a year in pictures

Well, it seems the novelty of blogging has worn off...

I have moved on to other things, such as cake decorating and, more recently, sewing.  I don't know how long they will last, as they take up just as much time as blogging, and a lot more money than blogging.

It seems I am always looking for some little escape, time to go into my "nothing box" as Handy Daddy calls it, but the problem is that I want to complete these little projects I begin and don't have enough "nothing box" time to complete them in.  This is my dilemma. 

In any event, I feel that I've let a whole year slip away without updating my blog much at all and, since I am doing this for my children, I better get on it. 

This is my attempt to blog an entire year in one post.  The year in pictures...

Our church had a ladies' night in October and we celebrated women who have battled or are battling breast cancer.  My mother-in-law, who is a breast cancer survivor, and sister-in-law were on hand to celebrate with us and witness Tootsie dance on stage as part of the entertainment.

Tootsie was shakin' her groove thang until she spotted the photographer, and then immediately put her head down and frowned, but continued to shake her groove thang.

Also in October, we noticed the Bug had her big girl teeth growing in behind her baby teeth.  The dentist said that if she could wiggle those baby teeth out within a week or two, we'd be golden.  We offered her $20 if she could do it.  Well, she nearly succeeded and he barely had to touch them to get them out.  But then he decided he needed to pull the teeth on either side of those two, so that those big ole' big girl teeth would have room to grow in.  So, her first lost tooth turned out to be FOUR lost teeth in one shot!  We decided to give her the $20, and the Tooth Fairy brought her a dollar a tooth.

 

 

In November, Tootsie was an Indian at her Thanksgiving play at Mother's Day Out.

And Handy Daddy and I celebrated TEN years of marriage with a cruise to the Bahamas (this was before all of the crazy Carnival Cruise Lines stranding-people-in-the-ocean-with-onion-sandwiches-and-no-toilet-debacle -- and PRAISE THE LORD for that)!

Jesus had another birthday...

 

...and we started getting visits from this Elf chick named Ellie:

I made this ugly sweater cake (remember the cake decorating I mentioned????)...

 

My incredibly talented sister took these awesome shots of my girlies:

 

 

 

 

Tootsie started sleeping in a big girl bed.  I had to leave when Handy Daddy took down the crib.  I went shopping at Sam's.  Well, I guess he figured he shouldn't be suffering alone, and called me and we both cried on the phone together.  And we walked around in mourning the rest of the day.  The only happy one was Tootsie.  And the Bug was ok with it.

 

 

We found out we are having a brand-spankin'-new nephew, and Tootsie was less than thrilled that she wasn't having a girl cousin.

 

 

 I made this cake for my sister's bridal shower:

The school year ended and Tootsie had 3 year old show-offs:

And the Bug, once again, made straight A's and got a ton of awards:

They also got 1 year and 3 year dance awards and perfect attendance awards:

We went to see CYT's The Little Mermaid, their first-ever play (and they LOVED it):

I threw a very opposite-of rowdy Bachelorette party for my sister.  It was 90's themed, in case you couldn't tell.

We celebrated Mother's Day and I had a birthday:

Every now and then, someone sneeks into someone else's bed:

Then, the long-anticipated dance recital...the Bug's third and Tootsie's first:

They both did a fantastic job!  Tootsie danced to Oh Mickey (sung by Minnie Mouse) and the Bug danced to Betty Lou's Got a New Pair of Shoes.  Both super cute!

My baby sister got MARRIED.  It's still weird to think she is MARRIED.  She was drop-dead gorgeous.  I am a very proud big sister.

The NEXT DAY, my sister-in-law had her baby shower.  I was rockin' and rollin'.

Then it was the big BIRTHDAY PARTY....the Bug turned 7 and Tootsie turned 4.  Bug wanted a Chipette's theme and Tootsie wanted a cowgirl party.

We went to Build-a-Bear to celebrate on actual birthdays, since the party wasn't on the real birthdays (check out the shoes):

Now this last part is not in chronological order, but I saved the best for last.  In February (when all of Louisiana is partying it up for Mardi Gras, there is a mass exodus of families who go to Disney to escape the gluttony and debauchery).  Finally, we were one of those families.

Great year so far!!!!!