A few weeks ago our nephew, Reed, was over playing with Charlie. Reed was reading books to Charlie for awhile and when he stopped, this is what I overheard:

Charlie: Reed.
Reed: What?
Charlie: Reed!
Reed: What?
Charlie Reed!!!!
Reed: What?!
Charlie: Read the book!

Someone needs a hug

Charlie: Mommy, he needs a hug!

Me: You need a hug?

Charlie: No! He needs a hug.

Me: Who needs a hug.

Charlie: That guy.

Me: What guy?

Charlie: (bringing me over to see the newspaper on the kitchen table) That guy right there.

He was pointing to this picture of one of our local wrestlers after he won 3rd in State:

April Fools Cake

Happy 9th birthday to our sweet, sweet daughter! We had Elena's birthday party on her actual birthday this year, so of course, we had to go with an April Fools theme. 

When I announced that the next activity would be cleaning the house (Elena's idea), most of her friends eagerly reached for the brooms and dusting rags. I was tempted to just let them go ahead and clean the house instead of telling them it was a joke. The kids weren't quite as excited to win their game prizes: a potato, a can of beans and a diaper. But, (almost) everyone enjoyed the April Fools Day cake.

Here is Elena with her "birthday cake."  It's actually meat loaf covered in pink mashed potatoes. After singing to her, we cut up the cake and put a piece in middle of the table.  Whoever grabbed it, got the first bite! I was impressed with how long the two girls who tried it pretended not to hate the cake. Fortunately, we got it all on tape :)

Here is Elena with her real birthday cake. I know it doesn't look like something that might sell at a bakery, but we were pretty proud of it. Elena has been asking for a castle cake for 4 years, and we finally tackled it this year. With a baby interrupting me throughout the process, it took 8 hours before we finally finished it. Elena couldn't help but point out that I "should have made this cake 4 years ago when she first asked for it because it would have been a lot easier to do without a toddler and a baby to take care of." Touche.

Although I'm glad we waited until she was 9 because that way she was old enough to decorate the whole thing herself (with a little help from her brothers).

Here's the video of the meatloaf cake. I'd like to add that I served the meatloaf for supper the next night, and it was a much bigger hit. The kids had some friends over, and Toby (who never fails to surprise me) informed me that he liked it so much that he is planning to have "meatloaf cake" for his next birthday. For the actual cake. I'm sure his friends will love it :)