The Turkey Dash!

It's Thanksgiving Day, and guess how I spent it . . . yep, I was running!  I swear, I think I've turned into Forrest Gump lately.  All I seem to do is either run, or talk about running.  And it appears that I've gotten the whole family in on the act!

The Katy YMCA holds an annual Turkey Dash each year.  It consists of a 1 mile kids race, a 5K (3.1 miles for you non-runners) and a 1 mile family run/walk.  It's a lot of fun, and there are lots of games for the kids and bands that play throughout the event as well.

I signed up Sammy for the 1 mile run, after confirming that I could, indeed, run with him.  After all, Sammy is 4, and without me there with him, Lord knows if he would have come back!  Plus, I didn't want him getting trampled if he fell over.  Sammy was really excited, especially after I told him that he would have a race number bib and a chip timer, just like Mommy!  Granted, he responded by saying, "You mean like Dowitos?"  (Doritos - which he ate after my 25K Relay)  Apparently, the child is motivated by food, so I said, "Yes, Sammy, you can have Dowitos after you run!"

I spent two weeks beforehand trying to prime Sammy for his race.  The first day I ran with him in the neighborhood, we went about 0.76 miles, and he ran a 16:40 pace.  Granted, he walked.  A lot.  I tried to convince him to run, but it wasn't happening. 

The next time we ran, I discovered a strategy.  First, I made him hold hands with me.  My thinking here is I wanted him to be able to run the 1 mile race holding my hand.  That way, if he tripped, or someone accidentally ran into him, I would be able to hold him up and prevent him from falling and skinning his knee.  Second, it was a lot harder for him to start walking if Mama was still running and holding his hand.  Third, anytime he tried to slow down, I said, "Omigosh, Sammy!  There's a monster behind us!  He's coming!  He's big!"  Then I would describe the 'monster' as being purple with stripes, or perhaps orange with green polka dots.  Sammy LOVED it!  I'm not condoning telling your child a monster is after them, as Lord knows they'll have nightmares, but I think he really got into it, considering he started describing the monster as well.  Plus he was smiling.  So, his second pacefinder was 0.87 miles at a 14:41 pace.  Improvement is nice!

Fast forward to Thanksgiving Day . . . we showed up at the YMCA and picked up our chip timers.  The plan was for Sammy and I to run the 1 mile kids race together, then I would run the 5K on my own, and then the entire family would participate in the 1 mile run/walk, with Mike and I running and me pushing the double jogging stroller with both kids in it.  We got there early, and ran into a running buddy from my half marathon training.  I introduced him to the family, and Chuck and I made plans to stick together during the 5K.  I love my half marathon training group - so supportive and everyone is so friendly!

The STARTing line!  I'm in the red, look just to the middle left . . . hand behind my ear!

When the buzzer sounded, Sammy and I stepped off with all the kids in the 1 mile race.  I have to be honest here and tell you that Sammy whined and screamed during the entire first 1/4 mile.  It was terrible.  I kept asking him what his problem was, and he was telling me that he couldn't run, and that his feet hurt.  I'm embarrassed to say this, but finally I leaned over and said, "Sammy, do you remember those chips I promised you?"  He turns to me, eyes wide, and says "Yes?"  And I respond, "They don't give them to kids who are screaming!"  His eyes get even bigger, and he says, "OK!  I can do this."  "Yes, you can, Sammy!" 

Look for the middle, in the red!  Sammy is holding my hand!

From there on out, he was focused.  I don't know if he really wanted those chips, or if he just wanted to get done, but he ran hard, and walked shortly.  Look out, everybody- here comes Katy's newest Fitizen!  So proud of my little man, he ran 1.00 miles at a 14:40 pace.  I'm thinking if I would have started training him a month earlier, he would have done better, but overall not too bad for a 4 year old with no training!

Here we are, coming in from the 1 mile run! 

Look how proud of himself he is!

