One Week Down...

So we have been enjoying Spring Break, well this week felt more like a blur but it still has been good. I had 2 cakes booked, one midweek the other for the weekend which was manageable. Then I got a call early in the week for another fairly elaborate cake for the weekend and decided to do it because it was a really good opportunity for exposure in a new circle of people.

So between the schedule of the week I was a cake baking and decorating machine. Thankfully Brenda kept Ariel on Thursday afternoon so I could work distractedness as Xander napped. Got lots of work done that day, yay! Here are some pictures of my creations from the week... first up the gender cake... I do believe I can share now that it was cut that it was another pink cake, hee!

A gift cake with polka dots, super cute. Made matching cupcakes for this order.

Lastly the golf cake... this was pre-snow. The morning of the pick up I was asked if I could add some snow, which I did but didn't get a chance to get a new picture. Oh well, its cute without the snow too. The lady who picked this up was in LOVE with it, hugging my arm with squeals that the character looked like the man the cake was for, haha. She then kept going on how I needed to charge more, and ended up giving me a big tip! Whoa, sweet! I felt great and it was a nice end to the week.


Ariel has been enjoying her more relaxed schedule. Monday she had a birthday party to attend, which she really enjoyed. I am realizing that we are on the new dawn of how parties work... parents don't stay! Wow, free time? Wacky! This girl was from her class so lots of her classmates were there. Its nice getting to know more of these kids and their parents outside the school environment.

Swimming lessons have been happening Tuesday to Friday and Ariel has been doing fantastic. Her teacher told me last class when picking her up that she is an amazing little fish... and super cute! Haha. Ariel made a friend in her class and loves getting to see her. We also see Brenda and the kids as they are in lessons too at the same time, so its a nice visiting time for us all. I hope to get some pictures or video next week of my girl in motion. We will see how organized I get.

Xander decided while at the pool one morning that he would give Mommy a heart-attack. While I was watching Ariel swim and Xander sat at the picnic table with the other toddlers just arms length from me - I looked back to see he was missing! I jumped up expecting to see him behind one of the other kids or under the table... he wasn't!

I called his name and 3 more parents around me sprung up in response to my panic. I was dashing around and he was no where to be seen. My heart sunk and I was in shock... felt like time was standing still. I kept running and looking for his little face and brown coat... nothing. Then I heard 'FOUND HIM!' I ran scooping his little body into my arms, clinging to him. Of course he was smiling, totally oblivious to what he just put me though, but he was safe and that was all that mattered. It was the longest 5 minutes of my life that I never want to experience again. My son, well he wanted to see the hockey players apparently, and I now have some new gray hairs thanks to that. No matter, I am thankful and will be tying his shoes together to keep him from running, ha!


Brenda had me over for lunch that day, I was so shaky from the events that I was very appreciative. The kids played and we visited and chilled... ahh. Very thankful for good friends!

Speaking of good friends, on Wednesday my high school friend Julie and her 2 kids came for a play-date. They are in town during the break, visiting from the USA. (Yes another American/Canadian couple woot!) The girls had a blast playing everything from Barbies to cooking.

The boys, well they sorta did their own thing but did somewhat sit for at least one picture together.

Later that evening it was a girls night out, and the rest of the local friends from high school got together for dinner out. It was fun to catch up, as we don't usually get together more than once a year. We opted to pass on dessert at the restaurant and walk to the store to pick up a cake instead to eat. It was such a clear night it was fun to walk and visit.... kinda like old times walking from school.

Then today was a lazy at home day... with 2 cake pick ups we couldn't really leave the house. So we got up early to hit the grocery store for food as we are having our youth pastor and his girlfriend over for dinner tomorrow night. Yay. With it being a sunny day, I took advantage and got Ariel's new head shot done for her next pageant coming up. I think this is my new fav... might need to print this one out for a frame. I also booked both kids for haircuts on Monday and worked on the new 'Imagine That' brochure. So it was a very productive day while Ken was gone at the open house at work. Oh and I booked our own family pictures with Maria with her annual Mother's Day session next month. Now just to decide what to wear? Hmmm...

Ken finally got home after dinner and while he bathed the kids I went for a long walk to have some 'me' time. Nothing beats Glee tunes on the ipod, ahhh. I love the new original song 'Loser like me'. Gosh if that wasn't the anthem of all of us nerds in school. I just get giddy listening to it. Yay for geeks!

So one more week of break till we go back to routine of school, ballet etc. Only one cake this week for my Dad's birthday on Friday... which is also the 11th anniversary of my Mom's passing. Look for a special post that day, I have something very special that was given to me to share. Until then, I am going to chill out with my man and watch some Netflix stuff.

