Crazy Week

OK, so it has been a crazy week.

It's probably apparent from my lack of blogs, so it's a little redundant to do so, but I'm going to anyway....it was a CRAZY week.

From waking up early, getting four kids dressed and fed, while putting away dishes, making beds, getting myself dressed and ready and fed, to jumping in the car for the trek out to the country school where E is kindergartening, my days start and never end.  I've had meetings to attend, class assignments to finish, play dates to organize, phone calls to make, interviews to do, breakfasts, lunches and dinners to prepare, dishes to wash, laundry to fold, a sick husband to care for, a house to attempt to keep clean (oh, who am I kidding!), and endless amounts of minuscule tasks to complete.

I am worn out.

I am leaving for the mountains tomorrow. This place is my proverbial land of milk and honey.  In fact, it is the land of apple pie and cinnamon ice cream.

Just those words, and I already feel more relaxed.  

Grandpa's Birthday Cake

We celebrated my dad's birthday this last weekend at my house.  It was a small, family party.  We enjoyed delicious Italian food (Grasso's takeout!), my mom's homemade oatmeal cake, and ice cream sundaes.  Needless to say, it was not a Clean eating day for me.  

Cake and ice cream time is always a tense time for my kids.  They feel a huge amount of ownership over dessert.  They crowd the area, make low whining noises, and demand my full attention....which sadly, hardly ever happens.  

This time, J.D., who is a big fan of Grandpa David's, felt a connection with that oatmeal cake.

Grandma D brought out the cake, showed J.D. the blazing candles, and began the "Happy Birthday" march to the big cheese, I mean, birthday boy.

I wish I knew exactly what was going through my dad's mind at this very moment.  

"Are all those candles really necessary?" or "Why is my age there for all to see?"  or "I wanted Texas Sheet Cake!"

Now for the cake blow.....

But the minute the smoke drifted his way, J.D. realized he'd missed his big moment.




And he wasn't happy...

...at all.  There were  tears.  And screaming.  And a time out.  To attempt to pacify her irate grandson, my mom recreated the cake blow by re-lighting the candles.   J.D. saw right though it.  It was the party's low point.

And here was the high point!  Dad with the ladeeez!  Or, my mom's sisters.  Kinda wierd.