Delightful Stawberry Cake Recipe

Big Sticky decided he was going to make a Strawberry Cake for Daddy. Once he decides to do something, he moves quickly. He immediately started pulling all the necessary ingredients out of the fridge - strawberries, grape jelly, ketchup, chocolate syrup, and his secret ingredient, yellow mustard. I thought for a second, do I really let him make a mess? (just something else for me to clean up?) Or do I cater to his imagination and let him make his cake? I decided to cater to his ever growing mind and even suggested Lightning McQueen cookies as a garnishment (afterall, there were two cookies Little Sticky had earlier left on the kitchen island.)

After explaining all the ingredients to his younger brother, Chef Sticky went to work. Daddy being a big sport, actually tasted the "cake" and gave it 4 out of 5 stars. He recommended leaving the mustard out next time. :-)

Strawberry Season

Before the school year ended, we went to a Strawberry Farm with the boy's preschool classes. You would think being from the south and growing up surrounded by tobacco and other farms I would have at one time picked my own strawberries. Nope. Never even been to a strawberry farm. But I will probably do it again. We had a great time with only one "incident." We had just ventured into the field when Big Sticky announces that he needs to potty. I see a tree close by when someone points out the port-o-potty (about three football fields away). Port-o-potty, really? Yuck. I would rather hangs his pants to dry on the car ride home. However, wanting to set a good example, we take off "running" for the potty. About 100 feet away, my son starts yelling "The pee-pee's coming out!" Fortunately, we were at our van, so after doing a quick look around to make sure there were no preschool girls in eye shot, Big Sticky fertilized the dust by the car.

Little Sticky had a great time as well, and actually picked a few strawberries along with bruising several as he slammed them into the bucket.

The strawberries were awesome and Big Sticky and I ate all but five strawberries before daddy came home from work. Little Sticky ate a part of one before exclaiming "Ooh, those too yucky!" He doesn't know what he was missing!!

Memorial Day Washout

The sky was confused on Memorial Day. Couldn't decide if it wanted to rain or shine... so it did a lot of both. Back and forth - downpour, sunshine, downpour, sunshine - with a little bit of clouds in between.

The boys took full advantage of the sunshine to go play in the water. Jumping in puddles, followed by a few passes on the big wheels.

Thank you to all the veterans! Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Mommy and a Milestone

So I celebrated a birthday today. A big one. You know, the kind with a zero behind it. Not the one that rhymes with dirty, but not yet the one that rhymes with nifty. I guess that is how I feel, half way between dirty and nifty. It is scary to think that by the time I am nifty, my oldest will still not be able to legally drive.

Daddy Sticky asked if I wanted a party for my birthday. "No thank you. We'll save those for the children. Instead I would like peace and quiet." So, before heading off to a nearby resort, we dropped the kids off with my mom, dad, brother, and sister-in-law. With four adults and two elementary aged nephews, they should be able to take on the three "stickies".

They did a great job and even managed to fool Little Sticky into going without a paci for two whole days. (Yes, he still uses his paci... that topic deserves it owns blog entry.)

Aunt Gee (with the boys help) made me a beautiful and quite tasty Martha Stewart Lemon Drop cake. It took the boys less than two minutes after I blew out the candles to make the cake look less beautiful. Little Sticky pulled out the lemon drops, licked off the homemade meringue icing, then placed the lemon drops back in the cake. Big Sticky simply took his fingers and poked holes to get his icing fix.

Thanks to everyone for making this birthday very special for me!

Caution: Mobility Ahead

Princess is now standing. You know what this means - Mobility. I have a feeling this curious little one will be into EVERYTHING.

Mobility + Curiousity = Mess. Everywhere.

Does this diaper make my butt look too big cute?

Last Day of Preschool

So sad to say that today was the last day of preschool for the year. Soapstone is a great school and the boys have had a wonderful time making new friends and lots of fun while learning.

The boys absolutely loved their teachers and will miss them all greatly.

I will miss the guaranteed nap after the ride home. :-)

Love you Soapstone!!

Apologies to Macy's Shoppers

You know those shiny red signs that say "Emergency Exit, Alarm will Sound?" Well guess what, they really do make a sound - a shrilly ear piercing hair raising sound that will cause shoppers to run from the store. (Mostly because they thought there was a fire?) Anyway, we were out shopping and as soon as we entered Macy's, Big Sticky ran from me and straight for that shiny red sign. I guess he thought it said "'Push Me Hard and Run." In case this should happen to you, be aware that the clerks don't just push a magic button to turn the alarm off. They call a maintenance man who has a key and takes 20 minutes to get there from wherever.

While we should have run with the other shoppers, we waited so that Big Sticky could apologize as necessary. Plus I was afraid we would have to fill out a police report? He politey and sincerely said "Sorry Lady."

Sidenote: I did find some cute gladiator sandles!

Sneaky Snake

Big Sticky recently participated in field day at pre-school. They had races and painted faces. He came home with a snake on his face, however, his cat nap on the couch caused the "tattoo" to vanish. So he decided to draw his own snake with an ink pen. Half the time I can't get the same cheap pens to write a check. Not sure how he glided it across his cheek without causing pain or injury (and without me knowing about it). He was very proud to show off his work.

Anyone know if Miami Ink is looking for new artists?

Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk

How many baby wipes are in a pack? 72. How many baby wipes will a 4 year old use to clean up spilled milk? 68. Yes, there were only 4 wipes left out of a brand new pack. I go upstairs to put in another load of laundry and this is what happens. You would think that after 68 wipes, I would at least have a clean counter and floor. No. Most of the wipes were all piled up in one large dripping heap. Much of the remaining spilled milk was discovered under a grocery bag and a serving tray that I had to pry from the counter.

Bless his little heart. He was so proud that he had poured his own drink and one for his brother. He even readliy admitted that he made a spill but cleaned it up with "all the towels." At least he tried. The crazy part is he had done the same thing two days prior with orange juice and a half a roll of paper towels!

Meet the Cast

BIG STICKY

A sweet and imaginative 4 year old. This little guy has a heart of gold. He loves to pretend play and make up creative stories. Watch out though, this little independent loves to (literally) climb into the fridge and get his own food. This can lead to some super sticky situations, especially those involving jelly or juice.

LITTLE STICKY

This big little guy is 2 and 1/2 going on 15. He loves to entertain a crowd and finds humor in everything (even his own falls and spills.) One day he will be on stage as a singer, actor, comedian, or motivational speaker. (My brother claims he is a Chris Farley double.) Known as Mr. Happy to many, he loves to push his older brother's buttons. Oh yeah, and he absolutely ADORES his baby sister.

PRINCESS OF STICKY

Not yet mobile, this 9 month old is still contained. However, give her some food puffs and she can make a mess with the best of them. This little princess swoons everyone with her sweet smile. Don't be fooled though, she already knows how to get her way.

Living With Sticky

So I am picking up toys for the 8th time in the same day when my bare foot encounters something suspiciously sticky on the hardwood floor. As I grab a baby wipe to clean up the unidentified mess, I notice a juice box on the bottom shelf of the coffee table. I rest my hand on the table to support my unwanted extra weight when I discover more sticky. Upon further inspection, I see lots of sticky all over the top of the coffee table. This is when I realize that with three children ages 4 and under, my life is full of sticky. I guess you could say that I am "living with sticky."