Living a Rockstar Life

The Time Has Come

2011-02-06T21:49:00.001-06:00

I've moved!

Come follow me, won't you?

You can find me here.

See you soon!

Patoot

2011-01-23T19:48:00.000-06:00

I have a new post on the other blog. Check it out!

For now, I'll leave you with a cute picture of Big Man.

This crazy-haired, happy kiddo is why I get out of bed every morning and work my patoot off.

Happy Sunday!

Ten Million Tears

2011-01-19T20:06:00.000-06:00

I love my husband.

There are times that he just stares at me and when I ask him what he's thinking about he tells me that it blows his mind that I chose him.

But the truth is that I'm the lucky one.

I am a very difficult person to live with. I know this.

I am a list maker and task master. Inside the walls of our home I have to have everything in place and I feel totally off kilter when they are not.

Okay, I hulk out.

Truth.

This, of course, is a direct result of stress.

I. Must. Control. Chaos.

Times are stressful.

But, you see, with him I crumble.

Sometimes I don't take a call from him during the day because five minutes in and I'm a big puddle of Cassie. In my office, in the car, in the middle of the store. Doesn't matter.

This used to bother me. Immensely.

Because I had a strong-woman-I-can-do-it-all-myself image to uphold.

And because your partner is supposed to make you stronger, right?

Crying doesn't exactly make me appear the pillar of strength.

I got angry with him. I thought he didn't know me. The me that I've become in the passing years.

But the truth is he does know me.

He knows that I need a soft place to land.

That is what he is to me.

It seems that I am at the maximum level of stress at all times and at the end of the day after I've painfully gone through how I'm feeling (and, of course, I speak in epic terms)

he will kiss me and hold me close.

Even when I push him away because I want to appear stronger for a little while longer or when I'm mad at him and won't kiss him goodnight.

He will always kiss the back of my head.

He is just that person that is always there ready to catch me when I need to fall.

He is the person that helps me let go. He is the person that helps me be weak.

And that makes me stronger.

So, you see...

I'm the lucky one.

Because HE chose ME. And continues to do so.

Seven years and ten million tears later.

Keep Going

2011-01-14T21:26:00.000-06:00

In Missouri we don't get a lot of snow. We mainly get really bitter, nasty winds and lots of ice.

The other day, though, it started snowing!

Dude was so excited to head outside so I bundled him up and out we went.

I thought we could run around and catch snowflakes on our tongues or play tag and dance around.

Dude just wanted to shovel.

That's it. Shovel.

He was so excited about it too.

"I shobel, Mommy! I shobel!"

Alrighty. Shoveling it is.

He shoveled our entire walkway!

He did manage to catch a few snowflakes on his tongue. :)

The back of our house has a common area drive that connects all the houses on our street.

No one was coming or going at that time so I suggested that we run around a bit.

He grabbed his shovel and put it in front of him and took off running at full speed.

I had a lump in my throat as he came to the first crack in the concrete.

The shovel hit and he dropped it.

Dude picked it back up and started running again and yelled, "Keep going, Mommy! It's okay!".

Every time he hit a crack and the shovel would slip out of his little hands he would pick it up and shout the same thing.

"Keep going, Mommy! It's okay!"

At two years old, my son teaches me such important lessons.

Happy Friday!

Formulas, Bubbles, and Family

2010-12-22T23:01:00.000-06:00

I know it has been awhile since I've posted. Christmas is screaming towards us and I've been a busy Queen Bee around here. Last weekend we headed to Webb City to celebrate Christmas with the Allens. The drive was long but we found a formula that has become essential when traveling with a toddler these days.

DVD player + snacks = happy kiddo

Remember that.

The long drive was worth it. When Dude sees Sissy,

the happiness that bubbles out of him is just an awesome thing to see.

You can't ask for more as a parent than to see your children love each other so fiercely and have a blast together.

Forgive the quality of the photo. It was one of those

"just capture the moment and don't worry about the setting" split second.

We stopped for an overnight stay in Springfield on Friday

then headed to Webb City on Saturday morning.

The only time I ever got out my camera was when Hub's dad took Dude out to sit in his '66 Chevy Truck. Man, this truck was darn cool. Dude got a kick out of honking the horn.

It was a short visit but a good visit nonetheless.

We got in late Sunday night but I just had to get everything back to normal as quickly as possible, so unpacking everything was first on my list. I had a little helper.

Again with the photo quality. Eeeesh.

Man, he's cute. Crazy hair. Big blue eyes. I'm in love.

Christmas Eve is in 2 days. Shopping is done and gifts are wrapped. All that needs to happen now is for me to sit back and enjoy my family for a three day weekend.

See ya.

New Blog, Beach Boys, and a Naked House

2010-12-11T22:33:00.000-06:00

My new blog is up! It's nothing fancy yet. No real design to it. Not even a picture! (Ha!) I just wanted to get the first post up. Do me a favor and click "follow" so I know you're out there!

Awesomeness sure to come. :)

Christmas is in full swing. I baked Christmas Cookies with my mother this afternoon. It has become a tradition and we cranked out some awesome ones this year! On the menu: Chocolate Crinkles, Chocolate Chip cookies with chopped up Andes mints baked in, Peanut Butter cookies, Pumpkin cookies, Cyclops cookies & Chocolate Peppermint Bark.

A-Yum. A-Yum. A-Yum.

In a mere 3 hours, we cranked out about 6 dozen cookies. The tunes?

Staple Christmas music at mom's. Beach Boys, Hawaiian Christmas, & Andy Williams.

Old School.

Hubs and I haven't decorated for Christmas in 6 years. SIX YEARS. We blame it on our house being too small. And the 5 bins of decorations that are in the storage unit waaaay across town. And being too busy. And the cats. And strawberries. Because one excuse is as good as another. We both would love a house filled to the brim with Christmas decorations but somehow each year just zooms by.

There's always next year.

And maybe we'll decorate.

Maybe.

It's so windy right now that it sounds like someone is beating on the house.

This calls for a hot chocolate.

Good night, readers.

New Blog

2010-11-22T21:43:00.000-06:00

I have been working on a new blog (Don't worry. I'm still keeping this one!). For those of you who don't know, I've started doing photography professionally. It feels weird to say that. I still feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark trying to figure stuff out. But I think I'm getting better.

And I have clients.

Clients!

I'm starting a new blog that will follow me on my journey. And I've decided to be honest. I mean, really honest. For some reason, my whole life I've felt the need to be the person that already knows everything. Not in a snotty way, just in an "I don't want anyone to know I don't know how to do this because I don't want to appear weak and vulnerable" way. I'm trying to change that. Because I don't know everything. And having a child has brought out in me the love of learning something new again.

And hey, maybe it'll inspire someone. Who knows. :)

For those of you who are on Facebook, please "like" Cassie Allen Photography and pass the word!

Here are some recent photos.

Mr. Cool Dude

Snack time in our house looks like this. Luckily, nothing has been shoved up his nose. :)

This is from a recent shoot. This is Lindsay, whom I knew in my "former life", and her family.

All mashed together in chaotic awesomeness.

Lindsay is also a photographer and just yesterday, I was on the other side of the camera with Hubs. Lindsay was amazing and we had an absolute blast. I can't wait to show you pictures!

Happy Monday!

"Sissy Here!"

2010-11-07T19:37:00.000-06:00

Sissy hasn't been able to visit us for a month and a half. That's too long for the Hubs and I.

It's PAINFULLY long for Big Man.

Big Man gets soooo excited when Sissy comes to visit. "Sissy HERE!" he says.

These two have a crazy bond like I've never seen before. Big Man NEEDS his Sissy. He's gotten so excited to see her before that he's thrown up all over his ecstatic self. And she's loves her brother.

When she's here, she jumps right in and helps with everything and she's so patient with him.

It's an amazing thing to see.

We ventured out today so I can get some potential Christmas Card pictures. Big Man was his usual busy, exhausting self. But they had fun and I captured some memories.

The first shot of the day! Can you believe it?

Just look at her. Simply gorgeous.

Griffin ran away to play with Daddy for awhile so I took the opportunity to get some Sissy shots. It's been two whole years since I had the camera just on her alone. She's all grown up!

