since october...

our little fishy cake :)

"THE BIG ONE" FISH CAKE-HOW I DID IT WITHOUT LOSING MY MIND!

the scales

i got a set of biscuit cutters for my wedding that i registered for. when registering, of course, i was the perfect wife and my husband would have fresh biscuits for breakfast, fast-forward almost 4 years now and i've made one batch of biscuits with them. and i'm pretty sure mitchy didn't even eat one. poor husband. i did dig them out of the cupboard when i was trying ot think of something rounded to use instead of cutting each one individually like i did for a few of the scales, until i got to thinking about it.

so anyway...this is a biscuit cutter probably not even an inch around. i started on one end of a

piece of fruit by the foot and swirled it around to the other end:

and then it got to looking like this:

but then the next one was too rounded on the one end:

so, with the pizza cutter mitchy and i have leftover from college, i trimmed it each time:

here are all the scales. i put waxed paper between them in case they'd have stuck together, i'm sure glad i did this...fruit by the foot is sticky! this allowed them to dry out a little too, making them easier to handle while applying them to the cake:

here's the pizza cutter after all of the cutting. it was kind of nice that they just stuck to the pizza cutter...less mess!

here are two 9'' round cakes. i used a box cake mix, because i've never really tried a from-scratch cake.

i cut one of the rounds in half and stuck them together with frosting.

these are the side fins:

here's the tail fin:

there was even enough leftover for blaise's very own fishy smash cake! :) i frosted this and he had a grand ol time with it! :)

here it is assembled. i used frosting and one skewer on the top fin from the top to the bottom of the cake and one from the top of the tail fin to the bottom of the cake for support:

here is the crumb-coat:

after putting the final frosting on the fish i put two fruit slices together and stuck it into the cake with a blob of frosting. i stuck a toothpick in it for support and never took it off...i was afraid the weight of the candy would make it fall off:

here it is: scales put on! :) i used a toothpick press them into place one behind the other alternating colors as i went. i tried to texture the frosting on the fins, but got too nervous about destroying the cake that i just gave up. oh well. i used a candy button for the eye and a blob of darker colored frosting to hold it in place:

i stuck the candles in the cake when i got to the site and it was ready :)

our little fishy with his fish cake! :)

blaise checking in...

hey it's blaise...

i'm 10 months old today!!!

i'm healthy and crawling up on every piece of furniture, step, toy. i love getting into my big sister's stuff and pulling her hair...and mom's hair...and dad's hair when it's long enough.

i don't crawl yet, just do the army scoot, but i can almost out-scoot my mom on a good day! i think i'll be like my oldest uncle and go right to walking around.

i'm on a much better sleep schedule, because mom complained how tired she was. i suddenly started zonking out at around 8 and i think it was sooner than that last night, but i was too tired to look at the clock.

i'm still nursing full-time and prefer it over the green and orange goo mom tries scooping into my mouth...but sometimes i'm so famished i just take it all in like a champ...mom thinks that's silly.

mom says that she's so blessed to have me and that she feels so very lucky....i agree ;)

see you at my 1 year birthday party!!! it's coming soooooon!

from the rental

i have an excuse, i've been m.i.a., because we're BUILDING A HOUSE!

we're so happy and excited! it's been stressful, but we can't wait to have a place to really call home.

i keep thinking about madelyn walking down the steps for her first day of school...and then zip through those years and come down in her prom dress!

not much new...got a cute little man who's growing up wayyy faster than i can handle and a little baby girl who somehow turned 3 last week.

here's the progress on the house. since the last picture has been taken they've added the deck on completely and steps to get into the house from the garage!

{before}

{4 weeks in, i think}

busy, busy!

