Big Day!

Today is crazy busy & exciting.

1-It's Aidan's 1st soccer game of the season. Never mind the muddy-wet fields. He's excited (woke up at dang 6:00 from that excitement), and it will be cute to see him give it his all in the game.

2-Cillian is being Baptized today!
I'm hoping he doesn't scream & it goes well.

We're also excited because Bethany is here visiting! (thanks for making the drive)
AND...we're going to see a dear friend of ours that we haven't seen since Aidan was ONE (he's 7 now). It will be great to see Steve (our friend).
It will just be nice to have so many family & friends celebrating with us.

So there it is-finishing off April with a bang!

The Birthday Cake!

OK, maybe cupcakes is more accurate.

We celebrated the Aidan's & Brennan's birthdays with my husband's side of the family on Easter.
Since Aidan had a party at Chuck E Cheese, we told Brennan he could pick the type of cake they'd have.
Brennan made it clear: he wanted a train cake.

Last year we successfully made a dinosaur cake.
I checked the Betty Crocker site again, and they had a train cake tutorial, but it seemed too much for me. Costs too much, too much detail, etc. Wasn't a good fit.

Then there was buying something like this

or this

Both good options, but costing at least $20 and maybe not being worth it.

Then the magic happened & I found this blog post. We were hooked & inspired.
It was fun making the train cake, and I am so grateful to that blogger. ;)
My boys (especially Brennan) were very happy with their train cake.

So here it is:

 Aidan's 7 candles

 Brennan's 4 candles on a coal car

We are so blessed to have these 2 wonderful boys. They have big hearts & bring us much laughter and happiness.

Wordless Wednesday: Easter &My boys all snazzied up

 Above: Cillian on his 1st Easter

Below: Brennan & Aidan

Menu Plan Monday--April 25, 2011

Monday: Pasta Night (meatless)
Tuesday: Turkey Bacon & Hash Brown Bake
Wednesday: Honey-Pineapple Chicken
Thursday: Honey-Mustard Pork, cheese biscuits, green beans
Friday: Black Bean Quesadillas (didn't get to these last week)

Before & After

 Pictured above: our old tv & entertainment center. That tv was given to us as a bridal shower gift back in March 2003.

Below: the tv we now own, thanks to a deal my husband saw on Woot.com.

I think it goes without saying,  my husband is happy.

F-O-U-R!

Brennan turned 4 on Tuesday (April 19th).
Seriously, he's 4?!

Hard to believe my stubborn, feisty little man is 4, starting preschool in the fall.
The days are long, but the years short, aren't they?

Brennan's birthday was all about Brennan, of course: doing what he wanted to do. That meant going to play at Chuck E Cheese and eating dinner at Wendy's.
Before heading out we sang Happy Birthday & gave him his presents.
Prepare for picture overload!

 Aidan & Brennan playing in the morning...you can tell Brennan was thrilled to stop for a picture

 some time dressing up as SuperHeroes

 Batman & the Ninja

 Time to sing Happy Birthday, & this is Cillian's take on it

 That's FOUR candles now!

 lovable birthday boy

 Make a wish!

 present time...Aidan's gift to him first

 He's so happy to finally get a zhu zhu pet!

 brothers & best friends...sometimes ;)

 A license plate? For what?

 a Lightning McQueen HELMET?!

 A BIKE!!!!

 Yeah. He digs his new ride, alright.

 Playing at Chuck E Cheese: fun for kids, tiring for parents

of course a 7yo & 4yo play air hockey well. Pssh.

Brennan's birthday was a fun day, despite crazy rain, wind, and gloominess.
Brennan is a joy. He is a challenging joy, and it's rewarding to love him. :)

Menu Plan Monday--April 18, 2011

Monday: Cheeseburger Pasta
Tuesday: Brennan's Birthday-his choice! :) (probably McD's playland)
Wednesday: Apricot Chicken, broccoli. brown rice or barley
Thursday: Pat's off work, so grill out or boys cook
Friday: Black Bean Quesadillas

My SEVEN YEAR OLD

How on earth is Aidan already 7?!

It's gone by fast...well, as they say, the days are often long, but the years always short!

I have to say, Aidan is an incredible kid. Beyond my bias, I can honestly say that several people have told us how caring and sweet he is. He has a huge heart, always tries to help others, loves God, prays for others...corny, it may sound, but those are great qualities. And Aidan has them.
We're very proud of him, and he is a blessing to our family.
He's an incredible big brother, smart student (honor roll all year! & his teacher is TOUGH), devoted. Just truly a blessing.

He had fun at Chuck E Cheese, and on his b-day, he took brownies in to school, then we had Cosmic brownies that evening at home (his choice). He got to open his presents from us once Pat was home from work.

And now, picture overload!

The newly 7-year-old before school, bonding w/ Cillian

 Cillian gave him lots of smiles

 after school, waiting for his brownie & singing Happy Birthday

 he blew out the candles before I could get a picture

 present time!

 Bakugan from Brennan! (on clearance for...$1.74! awesome)

 what could it be?

 the solar system night-light!

 opening what he said he wanted...

 and very happy with it. Looks good, doesn't he?

 father & son: 2 handsome guys

 opening the family gift (binoculars)

 This is what Cillian did during all of this

 checking out one of his tools

 oh yeah...boys will be boys, alright

 Brennan using the "binocwulars", as he calls them

 "check it out, mom!"

 the solar system night-light, which shows over Aidan's top bunk at night. He loves it.

It was a pretty good day!
Aidan likes his gifts, and he proclaims himself as a SEVEN year old.
Wow.