasted thief, the aging process.

I had an eye exam this morning. Lately, my eyes hurt when I try to read. I can no longer read the expiration date on coupons (and my husband, who wears glasses, laughs at this one). Things begin to blur. Of course, I had visions of coke-bottle glasses and yet another tally mark on the list of things sabotaging my self-image (other items on the list include a mid-section ruined by two c-sections in my 40's, graying hair that refuses to be pulled into the stylist's highlighting cap holes, and, of course, the ubiquitous toe-nail tragedy). It didn't help that my ES said "Neeee - you have to get glasses!" when he heard I was going in for an exam.

Now, I am breathing a sigh of relief for two reasons. First, the fuzzy sensation from the eye dilation wore off before I had to drive my MS to a birthday party. Second, the optometrist said my eyes looked very "young" and "healthy." I don't have to purchase prescription glasses (without insurance coverage). Instead, I can select a cheapo pair of reading glasses (a plus one was suggested - and if you don't know what I'm talking about, then you are obviously not over 40!). Knowing my track record with sunglasses, I'm guessing Santa just might bring me an extra pair in my stocking!

I insisted on an afternoon nap for MS (in fact, maybe he'll have a nap every day for the rest of the week, thanks to Wednesday's escapade). From the moment he woke, he was ablaze with enthusiasm for his first official birthday party invitation. The birthday boy is in his class at pre-school and the party was held at a Chuck E. Cheese's two towns away.

He and I both had a wonderful time. He received a cup with 20 tokens and managed to snag enough tickets to select two snakes, three frogs, a dinosaur, and a multi-colored pen. The birthday boy loved his Diego game (at first when I petitioned MS to ask the birthday boy what he wanted, MS kept telling me "All Joe wants is a birthday cake. Could you make him a birthday cake?" - finally, he came up with "Joe likes Diego"). I had wonderful, easy conversation with another preschool mother (this woman is amazing - she has 3 daughters, ages 7, 4 and 2 - and is attending law school ... in Michigan ... every weekend ... for the past 3 years - and I can't keep my house clean????).

During the drive home, I was explaining to MS that I am hoping to get the house cleaned and the Christmas decorations up this weekend. We had been planning on putting them up after Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I was called for jury duty beginning December 2nd. Thankfully, my sister-in-law, who is a nurse, had already planned on staying an extra week at my in-laws. For now, the plan is for my mother-in-law to head over to Indiana on December 1st to watch the kids Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. (There is literally no way she could come without someone to care for my father-in-law). Hubby will be off Friday and Monday. At the one week point, if I am selected for the jury and the case is still in session, I am "up a creek without a paddle," or at least without a babysitter in the canoe.

Of course, the little guy didn't understand what a jury is and why Mom might have to spend her days in court. Thus began another teachable moment. I explained that sometimes people do things that are bad, like punching other people or stealing things, and the police have to arrest them. Then, they go to court and the judge and jury decide whether the person did the bad thing and should be sent to jail or not.

At first, he was very concerned. He said, "Mom, I don't want you to have to go to jail."

I could have replied, "Mom will only have to go to jail if I leave you home alone while I go to fulfill my civic duty." Instead, I sweetly answered, "No, buddy! Mom hasn't done anything bad. I have to help decide if the accused person has done something bad and then say if I think he should go to jail or pay a fine or something."

Then, he came up with this all on his own (although, I do know that the preschool recently visited the police department - hmmm??):

"Sometimes bad guys steal someone's house. I think if a bad guy steals someone's house, the police should put those handcuffs on him and then put him in a tank of water until he has no breath in him and then he will die."

Good thing he doesn't have to worry about jury duty yet! He's not too cut up about the Christmas decorations going up early either. He said he wants to push the button and make the Grinch's heart light up on that Grinch Christmas ornament we have! The only way I see the Grinch's heart lighting up these days, is if they fail to select me for the jury and send me home to my excessively needy children.

What Would You Do?

So many times in parenting, an unexpected situation arises where I don't really know quite how I wish to respond. I'm sure there are quite a few possible responses and probably more than one of the possible responses would even be considered a good response. None of us parent exactly like another person, but it is interesting to consider how someone else might have responded.

On Saturday night, my ES was invited to a birthday party at a roller skating rink a few towns over. I always appreciate when we can car pool in these situations, and don't really mind the late night pick-ups, since I am usually up until midnight or 1 a.m. So, I headed over to pick up my son and his two friends.

As they entered the car, they were boisterous and jovial. They began to regale me with tales of their big wins in the arcade and some pestering of the authorities for the "insane" ruling against hats out on the rink. I had chuckled when I noticed a piece of paper lying on the table near their gear. It said "Hats are podiness" or something like that. They translated. The writer had been trying to spell poisonous. (I promise there was no alcohol involved at this middle school party!)

One of the boys began to call home on his cell phone. He tried several times and when no one picked up he began to get really crazy with his messages. He would say things like "I know you can hear me. Pick up. I'm just going to sing the Canadian national anthem until you pick up." I was surprised he actually knew the words (this song, by the way, used to be in our church hymnal at the back and it always made us kids laugh when my older brothers would request it during the hymn request time on Sunday nights).

