I've taken a lot of pictures the past few days, mostly of the kids, so I thought I'd post some.  Here's a little of what we've been doing...

Although it might not look like it, this was torture for Kaleb:

And so was this:

Lexie with her new American Girl doll, Molly:

Roxie got a Disney princess makeup table.  She LOVES it.  She'll sit in front of it forever and primp. lol:

Here are a few videos of her sitting at her table:

After dinner at my parents' house:

I also did some baking for Donna this week:

I had an extra 6-inch cake, so I threw a little Santa face on it in about five minutes. haha:

Now this is not a cake.....this is a cheese ball. haha...or a cheese dice, I guess.  The dots are black olives.  I thought it was cute.  And it tasted pretty good too:

We're leaving tomorrow morning for OK.  I haven't even started packing yet.  I should really get on that.

I finished the helicopter cake.  The reason I didn't post a full picture of the cake on my Wordless Wednesday is because I wasn't finished with it yet.  I didn't want to post a halfway done cake. haha  So here is the finished product:

It didn't take as long to do as I thought it would.  The tricky part was getting it carved into the right shape.  I never really paid much attention to the shape of a helicopter before.

Anyway, the kids are out of school for the holidays now.  We had their parties at school on Friday.  Since Jamie is off work, he was able to go with me to their parties.  That's a good thing, because it's very hard for me to try and run back and forth between their two classrooms, trying to do two parties at once.  So he served pizza to Kaleb's class while I did Lexie's.  Here are some photos of the festivities....

Lexie's party:

Opening a gift from her teacher:

Kaleb's party:

Roxie, enjoying some refreshments in Kaleb's classroom:

Leaving school for two whole weeks!:

I also did a lot of baking:

Saturday was our anniversary.  We dumped the kids with my mom and dad for the day.  haha  Then we went to eat at Hibachi:

I got the Pad Thai:

And Jamie got Pineapple Fried Rice with chicken, or something like that:

We also had sushi, but I forgot to take a picture of it before we ate it.  I guess I was too hungry.  haha  It was all very tasty. 

Then Jamie took me to the mall.  He hates to do that, but since it was our anniversary, he agreed to go and not complain (much).  I got a new purse.  We got a few things at the Hickory Farms store.  Jamie got some ice cream.  I helped him eat it.  We browsed through the bookstore.  I saw a young couple looking at a raunchy book.  I started to tell them to put it up, but I thought they might not appreciate my input. lol  We also went to Sam's (for more icing), Walmart (it's a rule...if you're within a mile of Walmart, you must go in), and Kroger (for angel food cake).  Then we decided that my parents might appreciate it if we actually came back and retrieved the children.  So it was fun while it lasted. 

Now I'm off to bake a bunch of cookies for Donna and a cake for Bart.

Wordless Wednesday

Lots of stuff going on around here....

1.  I finally told the kids that the dog died.  I told Lexie first, because I expected her to take it the worst.  I told her that Sophie had died, like two weeks ago, and then I braced myself for her big meltdown.  She looked at me kind of confused at first, and then she got a big smile on her face and said, "Does that mean we can get another dog?!?!?!"  Hmmm, let me think.  No, it doesn't.  So much for grief, I guess. lol

Then I hollered (yes, I said hollered....lol) for Kaleb to come upstairs.  Lexie just about broke her neck trying to get to him first so she could tell him.  I threatened her within an inch of her life not to tell him.  She almost did it anyway, but I think she decided she valued her life too much, so she kept her mouth shut.   I just came right out and quickly told him that Sophie had died a while ago, and I tried to act like it was no big deal, that she was sick, and it was for the best....I thought he'd be like 'okay, yeah, that's too bad, but I'm okay with it....'  Uh, no.  He's the one who had meltdown, not Lexie.  He cried and cried and cried about it.  He's the most emotional of my three kids....very tender-hearted....so I guess I should have expected it.

He was okay after a little while.  He cried it out for a little bit, much to the amazement of Roxie.  He sat on my lap for a few minutes.  Then he was okay and went to watch TV.  Then Roxie came up to me, trying her best to produce some fake tears....oh, it was sooooooo funny.....and she tried really hard to look like she was in mourning.  She was rubbing her eyes and hanging her head down, putting on quite a show, and she said in a really (fake) sad, cracking voice, "Mommy, can I sit on your lap and you tell me about Sophie?"  lol  She was just mimicking exactly what she had seen Kaleb do, only she wasn't really the least bit upset about the dog.  So she crawled up in my lap, and did some hilariously fake whimpering, and proceeded to tell me that Sophie was dead....at the doctor's house...yada, yada, yada....it was so funny.  Then she was finished and said, "Now can I go watch Hannah Montana?" lol  That kid is something else.  She just wants to do whatever she sees the other two kids do.

