I know. I've been missing in action for a bit too long, but I can explain. First, there was our little bean's second birthday to plan and stay up late preparing for.

It was an ice cream party, but I just had to make some mini cupcakes, too.



And, of course, there was ice cream. We had tons of toppings and let the kids make their own sundaes.

Audrey had a great time and loved all the attention.



There was a pie eating contest. Audrey didn't win, but she was happy to sit and eat that whipped cream one little fingertip full at a time.



And there was a relay race with water balloons in ice cream cones. It was about a zillion degrees that day, so water balloons were a big hit.



After the birthday festivities I had to get ready for a solo trip out to California for a dear friend's wedding. This is all you need when you travel alone. Amazing, isn't it?



Visiting with wonderful friends that I don't see nearly often enough, witnessing the union of such a special couple, and spending the weekend driving through the bay area with my Dad, talking each other's ears off, was so spectacular.

This is just a slice of what I've missed writing about, which brings me to my final reason for slacking. I have somehow managed to pull a tendon in my hand. It hurts. It hurts more when I use my left hand like I'm doing right now. So, forgive me if my posts are short for a while- I have to give this thing a chance to heal.

I hope the last few weeks have been as good to you as they have been to me!

Inspired by SouleMama

Corey and I both love sweets, so our kids didn't really stand a chance. It's hard trying to teach a kid about self control though, when it comes to chocolate and candy. "Why can't I have more marshmallows?" Erika kept asking me over and over again one day. So, I took her to the computer and showed her a food pyramid. And we talked about the things she can eat lots and lots of, and the things that need a little moderation. To really drive the point home, we made our own food pyramid chart to hang in our dining room.

First we went through some old Real Simple magazines and cut out pictures of food (grocery store circulars would be great for this, too). Then we talked about where they went on the chart, and glued them into place.







And then we made these.



I know. I'm evil, right? But you know what? Erika ate her dinner with enthusiasm that night, telling us where each food fell on the food pyramid. She ate her brownie and totally understood why she could not have a second piece.