After finishing my mile with Sammy, we found Mike and Sophia, and I started to get mentally prepared for the 5K.  Believe it or not, this was actually the first 5K race I've ever done!  I know, it seems silly, considering I've done longer races than this, but this was my first 5K.  I lined up at the start, and luckily my running friend Chuck found me.  We quickly developed a race plan, and at the gun we took off.  The first 1.5 miles were great!  We ran at a 9:30 pace, and we were passing people left and right.  I stopped to walk through the water station (always a challenge - cups everywhere, and people stop right in front of you so it can be a bit dangerous to continuously run through these), and then ended up needed to stop at the 2 mile mark as well, as my ankle was killing me.  Not sure what was going on there, but Chuck got ahead of me, and stayed ahead for the rest of the race - I could never quite catch up!  Chuck finished with an overall pace of 9:30 per mile, and I finished at a total of 30:22, with an overall pace of 9:47.

My goal, going into the race, was to finish under 30 minutes.  Despite the fact that I missed it by 22 seconds, I'm not disappointed.  I'm still not sure what the issue was with my ankle, but I was extremely close to my goal, and a 9:47 pace is the best I've ever pulled for a 5K.  I know, it was my first 5K race, but honestly I run a 5K every Thursday at Luke's Locker in the mornings, so I knew my average timing.

We finished out the morning with the 1 mile family run/walk.  To be quite honest, Mike and I were a bit disappointed with this.  We had to be at the very back, since we had a jogging stroller.  Unfortunately, everyone in front of us was walking.  Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with walking, but the walkers were strung out across the entire course, so there was no way for us to get around them.  Not only that, but the walkers in front of us were mostly family groups, which meant they weren't familiar with running calls.  By this, I mean, when we would call, "On your left," meaning move over, a faster person is trying to pass you on the left, they either didn't hear (which is unlikely, considering how loud I can be), or else they didn't understand, as they continued walking and would not move over.  It was quite disappointing, and we probably would only participate in the family run/walk again if both the kids were walk/running.  No way would we take the jogger!



Our family, before the run/walk 1 miler!

 Overall, what a great way to start Thanksgiving!  We had a blast, and I don't know about anyone else, but I ate as much turkey and pie as I wanted to, considering I'd burned at least 600 calories beforehand.  Plus, Sammy finally got his 'Dowitos,' so he was happy!

Six Miles

Six ain't nothing but a number!  I know, my grammar needs correction, but I really feel as though after passing the four mile milestone my running has not been difficult. 

I have to admit, I've been a bit lax as far as running with my group.  I missed running my first 5 mile run when I overslept.  Then I was in the Hill Country with family, then the following week I had a stomach virus.  Not that you'd want to know that, but no matter, I couldn't run!

This week, I was determined to make it out to Terry Hershey Park no matter what.  Mike had a long weekend, working at his company's Huntsville center getting new phone lines and other IT equipment installed, so we elected to spend the weekend at our lake house in Trinity.  My dad agreed to come out and watch the kids early Saturday morning so I could run with my group, since Mike stayed there overnight on Friday night.

I had a great run, and am so thankful to my dad for watching my children.  Afterwards, Dad and I loaded the kids up and drove out to the lake house together.  It was so funny because Dad was bringing several items up to an antique auction, and had stowed them all in a uHaul trailer.  My neighbors must have been suspicious . . . Mike's truck was gone, my dad's truck had a uHaul on it, and I was loading up both the kids and the dog!  One of the neighbors even had the audacity to ask me if everything was ok!

I quickly reassured her that I wasn't leaving Mike, and we took off for a pleasant weekend off of Lake Livingston.  I had ran six miles with my group on Saturday morning, and early Sunday morning my dad and I took the kids on a six mile bike ride down to the lake.  Looks like 6 was my lucky number!

Here are a few photos from the weekend - Sophia had popsicles for the first time and LOVED them!

Meantime, on Sunday morning, we took a quick walk down by the lake . . . love these pictures of my babies!

Family Movie Night!

Yay, Family Movie Night!!!  I don't remember what we watched, but this was the first time we let Sophia stay up and participate.

I think she was more enthralled by the popcorn!

Can you blame her?  So cute!

Veggie Tales!

