Hannah Montana Guitar Birthday Cake

For this Princess' birthday she went back and forth a million times with what kind of cake she wanted. She finally decided (and this is exactly how she said it) "I want a Hannah Montana cake in the shape of a guitar. Made out of rice crispy treats because I don't like birthday cake. Oh and with strawberries."

This is what I came up with...

Not easy I tell ya! The problem I was having was how was I going to make it look "Hannah Montana-ish" without putting a picture of her on there. I wasn't going to do that! I was hoping that if I copy the writing it would be good enough. I still don't know if you can even tell, but she was happy and that is all that counts!

As far as the strawberries go, well I just made chocolate covered strawberries. It was a perfect companion to rice crispy treats with strawberry frosting. I really don't think the carb count was any less than regular old cake. But when it is the diabetic's birthday I wasn't going to complain.

Anyone have a good low carb substitute for frosting?

So there are the birthday cakes for this year. I am so glad to have the last 3 months over with. Why didn't someone warn me about having a child in February, then one in March and again in April? Come May I am pretty tired!

Check back in December for my hubby's birthday cake request of the Millenium Falcon.

She is 5!!!

I know I can't believe it either! Her birthday was on Tuesday (April 28th). She has been counting down the days till her birthday since Thanksgiving (or longer) so it is nice that they day finally came!

THREE years ago I wrote THIS post about her and her birthday. If you haven't read it I suggest you click on the link to read it. I still can't believe at the age of two her spirit and ability to teach me was so strong!

What do I say about this girl? Honestly, every time I go to talk about her on occasions like this I get a little teary eyed. I have been saying since she was born that she has a special mission on this earth. That is a statement that I will forever hold true for her. With her coming into our family so unexpectedly, me having post partum depression after she was born, to breaking her femur at 7 months old and being questioned for child abuse, and now diabetes. Every incident, with every step along the way she teaches me something new. She is stronger than most kids I know! Where she finds her strength and her will to succeed is beyond me. She has alot to teach and so so much to give.

When I found out I was pregnant with her (3 months into the pregnancy...again click on THIS link to read all about it) and her daddy and I were trying to get our world to stop spinning we went to the temple. While there, I kept thinking of the song I am a Child of God. The words to that song are this:

I am a child of God,

And he has sent me here,

Has given me an earthly home

With parents kind and dear.

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me,

Help me find the way.

Teach me all that I must do

To live with him someday.

I realized that I have a duty. A duty to teach my beautiful Princess WHO she is and WHERE she belongs in the crazy world. That her life is so much more than playing with toys, dancing and singing songs. That she has a gift. Many of them actually. And as her parent I am here to guide her. She has been given many challenges already at such a young age. Some that I seem overwhelmed with most of the time yet she never batts a tear over it. As crazy as it is, I think again to the song that has almost been the theme of her life. The second verse says this:

I am a child of God,

And so my needs are great;

Help me to understand his words

Before it grows too late.

With all that has been placed in her path nothing has gotten her down. She has such a deep understanding of so many things: diabetes, love, charity. It is my prayer that she never forgets this. That as she grows older that she will she the difference she has made in the world. I love this girl. I know she is not done teaching me.

I promise I will always be here to listen.

And just because the third verse is so powerful:

I am a child of God.

Rich blessings are in store;

If I but learn to do his will

I'll live with him once more.

Happy Birthday Princess. You are an amazing little girl. I am so blessed to be your mom! Thank you for the spirit you bring into our home. I love you!

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Just a few things about her.

She loves:

Littlest Pet Shops

Polly Pockets

Her bike

Whistling

Her Brothers

Her bear Dot

High School Musical

Hannah Montana

Singing

and Playing Dress Up

She is:

Sensitive

Creative

Silly

Helpful

Curious

Super fast learner (she can already read a ton of words)

and Playful

And just a quick side note. The pictures of her coloring on the sidewalk was how she spent the afternoon on her birthday. She colored the ENTIRE sidewalk with the chalk that our friend NaTasha gave her as a gift. She really is silly I tell ya!

Monsters vs Aliens

The rain was not a pleasant site this weekend when we were trying to plan our family adventure. Then my hubby had the best idea. We got a gift card to the movie theatre for Christmas, so we decided to use that and go see a movie.

