What’s a birthday celebration without a burnt cake, sloppy joes on the ceiling, and a toddler tantrum/early bedtime?

For a special treat, I decided to make a Tres Leches cake for Tom’s cake—I’d never made one before but it didn’t seem too hard and it was a Pioneer Woman recipe so you know it’s fairly easy and should be delicious. I’m talking from scratch here, people. Like whipping egg whites and making my own whipped cream. I set the cake timer for the minimum stated time…and it was obviously too long and the edges were burnt. GRRR. I always set the timer for 10 minutes EARLIER than the minimum just in case but not today. I trimmed them off and hoped for the best.

One of Tom’s favorite meals is sloppy joes so that was an easy dinner as well—and they were delicious. After dinner I got out the cake and poor Tom lit his own candle. 🙂

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And then I excitedly tried the cake and MEH—it was nothing special. I think the cake was just too dry from being overcooked and I had only put the suggested two cups of liquid into the cake when I should have tried for more because of it being overcooked. Oh well. Tom liked it and the kids loved it but now I want to make it again and try for better!

So then we were clearing off the table and loading the dishwasher…when suddenly Tom trips and I see something flying through the air. WHAT THE…?! Turns out, it was sloppy joes. Yes, sloppy joe meat was all over the place. Tom’s flip flop caught on the edge of the gel floor mat and he tripped. The dishwasher door was fully open so he was violently trying not to fall into that so while trying to catch himself, he slammed his hand down on the kitchen island/stove…RIGHT on the spoon that was still in the sloppy joes on the stove…which sent sloppy joes catapulting across the kitchen and then, as Owen noticed minutes later…on the ceiling as well! Keep in mind we have like 10′ ceilings in the kitchen.

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Maggie cleaned up all the chunks off the floor and I wiped up after her while Tom got out the ladder and wiped down the ceiling. Then it was a matter of looking around and discovering all the tomato sauce speckles all over the place…on the cake, on the stove, on the refrigerator, on the wall… Hoo boy. I’m sure we’ll be discovering them for days to come.

Of course, I posted about it on Facebook…and I love our friends:

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So we got that cleaned up and then it was time for the kids to Skype with Uncle Rob (which had been temporarily postponed to clean up the mess). Well, Owen asked if they could put on their Halloween costumes to show Uncle Rob. GRRR. A simple request, right? Except they’d both been asking me ALL DAMN DAY to wear their costumes and I had already told them at least four times that I’d let them wear them before Halloween…just not today. So of course I was annoyed but agreed. Well, Katie had taken hers off like a kid does so it was completely inside out. She knows how to fix it, but she didn’t want to. I was still busy in the kitchen so was talking her through it—but it wasn’t good enough for her. She actually had it about 95% of the way fixed when she started stomping her feet at me. That’s never the answer, so she got a warning that she would be going to bed if she continued. She continued. So she got taken up to bed and she was a HOT MESS. (She really needed an early night—she hadn’t caught up from the late night when we had friends over for dinner plus being at the pool for three hours…)

So…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM! Burnt and dry cake, a kitchen mess, and a tantrumy toddler. What better way to celebrate, right? :heart:

Once you start something at the pool…

We often end up at the pool at the same time as our neighbors which is great because the girls like playing together. Today the dad came up with this new fun thing where he lifts them up (while they’re sitting on the floatie together) and then carries them around and splashes them down. Needless to say he had to do that for about an hour. 🙂

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15th Anniversary dinner!

Our local friend Leslie gave us such a great recommendation for our anniversary dinner last year that we went back to her again. And she knocked it out of the park again with this kinda hole-in-the-wall Modern European/German place called Cosmopolitan Grill (Yelp). Unbeknownst to us when we decided to go there, they were recently voted “as one of 100 Best Bargain Restaurants by the Washingtonian Magazine as well as Young and Hungry’s 50 Best Restaurants by Washington City Paper.”