This evening, we took the kids to see Veggie Tales in concert at Sugar Creek Baptist Church!  It was an awesome show, and afterwards, Sammy even remarked that is was "the funnest concert ever!"  I love his grammar.  We'll have to work on that in the coming years!

This was her adopted pose throughout most of the show!

Daddy was proud of his baby girl!

Sammy and I had a great time singing along - shocking that I know all the words!

Junior, Bob and Larry shake their groove thing!

My princess and I!

Final curtain call!

I expected that Sophia would merely endure the spectacle, but shockingly she had an awesome time!  She was absolutely mesmerized by the dancing veggies on the stage, and at one point even began to dance and clap her hands! 

My only complaint - the pouring rain when we left the concert - Mike ran to the car with Sophia, and I transferred Sammy to ride on my back like a monkey and jogged to the car with him.  Good thing I'm in running shape!

Whatever You Do, Give It Your All!

If you know me at all in real life, you know that when I set my mind to something, I give it my all.  I can be persistent, stubborn, even bull-headed when I am focused.  And in addition to that, I'm passionate about it as well.  I've been like that my whole life, and I learned it from a great woman - my mom.

My mom also has that wonderful characteristic of putting her whole heart into anything she does.  And she's passionate about it as well.  Her newest thing is that she is getting two dogs.  Coton de Tulears to be exact.  Never heard of them?  Neither had I, but my mom did her homework, and found that these dogs are wonderful companions, good with children (a must due to the grandkids!), and hypo-allergenic as well as they apparently do not shed. 

They're pretty cute, too!

This isn't my mom's dog, it's a random picture I found on the internet.  She's already picked out her two babies, and she picks them up next week.  I believe their names will be Bella and Kelly, however, she's very quick to point out that she is NOT naming her Bella for Twilight.  It's because it means beautiful. 

Now that my mom has picked out her dogs, she's been completely focused on getting their new home ready.  She's gotten two cute little beds, lots of toys, special blankets, and a very important purchase - a carseat.  Yes, a carseat for dogs.  Now, most dogs, like Kona, don't need no stinkin' car seat.  Most dogs are content to ride in the back of the truck, or lolligag on the seat.  Not good enough for Bella and Kelly.

This is the carseat.  Now, I only used my kids in the dog carseat to illustrate its size.  No other reason.

As you can see, this particular dog carseat actually is multi-use.  Not only does it function as a carseat, it also has a telescoping handle in the back, so you can cart your dogs around like luggage!

It also functions as a backpack.  As you can see, Sophia quite enjoys it!

There is mesh on all three sides, so little puppies don't have to go without being able to see!

And it comfortably fits a four year old as well. 

He didn't want to get out of the dog carseat!

So, ladies and gentleman, if you are, in fact, in the market for a dog carseat, Sammy and Sophia wholeheartedly approve of my mom's.  I have no idea how much it costs, or even the brand name.  Also, my dad informed me that he will not be caught dead with that carseat, anywhere in his presence.  This from the man who used to take the bichon frise' on a walk with a purple leash.  I bet he's rolling around that dog carseat with pride in just a few short weeks!

Regardless, take a page from my mom's book - whatever you do, give it your all!  If you're going to get new dogs, by God, make sure they're safe in the car as well!

PS - Whoever thought this up, I'd like to know where they are today.  Lounging in the pool with a stogie and a glass of bourbon?  How come I didn't come up with the dog carseat first?

Rainy Days Rock!

Yes they do!  It's a rainy day, and I've got my niece and nephew Austin and Amber with me, so we are playing with shaving cream!

I told them to write their names in it, but after that the pictures and just plain silly fun started!

Princess even got into the fun, except she did try to eat it . . .

Sammy loved getting messy - he even scrubbed up his arms!

See - shaving cream is fun for all ages!

By the way, shaving cream is an awesome tactile learning tool.  PLUS, it cleans your table! 

Gosh, That's a Lot of Blood . . .

What started out as an ordinary day turned into a catastrophe of epic proportions.  Seriously.  If you are squeamish at all, it's probably a good time to turn your web browser to a different station.  Otherwise, stick around!

