MIA...and Sneak Peak for Sara

Did you miss me this week? I missed you...briefly. But instead of dwelling on the fact that our beach house did not have wireless internet and I had no way of checking in (since my cell phone is circa 2000 or thereabouts and does not have any fancy doodads), I decided to immerse myself in vacation...unplug from the rest of the world for seven whole days. No TV for the kids. No computer for me. And we survived. I can't wait to fill you in on our vacation, because it could possibly be one of my best ever (except for one very unruly three-year-old who was lacking sleep and oozing sugar from her pores, but I'm trying to overlook that).

For now, the vacation recap will have to wait, because I have some super important photos to share with you of my friend Sara's family. I am so, super excited about these photos that it's nearly midnight and I cannot stop looking at them.

Did I not tell you??? Those eyes are just so amazing (and I did nothing to them in photoshop...honestly, they just looked like that).

Sara and I have known each other forever (since birth...her birth, because I was born 4 months before her). She knows me so well that she even brought deodorant so I could reapply mid-shoot. What can I say? I get nervous before every photoshoot, and I sweat profusely. But Sara's always got my back (I've been borrowing deodorant from her since middle school, and she is well aware of my stinky pits). Now that is a good friend, don't you agree?

Here's Sneak Peak #1 from Sara's photoshoot. I have a feeling there will be more, because I got some really cute (and possibly a little embarrassing?) photos of Sara, practicing for a Pantene commercial, and I cannot keep those to myself. So stay tuned for that! But for now, check out this beautiful family....

Sneak Peak for Sara

My friend Sara has the cutest, chubbiest, happiest little babies, and I had the chance to take pictures of them this week. Aren't they sweet?

Welcome to 34...

April is always a month of celebration around here. A few weeks ago I baked this amazing cake (just don't tell anyone that the M&M's on the cake were in my freezer since last Halloween, okay?), planned a party, and joyfully welcomed my friends Sara and Sheila to 34. I always feel a little lonely (and a little old) for the four months between my birthday and theirs. And so, April brings cause for celebration!

I'm not exactly sure what's happening in this picture. Somehow, Sheila became the jungle gym for the evening!
Poor Baby Blake wasn't thrilled with his princess attire for the party. Look at him standing by the window...just wishing someone would let him outside to do the grilling with the "men folk."

Happy Birthday, girls, and welcome to your middle 30's! Good thing we just keep getting hotter, smarter, skinnier, and more charismatic. Ha! If only that was true! But we are getting happier, funnier, and more confortable in our (now slightly saggy) skin. That has to count for something, right?

Newborn sweetness...

Check out this sweet baby girl. I love her tiny toes and her little cries and her soft little head. She is precious. Our photo session was definitely my wildest one yet, with a dog and a toddler running around the house. Ava wasn't interested in sleeping, so we just snapped a few shots of her beautiful eyes...

and tiny hands...

and sweet little feet.
And of course we had to snap one or two of Big Brother. Isn't he a cutie? You should see him dance. He's going to be shaking it on the dance floor when he's older!

It's a ...

Girl! My friend Sara welcomed Ava Lynne into the world on February 1 at 2:13 a.m. Sara was convinced she was having a girl from day one...and she was right! Sweet Ava weighed 6 lbs. and was 18 inches long. She's crying in the pictures below, because we unwrapped her to take pictures of her little legs and tiny little feet. She was having no parts of it, so I snapped two quick pics, and we wrapped her up again. Welcome to the world little Ava!

A tale of three cheerleaders...

This is my friend Sara. Remember her?

I know...you probably didn't recognize her without the headlamp (ha!). Sara is my "oldest" friend (the one who makes fabulous chicken noodle soup). Sara's always done a good job of watching out for me. She used to bring deodorant to ballet class and cheerleading practice to share with me...because I usually forgot mine. Without her, I would have been one stinky girl! Sara and I were thick as thieves, as they say. We cheered and danced and were generally happy high schoolers.

And then in ninth grade, a new girl arrived at our high school.

A cute, perky girl with mad cheerleading skills. Let's just say that we weren't thrilled to welcome the new, perky cheerleader into our world (think Bring It On: The Blondes vs. the Brunette). But eventually (two years later) we warmed up to the Perky Cheerleader (a.k.a. Sheila) and we became quite a little threesome. Now that we're much more mature (and our mad cheerleading skills are long gone...along with our mad cheerleading bodies, but that's another story) we are best friends. See?

(yes...my shirt is tucked into my pants in that photo. Lovely, huh?). Anyway...Sara is about to have a baby any minute (just in case you couldn't tell from the pictures...hehehehe!) and since we can't do any of our old cheerleading moves (for fear of hurting that precious baby, of course...not because we can barely bend over and touch our toes these days) Sheila and I decided to have a little informal luncheon to welcome Baby #2. We know that baby showers aren't typical for Baby #2, but we wanted to celebrate this little bambino (and have an excuse to eat cake). Speaking of the cake...there was a little mishap. See?
Somebody (and I'm not naming names here....ED ED ED) put his elbow on the cake box and smashed it. But we looked past the crumpled exterior to the delicious, carb-filled inside.