We went to see Monsters vs Aliens in 3D! It was awesome! Everyone really enjoyed it! Little Man couldn't keep the glasses on, and watching it without wasn't any fun so he got a little restless. The other two were really funny to watch. They would try to grab stuff that would come out in front of them. I remember doing that as a kid. Even ducking sometimes thinking that I was going to get hit by the 3D movie.

This week our adventure turned out to be pretty awesome! Let's hope that it isn't supposed to rain for this weekend. I am not sure how many free/super duper cheap indoor activities I can think of.

Anyone else planning any fun adventures this summer? I want to hear about them!

I am sitting here watching Little Man dip his cheetos in his pear pudding....a little from his plate and a little from his brother's (without Dude even knowing).

He is in his own little world.

All that I said in that last post is true, but yes I was laughing.

What is it about the 3rd child that makes all the 2 year old stuff seem funny?

Maybe it's that I have too many other things to be stressed about.....

Either way, I can't help but think right now that life is good. Despite the insane things that happen to us and the never ending block hole of unemployment (sort of) that we are living in. We are blessed. We are healthy. We are happy!

I need to stop getting caught up in the not so good stuff and focus on the wonderful things. There really are so many wonderful things.

I think I will start with enjoying the silly things my 2 year old does. Even if it is dipping cheetos in pudding...yuck!

In the Last Few Days...

My 2 year old has........

~Colored on almost every wall in his room the hallway, and the family room with bright pink sidewalk chalk.

~Ran into my guitar lesson TOTALLY BUCK NEKKID! Making my almost 8 year old student laugh so hard I thought he was going to fall off the couch.

~Bit into a package of grape sugar free Kool Aid staining his mouth, arm, tummy and fingers black! And yes this was about 1 minute after he did as I mentioned above!

~Snuck out of the house and ran through the muddy garden with just socks on.

~Got into the mini tube of tooth paste (while I was in the shower) and ate almost half the tube.

~Been carrying around a bag of elbow noodles thinking they are raisins.

~Been yelling NO WAY at almost everything that I say to him.

~Threw away one of his brand new shoes. Causing his dad and I to empty out the OUTSIDE garbage can onto a tarp in the garage to see if we could find it before garbage day.

~Shoved 3 DVD's into the player at once almost breaking the thing. Good thing they all came out!

~While birthday shopping for my princess he grabbed 5 shirts off the rack at once causing the entire rack of shirts to come off the hangers. It took me 5 minutes just to untangle them and put them back on the hangers and onto the rack.

~Put sunglasses on the cat.....he is doing that while I type.

~Hid his tie that I put on him for church in the DISHWASHER! When I asked him why he clearly said "Don't want it!"

~Snuck into the strawberry's I bought today for the Princess' birthday party.....He is done with the cat and is now eating the strawberry's all up.....

LOOKS LIKE I AM DONE POSTING FOR THE DAY!!!!

Anyone else with a 2 year old that is as sweet and dear and A HANDFUL and mine is?


****UPDATE****
I know it has only been 10 minutes since I posted this, but I had another that I wanted to add.

~Empty ALL of the DVDs out of the entertainment center. Really! This kid doesn't stop!

Not sure what to say right now.

I'm feeling "IT" again.

"It" meaning sorry for myself.

I hate being here. In this rut.

It stinks.

Where is the way out and when do I get to see it?

Looks like I need a little service in my life. Time to do my Visiting Teaching, send letters to those I love, make cookies for the neighbors, and lend a hand to someone in need.

Not to get the blessings guys, to feel better.

However the blessings would be nice too.

Updates coming later. For those that don't know me or what is going on in my life (if you care) feel free to read almost every other post in the last 10 months of my life. Gotta love unemployment, diabetes and just bad luck in general.

P.S. Why is blogger not letting me put spaces like I want them? Guess this post just gets to look weird. Sorry.

The kickoff!

Last year when my hubby was laid off from his job we knew that it wasn't going to easy. Not just financially but to keep our family strong. To not let the stress of everything get in the way of a happy family. We decided that it would be good for our family to take a day every week and do something fun. We started calling them our Family Adventures. We did some really fun things. I tried to blog about them, but there are so many that I didn't blog about. This year will be different, I plan on blogging about every one of them.