They always have fun together. Always.

That's my girl. :)

And that's my boy. Wouldn't have it any other way!

The Rockstar

2010-11-05T17:49:00.000-05:00

This is my favorite picture at the moment.

This little guy takes my breath away.

That's pretty much all I wanted to say.

Happy Weekend!

Wa hoo 32!

2010-11-04T17:56:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday.

I had a fabulous, quiet day with my two favorite boys.

The Hubster woke me up by handing me a piping hot mug of hot chocolate and then created an amazing breakfast pizza!

He then proceeded to clean out the litter box, do the dishes, and generally clean up the house. What a gift! :)

It was a beautiful day so we took a walk through the woods.

Griffin had never walked on a trail before and he did so great!

It was the middle of the day but the light was beautifully filtered through the trees.

One of my favorite pictures of the day!

The best gift was when my busy, crazy boy asked me to hold him.

He didn't even mind when the Hubster snapped some photos! Not only am I the one always behind the camera but Dude never sits still for a picture. This was such a great moment!

Speak softly and carry a big stick.

Later on in the evening, the Hubster and I had a date.
We haven't had a date in a very long time.
With the Dude at Nana's we were free to do what we wanted for a whole 2 hours!
We were going to go out to dinner but I opted to change things up. I wanted to have Chinese take out and rent a movie just like we used to when we were dating. Back then, when I would worry about money, Hubs would tell me, "We have $12 in the bank. Yay! We can have Chinese!". He's so Glass Is Half Full. :)
Back at home, I changed into my PJs and we watched the movie loudly. Seems we never get the chance to use our surround sound to it's full ability! It felt so nice to sit and breathe for a little bit. We love our Little Dude but it seems lately we barely have the time to even look at each other!
It was the perfect end to the day.

I have such a blessed life.

I love who I am, who I'm with, and where my life - both personally and professionally - is going.

Bring it, 32!

National Chocolate Cupcake Day!

2010-10-19T16:22:00.004-05:00

Happy National Chocolate Cupcake Day!

Well, it was officially yesterday but yesterday was just a bad day all around so I am celebrating it today! I also cheated on the "cupcake". It's actually a brownie with an extra egg added to make it more fluffy. YUM! Don't you just love these wrappers? The Hubster got them for me for Halloween time and I think they're just awesome!

Chocolate brownie, chocolate buttercream, & chocolate jimmies
This girl dreams with visions of cupcake swirls dancing in her head.

Oh happy day!

"Sissy?"

2010-10-15T13:09:00.003-05:00

We love it when Rachael comes to visit. We rarely do anything special or have much planned.

We just love hanging out together. We bake cupcakes, watch movies, take walks, and just play.

The last time she visited us, it was chilly. Okay, COLD.

But we bundled up and headed out for a walk.

Me and my lovie
My family
We walked to a little green patch in our community.
It has a colorful stage and Griffin had a blast chasing Sissy!

No one can make Griffin laugh like Rachael. He laughs until he's out of breath!

It's been several weeks since we've seen our Sissy. Yesterday when Griffin woke up he knocked on his door. Matt went to the door, opened it and Griffin poked his head out and asked, "Sissy?". Matt said "No, no Sissy. Daddy."

Griffin shut the door in his face and ran back to bed. :)

Happy Friday!

You Baked WHAT in a Cupcake?

2010-10-12T22:32:00.003-05:00

A pumpkin pie! That's right, folks!

I headed out into the blogosphere for baking inspiration and ran across www.bakeitinacake.com

A-Maz-Ing!

Wanting to bake a Fall treat for the Hubster, I chose the Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes since pumpkin pie is one of his favorites. Let me tell you, the recipe DID NOT disappoint! A super moist vanilla cream cheese cupcake with cinnamon buttercream and a mini pumpkin pie baked right in the middle.

Nom nom nom

They were a pain in the patoot to make but the Hubster really enjoyed them!

The only thing lacking was the lighting in my kitchen so I could get a decent shot.

Ah well.

Happy Fall!

Stompin' Grounds

2010-10-06T20:43:00.003-05:00

With Griffin spending some quality time at my mother's house this evening, I grabbed some "me" time. I headed down to Main Street to seek out a few good locations as well as experiment with different settings on my camera. It was a beautiful evening. The weather was that PERFECT temperature and the sunshine was sooooo buttery smooth.

I was able to take a few deep breaths.

Something I don't do enough.

On Main Street there is this odd mix of fabulous antiques, old and broken down antiques, and kitschy, touristy stuff.
There are two train cars permanently on the rail road tracks along the Katy Trail.
Griffin loves to run along these old tracks.

The sun was setting and I wanted to try out some different camera settings.

This picture will always make me smile. Here I am at the base of the Walnut Tree that stands in the front yard of the building I once lived in. My mother planted a walnut. My sister and I used to leap frog over the tiny sapling. Now, it's this beast of a tall tree and I think it's fabulous.

My first self portrait! :)

Fishies and Lions and Fondant, Oh My!

2010-10-04T21:25:00.005-05:00

I'm still here, faithful blog readers! Here are a few recent creations of mine that I'm particularly proud of. The first one is a fishy cake that I made for the son of my very first friend ever. We recently reconnected on Facebook and all she asked for was a fishy cake. Turns out, the colors that I used were the EXACT colors that she had for the party. It worked out perfectly! This was my first time trying out these fondant fish and I think they turned out pretty good! Looking back, I think I would've added a little more to the cake.

This was a 10" round cake

Yellow cake with vanilla buttercream and homemade marshmallow fondant "water" and fish

My next cake was a jungle themed cake.

I copied the lion face from a picture that was sent to me.

A simple 6" round cake with mini cuppies for a 1 year old boy.

Yellow cake with vanilla buttercream and homemade marshmallow fondant base and accents.

I had a lot of fun with these and I look forward to my next animal adventure! :)

Bugs

2010-09-14T22:07:00.003-05:00

Recently I was able to capture some neat shots.

I really liked these Lazy Susans but when I bent down, I

saw this Praying Mantis just staring at me!
My mother actually pointed this out to me. I'm so glad she did!
I want to turn this into a "hang in there!!" poster. :)

Festival of the Little Hills

2010-09-14T21:26:00.002-05:00

Every August brings the Festival of the Little Hills here in St. Charles.

It's a booth-style craft festival that is a crazy melting pot of higher-end crafting and touristy stuff. Somehow it always winds up being on the hottest weekend of the summer but this year it was downright pleasant!

After getting sticky while eating our annual homemade ice cream sandwiches from the Presbyterian Church, we rinsed off.

The smell of Kettle Corn was so inviting but I resisted!

You can find anything and everything at the Festival.

From lawn furniture to painted gourds to tie dyed Fruit of the Looms!

Kisses from Daddy

Me and the Hubster stopped for a quick snapshot.

Can't wait until next year!

zzzzzzzzzzz

2010-08-18T18:06:00.004-05:00

"No day is so bad it can't be fixed with a nap." - Carrie Snow

Griffin fell asleep on the couch today and I couldn't help but snap some pictures of his sweet face.

Sometimes this little guy simply takes my breath away.

I hope you all sleep as peacefully as this tonight!

YEYOW!

2010-08-15T23:03:00.004-05:00

This weekend we learned the colors green (geen), pink (ink), purple (puple), and yellow (yeyow). We learned this by using bottles of royal icing that were in each of those colors.
There was a lot of screaming and clapping with each correct answer. Yellow is his favorite.

It sounds best when said at the top of your lungs.

YEYOW!

The world is opening up to me once again. Learning new things is not a chore, but a joy.

I think I'll try screaming and clapping at work the next time I learn something new. :)

To say that G is a happy boy is an understatement. He just bubbles, oozes, and explodes with laughter and smiles all the time. This is the perfect picture of him.
Crazy hair, dancing eyes, and a huge smile.

I love this picture.

A Birthday Greeting

2010-08-15T08:17:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to the Hubster! I love him so very much!

Yes, I know. Another post where I'm just posting pictures...But I'm short on time here!

The day is full with all things Matt!