For the appetizer we had Ćevapčići With Ajvar and Onion (little sausages with a red pepper and garlic relish) and since we knew the portions were huge, we split the Stuffed Veal Schnitzel (Breaded veal schnitzel stuffed with cheese and spicy peppers, served with roasted potato). It was all very, very good and even though we split the dinner we still brought home leftovers!

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Owen’s half birthday pool party!

Once again this year, Owen decided to have his birthday party at the community pool with Costco pizzas and cake (which I forgot to get a picture of)! The trade off is that many of his friends are away on vacations…but even though we had a small turnout and it was about 110°, everyone had fun!

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After his party, one of his friends came back to spend a few hours. They had fun playing Xbox and then building Legos.

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After he left, Owen opened his gifts and was COMPLETELY GEEKED to get some Ninjago Legos, a bunch of Pokemon cards, a Nerf bow and arrow, a Star Wars board game, and $15 cash. This was my favorite card he got:

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And it didn’t take long before Owen and Katie had their noses buried in Pokemon cards.

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GHS Class of 1991 25th Reunion

I had debated forever on what to wear for the reunion—and ended up bringing about four potential outfits. I ended up going very casual in an outfit I feel great in. 🙂

I was very anxious (even after having done it already the previous night) but while somewhat awkward, it was fine. I even left Tom on his own a few times while I was chatting with people (he spent most of that time talking to Mike’s +1, his girlfriend). There ended up to be probably 30 people there by the end of the night, but only a very small handful of those I really wanted to talk to. (A few people complained that it wasn’t handled very well and I agreed—but also said I hadn’t wanted to do it so I had no place to complain.)

With my old besties, Mike and Joell. Only having Jeremy in this pic would have made it better.  

Overal it was a good night (not great and not awful—which is about as much as I’d hope for) and I was happy to say “It’s over!” as we walked out about 10:30.

Stalking my meet and greet

My 25th high school reunion Meet & Greet was being held at a local restaurant—which of course was exactly where the whole fam decided to go for dinner. I had been on the fence about attending, so was kinda forced into going. I started thinking that reunions sounded better in theory than in practice

So I watched from our corner booth, tried to drink through my anxiety, saw when people came in, and had to work up the nerve to go over. Kathryn said she’d be my wing woman but I finally just did it.


And yes, it was as awkward as you’d imagine. But I made it through about an hour and had Tom come back to pick me up about 9.  🙂

LuLaRoe Party!

I had wanted to show how awesome everything was but I was so busy hosting and trying on stuff that these were the only two pics I got during setup:

Katie on kitty watch as the consultant was hauling in racks and bags of clothes.

   
One room starting to get full. She brought over 700 pieces and it was literally like shopping at a store!

 

I had a great turnout with 17 ladies attending and one friend even ordering via texted photos and then paying over the phone! I was lucky enough to earn three pieces of my choosing so picked the style maxi dress I’ve been wanting and two maxi skirts. I then also bought matching leggings for me and Owen—he really wanted some after he felt mine and Katie’s—and a shirt I keep looking at and liking. 

As a completely unexpected bonus, the skirts I bought? Size XS. Yes, you read that right—EXTRA SMALL. What?! I tried the medium (my expected size) and while it fit, it felt a little loose so I pulled out a Small. That didn’t feel much different, so on a total whim I tried the XS and it fit fine. What?! So actually any of the three sizes would have been fine so I was able to pick the patterns I liked the best! BUT AN EXTRA SMALL!!

Katie’s Pre-K end of year party!

The party was at Katie’s favorite park—the goose park. She was excited!

Watching the buses arrive with all the kids!

Happy girl!

Bubbles! (They had the same bubble machine we have!)

Walking to the lake with a classmate, Mason. They held hands the whole way. 🙂

Geese!

With Katie’s teacher Miss Heather, Heather’s daughter (Lola), and Mason.

On the way back!

