Cool Necklace

Nate's note that he left for the Tooth Fairy after he realized that he wouldn't be leaving his tooth in a glass of water for her to collect. He was still hopeful that she would leave some money.
She did.

Way more cool than a shark-tooth necklace!

Mama's Getaway

Ah, what a great weekend it was! I went away to the coast with 4 other mamas for two nights and stayed at Arch Cape....my favorite Oregon beach. We stayed at a wonderful rental house and filled our time with yummy food, fun drinks, games, laughs, walks, and a few other things.
It was awesome. I'm certain we'll do it again.

Our beach house was really a good fit, as it made us all feel like we stepped back in time with all kinds of kitschy stuff straight out of the 1950's and 60's. The same dishes that my granny had, a turntable and old albums, aprons that tied at the waist, drawers of vintage utensils, etc. My favorite find at the house...boxes and rings of recipe cards that a very meticulous housewife gathered and sorted.
Very Mad Men, indeed!

Megan, Kathy, Cindy, Amy and Amy.

Put a bird on it.
My view from the kitchen table as I sipped my coffee this morning at sunrise.

Mama's Birthday

Mama's 'spa' treatment.
Turning 45 wasn't so bad! I had a wonderful birthday weekend, and felt very spoiled and loved. My house was filled with tulips, my favorite beer was waiting for me in the refrigerator, Dan and the boys baked me a carrot cake and a delicious homemade dinner, the list goes on. Oh, and Dan cleaned the inside and outside of our household windows that were FILTHY.

Nate and Chris cranking out the homemade fettuccine. Yummy!

On Sunday my mom came up to see me and said that she would bring the makings for my favorite comfort dinner~her homemade meatloaf, twice baked potatoes, and cheesy broccoli casserole. It was Delicious, and the nicest part was that all I had to do was pop it all in the oven.
She also brought a big box that was all marked up with "Kitchen Aid" labels, a UPS packing slip, Amazon shipping, etc. I couldn't believe that she was attempting to give me another Kitchen Aid mixer like she did last year that I returned...I just don't need or want one. But since the labels said that it was ordered from Amazon, this year I was going to just keep the senseless (in my eyes) machine and question her sanity as to why she thought I needed one of these things so bad.
Boy, was I ever fooled when I was digging in to check out my new pink mixing set when I discovered that there was no mixer! It was a fake box, with fake labels, and on the inside was a wonderful gift....an i-pad! Of course, I cried. She got me good, and was beyond generous.

Happy Birthday. I'm looking forward to 45 more.