Shark Fin....

Sweet baby boy....

my little Fin.

I get asked all the time ....what is Fin short for.

Nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

It's just plain and simple Fin....

not Finneous...not Finnigan..not Ferb.

{just seeing if you are paying attention}

Bryan actually grew up in Florida...and for some crazy reason...he thought

our last child should be named after a product of the sea.

{thank goodness we didn't name him Tuna}

Even though i always say that Fin was named after

Atticus Finch

from the book....'To kill a mockingbird'

our little Fin is really named after the thing on a shark....

that thing called a fin.

Anyway....

where was i?

Oh...

well... you see...

Fin has gotten his glasses.

He only needs to wear them for school...

but the sweet thing is...he's always putting them on.

We also thought he needed a little hair cut before his trip to Florida...

even though i love my wild hair..surfer looking boy.

The funny thing is...

i think he looks like Ray.

Remember Ray?

And no....i'm not talking about a sting ray...

i'm talking about a boy named "Ray"..

from a movie.

Does the name Jerry Maguire ring a bell?

I hope you had a fabulous weekend...
i fell in love with a movie we rented yesterday.
It's called 'An Education'.
It's a small indie movie..but oh so fabulous.
It has a girl in it that loves Paris...
oh...
did i mention Paris?
hmmm.
Yes..as a matter of fact...since you asked....
i leave on Tuesday.
I'm not even packed yet.
I've been loving on my family all weekend so i've hardly had a chance
to even think about packing.
err....
you got me....
my clothes are laid out...
but i've not done any packing.
oh...alright...
I think i'll go and pack now.....

Lemons in your cake?.....

We had our backyard party yesterday......

and it started with our favorite mini lemon cakes with lemon whip cream.

I just want to touch on yesterdays post for a minute though.....

obviously...

it was an April fools day joke.

I realize that people can be offended when it comes to how children are treated.

Mothers leave children in cars all the time....

and while it's not the safest decision ...

it's been done.

Even if you are a mother that has never done it...

i'm sure you've had a small moment in time when you've at least thought about it.

I know how easy it is to pull up to the dry cleaners to

just run in and grab your clothes.

I've been there.

I also realize it's not safe.

Gosh darn...i left my older two sitting outside Trader Joe's with their frog last summer..

so i know all about being the scorned mother.

Anyway....i had fun photographing my darling neighbors hubby

in his shorts and casual CPS wear;-)

So far we are NOT a dog or cat family....

i mean...

just having three kids is enough for me right now.

We do have a bird...a {found} hermit crab..and a fish.

Our bird is a cockatiel named Violet...

and she's a doll.

Once the weather warms up a bit...like it did this week...

we take her out back to a cage that i have on the wall of the carriage house.

Miss Violet enjoyed hanging with us for our backyard picnic yesterday.

I made Peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches.....




the kids actually asked for seconds.





Then we got ready and colored eggs.

I bought about three dozen eggs....

hard boiled them..

mixed the colors...

only to find out i didn't have vinegar.

That's the key ingredient for coloring eggs.

Thank goodness my friend was on her way over and was able

to stop and grab some real quick.

I would have hated to round up the kids and head to the market.

{no...i wouldn't have left them in the car to run in and get it}

Its going to be another 80 degree day today...

and we will spend it outside...all day long.

Seriously....they were up and outside at 7:30 this morning.

4 more days till i leave for France.....

and i'm trying to delight in my anticipation.
............................
{to make lemon whip cream...just beat fresh whipping cream with 3 tablespoons lemon curd}

Sprinkles are.....

We were getting ready for ice skating lessons Saturday morning when

Bryan walked in the room and asked us if we had forgotten about the egg hunt.

ummmm...

well yeah....

i think my mind is a little preoccupied.

For one thing...the other day my best friend who was supposed to help

with Fin a few of the days while I'm in France...

called me and told me that her husband surprised them

and they are headed to Florida.

They were going to leave the day i needed her most.

ahem.

But before i had time to digest the fact that i would have

to call up some other friends to help me, she came up with a plan.

She offered to take Fin with them.

That's right....

pack up my baby and take him on an airplane with them.

To Florida.

Aren't best friends the best?!

Seriously...when you're in a pinch...they pull thru.

