Happy Hug Day!

If you didn't already know, today is Hug Day.

Claire informed us yesterday that it was coming, and sure enough, this morning I got a HUGE hug from the most precious girl in the world.

Now... yesterday, I have to admit that I wasn't so excited about Hug Day. This is because last night, when Claire was asked to come and set the table, she informed us that she HAD to finish her tea party because "tomorrow is Hug Day and we CAN'T have a tea party on Hug Day." I needed the table set -- she needed to serve tea to several stuffed bears and a couple of dolls. I'm not sure when Hug Day became the all-important reason to finish her party, but it kind of irritated me. Partly because it was hard to argue with something as soft and cushy-sounding as "Hug Day" and also because, in my no-fun adult mind, dinner was going to get cold if we didn't sit down to eat NOW.

However, when those arms wrapped around me this morning and I heard the words "Happy Hug Day, Mommy!" I instantly fell in love with Claire's self-proclaimed holiday.

So here's wishing a Happy Hug Day to you all! Take advantage of it - these special holidays don't come around every day, you know.

Parents of potential cheerleaders BEWARE!

I learned something interesting while taking a little quiz this weekend on Pioneer Woman's website. According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, the sport that has been determined to be the most dangerous is cheerleading.

Wait...say that again?

I could understand boxing, maybe rock climbing, or certainly rugby, but CHEERLEADING? Then I found this video and it all started to make more sense.

Ouch.

Update: As soon as I posted this entry, Google chose this ad for me to view:

GO TEAM GO! (Can I get an ice pack, please?)

Father's Day "Hamburgers"

When I received an email asking me to bring something for a Father's Day potluck at church, the FIRST thing I thought of was Bakerella's latest post. Little hamburgers made out of cupcakes and brownies??? It just about busted the cuteness meter.

Everything (cupcakes, brownies, sugar cookies) was made from a mix, so it was pretty easy. The frosting was the pre-made Wilton buttercream that comes in a big plastic tub. I didn't even need to use my fancy decorating bags/tips - just ziploc bags! Bakerella provided PDF templates for the baskets and fry bags.

Look at the salt...I mean SUGAR on those "fries"! They were Y-U-M-M-Y too.

The guys seconded that motion...

And here's my cutie-patootie with a basket that was leftover. My name would have been "mud" if I hadn't saved one for her.

THANK YOU BAKERELLA!! Also, Cakewrecks featured them on their Sunday Sweets post. Check it out! (Scroll down past the shirt/tie cakes - it's at the bottom.)

Happy Father's Day!

Vines attack!

The phone rang the other day and I was surprised to see Erik's name on the caller ID. I knew that he was outside working on cutting down the vines along the back wall.

"Camille, come outside. I'm stuck in the vines."

It took me a minute to find him (he hadn't stuck his hands out yet) but here is what I saw...

Nice.

Save the baby!

My sister-in-law sent us some pictures today of our nephew.

Claire thought this one was particularly funny.



Me: "Claire, who is that?"

Claire: "Ha ha ha - Auntie Minna eating Chase! Guess that's the last day I'll see him..."

Heavenly Ponderings

On our way to church choir practice last night, Claire said,

"Mom, guess what?"

"Yes?"

"Heaven is going to be really easy."

"Oh, really? Why is that?"

"On Sundays, when we need to go to church, well...we're already at God!"

Thanks, Jen!

Wow.

Until Monday, I would have never guessed that my humble blog would be read by so many people worldwide. I was "Twittered" and lived to tell about it.

When I posted my story about my cake contest snafu, I sent the link to Jen at Cake Wrecks, hoping to at least bring a smile to her face. After all, I kind of owe her for the many MANY laughs I have found at her site. Unbeknownst to me, my friend Kim also sent her a link. (Great minds think alike, I guess.)

On Monday, Jen tweeted (is that even the right lingo??) the link and the response was CRAZY. I have loved reading all of the comments and I am glad that so many people enjoyed it.

Thank you, Jen for seeing my story as "Twitter-worthy." I'm a L-O-N-G way from ever providing the daily laughs that you do, but I'm proud to have played a very small part.

Let's All Dance Like a Daisy...

Yesterday was Claire's first fancy-schmancy dance recital. She has been taking dance lessons through the city's parks and rec department, and this year they went all-out with costumes and a nice auditorium.

Here she is in her daisy costume. SO CUTE! She was very excited to wear make-up for the first time.

This was a photo taken at the dress rehearsal. My camera settings were better than the pictures I took of the real performance, so I wanted to include it here.

Right before going on stage, we took them downstairs to the dressing room. They had coloring pages, tiny bottles of water, and fruit snacks for the kids. Love it.

The performance begins - "Let's all dance like a daisy..."

Claire's big moment was to lead the dancers in a big skipping circle and back to their original pots.

Rounding the corner...

...and back to the pots. Mission accomplished.

Wait...why is the girl on the other end gesturing like something's wrong? (Look at her hands...)

Oh...SHE want's that pot. And, as you can see, she took it!

Claire eventually found her way to the empty pot on the other end and climbed inside.

But she was NOT happy about it.

The whole moment made the audience laugh. We're still trying to convince Claire that it all worked out O.K.

And...the final bow!