THE BEST BIRTHDAY CAKE EVER - an Ode to Megan

So, I have to take a minute and brag about my future sister-in-law. She is just an amazing person, a great friend, and a superb aunt to my kids. EVERYONE needs a Megan; she's that person who is so sweet and fun to be around - she really could have been my sister. She is always there when I need her. I think the world of her, and I know my mom would have loved her. There is nothing I wouldn't do for her - she's fit right into our family since the day I met her 2 years ago. I knew she was a good baker, but when she offered to make Allie's cakes (one chocolate, another for the haters), I never expected this! Just look at that thing! Allie LOVED her Piggy cake. She loves all things pigs, and I think this cake is just about the cutest thing I ever saw. It looks so professional, everybody thought it was store-bought. But then ... oh yes, it gets better ... we tasted it.
(the marks on the ears are from Allie's fingers) I HATE anything vanilla and cake icing. HATE IT. And let me tell you I could have eaten her whole vanilla cake myself! This was the best cake I ever had, and everyone there agreed. EVER. The icing was perfect - not too sweet but it was creamy. It had the taste of sugar icing (but not as sweet) and the consistency of buttercream (which is wasn't at all). OMG. I was so mad when I got home from choir tonight and found out Ron ate the last big chunk of it. It was delicious!

Thus concludes my Ode to Megan. I loved her to pieces before she made the cake, but now I'm going to make damn sure she stays around forever! I can't wait for the next occasion for her to make another one. Maybe I'll ask her to do cupcakes next time so I can freeze them ...

... and no, I'm not going to pimp her out (but I'm thinking maybe she should go to culinary school for baking or whatever it is. Maybe she should go work for Duff!) She's mine. Go get your own Megan, 'cause everyone needs a Megan.

Allie's Birthday Party

We had a small get-together with immediate family this weekend to celebrate Allie's birthday. It was just really, really hot and humid, but we stuck it out and had a great time. Above are Allie and Madalyn in their pool from Aunt Megan and Uncle Denny. Below is most of the family ...
... and here is most of the rest. The only missing people are Nonna and Aunt Stephanie, who were upstairs with Lorenzo. I never get the best pics at these things - too busy handling the kids. And Lord knows single parenthood makes socialization tough. I'm going to take a TON of pics at Lorenzo's party next month!
Allie and her BELOVED, MOST COOL CAKE EVER!!!
Sarah and Allie eating THE MOST AWESOMELY DELICIOUS CAKE ICING EVER!

Yay - happy (very belated, but at least it's not December) birthday Allie!

Bootyfwies!

In an effort to dispell the fury over what we cannot control in our house, we went on a butterfly adventure at a local sanctuary. Allie thought it was very cool to look at the pretty butterflies until she realized they moved. And were well acclaimated with humans. And liked humans. And tried to perch on them. After that, it was like The Birds. Allie freaked out, and would only go near them via a magnifying glass. Even Ron, ever the beast of a man with the heart of a teddy bear, donned butterflies to show Allie there was nothing to fear. She didn't buy it.

Biohazard 23

So, many of you know that we have been stuck in the biohazard twilight zone. This house - while mostly just fine, has been a nightmare on the lower level in the addition. We took the roof off and found weird green, white and black stuff. Lovely. Ron and his Dad replaced the roof. We thought we were in great shape. Uhh ... no. This is what we found when we took the ceiling down to check out the faulty wiring (in the pic below)



There are at least 20 sheets of panelling that have that funky-assed mold all over it. There is even a pollen-like mold mist on the decking above. WTF??? Like, for real? We knew it was musty but never, EVER thought we would encounter something like this. Needless to say, we are circling the wagons, calling in favors, and going after the bastards full throttle. In the meantime, I would suggest buying stock in Clorox. I'm gonna be one busy but thoroughly sterilized momma.

Allie and her beloved swing

Allie LOOOOOOOOOOOOVES the swing. Just loves it. So now we are falling into a ritual of going to the park at least three times a week so she can get her fix. I look at these pictures, and I really can't believe how big she's getting already!

Fun in the Backyard

Allie has finally figured out "cheese", thank you SuperSnap. She will stop whatever she's doing and ham it up.
Allie, Christian, and Uncle Choo playing on the slide from Aunt Steph.
We don't see Accu and his family nearly as much as we'd like to, and after the party it was a great time for us to just sit, relax, and enjoy each other.

40th Anniversay

This past weekend marked the 40th year of Ron's parent's marriage. They have one of the best love stories I've ever heard - one of those "knew it from the first moment I saw you" affairs. Sooo incredibly romantic. It was a fabulous celebration with family and cherished friends.

Nonna Coffee!

Allie takes her coffee very seriously. I'm sure that's genetic, and her favorite place to be is on Nonna's lap learning proper etiquette comsumtion of then sharing her coffee - American or (especially) espresso. Last night, after enjoying her ice cream, Allie climbed onto Nonna's lap to prepare the coffee. First she stirs ...
... then she licks the spoon ...
... then down the hatch!
Mmmm Mmmm That's Good!!!
After the espresso was gone, she decided that she wanted to go back to the sundae. We must have blown out and re-lit that candle about 15 times. It's the simple things in life, really.

Allie turns TWO

Where in the world has two years gone? I still can't believe it! It was a quiet birthday - we went to the park and out to dinner with Nonno and Nonna. She capped off her favorite meal (honey mustard with chicken fingers and french fries) with a strawberry sundae a la candle with an espresso chaser (pics posted above). The big festivities will happen once her favorite gal returns next weekend.

Belated Father's Day

So, here are the kids that make Father's Day possible in our house. Sarah was appropriately with her Dad for Father's Day (since she obviously kicked off the holiday for him), but she was missed around here. Daddy Ronnie is with her daily, and her absence was felt for sure. Oh - Allie was not picking her nose. Allie has not discovered the joys of the dig yet. She is far too dignified for that, and was scratching her lip.
Daddy and Allie contemplating the lake. It was a gorgeous day, and it was pretty quiet there - even the minnows came into the shallows to say hi! I tried (in vain) to catch some with a pail. Not one of my brighter moments.
Allie tried to catch them Mr. Miyagi style. She didn't fare well either.
Saying "cheese" for Daddy.
I just love this profile shot of Allie. I figured since she was one reason why we get to celebrate the day, a single shot of her was appropo. Dad was the photographer for this one.

Fun at the shore with Aunt Stephanie

We had SUCH A GREAT TIME! It's been years since I've been to the boardwalk, and I am so glad we went. I have to shout out to Steph for the offer and the tickets for the rides - we are so going next year and getting them around Easter. Allie and Lorenzo are just too cute together - I think that by this time next year they're going to be tearin' it up! They never even got fresh with each other, like some kids tend to do. They just thought the other was da bomb.
Here we are on the carousel. Allie thought it was great and Lorenzo didn't freak - it was all good!
I can't wait to get her on a real horse!
Me and Allie on the train. This was her highlight. She could not wait to get on the train that went around the pavillion.
There are so many other great pics, I'll get them up another time. But here the kids are, exhausted but happy. I can't wait for more adventures with Steph and Lorenzo -the four of us are not only family, but we're friends too. That is so awesome.