A monkey. A squirrel. One happy family.

Snitch cake pops in progress. Ella's birthday party at Flipz Gym went off today with very few hitches but plenty of snitches! For those of you unfamiliar with the Harry Potter series of books (shame on you - get to the library RIGHT NOW), Harry plays the wildly popular sport of Quidditch, which is sort of like lacrosse played on broomsticks. He is his team's seeker, his job being to find a special ball called a "golden snitch." When Ella said she wanted a Harry Potter birthday party, I began searching online for themed cakes. Most were so elaborate (giant Hogwarts Castles, sorting hats),  I knew that only a professional bakery could pull them off. But golden snitch cake pops? Maybe those I could handle. Annie's 3rd birthday. I don't know what it is about my kids' birthdays, but I suddenly turn into a slightly less maniacal Martha Stewart. It started with Annie's doll cake, which I topped last year with Ella's dragon cake . These cake pop...

I know, I know. I owe you a report and pictures about the holidays (they were lovely - family filled, relaxing, nary a plumbing disaster, and a surprise overnight trip to St. Louis for the girls so they could play and explore at the Magic House and the City Museum , one of the most magical places in the universe). Not today. I did update the photo album in the sidebar, so if you click on the image of my lovely people over there, you'll be taken to all of our photos from December. What I'm giving you today is a list of Annie's favorite days, which she recently announced to the whole family. Excuse me. Anna's  favorite days, as earlier this week she sternly told us she doesn't want to be called Annie anymore but wants to be called by her "real name." We don't always remember to say Anna, and she doesn't always remember to be mad when we call her Annie. Half the time I call her Ella on accident, Oh, well. We're trying. Number one: pajama days ...

As I sit in our freezing cold basement, I cannot tell you how happy this entire family is that we had the foresight to make our annual trek to Starr Pines Christmas Tree Farm last weekend, when it was sunny and in the 50s, instead of this weekend, when it is flurrying and a bitter 20-something degrees. Because, being who I am, there would have been no way I would have agreed to forgoing the 30-minute drive, the hayride, the tromping around among the rows of fir trees, no matter how frostbitten our toes and faces became. "Get a tree from a lot here in town?" I would have scoffed. "Are you kidding? Chopping down our own tree is our tradition! Now put on these eight layers of clothing and get in the car." And then I would have forced my family on some sort of crazed Siberian death march through the frigid wind of the Boonville countryside, hacksaw in hand. Instead, we got to be these cheery people. We couldn't really get Annie to make a regular face...

Last night, Spencer was rubbing Ella's ears, and she asked, "Dad, what in the world are you doing?" He replied, "This is my last chance to feel your unmutilated ear lobes." Yes, Ella finally earned her much longed-for pierced ears. Her weekly reports from school nearly always have two of the following items marked "needs improvement": Listens attentively Follows directions the first time Allows others to work undisturbed When she began lobbying for pierced ears over a year ago, we would say, "When your ears start working, then you can get them pierced!" We told her when she got a 100% clean behavior report, she could have a couple of holes punched in her head. Last week, she accomplished her goal! And so, I give you, this: Nervous Ella. She  shook like a leaf. One done. Bracing for the second hole. Tears of joy! "That ear-piercing cannon was a lot less complex than I thought it would be." Now on ...

Happy Halloween from Harry Potter's Hermione Granger and our sweet little devil!

Corn maze! Spencer's company, Veteran's United, held a family-friendly fall festival extravaganza at Shryocks Callaway Farm . There was a bounce house, kettle corn, hot dogs, s'mores, apple bobbing (try not to think about the germ factor), and, of course, the famous corn maze.

Hello! How are you? It has been a while, I know, so here I present a photo essay of Ella baking her first solo batch of cookies. I sat on the sidelines offering tips and drinking a glass of wine. I also got a little nostalgic remembering my own mother showing me how to level a cup of flour using a table knife. I also have a vivid memory of her showing me how to measure tricky ingredients like shortening and peanut butter using the displacement method in a Pyrex liquid measuring cup. I love you, mom! Ella levels her scoops of flour like a pro. I remember when the sound of this mixer used to send her fleeing in terror from the kitchen. Best part of baking: licking the beaters. Scoop! Safety first. Ella demonstrates proper (and enthusiastic) use of oven mitts. The finished product! Sharing a cookie with Annie. Other things are happening besides baking. Soccer season is wrapping up. Ella loves playing goalie, but Annie, after seeming to enjoy the first...