What's a Happenin'?

I haven't had all that much to blog about lately; I guess things have been pretty boring with day-to-day life, with work, gym, family time, eat & sleep. And repeat, and repeat, and repeat!

Cam's doing really well in the toddler room at school where he's been consistently spending his days over the past month or so. He's getting a taste of more structured learning; sitting in a circle for story time, making crafts at the art table, eating lunch in a regular seat & going to the sink after meals to wash his hands. It's funny to pick him up & see him listening & following direction so well. Wish he did a bit more of that at home!

Parenting is continuing to throw us new curve balls every time we turn around. Why don't these kids come out with instruction manuals so I know exactly how to handle each issue I'm faced with? From time to time, Cam has a bit of a temper when he's tired & doesn't get what he wants. And he deserves an Academy Award for his newly found fake cry (which is rather amusing to watch!)

And what else is new? Oh, Cam is obsessed with the movie Cars; we put on each night as he's getting ready for bed. Since seeing so much of it, I've seriously started to look at real cars on the real road & picture what they would look like if animated. Pretty sad indeed! (And as I type this, what else is playing on the TV but Cars?)

Also, we're looking forward to Grammy's upcoming visit as she'll be flying in on Saturday morning in anticipation for our beach weekend getaway the following weekend. Grammy is nice enough to watch Cam for an entire weekend while we spend time with our wonderful friends at the beach. It'll be so great to have some uninterrupted adult relaxation time, but I know I'll miss my little love so much.

I'll leave you with some pictures of our time at the park this past Saturday with Leah, Matt & Kelly.



We hadn't seen one of these spinning contraptions in such a long time! My brother used to push me so hard on them when I was a kid that I was sure I was going to fly off to my death.













I love our faces in this picture as we came down the slide!







Hope everyone is having a great week so far!!

Surprise!

Today is Mike's 31st birthday, but I thought we'd celebrate early so I threw a surprise party for him on Friday. He thought we were going to have a rather typical, low-key Friday night, but to his surprise Matt, Kelly, Leah, Lauren & Josh ended up bustling through the back door with a bushel of balloons in hand!

He was so excited, surprised & touched that it brought tears of happiness to his eyes! What a sensitive guy!





I made slow-cooker sloppy joes earlier that day; they were rather tasty & easy to make. I can't stand being stuck in the kitchen when I'm having a get together, so I love crowd pleasing, make-ahead meals. If you're interested in checking out the recipe, click here.



Cam wasn't exactly a fan of the birthday hat!



But Mike was!



Mike & his gal pals, Lauren & Kelly.



We couldn't decide who was taller so Lauren & Kelly went back-to-back. I think Kelly ended up being a hair taller, but it was super close.



Same goes with me & Matt; it was too close to tell!



Kelly loves her KC Boy!





I made Reese's peanut butter cup inspired cupcakes since Mike adores the combination of chocolate & peanut butter. I found this recipe in my Food Network Magazine; click here to check it out. Instead of mini cupcakes, I made regular & instead of homemade, I used a mix to save some time.



I think Mike enjoyed them. He thought they tasted good warmed in the microwave to soften the peanut butter & chocolate.

















We tested out Lauren's birthday present; an awesome camera Josh gave her that very night. We got a little goofy with our poses, but it was a blast!



It was an awesome night & I'm so happy that my friends helped me pull off the surprise. Happy Birthday, Mike! I love you!

Mental Health Day

Lately it seems that I have less & less time & I'm more & more frazzled. And I'm sure most everyone is on board with me on that. I've been wanting to take a "mental health day" from work since I haven't had a day off since our whirlwind trip to Chicago in December. Now, a mental health day for some may equate to lounging around, reading, watching movies, going to the gym, etc. Not for me! My mental health day involves Cam going to day care so I can get EVERYTHING done in our house that I normally have little time to do.

So, I've been up since before 7, getting laundry done & getting ready to clean, clean, clean. This might sound like a crummy day off, but I love it! Before Cameron came along, I used to work four ten hour days so I could take Fridays off. Each Friday I would get everything done so we could fully enjoy our weekend sans housework. Since I've been back to work full-time since having Cameron, that has completely gone to the wayside.

And that's why I'm utterly thrilled to have an entire day to organize & clean while the TV broadcasts the Today Show, HGTV & the Food Network. And since cleaning in peace is therapy for me, today is gonna be a great day!

Here Comes Cameron Cottontail!

Even though last year was Cam's first Easter, this year felt more like it since he was able to participate in the festivities with his cousins.

The three little monkeys hunted for eggs in our front yard & I think they had a great time. And even though Cam was a year older this Easter, he still lagged far behind his cousins in the gathering of eggs! But in a year or two, Maddy & Mikalya will finally have a true competitor to watch out for!









This was the best picture I could get of the three of them! As one was looking (Maddy), the other was gazing away (Mikayla) & another was getting up to bolt (Cam)!

Grilling & Chilling!

Saturday we headed over to Lauren & Josh's house for a beautiful day of grilling, playing bags & just kicking back & having fun. We were able to really relax since my mom & dad were nice enough to spend the day with Cameron.

And I don't want to brag too much, but Matt & I were undefeated champs in bags! Oh yeah!



It's Matt, Lauren & a Romes!



Look at these two posers!



Leah & Uncle Mike make a precious pair.



Auntie Kelly can throw a mean bag! (Does that even make sense?)



And apparently I was having just a bit of fun in the baby pool. And no, I did not have a zillion beers before this was taken. That would be incredibly irresponsible of me!