{blaise at almost 8 months}

{madelyn at about 11 months}
~~~~~~~~can you tell they're siblings?!~~~~~~~

{loving him up}

{spring cabin time with auntie mindy}

we're sure keeping busy now that the sun has finally appeared and temperatures are nice enough to be out all afternoon.

we're also busy with our house. we're scrapping the whole idea of completely building new and just renovating the house we're currently in. we're waiting on the appraisal stuff and should know the answer as to what we're able to do soon. it's all very exciting, but it seems like FoReVeR to wait!

madelyn has been a busy bee around the house and running around outside. we went on a 'walk' to get the mail at the end of the lane. she had to stop every 2 seconds to pick out the 'perfect' flower. 'oh mom, this is a perfect one!' they were the dandelions that had turned to fluff. she figured out how to quickly get the fluffy stuff off of it without blowing on them...she just rubs it all off with her hands and watches it fly in the wind. pretty cute.

blaise is just as active and loves to watch madelyn run around outside. he loves to swing and just like madelyn did, he screams when he has to get out. he's now in most 24 month outfits...such a big guy :)

mindy has returned home from college for the summer...madelyn is thrilled! (and so are we ;) ) we've spent a couple days at the cabin already. excited for summer to get here and enjoy HOT weather!

days go by...

the days have flown by!

both of the kids ended up with ear infections last week and i've been busy trying to keep up with their Rx's. it was a hassle, but hopefully that cleared it up. we go in today for a follow-up, just to make sure.

not too much has gone on besides having some really nice spring weather. we've played outside a lot and the kids have seemed a lot happier...and sleep better too. hopefully soon we can decide on this house so we can start getting outdoor toys for the kids...they need them.

blaise is now sitting up like a big boy. i can't believe how much he's changed. such a little man. now he really can sit and watch madelyn run around which he loves. his belly laughs mostly come from her.

{having fun in my diaper with penguin!}

{shhh...don't tell anyone, she's almost 3!!!}

and by the way......

blaise is 1/2 a year old already! where did the time go!?!?!?

{my happy 6 month old!}

easter fun!

+++He is risen+++

easter has now come and gone. madelyn is still sticking the little stick-on earrings she got from the easter bunny on and loving the big pink ball she got from grandma weber. blaise is taking a nice nap (for now) probably catching up on some zzz's from the big weekend.

saturday we tried out the jackson easter egg hunt. the eggs were gone in less than 32 seconds neither madelyn nor blaise won the grand prize trike or chocolate bunny. from there we went up to mom and dad's for the night and morning.

sunday morning came all to quick. madelyn looked so very precious in her dress and blaise looked like a handsome little man in his suit :) mass was long and blaise didn't quite like it. we got home to my mom's famous caramel rolls and headed back home to celebrate with the rowe's.

madelyn found weston's basket, then blaise's basket, and then finally her own. she was delighted by the nummy-filled eggs and made friends with nate who had a special pink egg filled with jelly beans just for her :)

it was a nice weekend and the weather has been the best it has been in years on easter! :)

+++He is risen indeed!+++

{easter basket goodies}

{dyeing easter eggs with auntie mindy}

{easter sunday}

{enjoying saturday night downtown for wings and beer for the 1st time!}

spring has sprung!!!

it's a gorgeous day today! madelyn and daddy are out playing and i'm inside waiting for blaise to wake up so we can go on a walk! :)

this past week went by really fast for me! monday and tuesday we had our usual storytime and mom/me ecfe class. by thursday morning we were up in mankato for teresa's birthday mass at her school. friday we took pictures with cousin nolan and a few live bunnies...the pictures turned out adorable, but are copyrighted....so you'll have to go to the website to see them! :)

http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/photocard.aspx?pc=D70762A53008DFD185F88C4BFE7CD4EA

blaise has 2 teeth in now (his bottom two) and we're just starting to see the spikes of the top-right tooth, the side tooth next to that. so he's not his usual self, but he's still pretty happy...just a little runny nose and a bit weezy. we took him to the doctor really quick thursday morning to make sure it wasn't anything too serious and got sent away with a 'he's teething' diagnosis.

{showing off his chompers!}

well, i lost the rest of this post, but i think it had something to do with daddy, grandpa r, and madelyn coming home from the exotic animal auction on saturday with NOTHING! :( i was so sad. i think a fuzzy little bunny is in the works for a precious easter morning suprise. :) that night after running around with daddy around the yard in the beautiful weather and the whole animal thing madelyn fell asleep in daddy's arms at 6:30! :) mitch didn't want to bring her up to her 'princess' room, because he 'loves to cuddle up with her' :) such a good dad.

