A Birthday Dinner She'll Remember

Angelina's birthday dinner was really fun.  She told me that she will never forget it, because she had so much fun.  She told me that it was cool to watch the food being made right in front of you.

Where did we take her that she would have said this?  Benihana!!  I love this restaurant!!  The look of amazement on my girls' faces as our cook made, tossed, made it smoke and threw our food was priceless.  If you ever want to take your child to a restaurant and know with almost 100% certainty that they won't whine much because they'll be too busy being entertained, then a teppan room is your place!  It's more pricey than McDonald's, but it's SO worth it!  :)

Here are some pictures of our night at Benihana...

My girls LOVE edimame!  

And to my surprise, both girls loved the soup below.  Even though it had onions and mushrooms in it.  Angelina was surprised at herself too.  She says, "Mommy!  I love this soup.  I even ate the MUSHROOMS AND ONIONS!"  :)

Fried rice is so good!  But, it's even better when it's shaped into a heart first... don't you agree?  :)

Our cook was awesome!  He pulled out all the stops for Angelina.

Flipping bowls of fried rice in the air and catching it - without spilling 1 grain of rice.

He cut the food at lightning speed, and even flipped an egg around with his spatula.  

Angelina's mouth hit the floor with each new stunt.  :)

And Zoe just watched on in 3 year old amazement.

mmmm! 

And of course he promised us the volcano, which I knew Angelina would love.

Once again her mouth dropped open and she giggled. 

Zoe stared.  haha!

She was so excited the whole time!  

They sang her Happy Birthday and gave her an elaborately decorated wedge of pineapple

and we all got ice cream.  Perfection!

I made the girls these skirts the night before Angelina's birthday.

I also decorated a plain white shirt with rolled flowers. 

Angelina's rolled flower was a little more gigantic than I originally planned.

But she loved it even more.  

And Zoe was excited to get a new skirt and shirt too. 

All was right in their world.

And mine too.  :)

So.  Next time you're not sure where to take your kids on their birthday.

Might a suggest the teppan room?  

Trust me.  You won't be sorry.  Just the looks on my

girls' faces made it priceless.

Night Owls Tweet

One night I am chatting it up on Twitter with my lovely Aussie friend, Kris.  Then an idea hits me.  Like a palm to the forehead!  So, I ask Kris this question...

"Hey!  I just got a SWEET idea!  Wanna play?"

To which she replies... 

"lol - so long as it's SWEET"

I tell her my idea, and she calls me crazy, but is totally on board, because crazy can be fun, right?  Of course it can.  Especially when the ideas come while you're up late at night like she and I always are. We are crazy night owls.  :) What was my idea?  Blogging photos of our lives.  She lives in Australia and I live in Arizona, USA.  What could be more fun than 365 Photos over 52 weeks?  I can't think of much.  

So... Night Owls Tweet was born.  Every other Monday I will be blogging 7 photos.  1 photo from each day of my life.  The other Mondays, Kris will be blogging them on her lovely blog.

SO, without further ado... the last 7 days of my life in pictures . . . I know!  Most are of my girls... they're cute.  Can you blame me?  ;) 

Week 2: Arizona

I adore these trees!  They bloom the most gorgeous yellow flowers ever!  

The new Cherry Limeade camera strap slipcover added to my shop here.

A view of Angelina through the video camera.

Angelina's Birthday dinner at Benihana.  Yum!

Just looking cute.  Not too hard.  :)  

Angelina making a wish!

She's a little model, huh?  

You can see Kris's Night Owls Tweet Week 1 by clicking here.  She is an amazing designer, so take your time and check out her blog.  It's fantastic!!  She designs fabric.  :)  I need to order some soon!!!

So, what do you think of our little gig?  Fun, right?

Mother's Day & Giveaway Week!!

Welcome to giveaway week!  The next post will hold the very first of many giveaways going on this week!  :)  If you haven't signed up for the newsletter yet, you are definitely going to want to ASAP!  There is going to be some insider info in this first newsletter that you simply won't want to miss.  I mean... all newsletters sent out will have insider info... sort of like a *Shey*[B] secret society.  :)  Wanna join?  Your only initiation is signing up!  I promise no binge drinking, or stealing anything from a sorority!  :)  So.  Go ahead!  You can sign up right over there  <------------------- on the left sidebar.

I hope all of you moms had a divine Mother's Day!  Unfortunately I slept most of mine.  I cried about it already too.  I am really mad at myself for doing that.  Sleep is needed, but I assure you.  The amount of sleeping that I accumulated was just ridiculous.  Never ever again!  But when I was awake, my kids gave me a card that held a locket in it.  Lovely.  And my husband got me a cute card a book.  We don't really do humungous gifts for Mother's Day around here.  Because... that is not what Mother's Day is about.  My hubby and girls did, however make me the most amazingly delicious breakfast!

