Zoo Day with Mommy

Ethan begged to go to the zoo all summer. I felt terrible not taking him but it was too dang hot! He had off last Friday for teacher workday so I seized the moment and we went to the Ft. Worth zoo. It was almost chilly in the morning. The weather was great! I had such a great time just being alone with the boys. They are getting so big so fast. :-(

What happened to my tiny babies??

Posing with a kangaroo.

Ethan loved the reptile house. I couldn't get him out of there! He wanted to know what kind of snake they all were and if they were poisonous. I told him they were all bad and not to touch them...except when the zookeeper tells him it's ok. We did get to see the zookeeper get accidentally bit by one. It drew blood. Nice visual for the kids.

This was outside the reptile house. Ethan went a little gangster for this pose.

It seems like every time we go this poor white tiger is pacing back and forth in front of the window. It's actually kind of creepy. It feels like he's trying to figure out how to get out and eat someone!

The parakeets were also a huge hit. Both boys didn't want to leave out of there. It's only $1 for a stick with some birdseed stuck on it. The birds fly down and munch on it.

Oh Ethan, I would get you a parakeet but they're too loud!

Tis the Season...

...to play some baseball! Ethan started CP2 (coach pitch 2) a few weeks ago. He plays almost every Friday/Saturday. I know, great for me right?? What are the odds that his games are on the only days I work? I went to 30 minutes of a game on Friday night and I'm going to try to break up my sleep on Saturday to go to his 11am game. We'll see how it goes. He's pretty excited to be in baseball again. I think it's his sport. This time around it's a little tougher. His coach is trying to really get them to understand the rules and make certain plays. I think a little of it is over their 6 and 7 year old heads but Ethan is enjoying himself so I guess that's all that matters!

He always has to strike a baseball pose.

Forced smile. This year his team name is the "Brewers".

He learned how to hold his glove when catching.

This must have been before the game since their pants are clean.

Baseball ready!

Doing a little fist bump with his buddy Will.

Glad to have the three amigos together on a team! (Tyler & Will).

Wendy's Sweet Treats

For a long time I've wanted to start decorating cakes. Not to start a business, mainly just to make my kid's birthday cakes. Especially since Caleb told me he wanted a Zurg cake from Toy Story...and no one really makes those. I had to do an intense search a few years ago for a Wiggles cake. I had plans on taking a cake decorating class but haven't been able to fit it into my schedule. So I just dove right in a made it up as I went. I've only been doing fondant so far. It's much easier than I thought it would be. Next I need to tackle some regular icing because fondant isn't very tasty.

So here's the first cake I made. It's a Captain America shield (Ethan's request). And yes, it's pink. It took a LOT of red food coloring to make that white fondant pink...and I didn't have enough (or enough arm strength) to make it red.

Next up was this present cake. I saw a picture sort of like it on the fondant box. Looked easy enough. I really loved the ribbon wrapped around it...but that bow was my nemesis! It was supposed to be stuck up, not flat. I thought I dried the fondant long enough to make it hard but I guess I didn't. I gave this one to my friend Kristy for her birthday. It had home made red velvet cake underneath.

My friend Summer's birthday was the next week. And we girls have a thing for yummy red velvet cake. So I just had to make another one! I wanted to try out a two tier cake. I made up the design on this one. Pretty simple. Originally it was going to be a wedding cake but I wasn't creative enough to make it look like one.

I did like the little flowers I made up. I had to cover the seams where the two pieces of fondant came together. I squirted some icing and then put on a sugar pearl. Those are also all around the bottom of Kristy's cake.

Poor Caleb waited cake after cake for his Toy Story cake. I'm the most proud of this one. I got a design kind of like this one off of the internet. The bottom two tiers should be twice the size they are to get the complete decoration but I didn't want to make that much cake for a practice one. I'll make a bigger one on his birthday. Everything on it is made from fondant except for the characters. I stole those from the playroom. ;-)

I cut out almost all of the pieces first. It was a good idea for some of it to be stiff when I was ready for it, but some of it was too stiff and cracked where I needed it to bend. I'll remember that for next time.

