Sunday, May 24, 2009

Happy Birthday Savannah & Lexington!

I'm skipping Sunday Sound Out today because I didn't have too many questions this week, and because I'm still sick and would really like to get to bed before 2:00AM, and because I want to share some pictures from this past week instead, and because it's my blog and well, I can. :)

After Brooklyn's conversation about going to the "Duck Store", I took the kids to Target (the Duck Store) and when we came home, these guys were in our front yard.



Later in the week (at least I think it was later. My days are all kinda running together right now) I was cleaning the bathroom while talking on the phone to my friend, Jen. I heard Clay and Brooklyn giggling in the kitchen, but just thought there were playing. I was wrong. I emerged to find 4 empty bottles of bubbles, 2 empty tubes of Desitin, and 1 empty tube of Vaseline. They had tried to make an indoor slip-n-slide by pouring the bubbles on the floor and lubing themselves up with diaper cream, then sliding across the mess. Yeah, the fun never ends around here.







And because we spend such a large amount of time at the baseball fields, here's Austin. He's on the Diamondbacks this year.


And Savannah...


Then, on Wednesday, Clay graduated from preschool. On Thursday, he awoke bright and early and got ready for kindergarten. I had to explain to him that he won't start kindergarten until the fall. He is NOT happy about that and lets me know every day. The reason he wants to go to kindergarten so badly? According to him, it's because he'll get to do experiments every day in kindergarten.


Clay with his awesome teachers...


Then on Friday, as I was cooking up a storm for the girls' birthday party, Brooklyn and Clay walked in the house from where they were playing right outside the kitchen and Brooklyn said, "That bird scared me."
"A bird scared you?"
"Yeah, I thought he was going to fly into me!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide.
"What bird?" I inquired.
I noticed the look on Clay's face and thought "uh oh".
"What bird is she talking about, Clay?" I directed my question at him.
"I put a bird in a cage so he could be my pet," Clay answered.
"A bird in a cage??? What cage? What bird?"
"I'll show you!" Clay proudly announced.
I followed him outside to the garage where a full grown robin sat next to a window. The "cage" Clay told me about was actually just a roller skate he'd set on top of the bird to keep it there.
"CLAYTON!" I yelled, exasperated. I removed the skate from the poor bird while I ducked and covered so it wouldn't fly at me and peck my eyes out.
The poor thing kept flying into the window, however. I mean, who could blame him for being a bit confused after he'd just been trapped under a roller skate by some misguided 5-year-old? He flew into the window numerous times before I finally had the bright idea of tapping on the outside of the window to scare him into flying the other direction and out of the garage. It worked. Then I had yet another conversation with Clay that went something like, "You cannot catch squirrels, you can't play with nests, you can't bring dead animals into the house on a snow shovel, and you can't put roller skates on birds." Then I poured myself a glass of wine.



I had a combined birthday party for the girls yesterday. Lexi will be 8 on the first. She was being so goofy here! LOL!


And Savannah will be 13 tomorrow. Eek! I officially have 2 teenagers now!!!


Lexi's lip gloss cake...


Savannah's Hershey's kiss cake. I meant to save some white fondant for the paper strip, but forgot, so I cheated and used paper. I was going to make fondant foil too, but ran out of time and cheated on that as well. She liked it anyway. I mean, her motto is "Give me chocolate or give me death"! Actually, I'd still be trying to get ready for the party now if it weren't for all Savannah's help in the kitchen, and Joe's help cleaning the house too.

49 comments:

  1. sorry you are still not feeling well.but wow those cakes are awesome!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Clay and Brooklyn are very very creative kids! Where the heck do they come up with this stuff?!

    The cakes are great! You are very talented.

    ReplyDelete
  3. "and you can put roller skates on birds."

    You mean he CAN put roller skates on birds?? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy Birthday to your girls! How did you cut the lip gloss cake? Clay is so cute with his teachers. Sorry about your floor.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You truly are an amzing woman, even while being sick, you still manage to make two birthday cakes, go to practice, taking pictures along the way, save a bird from a stinky skate, and discipline the boy and anyone else who happened to be naughty that day. I'd be in bed snoozing off nyquil. Happy Day! Hope your nose clears up.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy Birthday to Lexi and Savannah! Those cakes are gorgeous Dawn, way better than I could accomplish. How hard is the lipgloss cake? Nicole would love one for her bday!
    That is too funny about the skate on the poor Robin. I'm sure it was a bit dazed and confused.
    As for the ducks, thats funny, a pair has been repeatedly coming to my uncles pool for the past two weeks now, almost every day!
    Hope you feel better soon

    ReplyDelete
  7. You should have a picture inset in your next book that has nothing but pictures of birthday cakes. Better yet, write a third book that's just about birthday cakes!