I promise.  It tasted as good (better) than my camera could capture.

Everyone of us loved the stuffed french toast.  Smiles everywhere.  Yum yum yum!

After breakfast daddy read the girls a story.

The girls played some educational games on the computer while mom watched on from the bed.  Which was a bad idea.  Because I fell asleep.

But when I woke up, I was informed that we were going to dinner.  Dinner at one of my favorite restaurants called Lucille's.  Fabulous food!

I took advantage of having my family so near to snap some great pictures.  Get ready for a picture assault!

For dinner we had Fried Green Tomatoes for an appetizer.  They were incredible.  The girls were dying to get a taste of the sauce.  :)

And I had Tri Tip for dinner.  As always.

We ended the evening with a stroll to Barnes and Noble where I added to my ever growing humungous stash of books just waiting to be read.

So, there is my Mother's Day play by play.
How was YOUR day?

Cherish

It's almost 2am.  I am completely exhausted, but I can't seem to turn off my mind.  I don't know really what I came to my blog for... I can't really seem to form real coherent thoughts.  But I wanted to write none the less.  I'm sitting in my bed with the fan on way too high which is making my eyes burn.  Which is making me more tired.  Does that ever happen to you?  I suppose I could turn the fan off, but that would require me to move.  And I don't feel like it.

Moving on.  haha.  My husband is working very late tonight.  He is currently still at the office working on some real important project.  I miss him so.  He has been working late *a lot* lately.  It's been really hard for me.  I am not clingy by any means, but it's still nice to have him home... sitting by me in the living room, or hearing him breathe as he lays next to me in bed {now.  get your mind out of the gutter. ;) }  Or listening to him with our girls - their squeals of delight as he plays whatever they want him to.  They have even painted his toe nails before.  What a good dad.
When dad isn't home, our family isn't whole.  He is the piece to our unfinished puzzle, and we are dying to complete this puzzle.  But, sometimes life gets crazy and we get busy.  With work.  He works so very hard, and it's such a great quality to have.  But at the same time, I wish him to be home.  Soon.  It's only for a time... RIGHT?!
There is a reason my turnaround time is so long.  There is a reason I keep very strict business hours.  Because I know my husband will need to work late sometimes... or a lot of the time.  I can't just work all the time and have them care for themselves. That would not be fair, they need mom.  So, I am here.  When they need me, or when they don't.  I'm watching.  Because one day... they'll be all grown up, and as a mother, there's nothing worse than missing something.  Every milestone is cherished, remembered, never ever forgotten.
I want my kids to learn a good work ethic from their dad.  Because I don't think there's a better example of that.  My dad would also be a good example of that as well.
I want my kids to learn balance from me.  I don't mean balancing and juggling life and all it's insane activities.  I mean balance as in... there is no harm in walking away for a bit.  For example.  I have set business hours for myself.  And I stop when the time has come.  It will all be there for me tomorrow.

It seems a child's life is fleeting.  Gone in a blink.  And I don't want to miss it for the world.  I look forward to the people they will become, the lives they will lead, the people they will love.  So much ahead, but still so much right here right now.

I know... totally a random post.  Just lots of things on my heart right now.   And the above is just a fraction.  But, I am nodding off as I type this.  Best be going now.  :)  I will be back with a giveaway later in the day.

My Lovely Little Girls.

Pictures of my girls have been severely lacking.  My parents would likely agree.  They live in North Carolina.  Quite a ways from Arizona.  Today I swore it was time to take my 2 bundles of sweetness out front and do a little photo shoot.  So, mom and dad.  Here is your grandchildren fix!  Enjoy.

We had a great time playing together in the front yard.  Dandelions are a big hit.  Always.

I look at my oldest daughter.  And I can't believe she is going to be 8 in a couple of months.  She isn't my little girl anymore.  Where does the time go?

She said, "Mama, I have wings, so I can fly!"  :)  And she did try by flapping her arms.

Have a great night... or day... whatever time of day it is that you read this.  ;o)

p.s.  

Please welcome the newest SheyB blog sponsor: Curly Birdie!!!  She sells the CUTEST ever crocheted items!  

Please also welcome our other newest SheyB blog sponsor: Cocoa Dreamer Designs!!!  She sells some GREAT pouches, and baby items!

**If you're interested in becoming a SheyB blog sponsor, please email me at: shealynn AT gmail DOT com {spaces are limited}.