Happy 7th Birthday Bunny!

Bunny! You are seven years old today!!! Wow, where did those years go? I remember when you used to sleep in a laundry basket. Now the top of your head comes up to my breastbone. Your feet have grown so much this year that you've been through 3 shoe sizes. You are still so skinny I can count your ribs through a snowsuit, but you are getting taller every time I blink. At the beginning of the school year, you could read a handful of sight words, and now you read me BOOKS. Every day.



You are still loving Transformers (especially with the new movie out in a few weeks) and Webkinz (although not quite as much), and your newest obsession, Pokemon cards and assorted paraphenalia.



You are very smart and have a great sense of humour. You are learning the carefully crafted art of sarcasm from the masters ( your parents). You are a great big brother; Keegs worships you and Ty believes that you are there for his personal entertainment, 24/7. You have learned to swim, and are like a little fishy in the pool.



You never hesitate to give me a hug and kiss (even in the school yard!...oh, I'll miss that when it stops, and sadly, it will...) and you tell me you love me a minimum of 10 times a day. I love your honest nature and your deeply rooted sense of morality. Daddy says you are like Superman, and cannot tell a lie. Your own guilt punishes you for things I would never know about otherwise, but it is a rare and wonderful quality to have, especially at your age, when fudging the truth is an easy way out. Your feeling are easily hurt by offhand comments by your peers, because you honestly can't understand why someone would say things like that to someone else just to be mean. You are also the first one to point out that what they are doing is wrong, and that real friends wouldn't act that way. A psychic told me that your destiny would lie in a field where you will try to right the wrongs of the world. Professional superhero? I'll have to get started designing your logo.



I wish you happiness, health, love and excitement as you enter your eighth year. Happy Birthday Bunny. I fell in love with you the minute they placed you in my arms, and I haven't stopped for one breath since.



XOXO



Mommy

June Round Up

Well, well, well. I haven't been here in a while. To tell you the truth, I've been sucked into the world of Crackbook...I mean...Facebook. I'm a bit of an addict, if you really want to know. I like the versatility of the site. I can post notes, snoop on my friends lives to see what's going on with them, and set up millions of photo albums.

But to my readers that haven't found me there, hello!

May was a killer-busy month, and June has followed the same pattern. Lots of parties to deal with, and too many cakes to count. Phoenix's birthday is tomorrow, so I just finished his cake. We are taking him bowling (with 9 of his friends). I went all Martha Stewart and made bowling-ball loot bags out of papier mache, made into mini-pinatas. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but by the time I had finished them all, it was over 11 hours of work. Too much really, for a bunch of 7 year olds that are going to destroy them to get the goods inside, in less than 2.2 seconds. Sigh. Why do I set myself up for these things?

I hope all of the dads out there had a nice Father's Day. My sister-in-law hosted the day at her place this year, and invited my dad and brothers too. It was great. Awesome food as always. I made an unbelievably awesome Chocolate Decadent Torte that tasted like it was 100000000 calories and as many grams of fat, but was actually from a diabetic cookbook. It was the most delicious and chocolatey sample of yumminess that I have ever had. Drop me a line if you want the recipe. (Thanks Darra, for supplying it to me). I also made a nice Lime Chiffon Pie that was a great hot weather dessert (a Kraft recipe).

In the past week, I also made my first ever batches of strawberry jam, and it is quite tasty, if I do say so myself. Phoenix gave it "10, 000 thumbs up", if that gives you any idea. Recipe also from Kraft (strawberry freezer jam). Sunday we are having the whole fam damily over for Phoenix's family b-day party, and then, by God, I am DONE. DONE I TELL YOU!

There is something to be said for having all three of your kids' birthdays in 2 months. Over in a fell swoop. And nothing huge now to plan until December. Oh yeah, Dad, I'm talking about you and the big 7-0. Mark your calendars, people.

I watched the movie "Ghostrider" with the kidlets a few nights ago. I had doubted the wisdom of this; I thought that perhaps Keegs would find it a bit too scary. Yeah, right. He now pretends he IS Ghostrider, to the point of sneaking up on you, getting an inch from your nose, and intoning in a deep James Earl Jones-esque voice, "Look into my eyes!" He's too friggin' cute.

In just over a week, Phoenix will be finishing up grade one. He has really worked hard this term, and I am sure that we will see stellar results on his report card. Keegan graduates from pre-school. (And then 3 days later starts his 5 day a week summer program. Poor kid!) He's really coming along too. I am super proud of my big boys.

Ty (aka Little Boy) has discovered the Wiggles, and dances and sings through most of his day. I can hear him in his room mimicking Captain Feathersword (Quack, quack, quack, doodle-eee-doo!) I am gratified to say that he is finally starting to eat like a human, meaning foods other than Alphaghetti and Kraft Dinner. True to his Polish genes, he has discovered the joy of perogies, and loves German food as well, like Bratwurst and veal schnitzel. He now even eats the occasional piece of bread, which gives me hope that one day I will be able to talk him into a sandwich or two.

In extended family news, Baby Clara is doing well. She has been moved to a Level II nursery, is off machines, and is gaining weight. I believe she is now above her birth weight of 4 lbs, 2 oz. As soon as she gets the hang of breast-feeding, she will be able to come home, hopefully by the end of this week. Yay! Oh, but we are supposed to give them Ty's crib. Hmm...better get him into his big-boy bed, and soon!

In sad news, my friend Melanie's father passed away on Friday. I was at the funeral home today for the visitation. Meli is holding up really, really well considering, and I am very proud of the way she is dealing with it all. Love you Mel!

Well, that's about it for me for tonight. This week rounds up the field-trips for the year too. Phoenix goes to a Provincial Park tomorrow, and Keegs goes to the same one on Thursday and Friday.

Hope everyone has had a less chaotic spring than me, but if not, I feel your pain. Hang in there, summer arrives in two days!

Peace.