Esther is 5!!!

It truly seems yesterday that Esther was placed in my arms. She was two weeks late and was 9 pounds and 3 ounces, loads of dark hair, and chubby chubby cheeks, arms, and legs. She looked right into my eyes and gave me a look that clearly said, "Hi Mom, I'm here!" She's been as alert and full of life ever since then!

We adore our dear girl - her imagination, spirit, humor, and love. Happy Birthday, Esther!!

She said the blessing on the food and exclaimed, "Dear Heavenly Father, I'm sooo excited it's my birthday today!!"
Fairy cupcakes - delicious and very moist homemade chocolate cupcake recipe.
Esther's favorite dinner - Janis family mac and cheese.
Esther got a nightgown and matching one for her dolly.
Isn't she sweet?
Esther's favorite birthday present - her first bike!

Birthday Fun!

I turned 33 yesterday. I'm starting to feel old.

You know, ever since Esther was born two days after my birthday (she was supposed to be born 12 days before), I've been feeling hers eclipses mine. Which is really too bad, because I've always really enjoyed birthdays. I admit it - I like the attention (for short periods of time). However, I'm learning that planning her birthday and seeing her excitement is about as much fun or more.

Anyway, this year was rather interesting....

The kids decided to start celebrating my birthday early. Try 2am early! Nathan started crying so I went in to find him sitting in a puddle of puke. I woke Daron up for backup as I was feeling a tad queasy myself after seeing Nathan's mess. I cleaned up the kiddo and Daron cleaned up the bed. Good man.

Then we put on new sheets, laid Nathan back down, and went back to bed. Around 3am, it happened all over again. Daron was up for nearly an hour with the laundry business while I lay down feeling rather ill myself.

Finally, 5:30 rolls around and I hear Nathan crying once more. I drag myself to the kids' room and start pulling off his pajamas yet again. Suddenly Esther sits up and informs me that she has peed all over the bed. At this point, I nearly sat on the floor and had myself a good cry. Boy, did I want to!

Esther got a shower and we stripped her bed, pulled out her sleeping bag, and put her back down. Nathan got a towel to sleep on this time and one of the few remaining clean blankets over him. We passed out in our own bed shortly afterwards. It seemed only moments later that the kids were up and ready for action.

Needless to say, we began my birthday very late and very tired. Daron made us waffles and tried to get some work done from home while Nathan took a 2 1/2 hour nap. Esther and I ran some errands. Finally, we went out together as a family to Bed Bath and Beyond and the kids each picked a small kitchen tool for me. Nathan kept brandishing the microplane as a sword!

Then we had dinner at Penne Pomodoro in Dallas. Good Italian food with decent prices. Unfortunately, the wait staff wasn't really attentive. Not that I like to be bothered every few minutes asking how my food is, but I like it when people at least smile! The kids each had a kids' size pizza which was about 10" across! Yeah, we had a few leftovers. Daron also had a pizza and I had a spinach pasta lasagna with bechamel sauce and plenty of mozzarella. It was very tasty.

Anyway, we came home and the kids and Daron brought my presents out while singing Happy Birthday. Esther gave me hugs after each present because she was so excited. We watched a movie after we got the kids in bed and then dropped into our own, absolutely exhausted.

Certainly not the most exciting birthday ever, but the all night birthday fun the kids tried to give me will not soon be forgotten!

Stepping Back in Time

Those of you who know me well, know that I have a fascination with things old-fashioned, antique, and generally to do with the past. So imagine my delight when I heard that there was to be a Vintage Baseball Tournament in our area!

I like old stuff, Daron likes baseball, and the kids like getting to run around so off we went!



Each time a runner came in, they would ring the bell.
The balls are handmade from leather. The kids found this box of balls sitting next to a spouse of one of the players and it was hard to keep them out of it!

Come to find out, there is a Vintage Baseball Association that is a national association. The people play by rules from the 1860s. I posted some of the rules they had displayed. Quite interesting, really. Just ignore my silly reflection in the glass.