In an aha! moment, he realized that he should call his sister's cell because she is always up. She did indeed answer and he begged her to go get the mother so he could ask if the other friend could spend the night (we haven't been allowing ES many overnights because of his illness). As he waited for the mother to come to the phone, he was explaining to the other boys that if he asks his mother to have someone spend the night during the day she always says "no," but by 11 p.m., she usually is so tired she just says yes.

Apparently, she did the uncharacteristic. She stuck to her guns. Her answer was no and you could hear the tone of the conversation begin to turn ugly. What surprised me was how ugly it turned. The boy didn't curse his mother or anything, but I would say that his response was disrespectful (especially given the fact that the rest of us were hostage listeners to this conversation). He felt that she was being unfair, since his sister had just had a sleepover. I guess what really got to me was that this boy accused his parents of denying his request because they wanted to safeguard their daughters. After angrily hanging up on his mother, the boys began to discuss the mother and "injustice."

Of course, I was reeling over a completely different injustice. Now, I understand that pre-adolescent minds are highly egocentric. I understand that boys will vent when they are frustrated. What I found myself confused about was what my response should be.

I really wanted to say something, but didn't feel comfortable. In the end, the minute I was alone in the van with my ES, I said, "If you ever speak to me on the phone in the manner that ***** just did, you will regret it for a good long time. I would have never expected such disrespect to come from *******. She is his mother and whether he agrees with her decision or not, he should treat her with respect."

When I mentioned the uncomfortable incident to my husband, he said I should have asked for the conversation to stop. As soon as I heard him give his take, my mind went off on a Becky Bloomwood tangent and I imagined myself bringing the car to a stop and asking the child to stand outside of the car if he wished to continue his conversation. Even now, when I think about it, I don't know what I should have done.

So, I ask - what would you do in a similar situation? Have you been in a similar situation?

And, since I'm begging for feedback, I'll add another scenario. ES has missed most of this week of school. He missed last Friday because of the colonoscopy. He missed Monday because he awoke with a headache and intense nausea (we wondered if, in his weakened state, he had picked up the flu Saturday night). On Tuesday, he awoke with a severe headache, but I took him to school at 11 when it cleared up. On Wednesday morning, he threw up.

I was really anxious for him to go back to school today, because I'm sick of having him home pestering the little boys and today is my one free day he is missing too much school and especially because he would miss a field trip today. It wasn't just any field trip. It was a field trip to see Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol in Indianapolis, followed by lunch at Acupulco Joe's restaurant. It was a field trip I already paid $15 for him to attend.

I argued with him for quite a while this morning, while trying to get the little boys dressed and off to school (I didn't even manage to give them breakfast). I tried to remind him that he would probably feel better and even if he didn't, couldn't he bear the pain in order to take advantage of this cool opportunity. (O.K., once again, I did a bit of Becky Bloomwood rambling - imagining myself driving to the theater after dropping off my little boys at preschool, to see if I could use my son's ticket and see the play with his class - oooh, maybe I should have threatened this! The humiliation of that could certainly get a 7th grader up and moving.)

Thing is, his father and I had already discussed this possibility (since he's been sick like this and the infection seems to be getting worse). We understand his anxiety and concern that he might get on the bus and then feel sick and have no escape. We understand that he feels really horrible in the morning (this is characteristic of H. Pylori infections).

Would you have forced him to go anyway? We had agreed not to force him. I didn't take our parental decision very well, though. I grumbled quite a bit today (bad mommy) over his missing the play, over his rousing in the afternoons, over his accumulating absences. ES spent most of the day apologizing. Of course, then I had to tell him the apology was unnecessary, since he couldn't help being sick and I know he did want to go (maybe not as much as I wanted to go, but he did want to go with his friends on a field trip).

Anticlimactic Reveal of the Snake Cake

I am so thankful to Amy for her suggestion of purchasing a card reader. It only cost $13 and it enabled me to save my photos and videos from MS's birthday (taken at the end of September). I feel so relieved.

So, here are the long-awaited photos of the coral snake cake which MS requested for his birthday. I was fairly disappointed with how it turned out and would love to try it again (perhaps next year he'll still be interested in snakes). First off, it called for two cakes in bundt pans. I made one vanilla and one chocolate, but because I rushed through the frosting task, you could sort of see through to the different bits of cake color. Plus, two cakes is WAY TOO MUCH for our small family of five. We ended up throwing half of it out, even though I tried freezing some of it.




I think, if I attempt this again, I will do things differently. I will only prepare one batch of cake batter and will fill the bundt pan with half of the batter (don't know if this will make it too flat, but as it was, it was very large and round). Next time, I would approach the frosting differently as well. To save time, I chose to use my larger Tupperware frosting tips. It did save time, but the cake ended up looking like a furry caterpillar instead of a snake.