2.  I got my anniversary gift on Saturday:

Yes, I got a new wedding band.  I had been wanting a new one for several reasons.  For one, my wedding band and engagement ring are a set that go together.  The wedding band fits up and around the engagement ring.  It has a funky shape to it, so it can't be worn by itself.  I wanted a wedding band that I could wear by itself, without wearing the engagement ring with it.  Also, my wedding ring set is gold, and I prefer to wear silver now.  So now I have a silver wedding band (actually it's white gold) that I can wear without the engagement ring.  I love it.

3.  Last Monday night, Kaleb's class did a holiday program at school:

4.  As I have mentioned before, Kaleb is playing basketball.  He is a very non-aggressive kid, so he mostly just runs up and down the court, having a good time, but he never really tries to steal the ball, or defend anyone, or anything like that.  He's too afraid he'd hurt somebody or make them mad. lol  Well Jamie and my dad have been telling him to go after the ball, and steal it, and don't be afraid to get in their faces.  I guess it finally worked.  Thursday night at his game, he stole the ball 8 times, scored 4 points, and made 3 fouls.  I guess he got over his fear of hurting someone's feelings.  I didn't get to go to that game, because it was a late game, and I had to stay at home and get Lexie in bed.  But when Kaleb came home, he was on cloud nine.  My dad was calling him LeBron and saying that he was willing to sign a few autographs for his adoring fans. lol

I did go to his game on Saturday.  He didn't do as well that day, mostly due to the fact that he was exhausted.  He had spent the night with his friend, Colin.  They went to bed at 1:30 a.m. and got up at 7:00 a.m.  Then his game was at 10:00 a.m.  Only five players on their team showed up, so they all had to play the entire game.   So yes, Kaleb was worn out.  I had to work the concession stand, but I snapped a few pictures when I had a little break from making hotdogs and nachos. lol:

5.  The rest of Saturday was spent mostly working on this cake:

Now if I can just make it through the helicopter cake next week, maybe I'll feel like I can breathe again. 

6.  Jamie's last day of classes for this semester is Tuesday.  Then he's off until after the first of the year.  The kids' last day before break is this Friday.  Friday will be busy, busy, busy for me, thanks to this whole homeroom parent coordinator thing.  That's when all of the classes are having their holiday parties.  Of course I have to be there for that, not to mention that I'm also in charge of organizing the parties for both of my kids' classes.  I can't wait til Friday is over!

Then Saturday is our anniversary.   Maybe Jamie will take me to do something fun that day.  Or maybe not. lol

7.  Like I said in my last post, our congregation had four elders ordained today....and here they are....Terry, Bill, Dad and Bob:

8.  Then after services this morning, we had a potluck lunch. 

The line:

Jess:

Tarabeth and Amanda:

Amy, Becky and Sidney:

Josiah:

More Josiah:

Jamie...looks like he ate too much. :
 

Cameron:

Lexie:

The kids all sitting together at church Sunday afternoon (in Shannon's pew...haha):

I guess that wraps it up.  I'm sure next week will be just as busy, with my helicopter cake, cupcake class, and school parties.  At least it will all be over by Friday, and everyone will be on break.  I am looking forward to that. 

Thursday Thirteen

1.  Lexie is doing much better now.  She barfed for two days, but she was able to go back to school yesterday.  No one else has gotten the pukes *yet*.....We shall see.

2.  One of Kaleb's friends from school had a birthday this week.  He invited a few boys to his house for a sleepover this weekend, including Kaleb.  Kaleb is sooooo excited.  He spends every Friday night with my dad (he calls it "Pappaw Night") but he's never stayed over at a friend's house before. 

3.  Well the 'cake break' is officially over.   I got a call this week from a lady wanting a birthday cake that looks like a stack of presents for her daughter's birthday on Sunday.  Did that before.  Not fun.  I hate making gumpaste bows.  Yuck.  Not looking forward to it.

4.  Next week is the helicopter cake.  Again...yuck.  Still haven't planned that one out either.  I'm such a procrastinator.  I put EVERYTHING off.

