Meet the Cake Pops Lady!!!

I have been following this blog for a while, and now she's got a book out!. Bakerella makes THE MOST CREATIVE little baked goods I've ever seen. Check out this video for a glimpse at how she works her magic, then definitely check out her blog. These cute cupcake pops might even bring me out of baking retirement!

Might even go so far as to say that I'd like to be her when I grow up! See those cute little cake pops and you'll understand why I'm so smitten.

We No Speak Americano

So take THAT traditional Irish Dancing!

You have to check these guys out: Up and Over It

Breakfast Club - A Classic??!!??

No way that it's been 25 years since this came out:

"But what we found out that each of us is a brain

...and an athlete

...and a basket case

...a princess

...and a criminal."

What a fantastic movie.

Lucy's latest reading material

Piles and Smiles!

Ever wonder where dollies and animals and blankets go when little girls get their hands on a bunch of them? Well, they get piled up on the couch and the little girl proceeds to climb atop her pile of animals and blankets and dollies and grin. Oh, and in the process she buries mom and dad under the dollies and blankets and animals, insisting that each one have a certain place of honor. Thank goodness for older brothers who can snap pictures as our pile grew so large that it held us down - and Lucy wasn't budging!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today my mom would have been 64 years old. What a strange thought. She passed away in 2006 at the age of 59, so she'll never see her 60's, or 70's for that matter. In the picture below she is only 34 years old - a little younger than I am now (and yes, it was 1980, so we were still almost stuck in the 70's but moving on to the 80's).

So Mom, hope that you are having one hell of a great party today wherever you are - you always did know how to throw a big bash! Happy Birthday!

And so another soccer season begins!

Sam

Ian

Max

And we're off!

First day of second and fifth grades!

This year is Max's last year in elementary school. He's the big guy on campus, he rules the school, and he's the boss (well, not really any of those but it is cool to be in fifth grade)! Ian and Sam are moving up in the world and have started second grade, and they are enjoying not being the youngest in school but square on in the middle. So off we sent our three boys to their first day of school - no haircuts, no new clothes, old ratty shoes, and very excited (both us and them) at the prospect of a new year full of new adventures!

Go DC United????

I'm a big fan of personalized plates, and clever plates really make me smile. But every once in a while I see a plate that perplexes me. It took me a few minutes to get this one - and that's after I picked my jaw up off the floor after seeing this plate and NOT getting the whole DC United part:

You know what I was reading on that plate, and that's why my jaw hit the ground. Wonder how that one got past the DMV censors???!!!

See...it's not just me saying it. Drivers here are terrible.

Washington drivers: The worst in the nation

You think the guy in the rear view mirror is about to rear end you? You think the lady in the next is about to wack you from the side? You think that clown is going to run the stop sign and t-bone you?
If you drive in Washington, there's a better than average chance that you're right.
In fact, the chance is 95.5 percent better than average, according to a report from the Allstate Insurance Company, which collects crash data from across the nation. Washington ranks dead last, behind 192 other cities..
The good news is that Washington was at the bottom of the list last year, and it's been near the worst for many years, so those who have escaped being in a collision probably are the best drivers in the country. The bad news is that Washington drivers get into crashes an average of every 5.1 years, so your number may be up. By contrast, the best drivers in the land are in Fort Collins, Co., where they get into collisions 31.2 percent less frequently that the national average and go an average of 14.5 years between them.
If fear of collision causes you to flee the streets of the District, don't bother going to Baltimore. It ranks just above Washington at the bottom of the list.

From Washington Post.com
By Ashley Halsey | September 3, 2010; 1:54 PM ET

Ian's New Specs

Ian is the destroyer of glasses, so it was only a matter of time that he'd end up in something much more durable than those cute little wire framed glasses. We not only got him Rec Specs, but Rec Specs with Transition lenses. This means that he's got cool glasses, PLUS Cool Guy Shades! And now he's going to lose his official title of Destroyer of Glasses.

#3 Passed his swim test too!

Now we have three crazy swimming fools in our house, and a little girl that's well on here way. Sam was the last of the boys to pass his swim test at our pool, which allows you to go off the board, down the slide, and swim in the deep end.

Ian got in on the diving board action too:

Bouncie kids

Max and Lucy