We have some good friends that came with us on almost every adventure that we went on last year and they are excited to do them with us this year. In fact we have 3 more families that most likely will be joining us. All 5 families had a Family Adventure kickoff BBQ at the park yesterday. It was pretty fun! I was able to get a few pictures. Check them out!


Baseball is Dude's new thing. He is pretty dang good at it. He was given a scholarship to play on a league here and has been enjoying it!

The Princess has been practicing the monkey bars at school but the ones at the park where up kind of high. She really wanted to try to do them, but I was being lazy. Our friend Brandon went over and helped her for the longest time. She had the best time!

This is just funny! You remember that Little Man has an obsession with hats right? Well did you know that he makes me put jackets on him just so he can wear the hat? Silly kid!

Princes has been trying hard to learn how to swing too. I sat there forever trying to teach her. She is the world's most uncoordinated little girl. But she still had fun!

So that is it. Our first Family Adventure of the season. We sat down and wrote out all the things that we want to do this year so stay tuned for more fun with our crazy family and occasionally an appearance of our crazy friends.

Easter

I know that it was a week ago, but I promised my mom that I would post these pictures. Ok, she really didn't twist my arm. But I still made a promise.

Easter was the best. I went to bed feeling really crappy about myself and all the things that are going on in my life. But when I woke up Easter morning the sun was shinning bright in the windows, and my kids were super excited. I couldn't help but smile and push all my stress aside for one day. The Easter bunny did come which made the day even better. The Princess was so excited that the Easter bunny knew that she was diabetic and brought her sugar free candy. This made her day. The day was looking even better.

The Easter Bunny also brought the kids the cutes Easter clothes. I loved that the boys were dressed alike again, and the Princess couldn't stop twirling in her beautiful flowy dress. I tried to have this quick photo shoot, but you know how it is to take your own kids pictures. It never works for me. I always catch a bit of their personalities. Dude really wanted to do his own hair. I wasn't going to fight. This was his best try at a sharks hair do. Gotta love this kid!

Little Man couldn't have been more happy as well. He has a sucker in his mouth before all the eggs where found. This kid loves candy! He looked super handsome in his new get up too! But when I tired to take his picture he was more excited that he was outside he wanted nothing to do with getting his picture taken. I can keep up with him playing. I got a few good ones.

I had taken a few hours off of work so that I could spend a little time with the family before they headed off to church. I was so bummed that I couldn't go with them. I helped get them ready and took their pictures, and was getting ready to send them off. I checked for time off and wouldn't you know it I got it! It was a miracle! I ended up not having to work at all. Not good for the pay check but awesome for spending time with my fam!

All in all the day was awesome! It was just what I needed for curing the way I had been feeling the day before. A holiday, spending time with my family, sunshine and being able to go to church can do that to you!

The only bad part...I didn't get to see my parents.

Not So Bad After All

Last month when I took the Princess to her Endocrinologist appointment I came back feeling like a failure. Well to a degree. I know that wasn't really my fault that her A1c had gone up. But it is so hard not to take it personal. He made a ton of changes to her treatment last month that I feel have been really helping her.

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Let me take a minute to answer a few questions that I have received. First I take her to see her Dr. once a month, and we visit on the phone every week. This is partially due to the fact that since she was diagnosed in November she has never really been able to stay on the same treatment. Her body has been changing so quickly (due to slowly coming out of her honeymoon stage) that almost every week there have been changes made to her doses. Once they feel like things will slow down a bit they will have us come in every 3 months. And second, at the appointment every month they do check her A1c. As you all know this is to help us know how we are doing with things.

_____________________________________

So with all that said, last week we were due to take her to the doctor and I couldn't help but be nervous. All I kept thinking was if her A1c was back up again then I know that I am doing a crappy job at taking care of her. The day wasn't a pretty one. I ended up taking the boys with me to her appointment. I knew I was asking for trouble. When we got there they were pretty wound up. Little Man fell off a chair in the waiting room and was pretty much a pill the rest of the time. I even brought books for all of them to read while the Dr. and I talked. They were so loud that they Dr. said that he was just going to talk over them and asked if I was ok with that.

