Birthday Bash

Tonight we celebrated my birthday. The girls and Ryan made adorable cards for me using some cool foam-y noodles and pastels. Madeline did a fantastic job freehanding a cake. I will post a picture of that later.

After we enjoyed cheese fondu and fruit we ate a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (selected by the girls last night with Ryan). They bought me two gifts; a bracelet with two charms (a heart and a baby shoe with both girls birthstones inlaid) and Ryan surprised me with a Garmin! It is the coolest thing and I can't wait to use it. It tracks my heart rate, pace, distance and a host of other goodies. I thought he was getting me an iSport but it turns out I got something BETTER! Yay for Ryan!

Then we played wii and watched part of a movie. It was fun!

I should tell you what my work did for me. Michelle decorated my office, Register of Deeds had a food day for me and Administration bought a cake and lit a candle. My friend Ross, the Facilities Management Director gave me a brand new doorstop for my department! Yahoo! It was pretty funny.

Me

Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to meeee,
Happy birthday to me.

:)

One year ago I was at an American Girl style show watching Madeline walk the stage with a matching "bitty baby";

Five years ago I was living in a different city with an 18 month old;

Ten years ago I was starting a new job;

Fourteen years ago I was starting college and adjusting to living with four other roommates;

Eighteen years ago I was receiving a car;

Twenty seven years ago I was watching a clown ride a unicycle down my street with a bunch of my friends;

Thirty four years ago I was born.

Art Show

Madeline had her first-ever art show last Monday. She completed a four week Pop Art class at a local art shop. Mary, David and Michelle W. all came to support Madeline's fantastic efforts. We had a good time and Madeline was very proud of her work. They displayed art inspired by Warhol, Oldenburg, and Lichtenstein.

Her "Featured Artist" tag read as follows:

Name: Madeline

Age: 6

Hobbies: Playing toilet tag and freeze dance, playing dress up.

Favorite Art: Everything in art.

Something neat about me: I came from Lincoln and I like to talk a lot.

Fat Boy Slim

While talking with a friend last week about children I told her that if I had known what it would be like to have my two children, I may have stopped at one! Of course then I'd have to think about which child I'd rather have and it became easier just to have them both. They're not an easy two children to have, but Ryan did point out to me, as they played together at a restaurant table, sometimes they are pretty darn cute together.

The girls had fun on their day off Monday dancing to Fat Boy Slim. Madeline has a decidedly gangsta-ish appeal. Notice how Annie inconspicuously aims for the doctor kit.

Daddy Daughter Night

The corsages

The trio
Annie and Daddy
Madeline

55 degrees

Fifty-five degrees. Since it's the beginning of February and we live in a state that has an average temperature around 20 these days, 55 sounds pretty warm doesn't it? The thermometer inched up close to that temperature today in fact. I can tell you, however, that 55 degrees is sometimes a very bad temperature.

Like when it's the temperature of the inside of your house at 4:45am on Monday night. To make matters worse, it's a really bad temperature when your husband is out of state sleeping in a nice warm hotel room while you are freezing your biscuits off with your two little children trying to figure out WHY exactly it is 55 degrees in your house at 4:45am.

This was the scene at our house earlier this week. To my great surprise Ryan answered his cell phone when I called him at 4am in the morning in Denver. He told me to re-light the pilot light. Which are words Ihad heard before, but never needed to know since I've never actually HAD to light a pilot light. Have I ever told you that flaming things scare me? That probably harkens back to the time I almost burnt down our apartment during college but that's for another blog. Ryan INSISTS that there are instructions on the furnace that will tell me exactly how to light this little flame of heat called the "pilot". Unfortunately my ability to converse without dropping "f" bombs is limited when I am both; freezing and tired. Guess what? Our furnace does not have a pilot light!