5.  Remember how I'm the homeroom coordinator for the ENTIRE school?  (Thanks again for that, Shannon.)  Well it's the time of the year for the holiday parties, so I'm in charge of coordinating what we're going to do for these 330+ children.  I'm trying to make this as simple as possible, with as little work for me as possible. haha ....Yeah, I'm thinking pizza parties for everyone.  Nothing says the holiday spirit quite like a greasy slice of pizza.  

6.  Our congregation is ordaining four elders on Sunday.  How about that?

7.  Since Lexie was at home sick for two days, I weasled my way out of working the gift shop at school.  Awwww, too bad. 

8.  I'm teaching my cupcake class next Wednesday.  It's not too late to sign up!...but you better hurry before it's full....lol

9.  Lately, Roxie has been asking me to make her toast with "pink butter" or to put "pink butter" on her apple.  I figured out that this means peanut butter.  Ohhhhhh.

10.  Sophie, our dog, died about a week and a half ago.  We still haven't told the kids.  She stayed outside all the time, so it will probably be a while before they notice that she's missing.  I did tell Roxie yesterday that she died.  Of course she had no clue what I meant.  She just kept saying, "Sophie's dead?  Did she die at the doctor's house?  Did she die like this?"  And then she flopped face-down on the floor and laid there.  lol  If you ask her what happened to Sophie, she'll say, "she's just dead.  She's dead at the doctor's house."

11.  Sophie had been kind of sick for a while with congestive heart failure.  Lexie prays for her every night to get better.  I'm thinking maybe we should tell her she can quit praying for her now.  But I keep putting it off.  I'm hoping she doesn't have meltdown about it.

12.  Roxie and I were in the van on our way to the mall yesterday.  She sneezed, and then she said, "Whew.  I just snarfed."  lol

13.  I just have to share the bargain I got at JC Penney yesterday.  I had a coupon that was $10 off of any purchase, so I went to look and see what I could find.  I tried a few things on.  It was one of those days where I looked terrible in everything.  (I have lots of those days. lol)  Anyway, I was getting ready to leave with nothing when I saw a dress that I thought might be okay.   So I headed to the dressing room to try it on.  (I won't buy anything without trying it on first.  I'm so picky.)  I tried it on, and I'm sure it was fine, but of course, I think I look bad in everything. haha  I hadn't even checked to see how much it was, so I looked at the tag.  The original price was $100.  It was marked down to $39.99.  And then it was marked down again to $11.97.  And then I had my $10 off coupon.  So I bought the dress for $2.09 including tax.  I was willing to pay two bucks even if I did look bad in it.  lol  Aren't I the savvy shopper.

Puke, Puke, and More PUKE!!!

Last night around 10:00, Lexie woke up saying her stomach hurt.  She sat on my lap for a few minutes and then headed back to her bed.  I went to get a trash can to put next to her bed, just in case.....and not a minute too soon.  As soon as I walked in the room with it, she jumped out of her bed and proceeded to fill it up.  Of course, she immediately felt better.  She got a drink and went back to bed.  About an hour later....same thing again.  I figured that would be it.  She couldn't have anything left on her stomach.  Wrong.  She got up and puked again a few minutes later...and again a few minutes later....and again a few minutes later.....and on and on and on......all night long....you get the idea.  I lost count after about 8 times, but I'd say she threw up somewhere around 16 or 17 times.  How in the world?!?!?!?!?!  I couldn't figure out what she was throwing up.  She did drink a few sips of water in between barfs, but she was throwing up more than those few sips.  Amazing.  So I was headed to Walmart this morning at 6:45 to get Pedialyte, Sprite, jello, soup, Tylenol and crackers.  I'm trying my best to keep Roxie away from her, but it's probably just delaying the inevitable.  I really hope I don't get it too.  I don't deal well with barfing.

Okay, sorry for all those graphic details. lol  But that's the reality of having kids.

Walmart sure is quiet at 7 a.m.  But they only have one check-out line open.  Very annoying.  They also like to block every single aisle with huge crates that you can't get your buggy around. 

And Jamie just called wondering if I could go down to the post office and pick up the roll of 100 stamps that he paid for but forgot to take with him.  Sure, I'll take the puking kid to the post office.  I'm sure everyone would appreciate that.

Did you know you can get a lot of reading done in the middle of the night when you're up on barf duty anyway?  Just so you know. haha

Kaleb's not so sympathetic for his ailing sister.  This morning, he was mostly just glad that he got to leave early for school, since Lexie wasn't there to slow him down.  He loves to be early.  Kaleb's class is performing some kind of holiday program tonight at the PTO meeting at the school.  They are supposed to wear elf hats.  They told us to get them at the dollar store, but I haven't had time to go get one.  So while I was at Walmart this morning, I looked to see if they had any.  All I could find was a green hat with pointy little elf ears that said, "Jingle This."  lol  So that's what he'll be wearing.  I think it suits him. lol  I'll have to get his picture in it.

