Cupcakes!

Last night Caydence and I made cupcakes for her class party today. She was very excited. This girl LOVES to bake. Usually it's G-man that lets her help in the kitchen. Last night however, she baked with mommy. First let me show you our 'supplies':

I let the princess help pour in the cake mix and stir the cake mix. She also helped me pour them into the cupcake pan.

Like any good mommy, when we were finished pouring the last cupcake I let her lick the spoon!

After the cupcakes cooked we iced them with this icing in a can....it is the bomb-diggity! LOVE LOVE LOVE that stuff! The princess sprinkled them with all kinds of valentine-ish sprinkles! They were pretty =) Then I thought to myself, how am I gonna get these babies to school tomorrow? I have a 40 minute drive to daycare! Wait, I remembered what a packrat/hoarder sentamental person I am, and I save all kinds of things for a rainy day. I have a box that I got some knee high boots in a few years ago....so I lined it with tin foil and wa-la!

Ofcourse next there was the taste test...of the royal variety! Princess Caydence tested the cupcakes and only ate her icing/sprinkles and would not share it with daddy. From the look below, I think she liked them.

Alright...you all keep in mind I work away from home and with our commute we are out atleast 12 hours a day. So, this was not Martha Stewart style, but more a "shake and bake" variety cupcake bake. It was still loads of fun with the princess! And a big thanks to daddy for helping me get the other 'house' stuff done so I could share this moment with Caydence.

i ♥ Thursdays!

I am participating in this weeks I "heart"... at You and Me Plus Three. Go there now to add yours and read others!!

Crystal has a great point...there is so much negative around today and so many things in everyday life that can get us down. Let's take the time on Thursday to reflect on things that have happened during the busy week we've had that we ♥! These are random and in no order....or wait, didn't I just say the same thing twice! Oh well, here they are:

i ~♥~ going to the circus with the fam
i ~♥~ making cupcakes with the greatest lil' girl last night (will post pics on that later!)
i ~♥~ whipped icing from a can (This stuff is the bomb-diggity for us working moms especially)
i ~♥~ when I crawl back in bed and the hubster pulls me close for a snuggle
i ~♥~ watching my Bella boo dance and smile
i ~♥~ seeing the girls faces light up when they see their Gigi
i ~♥~ my camera and all it's great accessories to play with
i ~♥~ a mexican lunch date with the hubby
i ~♥~ my new haircut and color

Honey

So yesterday on the ride home from daycare, my sweet Caydence bug said "Mommy, is you honey at work?"

After requesting her to repeat herself a couple of times and then asking "honey?" I figured out that my ears did not deceive me. She was truly asking, "is you honey at work" Since Tim and I do not call each other "honey" I am fairly certain this is something she picked up at daycare. Note: Be careful Mommy and Daddy and Teacher because little ears are listening to every word and imitating and learning life. I told her that Daddy was my honey and it took a little convincing her that he was in fact "my honey".

I asked who her honey was and she said "Bella" Awe! What a sweet sister! Who is Bella's honey, I asked...."ME!" she said. *Sister LOVE* (Okay, so here is an older pic that I love...one of our first glances at the love of sisters. Okay, and one of my first photoshop'd pics...I know, horrible stars and writing!) Aren't they adorable!!!

Next I asked who Daddy's honey was and she said "Mommy" (Yay!)

I just had to share that little story! Caydence bug is getting so grown! I see it more every day. Ok, stay tuned. I am in the process of getting a post on our circus adventure! I hope to post again soon!

Circus

As soon as Daddy was back from deployment I was nagging asking him to get us tickets to the circus. I LOVE to go to the circus and I figured it'd be a great family adventure! The first time I went as an adult there was a really memorable main character. For the life of me I can't remember what the show was, but I did go on their website and it's not a 'current' show. Last year was Zing,Zang, Zoom and this year was Funundrum. So last year we took Caydence bug to the show and she enjoyed it. She was either almost two or had just turned two. This year all four of us went!

The girls did fairly well for their ages. Caydence is at the end of potty training so other than asking me to go potty 5 times during the show, she did great. During one of our 'potty breaks' I got her a souvenir cup with a rainbow snowcone type deal inside. She LOVED it! In fact, I don't know if I got a picture of her without that cup! The circus started about the time we arrived so the only time I got pics of the four of us was during intermission...and she already had that drink.

