Two for Two?

Yup, people, my hubby's two for two today!

Wait, that's not what I mean... (whatever it is you're thinking)

The fact is... I'm not a "birthday celebratin' on the day of your birthday kind of gal", so my hubby and I decided to go on a "Birthday Date" that turned out to be "Dates" (plural people)! One in the afternoon and one at night! (a rarity among rarities in our married history so of course, I'd blog about it! )

We both wanted to watch the movie, Avatar. So we did... in 3D and IMAX! We found a theater in Dallas that showed it and still gave us enough time to pick up the kiddos after school. We quickly purchased the tickets after lunch at Whataburger nearby. I sooo recommend it! (my own waterworks started and flowed near the end, it was so good!)

Proof it was IMAX... lol (that's just the middle of the screen)
Our 3D glasses... (we took pics when we had them on, but it was so dark, all you could see of me is my nose and the glare of the overhead lights- on my forehead!... not a pretty picture...)
And my gorgeous date, complete with his own tub of popcorn! (I was good, I had water) I wore an eggplant colored top, denim capris and eggplant colored ankle heeled boots. I also had my hair in a tight pony. I looked movie ready!

Then, tonight... We dressed up a bit and went to our second date, a nice dinner out. Of course, we opted for seafood (one of my kryptonites) and had a great time sampling the generous (and mouth-watering) portions at our nearby Papadeaux Seafood Kitchen. This time, we were in the Restaurant Row of Dallas, a little closer to where we live. The place was packed, but we got seated right away. We had a great time!

Look at this fountain at their entrance. Wowie! It's inside a portico side entry.
Once inside, we started our dinner with some beefsteak tomato salad with blue cheese crumbles. Yum!
For cocktails, Mr. Man got a pina colada daquiri while I opted for the strawberry one. The V version, of course!

I tried their current special-- Lobster Lafitte, it's half a rock lobster, head-to-tail stuffed with crawfish, shrimp and crab then topped with lobster meat and a scrumptious creamy sauce of my choice (lemon caper). It was paired with some crawfish etouffe. Of course, neither of us finished what we ordered, they were on massive platters! (this is what's leftover of mine. Mr. Man's Crawfish Trio platter looked just as full.)

And here we are! See? completely different looking! :-) I went for a "totally blinged-out" look because I've never really done it before. It was actually a lot of fun. I put on a silver top with black slacks.

Mr. Man went for "I'm her eye-candy" in a rugged casual way. Loved it! (And I think our young female server thought so, too! She refilled his soda, praised him for trying crawfish for the first time and was thoroughly helpful. Me, she didn't come around with a water pitcher for refills and my clutch that she asked me to move when the dishes came only got complimented after we asked for take home boxes. How cute...)

To not look so formal, I opted for simple jewelry like this choker I found at Kohl's today. I also donned a silver clutch, to hold my cell phone and lipstick. :-D
and silver dress sandals, but for my lips, toes and nails, I went copper!
I looked and felt like a million bucks, but in reality, my piggy bank barely noticed I dipped in. ;-)

What a great day! I hope you and your sweetie can indulge in a "two for two" very soon. It is worth it and so much fun!

Til' next time!

Happy Birthday, Mahal!

From Yowazzup dot com

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAHAL!!!

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

We took Mr. Man out to a quick pizza dinner at our neighborhood, (ok only one in the area) Palio's Italian Grill. He ordered his usual Hawaiian Sunrise, XL for some insurance on leftovers and the kiddos and I enjoyed celebrating his birthday though it was rather quick since he had to go to work an hour later.

As I've said before... We'll take what we can get...

(Sorry about the lack of post infusion, but the organizing has commenced and we're all over the place)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

from AA Gifts and Baskets dot com

A delicious and beautiful cake for a wonderful mother (in-law). Sometimes, a girl is just that lucky; when she snags a great guy who was raised by a great mom!

We love you very much!

"Psst... I know it's late at night, so enjoy it tomorrow instead. Save me a slice!"

I'm Grateful For... #9

Birthdays!!! They are so much fun to celebrate and I love seeing each one of my family grow with each year.

Today, it's L-Infinity's 17th birthday. So here are the past seven years starting with this year's. Enjoy!


