26

I never understand why people dislike their birthdays. When my birthday comes around at the end of June, we celebrate it right. This year we had three different soirées with three different groups of people...my family...Scott's family...and our friends. My family has, in recent years, come to know that I need an entire week for celebrating, my "Birthday Week". On the morning of my birthday, Scott and the kids took me to a local diner for a happy, no makeup, feel good kind of breakfast.

(no makeup until Scott brought out my favorite Chanel lip gloss in the most gorgeous color ever...Blizzard...a little help from my boy)

A competitive game of Chutes and Ladders...

I FINALLY beat him!

A song for Mommy

I'm not a fan of birthday cake...in lieu of cake...my candles were perfectly positioned in a warm, apple pie!

Sometimes, your girls show up, and it all feels right, simple, happy. No drama, thank you. These are the kind of girls that will call you when your baby is sick and offer to make you dinner. They know how to drink with you when you're another year older, and they know how to pray with you when you're in need. They know you're favorite color, and buy you bracelets that you will wear again and again. They love your children for who they are, they don't judge your parenting. They push you to be a better person ever day. These girls have blessed me so much...and on this warm summer night, we laughed...

...we went shopping in MAC

...we wore fake Eclipse jewelry from our kid's happy meals...

...and then we laughed some more...

Hopefully I'm another year wiser, more loving, more giving, more lady like and more understanding. I know for certain, though, that I'm another year happier.

School Daze

Aden started preschool in January (too early for me, but he needed it for his social skills). He is happy when we arrive, and happy when we leave, but he seemed to spend the time in between in a bit of a happy daze. I was so relieved that almost immediately, he felt comfortable there. On our drive home, I would ask his about school. Six months ago, this is how our conversations would go....he was just over 3 years old.

Mommy, "Aden, how was school today?"

Aden.....(nothing)

Mommy, "Buddy, what did you do at school today?"

Aden......"Buddy, what did you do at school today?"

Mommy, "Did you play outside?"

Aden, "Ming Ming duckling here." (scripting from the Wonder Pets)

Mommy, "Did you eat your lunch?"

Aden, "Sandwhich Mommy"

Obviously, this was so disheartening. I was sending him to spend two mornings a week with other women, women who loved him and wanted to help him learn and grow, but I had no idea what he did all day. He couldn't tell me even the slightest detail. I vividly remember the first time he told me that he painted at school. I almost cried. I saw the green paint on his arm and asked if he made a picture. He sat, deep in thought for what seemed like an eternity. "Yes!" he said, "I make a tree!" That was a huge leap...our conversations were starting. Here is how they go now, six months later...

Mommy, "Aden, how was school today?"

Aden, "Good! I eat my lunch."

Mommy, "That's great, what else did you do today?"

Aden, "I played outside, go on the slide, paint a red circle"

Mommy, "A red circle?!"

Aden, "Yes! I love a red circle!"

Mommy, "Wow Buddy, that's so cool"

Aden, "YA!"

Mommy, "Did you see your friends today?"

Aden, "I love Michaela!"

Mommy, "I know you love her, she's so sweet. Did you go potty?"

Aden, "Yes! I peed in the potty two times and I have two stickersssss!!!!!!!"

The difference in Aden is astonishing. I know that God is doing an amazing work in our little boy!

We've just made the decision to start Aden in kindergarten in two years, instead of one. If he goes to pre-k next year, he will enter his senior year as a 16 year old....not cool. I am so very excited to keep him with me for two more years! This family decision has made summer seem that much sweeter.

As much as I'd like to think that Aden should be label free, I know that right now, he isn't. A few weeks ago, we made the trip to San Bernardino for an evaluation with Inland Regional Center, which is a state agency that provides services to children with qualifying diagnosis. At first, they didn't want to qualify him since his autism is mild. I know that the woman performing his evaluation was pushing for an Asperger's diagnosis, but Aden still exhibits the typical autistic behaviors that I am now beginning to love. He now has two official Autism diagnosis'. Hopefully we'll meet with our case worker in August, and be on our way to some amazing therapies that we would otherwise have gone without. After that evaluation, we headed to BJ's for some love and dinner. In these photos, you'll see how Aden was so intensely interested in the lights, a sensory thing.....I think it just makes him look like an angel looking at the clouds :) I could drink in his sweetness, his curious little self.

