Birthday Pictures...Finally!

Alex with his Mighty Morphin Power Ranger cake. It was super fun to decorate.

Well, I finally have some access to Josh's computer. Of course, it's definitely not a day later. More like a week. But hey...I tried. Anyhow, Alex got to celebrate his birthday more than once. One big party with the family and one party with his classmates at school. Both were equally fun and both involved a good deal of cake decorating from me. Theme for the big party was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (his choice, not mine...if you were wondering. Not that I was complaining as I'm in total love with the show.) For his class party, he wanted Captain America. So, I'm happy to say that I delivered both to the best of my ability. Both ending in success. I must say that this round of birthday party was really enjoyable. I don't think I've seen him so happy. Especially after the loot he got for gifts. I can sum up the presents in three points: Super heroes, Big boy bike, nerf gun. He's in love with them all! Thanks again to everyone who made Alex's birthday so special. We are truly blessed! Oh...and yes. I have photos this time. Here ya'll go!

The mighty Thor!

Captain America shield cupcakes. Yeah...I know...I'm awesome. :)

Birthday boy with the birthday crown at school. He loves preschool! So many new friends.

Happy Birthday Alex!!

Even though my computer is still mostly dead, I cannot ignore this amazing day. Today my wonderful son turned five years old. Five! Wow! I feel like all the birthday posts are like this. It just always seems so incredible how fast they grow. Alex is turning into this little boy with traits that leave me speechless almost daily. His compassion and caring for others (especially his sister Abby) have shown me just how wonderful of a kid he is and how amazing of a man he will grow to be. His Great-Grandma gave him a card with $20 in it for his birthday party this past Saturday. A couple of weeks before, he'd seen a nifty spy-kit in the toy section of a Dollar General. He asked if he could have it for his birthday and I told him that if he got any birthday money that he could come back to buy it. When he got the money he promptly remembered the spy-kit and asked if we could go so he could buy it with his 'dollar'. So Sunday, we went to the Dollar General. Naturally, Abby wanted a toy as well, but I had to explain to her that it was Alex's birthday money and that I wasn't going to buy her anything that day. She was very upset about this. So Alex walked up to her, without any prompting from me whatsoever, and said, "It's okay Abby. I'll buy it for you with my dollar." I told him he didn't have to do that but he insisted that he wanted to. I was speechless. He's been doing little selfless acts like this more and more often. It was just one of those moments when you say to yourself, "Wow. I'm just so proud of this little one." And I am. Both of my children as so amazing and I am so blessed. Thank you God for my wonderful children. Five years old, and already exceeding my expectations. Alex, I'm so proud of you! Happy Birthday to my little boy! Tomorrow I'll attempt to rip the computer out of Josh's hands in hopes of uploading pictures from my camera as a part 2 to Alex's birthday blog. We had a wonderful birthday party with all the family. It was a blessed day and I thank all of you that came to celebrate with us! Happy Birthday Alex!

Computer Woes

About...oh...I'd say one and a half years back, I decided to treat myself to a brand new, shiny computer. A Laptop to be precise. I believe now that I made two mistakes that I will now share with you so that you do not make the same mistakes in future laptop purchases. Mistake #1: I bought the cheapest laptop that was on sale at Wal-Mart. Mistake #2: I decided not to get the extended warranty. Because I, like many other people, see my purchases as invincible. Why, oh why, would I spend the extra $30 on something as ridiculous as this when it comes with a free one-year warranty? What could possibly happen to my indestructible laptop? Well...let's see. The screen could randomly start dying. And then it could eventually start making sizzling sounds as it goes black until it never pops on again. Then it could leave you with a worthless hunk of junk and no warranty to fix it. Yep. That's exactly what happened! So I'm on Josh's computer now and as he dominates the computer time when he's home, blogging is temporarily a thing of my past. I'll be back as soon as I can either get my laptop fixed or buy a new one. Hmmm...the temporary blogging break may become more permanent than I thought. I'll blog when I can rip Josh's keyboard out of his kung-fu grip. See ya all on the flip-side!

Eat THAT Little Debbie!

Uh-huh. You read that title right. I'm talkin' smack on everyone's favorite snack time friend. Ms. Little Debbie. She's always conjuring up some sugary goodness that's chock full of goodness. And by goodness I really mean, thank goodness I didn't exceed my lifetime sugar levels by devouring the entire box by myself. I'll admit I'm not immune from her devilish plan to create an entire world of diabetics. I walk past that aisle every time I go shopping. My Little Debbie vice? Strawberry Shortcake Rolls. Mmmm...I'm drooling. But! Yes. I said 'but'. When we discovered Alex's milk allergy, I looked at every box of her goodies and noticed milk in all of them. I looked that curly, brown-haired trouble maker square in the eyes and told her to take a hike! That was the end of my 28 year relationship with Little Debbie. So at our local tiny grocery store, what do they have set up on those dingy white shelves right by the checkout? You guessed it. A collection of Ms. Debbie's greatest hits. And some new releases as well. Alex consistently eyeballs those rainbow boxes of treats. This past weekend he looked at the shelves and noticed a new box. In light of the season, there was a new item: Football brownies. Well, you should know that Alex is in love with football. The kid can spout team names, coaches and players pretty darn good for a five year old. He was ecstatic about the brownies and excitedly begged for me to buy them for him. I had to use the dreaded, "Sorry buddy. Those have cow milk in them," phrase. He put them back and gave me the sad pouty face that breaks my heart so often. (Darn you, dairy industry! Why must you make so many tastefully deadly things?) So I knelt down and said, "How about I go home and make you some football brownies?" His frown turned upside down and he was bouncing with joy again. So home I went and whipped up a tasty batch of football brownies. They look almost exactly like the store bought ones and taste a whole lot better (theoretically speaking of course). No preservatives and mine even had chocolate chips in them. Bet you didn't put chocolate chips in yours Ms. Debbie! All in all, the brownies were gone in 24 hours and were a huge hit. Plus, I earned massive 'Awesome Mom' points. Move over Little Debbie....Little Jessie is in town! (Hmmm. That doesn't have quite the catchy ring to it that I'd hoped it would.)

Uh-huh...yeah...that's right! I'm awesome! (Now picture me spiking one of my football brownies on the ground and doing my 'touch down' dance.)

Yummy stuff I tell ya! Just ask my biggest fans!