Bella boo did very well too! Keep in mind at this time she's only been out of the hospital less than a week and is still on meds for those ears and pnuemonia. She loves music so she danced some but mostly sat in our laps and looked in awe of all the exciting things around! She did end up giving out towards the end of the shows so we cut out a few minutes early.

But we were all growing tired at this time so beating the traffic wasn't a bad idea! You can tell from the collage below the girls had fun! YES, that is a ginormous lemonade Caydence is drinking...and YES I realize that I contributed to the potty breaks. THREE were BEFORE intermission though. So that is only TWO after the drinks. ;-) I figure if we're going anyway, might as well help her be a success!


Here are a few more shots from intermission:

Keep in mind I didn't have my good flash or lense. BUT, here are a few shots from our seats:

Well, I hope to have a post about our valentine's day adventure soon. Caydence and I are making cupcakes tonight for the school party tomorrow and cookies for the teachers. I will be getting the goodie bags together for Bella's room...stay tuned for what to put in a baby's goody bag...LOL! As always I will take pics along the way =) Till then, have a blessed evening!!!

Night-night time

Night-night time at our house can be quite consuming. It really depends on the girls that particular day. On our recent visit to Connecticut my MIL routinely got the Little Missy Princess to bed. She would sing her Puff the Magic Dragon. Caydence LOVED it! Since we've been home Daddy or I will try to sing it to her but he will occasionally pull up the video on you tube for Caydence to watch. Check out my handsome hubby and how entranced Caydence is below:

Lots of times when the girls are full of energy but really tired at the same time the hubby or I will take them to one of their rooms and shut the door so they can play. Below are some pics:

The girls playing with a simple dora string...


I just loved the little look on Bella's face in this one...

Caydence bug showing off her ballerina pj's that Aunt MaryAnn gave her...

The Little Missy Princess posing...

My girlie girls...

This is the aftermath when Caydence wants to hug Bella. Bella just isn't as fond of those bear hugs as her sister and Caydence just doesn't understand why:

They both like to peek a boo out the door in the doll house but I caught Bella doing it last night...

The Boo with her sisters Ariel doll. They really do share well!

My smiling girl! I ♥ that lil' face AND the way her sister looks sneaky in the background!

Hope you enjoyed it! For the most part...we do =)

Things that make my ♥ smile

I saw this post at Kelly's Corner on Simple Pleasures. I thought it was a wonderful idea for a post. I am all for things that we can be greatful for in life...and simple pleasures, the things that make your heart smile... they are just the best! So here they are in no particular order:

Hearing my Caydence bug singing one of our made up lullaby songs....especially when it's to her sister.

Seeing my little Bella boo dancing away and singing "dddddoa" for dora.

The smell of fresh cut grass...I am sure it goes back to childhood, but I LOVE it.


*Pedicures*!


The smile on Bella's face when she runs to greet me or the squeal from Caydence "MOMMY!" when I pick them up from daycare. (Although I would trade it to stay at home any day!)

Dunkin donuts coffee with sugar free Hazelnut creamer...when I am not rushing to drink it.



A small diet mountain dew that has frozen ever so slightly from being in the refrigerator just the right amount of time.


Snuggling under the winnie the pooh blanket (made by my step-dad's sister) with the girls or the hubby or all of us!

Listening to music and singing along loudly

Watching my husband interact with our girls...he's a wonderful daddy!

I will stop at ten! I am certain I could come up with many more =) What are some of your simple pleasures?

i ♥ personalization

I ♥ personalization. Check out what I found on a friend's blog! I HAD to have one too! And they are free...just click on mine and it will open up the window where you can create your own! =)

