Hooray !! ( ? ) I had a birthday

Hooray, not! 39th, arrgh

Well maybe hooray, I received lots of love.

It all started with some vitamin X. What is that? It is me and my hubby sneaking to bed just a little early. I'll leave it at that. No pictures sorry.

On facebook I was greeted with numerous birthday wishes. It was fun to read all the birthday salutations. Some from people I haven't seen in 10+ years. Thank you!

I had to work on my birthday, arrgh! Oh well, it is really just another day right? While at work my dearest friend ( boy mom ) came in with my requested birthday cake. She is so awesome. It was a made from scratch German chocolate cake, my favorite, and coffee ice cream to boot. I requested that too, selfish huh!! Sometimes you get your cake and get to eat it too. Not me, I had just started a lengthy procedure. She said the cake was still warm. Ooo.... everyone that walked through my department was drooling. I told them to dig in. Everyone refused until I was able to have some first. What great co-workers.

Can you believe I forgot to take a picture before cutting into it?

Looks yummy, huh! Are you jealous? Wait til you see me eating it.

So delicious and still warm. Are you jealous now? Thank you Boy Mom, everyone loved it. We all want the recipe, that is if you are willing to share.

I also received a gourmet candied apple and chocolate covered Cinnamon bears from Michelle, a co-worker, Thanks!

My sister has been having a tough time lately and wasn't able to buy me a gift. I told her if she didn't mind tending my little ones for a hour so I could go for a run that would be a great gift.

Yes! I went for 41/2 mile run on my birthday and it was great. I had to burn all those cake and ice cream calories, present and to come. It was a big cake.

My hubby suggested pizza for dinner so we didn't have to cook, I wasn't gonna pass that offer up. I ordered a pesto pizza, with fresh tomato's and chicken. Oh you got to try it sometime.

Upon arriving home I found a beautiful flower arrangement. I love fresh flowers. He spoils me every year with an arrangement. I love him so much!

My in laws gave me raw cocoa. It is supposed to be the best ever! (it is some healthy, hippie, antioxidant stuff). Well it is, she has made me fudge using it before. But now she says I can make my own. What? Where is the fun in that! Just kiddin' . I am excited to use it. Maybe I'll give it to boy mom to make me more CAKE, um just a thought.

Another day older, I can deal with it. After all I was lavished with fresh flowers and chocolate.

Oh wait, all you bloggers are gonna be jealous, there is more. Just as I was headed to bed my oldest came in with a small but precious gift.

This unclear photo was taken with my cell phone, if you can't read it , it says 16 GB. Wow, I got to load this into the digital camera. I was excited. Bring on endless pictures.

Then to top it all off. The next afternoon I went with a couple of dear friends ( boy mom and my sister ) to get pedicures. What fun it is to get happy feet! Don't our feet look happy. If your feet are happy the rest of you is happy.

I can't wait 'til next year. You are welcome to come.

What No Chocolate or Caffeine

So to begin, I have horrible sinuses. In the last 14 yrs I have had 2 sinus surgeries. If you have ever had sinus surgery you feel my pain. I must admit that it has been a while since the last surgery, uhm 10yrs maybe. I have done pretty well, I say that only because I have avoided surgery again. The sinus infections still come. They are like a storm swell. Sometimes I just accept all the pain and congestion and go on with life. Then there are times like the recent bout, multiple antibiotic courses, I feel much better while on the drugs. So I decide to go see the ENT doctor again. Of course the ENT doctor isn't available, so I see his PA. Nothing against the PA, I didn't feel well, I wanted the real thing. Oh well, so the PA reviews my history and checks my ears, nose, and throat( ENT) duh, because that is his job decsription. So he asks what I am doing to treat my symptoms. Here comes the list : claritin, nasal steriods, mucinex D, nasal rinses........ He says your doing everything you need to do. So he gives me 30 day course of .... antibiotics. I take the new drug and start feeling better. But to no avail 1 week off the antibiotic treatment I start to feel the crud coming back.

So back for a follow up, with the PA. He says since it has been a few years I had better get a CT of my sinuses. Since I do CT scans as my job, I get the test done the next day. I am sure my dedcutible is met now. $$$$$$ NO freebies at my work.

The CT shows mucous thicking- snot - on the RT side. I really didn't need a CT for that. Days later, after the PA and doctor review the results they decide I should come back in for a culture of the sinus. Goodie what fun, I 've been there done that.

