Pre-Kindergarten Check-up!!

Awwwww.... My baby's growing up!!!

Miss Ni'ke is now officially registered for Kindergarten! Today's visit to our favorite doctor was our last step in the never-ending process! (I truly think it's easier to apply for a home loan than to register a kid for school...) I didn't mind any opportunity to visit with Dr. Cederberg, though!! She's become such a special part of our family, having delivered a litter of little Smiths and all through the years.

Ni'ke got a perfect bill of health, is 3 feet 9 inches tall, and weighs a whopping 43pounds! AND she didn't even cry when they gave her FOUR shots AND drew her blood! That's my tough little cookie!

What an exciting day! Other highlights included:

1. Buying a pound of Toffee-ettes from Sees Candy at the mall today. Because I love them. Period.
2. Finding out I DON'T have to work tonight!!! (Cue the huge sigh of relief!)
3. Sorting through 2 shoe boxes of old photographs - laugh, cry, repeat!!
4. Philly cheese steaks with my hungry little crew.
5. Watching movies with my honey!
6. Talking with my mostest awesomest sister.
7. Mother's Day cards!!!
8. Self-manicure in a new spring color.
9. Ditching laundry, because, you know, the manicure...
10. New Jason Upton music!!! WooHoo!!!

Ice Pack Recipe!!

Here's a "cool" new little trick I recently learned that has proven pretty useful!! Here's hoping for safe and fun and UNeventful summers for you all, but just in case, it's always good to be prepared!

1. Combine:
3 cups water
1 cup rubbing alcohol

2. Place in a one gallon zip-loc bag, squeeze air out before closing. Place in second bag to prevent problems with leaking!

3. Freeze overnight or until slushy.

4. Place ice pack inside of pillow case.

5. Apply to painful area for 15-30 minutes every 2 hours. Be careful! Inspect skin to avoid frostbite!

6. Refreeze after use.

Happy 5th Birthday to Ni'ke!!

Hard to believe I have not only one, but TWO five-year olds! Well, only for another month and 5 days.... :) Then Rea will turn 6!

Yesterday was Ni'ke's birthday, and birthday season is officially upon us! I just have to reflect again on how much I love birthdays! Not just mine, but everyone's! It's so fun to know that there's a special day set aside just for you every year that's a little bit cooler than any other day. The day just feels more festive and exciting!

So given all the festive and exciting energy in the house, the girls were awake bright and early in the morning to make Ni'ke's birthday crown, something that I'm seeing will be a Smith family tradition very quickly! Ni'ke placed her order for her birthday breakfast, sausage and pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream! Yummy, and excellent choice!

So about the little Ni'ke replica cake... This was the funnest cake I've ever made, and it was actually probably the easiest! It's also dear to my heart, because when I was 3 or 4 years old, my Aunt Doris made me a cake like this for my birthday, and I never forgot it. I thought it was the most awesome thing ever, and I've always wanted to do one for the girls. So when Ni'ke told me THREE MONTHS ago that she wanted a Barbie cake for her birthday this year, I saw my chance! Don't know why I never thought to make one sooner... Probably because I didn't have a bundt cake pan and had to go buy one this weekend before proceeding with the cake construction!

She really liked it, and didn't even mind that there was frosting in her new doll's hair! Happy birthday, sweet girl! I love you soooooo so much!

Afternoon at the Park!

What a beautiful weekend!! Tonight is my last of four nights off in a row, which is truly a mini-vacation for me, and it was so gorgeous out today that we had to head to the park for a little picnic!! It was a good "dig your toes in the sand" kind of day...

I spent a couple days in the east Bay at an Ortho conference with some girls from work and got back last night (part of the mini-vacation was no laundry or dishes for 28 hours!!) Giuliana and I drove down on Thursday night before the conference and did a little shopping and sushi-feasting at a great place in Walnut Creek - LOVE that little town! Just has a lot of charm and personality.... I notice that alot lately about towns, they're sort of like people, with their own quirks and uniquenesses and special traits. Maybe it's just the architecture of the buildings or the land-scape and natural beauty, but for some reason I notice it more. Maybe I have a travel bug!! :)

Anyway, the conference was good (John Muir Health), lots of interesting speakers, but it was a very full day. It used to be a 2-day conference and they just did one this year, so it felt very condensed. The biggest disappointment was no free goodies handed out by the reps. They decided it was illegal.... Such a bummer because free pens that look like bones are really quite awesome.

Hearing the different physicians speak really did make me appreciate what they/we do all over again from a fresh perspecitve - it's such a special scope of practice. I'm ashamed to say my favorite parts of the lectures were anything that showed gross and unbelievable pictures of broken bones and weird conditions, but please feel better knowing that I was happy when there were good endings and "see, this is how we fixed it" stories. I'm not totally messed up. Oh, Nurses Week is coming up soon, too, by the way! Just thought I'd throw that in.... :)

The best part was coming home last night and having lots of little people run up to me with outstretched arms. That NEVER gets old! Rea's first comments to me were, "Look Mommy! Daddy did my hair today! Isn't it pretty?!" Indeed it certainly was - good job, Honey!!

So today was filled with lots of fun little moments like painting the girls' nails, going to the park, baking a cake for a certain birthday girl for tomorrow's big event, and making a run to Target for trash bags. The latter may not sound very exciting, but I must add that our local Target is expanding to a Target Greatland, and that thought alone makes my heart beat faster. (One-stop shopping IS every mother's dream....)

Enough gabbing for now, I need to go wash some sand out of a LOT of hair....

Ma-lak

Rea

Ni'ke

Ya'shar

Ya'shar: Relishing Every Bite of Taco Bell!!

I had to put up a separate section of pictures, just of Ya'shar eating today. It was absolutely hilarious! You would have thought this was the first time he'd eaten ANYTHING! He kept closing his eyes with every huge bite, just loving it.... Me, I took one bite of my Mexi-Melt and almost gagged. I could NOT remember why they used to be my favorite. (Insert Daryle's voice here saying, "Please don't feed our children E.Coli Bell...") But I still dig the cinnamon twists!!!