LO's Birthday Wishlist... (Not)

LO and I had some time to kill this morning, so we headed over to Toys R Us. For a little over an hour, I let her run around like a crazy-child and check out all the toys. She was in heaven! Around almost every corner, you'd hear an "Oh, my goodness! A BIG (fill-in-the-blank)." Whether it was a puppy, a Mickey Mouse somethin-or-other, Yo Gabba Gabba toy or Thomas the Train (she has varied interests, people!), it was always an "Oh, my goodness!" Too cute!

You should have SEEN her when she hit the jackpot aisle. All of those motorized cars? Gracious. It was nothing short of hilarious. She went from car to car, climbing into the driver's seat, pressing buttons, then moving on to the next one. She's so crazy! Granted, she won't be seeing one of these anytime soon, but it sure was fun to watch her act a fool!

Elmo Cake

Okay, so for LO's birthday, I've pretty much decided I AM going to make her cake. See, I love to bake and decorate cakes, and I'm all about putting in the effort required (and there is a LOT required) to make something spectacular for a big event like my daughter's birthday. Now, I'm ready for some inspiration.

I've been looking online for a great idea that I can duplicate myself. But, whoa is me! You would not believe the cakes I've found out there! Check these out...

People, there is nothing that says, "A professional did NOT make this cake" like using (and writing on) foil as the base. I'm pretty sure there's a cookie sheet under there.


I don't have words for this one. It's like someone skinned Elmo and this is what was left. No fur for you!!


This close-up is just too close for my taste. Such an interesting texture for this Elmo, yes? At least he's a bit more proportioned than our skinned Elmo friend above with his big ol' orange nose. But again, with the foil?? Come on.

This one probably scares me the most. The blue tint used to outline Elmo? Why? And the writing leaves a bit to be desired. I know I specifically requested there NOT be cursive writing on my daughter's 1st birthday cake. Not that she could read it any better than printing, but I guess it was just principle.

So I guess I'm back to the drawing board. I want to make a cake that includes Elmo on it, but isn't made 100% of nasty red icing. I also wouldn't mind incorporating some elements from "Elmo's World" (like crayons, Dorothy the fish, etc.) since that's where LO's love of Elmo began. I'll continue to scour the Internet for inspiration and will be sure to share any other disasters I may come across for your viewing enjoyment.

Happy Independence Day!

Have a safe and happy holiday celebration!

 

13 Months of Blogging!

So I missed my blog's 1-year anniversary last month! How lame is that? I guess you can say I've been a bit preoccupied lately. Anywho, I figure I'll just celebrate today as my 13 month blog anniversary instead! Woot!

I clearly remember the circumstances that prompted my very first blog post. It was the worst dining out experience hubs, LO and I have had to date, and for those of you who know us personally, that is saying a LOT! Take a gander at that post and relive the wonderful memories.

On a semi-related note, I was just asked what must absolutely be the dumbest question I've ever heard in my life. I was ordering some take-out from a local Mexican restaurant, Anita's, and this is how it went down:

Me: "Yes, I'd like to place an order for take-out, please?"
Them: "Okay. What would you like?"
Me: "I'd like one chicken soft taco."
Them: "One chicken soft taco. Okay..."
Me: "One beef soft taco."
Them: "Beef as in cow??"
Me: (dumbfounded) "Excuse me?!"
Them: "Beef as in cow??"
Me: (still very perplexed) "Um, yes...?"
Them: "Okay. One beef soft taco."

I finished the rest of my order, and was told it would be 15-20 minutes. No problem.

I hung up the phone and told hubs he would NOT believe the question I was just asked. He was just as speechless as I was.

Seriously, is there such a thing as beef as in something other than cow??

Thoughts

It's been 16 days since hubs and I received our precious son's shocking diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). It's strange to feel as if life has returned to normal, albeit a "new" normal. Hubs and I have remained extremely positive about our son's future, regardless of the many hurdles we know we'll be facing in a matter of months. It's still so scary to read about the experiences others have had who have been in the same situation as us. There are so many variables to take into account--several of which we don't even know about yet! It's still so early in our pregnancy (23 weeks! what?!) that we've only met with the Pediatric Cardiologist once and we have yet to meet the OB and surgical teams that will deliver and operate on our boy (that will happen around 32 weeks when we visit MUSC). We've started talking and thinking about the various housing options that will be available once we relocate to Charleston for the baby's birth and surgery in October. Our best guess is that we'll live there for a good 2 months -- through the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I'm hopeful we can find a furnished rental somewhat close to the hospital for a decent price -- we need to make wherever we are our "home" so life can be as normal for LO as possible. Wow. There's just so much to be thinking about and planning for, and we haven't even had a chance to ask all of our questions yet or get a good "scoop" on things from the staff at MUSC! I know God is with us through this journey and He already has worked out the details. He has a perfect plan for our little boy and we're just along for the ride! I guess there's really no point to these random thoughts... I'm just unloading some of the stuff swirling around in my head.

While there is a lot to be thinking about regarding the joyous event of bringing our son into this world and ensuring his health, I am trying to stay somewhat focused on planning LO's birthday party! She'll be TWO in just over 3 weeks! I have her invitations and will be sending them out next week (not 6 weeks early like last time!). I've already purchased all of her gifts (can't WAIT to see her reaction to one in particular). All that's left is confirming with myself that I'm up to the task of making her cake and also figuring out what the lunch menu will be. I still have time though, right??

Sorry for the randomness of this post, folks. I'll try to do better next time!

Chocolatey Goodness

Okay, I can't explain it. I've been drinking chocolate milk like it's going out of style lately. I guess I can consider it a pregnancy craving. But it can't be that pre-made chocolate milk, or that nasty Yoo-Hoo junk. I have to make it myself each time, using 1% milk and Hershey's chocolate syrup. I'm telling you, I'm drinking two LARGE glasses with dinner each night, a big ol' glass at breakfast, and even more during the day as a "snack" of sorts. I guess the baby is craving some serious calcium, but only if it's chocolate.

Yum!

Shake it, Dancing Queen!

I couldn't help but share this little (tiny, actually) video of LO from our neighborhood's pool party Saturday night. They were playing "The Cupid Shuffle" (a song I've never heard of before -- when did I get so out of the loop?!) and all of the kids jumped out of the pool to get their dance on.

Well, of course, you KNOW my little one wouldn't want to be left out of the dancing spot light! She busted her own little moves and I captured them on my totally lame cell phone. Obviously next year I'm going to need to bring our mini-DV video camera so I can capture footage worthy of her amazing skills!

Seriously, I'm not even sure you can see her in this video... she's the tiny little person in the greenish-colored suit. And yes, that's mommy telling her to "shake it!" Enjoy!