So, I go in for the culture. Yea, I finaly get to see the infamous doctor for 10 minutes. He sticks this tiny q-tipped wire up and in my Rt maxilary sinus. He says, "this might cause some pain and pressure in the teeth and your eye." OUCH!! Eyes watering. "How is the Lt side?", he asks. Do I dare answer. I hadn't any antibiotics for 4 weeks, of course there are ooggie boogeies there too. I leave the office with both eyes watering.

Wait ... for results.

"+ 3 staph, and + haemapholus ........, " something like that. MORE antibiotics, this time targeted for these particular boogies.

I am stupid. " I read the drug info. " Take 500mg 2x a day for 15 days. No milk or yogurt, unless with a full meal. Don't take vitamins within 6hrs before or 2 hrs after medication. NO CHOCOLATE or CAFFEINE." " What are you kidding me!!!!!"

Only 10 days left.

Lets see, I saw the PA on the 8tht of July. We could of just cultured my sinuses then. Skipped the CT; used the $90 ( co-pays) and $200+( CT ) for school clothes, and be done with the antibiotics and eating chocolate. I can live with out the DR. PEPPER, maybe.

I am gonna eat german chocolate cake --made by Boy Mom-- on my B-day, I don't care!

Shout Out

It is BOY MOM's birthday!

Eventhough I don't have very many followers there are a few of you, I am sure, that would like to wish her a happy birthday.

Boy Mom,
Happy Birthday!

I am so excited for your birthday it means we are getting closer to that glorious day of old age of sitting in the local hair salon and having our gray/purple hair done! Lord knows we don't get to see each other much now.

I cherish our friendship more than you know. I love you so much. I am blessed to have such wonderful friend. As I a have told you before, you inspire, up lift and strengthen me in so many ways.

Thank you for being "YOU"( that is a geunine quality not many people are able to portray), for the laughter and the tears. Also for all the hugs.

Have a wonderful day, even though you are at work.

I work on my B-day next week. I'll be expecting a nice warm german chocolate cake, and coffee ice cream, HA-HA!

Love you

Suz

for ALL THE LITTLE GIRLS, and one BIG BOY ( July's cake)

Princess Lil' turned 4 today. She and her oldest brother are 14 yrs and 3days apart. So once again we had their celebration together.

Lil' is a girly girl through and through. She requested a princess cake, Dora cake, or Barbie. My Boy Mom friend said she had a cake pan you put a Barbie on. Don't ask me why a mother of all boys has a Barbie cake pan. Anyway it sounded fun. I never made it out there to pick it up, so I improvised, out of necessity of course, I hadn't planned my time very well.

A while back I said that maybe I'd try fondant sometime. This was the some time, and I most likely will never use it again, for the whole cake that is. It was very hard to use. Luckily I didn't have to make it, whew. I found already to use pure white and colored fondant at Walmart. When I purchased the fondant I thought this was going to be the easiest cake ever. Wrong! It rolled out very easily but also dried very quickly, and cracked a lot. I think I'll stick with the butter knife, white frosting and color gels.

At home we have a set of varied sized metal bowls. I chose to bake cakes in each one and stack them for the Barbie dress. I bought a $5 Barbie, washed the bottom half, wrap in saran wrap and stick her in the cake. Lil' wasn't quite sure she liked that. She was worried that she wouldn't get to have the Barbie, and was upset that I wouldn't let her play with it first. I didn't think it was a good idea to put a used Barbie in the cake. After promising her several times that she would indeed get to have the Barbie after blowing out the candles at party time she relented.

Our Barbie cake:

varied sized stack cakes ( funfetti, )

new Barbie

ready to use fondant ( apparently a prior knowledge of fondant use is helpful)

patience

Here she is.....

When I finally got the white layers of fondant on the cakes without too many visible cracks, Lil' , I and Riley's girl friend set to adding color. Maddie and Lil' had fun rolling little color balls while I attempted making a rose and vine applique.

Again rushing to finish before party time, plus I still needed to frost Riley's cake. Good thing I made a simple delicious chocolate cake, because the fondant tasted nasty.

Awe... I love them both so much!

Look how much Riley has grown. The cake below was another first.


Birthday fun!!