We were supposed to go swimming at the Highland Park Pool today with several of our playgroup friends.  However, given the weather, we cancelled our swimming date and switched to Chick Fil A instead.  I love Chick Fil A.  They have a brand new spicy chicken sandwich, and Sammy and Sophia cannot get enough of their chicken nuggets.  I honestly wonder sometimes if Chick Fil A secretly laces their food with cocaine or methamphetamines, or some other highly addictive drug.  Otherwise, why would we voluntarily go there several times a week and still crave it?

After eating with our friends, we headed into the play area.  For a while, I was able to let Sammy go into the play area by himself, and have girl talk with my friends while Sophia happily babbled, but now that she is mobile, my presence is required in the play area.  Especially given that she wants to climb up in the play structure!  Which is what she was doing today.  She climbed about halfway up, and then was content to sit and laugh joyfully through the mesh at me.  Sammy, meanwhile, was really not interested in playing much today, and instead was sitting by the door on one of the benches, drinking his lemonade. 

Seconds later, I heard a loud crack followed by an immediate scream.  I looked over to see Sammy flat on his back in the corner, hollering and crying.  I immediately ran to him and picked him up.  Sammy's pretty heavy, so I turned to sit on one of the benches and began to rock him while holding his head, when one of the other moms in the play area announced, "Um, there's a lot of blood."  I pull my hand away from his head to see that there is, indeed, a lot of blood.  Enough blood to make me feel sick to my stomach, and to announce, "I think I'm going to be sick."  My friend Alison ran out of the play area to get help, and another mom said, "Look at me.  You are not going to be sick.  This is your child.  You are not going to be sick."  I shook off the nausea and said, "You're right, I'm not going to be sick."

Let me interject here to tell you the reconstruction (as far as I can tell) of what exactly Sammy did.  He was sitting on the end of a bench and drinking lemonade.  I believe he turned to place the lemonade on the window ledge, and as he did, his behind slid off the edge of the bench, and he fell backwards into the corner.  In the corner, there was a square shaped metal pole, and when he fell back, he struck his head on the pole, cutting it open.

OK, back to being sick.  Or, not being sick . . . Just then, my other friend Phyllis who used to be a pediatric nurse arrived inside the play area.  I pulled my hand away from Sammy's head, and she said the cut looked pretty deep.  Deep enough to need stitches.  I took a deep breath, tried not to panic, and said, "OK, so do we need to go to the hospital?  Can I drive there or do we need an ambulance?"  Then the Chick Fil A management team, including the owner, Rusty Wylie, and a manager, Amber Norwood, showed up with towels and bags of ice to help.

After deciding to drive, I realized that I had to do something with Sophia as well.  It's hard to think about everything when one of your children is bleeding, but despite some fuzzy brain, I did.  Another mom crawled up in the playgym and got her, while a second one gathered up my purse for me.  Phyllis loaded Sophia in the truck, and then I sat there trying to decide whether to put Sammy in his car seat for the drive or place him in the front seat with me.  To be honest, I was sort of in shock.  It's hard to think straight when your child is in pain like that, and you are worried.  Phyllis recommended that I needed to hold pressure on his head so that he didn't lose more blood.  While I tried to figure out how to do that and drive at the same time, the Chick Fil A manager, Amber, volunteered to drive me to Katy Memorial Hermann.

Wow!  Can I say that they went above and beyond to help me?  I'm so glad that Sammy cut his head open at Chick Fil A, because I don't think we would have gotten as much help from any other place in town.  The manager, Amber, drove my truck to the hospital while I held Sammy in the back and frantically called my mom, and then my Aunt Linda, to meet us up there and pick up Sophia.  To top it off, when we pulled up to the ER, Amber dropped me at the door so I could get help for Sammy quicker, and then parked and brought Sophia inside and sat with her until my family could get there. 