Getting To Know You

2010-08-12T15:16:00.008-05:00

I don't tend to do a whole lot rambling on this blog. I seem to make the posts all about the pictures. Well, there are a few reasons for this:

1) I talk a lot. All day. Everyday. I manage an art production company, so there are a lot of artists doing corporate art and it tends to be a bit tricky in the communication department. So, I fill the gap. When I'm not working, I talk to my son. A lot. I didn't used to. Now, he talks all the time and I'm happy to have mini conversations with him.

2) I write a lot. All day. Everyday. To friends, mainly. I have several friends going through "life discoveries", as one tends to seem to do at the ripe old age of 30, and they like to write to me because they know I love to talk about myself and my own journeys. Not in an ego-centric way. I just am a very passionate person and I think people tend to gravitate towards that.

3) I have a lot of literary friends and I don't want to feel like I'm being judged. I have a degree in Creative Writing but there are so many that are more creative than me at wordsmithing.

4) I don't have a lot of personal time. I work full time, raise my son, am a homemaker (whether I work full time or not), and I'm trying to get 2 - because 1 isn't enough! - businesses off the ground.

But enough of the excuses. I love this blog. It's been with me since before Griffin was born. When I make a new sugary creation, I can't wait to get the pictures uploaded but there needs to be something more, yes?

I'm going to start writing more. I tend to stick with things that I'm super passionate about, so this might be boring and repetitive to some but hey, this is my little corner of the blogging world and I'm going to use it the way I want!

For today's blog: 10 things you might, or might not, know about me.

1) I can talk - at LENGTH - about my relationship with the Hubster. We have a great relationship and I love to talk to anyone who will listen as to why!

2) I can't stand negativity, nastiness, ignorance, racism, intolerance, flakiness, and lack of manners. I am faced with most of these things on a daily basis.

3) I can keep a lot of balls in the air and juggle a million things and unfortunately I don't have much patience for those who don't or can't. I'm working on that.

4) I wash my hands constantly.

5) If I am mad at someone, I cannot look them in the eye. That's how you know!

6) I love DIY and home improvement projects but since we don't plan on staying in this (shoe box - sized) house for too long, it's hard to justify doing anything big so I resort to crafts. That makes me mad. I'm ready to bust through a wall with a sledge hammer!!!!

7) I'm a huge blog stalker. I have my favorite blogs (see to the left there) and I read them everyday. They teach me, uplift me, & inspire me.

8) I think I'm the only person on the PLANET who doesn't understand 80s fashion nor do I want it to make a come back!

9) Living in a small space has turned me into a neat freak. When a room becomes cluttered, I can feel the walls closing in around me and I can't think straight. I HULK OUT. Quite unfortunately for the Hubster, I cannot control this.

10) I HATE my hair. It's thin and wispy and limp. For 13 years I have been at war with my hair. "Ahhh! I need my hair off my neck!" *chop chop* "I miss doing fun things with my hair!" *grow hair, grow!*

So there you have it, faithful readers.

Thanks, as always, for stopping by. Leave a comment so I know you are still out there!

Eeeeeeeeeeee!

2010-08-03T20:12:00.003-05:00

That's the sound I made when I purchased my new, white, shiny, beautiful KitchenAid mixer today! There was fist pumping. There was giggling.

There was a happy dance when no one was looking.
Rachael is in town for the week and yesterday we made some cupcakes for my dear friend, Beth, for her birthday. While making them, my beater died. It made a horrible sound and the beaters stopped rotating. I had to mix the rest by hand.

Luckily, I was near the end of the mixing process!
Today, the question became: What does one do when one has oodles of extra frosting left over, a new mixer, and no cupcakes? Yes. That was rhetorical.
We tried out a new recipe for a white cake and added chocolate chips to the middle of them.

Nom nom nom
I love baking with Rachael and am so happy that she loves to bake with her wicked step-mother! :)

Yellow cake with vanilla buttercream and marshmallow fondant circles
Beth just loves all things french, so I hand painted little Eiffel Towers! I'm no painter but I think they turned out pretty cute!

White cake with chocolate chips added to the middle, Vanilla buttercream, and white dot sprinkles

Swirls of yumminess

A Visit & Some Cupcakes

2010-07-26T12:53:00.002-05:00

This past week, my sister and her 3 boys have been visiting us from Texas!

Griffin just adores his cousins and they all have such a blast together!

Here are some pictures from our time together.

I love me some Sissy!

The boys

We had a dinner at our Grandmother's house to celebrate Griffin's birthday and Sister's visit. Here are some cute mini cuppies I made for the occasion.

Vanilla cake with Nutella Buttercream

Vanilla cake with Vanilla Buttercream

Happy Birthday, Baby (Er, I mean Big Boy)!

2010-07-18T16:39:00.007-05:00

My boy is 2. When he turned 1, the time that passed by seemed appropriate. Now that he's 2 I feel like life has been in fast forward! It's so amazing the milestones that have been reached between the 1st year and the 2nd. The day before his first birthday, Griffin stood up in front of a crowd of people and took his first steps - right to his big sissy. Now, he's RUNNING (man, this kid is fast!), talking, coloring, & putting toys together and taking them apart. He has focus enough to sit through an entire movie and everything makes him laugh. He has amazing hand-eye coordination (yesterday I was at the bottom of the stairs and I threw a ball up to him at the top of the stairs and he caught it!) and is amazingly light on his feet. His energy is boundless and his love and affection has no limit. He knows his body parts and loves to dance. It's a breath of fresh air to be able to talk to him and he understands what I say. Just in the past two weeks, he's taken to repeating words he hears and is jumping, twirling, and clapping non stop as though he has a constant Griffin theme song in his head.
In March he started to go to a sitters house 3 days per week. This was (and still is) so hard for me but he has just blossomed. He's made so many friends and plays so well with others. Dude even picked up a girlfriend that he loves to hug and kiss! We just adore Miss Beth, his sitter. She's so attentive and loves all the kiddos so very much. He still naps well at her house and eats food there that he would never touch at home, like broccoli and cheese and ravioli!
Being a mom has been just the greatest journey. God knew what I needed to "let go" of and what I needed to pay attention to and so he sent me a little boy that allowed me to start to become the very best person I can be. Isn't it amazing what we can learn about ourselves from our children?
Happy Birthday, Griffin. Mama loves you more than Buttercream!

Griffin and Sophie

Dude loves to feed himself!
We aren't sure whether his curls will go away or not but I just love them!
Sticking out your tounge always helps you do better! :)

I still work from home 2 days per week, which is a huge blessing.

Griffin and one of his buds, Ayden.

Mr. Man got a big boy bed! The transition has been rough but he's doing pretty well now!

Always smiling!

Silly face!

Cheese!

We love to color!

Two of his favorite things: Running and Rock Collecting!

Running running everywhere!

Birthday cookies for my little Rockstar

More Patriotic Goodness!

2010-07-04T17:27:00.003-05:00

I headed over to

www.tidymom.net

to get some inspiration for more yummies on this 4th of July!

The gel food coloring that I have really missed the mark with the red color in the cake batter.

Next week's purchase will be some Americolor gel food coloring.

I hope your 4th is just as yummy as mine!

Vanilla cake cupcakes with good 'ol vanilla buttercream

Star Spangled Cookies!

2010-07-03T20:58:00.005-05:00

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

I went out of my cupcake comfort zone and headed over to

bakeat350.blogspot.com

to get some ideas for patriotic yumminess and hit the jackpot!

These sugar cookies were super easy to make!

The 3 layer star cookie was what caught my eye. The tie dye star and rounds were the smooshed up dough that was left over after the 3 layer star cookie was complete.

I am super excited with how all of them turned out!

Tie dyed cookie with royal icing
3 layer star cookie with royal icing and luster dust

That's one stack of patriotic goodness!

Princess Cake & Cuppies

2010-06-28T14:08:00.006-05:00

Here is a cake and cupcakes that were for a Disney Princess themed party.

I had a lot of fun making this round!

The music on my iPod that got me through the long night? Reggaeton!

Lesson learned from this round? Always always have a finished presentation board. The humidity was murder on the fondant and frosting so I was right up to the 11th hour just tweaking and didn't have time to edge the board. Bad Cassie! Luckily, the table was awash with tulle, gems, and flower petals so it wasn't THAT noticeable.