I love her.

Now....before you go thinking that Fin is going to be a part of their family now...

it just so happens that bryans parents live

ONE MILE

from where they are vacationing.

It's fate i tell you.

Once they land...our lovely nanna will pick fin up at the airport and

have three whole days at the beach with just him.

One on one time....before they fly back up to chicago together.

See....

i was a little distracted Saturday morning.

I almost missed the egg hunt.

ahem again....

i almost let my children miss the egg hunt.

BAD MOMMY.

Now....i must warn you.

You realize i don't get to many pictures of my 9 year old.

He's too cool for having his picture taken.

Most of the time that is.

I really think the next photo says it all....

and really...

he was smiling the entire egg hunt.

i promise.

{you can see him smiling next to the BUNNY in the first photo}

I think he must be focused...on the eggs.

That's it...

focused.

The rules out on the field are....

10 eggs per child.

What kind of crock is that i ask.....10 eggs?!?!

We followed the rules...but there were MANY that did not.

If they were allowed to possibly gather 15 eggs each...

then maybe some of the juvenile delinquents that i saw with

full baskets....

wouldn't feel the need to conquer the hunt.

Deep breath.....

calm down girl.....

it's only an egg hunt...

{full of juvenile delinquents}

I think all of the eggs were opened and eaten within 3 minutes.






I didn't even get a chance to go thru them and pull out






the poisoned ones.






I had a feeling the caramel ones were poisoned..






but no one let me check.









Then we went home.....








and made what we like best.






Cupcakes.






Butterfly cupcakes.






We found the molds in the dollar section at Target.






You know how i love cupcakes...






well my children love them just as much.
The reason we made cupcakes is because on the way to the egg hunt...






lola saw all the eggs on the ground..






then turned to us and said:






Easter eggs are the sprinkles on Gods cupcake.







We are on spring break this week....which means i am home with kids.
all
week
long.

I've {seen} happier days.......

It's official.

Fin has seen happier days.

like this:

Happy ...

Not Happy.....

HAPPY.....

The world is going to

END.....

Life is

SO MUCH FUN.....

life will

NEVER BE THE SAME......

After two failed vision screenings at school...

and a trip to the opthomologist...

this boy will be now have to wear glasses.

When we showed up at the eye wear boutique...

he wanted

NOTHING

and i mean

NOTHING

to do with trying them on.

He tried on 4 pairs of glasses...and finally decided on the O.P pair in the middle

because of the camouflage sides.

I told him those are what the army men wear when they are headed into battle.

He didn't buy it.

He told me army guys don't wear glasses.

I said....of course they do....

those are the guys driving the tanker trucks.

It was then that he cracked a smile.

Battle won.

She wore a dress........

My girl only likes to get dressed up

one day a year.

Not two.....

not three....

but just one day a year.

Any other day....she's a jeans and t-shirt wearing

hoodie type of girl.

I will admit....

some days it's a struggle.

I will cry silently to myself about the outfit she has chosen

to wear to school.

It's not that she doesn't care what she looks like....

errrr..

ummmm...

actually...

i think that's it.

She really does not care.

I have to get over it.....

she's not a girly girl...she has her own style...

and she's happy with it.

Any time you see her posing for me...

and she looks coordinated....

it's because i've paid her.

I either have to bribe her with candy

or a trip to the dollar section at Target.

It's the truth.

My secret is out now...

i pay my daughter to match her clothes.

She gets double the prize if she leaves her sneakers at home

and will wear knee high boots or ballet flats instead.

What have i succumbed too?

sheesh.

Anyhoo.....

this last Saturday was the

daddy daughter dance.

Lola was on cloud nine the entire day

which in fact had me on

cloud nine the entire day also.

{funny how that happens}

Lola had two options for dresses.....the one above is what i picked out...

the one below is what Lola picked out...but with my approval.

I loved both dresses.

I really loved the grey one above just a bit more...

but wasn't going to push it.

I let Lola choose which one to wear.

I knew when she asked me which one i liked more....

that deep down it was a trick question...

and i should have taken my time in answering her..

but i was too quick and said..

the grey one.

So...

she chose the blue one.

shoes were picked out by her....

to my surprise...

they were pretty close to something i would wear myself.