Turns out while we were sitting in triage, there was quite a party going on in the waiting room.  The "CFA Lady" Amber (as I termed her in my franticness), Sophia, my mom and my niece Amber, my Aunt Linda and her granddaughter Kirsten, my friend Phyllis and her son Jackson, and my BFF Amanda and her children Grayson and Bailey all showed up to make sure Sammy was ok.  Some friends are forever, and I'm so glad I have such great friends!  To top it off, Sophia, Kirsten and Bailey were all wearing their petticoats, so Linda termed it a petticoat party and suggested we have our next playgroup in the hospital ER waiting room since everyone was having such a good time out there!

In the meantime, we were helped by an awesome nurse named Erik.  He was extremely friendly to Sammy and helped keep him calm while placing lidocaine (for numbing) and gauze in place until the doctor could come in. 

Upon seeing this picture of his head wrapped, Sammy decided that he looked like a soldier and decided it wasn't too bad.

Here's a back view.  At this point, with the blood cleaned off and him no longer screaming, I was beginning to doubt my decision to bring him to the ER . . .

 The funny part is, when Erik the nurse asked Sammy what happened, and Sammy was telling him about falling off the bench when he was turning around to put his lemonade back on the shelf behind him, Sammy realized something that was pretty important and began to cry again . . . "Mommy, I left my lemonade at Chick Fil A!"  Erik thought that was hysterical - Sammy's cut his head open, blood was everywhere, and all he cares about is he left his lemonade behind.  That's a classic!

When the doctor came in, she took a look at the cut (which they were now terming a 'laceration' - sounds so much more serious!) and asked me whether we wanted stitches or staples.  At first she was pushing me to have his head stapled (hello - FrankenSammy), but after much texting and discussion with both my husband and Phyllis, I decided on stitches.  The doctor didn't seem to happy about that, but from what I understand, staples are easier to put in now, but more uncomfortable to take out later.  Stitches, while more difficult to put in at first, are easy as pie to take out, so I focused on that prospect.  Then they shaved his head.

I know, it's gross.  But seeing it without hair in the way anymore, I knew I made the right decision to take him in for stitches.  Poor thing.  It looks terrible!

It turns out the doctor wasn't even the one who would be stitching Sammy up.  The nurse practitioner did, with a little help from a different nurse who held Sammy's head still while I laid on top ofhim to keep his body still.  Honestly, the stitches weren't that bad.  I should know, I saw them right up close while they were being done.  Right after they stuck a needle inside of the 'laceration' and injected several places with more lidocaine to numb the area. 

Just so you know, if you promise to take a picture when the doctor is through, my child will sit still.  When he saw this pic, he announced, "Oh Mommy, it looks like windmills, just like on Thomas!"

It's funny - I held that sick feeling in my stomach on edge until we were all done and I was carrying Sammy to the car.  Once he was safely stitched up, and then buckled into the vehicle, I felt the nausea rising in my body again.  It's amazing how you can put your own personal feelings aside in order to be strong for your kids.  Looking at these pictures again makes me feel queasy for him all over again.  I'm so proud of how strong he was - what a brave little boy!

In the meantime, I think I have some thank you notes to write . . . one to Chick Fil A for sure - God knows they went above and beyond the call of duty!

It's Only About $300 . . .

I am going to share a big secret with you.  Mike has been out of town for two weeks now.  That's right - 2 weeks.  He left last Sunday, on his way to Las Vegas for a work conference, and we picked him up at the airport tonight.  I've been silent about it, I know - but it was for several reasons.  One being safety, and the second being my sanity - I figured if I didn't give myself the chance to acknowledge and complain about being a single parent for two weeks, I wouldn't notice how terrible it was.

OK, it wasn't that terrible.  But it was a bit stressful.  Don't get me wrong - I have the kids by myself all day long.  However, I'm used to having my relief pitcher come in at 6:30 pm each night.  And I didn't have that.  Plus, I didn't have my best friend, my husband, and the father of my children around.  It was a tough two weeks, but Sammy, Sophia and I survived.  And so did Mike.

We couldn't make it the whole time without a crisis, though.  Our big crisis came in the form of the garage refridgerator.  We have a fridge in our garage.  It's a cheap fridge - we bought it at the Scratch 'n' Dent store for $150 when we moved into our house almost 5 years ago.  We use it for beverages (aka beer), and to hold all the extra meat we buy.  Every January, it gets filled up with deer sausage and all of its various accessories (backstrap, jerky, etc), and we also store ribeye steaks, shoulder roasts, and pork steaks that I find on sale throughout the year as well. 