Well Lexie hasn't barfed in about three hours.  Maybe the worst is over.

So far this weekend...

1.  We had our family picture made.  I wasn't totally thrilled with them, that's for sure.  They were just okay.  Blah.

2.  While we were waiting to have our pics made, Roxie was playing with some other little kids there.  One little girl said to her, "My mommy's name is Mandy."  And Roxie said, "My mommy's name is Jimifer.  And my daddy's name is Dear." lol

3.  Jamie and I went to see "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas."  Yes, it was really, really sad.  I didn't cry though (much to the amazement of some )  I was prepared for the fact that it was going to be shockingly sad.  And it was.  I think the best word to describe it is disturbing.  I know things like that happened during the Holocaust, and it's just hard to wrap your brain around it.  Haunting....that's another good word to describe it.  There's kind of a sinking feeling in my stomach when I think about it.

4.  After we saw that movie, we decided to stay and see "Twilight" again.  I love that movie.  I needed some good vampires to cheer me up. lol

5.  Jamie is currently sitting in my recliner, snoring:

6.  Kaleb is calling my dad on the phone:

7.  Lexie is playing school:

8.  And Roxie is passed out on my bed:

I guess we're all pretty boring right now.

Thursday Thirteen

1.  Still no cakes this week, YEAH!!!

2.  Went to the mall with my dad and Roxie on Monday.  Roxie enjoyed the massage chairs.

3.  Our 12th anniversary is Dec. 20th.  Jamie took me to the mall today and got me a gift.  I am so excited about it.  Although I don't actually get to bring it home until Dec. 18th.  I'll wait til then to post a pic and say what it is.

4.  We're planning on going to the NYM in OKC.  Anyone else going?  Besides Shannon, I mean.  Yeah, we'll be there.  Both of us.  Look out. lol  I hope Shannon doesn't do anything to embarrass us. lol

5.  I'm babysitting Reagan tomorrow.  She's such a little cutie.  Too bad nobody likes her and she gets no attention.  Poor kid. lol  At least Roxie loves her.

6.  I made some super duper yummy cookies tonight.   I got some new cookie molds.  I used candy cane Oreos and Ghiradelli chocolate to make these, and they are to die for.  Probably not exactly health food, but yummy nonetheless. lol

7.  I am on the last book in the Twilight series.  Oh, you people have GOT to read these books!  I would have never dreamed that I would like these books in a million years, but they are SOOOOOOOOO good!  If you like to read at all, you should give them a try.  I'm so addicted. 

8.  I've got to find something else to read when I'm done with this last book.  I've really enjoyed reading lately, and I'd like to find some more good books.  Anyone have any suggestions?

9.  We are having our family picture taken tomorrow....me and Jamie and the kids.  That should be fun.  Absolutely not.  It's terrible trying to get five people to all look good at the same time.  Someone always has a stupid look on their face while everyone else looks good.  There's never one picture that's good of everyone.  I hope they're decent.  It's also a pain trying to pick what everyone will wear.  I try to coordinate so we don't clash, but I don't want us to all look like a bunch of matching twinkies either.

10.  I finished another cake class this week.  My students are begging me to teach a class on my own, not a "Wilton" class.  They want me to teach them how to do some of the stuff I do, like pillow cakes, or gumball machines, or castle cakes.  They say they want to learn to do something cool.  I'm not really sure how I'd go about doing something like that though.

11.  I bought some new body splash at Bath and Body Works called Twisted Peppermint.  I've been wearing it the past few days, and it smells like something you'd want to eat.  I'm surprised that dogs aren't coming up to me to get a lick of it. lol  It's really hard to get used to.  I had Jamie take a whiff of me to see if he thought it smelled yummy, but he didn't think so. haha  I keep forgetting that I have it on, and then I'll smell it and think, 'who's cooking something that smells so good?' lol  Maybe I should just stick with freesia.

12.  I have a terrible time finding skirts for Lexie.  Everything is always so short.  I wanted to find her some longer skirts for church that she could wear this winter.  I looked everywhere, found nothing, and finally looked online.  I found two skirts on Old Navy's website, one khaki, and one jean.  I ordered them and got them yesterday.  They are really cute.  If anyone else has trouble finding longer skirts, you can find the jean one here and the khaki one here.

13.  Okay, back to my book...