Still, MS loved it and that is what matters. And, yah-rah, I managed to retain pictures of the cake for posterity. I am adding in a photo of YS, moments before he stealthily snitched the camera and placed it in the sandbox. With an adorable face like that, I couldn't be mad at him. Hey, he knew I really wanted to have a camera with sound accompanying my videos!

You're Not Two Yet, Buster!

We had a lovely, quiet family party for my MS. I took photos of the coral snake cake. I took photos of the presents before they were unwrapped. YS tried to help by bringing the presents onto the porch and nearly missed setting them on the cake. He was also intent upon opening the presents for MS (something MS would have objected, if ES had given YS the chance - he was doing basketball guarding moves, I think). I took a few short videos of MS opening his presents with glee.

The cake was quite tasty. My husband always prefers my homemade butter cream icing to the store-bought kind. Since I used two cake mixes, I made only one batch of the butter cream and colored the chocolate tub frosting with black food coloring (it did indeed darken in the refrigerator and was very black). I did run out of the yellow frosting (I'm not a good judge of quantities of various colors, I guess), but decided it would be an imperfect snake with a red and black striped tail.

After the sugar high from the cake kicked in, we headed outside in the hopes of running off their energy. My YS was playing in the sand table. I had found a small outdoor table of perfect height at a garage sale for only $4. While I was thrilled with the great deal, it also marked a death knell of sorts. Every time I return from a garage sale, I explain that I stopped because I am hoping to find a small table to put under the boys' Rubbermaid box of sand (the previous plastic table was broken back in May, during ES's birthday party). My husband is breathing a sigh of relief. I guess my garage sale days are over now.

Along with the sigh of relief, however, we are also groaning with exasperation. The revival of the sand table brought an additional death knell, when YS stealthily located, grabbed and submerged my digital camera into the sand box. We have tried to download the party photos and videos, but it won't work. I have sent off an inquiry to the manufacturer to see if there is any way to get the images off the memory card.

I also had taken another photo to share on my blog. It was a horrifying picture of MS's leg. You would be hard pressed to believe me when I say that it actually looks worse than my legs did in my recent rash documentary. But it is true. He had a scrape on his leg. It began to look red. Then it began to look blistery. Now it is violent red, blistery and itchy. He couldn't get to sleep tonight. We are wondering if it has turned into impetigo. So, surprise, surprise, we are off to the doctor's office again tomorrow morning.

My hubby is calling the Dr. tomorrow to request an additional antibiotic, since his sinus infection returned after he completed his other antibiotic (the one which produced an excemous rash on his elbows, knees and limbs - yah rah!). YS is also on an antibiotic, at the moment, because of a cold (I was worried it would go into croup, but it hasn't yet). So, we are surviving, but the camera may have to be buried, along with all photographic evidence that MS turned 4 and developed a horrid rash! This, too, shall pass.

The Only Way I'm Giving My Son a Snake!

This will have to be a short post. I have mucho work to do tonight. This weekend, my MS turns 4. The list of things he wants is ENDLESS - basically, everything he sees on TV, minus most of the girly toys (although he is coveting the Barbie pool, because he wants to put his "toadies" in it).

Side note: ES is pushing our buttons by complaining that he never gets anything (this from a boy who just purchased Rock Band, with half the cost contributed by his parents). In fact, when he purchased Rock Band, we assured him that within two weeks he would be clamoring for something else that he perceives as a "must have." One of his close friends recently got a 118 inch television (although Wikianswers.com tells me that the largest television available is a 103 inch Panasonic Plasma TV) . Then, this week, the same friend was given a $1000 moped/motor scooter. It was so frustrating to watch ES, green with envy, as his friend offered to "trail him" (give him a ride) on the scooter (I would have thought trailing him meant ES pedaling his own bicycle behind the friend on the scooter! Ha!). So, this week has been replete with conversations about why "things" don't bring fulfillment.

Back to MS. His resounding request has been for a pet snake. Not a chance! My husband suggested a mouse, since they are timid and would probably not bite if handled excessively (which is certainly what MS would do!). If they didn't smell and I knew that I would never be required to have anything to do with the care and keeping of a mouse, I might agree. But, I didn't. No way! My suggestion is a fish to replace poor short-lived "Scooby-Doo." We live in my husband's grandmother's house and he regales me with tales of all the cages which used to line the hearthstone when he would come to visit here, bringing all of his pets. At this point, I'm up for a fish. That's all.

However, when I asked MS what kind of cake he wanted, he said "a snake cake." Now that, I can handle. So, tonight, I will be busy frosting (and figuring out how in the world to wrap for storage) a coral snake cake (he is very specific). I baked two cakes in my bundt pan this week and have them in the freezer. I made the black, red and yellow frosting yesterday (although, of course, the red looks a bit pinkish and the black is dark grey). I keep wishing I were more of a professional at this, like Amber, Amy, Dawn (see Sept. 21st post called "Surprise") and others. I'll do my best. I just hope a photo of my final product doesn't end up here, (a very funny site) although, the subtitle says "When professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong," so I'm probably safe.