My client just asked for chocolate cake cupcakes with purple vanilla frosting. She had the princess tower and the little tiaras herself. I think it turned out cute! :)
The top of the cake. The birthday girl wanted a tiara that she could pull off the cake and wear.

Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and marshmallow fondant.

Have a princess-y day! :)

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T21:41:00.004-05:00

For Father's Day this year we relaxed (lots of fun giggle time on the floor with Griffin). We ate great food (Eggie-in-a-basket for breakfast, sun dried tomato & provolone chicken sausage & Cabot's Vermont super sharp cheddar cheese for lunch, mexican for dinner, and maple bacon cupcakes for dessert!). We went for a loooooong drive and listened to great music, talked & laughed while Griffin napped in the car.

It was so nice not to HAVE to do anything for a day and just connect and be present as a family.

My handsome boy
I love this picture. Pure joy!Throwing rocks in the lake and listening to the "PLUNK"

My boys

Now for the cupcakes. My Father's Day gift to Matt.

Maple bacon cupcakes with maple frosting and bacon "sprinkles". I'm not a huge bacon fan and while baking these, I had my reservations on whether or not this would actually work but I couldn't get Matt to stop eating them!

I tried one myself and I've got to say they were pretty darn good!

I'm adding these gems to my menu for sure!

Happy Father's Day to all the great dad's and father figures out there!

Here's to you!

Father's Day Cupcakes

2010-06-19T18:59:00.004-05:00

Here are some cupcakes that I did for the husband of a dear friend of mine.

Spice cake cupcakes with peanut butter frosting

and some Father's Day flags that I made out of scrapbook cardstock.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Wwwwhhhhhoooooo's Turning 1?

2010-06-06T09:28:00.007-05:00

Miss Adeline!

Jenny, a dear friend of mine from grade school, asked me to make a "nature themed" cake and cupcakes for her daughter's first birthday. I was stuck on an idea until I saw Jenny's Facebook status one day talking about Screach Owls.
I had such fun creating this mama and baby owl cake!

I felt so blessed to be a part of Miss Adeline's special day and I had a blast hanging out with her awesome family!

The cake and cupcakes are vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream and fondant accents.

The fondant started to melt a bit in the summer heat but they stood up pretty well!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T20:26:00.003-05:00

Muscles!

2010-04-23T18:55:00.003-05:00

I have this picture as my screen saver and it makes me smile every single time I see it!

Griffin has just started showing us his "muscles" and it is just the best!

That would be FOUR tickets to the gun show, thank you!

Flower Girl 1st Birthday Cake and Cuppies!

2010-04-12T15:35:00.010-05:00

Here are some pictures of a cake and cupcakes I did for a first birthday. Check out my new acrylic stand that my co-worker made for me! Pretty neat, huh? I'm pretty proud of this round. Both the cake and cupcakes were vanilla cake with mint buttercream and fondant flowers color-coordinated to the birthday girl's outfit.

The whole shebang!

Top of the cake.

I used a Daisy Flower shape

I am in LOVE with my new fondant press!

Here We Go!

2010-04-10T15:58:00.002-05:00

The time has come. We have outgrown our little condo on the lake. We met with our realtor last night and today we are taking all the "stuff" out of our house so it can look bigger (good luck with that, Ms. Realtor!). Next week we go on the market! It's an exciting and scary time. Do we look for our dream home? Do we rent? Do we save to build? So many questions! The house is a mess right now, which is making me a bit bristly but we have some tasks at hand:

1) Finish gathering all the "stuff" and get it into bins.

2) Take bins over to my mother's house to store. (Thanks, Mom!!)

3) Make a cake and cupcakes for a party of 20 tomorrow.

Wish us luck!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T16:50:00.004-05:00

Happy Easter, everyone!

It was really great to have Rachael here this Easter! We all colored eggs for the first time and had so much fun! For some reason, Griffin just loves vinegar, so it was really hard keeping his little fingers out of the egg dye! Mr. Man was all over the place but we had some fun family time!

Roman's Robot Birthday Cake and Cupcakes

2010-03-30T08:51:00.005-05:00

I recently did a cake and cupcakes for the son of my hairstylist, Donna. There wasn't a theme to this party but she sent me a picture of Roman's bed sheet set, which had robots on them, so Voila! :)
Lesson learned on the cake - ALWAYS edge the cake with ribbon! You could see the end of the fondant between the circles at the base and it just looked unfinished. The cupcakes turned out cute, though! I had little fondant "sprockets" sticking out of some of them.

Via: donnaharrisphotography.blogspot.com

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T18:05:00.001-05:00

Vanilla cake with Mint Buttercream

Experiment With Nutella

2010-03-07T13:59:00.004-06:00

My husband loves Nutella so I made a vanilla cupcake with Nutella Buttercream and Heath Bar sprinkles!

Sweets for My Sweet

2010-02-14T21:16:00.004-06:00

It's Valentine's Day today and I made a cake for the Hubster!

Valentine's Day Cupcakes - Take 1!

2010-02-07T22:52:00.018-06:00

I wanted to experiment with some Valentine's Day cupcake ideas and my friend, Michelle, was having a party so voila! The perfect excuse to get baking!

I can't wait for round 2 for my husband's co-workers!

My handsome taste tester!

Minis - These two kinds were my favorite.

More minis
Regular sized cupcakes. I was disappointed with how the fondant turned out.
It just had this "dusted" look to it that I didn't like. :(
Same thing here with the flowers and that "dusted" look. Here's all 5 together!

All ready for transport!

Yum!

2010-01-22T10:22:00.003-06:00

The Hubster loves it when I make these! The cookies are from a mix (I know, I know) but the frosting is Buttercream that I made. My next move is to try out various flavors of Buttercream. Lemon, anyone?

Lily Kate's First Birthday

2010-01-18T14:01:00.004-06:00

I recently made cupcakes for the daughter of a good friend of mine. Miss Lily Kate is now 1 year old and the party was fairy tale themed. I had so much creating soft colored, girlie cupcakes for such a fabulous little girl!

A close up of the mini cupcakes for the little mouths at the party.

All the cupakes lined up and ready for transport!

Regular sized cupcakes for the adults

Minis

I Want This!

2010-01-12T11:40:00.003-06:00

My Facebook friend, Lori, has a "Things I Want Tuesday" weekly blog post on her blog.

In the spirit of that.....I WANT THIS!!!! :)

It's so shiny!

Pink Ladies

2010-01-10T19:14:00.003-06:00

The daughter of a good friend of mine is having her 1 year birthday party next weekend and I'm making these cupcakes for her as a gift from the Allens. This was the "dress rehearsal". I think they turned out pretty great! I love love love the minis but for the larger cupcakes, I'm going to go with a yellow or red daisy flower (Good idea, Beth!). The pink on pink got totally lost.

How'd I do?

Vanilla cake cupcakes with buttercream frosting and fondant daisy flowers.

A mini pink lady with her daisy flower and edible glitter.

Learning to Flood Royal Icing

2010-01-07T10:38:00.004-06:00

Royal icing is very easy to make (Meringue Powder, Confectioner's Sugar, and Water) and is very adaptable...if it's too thick, add more water. If it gets too thin, add more Confectioner's Sugar! Last night I watched a Youtube video on how to "Flood" Royal Icing and gave it a whirl! I went to the store to buy sugar cookie dough, which was funny because the store was JAMMED with shoppers stocking up for the oncoming snow and there I was with two measly tubes of cookie dough!

Anywho, here's the result! I found that I love working with Buttercream and cupcakes so much more but it was so much fun to experiment!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-06T12:14:00.008-06:00

"By training my body, I gracefully relieve stress" - YBB

I haven't made New Year's resolutions since I was a little girl. I really boycotted them in college (That's the time of your life when you loudly boycott things, right?) because I thought I was just setting myself up to fail and I felt like a failure in many aspects of my life already (Drama Queen). This year seemed different, though. I think because I have so many good things and opportunities coming into my life suddenly I feel like I don't want to let them pass me by.

I want to be proactive.

One of my resolutions is my body.

I know, I know, we women always have "to lose weight" as one of our resolutions.

But I'm thinking of it from a different point of view. A cyclical view.

