Well, I'm here to report on last week's shopping trip.
Armed with an entire bag of candy conversation hearts in my purse, we entered David's Bridal. (Yeah, I'm not even going to pretend we were going to attempt some high end boutique. David's is not Wal-Mart. Or Target. Or even the Salvation Army. David's is a step up for me.)
The girl who helped me really was helpful, and eventually I actually made it to the dressing room with lots of options.
Well, sort of.
Remember the post partum thing? The great stuff they give you to - ahem -
help actually pushed that tummy out like no other. Plus, that new jersey fabric that is so
in is
not friendly to really anyone. I tried on a really cute jersey dress in orange (couldn't zip up the back, but that's another story) and tentatively poked my head out of the dressing room. Horrors, walls of mirrors. ( I remember thinking walls of mirrors were so fun seven years ago in a chic boutique in Minneapolis. Hmm, what changed?)
Wow, orange wasn't my color, and jersey wasn't my fabric.
JD: "Mom, don't get that one."
Ok.Cambria found the conversation hearts.
RRRIppp. The floor of the dressing room now was littered with You Rock and Got Love? and Sweet Thing and Goodbye.
Eventually my helpful sales rep or whatever you call the female employees of David's Bridal had mercy on me, realizing I couldn't zip (or unzip) any of the dresses and came back to help me.
I ordered the only dress that fit. In black. It's too short because I'm too tall, but here is where the joys of knowing how to sew kick in and I can add a band to the bottom which will be cool and who knows?
Maybe it will have that custom high end boutique look.
And if anyone wondered what the kids were doing - look below - that's Jacob bouncing a hungry Gabe, and Cambria enjoying the magic of the mirrors. (We got the conversation hearts cleaned up if you were looking for them.)
(Those are girls on little sleds, err, donuts- her cupcake request.)
Birthdays wear a girl out!
Not sure why, but she closed her eyes during the traditional "everybody say what they
Oh, wow. My own gumball machine.
You've always had the sneaking suspicion that they ignored the kids and looked at Seventeen and Brides.
I borrowed this book from our pastor's wife and haven't had a chance to crack the cover until today. It looks good- I'm always in need of challenge in the area of marriage. I fall so short.
JD requested train races, a game that involves boxes tied together.
And the little snowboard cupcakes.
Well, I'm here to report on last week's shopping trip.
Usually the kids just lay their mittens over the forced air vents to dry, but the other day I had this brainstorm- isn't it cute? I was going to use ribbon, but then found this old cotton sash that kind of matched in my kitchen. I tacked it underneath the windowsill and added clothespins.
Coffee Syrup:
Special Olympics Basketball - I love the look on Daniel's face! 
I do not, and let me repeat that, I do not like my kids playing with battery operated electric toys. They don't inspire creativity, they make annoying noises, they are fake, and I don't buy them. The few phones and ambulances that Jacob and Cambria own live here because some friend or relative gifted my children with them and I typically don't throw gifts away. (I'm so nice.)
Look at the little guy. He's just so cute. Plus, his batteries were included, and the whole box was only $1.38. Well, you can't buy batteries that cheap- I'm almost saving money by buying it, right? So Whac-a-Mole went home with us, against my better judgement.
What I didn't anticipate was the interest all of the adults had in the little game last weekend. Those are not all children's heads you see above! 
Next year, it's my turn, JD!
This was JD's first year skiing- he loved it. 
Not Daniel's first year, though.
Those guys just love the jumps. (EEEK!!!)
