Be back in a few...

Yum!

"Happy Birthday to Rachel"

Buttercream Frosting is just too tempting!

So...I have LOTS of  birthday pics I want to share, but I really need to focus on getting my thank you/photo packets in the mail. I'll simply leave you all...my friends and family...with this one  from when we were singing Happy Birthday to her at her Saturday Minnie Mouse party! The Buttercream Frosting recipe is delish, I'll admit. I'm not too fond of the fondant...makes cute cut-outs but not crazy about the taste...well Rachel just popped the dot right into her mouth...one of many! Guess she liked it! Have a great weekend, Everyone...be back next week...

Pre-Party and a Birthday Present!

Migraine-type headaches, husband out of town, aggressive doggy demanding food, 3 year old chanting "Oso, Oso, Oso, Oso..." , cluttered house that is in desperate need of cleaning and organizing, a mountain of ironing, thank you's to finish, doctor appointments to make...these are just a few of the things stressing me out this week. I'm thinking these horrible headaches may be related to the weather changing. Husband will be home soon...thank goodness. How did I ever survive over two years of his being gone most of the time?! Besides the three of us missing him, I just get so nervous about the air travel and such. Aggressive doggy is, well...hopefully getting better every day so I will just deal. She gave up and is actually snoring while sleeping on my feet right now. I am so happy we still have her with us, and I pray she really is getting better. I know it is the prednisone making her this way. She is slowly being weaned and is down to two half doses per day. Her red blood count is up to 37! That is incredible. The 3 year old chanting...well that is her new love of TV and Oso taking over! Mommy just has to hang tough with the limits and follow through. I honestly wanted to just let her watch as many episodes of Special Agent Oso and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse as her little heart desired yesterday and today. Is that bad?! I could have simply curled up on the sofa and listened as she watched:). I didn't though! We did take naps yesterday as that was the only way I could get relief from this darn headache. Today, she took a nap but for lunch we made English muffin pizzas together. Then after dinner...a gourmet dinner of cold cereal with strawberries and bananas that is...we painted together. I put a huge piece of paper on the coffee table and we had fun painting to our heart's content before bedtime. It was fun too! Last night was all about Play-Doh. As far as the housecleaning, organizing, ironing, thank you's, doctor appointments etc...just have to make a list and get it done! I hate when my head hurts so bad that I feel like I cannot function and then beat myself up for not being a good Mommy and "house" wife etc...Okay, pity party frustration and venting over now...feels a little better getting it out...

I have tons of birthday pictures to share. I thought I'd start a few days before her party. She started receiving gifts almost a week ahead of time. I decided to save the presents arriving by mail for her birthday, and let her open the ones from us on her party day.  This one was the first one she opened and played with because it was not wrapped. I opened the box to add it to the pile and there it was! With the way Rachel's eyes lit up when she saw it...there was no waiting until the 18th! I have to say she has a lot of "Melissa & Doug" toys...LOTS...and the really neat thing is somehow, some way...no one duplicates AND friends and family keep sending cool items I have never even seen before! I'm not sure who gets more excited sometimes...Rachel or Mommy! This set is awesome! A big thank you to Rachel's (Great) Aunt Darlene and Uncle Jeff from Ohio! Rachel loves to cook and bake and this is perfect!

Rachel checking out her new "Cookie Decorating Set"...

This is what I get when I say,

"Hold it up so Mommy can see!"

That's better!

We had to play with it immediately!

We made lots of beautiful, delicious cookies!

"Cutting out" the cookies...

Love her concentration.

"This is FUN, Momma!"

I found a chocolate cake recipe online and

had to do a practice cake before her birthday.

Rachel and I got to lick the yummy beaters!

Love that face!

Of course, we had to also do the taste testing when they cooled off.

Yum!

This is the one I'm using!

Tolerating Mommy and the camera...

Yes, this recipe is a winner!

Mommy had lots to still do the day before Rachel's birthday.

This is how my sweet girl helps out.

She cuddled up on the sofa with a bunch of "friends" and watched

"Lady and the Tramp" or "The Doggy Movie" as she kept calling it.

I am kind of liking her new love of TV and movie watching.

It was a nice break from "Oso" too!

I tried to get her to watch

"101 Dalmations" or "Tinkerbell"

but she just wanted to watch "The Doggy Movie".

Part of the amazing rainbow we saw that afternoon!

It has been raining endlessly here.

I swear it rains more here than it did up in Seattle.

The sun tends to peek out while it rains,

so we are always on "rainbow watch".

This one was HUGE!

We ran up to see it in all its beauty from the playroom window.

It was impossible to catch it all in one picture...

but so breathtakingly beautiful...