Katie’s pre-k teacher friend Miss Katie. 🙂

I had a good time as well—I spent the morning hanging out and talking/getting to know Mason’s mom, Carolina. We’re about the same age, we got along well, and we set up a future pool play date!

The only bad thing is that Katie didn’t have school that afternoon because of the party!! 🙂

Owen’s last Marlins game!

It was crazy hot and sunny for the last game today. Thankfully friends had brought a huge canopy so we all got to sit (or lay!) in the shade!

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Owen did super amazing awesome today…unfortunately, I had unexpected phone storage issues (even after I deleted a ton of stuff) so I ended up missing recording a few hits and runs—and a few videos got cut short. GRRR!

And he asked to be catcher today!! He did have some balance issues (see next photo—he kept his feet together instead of using a wide stance so he kept falling over) but he worked through them and did a great job! And looked damn cute!

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The coaches actually called the game a half hour early because it was so hot. They had a quick award ceremony afterward.

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I had to transcribe what the coach said because it was super awesome and is very hard to hear on the video—the Closed Captions should be turned on so you can read along but here it is just in case:

Due to my phone issues, I missed the first thing he said: I like to call him The Big O!

Come on up! I’ve really seen Owen’s catching progress. Behind the plate as well as catching the ball in the field. Alright, you are certainly catching it like the guys at the next level and very impressive. You’ve had some great hits as well. Alright. I love seeing your enthusiasm out here. Good job, buddy.

Team picture by another mom (since my phone was still acting up):

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Then the pizza party!!!

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And showing off his award! He had to run and get this T-ball award from last year, too—he was so excited to have two! He said he will put them both on a shelf together! 🙂

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Owen became a pirate today!

Owen went to a pirate-themed birthday party today—the same family that had the knight-themed party last year! He had SOOOOO much fun! He told us every single thing they did…which we actually confirmed when the mom posted all the pictures on Facebook! (These are all her pictures.)

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Getting the “boat” set up—the kids had to stay on the boat (not fall off) while they moved it around. Passing the test earned a treat!

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The birthday boy’s older brothers helping out—reading the Pirate Oath (below):

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They used a Pirate Name Generator to assign names to all the boys—Owen was Lazy Jack Keys!

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Getting ready to hunt for treasure!

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A real treasure map!

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Walking the plank!

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Popping “canon ball” balloons (they sounded like firing canons)!

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They were hitting the skull heads for treasure bags!

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Searching for bags of gold!

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Feeding [plastic] rats to the alligator! (The mom had her arm inside the mouth and would grab the rats or toss them back out. You had to stay until he “ate” your rat!)

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X marks the spot!

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They found the treasure and everyone got to divvy up the spoils—jewels, necklaces, and coins!

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Some of his haul, which he promptly put in his own treasure box when he got home! (He also got a pirate bandana and two bombs which he’s in love with!)

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Xander, the birthday boy!

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Memorial Day cookout at the pool!

Otherwise known as Day 3 of 3. 🙂

We had a super fun four hours at the pool for the Memorial Day Cookout! We were there as soon as they opened and it was GLORIOUSLY empty—and quiet—as we were the only ones there! (We were there so early because we know the pool gets CRAZY when they offer free food—everyone and their brother who never come to the pool all summer otherwise show up for the free burgers, chips, and pop 🙄 —and we wanted to be sure to get good seats.) The forecast had called for rain all day, so we were excited that the weather held out and was actually very nice. The sun even came out to warm things up just enough for me to take a quick dip in the pool and take some pics with the waterproof camera! It eventually clouded over but it never rained!

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We made her get out of the pool and dry off because her lips were blue and she was very visibly shivering—even though she didn’t want to. Yep, she’s definitely my daughter—that’s exactly how I used to be!

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After two towels and some snacks, she was ready to go again!

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Katie and her friend Ainsley (they will be moving later this summer). 🙁

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The huge crowd (which my pic doesn’t really even do justice)—which we will only see for the cookouts today, July 4th, and Labor Day.

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