Happy Birthday

Today I want to wish a happy birthday to one of the most amazing and greatest guys I know. Some call him Coach D, Big D, Macgyver, papa, but I am lucky enough to call him Dad. 

He has been such an inspiration to me this year. He is such a fighter and is not letting cancer get the best of him. We are getting together this weekend to celebrate him and i can't wait for presents. I managed to find a pretty cool birthday gift for him but I don't want to spoil the surprise so I will post all about it later. 

Bake Shop

Today was a very productive day in the Santopadre house. I was BUSY in the kitchen. Good thing I had an adorable helper and two boys who were content occupying themselves. Emmeline and I managed to tackle a huge bag of caramel corn, lemon cupcakes, chocolate bundt cake with fudge frosting, and 5 dozen cookies. We were just a tad busy . Emmeline was in heaven. 

While we were busy instead my Dad and the husband were busy playing electricians outside. They did a great job stringing cable and then adding lights. It will be so nice for backyard parties and movie nights. Counting down the last few days of school so we can stay up late and enjoy our backyard. 

They don't even compare

Tonight we were lucky enough to head up to Nonie and Papa's house for a delicious dinner prepared by none other then Uncle Ken. We walked in the door and it smelled just like his house on so many Sunday nights that we would have family dinner together- great memories. The husband was super excited to smell and see that Ken was cooking up his famous ribs. Yes, the ribs that I have been trying to replicate for the past year. I thought I was doing a pretty good job, but according to him they don't even compare. It looks like I am going to have to go back to the drawing board and play  around with spices a bit more. 

Radio Flyer

Today Auntie Care-Care and Uncle Bri-Bri along with Mads and Jack surprised Jackson with his own radio flyer tricycle. It is beyond adorable and it was even more adorable sitting there with the balloons on the back. Little guy took no time figuring out there was storage in the back for all of his friends. Yay, for wonderful weather so he could take it out for a spin. Thank you Auntie Care-Care and Uncle Bri-Bri it is a hit with all 3 of my kiddos.

Off the wagon

I woke up today with the worst migraine headache EVER!!! I tried everything I could think off to help and when all else failed I asked Chris to go get me a soda. I was never a big soda drinker. I believe in drinking the real stuff just in moderation, but I had not had one since I stated my 100 day challenge. And when one soda today didn't cure it the second one sure did. I am so bummed, but thankful I was able to open my eyes and get out of bed and play with my sweet babies and go see my adorable niece! Lets hope I wake up tomorrow with no migraine so I can get my report cards done.  

Alice in Wonderland

I was so excited about the gender reveal party that I realized I forgot to write about our fun afternoon. My mom bought tickets for the kids and I to see Alice in Wonderland. We were all extra excited and Emmeline was thrilled since she just saw Grease.
When we got there I realized it was a ballet and not a musical. I opted not to tell the kids to see how they would do. Emmeline was in heaven and I am seeing lots of vey expensive ballet lessons on our future and Caden on the other hand looked at me oddly after about 10 minutes. He kept asking why are they not talking? It was a long hour for him.
I love that they are older now and I can take them to events like this. I am so thankful to all the ballets, musicals, concerts, and museums that my parents took me to growing up. I am looking forward to doing the same with our kiddos.

Extra, Extra

Very exciting news I picked up this cute faced little boy from school and he told me all about his exciting recess. Mr. Caden has been trying all year to master the monkey bars and today he made it across with no help. He claims it is all the ice cream he is eating after baths. So proud of him!

It's a...

Boy!!! Tonight we went to a very fun gender reveal party for our cousin Mere and her husband Jeff. These parties are all the rave right now and I have been itching to go to one. The adorable couple cut into the MOST delicious chocolate salted caramel cake to see blue icing in the middle. I think they were hoping to see pink, but I think they will see how fun boys can be and experience that mother son bond. There is nothing like it. Congrats Jeff and Mere!