We went to the Rainforest Cafe in Grapevine, Texas. Look at that massive sign!
Kila and L posing just before we ordered.
And here's the gorgeous Mr. Man with L. She chose to order Soup and Salad- her staple; clam chowder and ceasar. I-Dude found the Shrimp & Chicken combo delish while J-Pony savored her Pasta Alfredo. Kila had Burger and Soup while Mr. Man and I both fell in love with the pasta dishes. Yum! Can you say, "We'll be back!" (in your best Terminator voice?) And of course... We had coupons to use! I-Dude earned 4, count them, 4 FREE KID'S MEAL for having good grades each quarter last year. Yay for good grades and free food!!!
Mr. Man and L ordered frozen drinks and we got to take home these cool glasses! They light up!
Look at that dessert! It's called, "The Volcano". It came with a sparkler on top. The impromptu tablescape, compliments of Mr. Man. Great job, honey! We got a video of the crew singing to her while she stood up on her seat. It was soooo cute!
Of course, we brought along our other cuties, J-Pony and I-Dude. They had so much fun exploring the cafe and looking at all the animated animals as well as the fish tanks full of exotic fish!
She finally have her own birthday Build-A-Bear! We haven't had a chance before, but I'm very glad we waited; this one's more special... Both share the same birthday, November 9th, Monday night! Seriously! I told you the panda's special...
This is second year we took a picture together on her bday time, 9:35PM. Mr. Man took this shot. It is my job to "lead" her after all... ;-D In the background, our front door, was heart attacked by one of her leaders. We were home at the time, so she just let us know what she'll be doing. It says, "Happy Birthday", "17", "L is Awesome", "Laurels Love L" and "Hey, hey, hey, it's L's Birthday!" We all thought it was just a great touch to a great birthday!

She will be college bound by next Fall, so we made sure that this birthday was truly special. Now, for the rest of the year, I plan her Debutante Ball. *sigh* My work never ends! That's ok, she's definitely worth it!

Last year, for her 16th birthday party, she was the last victim of her "Extreme Makeover" game. She celebrated with her BFF Shelby, who flew in from AZ, Kila, Tyler, Daniel and Sadie. Kila provided most of the makeup.
The group shot afterwards... Kila left earlier. In the evening, Shelby, L and Daniel went to a Stake Youth Dance. The make up went from silly to gorgeous, so all was well.
This was on her actual birthday last year, at 9:35PM, when she was born. Our first together picture. For her other birthdays, I was mostly the photographer or I would just plain forget. ;-(


Her 15th birthday, we just celebrated at home; I made her cake and cupcakes to share in Seminary. I love this picture of her and Mr. Man.


This is the only 14th birthday picture of the three I took that she was in it. Most were videotaped. We had a simulated outdoor restaurant of The Cheesecake Factory. I was the chef, the photographer, the host, the waiter and the decorator while Mr. Man and my friend Midori were the waiters. he was also the construction foreman. ;-D She had 11 people come out the 12 she invited and they all had a blast eating and laughing afterwards during the "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" game. They feasted on Costco cake and Cheesecake Factory cheesecake slices.

For her 13th birthday, I made her favorite, chocolate cake though now, it's marbled cake.


This is her 12th birthday party... back in Gilbert, AZ. I made everything except for the cake. We also invited the missionaries and our great family friends, the Fosters: Randy, Midori and back then, only Derrick was their child. There's J-Pony with baby I-Dude...
Afterwards, Mr. Man and Randy took the kiddos to the movies, I forgot what they saw; it was either "The Incredibles" or "The Polar Express".

This is just after she turned 11. I think we used a regular camera, hence the lack of birthday pictures. She earned a Citizenship Award for Character Counts Recognition Night at school. I'm glad I have that. ;-D

The last 7 years, I've watched my oldest daughter grow into a beautiful young woman who is loved, appreciated and full of promise. Everyone that loves her wish her the very best!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I Thought We're Swimming!

So today was the day J-Pony get to have her "Big Girl" party with a few of her friends. And we decided to go to our local Rec Center to try this new... two flumed water slide! But the clouds threatened with rain, lightning and thunder so we didn't get to go...
Instead, we took three girls and our family to see this movie. It was amazing! Two thumbs up!!!
And because we were early, we saved major dough! Gotta love that!


