Poor Cake

Dad turned 60 this month and wasn't too excited about this one.  He and many many others just can't believe it...well, some days he can and feels a little creeky ;)

I wasn't able to be home for his actual birthday which was probably a good plan since he was hiding out at work all day.  When he came home LATE at night, Mom had his favorite stroganauf and chocolate cake ready.  He was hesitant to eat and dig in because of an early morning doctor's appointment/blood work that he was supposed to be fasting for, but Mom wasn't going to let him off the hook and let that yummy food go to waste.  He didn't resist much and his eating began.  I'm sure he savored each bite of dinner and then Mom went off to get his cake set up with all the candles. . . all 60 of them.  Here's how she explained it:

"Oh, the cake, I had to put 60 candles on it and a  six and zero candle. so I put the 60 candle in the middle and then 58 candles circling it.  I lit the first half of the cake, and by the time I got the second half of the cake lit, the 60 candle was melting away and the regular candles had melted down to the frosting and was burning the frosting.  It was one hot cake!!!  We got a big laugh out of it.  There was melted wax all over the top and dripping down to the plate."

That beautiful chocolate cake took a beating!  You can hardly tell that those big candles in the center are the number candles!!  Sorry Dad, but it looks like you really are old!  I think that you redeemed your youth on your quick trip to Six Flags California with Abby that weekend though.  

 Even though you got a little puke-y, you couldn't help but finish off the day with a few more roller coasters!

A year supply...

This is why I love coupon shopping:

6 Brownie Mixes
3 Bottles of Soy Sauce
3 Tubs of Butter
10 Boxes of Multi-Grain Cheerios
4 Packages of Jello Temptations (Cheesecake treats for a little dessert each night...yumm )
4 Boxes of Oatmeal
2 Bags of Quakes Rice Snacks
2 Fuze Drinks
8 Bags of Goldfish
8 cans of Green Chilies

I got all 50 of these items for $27.60 which means I got them each for about 55 cents!

I go coupon shopping every other week and it is so fun to be able to buy things we will use and eat and some extra special treats too!  We haven't stocked up enough that we don't have to grocery shop each week for our meals each week and we would have to buy our milk, bread, eggs and produce anyways.  I am hoping I can work up to that point where I can have a pantry full. . . . not my own supermarket full that takes over my home like on the extreme couponing show... but enough to be able to provide for our family for a year if we ever needed.  I mostly have us set up for the beauty/hygiene/non food items for a year which is so nice.  It is a little nerve wracking for me to check out because I don't want to be a nuisance, but I think I have found my favorite cashiers that are helpful and even encourage coupon shoppers like me.

I love doing this and especially love that none of us will have to starve if some disaster were to happen.  I only have one problem though... we have been storing all of our stuff under our bed and it is full now so I am trying to think of a new place to hide our storage that would keep it accessible. I am okay with that problem though :)

Dancing and Waving

Katelyn is 8 month old now and she continues to learn new things all the time.  Some new things she has figured out lately. . .

• dancing to oldies music.  I love that she almost swings herself off balance...too cute!
• She can pick up Cheerios one at a time. . . or any intriguing piece of something left on the floor. . . and she can finally get it into her mouth.  No more diapers with Cheerios stuck in the front :)
• She will wave using her whole arm.  
• She can get down from standing along something.  She used to just plop down, but now she figured out how to squat a little to ease the plop a bit.
• She used to just stand in her crib when she wanted out, not she rests her head on the crib for a more pathetic look.
• She will follow us anywhere we go.  She will crawl over anything or will drag it with her.  She likes to "help" with the dishes and making dinner by pulling herself up on our legs and dancing or whimpering until we pick her up or acknowledge she's there.
• She will fake cough or fake scream/cry to get our attention and stop once we look at her and give us a sweet smile.
• She figured out how to squint her eyes and do a cheesy smile.
• A few times when playing with her toys with her she seemed to have said "thank you!"  We aren't convinced she knows what she's saying yet, but it always surprises us.  She jabbers and says a lot of different sounds, some regular sounds, some creative/slobbery ones!
• She loves to get her hands on a laptop.  Something about whacking all the keys and loving it!

She sure can fill a diaper, but we still love her and can't stop smothering her with kisses and tickles!