    ReplyDelete
  8. As usual, I love the cakes! Especially the Hershey's Kiss one...Mmmmmmm!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy birthday Lexi and Savannah! :) Awsome cakes. Do they taste as good as they look? :)

    Hope you feel better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Feel better soon. There is no rest for the wicked or for mommies.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You have very creative kids, I mean seriously they are amazing. The cakes were also amazing, I wanted a bite of that hersheys kiss cake so badly! How did you get all that gunk off your floor? Desitin is a beast to clean!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've got three with a birthday all within two days of each other (two are twins) and I was debating if we do two celebrations or one. Making two separate cakes seems like a good idea to make the day special for both of them without getting birthday overload. DId you invite friends to this double celebration or was it just family?

    ReplyDelete
  13. LOVE those cakes!
    Awesome job!

    ReplyDelete
  14. wow...those cakes are AWESOME!! you are really creative! great job..hope you are feeling well soon..

    ReplyDelete
  15. Only one glass after that? I'm impressed at your restraint!

    I LOVE those cakes. I think I could maybe someday figure out the lipgloss one, but I am absolutely in awe of the Hershey's kiss. Nicely done, Dawn!

    Here's hoping you feel better soon!

    ReplyDelete
  16. It's a wonder that you get anything done!

    Great cakes!

    ReplyDelete
  17. You never cease to amaze me with your cake-making skills! You are very talented! I wonder if I could get a bakery to make me a hershey's kiss cake for my birthday? Hmmm. On second thought, that could get expensive!

    SSO question: Where do you get all your cake ideas? And do you just put them together out of your own brilliant mind? Or do you find directions somewhere? And just how would you go about making fondant foil?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you for the tears of laughter! See! This stuff doesn't just happen in my house - (I have 5 littles ages 9 and under)

    This post was so funny I even dragged my husband over to read, and got a few chuckles out of him.

    You're an excellent writer - my favorite was the "Then I poured myself a glass of wine."

    Keep writing!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. So happy birthday to your girls...savannah and I have the same birthday!!! Hope you feel better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Just reading this made me feel tired for you! I always love your cakes and do the same thing for my little spawn..although I have never used fondant. Someday. Hope you feel better soon.
    P.S. I am in the middle of your book and enjoying every line of it!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hope you're feeling better! Congrats to the graduate. My son had he same pre-school teacher in the 3 year old class. Graduation for us next year.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love the cakes! Great job. Happy birthday girls.

    ReplyDelete
  23. That Desitin on the carpet almost made ME cry. That stuff is soooo hard to get out of fabric! Did they actually try their indoor slip-n-slide? Did it work? It's kind of ingenious really, for a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old. :)

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hope you're finally feeling better.
    At least your carpet was "diapery fresh" for the party!
    Awesome cakes. So, um, what flavor was the Hershey kiss one?!

    ReplyDelete
  25. ps Happy Birthday to the grown-up looking girls.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I'm glad Clay is only 5. The world is not quite ready for his brilliance, and it gives the masses some time to prepare for him. I mean this seriously. He shows all the signs of becoming a person of greatness. He is so quick in mind and body and he thinks sooo far outside the box, that in a lifetime, he has the potential of solving not just one but many of life's more pressing questions. Thank you God, for putting him in a family that allows him to be who he is instead of demanding a staus quo. Dawn, you have such a gift of giving your kids the green light to explore their creativity. I know sometimes the messes they leave are brutal, but your manner of appreciating their intentions instead of exploding at the results is creating an atmosphere wherein one day we'll browse the annals of a future "Who's Who in the USA and we'll see the Meehan moniker many times over. God bless you and keep you sane as you keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Dawn,
    I have a question for your next SSO. What kind of punishment did you give Clay and Brooklyn for the mess they made with the bubbles, rash creme and vaseline? Do you bother anymore? I'm wondering because I don't know if they do things like this because they know they can get away with it or because they don't care if they get punished? I don't have six kids, but sweet Jesus, my boys would never think of doing some of the stuff you write about because they would be in so much trouble! Plus I'd make them clean it up and that's almost worse than the punishment! Your new book is great, by the way! I won a copy from Guideposts!