Then it was lunch time, so we went here to unwind and have fun! The "King" made sure we "had our way". LOL
But before any play, they must eat! There's J-Pony and I-Dude on the right with Alexis, then Rubab and Allison on the left.
And here are Mr. Man and L-Infinity on another table. Yours truly, of course, behind the lens!;-)

After dropping off two of the girls home, we watered the plants for some family friends and they let us use their pool, so since the smallish kiddos never took off their swimsuits, we let them have fun while I watered the plants, L-Infinity took pictures and Mr. Man supervised as a lifeguard.
Here they are...

The dark rumbly clouds never did fruit beyond a short lived drizzle, so I visited my own patio to water and to check on my herb pots and I was pleasantly surprised to see these!
Sprouts everywhere! Yay! I can't wait to see them get big and ready to top our meals! Yum!

While I was cooking, I asked the kids to open up the window and Cece quickly parked herself on the sill. Well, I-Dude thought it was a good spot as well, so Cece, nuzzled his hair from gratitude. LOL

Have you ever seen the tendrils on a grapevine? I've always wanted to see one and I did! How cute is this? We capped the night with a pasta and sausage dinner with these awesome grapes and the rest of the brownies J-Pony baked. Hit just the right spot!

FHE is tomorrow; night swimming! Yay!!!

How did your Monday turn out?

"Happy" "Happy" Day!

At least today, it is for us! It's Sunday, it's Father's Day, it's officially Summertime and something else. Hmmmm. What could it be? Well, whatever it is, it's making Cece bored from waiting, and...

Dexter's getting fidgety...

Are they waiting for Mr. Man to come home from the airport and pick up the two smallish kiddos from church? (I had to stay home with L-Infinity; her tummy was a little sickie) Maybe... what did I forget? Oh I know, it's also... (drum roll please) J-Pony's 10th birthday! Yay!!!

Back in 1999, on this very day, at 6:12 PM, I gave birth to a baby girl with a peach fuzz head! LOL She looked like a lollipop that her pediatrician who looked her over said, "I don't know how you could be 8 lbs. 2.5 oz. You're so tiny." Then he measured her head and declared, "That's where the 8 lbs. went!" LOL

She was supposed to be Mr. Man's Father's Day gift back in 1999, the date, June 19th. But she had her own schedule and came out 2 days late! (That's her... ;-D) Now here we are, 10 years later, she is again his ultimate gift from me. J-Pony thinks that is one sweet deal and is quick to remind him that. LOL

Since then, she's been helping us welcome Summer and gracing us with this great smile and I can't wait to see more.

(We took this shot at exactly 6:12PM)
Since it's also Father's Day, I had to set the table of course. And to give it a more neutral look, I chose blue and green. This is what J-Pony requested, rice and teriyaki porkchop (I made the teriyaki sauce myself, too). I also let them have more of the sweet rolls that I made yesterday, which Mr. Man raved about. Yay!
Then it's time to open some of Grandma & Grandpa M's gifts! Here's Daddy and I-Dude to the rescue! If you click the picture to enlarge it, you'll see L-Infinity on the couch, under a blanket because her body is still a little blah from the tummy bug... Poor baby... ;-( What's that? It's a Betty Crocker Junior Cookbook! I guess I'll be cooking more! LOL She can't wait to use that.
The other one, it's a computer game! She loves games like these, great choice grands! (wink, wink)
Now on to some "keck" time! I mean, cake (aherm). Sorry about that, Mr. Man loves to make funny sounds with some common words with the kiddos. You can only live under the same roof for so long before you sound like the others, you know. LOL

Each candle is worth two years and if you still remember your multiplication table, that equals to... 10! How do you like the cake? Yes, I made that, too! She asked for a marble cake and marble I delivered. Gotta please the birthday girl, right? Right!
"Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday to you..." (singing somewhat off key) Isn't she so patient? What could she be wishing for? (Let's hope it's getting us a brand spanking new house with some land and horse or two for her. Wouldn't that be a grand wish to grant? Any fairies listening?) I better not ask her or it won't come true.
And the candles are out! Yay!!! (all clapping)
Here's what each slice looked like. Mr. Man said it was moist and the kiddos loved it. (So beaming right now...)

Oh, how rude of me, this is your delish slice of her cake. I guarantee it to melt in your mouth.

Thanks for celebrating her 10th birthday with us! Hope you enjoyed the cake!

Total Cost; FREE!