time flies...am I having fun?

I would just like to share that sometimes, yes, sometimes, being home all day, listening to whining, fighting, crying, toddlers and cleaning up mess after mess gets, well, a bit old. Some days I just want to throw a punch at the gazillion people who have said to me, while gazing wistfully at my young children, "It goes by so fast...enjoy them now...."

As you know from reading this blog, I DO enjoy them. I appreciate them, I lap up every little funny, adorable, delicious bit of them. I feel lucky every day. Even on the bad days.

But.

There are days.

Ok, maybe weeks.

When this time of "going by so fast" doesn't feel fast enough.

I get sick and tired of cleaning up the messes.

Soooooo tired of those constant, never-ending, non-stop, every second messes I am cleaning up.

Day after day.

In the midst of preparing for birthday parties, preparing meals, or maybe just trying desperately to do something creative and fun - for myself.

peek-a-boo!!

I am constantly tiptoeing around messes as I make dinner.

And then there's the constant, never-ending, non-stop, every second crying, whining and/or fighting. Sucha lotta crying, whining and fighting.

Buuuut.......then there are the times I know, without a doubt, I will some day think about as I wistfully say to a mom with young kidlets how fast it goes....

Anna Clara had some fun playing dress-up with the boys....

The boys plopped themselves down and did their thang.

 






































I was taking pictures of the mess in the kitchen and Anders went up to Niels and hugged him for the camera. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to get a picture of them hugging. Every time, by the time I get the camera, they break apart and move on to something else. But this time they shared plenty of hugs for the camera. 

And yes, these are the moments, and all the many good moments I record on this blog, that make all the messes, the crying, the whining, the daily grind....worth it.

a very busy week in april....

Last week was one of the busiest I have had in a while. That's not saying much since my life is not a very busy one -- other than the daily busy-ness of chasing after two toddler boys -- but it was very much filled with planning, organizing, decorating, baking, screaming (at little ones making mischief), partying, eating (lots of eating...a bit too much on my part...lots of frosting was made, so lots of spatulas were licked...), cleaning, yelling at boys who then messed up the cleaning, list making (I can't function without lists), list checking, list re-checking and, finally, actually finishing up those lists.

Here's what went down:

Thursday was Anna Clara's 6th birthday and I surprised her with a princess/doll cake. I have never made one before and my mom used to make them for me and my sisters and we all, of course, loved them. I completely winged it. Apparently there's a kit for this cake, but I totally and completely winged it...I didn't have much spare time to be dealing with a kit or looking at pictures to work off of...I was a fairly frenetic momma last week with too much to do and too little time.

Ta DA! Here she is!

I love the boys, and proud papa, in the background.

The very happy birthday girl!!

She can not get enough of playing "school", so most of her gifts were school-work related.

With her favorite doll dressed in the new pjs and bunny slippers I gave her.

Then there was the tea party on Saturday with 6 of her friends....

Saturday morning prepping for the party was a nightmare. At least one boy was crying pretty much the entire morning. Even while stuffing his face with cupcakes.

The birthday girl.

Mr. Incredible and I served tea sandwiches, pink lemonade and fruit.

Check out that studly waiter!

The flower cupcakes I made were the centerpiece.

JoiVie provided some entertainment...

...and help with clean-up.

Opening gifts.

Making necklaces to take home.

Then, after cleaning up from the party, I set up for egg decorating -- Easter was the next day.

The boys stuffed their faces with food (yes, they are always eating) while eggs were dyed.

Unfortunately I didn't take one single picture on Easter day...and the kidlings were, of course, absolutely adorable in their Easter Sunday best. Eggs and baskets were found, candy was eaten, church was attended, a very small and very casual potluck was had at my home with a few wonderful friends who don't have family nearby...and my week was complete. I'm happy it is over, but I am happier that I was able to make it all happen. In another post I will reveal a few things that were going on as I was prepping for all of the above......and it wasn't pretty.......