Taylor's First Birthday Party!

Tonight was the big birthday party! Philip and Collette Burch came along with a friend from church ~ Grace, and her two kids.

Everything went fine, but I couldn't have told you that two hours before it started! Those who know me, know that I procrastinate. Now, most of the time, this is used to my advantage, and I get everything done in a short amount of time, by the right time! Of course, I drive everyone else crazy in the process (namely, my husband)!! I thought I was planning ahead and I got a few things done the last several days, but obviously not enough! I ran around crazy today, trying to get things done. Let's see...laundry, cleaning, taking care of kids, baking then decorating a cute, little cake....and that's where everything turned from bad to worse! You know, in my mind, these things don't take very long, but in reality... So I went to bake my cake this morning (which I was going to do last night, but that's a different story!), and realized I needed more eggs, so I had to run into town. That takes a good 45 minutes round trip. So I get back, bake my cakes (a 3-D Wilton Rubber Ducky mold and a 10" round) and think things are right on target! Yeah, when I pulled the one pan off the duck, it's wing collapsed, but I thought, "I'll just stuff some icing in there, and things will be all right." NOT! I got the duck in position, started to icing it, and I noticed it's head starting to fall. So I held on to it, put some icing under it...and then watched as it cracked near the collapsed wing, and then on the other side, and finally the whole duck just fell on itself! Ugh! Now what? Taylor really needed a cake, you know? So, the best thing I could come up with, in the short amount of time I had, was to used the intact duck's head as a poor excuse for a ball! I was so embarrassed!!! So my poor husband is mopping the floors (we won't mention the comments), while I'm still trying to pull everything together!...finish the food, clean my dirty dishes, change clothes...!! And then I spilled food on my first outfit, so I had to change again...! Anyway, I could go on and on, but don't you just love these kinds of days?!

Oh yeah, and that other round cake I mentioned...it baked for 70 minutes and still wasn't done...it was just plain gross, so that wasn't even an option!!

Below you'll find come pictures with the cake in it, please don't look too close!! Taylor enjoyed it...and we enjoyed hastily made brownies to make sure we could all eat something sweet!!

The Cake!

During Taylor eating his cake and then opening up gifts, we were able to connect with Mamaw & Pappy Pardoe, Aunt Brenda, Mamaw & Pappy Mason and some Durkee boys. Through Skype's video option, they were able to see and talk with Taylor at his party!

Mmmmmmm....

Opening gifts from various relatives.

Hope you enjoyed the party.... I'm off to bed and planning for a much better day tomorrow!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TAYLOR!!!

It's hard to believe ~ Taylor turned 1 last Monday! Where, oh where, has the time gone? Since we were in Texas during the big moment, I didn't get a chance to post. We also wanted to wait until we were back home to have a party for him...hopefully next week some time. Our family sent quite a few gifts, so we have a stack waiting for him. I'll be sure to post pictures of the event.

We're Back!

We have arrived home! It's nice to have a little cooler weather as opposed to the hot, Texas sun! It's also nice to have internet access...

We enjoyed our short visit to San Antonio. On Friday, we ate lunch on the Riverwalk, then we went to The Alamo, and then a short trip into the River Center Mall.

Some guy volunteered to take our picture as we were eating. His picture taking abilities were...amazing! (Ha! Ha!)

The Alamo.

So now that we're done romping around, it's time to get back to work! Michael starts language school on Monday and I will begin studying on Rosetta Stone. We're also still trying to get our house in some resemblance of order. Thank the Lord, we were able to get a recliner while we were in Texas, so now we have one comfy place to sit!

Update

Well...let's see...I'm not sure where to start. So many things have happened since I last posted.

Thanks for your thoughts, I did feel better the day after my last post. Unfortunately, it was short lived! Saturday morning, I woke up with a pretty bad headache and it lasted through that night and into Sunday. I'm rarely sick, so I thought I must have a brain tumor, or something! I took some Ibuprofen, but it didn't do a thing. I was just plain miserable! Collette met Michael on Sunday morning to watch the kids, then for a Mother's Day special, I went to the ER in Leon. They did a CAT scan, but nothing was found that would cause a headache. The one doctor said it was a stomach infection and that was causing a headache??? Who knows! They gave me a shot for pain, and prescriptions for more pain meds. I haven't had any more recurrences, so...maybe I was just having a bad week!!

The other part of the story is that we were planning on leaving with Philip and Collette to come out to Texas that Sunday night. Since the pain shot did it's job, we went ahead and came. Taylor turns one next week and needs shots, also we need to buy a few more things and check our mail, etc...

Since we're following Philip and Collette's time table, we had some extra days to spare. So, we are enjoying the sights of San Antonio for two days. We got here this afternoon and went down to the RiverWalk and took a boat ride. Kyle really enjoyed that! Michael's also hoping to visit The Alamo some time.

Family Sickness

Not too much been going on around here the last couple of days. We did do some painting, but have a little more to do.

The biggest news is our passing around some kind of viral infection. GREAT!! Michael was sick last Saturday and the kids battled it all weekend. The kids both had fevers and then got a rash all over their body. I think they're gradually starting to disappear. Until then, they look very "spotted"! But, judging by their actions, they're definitely feeling much better!!

The bad news, it's my turn! Today I have felt wretched! Fever, achy back, no energy... so tonight, I plan on taking some Ibuprofen, and crashing in bed early. I detest not feeling good ~ nothing ever gets done around the house!!

Oh well...here's to a better tomorrow!!

Of All The Stupid Things We've Done!

Now, if you're from PA, or have family there, you must realize that us folks can sometimes be stubborn. (To a fault sometimes!) Along with this trait, comes a thought that we can do everything ourselves and therefore do not need to ask for help! Does anyone else agree?

Ok. So we got this new washer. There is a hook-up outside in our "service area". (A walled, but open roof place where you can hang up laundry, keep your cleaning stuff, etc...) There is a small door off the kitchen to get there...not wide enough for a washer to fit through. Before we moved in, we were told that Juan, the groundskeeper, could get some men together and they would lower it through the roof. So, the other day, I asked Michael if he could find Juan and see when he could get some men together to come get my washer and move it. He searched briefly, found no one, then came to me with this GRAND idea!!! "I think you and I can move the washer, it's not that heavy." For once, I wasn't quite sure we could accomplish the task. You understand, we had to get it ON the roof first, then maneuver it around the domed roofs to the back side, and then lower it into the service area. Like I said, of all the stupid things... We backed the truck up to the front porch and hoisted the washer on top of the truck. We climbed up and put the washer on the porch overhang and then finally onto the roof. Since we couldn't just carry the thing over the domed roof, we slid it along the edge...I though for sure it was going to tumble off. We managed to get it to where we needed it. The plan was for Michael to tie a rope around the box and lower it while I was below and was supposed to support it and guide it. This was the one part I wasn't so sure about. I had visions of me, lying on the ground, with the washer on top of me. You understand, I was standing on top of a sink on my tip-toes just to reach it. Thankfully, just when we were going to start the washer descent, Juan came around the corner and asked if we needed help. Did we ever! He came over to where I was, and helped to grab it on its way down.

So now, the washer is in place and is working beautifully.

And if you're eyebrows are still raised to the top of your head, please just excuse our stupidity and blame it on...the need for a good blog story!?!?!?!?!


p.s. Please don't remind me...we have to move it back out of there when we move in a year...