I want birds IN my cake!

Nora's 3rd birthday was on the 10th and she had some very specific ideas on how she wanted to celebrate her day.

1. She wanted a giant giraffe.

2. She wanted birds in her cake; yes you read that correctly - IN not on her cake.

I try to be a good mother, provide my children with all of the essentials (plus some) in life. They want for nothing, they are fed, clothed and sleep under a roof in comfortable beds. It's my job to see that they have a well-rounded childhood, so when they request something special on their special day, I am going to try and fulfill their wish. But seriously, birds IN a birthday cake. Nora assumes her life is a nursery rhyme and I am here to remind her that no on lives in a fairy tale. That is another one of my job requirements as a parent - keep them grounded.

I did the best I could with the resources I had, I am no Martha Stewart or Cupcake Queen so Nora got a two-layer funfetti cake with a bird on top (plus some flowers and bees to make it sweeter). She loved it! It wasn't exactly what she asked for but it was close and I gave it an honest effort. After all of my hard work (2 days of frosting) I ended up crashing in my hopes of becoming Mother of the Year...I had no candle. Mya turned 3, why didn't I have a #3 candle? Plus I had no single candles. Not a big deal except Nora is already sitting at the table waiting impatiently for her cake. So I improvise and put a 1 and a 2 on her cake, is she 12 is she 21...no she's 1+2. Gosh, epic fail.

Bird on Cake



1+2 = 3

Just so we are clear, she also did not receive a giant giraffe and she didn't even mention it. Instead she got a shiny new Doc McStuffins medical kit from Mom and Dad, and Woody & Jessie (Toy Story) from Mya and Leo. Time for your checkup happens every hour in our house now.

Nora McStuffins

Leo also turned the big 6 months this weekend and he certainly isn't slowing down. The boy is huge and happy. He also hates jar baby food. We've been trying for over a month now to introduce foods to him and he is having none of it. So instead of forcing the issue I just started feeding him when and what we eat...and he loves it! He doesn't eat a lot but he giggles hysterically when he does eat. Not sure why he thinks eating a peach is funny, but he does.



Silly outfit I know...it was a long day

My feet are AWESOME!

Fort Walton Beach ER

The Stammen Family headed to Fort Walton Beach last Friday night for a little work and play vacation. Joel had to work, so me and the kids went down to play in the ocean for the week.

The plan was simple, leave around 9pm on Friday night, arrive, check in, swim our little hearts out, then relax watching the Olympics until sweet slumber time. It's amazing how good everything looks in theory versus how plans really work out. Neither Joel nor I got in a nap prior to leaving, Mya slept very, very little in the car, Nora was wide awake for all of Ohio and most of the tail end of Alabama and all of Florida (530am). Car madness began to settle in around 6am. At 8am we arrive at our final destination and we are all ready to escape the confines of the car and settle in. But, alas, early check-in is unavailable, it'll be a few hours.

Ok, no big deal, we drive around and get comfortable with our location, go to the grocery store for our non-perishable weekly food supply, get some breakfast...and not quite 2 hours later we are no closer to getting in our room. So we swim...and swim...and swim...and drive Leo around in the AC to get him to sleep...and eat lunch...and shop for perishables....and at 3pm we check in. It's now feeling like the longest day(s) of our lives. Things start to feel normal, but little Leo has to take a hiatus from the heat because he has a rash. By 7pm, it's getting worse and is blotchy on his face, and the pinprick rash is covering him from head to foot. I call our doctor and he tells me that he wants Leo to go to urgent care. Ok....off we go to the Fort Walton Beach Children's ER. Nora falls asleep on the way and is dead weight for half of our ER experience. Leo is diagnosed with an extreme heat rash and given medicine and instructions to stay out of the heat for at least a couple of days. Good thing we are on vacation in Florida.

After what was the worst start to a family vacation imaginable, we ended up having a great week. The girls weren't huge fans of the ocean. Mya hated the salt in her face and Nora was terrified of being swept away into the "big water." We did build some shabby sand castles for a very small amount of time though. Most of time was spent in one of the two pools available to us. Hopefully we'll be able to spend more time outside next year and won't have any ER trips.