circus time! :)

so it's been crazy this week getting back into the groove of the little things we do during the week. i've totally forgotten to post from the past weekend. we went to the circus and wish we wouldn't have...i think the zoo will be more fun and we won't have to wait around between acts to see the next thing. i think madelyn liked it enough...she still talks about it a bit. so here's one picture i got at the way end of it when you could get up closer to the animals.

daddy is gone until tomorrow...so we've been trying to keep busy and not think about it too much. when he gets back he gets to go to father/daughter night at ecfe and i think they're making some kind of birdhouse or something. should be cute to see her come home from that. they're so cute lately...she's got to cuddle in bed with daddy and 'talk about it'. she's a chatter-box...wonder where she gets that from?! she's been talking about her birthday and easter and baby jesus and her cousins and her painted nails and susie and all the little things a 2 1/2 year old knows so much about.

blaise has his first 2 teeth popping in. i can see both of them, but the one to the right is coming in a bit more. it'll be so cute to see him with some big white chompers! :) he had a couple squashed peas last night and made the funniest face i've ever seen a baby make...it's still etched in my memory as i type it tonight. madelyn thought he needed more and smashed several of her peas to give to him, generous girl.

a 'great' day

this past thursday mitch had to work late, so i decided to go and see grandpa and grandma weber and stop in to see great grandma prososki. it was a nice drive up and no snow or ice to contend with, finally. we had lunch with grandpa and grandma and madelyn had pre-mid-post dessert with grandpa weber and his m&m's.

after lunch we went up to see great grandma prososki. she was in great spirits and was in awe of how much the kids have grown (tell me about it!) madelyn pranced around her room and danced and sang for her. grandma prososki gave her a couple teddy bears to keep her occupied. she loved that. blaise was in a good mood too and excited to meet his great grandma for the first time. he smiled for great grandma and played pat-a-cakes with her. it was precious.

madelyn oddly remembered that great grandma's place had a fish tank and was determined to go see them. she was a bit overtired by the end of the time we had there, but was delighted to see her fish.

i forgot my camera (are you shocked?!) so mom took pictures for me. as soon as i get them sent i'll add to this post. i'm pretty sure i got some cute pics :)

we've been busy otherwise planning on the house. we're now thinking about taking the stick-built route and should have a floor plan by the end of this week. i'm pretty excited to see what they have for us! we're going with mitch's friend, brent, uncle. he's really nice and hopefully it ALL works out! :)

sunny days :)

the sun was shining all day yesterday, and although it was still chilly, it was a welcome sign that spring WILL come!

over valentine's day weekend we went to run errands and to a local home show. fun to get ideas if we're able to get this house. mitch took me out to eat at a nummy chinese place for lunch. valentine's day was one of the laziest days we'd had in a long time. after church we had cinnamon rolls that madelyn helped me make the night before. the rest of the day we ate food and laid around. the next day, monday, i made the dinner and dessert i was planning to make for valentine's day. it was super-nummy and was made even better to have my family there to share it with me :)

lent has begun. like father said at mass last night, if something is not right with your life, now is the time to go forth and make it right. easter will be here in no time! madelyn heard them say a prayer about the upcoming holiday of easter. her eyes lit up and she excitedly says, 'easter, mommy!!!' here comes peter cotton-tail!

daddy's home!

dad was gone all week...he's home! :) that's all!

oh, by the way...blaise is now over 4 months old!!! how did that happen!?

{first herself, she discovered the clip-on earrings!}

{then she thought blaise needed to dress-up too}

{then madelyn went to take a nap and blaise hung out on the couch with me for a bit, he looks much happier without the 'pretty' on his head!}

{blaise 4 months}

{madelyn 7 months(?)}

happenings...

it's been pretty boring down here in jackson. dad is gone all this week and then has friends coming down for a fishing extravaganza. hopefully he brings home enough to stock up for the lenten season.

this past weekend i became a Godmother to my nephew, nolan. i feel so honored to be chosen to be a guidance to him in his faith. he's so precious and smiley :)

{at nolan's baptism}

{after the baptism, hey cuz!}

by the end of this week, mitch carved out a bit of time to get to the bank. then we'll know whether or not we can actually afford a house. if we don't build a house on this land, we've got a couple of other options we're keeping open. at this point, all i can think to do is pray that everything just works out...and it usually does.