I love the part where it says that occasionally players or spectators were asked their opinions about the play and would always answer honestly. Not quite like today's baseball game, huh?

And what old-time event would be complete without costumes, I ask you?





The tournament itself was held in Farmers Branch, TX in a city Historical Park. They had a vintage gas station, railway station, caboose, cabin, blacksmith shop, gardens, and gazebo. Plus, lots of room to run around. It was such a pleasant day!

See that haircut? It took both of us to hold him down for it that morning. He is usually not so adamant about not having his haircut. Signs of soon to be turning three, I guess!


http://vbba.org/Main/What%20Is%20Vintage%20Base%20Ball.htm Link to the Vintage Baseball Association homepage if you want to know more!

Laundry Tip

I don't know about your husband, but mine wears a collared dress shirt nearly every day. And those shirts get dirty, especially around the collars!

I'm not a fan of using bleach (nasty chemical and all that) so I've tried to find another way to clean those collars. And I think I've found a solution. Murphy's Soap Oil! It's mostly used for hardwood floors, believe it or not, but being a vegetable oil, it works well in getting the skin oils out of clothes.

I simply dribble some across the collar and gently scrub with a toothbrush. Then toss it into the washer and clean as usual.

(I find that the outcome depends on the fabric of the shirt. The nice Stafford ones come out very well while the Cosctco Kirtland brand hold the stain in more.)

Do you have any laundry tips to share?

No Privacy

Yesterday while I was using the restroom, Nathan came walking in with a ViewMaster toy. (Remember those binocular-like toys that you put paper discs in and you click it and you can see all the pictures in 3D?) Anyway, he was using it as his camera.

"Say Cheese, Mommy!

I give an unenthusiastic Cheese. I'm in the bathroom after all!

Nathan says "click" and turns his camera around as if to check the image he'd just shot and smiles.

"Nice one."

Um. Thanks?

A Night on the Town

We had a real classy date last night! We had tacos at a gas station and saw a movie at the dollar theater. And honestly, it was one of the best dates we've been on in a long time!

The tacos and my chicken quesadilla were delicious. Best places to find good Mexican food around here are often the hole in the wall places. Though this gas station did boast chandeliers and a lavanderia (laundromat) as well as good food!
The horchata wasn't too bad, but I like the stuff at the Salvadoran pupusa place on Irving Boulevard better.

We saw Voyage of the Dawn Treader and enjoyed it very much. They have done a good job of basically sticking to the plots and the characters are definitely true to the books. Well acted and great special effects in my opinion. The gargantuan bucket of popcorn made it all the more fun!

What's the best recent date you've been on?

A Scare

At least this time it wasn't my kids' fault-like Nathan trying to use my full length mirror as a slide (I don't own one any longer) or him pulling the cart and his sister sitting inside down on top of him (seriously, we'd been in the store for two minutes), or Esther writing letters on the top of her nightstand (we've never had that problem before!)

This time it was the neighbors. Or somebody. For several weeks now, I've been hearing occasional whacks against the back of the house. I thought someone was throwing things from the empty field behind our back fence. But I never found what had been thrown in the yard. But now I know what has been going on.

BB guns. And most likely kids or teens as the hits have been after school hours.

Guess how I know.

We now have a hole in our window.

Fortunately, it only went through one pane and stopped, leaving a round hole about 3.5 inches in diameter and shattered glass between the panes. I called the police to report the incident but there isn't much for them to do as I have little to tell them.

No, we don't have any enemies. No, I haven't seen any kids toting BB guns through the neighborhood. We hardly see our neighbors.

So we call the insurance and get it fixed and hope it doesn't happen again-especially while the kids and I are outside! If it happens again, I may just start yelling. I assume whoever is shooting would be within hearing range. But what good would "Show yourself, you hooligans!" be? Sigh. Not really what I wanted to deal with, but it could have been worse, I guess!