    ReplyDelete
  28. wow. those cakes...I felt accomplished that I got it together to *buy* a fancy cake for my daughter's birthday, and I only have two kids to grapple with. well done.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hiya sweets! I do hope you get to feeling better soon. Tell Lexi and Savannah we said Happy Birthday!! :D Those cakes look great! It's amazing what you can do when you don't feel good, too. *hug* I finished your book and it's awesome, btw. :D I really do hope you get some rest. Take care, Dawn!! :D

    ReplyDelete
  30. Sorry you're still sick, but man, the cakes are GREAT!!! Good job! :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. NICE JOB ON THE CAKES!!! Those are amazing! I don't know how you do all that you do!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Once again you have done a great job with the cakes! If you ever decide that blogging and book writing are not "your thing", I'm sure that you can get a job with Charm City Cakes from the "Ace of Cakes" TV show.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Those cakes are amazing. Great job. Happy birthday wishes to your two birthday girls.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I *LOVE* the indoor slip and slide! AWESOME! These are tomorrow's inventors! It had special meaning to me as my youngest had just painted her room the other day with Desitin (what a gosh awful cod liver oil smell!) her bedding, her rocking chair, the carpet... I got no pics, b/c - well, I just didn't. Now I wish I had!
    KEEP up that sort of stuff, Please!!! I need a daily dose of a good belly laugh that brings tears streaming down my face! LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  35. You really are amazing in the cake-making department! Oh, and in the motherhood department too!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Thats great how you did that cake and still managed to complete the day without screaming. I find myself so overwhelmed with similar tasks but I hate being defeated so I handle my business as I see you handle yours. Great job your doing! You are a true Ymm! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  37. Savannah is certainly going to be a beautiful teenager-what a pretty picture of her!
    And, yes, if it's not chocolate, it's not worth eating.

    ReplyDelete
  38. The cakes are fabulous! What a treat to have a mom that makes those kind of birthday cakes!
    I'm still trying to figure out exactly how Clayton caught a bird with a roller skate. How lucky that the bird wasn't smushed, but since he can catch a wild bird he must be VERY fast!
    Do you own a steam carpet cleaner??

    ReplyDelete
  39. The cakes are aamazing! Soooo cool! Your bird story is hilarious. I caught a bird when I was about three. My dad remembers me walking home from the neighbor's house with this huge parrot flailing and squawking in my little arms. All I remember is that I really wanted that bird and I wished it would stop running away from me. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  40. If it weren't for Clayton you wouldn't have half of the material that you use to write about. Aren't you glad God gave you the wealth of material in the form of Clay? I just have got to meet him someday.

    ReplyDelete
  41. STILL laughing about the impromptu slip'n'slide ... sounds exactly like something my two would come up with.

    And those cakes are awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  42. You have 6 kids, write books, run a blog, travel and have time to come up with beautiful, elaborate confections like that?

    God made you out of different genetic material than He made me. No fair. ;0)

    They're beautiful... you are truly multi-talented.

    Melinda
    www.parentingconfessions.com

    ReplyDelete
  43. Love the cakes and Clay! He will be a scientist when he grows up-experimenting and catching robins with skates! LOL! Although it was messy, the slippy slide plan was kind of ingenious too.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Mamapajama - When you write the words "I don't have six kids" that is where you need to stop. Stop judging and comparing what your kids would do COMPARED to someone else. Until you walk a mile in their shoes, you have no idea what it's like and it's always easy to say you would do things a certain way until you are put in that actual situation. Kids are kids and things happen, just because it wouldn't happen in your house doesn't make you a better mom or Dawn less of one.

    ReplyDelete

This is where you tell me how awesome and funny I am. If you want to tell me how much I suck, you have to use my hate mail form here. http://www.becauseisaidso.com/get-in-touch/hate-mail/ Those are the rules. Oh and I moderate my comments so if your comment doesn't show up immediately, be patient, young Jedi.