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It’s hard to even remember back 5 years ago to when my little guy was just a teeny mush-ball of a baby. He slept ALL the time, so much that people would as us if he was ever awake. Now they ask if he ever sleeps! He was perfect and he stole our hearts the minute we met him.
Carlos is amazing, funny, passionate, smart and thoughtful. He still loves to cuddle every morning and every evening, even though he’s a big 5 year old now.
Happy Birthday, Carlos Stephen…may this one be the best yet!

Mary has been working out tail off with planning out the garden. We’ve got peas, carrots, lettuce and broccoli starts coming up and the next round already in the ground. The beds are weeded and ready to produce, I even have my herb garden going nuts with mint. Should be a great year for produce for us. Can’t wait, there’s nothing like a carrot fresh out of the ground. Now if only the weather would cooperate…..

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Some random pics from our latest trip to Party City….always have fun in there!

We had a problem awhile back with our boys getting out of bed a bazillion times every night before finally falling asleep. It was overwhelming for us all, Dee and I would miss out on our only non-hectic time together and the boys were tired.
So we did the “Get Out of Bed Once” Pass. Each boy has a pass, and he can use if to get out of bed one time to take care of whatever need arises. Sometimes it’s an extra hug and kiss, sometimes a trip to the potty or a drink of water. It’s worked wonders and the boys, for the most part, only come out of their room one time. To make it work there had to be a consequence for coming out a second time. For us, it’s having to sleep upstairs in the playroom (they don’t have to sleep there all night, we’re not monsters…we bring them downstairs after they fall asleep). The other night both Trey and Carlos ended up in the playroom, and it turned out to be the sweetest moment. They weren’t goofing around, they knew it was time to sleep, so they snuggled up and fell asleep. No matter how they bicker, fight and push eachother’s buttons….deep down they truly love eachother.

It was a free for all…28 preschoolers running around in the yard…yeah, 28! There were a couple older/younger siblings in that count but for the most part the kids were 4-6 years old. What a blast. The biggest hit was the squirt guns and water balloons. Did you know that 50 water balloons + 28 kids = gone in about 2 seconds? It’s true, that’s the reality. Seemed like so much more when I was filling them up. The squirt guns provided hours of entertainment and we have a perfect yard for lots of kids to be doing lots of things. The sun was shining and everyone had a ball so it was a success! Carlos is also now “in love” with a little girl named Sammy, she spent most of the afternoon doing his hair….and he doesn’t have much hair but he sat there and was great with it.
Dee got the 1/2 Spiderman/ 1/2 Batman cupcake cake which was cool and the boys loved it. Who doesn’t love thick sugary frosting with a little cupcaketo go with it? The kids all played well together, so glad we have a big yard!
The “afterparty” was fun as well…the Skittles vodka even made another appearance. A few families stayed after the party and we BBQed while the kids played more and the grownups chatted more.
By the end of the night, Trey had crashed on the couch and Levi and Carlos were happily opening their presents.

We celebrated with my parents today! We were lucky that the one “non-Mom” in the group, my dad, was willing to make his famous John Wayne Eggs and Bloody Mary’s for us and we felt pampered. Dee had built my shelf in the big picture window in the kitchen for my martini glasses, SUPER COOL. The boys made us the sweetest self portraits and they really did a great job on the details, looked just like them down to Trey’s hair, Levi’s baby blues and Carlos spiky do! They also worked with Nana and Papa and made us a cool candle holder that is proudly on our kitchen table. We found a really neat photo/memory album that the boys recorded “I Love You Nana” so she can play it anytime she wants to hear their sweet little voices. Then we put some of their favorite memories and some pictures in it, too.

All in all a great day, loved just kicking back (white trash style in lawn chairs in the parent’s driveway) and watching the boys play on their new scooters. Came home and actually took a nap, yeah I know, that NEVER happens, and got the place cleaned up from yesterday’s birthday party.

I hate to break it to you all, but I have the BEST mom in the world. Hands down. Thanks, mom, for all you do and for who you are. You are an inspiration to me to be a better mom!

Levi and Carlos’ birthday party is scheduled for this Saturday. Usually I’m all about a theme, crafts, activities and all and invitations are sent out well in advance. This year, I have no idea where time went. Invitations went out on Monday (5 days notice is good, right?) and last night we figured out the theme. A trip to Party City and Levi wanted a Spiderman theme, and Carlos wanted a Batman theme so we’re doing a combo party. Dee ordered the cake today, 1/2 Spiderman and 1/2 Batman and we’ll decorate a table for each boy. It’s going to be fun.
So the trip to Party City was a chore in itself, trying to contain 3 boys in a store with nothing but cool stuff is tough. We got the things we needed, plus a bunch of Superman stuff (on clearance!) for Trey’s upcoming birthday.
Dee treated us to dinner at Applebees, where one boy (who shall remain nameless) proclaimed, “Oh dear, look what I found in my pocket” as he produced a little notebook that he had stolen from Party City. We knew what we had to do, had a discussion with all the boys about taking things without paying for them, etc and after dinner we headed back to Party City. I took “sticky fingers” into the store, and waited our turn in line. The cashier was all of 12 years old and he grinned at her, handed her the notebook and said “sorry I took this” and she smiled back and him and said “you are so cute, it’s ok” So much for a lesson learned.

Some pictures of Levi’s birthday…he had a great day with Nana (what fun!). For his birthday dinner he chose hamburgers and hot dogs, Cheetos (a rare treat) and cake. Dee also grabbed a pineapple, Levi’s absolute favorite fruit. Mary and Alice joined us for dinner and cake, too. I love the picture of Levi about to get his Spiderman cake. We were singing and all and his grin couldn’t have been bigger. He got lots of cool presents, a new stuffed animal, a Transformer, a submarine, a REAL watch and a bunch of Spiderman stuff. Levi was so appreciative and excited for each gift, I think 6 is going to be a wonderful year for him.

As you can see from the last picture, it was tough for Carlos to have Levi opening all the presents. Cute picture, though and his birthday is in a couple weeks.

Happy birthday, Levi!

Happy 6th birthday to our sweet, sweet little guy!