Bella's Hospital Stay

Friday night Bella had a very rough time sleeping. She would be asleep for about 10 minutes and wake up screaming in pain. We could not for the life of us figure out what was ailing her. We tried gas drops, ear drops, tylenol...nothing. It was about 3am and Caydence bug was fast alseep so Daddy took her to the ER. He called on the way and she was sound asleep. We decided to bring her back home with no real 'visit'. Back home she started the same cycle of waking and crying. Off to the ER Daddy went again. This time she she saw a doctor that said 'ear infection, right ear'. Sent Daddy home with meds. When Daddy got home we decided after her fever spiked 2 degrees in 15 minutes, she was gonna have to go back. We talked to her pediatrician and he agreed. This time, she was going to stay a while. They poked and prodded her in every way possible. They said DOUBLE ear infection...so in the course of 2-3 hours her left ear had gotten infected. And I mean they were running...first clear, like water, then blood. =( I dropped Caydence bug off to Gman's birthday party and headed up to see my baby. The doctors decided it was either RSV or pneumonia with the double ear infection. She had a high fever and low oxygen so she got admitted. After a long day she was finally able to rest and I grabbed a camera to document this trip. Here are the first pics:
(If the picture isn't big enough then if you click on it a new window will open with the pic bigger or full size)

She loves her daddy and they were both beyond EXHAUSTED. See the little oxygen mask? It was awful. I literally hate those things. I realize a necessary evil, but they are itchy and annoying. Then that poor little arm. She had to get an IV for fluids and antibiotics. They had to tape and tape and tape again because she is SO strong. The most fight I saw her give at any time was over the breathing treatments. She did NOT like them.

I decided to take pics of the room. Cute area for a kid. Caydence loved the butterflies on the ceilings. They are all over the place. I told her they were trailing down the hall into our room. =) She remembered them from her visit to the ER last year for the flu/strep.

Gigi kept Caydence for us the first night but then she had to go back to work. Not to worry, we had entertainment:

The night Gigi and Gman brought Caydence to the hospital we were all utterly exhausted. Gman, thoughtful as ever, had Caydence help him make us cookies. We were so hungry we gobbled them right up! I didn't even get the camera out while they were there. I was uber tired folks. The next day Bella was feeling good enough to get up a while so we let the girls play in the baby bed. It looked more like a cage or a 'prison' as Daddy called it.

Check out the hammer in these pics. I got this toy from the hospital play room. It came with a hammer to hit a toy that made noise. I picked this little gem up because Bella was so frustrated she was wanting to hit. Jacked me right in the nose with a book...still have a bruise! She did enjoy a little game of patty cake too!

At the hospital there are these SWEET volunteers who give out handmade items to the kiddos. The first day they came around and gave Bella a bear. It was cute but the same as all the bears we got when the girls got tubes. They were out of the smiley face pillows so they came back on day 2 to deliver one to Bella. It was a different volunteer who thought Caydence was the patient. When Caydence realized the pillow was for Bella...well, she wasn't happy. See below:
Not to worry...I asked to purchase an extra before we left and they gave Caydence a 'green' smiley pillow. It matches Mr. Green Bear (her xtra from the flu/strep ER visit) so she's happy.

So Monday, Gigi has meetings in Huntsville and stopped by to see us. I was SO glad to see her. She brought Caydence some 'bug juice' and zebra cakes, and me a dmd (diet mountain dew). I thought Bella was gonna flip her lid when she saw her!

Not to be out done, everyone knows Caydence LOVES my momma...

Our last night Aunt Nancy came to visit. Caydence and I had run home for a while. Caydence fell asleep so we were later than I had anticipated getting back. My girls sure do love their Aunt Nancy! And I do too!!! By this time Bella was feeling much better. Nancy even got to see her dance to D-d-d-d-d-dora!
While Caydence and I were out of the hospital I called the daycare to let them know about Bella and why the girls weren't at school. Then when Caydence and I got back to the hospital I saw these:
Ms. Amanda from daycare sent them to Bella. Bella adores her. And it was very sweet of her to send these.
I took one last picture of the girls eating dinner together. You can tell that Bella is much better now. She was dirty and had no bow so I improvised folks!
I can't say enough good things about all the staff at Huntsville Hospital for Children...ER included. They are top notch! Nobody wants to have to be there and be sick, but they are there to help you and it was very nice under the circumstances. We are now home (as of this morning). Bella is still sounding less than normal when breathing but her oxygen was up to 95 and she was fever free for 24 hours. We are all SO happy to be home. And SO thankful that God placed the right people in our lives at a time of need.