My and my husband's daily life is all about problem solving - big and small. Our days are usually filled with...well, let's just say "shooting the wolf closest to the door". Obviously this sucks. It seems that we try to put positivity and love out into the world and get smacked with more questions and negativity. After years of trying, we've come to the conclusion that we can't change people (duh, I know).

We can't change (for the most part) what's outside of the walls of our home.

What we can change is what we neglect. What we feel we don't have time for...Ourselves.

We both so crave "me" time and whenever we get it, we just flop down onto the couch/bed/floor/chair and sit and stare and...........think.

We think about all the things and people that wear us down and there starts the downward spiral into a poopy mood.

The solution?

Filling ourselves up to fullness!

It's been right there all along and we preach it to everyone ("you've got to watch out for #1", "take a moment", "breathe", "be in an attitude of gratitude", etc.) but we don't do it

(for the most part) ourselves.

What sets me right is working out, crafting, photography, and baking. Now, I HATE to find the time and get ready to work out and the money it takes to craft & bake. Being a work-from-home mom is murder on the time and/or energy it takes to do simple things.

But I am FINISHED with telling myself that.

The more I tell myself there is no time or money, no time or money is what I will get! This year, I'm turning inward. I'm going to do the things that make me happy. So is Matt. Some of these things we will do together, like Yoga and having "bake nights". But mostly, we will HELP each other find the time to do the things that make us so happy. If we fill ourselves up to fullness, we overflow onto others. If others want to repel that happiness and love, then we are okay. We are still full. This is what we've always known. This is key. THIS is what we don't do. THIS is why we are empty at the end of the day. Tired and frazzled.

THIS is what my blog is going to evolve into....Things that make me happy.

Things that inspire me.

So, happy 2010 everyone! Let's make it a great one!

This is my new camera! :)

Lover Dover

I found I'm really good at sewing! I love colors and patterns.

These little guys never let me down. :)

This is one of my favorite workouts!

She's a Beauty!

2010-01-05T11:26:00.003-06:00

As some of you know, I just purchased my new camera! Ah, my sweet Canon Rebel xsi, how I've waited and waited for you...and you are so worth the wait!

Griffin can't run and hide from me now!

Not with the shutter speed on this baby! :)

Here are a few photos I've taken so far. I'm not going to hide how amateur they are.

I'm just learning!

Just Some Recent Pictures

2009-12-08T10:45:00.004-06:00

Griffin's new snow boots and winter coat!

Griffin's new thing is to climb into his toy chest everyday and play!

Matt's company Christmas Party was held at the City Museum and we found some Griffin's!

Silly at Thanksgiving

Me and Rachael

Griffin's New Cuzzie

2009-11-16T10:49:00.002-06:00

My super talented mother made Griffin an awesome and beautiful hat and mitten set over the weekend! I put the hat on him and he didn't even try to take it off!

Winter here we come!

2009-11-05T11:08:00.007-06:00

(via slangon.com)

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!"

(Anyone know the author of this poem?)

Matt and I have a tradition of watching "V for Vendetta" on November 5th and making

"Eggies in a Basket" for dinner, in honor of Guy Fawkes Night.

A little history lesson regarding Guy Fawkes.

On the 5th of November, 1605, Robert Catesby and his group of conspirators planned to discard the current Protestant Rule. How did they plan on doing this? Blowing up the House of Parliament, of course! To make a long story short, an anonymous letter was sent and Guy Fawkes, the man in charge of the execution of the explosion, was caught almost in the act.

For his crime, he was hung, drawn, and quartered.

Ick.

Today, Guy Fawkes Night is celebrated around the world. The term "guy" meaning "man" or "person" is derived from Fawkes.

Happy Guy Fawkes Night!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-11-04T11:15:00.004-06:00

So happy and relaxed!

Griffin also enjoyed Dada's raspberry pancakes!

My best friend

Eeeeeeeee!

The Allen's on a walk

Yesterday was my 31st birthday! For those of you who don't know, I have a bit of a standard for my birthday. One day a year, I don't want to make any decisions. I don't want to do housework. I want to be indulged. I want to be taken care of. Well, Matt really outdid himself this year. I had the best day I've had in so very long. I was literally stress free and relaxed for 24 hours!
I haven't been able to say that in years!

My day started out with Matt getting up with Griffin so I could sleep in. My wake up call was Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream! Yum! After SLOWLY getting up and out of bed (which was delicious, as every other day I have to rocket out of bed, shower, hair, makeup, clothes, work work work!) Matt made killer raspberry pancakes for breakfast! While eating breakfast, Matt took care of feeding and playing with Griffin. Soon after, Griffin went down for his morning nap and Matt and I lazed on the couch, watching one of my all time favorite movies "The Love Letter", with Kate Capshaw (not the one with Ryan Gossling). After Griffin was up from his nap and was fed (which Matt took care of everything in that department while I stayed on the couch!), we went for a walk! It was the most perfect, crisp Fall day. The sun was warm on our skin and the air was so crisp that when you breathed in, you could only smell air.

Ahhhh...

Matt and I then got gussied up for my surprise! I had an idea on where we were going and if I was right, it was going to be amazing! After dropping Griffin off at my mother's I found out....I was right! Wa hoo! Matt took me to The Melting Pot on Delmar! I've always wanted to go there and the atmosphere, music, service, and (most importantly) food was all better than either Matt or I could ever have dreamed of! We had good wine, great conversations, awesome belly laughs, and even a few "I'm so happy, I'm spilling over!" tears (by me).

So, thank you a million times, babe.

You made my birthday completely unforgettable and amazing.

I love you so much!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T10:33:00.006-06:00

Movie Time!

Trick or Treat!

Big Man and his Sissy

Some yummy Halloween cupcakes I made!

This year was Griffin's first Trick or Treat experience!

We stuck to our street for a block or two and he seemed to get the hang of things! Big Man was a skeleton this year (which was really just a glow in the dark PJ set that I found at Baby Gap - perfect for getting him right to bed!). He was very excited to spend Halloween with Rachael...So much, in fact, that when he saw her for the first time on Saturday, he screamed and giggled and shook so much that he threw up!
After Griffin went down for the night, Matt, Rachael, and I watched "The Skeleton Key" and had popcorn, cupcakes, soda, and some wine for the adults!

Aside from my being stressed that Griffin only got an hour's nap the whole day, Halloween this year was a great success!

Pickles!

2009-09-30T12:50:00.004-05:00

Yesterday on Facebook, a grade school teacher of mine, Mrs. Staude, mentioned how her eldest daughter used to eat pickles by the jar full. I thought I'd give Griffin a hamburger pickle chip and see if he liked it. HE LOVED IT! He didn't eat it but ran around the house sucking the life out of the little chip!

Happy Birthday, Rachael!

2009-09-21T13:03:00.008-05:00

At Grant's Farm

Big Sis is turning 14 today! The day I met Rachael was at the end of year recital for a studio I taught at in Ozark 6 years ago and after the performance, she jumped on stage with a "hey Cassie watch this!" and proceeded to stand on her toes and give a twirl!

She is a huge light in our lives and I have loved to watch her grow into the beautiful young woman she is.

Happy Birthday, Sissy! We love you!

My New Favorite Picture!

2009-09-11T09:09:00.001-05:00

I took this picture yesterday of Griffin and I think it's my new favorite! It captures his sweet yet mischievous personality just perfectly!

My Island

2009-09-08T11:31:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to post about my "island" for the day (you know, when you're having a really bad day and suddenly there's this thing that happens that allows you to suspend above all the ugliness and be happy for a time?).

For those of you who don't know, my son is NOT a snuggler. He has way more important things to do, like figuring how to get screws loose, throwing his food on the floor, pulling DVDs off the shelves, putting anything and everything into his mouth, etc. Don't get me wrong! He's super affectionate, he's just a busy little man!

Anyway, when I got home from work this morning, I went upstairs to put him down for a nap. I was sitting on the floor and he came over and sat in my lap (amazing feeling #1) and patted his head - he was telling me that he wanted me to rub his scalp like I do to calm him down sometimes (amazing feeling #2)! After a few minutes (not seconds) of that, he got up and lied (laid?) down on the floor on the other side of the room. I scooted over and lied (laid?) down next to him. Little man just snuggled right into me and let me spoon him (amazing feeling #3)! He hasn't been content to be in anyone's arms since he was a newborn!