Happy Mother's Day

Today I was spoiled by my 3 little loves and my amazing husband. I woke up to a wonderful breakfast from Black Bear and 3 adorable kids. The kids did a great job getting ready for church without much help and we all made it to church early- that rarely happens. We followed up church with a delicious brunch with one of my favorites potato pancakes. My Dad did a great job perfecting the recipe. After our bellies were nice and full the girls headed out for some pampering. Emmeline has really been doing such a great job at events that I thought she was getting old enough to come along for a pedicure. She loved the pampering and giggled with excitement. I am pretty sure I started a bad habit. It was so much fun having 4 generations of girls hanging out. I was so glad i was able to take my mom for some pampering. she is the strongest person i know. she has been thrown a lot of curve balls lately and has done a great job with each. She not only helps me so much with my kids but has been caring for my Dad and my grandma. So blessed my kids get to see and know what a strong lady their Nama is.
After our pampering we went up to Nonie and Papa's for a delicious dinner. I was one spoiled girl with not having to cook or clean all day and getting to spend the day with my loves and some pretty incredible moms!

Compassion

This has been a crazy year for my parents. It has been full of more downs than ups and they have been thrown more curve balls than anyone. Today they found out that their offer on a house was accepted.I found a house with a perfect floor plan for my parents, grandma, and aunt. The problem is lots of people also thought it was perfect. It was a long shot with their offer, but the man selling the house happens to have a wife who is very ill and knows how tough it can. He found it touching that my parents are moving my grandma and aunt in with them so my mom can care for all of them. Long story short - he accepted their offer. It looks like they will be moving very soon.

Grease Lightening

I was very jealous of Emmeline's Daddy Daughter date. The two came home and would not stop talking about how great the show was. Since there was one night left of the show, Emmeline and I decided to have a girls night and go watch the show. While I think she did better watching it the first time, she was still in LOVE with Danny. She informed Chris and I that she was going to marry him - I can't even think about my baby getting married. We wrapped up our fun night with a photo with Danny and a scoop of ice cream. I love those opportunities when we get to spend some quality one on one time with our kiddos. Looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow celebrating our moms!

Pause button

This has been such an emotional week filled with highs and lows. I am emotionally and physically exhausted and a new week is set to begin. I thought a lot this weekend about how different my life is from last year. So much has changed in 9 months. I wish I could turn back time or press a pause button. Since I can do neither I will cross my fingers for some big changes with me that would help out and enthusiastically count down to the end of the school year.

Party in the park

Today I was lucky enough to celebrate one of my favorite people's birthday. I am so lucky to have such a great friend. she is my partner in crime with the craft blog, my late night crafting buddy, my biggest cheerleader ( she's great at encouraging lots of house projects), personal shopper (love when she cleans out her closet), therapist when i need advice. She is such a great friend and auntie, but she is an even more amazing mom. I love watching her as a mom and soon she will be a mommy of 2.
To celebrate my beastie we loaded the kids up minus Caden and headed to Davis to have a a little picnic in the park and enjoy the farmers market. The weather was perfect and the company was delightful. The kids spotted the jumpy houses and begged to go. I find it funny that we have our own nice clean jump house that we own and they want to go in a crowded one at the park. Later on Emmeline sweet talked Uncle Gabe into taking her to the slides and comes back with a fancy balloon bracelet. After a night full of fun and snacks it was time to head home and get ready for a fun Thursday.

Pizza Party

Tonight we
went to my Aunt and Uncle's for a pizza dinner. It was so exciting to go over for dinner and see my cousin JD and Rachele. We miss them so much now that they live in Arizona. We also had another special visitor. Sweet baby Esther was there and she was adorable and so sweet. Jackson was not thrilled to be sharing his mommy when I was holding her, but Emmeline couldn't get enough of her. She is so in love with her cousin. She loved her little toes and fingers. She was so good with her until she started to get up when the baby was still on her lap. Thank goodness we were inside and Esther landed on the couch - YIKES! Watching Emmeline with her makes me that the twins are the perfect age to have another. But I am pretty sure the girls are out voted and the boys would not agree. I guess I will have to be happy with spoiling and getting my baby fix from my sweet niece and baby DeTar that will be here so soon!

Confession

I have a confession- I am having an affair with paint. I have been neglecting my blog because I can't stop painting things. It is tricky fitting it all in, but once the kids go down I have a few hours before I am just too exhausted. I finished the coffee table and end tables and have now moved on to the entertainment center. The husband and I can not agree on the entertainment center. He has given the color several names which resulted in me breaking out a new color and adding a wash. Looks like I will be finishing it up with a coat of wax tomorrow night.
Hard to believe that while I was having my affair that it is now May. The countdown is on at school. Eager for summer so I can spend some extra time with my kiddos and get some extra projects done.
Here is a sneak peek of the end tables.