July Birthdays!

Pictures of Rooney's birthday to follow!

7 diaper cakes in one day!

These were all created for the same person, who I assume was throwing a large shower and wanted a centerpiece for each guest table as well as a larger centerpiece for the gift table. She paid to expedite every cake, so they all had to go out the same day - let me tell you, I was a little frazzled that day. And transporting 7 diaper cakes and 2 small children to the Post Office? Can you say Chinese Firedrill? Oy. They sure turned out cute though, if I do say so myself. :)

Watching Barney Together

Actually, Natalie is eating candy, and Ben was hoping for a handout, but Barney is like a trainwreck, it's hard to look away.

Then and Now

THEN - 9 weeks
NOW - 17 weeks
THEN - 6 weeks
NOW - 17 weeks

He was at the vet yesterday. He is 60 lbs exactly. Everyone just loves him. All the vet techs come out from behind the counter to say hi and pet him. (They're all just really nice there too.)

I took him to the park for the first time on Monday night. No one can walk by him without remarking about how huge he is. The look on their faces when I tell them he is 17 weeks is just priceless. And he is such a good dog. He is so sweet with the girls, and he got the hang of staying next to me at the park really quick. He loves naps (*gasp*) and if you show me a sunbeam in our house I'll tell you where the dog is. I could not be more thrilled with our new addition. He's just a great dog.

Happy Easter!

We had a very cold Easter (for the South, anyway!) I put some jelly beans in Easter eggs and Jesse stashed them here and there out front. (I also bought Sixlets and chocolate eggs to put in the Easter eggs. Note to self: Never buy Easter candy 3 weeks early again.) Despite the chill in the air, the girls had a great time hunting for eggs outside. It didn't take them long to discover they were filled with candy, and suddenly the Easter Egg Hunt became an Easter Egg Mouthful Meander.

I put a cake mix, frosting, and squirty icing in each of their baskets, one pink and one yellow. So I gave them each a big mixing bowl, a whisk, and a sheepish admonition to stir slowly, then turned them loose. I couldn't get the camera to cooperate at the time, but let me just say, who needs a mixer? Those little weasels wisked until their arms were sore, made scarcely a mess, and had a great time. I only have one cake pan (and it has been sitting in a cabinet covered in dust and cobwebs since the last time Grammy visited.) So we broke out the casserole dish, poured yellow and pink cake mix in opposite ends at the same time, and hoped for the best. The result was a perfectly divided pink and yellow cake. (Around here, any attempt at baking that actually ends up in the oven rather than the trash can is cause for celebration!) So I was feeling pretty domestic at this point and rather proud of myself. Huh-huh.

Once the cake was in the oven, we dyed Easter eggs. I had the presence of mind to hard boil them the night before. When they were done, I left them in the pot to cool and went to bed feeling very Martha Stewart of myself. In the morning they were nice and cooled, and so I rinsed them and set them on the counter on paper towels to dry. About an hour before aforementioned egg-dyeing was to occur (several hours later,) I wandered past Big Ben, sound asleep in his sunbeam, and thought, "The only way that dog could have more gas would be if he owned a Citgo." Jesse and I took gross advantage of the opportunity to hardy-har-har about how bad he smelled and how he rivaled Jesse with even the sounds he makes passing gas. I was feeling rather smug as Jesse headed for the kitchen and walked straight into the cloud of stench. "OH GOD!" came his gaggy and incredulous reaction, "all he eats is dog food! How can he smell like rotten eggs?!"

Nice one Martha.

Once I realized the culprit, there was simply no turning back, as I had no more eggs to boil and two little girls who had been asking, "Mommy, is it time to color the eggs yet?" every five minutes for the last day and a half. Thankfully, we used some new-fangled glittery egg dye that you squeeze on and then roll around in a gloved hand, and it seems to have sealed in the smell.

For now.

When the eggs were successfully resting in their drying dish, the cake came out of the oven, and we headed for Red Lobster for Easter Dinner! (Considering the events of the last few hours, Martha hung up her apron for the day. Not that I ever intended to cook.) When we returned home the cake was ready to go. The pink half got yellow frosting (Lemon, mom!) and the yellow half got pink frosting, courtesy of my two tiny pastry chefs once again. Then I wrote Happy Easter on it, handed over the icing, the sugar sprinkles, and the marshmallow bunnies, then dove for the camera. They had a ball. Rooney wasn't quite strong enough to work the icing tube without help, but she didn't seem to mind serving as Food Critic instead. Natalie iced until I cut her off.

We had a great day, and considering the amount of sugar they ingested, I can't believe either of them is sleeping. Now I'm off to invent a story I can hand them tomorrow morning about what happened to the Easter Eggs! :) Happy Easter everyone!

Desk Dweller

16 weeks old. I think I'm going to need a bigger desk. I love the warm fuzzy sleeping on my toes while I work. He just isn't going to fit under there much longer.

It's *finally* raining!!! There was so much pollen, you could write your name on the deck, and I couldn't even go out to feed the fish without my throat swelling up and my head starting to hurt. I sprayed the deck off twice, but by the time I was done and it dried, it was yellow again. I hope it rains all week!

Bug and Ben

Poor Ben just can't get a break lately. No sooner does he settle into his beloved sunbeam or under my desk for a nap, than he has almost instantaneous company. Baby Bug is relentless in her quest to snuggle the little beast, and since he is notoriously zoomy and tends to bite (playfully) when he is awake, she has taken on a new approach, which (as you can see) is working out rather well for her. Not so well for Ben. It's a dog's life.

Sofa Sleeper

Konked out watching Blues Clues. Have you ever seen anything so adorable? I have a feeling she'll be all pins and needles when she wakes up - "asleep" in more ways than one.

Rrrrr....woof.

I won't mention any names, but someone is becoming quite the Guardian of the Front Porch. (Basically, he loves a sunbeam, and when he goes out in the morning, he just loves to come back and sit in the sun on the porch, watching the world go by, and threatening the occasional neighbor or squirrel with a quiet, slow, and not what I would call menacing "Rrrrr........woof.... (dramaticpause) .........rrrrrrrrr...........woof."

I try not to laugh, because he has quite the throaty little growl for a puppy, and one day when he is full grown I'm sure it will be enough to make anyone pause and think twice. But for now, it's just the most adorable little puppy "woof" I've ever heard. At 15 weeks, he is anything but scary, and were there any doubt in your mind as you approached aforementioned porch that you had anything to fear from said Guardian, I would venture a guess that all doubt would be alleviated after the second "woof," when the Scary Guardian tucked his tail and ran for the house sideways, so he could keep one eye on you in case he needed to issue any further scary "woofs." Which are just that much more terrifying after he bumps into the door jam because he was running sideways so he could keep one hairy eyeball on you, his cowering prey.

Latest Catch...

85 lbs., 6'5" long (we weighed and measured him this time.) He's a Blacktip, caught off the Florida coast. They are known jumpers - the first time Jesse tried to gaff the shark, he broke the gaff handle, circled around, and jumped almost into the boat trying to bite him. Missed his head by a foot. (I'll take "Things That Suck, Alex, for $500...)