This was my island. It allowed me to rise above all the yuckiness of the day and float on this perfect cloud of happiness for a time.

Hector St. Charles

2009-09-04T19:16:00.002-05:00

Just a cute picture of one of our furry boys. This is Hector St. Charles, the baby of the three. He is relentlessly chasing after his brothers and walks around with a bit of a swagger (cat lovers, you know what I mean). He cannot go near his water bowl without doing a little "Singin' in the Rain" bit (when he does this, we call him "Senior Wet Paws"). He does the best "pet me" dance when he wants attention and if he doesn't get the attention he wants, he will find your hand and shove his face in it. :)

Little Fishy

2009-08-17T10:43:00.006-05:00

My brave little guy!

Lovins from Sissy

Love those fountains!

Sunscreen fun!

We recently took Griffin to the pool for the first time. It was so much fun! Our community pool has an awesome kiddie area with fountains, which Griffin LOVED! After just sort of standing there for a few minutes and shaking, he really began to have fun!

It was such a great feeling to watch this little guy go!

The Big 4-0!!

2009-08-15T21:11:00.006-05:00

Proud Daddy

My family!
(We have ants, hence the baby powder on the floor.)

My boys

Rachael did an awesome job decorating the back walk way!

Today is Matt's birthday!
It's been a wonderfully fun and relaxing day.

There was a homemade Reeses Pieces ice cream cake, homemade "ice cream" cupcakes, sidewalk chalk fun, a trip to the pool, shoe shopping, and awesome family time!

Happy Birthday, Matt! We love you!

A Griffin Update

2009-08-07T16:30:00.005-05:00

Watching his favorite show, Higglytown Heros, while chilling out on Maboo's chair.

He loves all his new birthday toys!

What a big boy!

Playing with the Mickey plane!

Since his Birthday, Griffin has grown (literally and figuratively) by leaps and bounds! He is babbling all the time now, RUNNING from one end of the house to the other, has become addicted to blueberries, grapes, grape juice, and cheese, is wearing 24 month clothes, and can find things when you ask him where they are (where's the banister? where are the baskets? where is the cat?). He's still the best "work baby". He still sleeps for several hours in the morning and allows me to finish my work day once he's awake. We are so proud of our Toddler!

The Fall of it All

2009-08-06T10:50:00.009-05:00

It's Fall in New Town!

Well, not really, but it sort of seems that way. The other day Griffin and I took a walk and much to our (well, my) surprise, piles of leaves were crunching under my feet!
That instantly brought feelings of warm, cuzzie (my mother has always said "cuzzie", not cozie) sweaters, brisk wind licking my cheeks, and hot chocolate waiting for me at home.

But it's July!

It couldn't be from too little rain...The concrete geese on my front porch

(Ma'am Goose and Baby Lucy, courtesy of my Grandmother)

have worn nothing but their rain slickers for months now!

So what's up with the dried up trees?

The picture is of the tree and bushes in the front of our house.

Darn These Birthin' Hips!

2009-07-24T12:32:00.006-05:00

It's been 1 year since having my son and I'm daily discouraged that I weigh the same as I did when I was 8 months pregnant. It's been a difficult "body" year for me. I found this quote the other day when I was just about to give in to the thought, "Well, this is just the way it's going to have to be. You can appreciate your body for what it has been able to do and look back fondly on what it was. *sigh*". It couldn't have come to me in a better time.

"Your body is an amazingly adaptive machine. Ask it to be stronger and stronger you will be. Challenge it to go further and further you will go. Coax it to be more limber and more limber it will be. Allow it to mold into the seat of a recliner and, you got it, a recliner seat it will become. Stretch it, push it, pull it; your body is like cellular Play-Doh

waiting for you to be the sculptor."

- Shawn Phillips, American Author of Strength For Life

So, I'll keep on truckin' with no particular goal in mind but to be a super strong mom that will be able to run and play and swing and dance with my son.

Birthday Boy

2009-07-13T14:47:00.004-05:00

July 12 was Griffin's first birthday. My son is 1. He is walking (toddering, really), eating solid food, he tells me what he needs and when he needs it, and he has a very strong yet gracious personality. No one is a stranger to him and smiles are always on hand. He plays hard yet gently pats me on the back when I hold him. He is the funniest person I've ever known and he gives the best kisses.

For me, personally, I've never felt more empowered. Look what I created! And there he is, turning that toy over and over in his hands, studying. I am proud of what Matt and I continue to create everyday...An environment of love. If our children learn just one thing from us, let it be love.

I am grateful that God has blessed me with such an amazing little man. I never feel lost as a parent because when he looks at me it's like he's telling me "Don't worry, Mama, you're doing just fine. I love you and I can't wait to tell you that when I find my voice."

So, no 1st birthday blog about the 2 1/2 hours of pushing, laughing my way through it. No entry about how it felt to hold him in my arms for the first time and how "it seems like just yesterday...". This blog is how I feel today, in this moment. And in this moment, there is happiness and love love love. That is one thing that will always be in abundance here.

The Allen Family

2009-07-01T15:33:00.003-05:00

I love his little wispy hairs!

This is just the perfect picture of Griffin's happiness and excitement!

My family

Sissy and Griffin

So happy!

We recently had our first official family pictures taken with Donna Harris. She's been my hair stylist for a few years now and has launched a photography business as well! Her talents continue to amaze me. Our pictures turned out better than I could have imagined!

It was a HOT day (over 95 degrees!!) but we had a blast!

Check her out!

http://www.donnaharrisonline.com/

Popcorn Cupcakes!

2009-06-07T14:22:00.002-05:00

Griffin's 1st birthday is coming up and I have been experimenting with different cupcake ideas for his party. Here's my first attempt. How'd I do?

2009-06-04T14:14:00.001-05:00

Silly Face!!

2009-05-18T19:43:00.004-05:00

Griffin just started doing his "Silly Face" last week. It started when he REALLY liked trying green beans for the first time. He made this face that tensed every muscle and Matt and I just laughed until it hurt! Since he's Matt's son, he saw us laughing and now he does it all the time! :) For the record, no, he's not choking! :)

I couldn't rotate the movie! Sorry!

Walking on Sunshine

2009-04-23T21:38:00.003-05:00

The weather has taken a beautiful turn these past several days! Griffin and I have been outside soaking up every second of it!

Coming to Life

2009-04-23T18:42:00.004-05:00

I had several movies of these awesome milestones that Griffin reached just stuck on my camera and my Mac would never recognize them but when I loaded some new photos onto my new PC the videos loaded too! I'm so excited to be able to share these milestones, even if they're old!

This video was taken just a few minutes after Griffin crawled for the first time!

Standing Proud

2009-04-20T15:33:00.006-05:00

Recently, Griffin has begun to stand all on his own! Matt and I couldn't be happier and when Griffin reaches these milestones, I personally feel a sense of relief that my working from home (that requires him to amuse himself during teleconferences) hasn't halted any advancement! :)

Some more exciting things to note...the introduction of new foods (outside of baby food) like cheese, apples, fruit juice, pears, bread, various meats, & cheese soup!

He is also saying "Ba" when we tell him that we are making him a bottle and "Mamamama" when I'm in the room and "Dadadada" when Matt is in the room!

Our little man is growing quickly!

Peas in a Pod

2009-04-16T14:33:00.003-05:00

Easter

Easter morning in the hotel

At Grandma and Papa Allen's house

Here are some recent pictures of Rachael and Griffin!

Onward

2009-04-16T14:26:00.002-05:00

Griffin is now forward facing and he loves it! Here are some pictures of him in his new car seat.

Getting Over It

2009-04-16T13:23:00.006-05:00

As some of you know, I hate germs. I am a serial hand washer. I change clothes numerous times a day. I take two showers a day. I carry germ-x with me everywhere...To say the least, I can be a little "Monk-ish".

I have found - happily! - that my fear of germs has lightened a bit since having Griffin! I simply wipe off toys that have fallen on the ground (before Griffin, I would've boiled them!), I make Griffin's bottles with tap water (before would've been bottled), and I have become impervious to #1's, #2's, and spit up.