Spring Break Boogie!

We made it! We are officially on Spring Break... er Ariel is, the rest of us its life as usual. The final week before was pretty mellow and I must say it was a nice change. Besides Ariel's school days, there were no extra activities like ballet and sportsball to get to, making the week seem slower it seemed. I didn't have any cake orders either, but I did have some graphics work on that tourism book, so that kept me busy.

Thursday was St Patrick's Day and I try to make things as green as possible for the kids.

We started the day with a leprechaun trap. I had Ariel place green items around it in hopes of catching something good... which she did.

Gold chocolate coins, boy was she excited... and surprised.

Xander was thrilled too of course.

Then for lunch we did green pancakes, bacon and eggs.

Ariel really liked that... especially the bacon.

Friday I had coffee party in the morning and asked Dad to pick Ariel up from school. They had a McDonalds lunch date and played until I arrived to pick her up. She had pajama day at school and was eager to tell me about the movie and popcorn they got to have. Lucky girl!

Today I was up at 6am watching the rain pour down. I was to have an engagement shoot at the beach early in the morning but it looked like the weather wasn't going to go my way. So we rescheduled it for next month. I still had my rescheduled newborn and family session with our friends, and so I took along the rest of my family with me. While I worked they played in South Surrey at the shops and stuff until I was done and we all had lunch together while the kids played. Go check out a sample of the pictures on my Jaybird Creations website.

Ariel had such a great time but sobbed when it was time to go, sigh. She just loves her friends so much. Xander slept the drive home and we decided to order out for Indian since we got home so late.

This week we have Ariel back at swimming lessons, I have lots of work for Imagine That to prepare and 2 cake orders... one being a gender reveal cake! I already got the 'scoop' on what the special color in the cake will be... the mom is completely in the dark until she cuts into it at the party... I just love these cakes!

Ok movie time! See ya later!!!

Spring Ahead

Oh its that crazy night when we have to set our clocks ahead an hour. Blah. But then I feel like my body made the switch already as I have been waking up earlier lately. Who knows, but tomorrow morning may be rough. Haha.

This week has been another crazy one… I think that is pretty much my life now that I am doing a side business. I am looking forward to Spring Break as it’s a change in routine. Ariel has swimming those 2 weeks and is uber excited. Brenda and I have lots of work getting Imagine That stuff together as we prepare for April’s registration launch. Eek! Not only that I have now accepted a new gig working on tourism booklets, kinda like mini entertainment books. So if its quiet here… that is why.

Looking back at the week, we started with Monday being class picture day… finally! I don’t understand why its in March of all times, it just seems weird but at least she is getting one. Ariel wanted ‘curls’ that morning so Mommy had to haul her butt out of bed early to set the rollers in her hair… not that her hair holds the curl that long, but oh well. We tried! We had some clips in her hair but when I picked her up it looked like Ariel had tried to put them back in...lets just say it created a pretty crazy hairdo in the front. Ariel insists that it happened AFTER the pictures, but I guess we will find out when we see them. Stay tuned to find out!

Then Tuesday was the final winter ballet session. We went to see her viewing session and I am always in awe of her achievement and how far she has come. Ken was amazed with her grace and fluidity in her arm movements. Ariel’s concentration and attention to her teacher made us proud. Her heart is truly in this and it shows with how hard she works at it. We see her practice at home but to see her perform is so special. This Spring marks her last kinder dance session as next year she joins the studio and gets to be part of the end of the year recital… can’t wait!

Here is some video of her performance.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Wednesday while Ariel was at school I went to help hang the new gallery up at the church with Karen. I am excited to helping with this and even more giddy to have some of my own photos being shown. This new set is about Transitions as our church is in a huge state of it right now. When I picked up Ariel and came home in the afternoon I found the ‘bread fairy’ had visited again (woot) and my new software was there too! EEK! I installed it and needless to say, I am in love. Sigh….

Thursday was our lazy day but I spent a chunk of it creating a mini Louis Vuitton purse cake. Ariel was thrilled with it, but then she would be. My girly girl.

Also that day we got a lovely wedding invitation in the mail! My dear friend Ann's big Indian wedding is coming up and I am now thinking it be super fun to wear a sari to the event. Maybe even Ariel too, as I am sure she will see those pretty outfits and want in right away. Haha. Should be a wonderful cultural experience as its a whole day of events. So much fun to look forward to.

Friday came and it was Xander’s final sportsball class. We played golf, which Xander really enjoyed, one hand and all.

So cute! The coach enjoyed Xander's goofy nature and his face when it lit up when he brought out any type of ball. Xander even got a ribbon for taking part, Ariel was impressed with that even if her brother wasn't haha.

