C was so excited,  just look how big his eyes are …

My hubby was a little excited himself…

Poor little Beauty was not tall enough to ride or drive yet…

But first they had to wait their turn for the track….

C was up first, with 3 other “little” boys…

He pushed that pedal to the floor and was off… and he was awesome!

Then it was the “big”  boys turn…

A wave for his adoring fans ….

The boys had a great time. I had fun taking pics and cheering them on.

As for Beauty… try not to feel too sad for poor Beauty.

She got to go shopping for a new dress after lunch!

It has been cold and generally not fun to be outside (unless you are on the mountain)  as of late.

C has been immersed in the world of personal video games.

He plays soccer in the spring, swims and goes to sports camp in the summer, and resumes soccer again in the fall.

But this time of year is rough on outdoor sports.

He makes a weekly appearance in Karate class, but the usual afternoons spent at our park just don’t happen when it is this cold.

After a long day at school he really enjoys zoning out with the video game for a little “me/down” time…. 7 year old style!

Look at his concentration

We spent the day practicing an indoor set up for a special event mini session she will be having for spring portraits.. and of-course we also spent time chatting , sharing stories, feeding and occupying  our 5 kids total.

Our kids love each other, thank goodness and we even talked them into posing for us in-between playing.

Time came to leave as she was expecting company for her youngest birthday dinner.

We cleaned up our equipment and moved her furniture back and looked over to my oldest who was holding his belly on their couch.

She asked me if he was okay.  Being a non-alarmist type parent,  I told her he just needed to use the restroom.

He refused and we got in to our car packed full of equipment and drove to the end of their block when he shouted “go back, please I want to use the bathroom now”

We were back at her door and he slid inside without so much as a hello.

He then came back out and we were almost on our way again when unexpectedly,  he laid on the floor and proceeded to puke on her family room carpet.  I am talking gross, smelly hot dog chunks all over her freshly cleaned room–minutes before her family was going to arrive.

I wanted to cry.  I tried to scoop it up and was pleading with her to forgive me.  I was mortified.

She was calm and kept saying “don’t worry about it ” and rushed him to her bathroom ( I think her Pediatric Nurse alter ego took over)

The smell quickly filled her house and we chased the other kiddos up stairs as not to induce a “barf-o-rama”

She broke out her steam cleaner and phone and asked her family if they could possibly come over another night this week.

OH MY GOODNESS…she was rescheduling her son’s birthday.  I really wanted to die.  Her response was “He is three, he doesn’t know if his birthday is today or tomorrow”

She was so sweet, she helped me with C (who threw up 2 more times)  cleaned up the carpet and then asked if I wanted to stay for dinner——

Her hubby came home, not super pleased but took pity on us as well and even cooked me some of the best fajitas I have EVER had.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THERE ARE FRIENDS LIKE THESE OUT THERE!    Oh how I love them, seriously!

We  eventually got back on the road with an old tupperware and rag in tow (and yes C did make use of it on the way home as well, jeeze that was less than awesome).  He stayed home from school yesterday and after never breaking a fever, and keeping all his food down was declared cured and sent to school today.

It must have been something he ate,  jokingly my hubby has told him he is allergic to candy and sugar.  We will see how long that lasts!

Anyway  I just wanted to share an image we caught before the chaos…

Here she is with her sweet son, on his “real”  Birthday that was ruined by my son’s puke- fest.

It took a little bribe of some Valentines candy, but I got her to pose.

Valentines are the best, they feel like a little hug.

Nothing beats a personalized card, and with a photo it is perfection !

Happy Valentines Day!

He says I am his Valentine and that Daddy has to share me.

Soon enough there will be other Valentines,  but for now it is just me……

Beauty, who was sitting propped up in between us had fallen asleep on the couch just like this……..

She looked so sweet with her head in her hands, totally determined to stay awake.

As I get older my birthdays seem to be something like a double edged sword.

On the one hand I feel lucky to be here, how many people pass away with out getting to be 34 years old?   Having a family with a beautiful little girl, a busy little boy,  a handsome and  rugged,  lovingly obnoxious  husband?

On the other hand I feel my youth slipping away.  I was talking to a friend about something that happened when I was in high school …when  I realized that was 20 years ago!

WHAT….When did that happen?

The “boys” at the grocery store and restaurants now call me ma’am.

I know it’s the natural progression on things, but it’s a hard pill to swallow..

I decided to take a birthday portrait, wow…not easy to look at my self on my  24″ monitor when I already feel sensitive about the aging process.

I spent some time this morning at Beauty’s preschool.

She works so hard and I am proud of the progress she is making.

As I watched her I noticed something… all her work, pictures and paintings are done in just one color—hot pink.

She is a girl who knows what she likes, that is for sure.

My kids are dying for some outdoor activity.

We tried going out this afternoon, but quickly changed our minds.

I need the fresh air for my sanity, so do my kids.

But when it is so cold the fresh air actually makes you gasp, that is no good either.

Every outfit consists of three layers: a top, a ruffled skirt and leggings.

There is only one color in Beauty’s world and it is Pink Hot!

I am dying to make her on of those She’s Out of Control (that late 80’s movie with Tony Danza as the dad) skirts…. the one where you cut off the legs to your jeans and sew  layers of ruffles to the bottom to make a skirt.

Totally awesome 80’s chic,  I had one my mom made from white jeans, I loved that thing.