A gift worth waiting for

Can someone actually be in love with an appliance?

I believe the answer is yes!!

I had been wanting this particular mixer for about four years now. Anyone that knows me well knows that I have a terrible time spending money on myself. I mean, it was like pulling teeth to get me to buy one new pan a month ago, and it was only 20 bucks!

Everytime Darrin would see it, he would want me to get it. Of course I didn't. But...I was really good at seeing them on TV in all of the cooking shows and making comments about which recipe I "couldn't make" because I didn't have THE mixer. Even the kids got involved and knew how much I really wanted one.

I chose the pink one because my friend Lisa has been battling cancer on and off for so long, and part of the proceeds from the pink mixer goes to the Susan G. Komen Cooking for the Cure foundation.

So yesterday was the day!! My poor husband has been battling gout for a few days and wasn't feeling quite well enough to be able to drive out to the store to get it. We made it 1/2 way there and had to turn around. By that time, the kids were getting off the bus and Steven offered to go with me (and Nathan) while Darrin stayed home and rested. Darrin had saved some money from tips that paid for a good deal of the mixer, and wanted to get this as a gift for me.

Here it is in the cart, ready to be put in the car. I almost didn't make it out of the store. If Steven wasn't with me, I might have put it back!

Thank you Darrin, I just love my mixer. Sorry Keurig, I promise, nobody will ever take your place. I have enough love for all of you! :)

Nathan Turns 2!

Nathan Turns 2!

Nathan's birthday was March 2nd, and Darrin took the day off. We decided to take him to Build-a-Bear.

He picked a very cute doggy (which he named "Doggy").

The first part of the Build-a-Bear proccess is stuffing the bear. The child presses a pedal and the stuffing comes out of a big machine, and into the animal that was chosen. Poor Nathan pressed the pedal once and was scared, so daddy had to do it the rest of the way.

Next comes the insertion of the heart, and giving his new friend a bath.

After officially naming his "Doggy" and printing a birth certificate, we were on our way. He loved carrying the box, and even though it was almost as big as him, insisted on doing so.

The following Sunday, we had family and friends over for his birthday party. What a great time!








I was very proud of his Lightning McQueen cake that I made. The cake originally split in four pieces when I took it out of the pan, but I was determined to fix it.















Some random things about you at age 2:




The way you say your brothers and sister's names-Steven, Ya-ya, Zakie.





You love, love diggers. Even more than Lightning McQueen. Bulldozers, backhoes and cement mixers are your favorite.


Your favorite breakfast is eggs, toast (with lots of butter) strawberries, bananas, taylor ham and sometimes applesauce mixed with cereal.


Your favorite lunch is mac-n-cheese.

Dinner is your least favorite meal. You really don't eat much at dinner.

You know how to use utensils, but prefer your hands.

You are a GREAT sleeper, you nap for 2-3 hours a day, and sleep from 7:30 to 7.

You love to brush your teeth, although you try to put the toothbrush underneath the automatic soap dispenser.


You love the independence of walking by yourself, but still like to be held. You're so heavy though, so mommy is trying to not carry you too much.

This is just some of the things I can think of right now..there is so much more.





This last picture is both funny, and sad.



We had set up the auto timer so we could get a picture of everyone. As Darrin runs to get into the picture, our two week old camera falls, and breaks. Notice my laughing as Darrin is running. We weren't laughing when we realized the camera was broken though. :(






On to year 2 Nathan! We love you so much sweet boy. Can't wait to see what adventures await us this year!