We bought Lil a Barbie bike. I must apologize to Michelle ( co worker). We purchased the exact same bike as your daughters. It was just too cute. Way better than the Hello Kitty bike. Plus you can't pass up the attachable Barbie bicycle for Barbie to ride. Gee, I remember having a plain blue bike with the old banana style seat. Kids sure are spoiled these days! I'll have no part of that!

Riley isn't spoiled either. We bought him a new cell phone. Of course we had to renew his 2yr agreement to get the discount of about $100. Also aren't boys always in need of new undies and socks.

He also got a family dome tent. Jay (dad) has always said that when the kids turn 18 they have to move out. Now he has something to live in, Ha!

No, we aren't kicking him out yet. He is still looking for a decent regular job. Maybe school this winter. I hope!

Cry for attention!

Grandma I. made Lil' the cutest dress and a matching one for her new dolly she had bought her. No spoiling here either.

Time to blow out the candles and eat the CHOCOLATE cake. My mom was the only one that dared to try the fondant.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Cake ( should of been posted in June)

Milo had a birthday in June, yes I know I am a little behind. He had all sorts of crazy ideas for his cake creation, he turned 7, I am sure you can imagine his ideas. I finally convinced him that a transformers insignia might be do able. Finding a suitable insignia I then made the pattern.

He was pretty excited. The sequel to the Transformers had been release on his birthday. Even the older boys thought it was gonna be cool! I could envision it, but held my breath. Hours later.....

Milo loved it! Me well... aren't we always critical of ourselves. I wished I hadn't run out of black icing gel, I under estimated the supplies. As usual I was decorating the darned thing right up til party time. Boy Mom over at Boys -r-Us suggested the edible glitter. She even had some to give me. It gave it the metallic hue.

Sometimes it is easy to please the children. Below are some pictures of Milo's birthday party with his friends. I am mean, I save the cool cakes for the family parties. His friends got pizza and otter pops.

What the ..... taken from Boy Mom

My friend over at Boys R Us has a hilarious weekly post titled " What the ......". This is a tribute to "What the ......."

Set the seen, Mom is at work and calls home to check on Tommy (13) Milo (7).

What the ...... You fixed your brother little brother chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast! I think to myself. Ummm sounds good. Wait a minute ....."Did you clean up the mess?" The last time Tommy fixed pancakes, I came home to a glass Pyrex dish filled with solidified pancake mix and a wire whisk stuck in the middle. I could only imagine what the chocolate chip pancake mess looked like. I ask again, " Did you clean up the mess and add do the dishes?" "Yes", in the lovely teenage tone of, " Why would you even ask such a question?"

Tommy calls Mom at work. He asks how to open up the kitchen table.

What the ....."How many friends are over there?"Here comes the teenage attitude again. There were only two friends there. Apparently they were there for the pancakes also. Any way Tommy asks again how to open the kitchen table. Why would he need to open the table? It is large enough for our family to sit at. Dare I ask. I have to, it is my parental duty. Oh ....I see the 7 foot red tail boa slithered into the table and is trapped (hiding) in the storage area for the spare table leaf. I never saw that coming!

Mom comes home from work.

What the ...... Sink full of dishes. The pancake dishes non the less. Otter pop wrappers strewn through the house. Dish towels smeared with butter, daily chores not done.....I think I'll stop there. You can probable imagine the site.

Mom hollered orders to clean up mess such.

What the..... comes the teenage attitude. "I don't understand why Mom is up set." What is her problem. " ( Hey , maybe I should make that a weekly post for me. )

Everyone relaxed and happy. Tommy took care of mess and chores. He is off playing. Mom, Milo and Lil' watching a DVD and eating chocolate chips (What the heck, those are for cookies.)

What the..... " I have a rock up my nose", says Lil'. Get flash light, lets take a peek. "Did you really put a rock up your nose?" " Yes". Sure enough, there it was. No pictures, sorry I thought I'd spare you the bulging bloody rock seen.

"Come on Lil' blow hard. Don't stick things up your nose sweetie!"

Boy Mom I love you, 7 boys ( make it 8 with new foster "teenager"). Just how do you do it?

My Illness

I friend of mine recently sent this to me. I am so glad that I am not the only one who feels this way. I am thinking of setting up a fund for those with this illness!

A A A D D

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS......PLEASE READ!

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.

Somehow, I feel better even though I have it!!

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D..D.. (Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.)

This is how it manifests: I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway,I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.

I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.

Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:the car isn't washed the bills aren't paid there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter, the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you yet, your day is coming!!