Our new puppy!!

Isn't she cute???

I think we'll call her Zoe.

Cake pops!

What are cake pops?  Well, they are cake lollipops.  

I like to read the blog, Bakerella , where she does amazing things with cake.  She recently posted Hello Kitty Cake Pops and I thought they were so cute.  So, being brave, I thought I'd give it try and make them for a co-worker friend's birthday.  

Of course, I employed my ever ready helper to make them.  Here she is crumbling the cake for me.

Then she realized, "Oh, I'm cooking, I need my hat!"  And now she's ready to mix in the frosting!

Well, all she wanted was to eat the frosting...

After several more steps, here's the finished product of Hello Kitty Cake Pops...

Not bad for a first try in making something like this...

But this is what they are supposed to look like!!

 

I need more practice!

An early anniversary present

Ok time for a post that's just B & b (and no Zoe...)

Brian surprised me with an early anniversary present last weekend.  He arranged for Zoe to stay with Grandma & Grandpa and he whisked me away to MAUI!!

Well, wouldn't that have been somethin'. 

No, we didn't make it to Maui, but Brian did actually whisk me away to the Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake, but, alas, only for one night away just for ourselves.  He truly surprised me.  I had no idea he was planning anything.  Plus he packed everything for me (and he did a good job, too.)

Here's our room (upgraded to a 2-room suite!!)

 

I always love a good bath...nice and relaxing!

And the view outside our room....

Then we were off to dinner at Roy's...

and we got our "Happy Anniversary" dessert, too...yummy!

Then on Saturday, we got to sleep in...that was the best!!  No little voices calling for Mommy at 6am.  No little hands pulling at me and telling me, 'it's morning time, Mama, wake up!'  

Then, we ate a relaxing breakfast in the Lobby Lounge...

And before we knew it, it was time to pack up and go get our daughter...

Thanks for the wonderful surprise, my loving hubby!  I had a great time!  I love you!

love or hate daylight savings time??

Since I am an east-west commuter, I am constantly driving into the sun.  This is unfortunate for Zoe.  There are no back seat visors for the little one.  She just gets blasted by the sun every morning! Poor thing.

"Bright sun, Mama! Turn it off!"

So right before we turn the clocks back, the sun gets especially wicked.  Zoe resorts to covering her face with her blankie or kitty-cat or sometimes a book.

Sometimes it's me who has to hold up the book to block the sun from shining in her eyes.  So, I'm just a crazy lady driving down the freeway holding up a book, or magazine, or coloring page just the keep the sun out of my baby's eyes.

Sometimes though, she just has to suck it up... 

(By the way, these pics were all snapped while safely stopped at traffic signals.)

Now that the clocks have been set back, we leave while it's still dark out.  No chance of sunshine in the face (yet.)  But those first few days were confusing to her.  One morning she never opened her eyes while she was dressed, hair brushed and carried downstairs to the car to go to day care.

So what's easier, dealing with the shrieks because the sun's too bright or trying to dress a limp ragdoll because she doesn't want to wake up?

Love daylight savings time or hate it??  The jury's still out...

Catch-up time...

I've been a little lazy with my posts...so I'll try to catch-up with several posts this weekend...

Speaking of lazy... 

Our lazy Sunday mornings...it's jammie day!!

Even Shammy loves lazy Sundays...

Huh? What?

 

Biker Chic or 80's Rocker Chick?

Zoe & I went to watch Daddy work sound check for a local Big Bad Voodoo Daddy show (for a change.)  I dressed Zoe in her cute Big Bad Voodoo Daddy shirt, denim skirt and black boots.  I thought she looked a bit biker chic...but Daddy thought she looked like an 80's rocker chick (just without the big hair!) You be the judge.

We didn't forget the ear muffs for protection!!  Gotta keep those little ears safe!

Dancin' to her own beat...

Daddy, can I play with the buttons too?

Practicing spins and turns...

Instead of dancing to her favorite song (Jitterbug) that the band so graciously played especially for her...

she'd rather walk the edge of the dance floor like a balance beam.

And here she is showing off the merchandise in her best Vanna White impression.

All in all, Zoe had fun watching Daddy work!

Hello Big Girl Bed!

Here it is!  Zoe's big girl bed!!  She's so happy to have a new bed! (And she loves posing on it too!)

Zoe helped pick out her new bedding, she loves the flowers!  

Have I ever mentioned that I hate bed skirts? (See above for aforementioned bedskirt.) In fact, I loathe them.  I hate washing them.  I hate ironing them.  They always fold in when you make the bed.  They never quite fit the bed after washing (no matter how gentle you wash it.)  I can't wait to find a new headboard & rails or platform bed so I can get rid of that stupid bedskirt hiding the plain old frame.   

Look how little she looks...my little baby.

Hey Daddy, this bed isn't big enough for both of us!

Watch this little video for a very important lesson about Zoe's bed...