Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Adrienne's birthday dinner. She requested turkey with all the fixings.

Birthday present JOY.

Trying out some of her new clothes.

Make a wish.

Purple & pink birthday cake. Yum!

Happy Birthday

The kids helping Tony blow out his birthday candle.

We just couldn't fit all the candles on his cake. (ha ha) The kids thought the chocolate decorations on the cake were candles too so we were covered.

Adrienne's Kitty Birthday Party

The girls made ears & tails when they arrived at the party & wore them for the rest of the day.

All the cute kitties! They were waiting for their turn to play catch the birdie (ring toss with birds stuck on the posts).

We had a yarn ball race. The kitties had to roll the yarn with only their noses.

Sometimes the yarn got away from them.

Meow.

Then we played a few games of kitty dance (freeze dance).

They tried to dance like kitties & then had to hold the pose when the music stopped. It was almost too funny to watch!

Time for cake!

Adrienne asked for cupcakes, so we made kitty cupcakes. I spent lots of time with the tweezers!

"Happy birthday to you...."

Make a wish!

All the pretty kitties & a few puppies for good measure.

We were glad that Tony was able to actually be here for a birthday party.

Present time.

Standing in line for the pinata.

Getting ready for the first pull.

Eli went last & of course he had analyzed the pinata & figured out which string to pull to get the candy out. The girls didn't care, they were just glad to have the candy.

Adrienne with her presents from the party.

Happy Birthday!

The kids wanted to surprise Tony when he got home from work on his birthday. They helped hang up streamers & balloons & even cleaned up the dining room. They were so proud of the results & the presents they wrapped themselves.

Happy kid & Daddy sandwich.

Happy Birthday To You...Cha Cha Cha...

Here's Eli & his friends celebrating his birthday!

The Birthday Boy!

Eli had a fun birthday all day long. He got to open up some presents & cards from family after breakfast & then we were off to school. Here he is with the "cone-cakes" he requested for his class.




This is his friend Ethan who also was invited to Eli's party. It's nice to have a friend in his class that also lives only a block away!


Adrienne wanted to have lunch with Eli for his birthday. Personally I think she just likes being a big kid & hanging out with the first graders.


The cool thing about cone cakes is you don't have to mess with unwrapping your food. Easy & fun to eat!


The official birthday class photo (with Adrienne smack dab in the middle).

After school we had a few of the boys in the neighborhood come over for pizza & a pirate party. After dinner we went on a treasure hunt that ended with the appropriate pirate costuming for everyone.

Fierce, no?

Eli requested brownies instead of cake. Works for me. (It's a pirate flag.)

You should have heard all the squeals from these boys as Eli opened his gifts. I thought girls were noisy!



Here are some of the decorations. Adrienne helped me scour the house looking for "pirate-y" things to put on the table.



She even offered some of her jewelery. So sweet.



I put in the goblets that Tony & I used for our wedding toast. Can't you see a pirate captain drinking from one?

My Happy Birthday!

My birthday had a very good start to it thanks to a good friend bringing me Starbucks in the morning & another taking me out to lunch at Macaroni Grill. The kids were especially pleased with lunch because they could draw all over the table & draw they did!! I figured while we were out I'd pick up a few things for Eli's birthday party - pirate goodies of course. The kids & I got that all taken care of. Phew!

Right when we got home Adrienne asked me to carry her in the house & up to bed. Normally I'd say, "tough it out", but she had a such a tired look on her face. I should have known better. I was halfway up the garage steps when she suddenly threw up on me & the steps. I did the only thing I could think of & ran her outside & let her finish throwing up all over the driveway. She looked at me when she was done & said "maybe that's why my stomach was hurting". Kids are so smart!

I cleaned her up & put her to bed for her nap with a lovely barf bowl next to her for comfort. After naps both kids woke up feeling good. I was relieved. I figured she must have eaten something bad but at least now it was out of her system. Right? My husband came home & made plans to take us out to dinner for my birthday. We repeatedly asked Adrienne how she was feeling & got the green light.

As we were putting on socks & shoes Adrienne came to my room & looked at me funny. You know that look...the one that says I'm about to throw up all over your carpet & you'll never get the smell out. I grabbed her like a football under my arm & started to run with her to the bathroom. We almost made it. Almost. Two feet from the bathroom door suddenly my feet started slipping & sliding on the hardwood & I went thudding down on one knee in a painful attempt to not drop my "football".

We finally made it & after we finished up in the bathroom I looked out at the tracks I had made in the vomit on the floor & all I could do was laugh. There's not much else I could do at that moment, plus I'm sure we were a funny sight. Needless to say we did not go out to eat. I had a toaster strudel & a cup of decaf coffee for dinner & let my wonderful husband clean up the floor for me!
Fast - forward 24 hours as we made a second attempt to go out. As you can see by the photo we did finally make it & had a yummy dinner at O'Charlie's. I would have been happy with Taco Bell!



Thank you to everyone who made my day so special with phone calls & emails & singing "happy birthday". I may not have gotten a cake but I have wonderful family & friends who made my day just as sweet (with a lot less calories!).

Rainforest Cafe - Nashville

Since Tony won't be in town for Eli's birthday, we decided to celebrate a week early. The Rainforest Cafe was the restaurant of choice & coupons for $1.99 kids meals didn't hurt either.


Here we are with the costumed gorillas. Hint: the gorillas are in the back!



Eli got a bowl of clam chowder which he has decided is his new favorite soup.

Of course, you can't celebrate a birthday without having some ice cream with a cherry on top!