All that aside, I am here to report that I have nothing to worry about. Her A1c came down from 8.7 last month to 7.4 this month! A huge change and this is the lowest it has ever been. The doctor said we were doing a great job and she is exactly where he wants her to be right now. He didn't make any changes. This is even the first time that I get to go 2 weeks before I talk to him again. You can imagine how happy I was!

This really is the first time since she was diagnosed that I can honestly say that things are going good with her. Before I always felt that they were out of control. It ended up being a good day after all!

I know you were all dying to know!

Yes, they survived the winter. Dare I say just barely?

When we first got these cluckers last summer Mini was pretty small. She wasn't producing eggs yet. Now that it is spring I look at her and think she is Jane every time. I still try to find the "smaller" chicken who is Mini. I just barely realized how to tell them apart. First Mini is now bigger than Jane. Second, Jane has white wings and Mini has white feathers around her neck.

The kids think they are pretty cool still. The "Ba cocks" (pronounced like the sound that a chicken makes) is Little Man's favorite. He likes to wake up and feed them bread, he likes to chase them around the yard and he likes to try to pick them up.

I have learned to like them a little too. Jane is super sweet. Every time the back door opens she comes to your feet and will follow you around. Mini did climb up on my lap while I was taking pictures though. She started to peck at my pants so I kicked her off. Jane came shortly after. She asked to have her picture taken with me. I looked terrible, but I agreed to do it anyway. (lol)

Dude was able to catch Mini on a nice note. I just had to take a picture. Too bad that nice note ended quickly. Little Man tried to pick her up and he got pecked in the face.

See all grown up. Both are laying eggs now. Unfortunately it is never in the same spot. It is like an Easter egg hunt every day! Some days I don't even try. Did you know that egg shells are good for your garden? YOU DIDN'T? Well don't forget to post your gardening questions to get my hubby, Farmer "T" to do a guest post! Maybe you will learn some awesome things like that!

I know what you are thinking. This was taken before she tried to peck his eyes out.

OH! Did I mention my chickens do tricks? Here is proof!

Yep! They jump. Here they are trying to get worms. The kids think this is the best! You hold out bread, cracker, a worm and sometimes just your finger and they will jump to get it!

So there you have it! Proof that I am not a crappy chicken owner. Now let's see if they make it to Sunday Dinner....a hem.

I AM JUST KIDDING!

Well for now. We will see about that when the time comes!

The "Office"

If we lived out in the middle of nowhere I am pretty sure that I would have to start calling my hubby Farmer "T". Kind of like Mr. T but only a little more redneck. On second thought maybe I will start calling him that anyway.

You see he has this love of gardening that has just been getting bigger and bigger every year. Even more so since we moved into this house and have the backyard the size of Nebraska (Hi Gena! Miss you!) The entire North side of our back yard is nothing but garden. Our awesome friend Holly gave Trevor her old greenhouse, that we now call his "Office", and is now located over there too. This has been great for making his garden starts, but bad for ever seeing my hubby.

It had been awhile since I had been out there (dang spring snow!) so I thought I would put on my shoes and head out there yesterday. Plus I figured that if I ever want to see my hubby I need to meet him in the "office" cuz he ain't comin' out till dark.

This is what I saw! I guess I can't make fun of Farmer "T" anymore. This very well might be the only way we will be eating come the fall.

Check out the "Office". Pretty cool huh? FYI, this is where my chickens live too. I was forbidden from taking pictures of the coup until it has been cleaned again. Maybe next time folks.

Let me explain what you are about to see here. When Trevor started planting stuff in the ground he had a feeling that the snow wasn't done yet (see natural born farmer) he had an idea to use our recycled materials to help the little seeds survive. Let me tell you, it worked! We have had several inches of snow in the last few weeks and these little guys are still sprouting!

You can't see it here, but there really are starts under there! Little Man was pretty amused! I was too, but I was a little more impressed with this sweet moment I caught between the two of them!
So I have a feeling this won't be the last we see of this garden. Wait till I show you his love of canning! Anyone else remember when he made strawberry jelly out of 40 lbs of strawberry's 2 weeks after the Little Man was born? Just so you know, the jelly only lasted us a year!