***So next up is a Batman cake per Ethan's request. I think I'll try to make it out of yummy butter cream icing. That should be more of a challenge than the fondant. I think it's not as forgiving. Stay tuned! ***

Interview with Ethan

Ethan and I went on a date to Olive Garden after baseball practice this week. I decided since I finally had some one on one time that I would ask him some random questions. He got really into it and when I ran out of things to ask he'd say "ask me some more stuff about me!" So here's my interview with Ethan.

What do you want to be when you grow up: A police officer so I can save people.

If you had a million dollars what would you buy: A million Star Wars guys.

If you have kids what will you name them: Ben & Amber

Favorite color: light blue

Favorite food: breadsticks (as he was eating them at Olive Garden)

Favorite thing about Daddy: when he snuggles me

Favorite thing about Mommy: nothing (he clarified - when mommy doesn't do anything and just plays with me...ouch)

Favorite thing about Caleb: When he's annoying so I can fight with him.

Favorite movie: Star Wars 3

Favorite pet: My fish because they're silent.

Favorite music: Blink 182

How old are you going to be when you get married: 21

How many kids are you going to have: 4

Where are you going to live when you move out: Dallas

Favorite dessert: chocolate cake

Favorite TV show: Martin

Caleb's First Day of School

Caleb started back to preschool last week. He was looking forward to it ever since Ethan started school. I think he thought he was missing out on something. His class is in the same classroom as last year, just with a different teacher. He did great when we dropped him off. He wanted me to carry him in to the school and he had a death grip on me. But when it was time to go to class he marched on in and sat down. It was a nice change from his brother's first day of school. This year his school is from 9-230, instead of 9-12 like last year. It's nice for me since I have to drive 30 minutes round trip. He stays for lunch then they have a short rest time. He thinks he is big stuff since he gets to eat at school like Bubba does.

Can you tell this is a forced smile? He is very hard to take a picture of these days!

He only gave me one good one. I wanted a picture of him with his napmat.

Toy Story backpack of course.

Outside of his classroom. He looks excited but that is actually his "hurry up and take the picture" face.

He looked a little concerned when we left but his teacher said he did great! My tiny baby is growing up too fast. :-(

My Big 1st Grader!

Ethan was pumped to start first grade after a long summer. He saw his friends at Meet the Teacher and couldn't wait to go back to school! It was bitter sweet for me. I was ready for him to spend his days learning and interacting with his friends instead of sitting on the couch watching me clean. But I also feel like I'm losing him until next summer.

His new super cool Captain America backpack. Mean old mom made him use the same lunch box. Why buy a new one when the old one still works? (His backpack from last year was broken that's why he got a new one.)

Haha, I just noticed Caleb's shoe in this pic! And he's shooting lasers like Buzz Lightyear. We take what pics we can get these days.

Making the long walk in...

Good thing his buddy Will is in class with him! Makes for an easier transition to a new class.

Checking out the new locker.

Looking in his little supply pouch. He was all happy...until we turned to walk away. That's when the tears started. He said he was scared and didn't want me to leave. It made me realize that he is still my tiny baby no matter how grown up he wants to be. I probably held on to him a little too long and let him cry a little too long. I just felt so sad for him. But, alas, I knew he would be fine once we got out of there. So Mommy put on a big smile, gave him a quick hug, and bolted out the door.

After school he said he had a good day and that he didn't cry anymore. The next morning he wanted me to walk him in again...and there were more tears. This time I just gave a quick hug and then told his teacher he needed a few days to adjust to a new routine. The next day he rode with his friend Will and everything was just fine. And now, 2 weeks later, thankfully the tears have passed. He is settled into a routine and making new friends. Whew...now Caleb gets to start preschool next week....stay tuned.