Yummy!

Callum fell asleep on the way home from Costco, so while he slept, I made Logan help me unload the car and carry everything into the house. He groaned the entire time but he was hopeful I'd give him some iPad time later on, so he remained agreeable and helpful.

Once the groceries were in the house (but not yet put away, mind you!), Logan plopped on the couch, heaved a big sigh and said, "So *that's* what a Mom's day is like!"

Ha! If only he knew. :)

Because his playmate was still napping, Logan began to pull out all of the fresh fruits and veggies, wash them and ask me to help put them into the Vitamix. So, before I knew it, we were in full-on smoothie making mode! Phew!!

(Now, where the heck am I going to put all of this stuff?!)

Have mercy on your soul....

The lady manning the exit door at Costco took one look at my cart and the two hyper boys hanging off of it and then at me. She said, Wow - you got all of this by yourself, with these two boys?

I said uh huh, and now all I want to do is get home and collapse.

She nodded with great understanding and waved me by, without even checking a single item on our receipt. ;-)

Vitamix Smoothies

The boys discovered the Vitamix demonstration guy while we were shipping at Costco today and have had about 6-7 samples each so far.

They've made me get a ton of fresh fruit and veggies so we can make more smoothies at home. I guess there are worse things for them to beg me to buy. ;-)

Antibacterial Soap Sale

We go thru a ton of soap these days. :)

Callum Turns 5!

Or, rather, he did turn 5 a week ago - I'm just behind on life, in general.  :)

If you've been a long time follower of my blog, or if you know us well, you know I'm a grinchy grinch about throwing birthday parties for my kids when they were really little.  But, by the time Logan turned 4, and was old enough to ask for a birthday celebration, I caved in and said ok.  :)  So, tradition should follow that I would then throw Callum's first birthday party, at age 4.

Sadly, he was too sick and too much in the thick of his treatment last year, to enjoy a proper birthday party when he turned four (and we couldn't have had anyone over at the house during that time anyway!).  We had a smaller gathering a little later, to make up for things, but I don't think it was the same.

So, you can imagine the anticipation and build up, that this birthday has been for little Callum!  Not only was he turning FIVE (which he'll remind anyone who will listen to him, daily, that he's now five), but he was going to have his own birthday party, with his own friends, and own cake, and own prizes, and own piñata, and....it goes on and on.

Only - sadly, I've been SO DAMN SWAMPED AND STRESSED this month that I really had NO oomph left in me to really make it the magnificent bash that I usually try to do!  So, it didn't get as much attention - but I don't think any of the boys finally noticed.  ;-)   Everyone had a terrific time, and that was the most important part.

With that said, here are a number of pics I shot, during the prep leading up to the party and a handful of the party itself, to share with you.  :)

My custom Happy Birthday sign which happened to be a real bitch to hang up just right! :)

Favor boxes for guests when they leave
(and a "guess how many" pokeball game that no one actually played - LOL!)

Prepping for the party while Callum ate snacks

He was halfway through his steroid pulse so I didn't argue too much as he sat down to munch on the table of snacks!

My attempt to add some healthy snacks to the table 

Always a hit - Bettina makes the most AMAZING cookies ever!

A close up of her wonderful artwork :)

Callum (and Logan) loved these!

Icing Smiles comes through again with a gorgeous cake for us!

The baker was a different lady this time but I dare say I think this cake was even better and tastier than the other one we had done!!

Most importantly, Callum LOVED the cake.  The top portion was a strawberry and chocolate marbled swirl - after finishing his slice, he gave me two thumbs and told me "she (the baker) made a very yummy cake!"  :) 

Here's a fun pic of what the top portion looked inside - Callum's favorite part! :)

I made some Pokemon themed bingo cards - but we never got to the game :)

As you saw from all my prep posts - I made nearly 150 handmade Pokeballs, which we then "hid" (or threw around the yard) for the kids to hunt.  

"Gotta catch them all!"

It was a good way to get the kids outside and let off some steam...

Of course, the other way to let off some steam was letting them out back to whack at the piñata!

Goooo Callum!

Knock it down!

He's usually quite shy but didn't do too bad this round :)

Since he was the birthday boy we let him go at it for awhile....

Trent was actually the youngest guest (4yrs old), so he was up after Callum

He whacked it pretty good!

 

Next up was Trent's bigger sister, Amelia!

Look at that form!

Ryder took a stab at the piñata next!

And then Connor after that...

Go Connor Go!

And then Rafita (who had a great swing!)

And finally the two big kids....

Logan pretty much whacked the thing down until it was dead...

He was ready to destroy it here and we had to stop him so that Robert could get a few swings in before the thing crumbled!

At least the piñata made it through all 8 kids!!  So fun :)

As always, little C filled his bag with Nerds only :)

We barely got the candles lit before excited Callum blew them out :)

Happy 5th birthday little C! 

Sour puss

Steroids doesn't just bring the food cravings, it brings the emotional ups and downs too. Here's Callum giving a pretty solid pouty lip, because of something (who knows what) that his brother said to him.

I have to admit though, even his pout is pretty darn cute. ;-)

Making friends at the tile shop

The boys are having to get used to me dragging them around everywhere while I pick out materials for our remodel. Luckily another kid showed up to hang out and play with them, which helped. :)