What I haven't been able to bring myself to do is to let Griffin crawl around on the floors. (Well, that's not entirely true...He gets to crawl around when I've put yards and yards of bedsheets down first!) In an attempt to overcome my fear of what lies between the fibers of our icky, builder's grade carpets that the cats puke on, I put down only one bedsheet in Griffin's room yesterday and let himmmmm.....crawl off of it....aaaannnnd into the bathroom! He had so much fun and I was surprisingly at ease! (Probably because I knew that I was going to give him a bath last night!) But, it's something. Baby steps, as they say.

The "Money Shot"

2009-04-03T15:32:00.005-05:00

The headshot is going to be doctored to get our hands out.

With a name like Rockstar, this kid HAS to have an agent, right? :) We just got back from getting Griffin's headshots taken and the experience was awesome. Stacy, the photographer, was so warm and inviting (and blond, which helped because Griffin can't resist blondes for some reason!). Not at all the "industry" that I was anticipating! (No offense, Katie! I just didn't know what to expect!) I was hesitant to say anything to anyone about this because I didn't want people to judge me...But when I did start to get the "word out" that Griffin joined an agency the response has been really positive! I can't wait for him to meet new people & experience new things. Heck, I'm not turning down any new clothes for him either! :)

So, what do you think of the picture that was chosen for his official headshot?

A Good Day

2009-03-31T19:16:00.005-05:00

It was so chilly, but we had fun!

He loves his stroller! When I put him in it, he wildly kicks his feet...he knows what's coming!

Excited scream!

I just wanted to post some photos of yesterday. It was cold but Mama and Griffin felt a bit trapped in the house, so we braved the wind and went for a short walk! When Griffin was a newborn, we would walk for hours around New Town in the late afternoons because it really calmed him down. Now, our walks consist of learning all about new things like crunching leaves, petting little doggies that pass by, and gazing at the fountains. I just love our walks and will always cherish each one.

Snuggle-less

2009-03-28T13:44:00.005-05:00

Griffin used to fall asleep every night on Matt. He couldn't fall asleep any other way. When I would pick him up out of his crib, he would snuggle into my neck and suck his thumb. "I just love our snuggly baby", I would say. Matt and I used to turn on soft music at night and dance with him and he would just melt into us.

Then one day, about a month or so ago, I went to his crib and he reached up for me! I was so excited to see that he was telling me that he wants me to hold him and love him and squeeze him! Sadly, I was mistaken. The minute I picked him up, he started pushing me away with his hands AND feet! I was a bathtub full of water to his cat. I was crushed. This went on and on and I wondered where our "Mayor of Snuggle Town" went!

Now, I couldn't be happier. Do I wish that my son would just sit still for ONE second sometimes? YES! Am I sad that I've become merely the vehicle to get him out of the confines of his crib and into all the fun stuff? You bet! But I am blessed to have a little boy that wants to be a part of LIFE! Of everything! He is constantly smiling and laughing when he sees a new toy or tries a new food. He loves meeting new people. He wakes up every morning with a huge smile, ready to take on the day.

This little man daily tests my physical strength and my emotional limits. He is exhausting and there ARE those days that I practiacally throw him at Matt the minute he walks through the door! But, more than anything, he daily brings me to a state of joy. An "Attitude of Gratitude". He has made the quality of our lives better.

I am grateful.

Snot Face!!

2009-03-03T20:18:00.002-06:00

Griffin makes this face we call "Snot Face" and it makes me laugh SO hard!! It is elusive, however...But I was able to capture it! Enjoy!! HAHA! :)

Treasures

2009-03-02T16:41:00.014-06:00

Sara and Grandpa Dick. I couldn't get the image rotated! Frustrating...

Sara

My mother and her brother

Grandpa Dick

This past weekend, my mother unearthed a treasure in her garage that she's never seen before...A photo album that belonged to her father. Growing up, the only family I ever saw was the Heusler's. We never went to visit my mother's side of the family for any holiday that I can recall. I will never get a chance to know them and that makes me very sad. But I do love to hear my mother talk about my Grandpa Dick...such reverence. Grandpa Dick was the town doctor, known and respected by all. I also learned today that not only was he also a pilot but had his own plane just because he loved to fly! I love looking at pictures of Sara. She has a very Joan Crawford-esque quality to her, although I've heard stories of wild parties! These are some of my favorite pictures from the album. I am grateful to have these pictures. Thank you for letting me scan them, Mom. (Don't worry, Sissy! I'll be putting all of them on a disc for you!)

Time Sure Does Fly!!

2009-02-12T11:54:00.003-06:00

My little Rockstar is 7 months old today...And what a ride it's been! When Griffin came into our lives, we knew it would never be the same but I truly didn't count on the absolute joy and happiness that I would feel! I watched him crawl for the first time yesterday and I just started laughing! Pride just bubbled out of me! I keep getting comments from people like "uh oh! now your fun really begins!" or "better watch out!", as though now comes the hard part. Well, of course it gets harder and harder each day, month, year...That's all a part of being a parent...But I'll take it. I'll take it all because I've never felt so much happiness or freedom or pride as I do when I look into Griffin's eyes and he looks back at me and smiles and says "mmm mmm mama" or when he sat across the room from me yesterday and when I put my arms out and said "come to Mama" he got this huge grin on his face and squealed and crawled (looking like a baby deer on ice) right towards me, then crawled up into my arms and sucked his thumb...What a day. What a time. What a life...

A Very Webb City Christmas

2008-12-23T11:42:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we visited Matt's family in Webb City. The drive down was gloomy and rainy and what normally is a 5 hour trip took 7 with stops for feeding and changing needs! Griffin, as expected, was wonderful! He slept almost the whole time and was content to play by himself with his teething ring and stuffed animals!

When we arrived, Griffin was greeted and treated to lots of hugs and kisses all around! He was particularly excited to see Sissy Rachael! After a great dinner at Mazzio's Pizza (which used to be a "Ken's Pizza", remember that?) we headed back to the house to open gifts. Griffin received lots of much needed clothes for the winter and a new stuffed animal - a monkey! He loved helping to open his gifts and thought the wrapping paper was just delicious! :) Matt and I were treated to a new Slow Cooker!! I am very excited about that - it will really lessen the stress of preparing dinner each night!

The hotel was just as fun! It had wireless, so Rachael, Matt and I played around on my iPod touch and Rachael was able to do some homework. Griffin was just exhausted but stayed up to play some more with Sissy before sacking out!

The drive home was long but the trip was worth it. We hadn't been down that way in 2 years! We are thankful for family this Christmas!

Thanksgiving @ Nana's

2008-11-28T12:39:00.003-06:00

We spent Thanksgiving morning and evening at my Mother's house. The food was delicious (each year you out do yourself, Mom!)! It was a relaxing day of preparing Thanksgiving dinner (save for my crying) and the evening was full of fun pictures, movies, music, and love! There were many "cheers" and much to be thankful for! This year was Griffin's first Thanksgiving and I am grateful that he got to spend it with his Sissy! Rachael's trips are always too short but we certainly make the MOST of each minute!

Thanksgiving 08 @ GG's

2008-11-28T12:24:00.002-06:00

We spent some time at GG's house for Thanksgiving - AKA "Pass the Baby"! Some of my family had never met Griffin before but most havn't seen him or Rachael in a long time so it was fun getting caught up! Griffin was really taken with Uncle Bill (or GUB - Great Uncle Bill - oh, it will stick!). Wherever Bill was in the room, Griffin had eyes on him! Rachael had a lot of fun catching up with Jessica and Kaily, her cousins (Thanks for hurrying to see us! We really appreciate it!). Matt and I always enjoy discussing different wines with Aunt Nancy, Uncle Tom and my Father. My favorite that I tried this year was a Cab from Chile. Yum! We are grateful for family!

Sitting Proud!

2008-11-14T11:11:00.002-06:00

Last night Griffin was lying in Matt's lap and suddenly just tightened those tummy muscles and sat up! He did it over and over and giggled and smiled the whole time! It was a great moment! I thank God for those moments...The kind where your whole world just shrinks so small and there's nothing but joy.

"Everyday is the start of something beautiful."

Oops!