Alright..

i'm not going to lie and tell you that

i didn't hide the hideous looking shoes when we went shopping...

so that she only saw these.

Really...

it was for her own good.

I think as mothers...we need to protect our children.

I can't pick her friends...but i can help her pick her shoes.

That's the story and i'm sticking with it.

She picked out her nails.

It must be a midwest thing....

stick on nails.

I love the scarf....

and yes...

i believe i had to pay her to wear it.

Everything else she picked out herself.







Bryan brought her home some flowers...

then they went to dinner.

The dance was fabulous from what i hear...

and they won an award for best dressed.

{ I gave the award }

Lola looks forward to this night every year...

it's such a special time for her and bryan.







The best part is....

on Sunday morning for church...Lola came down in

the grey dress.

I didn't even have to pay her.
xo

Turning five....

My baby boy turned five yesterday....

and as much as i hate to admit it...

my baby is really....

not a baby anymore.

Five means big things....

Kindergarten.

Kindergarten is not a big deal.....

kindergarten is only 2.5 hours...

kindergarten is the same amount of time as preschool.

Riding the bus....

riding the bus to and from Kindergarten..

only because it adds some much needed time

to that already shortened schedule.

Not wiping his butt for him.

Huge deal....

Huge.

It's the rule....you turn five...and mom is done helping wipe.

{is that to much info?}

Sleeping thru the night.

As much as i LOVED the baby stage..

love.love.love

i do not miss the sleepless nights.

I love my sleep.

Waking up on your birthday in our home

means one thing.

Donuts for breakfast.

I hate donuts so much that i had two of them.

One for me and i ate one for you....

because i'm that type of girl.

After we filled our bodies with sugar...

i dropped off the kids at school.

I brought in HUGE cupcakes to Fin's class....

which in turn means ...

MORE SUGAR

After school....we headed to his favorite restaurant...

Toot Toot's

for lunch.

He invited his besties...Frankie {the italian}, and Lou {the spaniard}...

who always look so cute sitting next to my ...

blond haired...

blue eyed...

pale skinned...

boy who still needs his butt wiped.

After lunch...

the kids decided to have a root beer float...

and

more cupcakes.

{at this point i'm still sick for the cupcake i had for you this morning}

We did a little jiggy...

danced a little dance...

sang a little song.

Then at the end of the day we had our little family party....

which included

push-ups for dinner.

I'm not talking about the exercise either...

i'm talking about the ice cream kind.

I was really doing so well....

but not today.

All because i had an extra donut for you.

It's a new day.

I have a five year old.

A gorgeous, well mannered, super smart, violin playing,third grader level reader,

boy who might just skip kindergarten and head straight to high school.

{alright...only the first two things are correct}

I don't have a baby anymore....

I have a five year old.

....................

{psst. I'm still over here answering your Q's}

Raising real boys.....

I am a good mother....

well...

most of the time.

Trust me....my kids will tell you that

there are times when i lose it.

lose it big time.

But i am normal...

at least i hope so.

If you don't know my Fin...he is a lot like me...

in the regards to his personality.

He's a jokester....

and with a completely sober face, he will look you

straight in the eyes and say...

he did not eat the lemon bars.

He will swear he didn't eat them....

and not even blink while he's telling me this.

The catch is.....

he has his fingers crossed behind his back.

Somewhere he learned that one can tell you a little

white lie but it's all ok because your fingers are crossed.

Then he will look at you and say...

i'm just kiddin mom....

just kiddin.

While Fin had a friend over yesterday...

playing like boys do....

i was up in Lola's room getting it ready for a little tea party.

Lola was going to have a friend over after school,

and had asked if they could have one.

So i made some lemon bars...{thank you Trader Joe's}

set the table....

put some flowers out...

and left the room.

I headed into the kitchen after i had gotten the tea party all ready...

and started to make some lunch for the boys.

The Boys.

Boys who decided to have their own tea party...

boys who love lemon bars as well...

and lemons...

and flowers.

Boys who like to smell the lemon bars...

and pick bugs out of the flowers.

boys who wanted to set up a Star Wars camp on the cake stand...

I was a good mother yesterday.

I let the boys have their own tea party.....

I'm raising boys...

who will blow the girls away...

at a tea party.