I've been tagged!

Here are some things about me maybe you didn't know. Hubba and Sisoutham's- care to share?! You guys have now been tagged, too!

Four Jobs I Have Had
Special Ed. Paraeducator
Gold's Gym Daycare
Gold's Gym Front Desk
Cake Decorator for Cakes for Goodness Sakes (my own homebased business)

Four Movies I Would Watch Over and Over
The Notebook
Moulin Rouge
Down With Love
Billy Madison

Four Places I Have Lived
Winfield, WV
Huntington, WV
Provo, UT
Palm Bay, FL

Favorite Bands and Singers
The Cardigans (all-time fave)
The Pixies (old-school fave)
John Mayer
Norah Jones

Four Loves of my Life
Coleman and Cooper (the loves of my life)
Will (my loyal hubby)
my parents and sibs
tennis

Four Most Memorable Moments
our first date
getting sealed to Will in the temple
baby #1 (Coleman)
baby #2 (Cooper)


Four Favorite Foods
Apple Fritters
Onion Rings
Sushi
Chocolate!

Four Places I Would Rather Be
-on the tennis court
-playing golf
-at the beach
-in WV with the fam

Coleman's Birthday

Hey all! We have had quite a week this week! Coleman's birthday was on Thursday and (of course) we made a big deal of it. Thursday morning, I made him his favorite breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese on top and got him ready for school. I printed out a sticker for him to wear on his shirt that said "Today is my 5th Birthday!" His teacher agreed to let me bring in a treat for him and his classmates, so I took McDonald's french fries for his whole preschool class. They were all thrilled and Coleman got to hand them out which made him feel good. His class sang him Happy Birthday and Coleman got to wear a fun Happy Birthday hat with his name on it. When Coleman got home from preschool mommy had Krispy Kreme donuts waiting for him as an after-school treat. (Man, I really do spoil him on his birthday!)

That night, we went out to eat at Applebee's and Coleman wore his hat so everyone was asking him if it was his birthday. And I mean everybody! Almost to the point that I thought Coleman would start to get annoyed but he didn't. He would just proudly hold up 5 fingers and tell them he was "a handful." He was so cute. When the waiters came out to sing to him he got really embarassed and hid his face which is funny because I think there was some line in the song like "Someone's face is turning red" or something like that. After dinner, we went to see the junior high's performance of Seussical. Coleman and Cooper both loved it. Coleman had a great time on his birthday and anxiously awaited his big party on Saturday.

And what a fun party it was! It was a total madhouse here with 10 preschoolers running amok but we had plans to keep them busy. As each child came in they were directed to sit at the table for a simple craft while we waited for all the kids to get there. (We gave each kid a little car, some white paint and black paper and had them drive the car in the paint and then on their paper. Simple and fun.) Once all the kids had arrived we took them outside for the relay race.

A couple of the smaller kids didn't quite get it but they all got a chance to race with either a Mater or Lightning McQueen costume on. After the relay race we got out the pinata. And once again this year Will held the pinata while the kids whacked at it with a bat and once again no Funniest Home Video moments. Maybe next year... After all the kids had their baggies full of candy we went inside to open presents. Coleman got lots of fun little toys and was very happy to smile for the camera.

After presents, we had cake and ice cream and the kids played in the loft until their parents got there. Here's a pic of the cake. Coleman just loved it and I have to say, it was pretty yummy! And fun to make!

(You can click on any of these pics to see them bigger.)

The party was a success, the house is a disaster and I need to sleep! G'nite all!

Finally!

I just got the email that I've been waiting for all winter! Tennis lessons start back up next Saturday! I haven't played once since the first weekend of October so this has been a long time comin'! I managed to acquire 4 new tennis skirts and a new racquet over the break. Oh, and I better go buy some new tennis shoes some time in the next week! I'm really excited!

On the homefront, Coleman and Cooper are nearly constantly at war lately. They will be playing happily one minute and the next minute Coleman will be screaming and running from Cooper (who is usually holding something dangerous, like a plastic bat) or they will be exchanging slaps on the arm. It's truly exhausting! Although, I have to say I'm slightly amused with the fact that Cooper is more of bully than Coleman, who is twice his size...

I've been doing a lot of vacation planning lately. Which also means I've been doing a lot of penny-pinching. I'm hoping to go and visit my good friend Amber over Memorial Day weekend in Fresno. I just need to find a plane ticket at a decent price. Our big trip is this summer, though. We are headed back East for about a month this July. We are going to start out in Charlotte for a couple of days, then to West Virginia, then to the beach for a few days with Seth and Charya, then to S. Carolina, and finally to Orlando for a visit with Mickey. Should be jam-packed and lots of fun. There is a lot to do before then to make sure it all goes smoothly. Plane tickets to buy, condos to rent, hotel reservations to make, finding the best prices on amusement park tickets, etc,etc. That being said, I have to say I love the planning stages and Coleman loves to sit on my lap and look at the Disney website. He reminds me so much of the thrill I would get when I went to Disney World as a child. It's one of the things I love the best about being a parent- being able to share in these kind of experiences with my own kids. And everyone loves a vacation, right?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Will and I celebrated last night. We actually got a real babysitter and went out for sushi. It was so good! I got a sushi roll called the Rainbow Roll. It was sushi filled with crab and avocado and then topped with 5 different types of sashimi (raw fish). Really fresh sashimi just melts in your mouth! And after dinner, we walked over to a chocolate shop around the corner. Will got his favorite, the chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick and I got a generous piece of English toffee and a Macadamia Bear (macadamia nuts with caramel covered in chocolate.) You have never seen anyone enjoy chocolate more than I did last night! Especially since it's the first bit of sugar I've had in a long while! I think I took 20 minutes to eat those 2 pieces. I just had to treat myself. Although, a couple hours later I hit a wall like you wouldn't believe! I'm really not sure if the chocolate was worth the repercussions! Next time I'll go with the sugar-free chocolates. Maybe.

This morning, Coleman woke up to a card and a peanut butter heart from his mommy and daddy. And for lunch, I made him a heart shaped turkey sandwich and served it with some fresh strawberries. He's really excited for school today because they are having a Valentines party. He handmade all his Valentines and signed each one. He is really getting good at his signature!

This is a picture of Coleman this morning with one of the Valentines that he made. (The smile is not natural. It's what you get when you point a camera at him and tell him to smile. Too cute.) The Valentines are construction paper hearts with a Valentines pencil stuck through them. You can't see it real well but he colored little faces on the front and signed his name on the back. He was so proud.