This just makes me happy.....

There is nothing like The Turtles and a few beautiful cellos to make me smile! I was thinking about my Super-Talented-Musician-and-Everything-Else sister Lissa when I saw this. I miss you, Lissa!

This about sums up the last few weeks....

Need I say more?

:)

Heidi's Sweet Sixteen

It has finally happened.....every teenage girl's dream and her parents' worst nightmare.....

Heidi is SIXTEEN!!!

It actually isn't my worst nightmare, I am only being dramatic, but this year was a tough one to wrap my mind and emotions around, as a mother.  I find myself vascillating between both excitement for this new venture of DATING and apprehension for this new venture of DATING.  

After all, I was sixteen once. (My poor, poor parents....)

Since this is such a momentous year for Heidi, we decided to throw her an extra special birthday party.  Last weekend I took her and several of her friends to a near-by hotel, where they swam in the pool, watched movies, ate untold amounts of junk food, gave each other makeovers, and stayed up most of the night gabbing.  They had a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed spending time with them.

On her actual birthday, Eric took her out on her very first date to a sushi restaurant.  Those two love sushi!  When they got home, she was greeted with some beautiful flowers, presents, and, of course, her birthday cake!

For her cake, Heidi chose a chocolate cake with raspberry filling.  I frosted it with a chocolate mousse icing, and topped it with an arrangement of her favorite flower, red roses.

This girl is so special to me.  Words can't even express how proud I am of her, the choices she is making, and the woman she is becoming.  She is a compassionate friend, a responsible student, a loving sister, and a good example to her parents at all times.

We love you so much, Heidi!!!

Ethan's Battle Wounds

On Saturday Ethan was out playing with his friends, doing who-knows-what-eleven-year-olds-do, when he got hit in the eye with some sort of flying object.  He came home with a bloody eye, having split the skin both above and below his eye.  Luckily, he didn't need stitches.  We just taped him up the best we could and applied plenty of ice. 

That was yesterday.  Today, he woke up with the huge purpley-red bruise on his eyeball.  He has been panicked about it ever since!  He didn't want to go to church today, and he doesn't want to go to school tomorrow!  Of course, I still made him go to church today, and yes, I will still make him go to school tomorrow, but his reaction surprised me!  He is self-conscious about the red eye.

I can't say that I blame him that much.  After all, Erica and Elise won't go near him!  I just thought he would want to show off his "battle wounds," which make him look like a tough dude!

Another Erica-ism

I can't resist....Here's another moment in time with Erica that I don't want to forget!

A few Sundays ago I woke up with a sore lower back.  I got into a hot shower, hoping to ease the muscles, but instead they started to spasm.  It got so bad I couldn't lift my legs to get out of the shower.  I practically fell out, screaming in agony, and hobbled over to my bed, soaking wet.  I lay down on my towel, unable to bend or lift my legs.  Every movement was agony.  Long story short....I was not able to go to church that day.  Instead I lay on a hot pad, dosing up on ibuprofen and being waited on by Heidi (isn't she a wonderful daughter?).  By that evening I had recovered enough to move around and even make dinner.  Needless to say, it was not one of my favorite Sundays.

A couple days ago my back was hurting again.  Nothing excruciating, just my typical after-work-sore-back-episodes.  I was laying on the floor, rolling on top of one of the girls' small beach balls, stretching out the muscles.  Erica thought this was so strange.  She kept laughing at me rolling around on her pink ball.  She asked what I was doing and I told her that my back was hurt and I was making it feel better.

"Oh, you's back hurts?"

"Yes."

"Like when you were in bed and your face was like this....?"  She then scrunched up her face with a ridiculous expression, like she was sucking on a lemon.

I couldn't help but laugh.  "Yes, I guess so."


I take it I'm not the loveliest of invalids!

Erica's Toilet Paper

A few years ago we inherited a large box of old printer paper, the type that has the holes down the sides that you tear off.  We use it for scratch paper and it is our go-to stash for the diaper bag for church.  Ethan, the paper-lover that he is, uses a lot of it to make whatever creations strike his fancy.  He also enjoys making long curly-cue strips of the torn edges.

Erica has a keen eye and has been paying attention to Ethan's paper trends.  Today at church she stripped off a very long strand from the edge of the paper and began winding it up into a tight roll.  She was very proud of it, and showing it to Heidi, exclaimed in a very loud voice:

"Look, it's like toilet paper!"

Everyone around us kept snickering at her, especially since every time I told her to hush up, she would say it even louder.

"But it's my TOILET PAPER!"

Then she felt the need to explain further that she needed some toilet paper to wipe her stinky bum.....



Ahhhh, the mortification of being a mother of a three-year-old!