Now here is something fun that I just thought of. Since it is time for most people to be starting their garden maybe it will be fun to have my hubby answer any gardening questions you might have. So if you can think of anything that you need help with or need ideas leave a comment and I will have him guest post. Let's think of some good ones, he is a character and I am sure you all want to meet him. Right? RIGHT? (LOL! He is going to kill me!)

So ask away. If he doesn't know it he will go to the gardening master, my Grandpa, and find out the answer for you! Happy Spring people!

The Easter Egg Hunt

As I mentioned on Little Man's birthday we went to an Easter Egg hunt. This wasn't just ANY Easter Egg Hunt. No, this was one that we were invited to go to at the University of Utah. They hold an egg hunt every year for children with diabetes and their families. It was quite the event. Complete with balloon animals, face painting, magic show, the Eater Bunny, learning classes for the parents, lunch from Jason's Deli, and movies. Oh and the actual hunt itself. It was sponsored by Walgreen's and they provided every child with 2 toys. Yes TWO toys! Not just any little toy either, Dude got a K'nex set and a pack of markers. Princess got a Disney princess makeup kit and a doll that is 1/4 of her height. Little Man got a pack of dump trucks and some crayons.

It was a blast. While we are still adjusting to diabetes being in our home, I feel grateful for events like this and programs like the JDRF that helps us to feel so normal. It helps when all the other kids in the room get shots and make pump adjustments at lunch. All of the sudden Princess isn't quite as different. I just wish I could have taken all my new internet (and some here at home) diabetes buddies. Hopefully we get invited back again next year!

The Dump Truck Birthday Cake.

Every year with the birthday cakes that I make for my kids I get really stressed. I love it! But I have had a lot going on so I wanted to keep it easy. He loves dump trucks so I thought that filling a toy dump truck with dirt would be fun. The dirt actually being chocolate pudding with crunched up Oreo's on top. Complete with gummy worms. What 2 year old doesn't like dirt?(plus with sugar free pudding it is lower carbs than birthday cake for his sister)

Little Man is 2!

I can't believe that 2 years has passed since this little guy was born. His birthday was actually on the 28th, but this last week has been really busy. And to top it off he has been sick all week so this is the first chance I can get to post his birthday wish. As they say "Late is better than never!"

What a joy he is. Even when he is acting 2. This little man has such an understanding of the world around him. Talking up a storm and always trying to make people laugh. He is always learning new things. Many times a day I hear him chanting "Daddy, watch this!"


This boy knows how to show his love for every member of the family. He loves to cuddle with daddy and follow him all around the yard. He loves to play with my hair and gently twists it through his fingers. He loves to play with his big brother and wakes up every morning calling his name and asking to watch cartoons. Him and his sister could play for hours together. He has this nickname for her that is adorable to hear him say. He has certainly found his place in our family!

Little man loves his blanket and binky still. He is rarely without one or the other. Sometimes both. He is a little man of touch. His hair stays long partially because of how much he loves to play with my hair and his own.

He has a collection of hats that are often used. And has a slight obsession with trucks. Dump trucks, fire trucks, garbage trucks and even our friend Brandon's truck. Somehow he knows when it is Friday and waits in the window all day so he can watch the garbage man.

We spent his birthday at an Easter Egg Hunt help for diabetics and their families. Dude and Princess got their faces painted. He wasn't really all that interest. Apparently Princess felt bad for him. Once we got home she took him into her room and painted his face with the makeup she got at the Easter Egg Hunt. I had to leave it for the rest of the day.

There is so much that I love about this kid. I hope that as he gets older he sees how special he is. His ability to touch people and to make people laugh. I also hope that he gets over his fear of heights and dogs.

I find that since he is my 3rd 2 year old I have been a little more relaxed. I try not to get angry when he empties out a the drawer of towels or when he unrolls a new roll of toilet paper. When he takes the bathroom stool ALL OVER the house to make him 6 inches taller it makes me laugh. Even if he uses it to sneak a treat of the counter. He is an explorer just like his older brother. He is sensitive just like his older sister and he is funny like his dad. He is an awesome little boy and I love him to death.

Happy 2nd Birthday Little Man! Your mommy loves you!