In the afternoon Ariel and I had a dance off, gosh that is a good workout. When I took a break, Xander stepped in for me... he has some serious dance feet, haha.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Later that evening I went to deliver the purse cake and set up for portraits. The girls were getting a lesson in make up application and then after practicing what they learned came to see me where I took their pictures. They were such sweet girls and it was loads of fun. If you want to check out a sample of them, go to Jaybird Creations.

Today was a wet and windy day. I went to pick up a parcel at the post office from Grammy, filled with clothes and books for the kids. We had a skype chat and then after a quick lunch I took Ariel and we went off to the mall for some bonding time. We chatted while we walked around. Checked out the new stores that had opened after the major construction was going last time we were there ages ago. I let her get a new purse and she strut around proudly like a grown up and several places we went into ended up giving her stickers to have in her bag since she was so cute. Haha. Only Ariel could manage that. She now has a collection of them from Hallmark, Gap and Gymboree to name a few.

Ariel was getting hungry and wanted a snack but the mall’s main eating stops were packed. We ended up finding a cute coffee stand that was serving gelato. She tasted a few flavors before settling on a cheesecake one. I got a juice and we talked as she snacked. I managed to get a picture on my cel phone, she was just too cute.

Our last stop was to check out the new Forever 21 store that just opened. It was packed with people but Ariel managed to find a fish necklace that she insisted I had to have. Lol, its pretty darn cute, so I may need to wear it to church tomorrow. I hope to go back sometime when its not so busy, they had some great deals.

Came home to start dinner, as I was attempting to make moussaka. It was a process but the efforts paid off with a fantastic dinner. I even made up some Greek style potatoes and rice. The family were all smiles, including the kids. Xander gobbled his down with his huge giddy grin. Yum. Looking forward to leftovers. Yay!

Well I guess its time to go set my clock ahead. Blah!

Winning

Seems like 'winning' is the word of the week... thanks Charlie Sheen for that... even our youth pastor kinda said it during his sermon, haha. Duh, Winning!

Well I guess my blog is turning into a weekly show, haha. Again another crazy week of cakes, meetings and kids! With the start of a new month has also brought out the start of new weather. Could it be that Spring is on the way? Looks like it, the sun was out and shining several days this week and it was great to get out and walk... ahhh. My stress goes down when I can walk that is for sure.

Xander is spitting out more words (that we can understand) these days. This week's new one was "CAKE". Seems like one that would fit here with the constant cake activity in my kitchen.

Speaking of which, it was a busy week of 2 cakes and some cupcakes. First off, it was my brother's 30th birthday. The perfect cake choice of course was a video game inspired one, Xbox. The controller was make of rice treats and was well received by the birthday boy. Of course in typical fashion this week I was tired and out of it and forgot my camera battery recharging, doh. So no pics of him and his cake, oh well... here is the cake...

... and the cover of the card we made him. Hee.

On Wednesday morning after dropping Ariel at school, Xander and I had gone off to Mike's favorite place for getting specialty beer. I walked in and said, I know nothing about beer so here is a basket, please fill it for me. Dad had given me one piece of info that helped me tell the guy what Mike would like and thankfully he was awesome and picked 5 that were perfect. Yay. Mike liked his gift and that made me happy... he is hard to shop for.

Friday night we had a dinner meeting out with some church people in regards to the children's ministry. It was nice to have a greek dinner, yum and we got lots discussed. Following which we ended up back at our friend's place chatting until midnight. Ariel put herself to bed on the empty bunk in one of the bedrooms, while Xander slept on my shoulder. However we came home and I still had some work to finish up on the second cake of the week and stayed up till 130am.

Yawn... yes it was a late night, but I was so happy with how this turned out. It was a hand painted picture on the cake... and yes its a cougar.... um, yeah, I was laughing taking this order. The birthday girl was getting a nice joke cake from her husband. The best part, he thought at first he wanted flames with it... until he said 'flaming cougar' sounded kinda bad. LOL! So we went with the word 'hot' instead. Gotta love it.... my work is so entertaining.

This afternoon following church we helped take part in the grade 6 and 7's activity of the 'Junk Food Journey'. The kids would travel from house to house having a particular junk food at each stop. We did cupcakes... burger style!


Ariel was so excited to have the kids come over... and eat the cupcakes.


The only rough part of the week came when Xander skipped his nap for 2 days in a row, ugh. Now you may remember Ariel gave up her naps before turning 2... so I am praying this little guy doesn't follow suit. I am happy to say today he napped, woot! Tomorrow is Ariel's picture day at school FINALLY. She is so excited and had fun picking out what she wanted to wear. Spring break is coming fast too... eek!