The crisis began innocently enough.  I had a babysitter on Tuesday night (to celebrate my friend Trish's lingerie shower), and on Wednesday morning I headed to the garage to pull out something to defrost for dinner.  I was a bit suprised to find that the freezer and its contents had started to defrost.  I thought for a second, then figured that perhaps someone had gotten a coke out of the fridge the night before and shut it too hard, which will invariably pop open the freezer (hey - I said it was cheap!).  I pulled out our dinner for the night, shut the freezer, and went about my merry way.  I didn't think to check it again on Wednesday night, or Thursday morning.

As a matter of fact, I didn't check on it again until Thursday night.  Mistake number 1.  We had just finished swimming at my brother Aaron and Trish's house, and I was trying to find something quick to make for dinner.  Imagine my horror to find that now, the entire freezer, all of its contents, and the refridgerator were now defrosted.  Really?  Yep, really. 

I was confused.  Absolutely confused, and unsure how to go on.  I might have started crying.  I called Mike, called my brother, called my parents, and tried to call others.  My brother, Aaron, came over, and he helped me clean out the freezer of its contents.  We were a bit scared to do anything with the food.  After all, while it was still cold, it was definitely defrosted, and who knew how long it had been that way . . . at least since Wednesday morning.  Aaron took the deer sausage home, and he and Trish ended up grilling it and then refreezing it since it had been smoked and cured before.  Everything else was trashed.  About $300 worth or so.  Including the salvaged deer sausage.

I still couldn't figure out what was wrong with the fridge.  The lights still worked, but it was no longer cooling.  My only guess was that the cooling element had gone out.  It was a cheap fridge, right?

Wrong.  We picked Mike up from the airport on Friday night at 8:30 pm.  We got home at 9:37, and he headed out to the garage to check out the carnage.  He opened the fridge door, stood there for a second, and then asked, "Who messed with the dials?"  What?  "The dials are completely turned off, who turned off the dials?"  You know, the temperature dials - the ones that regulate the temperature in the fridge and the freezer? 

Yes, I'm that dumb.  I didn't check the temperature dials.  I just figured the cooling element went out.  Turns out there was a culprit.  "Sammy, who turned the dials?"  He looks at us sheepishly, then says, "I did!"  Really, Sammy?  Wow - $300 later, I'm glad he's technical, but really?  Sammy and I had a little talk about not messing with the fridge anymore.  Mike turned the dials back to the correct temperature. 

And in the meantime, I have a little confession to make.  I was honestly a bit tired of deer sausage.  Everytime I don't feel like cooking, Mike suggests I make deer sausage.  So I've grown to resent it a bit.  Just a bit.  Not enought to purposely sabatoge it, but enough to be a bit glad that my 4 year old fiddled with the temperature dials.  Besides, now I get to fill the fridge and freezer with what I want to fill it with.  You know, popsicles and ice cream!

Happy 4th Birthday, Sammy!

Happy 4th birthday to Samuel Arnold Chase - my firstborn, my only son, and one of the best joys in my life!  I still remember when we found out we were pregnant with you - we were so excited - you were the best adventure of our lives.  When you were born, after 26-1/2 hours of labor, it was love - from the very first moment. 

You have such a lively personality, and it has been a joy to spend so much time with you as you grow up.  I can't believe that this will be our last year together before you start kindergarten.  Who will you be some day?  Some days you tell me that when you grow up, you'd like to be a baby doctor, to help babies, just like Dr. Nelms.  Some days, you tell me that when you grow up, you want to live in a house right next to the railroad tracks, so you can see all the trains go by.  And some days, you tell me that when you get big, you want to be a fireman.

Sammy, no matter what you become some day, I am already proud of you - and I always will be.  I love you, son.  Happy Birthday to my little man!

