post-party post

Sorry for the gap between posts. With all of the puppy-party things to accomplish I was pretty busy. In the end though, everything turned out great. I finished the cute puppy dress! I finished the surprise project (a handmade bean bag toss game)! Thanks to my dear friend Theresa, I decorated the puppy cake with a new found confidence. She is the master of cute birthday cakes! Anyway,when I showed it to Tim he was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. He said it was immediately recognizable as a dog...which implied that one of the other cakes I made and decorated wasn't immediately recognizable!What?Seriously?! Okay, maybe one was a little more creative than the others, but there was no shaped pan for a sea turtle...I had to use my imagination. It turned out cute, I promise. For those of you who don't know, the girls get to pick the cake design (shape...dog, bee hive, turtle...whatever) then the party theme goes along with that. I don't buy shape pans, and if I can't borrow one I have come up with a design of my own. I'd like it to always be as perfect as I imagine it to be in my mind..it never is..but I think I've relaxed my expectations a bit (so as not to drive myself insane) and realized over the years that if the girls are happy with the outcome then I should be, too.

Anyway, the party went great and Little Miss E enjoyed her cake and ice cream, and party hats, and all of her presents. Grandparents are oh so generous! I must say, her favorite gift was a pair of white dress-up shoes that blink and play "here comes the bride". I found those on a clearance rack at Toys R Us for $2.00! Yeah, you heard me $2.00!!! There was nothing wrong with them, just the box was ripped. They were originally $12.00...what a bargain...I am such a bargain bird-cheap!cheap! So, she wore the shoes until it was time for bed, cried because she had to take them off for the night, asked for them as soon as she woke up today, wore them until nap time, and I expect her to put them back on as soon as she wakes up. As a side note: I will be able to maintain my sanity because the dress-up shoes have an on/off switch! Yippee! The best two dollars I have ever spent:o) Oh, we did have to get a pair of dress us shoes for big sister, too. It is nearly impossible to have two girls that love to dress up and only one pair of fancy shoes. I know, spoiled rotten aren't they?!

Thanks to everyone for help, input, inspiration, encouragement, assistance, prayer, and presents for Miss E and Miss O. More pictures to come later.