2008-11-12T11:49:00.003-06:00

I meant to add this picture, not the duplicate!

Happy 4 Months, Griffin!

2008-11-12T11:20:00.003-06:00

I can't believe that it's been 4 months since since Griffin was born! He has grown beautifully and continues to amaze me everyday. He can now roll onto his belly and push himself up, he has changed to sleeping on his belly, he smiles and laughs all the time, is blowing raspberries and "talking" constantly! He is still a wonderful "work baby". He sleeps at all the right times which allows me to get so much work done at home. We can't have asked for a better baby than G.

I'd like to think that he's a Mama's Boy but when Matt gets home from work, there's a smile on Griffin's face from ear to ear and when Matt picks him up, a normally very active child is suddenly calm in Daddy's arms...Griffin just melts into Matt. It's the best.

Happy 4 Months, Griffin! We love you!

Another First!!

2008-11-05T15:07:00.003-06:00

Griffin rolled over and pushed himself up today! Go Baby!! We are so proud of you!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T15:22:00.002-06:00

We had a great Halloween! Griffin and I spent the afternoon youtubing great songs like "Purple People Eater", "Pumpkinhead Harvey", and "Monster Mash". At 4:00 Nana picked him up for his first overnight at her house! From 4 to 7, I was a mess. I haven't been alone like that in a long time and I was cleaning the house like crazy to take my mind off of it! When Matt got home from work, we started our 4th annual Scary Movie Marathon (although we only made it through 2 movies, "Mothman Prophecies" and "Strangeland", because we started so late).

The next day we went to our annual Halloween Chili Party at the Pompe's and had lots of fun! Griffin was the life of the party, as that was his first appearance...Eva dressed in a princess dress, although she was really a spider for Halloween, Tom was pretty tame this year, Steve and Terry were upstairs the whole night (a first), and Griffin fell in love with Gavin's fiance, Beth. He was a huge flirt! We ate until we felt we could bust then we went home to bed.

Today is the day before my 30th birthday. I am feeling so good about where I am in this life and what I've been able to accomplish these past few years...A few years ago I thought 30 was going to be very hard because I was not happy with where I was. I have never been happier than I am now. It's amazing what such a short time can do! I can't wait for the next 30 years!

On a Walk...

2008-10-31T13:28:00.002-05:00

Griffin and I LOVE to take long walks from after my work day is done until the time Matt gets home...It's been so cold and windy lately that we haven't been able to get out very much, something that Griffin DOES NOT like! Well, yesterday it was in the 70's, so we went on a walk and he was so so so happy! I had to take these amazing pictures of him...I can't believe how much he's grown!

Too Cute!

2008-10-17T13:34:00.002-05:00

Here are some recent pictures of Griffin...He's changing and growing so fast!

All By Myself!

2008-10-03T13:25:00.002-05:00

Look what Griffin just did today!! I was on the computer and noticed that he was unusually quiet, I looked over and he had rolled himself onto his side!! Just like a kitten chases his tail, Griffin chased his fist until he got it! Apparently it was delicious there was a pool of slobber as big as his head around him! Way to go, Griffin! We're so proud of you!

I Can't Believe It!

2008-10-02T14:55:00.006-05:00

I still can't wrap my brain around the fact that I'm a Mom! I've waited my whole life for this and it's so much more than I could've ever ever imagined. I am in awe of my body and what it's been able to do this past year. I'm in awe of the well of strength that I drew from that I didn't know was there during my pregnancy and labor. I'm in awe when Griffin has firsts...First"ahgooo", first smile, first bath, first time holding his head up...I did this! I made this little man inside of me...His heart, bones, hair, nails, eyelashes (oh! they are so long!), lungs, I made it all!! When I hold him and he hugs me tight and buries his face in my neck, I know he's secure and he loves me. That is just amazing to me...I'm having the time of my life! Matt and I love to take walks with Griffin and when Rachael is with us, our family is complete. I love cooking for everybody and reading to Griffin. The last time I read to him, I was just reading away and I stopped and looked down at him. His eyes were just locked on to me and then he smiled so big, a laugh just burst out of me!

Thank you, God, for giving me everything I've ever wanted and more. Thank you, Matt, for being the best man I've ever known...Griffin's already got a great head start having you for a father. Thank you, Mom, for being there for me every step of the way, calming my fears, and being so supportive of us! Griffin, Rachael, Drew, Braden, and Colton have the best Nana in the world! Thank you, Sissy, for caring so much and making the most important times in my life so special. Thank you, Rachael, for being the best sister and little boy could ever ask for.

Thank you, Griffin...for changing my life.

All Hail King Griffin!

2008-10-02T11:29:00.002-05:00

I took this picture the other night, when we were trying hats on him! I think this one is a keeper!!

My Family

2008-09-28T17:08:00.002-05:00

It's been a long, hard road for Matt and me! We met and fell in love very quickly (at first "shift", you might say!). There have been financial, emotional and spiritual hurdles for us to overcome. There have been people that have rooted for us to succeed and those that have rooted for us to fail. We've been through situations that would have sent most couples to divorce court and we only grew stronger because of it...Through it all, we became a family. Rachael and Griffin are the lights of our lives and we couldn't ask for any better. God granted us everything we could ever need and, as a bonus, everything we could ever want as well. What a journey, what a life!

Like Father Like Son

2008-09-26T12:32:00.002-05:00

Need I say more?

Funnel Cakes!

2008-09-26T12:19:00.003-05:00

Over Labor Day weekend, Rachael was in town and we went to Nana's house to make funnel cakes and watch a movie...The funnel cakes turned out great and were delicious! And of course, you guessed it, Griffin slept right through it! :) Well, since pictures don't lie, Matt and I slept too!

Forest Park Balloon Race

2008-09-26T12:03:00.005-05:00

Each year Forest Park has a hot air balloon race that is just amazing!! When I was younger my Mom, Dad and I would go and chase the balloons and find where they landed. Dad was always crazy driving, weaving in and out of downtown St. Louis! This year, my Mom, Matt, Griffin and I went and it was as amazing as ever! We didn't do any chasings...We went into the park and watched the balloons launch and tether. The colors against the "is it going to rain or not?" sky was awesome! The energizer bunny, or the "hare" of the race each year, did not lift off this year, so we got to watch it tether for a long time. It's huge! We found out that it's taller than the Statue of Liberty, it's ears stick out of Busch Stadium when it was in there, and 15 MILLION AA energizer batteries can fit inside of it's body!! We had a great time and, of course, Griffin slept right through it!!

What a Little Man!

2008-09-19T16:46:00.009-05:00

Griffin is growing so fast! He smiles and "talks" all the time and HATES a wet diaper! He's sleeping through the night and when we wake him up in the morning, he greets us with a huge smile! Each day brings something new and I can't wait to see what this kiddo has in store for us!!

My Best Friend!

2008-08-27T11:34:00.004-05:00

My crew at Innovations got this cute frog for Griffin as part of a presant for his birth and he can't get enough of it!! I decided that it would be his "Changing Friend" so he could focus on something while getting a diaper change (he doesn't like getting changed or wiped down - typical little boy!) and during changings he would chew on Mr. Frog's feet! Now we put it in the crib with him (except when he's asleep) and he just stares and stares at it! He chews on his nose and holds his hand and can now follow it with his eyes when I move it around (Nana taught him how to focus and follow objects!)! Mr. Frog is now part of the family, as he is Griffin's best friend!

Bath time

2008-08-25T15:30:00.003-05:00

We love bath time! Although he kind of just sits in his tub with his hands in fists at his ears and his "froggy legs" up on his chest, he doesn't cry and he looks at Matt and me with wide eyes...I love putting him in his bath froggy bath robe afterwards - he looks so cute!! His eyes just melt my heart!

Growing up so fast!!

2008-08-11T14:13:00.007-05:00

Griffin has already grown 1/2 an inch and is well above his birth weight!! He still sleeps a lot but has found his lungs! He loves being held tight and is the "Mayor of Snuggle Town" as Matt calls him! He can hold his head up and pushes almost to a standing position with his feet. He turns his head when you talk to him and loves to dance with Mommy and Daddy and loves it when Kara raps to him!! Sir-Mix-A-Lot is his favorite! :)