There was mingling and scrapbook viewing and eating...

There was some laughter and a few discussions about exactly what kind of bambino is in that belly (odds are being placed on a teenie, tiny girl in there).
And hence...Sara got a few pink, girly items - just in case!

Ellie met a new friend and was thrilled to have big girls to play with.

And we decided that we could rub this little girl's fluffy head all day long. Isn't she the cutest???

Kate was thrilled when Shawn arrived. It's not easy to find common interests between a three-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, but they did it!

And as I was going through all of the party photos, I noticed a theme. The perky girl with mad cheerleading skills is also a hard worker. In every photo, she's cutting cake or making punch or serving food. And me? Well...there are a lot of photos of me doing this:

My pappy didn't nickname me "Motor Mouth" for nothing!

I'm so happy that in the middle of our crazy, busy lives, we could take a minute to slow down, celebrate, and eat cake! I'm even happier that three old school cheerleaders formed a friendship that is still going strong today. I love you, girls, and Sara...I can't wait to meet that little one! If it's a girl, we'll have to start practicing our toe touches and hirkies so we can teach her someday (but let's not allow Sheila to teach her the chicken move, okay)?

Soups on...

My friend Sara is my oldest friend. Well, not technically the "oldest" as in, over the hill, older than dirt, oldest (she would quickly point out that I'm actually 4 months older than her...which was cool when I was turning 16 - not so cool now that I'm in my 30's). What I meant is that she is the friend I've known the longest...since birth (her birth, since I made my debut in the world 4 months before her). Anyway...long story short: Sara wanted to teach me to make homemade, delicious, impress your in-laws chicken noodle soup today. She told me what to buy and promised to come help (and bring a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing for my birthday). Nice, huh? Except I have a cold and Ellie has a cold and Kate has a cold = lots of snot in this household. So Sara dropped off the recipe (and the cake) for me to make on my own and enjoy for dinner (with my sick and snot-filled family), thus saving her from catching our germs. Smart girl. And guess what? I felt like Betty Crocker. If only I had an apron. Check it out.

This is the biggest pot of soup ever. We ate some, put some in the fridge for tomorrow night, and froze some. Here's Sara's fabulous recipe. Try it...you can impress your in-laws and feel like Betty Crocker (Apron, optional).

Sara's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts
celery, chopped (use as much as you want)
1 onion, chopped
1 bag baby carrots, chopped
1 box linguini noodles (or any kind of noodles)
2 packets of chicken bouillion seasoning (or more or less, as you like)
3 containers of chicken broth (I used the cardboard containers)

Directions:

1. Put chicken breasts in big pot and cover with water and boil until cooked
2. Boil noodles in separate pot according to package.
3. Remove chicken from pot to cool and keep the broth in the pot.
4. Add enough chicken broth from the containers to broth already in pot to fill to 2/3 full
(I used all three containers).
5. Add onions, carrots and celery to broth. Bring to a boil and then add the bouillion.
6. Tear or chop up chicken and add to pot.
7. Drain noodles and add to pot.
8. Reduce heat and let simmer for a few minutes.
9. EAT!

"Hunting" for a good deal...

Today was one of my favorite annual events...something that I like to call the female version of 'hunting.' It goes something like this:

4:45 a.m. - Wake up, throw on blue jeans, T-shirt, sweatshirt, brush hair (or throw on hat), brush teeth and get ready to go.

5:15 a.m. - Check to make sure you have money, flashlight (or head lamp) and double-stroller, necessary for transporting the spoils of the "hunt."

5:45 a.m. - Meet your friend in nearby parking lot, laugh at each other's early morning appearance (see photo below), decide which car to take (always the biggest one), double check that you have money, flashlights, and stroller; hit the road.

Sara, sporting a head lamp

6 a.m. - Arrive at "hunting" grounds, laugh at your inability to park your husband's ginormous truck (needed to carry home spoils of the hunt), get stroller ready, turn on flash light (or head lamp) and start walking to hunting grounds.

6:05 a.m. -8:30 a.m. Hunt, Hunt, Hunt for the perfect dress, toy, game, book, jackets, shoes. Mingle with friends from church, high school, the YMCA. Lose your friend and start to wonder if you'll ever find her among the masses of "hunters" on the parking lot.

8:30 a.m. - Finally find your friend, share the good deals, discuss things you should have gotten, compare bargains and decide where to go to breakfast.

10 a.m. - Arrive home with spoils of hunt, proudly display them for husband and children (unless, of course, they are Christmas gifts and then hide them immediately), take pictures and blog about it.

It was a good morning. I love the thrill of the hunt. I love the bargains. I love kid's yard sale day. Check out these good deals.

I got all this (and more) for less than $80!