we have a new sparkling blanket of snow, which we didn't need, but at least it makes it all pretty again. summer, please come soon! the ground hog says: 6 MORE weeks of winter :P ick!!!

here are a few pictures from the past weeks:

{madelyn jamming out! thank goodness she loves the headphones!}

{before going out to eat for dad's 26th birthday}

{go vikes?, better luck next year!}

talk me out of it!

someone get this out of my head...madelyn really doesn't need one for her 3rd birthday, does she!? oh, but it's so cute! i can't stand it...and i don't like animals...ahhh! what's wrong with me!?but i have a really cute name picked out for it and everything...

no, laurie, no!

my big girl

madelyn and i started the day off with a blueberry crescent breakfast...it was pretty good and my little chef even helped put all the blueberries on it! later we got ready for her first hair appointment with a lady from town. i was really hoping auntie marie would be able to do it, but she's a busy mom and has her hands full enough. the weather really hasn't been very nice to get up to see her. so it had to be done...and i did it without going crazy that my little girl was losing her curls. :( she sat in the chair like she'd done it a million times and talked about all the things she got for christmas. when it was all done, she looked like a grown-up girl! so now we're at home and i can't believe she was once a little baby wrapped up in a little blankie!!!

before:

after:

like father, like son :)

father:

son:

you can't see mitch's picture very well...but he's doing the same thing blaise is doing...precious :)

little of this and that...

it's been super-cold and windy around here lately. all of us have been in the house for what seems like forever, except mitch. last night he caught almost his limit of walleye. i guess the new fish house i bought him (early) for his birthday is just what he needed to start bringing us supper. it was a long day without him here, but i think a walleye supper will make up for that.

we've started looking into housing options, although i think mitch is crazy and i'm a little scared to dive in like he has. we like the layout of this home a lot and went to tour it. the kitchen's island was really big and seemed awkward in the space so we'll definetly revise that if we end up going with it. i love the giant pantry it comes with. the rest of the house is really nice and basic. with a few changes in the plans oringinally made for the house, i think it could be a good home...now we just have to come up with how to pay for it. that's a whole other story. it's nice to dream for awhile.

so back to reality, blaise has been sleeping really good lately. he's found the two fingers his daddy used to suck on and we find him loving that all the time. he looks so contented and precious when he's laying there all relaxed sucking on his fingers. i'll have to get a picture.
madelyn has stayed healthy all through the fall and so far through this winter...KnOcK on wood!!! i feel so blessed to be at home and care for both of them. she's starting to get two (maybe three) of her 2 year molars in. a couple days ago she had to call a bunch of random people to tell them she has a tooooth! she's pretty excited and not in pain which is so nice! we finally put up her princess wall stickers in her room. she loves them. i'll get a picture of that too...she's pretty proud of the work she did.

as for me, i'm in for a full week. the last 3 weeks have been easy with mitch being home for most of the week. it's going to be an adjustment now getting back into non-holiday-winter-vacation. we've got a trip to walmart planned tonight...should be a doozy, we haven't been there in a while and we're in need of LoTs of things! i really should buy stock in that place! ick!

i hope to get pictures posted later today in between the heaps of laundry, cleaning, organizing things i have to do today!!! have a good week all!

our prince charming

blaise was 3 months yesterday!!! i feel like i was just saying he was 1 month!!! we went yesterday to get pictures taken. at first we were going to do them locally, but didn't really know where to go. so we ended up at sears again. we didn't get very many shots to pick from and they seemed rushed/busy, but i think they turned out all right anyway.

after that, we spent time at grandma's house where auntie mary made us a gourmet spaghetti meal and gave me a break and played with both madelyn and blaise. i'm so lucky to have such great sisters! santa left marshmallows in madelyn's stocking at grandma's and she was in heaven! we didn't get them christmas morning because mitchel thought we should drive home in the middle of a blizzard. i don't think he'll make that mistake again. it was horrible. horrible.

anyway...here they are :) gotta love my little man and my princess!

{full view of the cute jeans/socks auntie cathy and uncle blake gave him and the pretty blanket from auntie marie, my favorite!}

{she adores him} {madelyn at 2 1/2 years}

{my favorite}

{so him!}

thank you God for such a wonderful gift!