Parenting FAIL.

Conversation today...Gage did most of the talking.
I hung my head in shame....though he was right in his thinking about the English language.

G: Hot.
G: Hot & Hot.
G: Hey, God made "hot" and "hot."
Mommy: Like what? {expecting him to reference fire/heat hot & spicy/pepper hot}
G: Well, the sun is hot. And girls are hot. Hot & Hot. God created the world.

"God created the world."
Genesis 1

...glad he's been working on bible verses...going to chapel seems to be paying off...hope the Lord isn't offended that he coupled it with "girls are hot."

Who Ya Gonna Call? GhostBusters!

Gage's birthday party was this past Saturday.
25 five year olds & their parents?
Yes, it was crazy crowded.
The rain didn't help that situation.
We had a backyard bounce house planned...you know to have people inside & outside, and freely flowing....
That didn't happen.
What DID happen?
Well, God blessed us with some rain-free hours, just in time to have the bounce house set up at the beginning of the party. We had to nix the backyard plans because it would just be too wet & the possibility of 50 little feet tracking any mud inside onto the off-white carpet was just excrutiating.

So----we had the bounce house on the front driveway. And, it all worked out.
{Thank Goodness!}

Here are some pics from the party...

The cake table...



The gift table...


Here's his GhostBuster Sign that Mommy made for the party...{it's a $5 tee from Target, stretched over a $5 canvas from Michael's. How's that for inexpensive fun!?}


Gage's favorite part: the fact that the original sign had a cuss word on it. Ugh...little boys! I was constantly covering up 'ass,' and he was forever yanking off my cover up attempt.


My ghostly cake balls! {They were a hit, from what I hear. I think they were waaaay too sweet, and not nearly as fun to make as they seemed on the internet. Damn internet.}


The party's getting into full swing....


Fun in the play room...



Daddy's cauldron outside....


Bounce House Fun...




Kiddos were having fun everywhere!




Cake Time! {The dry ice was a huge success!}




Time to open gifts!
{There were soooo many gifts! My goodness!}




We were smiling...but I assure you, we were two TIRED parents!


Gage was VERY excited about his new GhostBuster shirt from his buddy, W.


He was very excited to play with some of his new gifts after most of the guests went home...




It wasn't long after Darnin', PawPaw, Aunt Tipper & Trystan left, that we found THIS little guy passed out on the couch...on his new Pillow Pet, & wearing his GhostBuster tee...


...Although we thought he was down for the count, he wasn't. He apparently just needed a nap before he & Daddy rocked the GhostBuster's Wii game...




Oh...it was a great day & night for our little guy!
Birthday parties are such a beating.
And, I definitely couldn't have done all this without my family {thank you, thank you, thank you!}, but to hear Gage tell me thank you, and tell me how much fun he had...oh, that makes it all worth it.
{Well, almost "all" of the hardwork...it didn't make up for the caramel apple catastrophe, but we won't go there.}

A Whole Hand Old.

Well, the time is here.
My baby is a whole hand old.

In honor of being a whole hand old---we baked hand-shaped sugar cookies to send to Gage's class for snack-time.
He also got a super-snazzy birthday sticker from his teachers. AND---his birthday fell on show-&-tell day AND library day {his faves}, so he just couldn't really have had any better luck.

His birthday morning....


The cookie...


He had a great day at school, and after school, he got to open ONE gift from Mommy & Daddy....{And, he told us not to wrap it because after school, his hands would probably be too tired to fiddle with wrapping paper...what a funny kid!}






He LOVED his GhostBuster costume.

So, his actual birthday was on Thursday.
I was in full-on-party-prep-&-clean mode.
Gage took a picture of me & my home-made ghosts....




Clearly, Gage & I are both very proud of the ghosts!

Update...

I've had so little time for blogging....

9/22: Passed my Master's Licensing Exam...woohoo! And, I did rather well, if I do say so myself. {I do.}
9/23: My baby, my BABY turned 5. {Not so much of a baby, now is he?}
9/24: Damn near lost my mind {and my husband!} over some caramel apples & deciding to take on 8 million tasks that I've decided have to be done for our son's birthday party, but don't have the extra set of hands, skill set, or time to get them done.
9/25: Woke up to rain. Lots of rain. Freaked out about the 25 five year olds coming to my house & the prospect of no bounce-house or outside play options.
2pm on 9/25: HOLY CRAP our house is crowded {with 25 kids & at least one adult per kid...Um yeah...about that.... I think we had an okay party, but really, I was too flippin' busy to notice.}
8pm on 9/25: OMG, what time is it? Is it Sunday yet? I feel like I've been run over by a truck.
9/26: Baby Chris's Baptism, and after that---we found out that Hubby's best friend from High School (and then some years...) lives at the end of our street. {Total for our neighborhood so far: Me with 2 old classmates, Hubby with 1. I'm winning.} The two kind of lost touch after a while & a couple of moves. But they are HAPPILY reunited. {...reunited & it feels so good....}

So, I'll be posting with details & pics soon.

The Best Part of Me

Gage

I can't believe that you will be 5 tomorrow.
Five.
"A whole hand."
You are very excited about being "a whole hand old."

You are absolutely the best part of me.
You are not perfect, but you are perfectly ours.

I am not perfect.
You make me want to be better.
You make me want to be stronger,
More patient,
Kinder,
More forgiving...

You are truly the best part of me.
And yet, you are your very own person.
You like cowboy boots and cowboy stuff.
That's all you.

You are the shyest child I've ever known.
That's God's little joke, right there.
I am not shy.
I'm loud.
I'm out there.
I say what just pops into my mind---all too often.

Your daddy & I both love you beyond measure.
And yet, we see you so differently.
He sees you as strong and fearless.
He gets the rough-&-tumble ticklish little boy.
...the one that wants to karate chop and FIGHT!

I see the cautious but curious child.
...the one that resembles the baby
that I've watched grow and learn over the last 5 years.
I get the snuggly, thoughtful side of you.
...the one that wears his heart on his sleeve.

You are everything good that I could hope to offer the world.
I am so proud of you and the little guy that you are.
I love you "the whole world."
......no matter what.

No Pressure.

I would just like to say that my little one's birthday is around the corner...
...and this year I believe I will be assisting in the cake decorating.
{Please, Lord---let me just do the baking at this point. Let me just do the baking.}

Darnin' is Queen of Gage's Cakes.
Here are the cakes from birthdays past...

When Gage Turned 4:





When Gage Turned 3:


When Gage Turned 2:

...complete with construction machinery, power lines, & utility trucks.
Gage is 2...Can You Dig It???

When Gage Turned 1:

The cake table...


The big cake...


Gage's cake...

....so, um...yeah, no pressure.