Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Andrea has been trying all day to catch a leprechaun...I told her if we ate green food for dinner...it might attract leprechauns. Unfortunately, we didn't catch any! But here is what we ate:

(going counter-clockwise)

chicken and rice mounds with a green sauce instead of white sauce

asparagus

kiwi and banana salad with whipped cream

4 leaf clover rolls which were actually a pale green, then we drizzled green honeybutter on top

35 weeks tomorrow and counting!

I'm starting to feel a little big...especially since everyone is starting to ask when the baby is going to be born and is SuRprIsEd that I still have fIvE mOrE wEeKs!!!!! I definitely have pOpPeD OuT! However, I was told by a 6 year old today (I won't mention any names) that her mom ( who happens to be the epitome of cute pregnant woman...but isn't due for 3 more months) is MuCh BiGgEr than I am! I told her NOT to tell her mom that! ;-) but secretly...it made me feel good.

For the benefit of my far away family that can't see how big I've really grown...here's the OtHeR less than flattering angle!

A Happy Ending!

The cupcakes I promised we'd make after Steven's first birthday cake got trashed! ;-)

(see below if you don't know what I'm talking about)

Steven's birthday weekend

Steven celebrated his 37th birthday yesterday. The whole weekend was planned out to the minute...not so much because of his birthday, but because his cousin was getting married and we were invited to the sealing, luncheon, reception etc. Friday afternoon as we were driving up to their wedding reception an hour away, Steen got sick and started throwing up and suddenly, the weekend plans quickly unraveled.

Congrats Greg and Mandi on their wedding!!! I took the girls to the reception Friday night. The kids had planned a slumber party at Grandma's after the reception. They were also going to spend the day with her Saturday while we were at wedding festivities. Luckily, the girls still spent the night with Grandma, but Steven spent Friday evening home with Steen throwing up. Saturday, Steven attended the wedding and luncheon by himself while I stayed with Steen, who luckily was starting to feel better. We had to cancel our babysitter for Saturday night and spent the evening home with the kids.

It did get better, but before it did...it got a little worse. I had made one of our family's favorite desserts for Steven called Aztec dessert. It is a yummy oreo cookie crust, mint chocolate chip ice cream and whip cream dessert. Steen was SOOOOO excited to sing Happy Birthday to daddy and have birthday cake, that he opened up the freezer to get it out himself and the glass 9 x 13 pan fell out and shattered into a million shards of glass! We did NOT get to eat any! ;-( I was VERY sad, but since little Steen was devastated, I had to put on a happy face that we could just make cupcakes instead and it would be O.K. Isn't that what life is about??? Roll with the punches, it will be OK!

Here is a pic of us singing Happy Birthday around the trash can with the aztec dessert inside.

But despite the turn of events, Michaela decided to turn it into a special night for Daddy. She made us a romantic dinner and then had the kids hurry and eat and go play downstairs while Steven and I got to eat mostly alone. ;-)

The sign reads..."Alison's and Steven's romantic dinner...by their kids."

Michaela made Beef Stroganoff, Rice, Asparagus and sliced strawberries and bananas. I had already browned beef so she just had to add stuff to it and follow a recipe to stir it while it cooked. She measured out and cooked the rice in the rice cooker and I showed her how to wash and cook the asparagus. She did an awesome job! And Steven got to enjoy as best as we could a quiet evening at home! ;-)

Later that night, Michaela dished up ice cream for all (she made me a strawberry milkshake...very heavy on the milk) and Steven an ice cream sundae. Then she and Andrea played their violins for daddy. Despite the crazy events...everything turned out pretty great!

Thanks Michaela and other helpers! Happy Birthday Steven!