Business...

...makes me a bad blogger. My May calendar was full of shoots...needless to say we dined on pancakes for dinner more often that I'd like to admit. Finding balance between being a good business woman and a good homemaker is still something that I struggle with, even though my business is going on two years old! Now that things have calmed down and my editing is almost caught up, I'll get back to blogging.

Mud

It was cloudy a few days ago. There was no rain, just a slightly dreary/wonderful canopy that hung above us...unproductive. My kids decided to do something about the lack of rain coming from our rainclouds. Those of you who know my daughter know that she does not, under any circumstances, like to be wet and dirty, which is why I had to get my camera out for this one!

This is a miracle.

Aden

Savory Goodness

I'm a part of an amazing small group through our church's women's ministry called Dwelling Place. DP isn't in session right now so we have started meeting outside of church. Each time we get together, one of these fabulous ladies will pop in a batch of Trader Joe's caramelized onion, pastry thingies (that's a technical term). They fill the house with warmth and an aroma that lures us all to the kitchen! After a few nights of eating at least three of the twelve that are made, I finally took a peek at the ingredients list. Ah ha! I knew that I had all of these things readily available in my very own kitchen, so today I set out to make my savory puffy pastry dreams come true....

First, caramelize the onions

Next, mix up a glob (another technical term) of sour cream and throw in some feta cheese to taste

Cut pastry into twelve squarish shapes (again with the technicalities)

Butter and flour a mini muffin tin

Assemble as shown: pastry, cream, onions

WAIT...where did that cream mixture go?!

Found it!

Bake until the pastry is crisp and the house smells like a chef's dream....20ish minutes?

viola!

Scrumptious....succulent....goodness.

I also stayed with the pastry theme for dinner....roasted Halibut with tomatoes, caramelized onions, upon freshly baked pastry crust

It was quite the productive day in the McGihon Kitchen!

Spring

Yesterday I made an unsettling discovery whilst cleaning up and clearing out our master bathroom. Perfume. Half used, foul smelling, perfume. This may not seem so shocking to some, but I was utterly offended by myself, by the amount of money I had spent on alcohol mixed with fragrance, thrown in a little glass bottle. Most of them were from the ever enticing Victoria's Secret.....oh.....how my heart longs for silk and lace and all things girly! These little bottles of poison taunt me in the store, they call to me from their displays. "Try Me" they whisper.

I do, and I love, so I buy.

I spend the next few weeks smelling like a flower, until a new little bottle of poison calls to me, reaching for me as I casually browse the lip glosses. "Try Me" it urges.

It's happened like this for years.

My mother was allergic to perfume, so when I was old enough to move out, I perfumed it up like it was 1999. Now that I look back, the real me, the me that the Lord has me discovering lately, the me that I will be for the rest of my life (once I figure it all out) would have been happy with a simple bottle of rose oil from a small and struggling company, not a corporate giant. I'm publicly declaring that I will never waste another hard earned penny on a corporate giant's version of how we should smell. I will no longer smell like half of the women in America who buy Victoria's Secret perfume. I'm breaking the cycle.

Warm weather...polka dotted bathing suits...messy ponytails...bliss.

Sweet, giant strawberries from our local Madison ST Produce

We should all wear our movie star sunglasses...as soon as we wake up!

This morning, I'm particularly drawn to writing about coffee. Yes, coffee. Every morning it's the same, warm and inviting cup of awakening goodness. It calls my body out of it's cozy comforter, my mind out of it's sleepy haze. Yes, it's April, and my mug is certainly an October mug, but my Daddy calls me Boo....so this mug never gets put away for changing seasons. My devotional is even centered around coffee. I've found a writer who adores coffee and much as I do! This ritualistic cup of joy is a little thing that matters to me.....