Get Your BAKE On!

Just some things I've baked PD (Pre-Daisy).

Easter Sugar Cookies

Chocolate Chip Whoopies

Spider Cakes

Christmas 2010

My favorites

Rainbowlicious

So FUN!

Plain ole white

Pinkalicious

Whopper

Caramel filled dark chocolate

Triple chocolate Zebra cheesecake

Red velvet

TURKEY!

Sour Cream Pound Cake

PW's Cinnamon Rolls

Cream Cheese Icing

Pecan Pie bars, Red Velvet Crackles, Sr Cream Pound Cake

and homemade peanut butter cups

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

4 Berry Crumble

TIKI!

Dr. Seuss Cupcakes

Foot cookies

1st stacked cake

Sofi's Candy Bar

Let the Train Come

How often do your crises come?
How often do you feel like a failure?
Is your life NOW what you expected?
Mine's not...

It's taken a LONG time to admit that.
Is this what a mid-life crisis feels like?
How come I was so sure at 19 where
I wanted to be when I was 40?
How come now that I'm 40, am I no longer
sure where I wanna be?

My sister told me last night I turned out all right.
That felt laughable when she said it.
Failure was HUGE last night.
It's been a very long time since I cried myself to sleep.

Why can't 1 day BE Freaky Friday?
Why can't you give your memories to your child for just 1 day?
Would they learn from your mistakes?
Would they understand your only regret?

I had to let go of 1 last year.
She's doing so good.
I didn't give her enough credit.

I have to let go of 3 more this year.
I'm not as confident.
I see the trainwreck of regret baring down on 1.
Do I sit back and just let the train come?

Will I always need to "get to" my kids?
Does that feeling EVER go away?
When they have their own?
This feeling has evolved in ways I least expected...

No more crying...
Sink or swim...
Forge ahead...
Trust in them...

If not Himself...

Life is funny.
I used to think I didn't want marriage.
I didn't want kids.
What a sense of humor God has.

Parker has been the child I least expected.
Why would I have a disabled child?
What did I ever do to deserve this?
It took awhile to realize it wasn't "done to me".

I'm pretty sure that this was done "for" me.
I had things to learn.
P became one of my biggest teachers.
I am grateful.

This was how P started.
All of 3.8lbs.
Not very healthy.
I was blissfully clueless - just glad they were alive...

We had no idea yet the struggles HE would face.

1996 and learning to sit.
2 years old.
Recently diagnosed.
TAILSPIN...

They were just babies.
Yet to be defined.
Creating their own normal.
Expressing their own personality.

I remember this day clearly.
He was so excited.
His sisters have taken such good care of him.
They'll never admit it though.

1st crutches at 4.
So cute.
So much determination.

7th summer.
Both legs broken.
Both hamstrings lengthened.
Not much in the party spirit.

By next summer we were on a bike.

In Junior High he ran track.

In High School he's wrestled.

He's been on the speech team.

He's now on National Honor Society.

We had NO idea here:

That we'd ever get to here:

The lyrics to the song My Way sum up how I feel about this boy.
Whatever we've asked...
Whatever he's chosen...
He's done it HIS WAY.

To think I did all that

And may I say not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I did it my way


For what is a man what has he got
If not himself then he has not


To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way

Somehow P became a man.
He did it on his own.
He created his normal.
And I am proud.

Survival

This is the first day of school.
Squirrelly looking bunch huh?
Is there one missing you ask?
Why YES I answer...

I fixed her all up before we left.
She's always such a good sport.
She's very good at humoring me.
OH WHAT WILL I EVER DO WITHOUT HER?!?

Survive.

This would pretty much be Sofi's whole life.
In one pile,
On the curb,
and very, colorfully so.

Looked  like a lot bigger pile close up!

Moving was an adventure.
She looks pretty spent, right?
I know it looks like she needs a Dr.
But truly, she always looks like this...

Yes the Boy was there to help.
I hope she's more organized now.
I'm not there to help her you know.

Obviously the position of the lights is extremely important.

It's all about the ambiance...

Ah... The alert look of dorkdom...
Dry erase fridge...CHECK
Microwave...CHECK
Mini lanterns...CHECK
Pretty green desk chair...CHECK

I swear that ALL those (specific) items were on the list we received...

She's never spent a birthday without me.
I provided some essential college materials.
Yes those are coloring books.
She her excitement?

Success! All moved in.
Birthday present for the next day...
Dorky name tag...
And Wayne Wear.
She's official people!

Now back to the important things.
The first day of the last year of high school,
for the majority of my children.
Apparently this picture thing is SO uncool.
Who know??

It was a difficult morning...

Sir Fattington and Lord Vinegar are SO over the drama of it all...

When school starts so starts the Animal Vacation.

Sofi left Rubi with a little gift to remember her by.

We now have 1 dog, 1 cat and 6 fish.

If anyone is counting.

And now to the biggest news of all:

This is Daisy.
She's fabulous.
And she's a whole post in and of herself.
So next time we'll discuss Daisy.


P.S. Happy Birthday Mom!