My Babies are Growing Up

My babies are growing up, and I'm not sure I'm ok with that yet.  Don't get me wrong, I want them to grow up, but at the same time, I want them to be my babies for just a little bit longer.  Yesterday, we celebrated Sammy's 4th birthday with many of our friends and family.  And at the same time, Sophia decided it would be a good day to start walking.



I know, she's 13 months now, and it's probably about time, right?  However, Sophia beginning to walk also brings about another change in our lives.  It's time for her to wean.  Yes, I've nursed my daughter until now.  And I am so proud of that accomplishment, and I'm so proud of what a sweet baby girl she is.  But weaning is tough. 

Not only physically - trust me, there's some pain associated with it for me, since it's an abrupt weaning, instead of a gradual one.  But also emotionally.  And I didn't expect that.  I always thought that when I was done nursing Sophia, I would be so glad.  Sophia is our last baby, and for the last five years, I've either been pregnant, nursing, weaning, or trying to get pregnant.  So I thought the day that I weaned Sophia would be a happy one.  And it is.  Partially.  It's also sad. 

Do I have empty womb syndrome?  Maybe.  Or maybe I'm just sad to acknowledge that the baby years of my life are now over.  I'm sure that could change, but given our current frame of mind, we really look forward to seeing our kids grow up and become young adults.  And they're not even in school yet!

Here's to Sophia - I'm so proud of you for walking, baby girl!  And here's to me - for making it 13 months providing the best nutrition to my sweet girl.  And here's to me as well, for being able to let go of the baby years, and move on to the toddler phase.  In the meantime, say a prayer for me - I'm feeling a bit sad, but I'm happy and hopeful for the future as well!

Just How Talented Is She?

She is my mother-in-law . . . Mike's mom, Rita.  And I know I've said it before here and here, but seriously, Rita needs some applause!  She is talented!  Rita makes beautiful cakes - apparently she took some Wilton classes many years ago, but her talent just improves year after year!  Literally!  She has been making cakes for as long as I've known her - almost 9 years this July - and each year it just gets better and better!

Some of the first cakes I saw of Rita's were my niece and nephew's birthday cakes.  I've also seen a few she did for various showers.  But by far, my favorite cakes of hers have been for my children's birthdays.  I know, I'm a bit prejudiced - but seriously, can you blame me?

For Sammy's First Birthday, we had a Dinosaur party!  I purchased several Wilton cake molds and Rita did the rest!

Note the mini dinosaur molds in the middle!  One of them was Sammy's personal cake!

Sammy's 2nd birthday had a farm theme!  I found these cake ideas on Family Fun, and once again, Rita did the rest!

Both cakes are made with round cake molds, and the rest is part candy, part imagination!

This cake was for Sammys 3rd birthday, which was a Thomas the Train theme.

This one was awesome!  Yes, that is a 3D train, made of cake and icing!

More detail!

Sammy loved Thomas!  He tried to take a bite off his funnel!

Sophia's 1st Birthday had a bug theme!  I found the cake ideas on Family Fun again, but it is Rita's personal touch and flair that really make them so wonderful!  This was Sophia's personal cake!

Beautiful butterflies and a big ladybug for all!

Sammy's 4th birthday was a pirate theme.  I found the cake idea on, you guessed it, Family Fun, but Rita read some reviews and found out the the cake idea from Family Fun wasn't stable and actually collapsed a lot.  So, she changed it up and made it her own.  The end result . . .

FABULOUS, as usual!! 

Can I also just comment on Rita's dedication?  Believe it or not, Sammy's pirate cake was the second one that she made . . . the first one collapsed at home, so she quickly made a second one, and prayed it would make it to Katy on their drive to the party!  It sure did, and the result was beautiful! 

I know Rita's going to kill me for saying this, but I think perhaps I should come up with a big challenge for her next year . . . I'm thinking, perhaps, a fairy castle?  A life-size Transformer?  Just kidding, Gigi - the kids would love it even if it was a simple sheet cake, but I love to see your talent!  Thanks for being such a willing cakery for my crazy ideas!

Oh, and can I mention again that several of my friends have tried to hire her for their children's birthdays?  I'm really thinking a cakery might be a great second career . . . hint, hint!