[x] Earlier this month, my baby turned five. FIVE! How is it possible that he's been a part of my world for half a decade? I am such a lucky mommy, truly. SO very blessed.

His birthday was awesome. I officially earned my Mother Of The Year award; K. and I supplied him with a much coveted Chuck E. Cheese party. It was an experience! He had a wonderful time, start to finish. Got some great pics with the giant rat, enjoyed pizza and cake, and played games until his heart was content. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The place was certainly cleaner than I had anticipated, but the germaphobe in me had all of us bathed/showered within about an hour of arriving home post-party. Ultimately, though, he said it was the best birthday ever--so really, what else matters? Beauty said she wanted her party there next year. To this I say...

Oh.
Hell.
No.

Unless things dramatically improve with her Chuck E. Cheese experience, this is never going to happen. Never. Why, you ask? Well, she was a gem--as good as gold, behaved like a sweetheart the entire time. And then...the life-sized costumed Chuck E. made an appearance for the birthday show and ruined EVERYTHING for her. Everything.

In short? She flipped the eff out. I mean, screaming like she had been dipped in a vat of boiling oil. Hysterical. Inconsolable. I have NEVER seen her cry that hard or so intensely. It was so bad that when she was led away from the table/party area, she was still actively crying, say, twenty minutes later. I have honestly never seen anything like it. Ever.

Suffice to say, in retrospect, she had a great time overall when asked. I showed her a video clip on my iPhone of Chuck E. walking around and she was enthusiastic about watching it. But before we plunk down the cash to throw her birthday bash there, I'd definitely have to "test run" this concept a few times to make sure this was all legit. She loved all the prizes she was able to get with her tickets and the cake was one of her favorite parts, but OH BOY. Yeah, it was an experience. ;)

Little Flower was awesome. Happy enough and rocking out the whole time. She got a little fussy toward the end but I think that was primarily due to the fact that she was a little warm and very, very tired. But she was as easygoing and happy as she usually is. She's definitely not phased by too much. :)  So...that was the party. Not too bad overall.

[x] We decided to have Bear's birthday lunch before his actual birthday, so we did so the week prior to his big day. He chose the Rainforest Cafe (if you remember, Beauty picked Baker's Square--that's my budget friendly girl! ;), so RFC it was. It was nice, though--especially since K. and I decided to surprise all the kids with an impromptu stop at Build-a-Bear. Naturally, they were elated. Bear chose a rainbow bear and decked it out in Blackhawks attire (we are a Hawks family through and through, I tell you :); Beauty chose a puppy with a fancy sundress. LF grabbed a hold of this little purple puppy and would not let go of it for the life of her. And since then, she has honestly cuddled it every.single.day. Suffice to say, it could've cost ten times as much as it did--she was so excited to hold it that she was getting it regardless of cost. But as luck would have it, it wound up being very reasonably priced indeed. Throw in a stop at The Body Shop for this mama (thank you, Groupon!) and it was a wonderful day. A perfect early birthday celebration. :)

[x] Oh! And get this! On April 29, we got up and dressed and headed out the door. As K. and Bear are in Trader Joe's (LF was napping in the car so Beauty and I skipped shopping and were engaged in a rousing game of "I Spy"), K. happens to catch a glance in Bear's mouth--and he spots a missing tooth! Apparently, Bear didn't even notice it was gone when he brushed his teeth in the morning! He lost his first tooth! I'm certain he swallowed it (we checked his bed but it was to no avail) and he told me the other front tooth ("you know, mommy--the one by the toothhole") was feeling loose. Well, lo and behold he wiggled that one right out while we were in the car later that same day. My baby lost TWO teeth in one day! That's gotta be a record, right? ;) He was so very excited about the loss of not only one but TWO teeth. Such a big boy! *sniff*

[x] We also went for a haircut that same day. Feeling impulsive, I chopped off a BUNCH of hair--and I love it. We went to a new place and it was total win. For a cut and style, it came to a whopping $25. I LOVE the cuts I was able to get in the city with my girl Jay, but the pocketbook is feeling a little lean these days. Every single time I hack off all my hair I wonder why I let it get so long in the first place. Now it's shaggy and angled and messy and perfectly mom without being "mom-ish". Win!

[x] Aside from all the DCFS foster/adoption drama still rocking out something fierce, everything else has been pretty good. The girls are doing well. Little Flower is walking quite a bit while holding our hands (no independent steps just yet), and continually wowing her DT-V. Beauty is also doing really well. She and Bear helped K. wash the car yesterday and I wish I would've snagged a few pics (I was working on my flowers in the front yard with LF)--it was so cute. Something tells me it's not the last time they'll give the magic minivan a hose down this season, though. ;)

[x] I've started working on my non-blogging writing again. I guess it's as good of a time as any since I write so much better when things are ridiculous and messy and just generally chaotic. I really struggle with it, though. There's so much of my past that surfaces when I actually sit down and write--it's hard to handle sometimes. But such is life.

[x] I have enough lilacs for quite possibly the entire state of Illinois. No, really. My lilac "bush" in the front is more like a tree. Thankfully, it smells heavenly so it's worth having to wake up early to snatch a few before the bees are out in full effect. I have a great collection of herbs going, too: dill, sage, oregano, chives, and basil--all up and about in abundance. My tomatoes are coming along, too. Nothing yet, but I'm hopeful. Next year, I'm going to make a bigger patch so I can toss in some peppers, kale, and the like. The kids are jazzed over this endeavor. Today, I'm going to whip up some vegan chive biscuits. If they rock, I'll come back and link the recipe. :)

[x] All right, enough rambling. I've been working on this entry for the better part of a week now. :p Later on, I'll sit down and scratch out the ridiculousness that is this whole foster-to-adopt debacle (well, as much as I can say in a public forum, that is). More to come. As always. <3