Gift of Fortune

Birthday Fortune –

This last week brought a milestone for me – a BIRTHDAY! I have not hit the big 4-0 yet, but it is not far around the corner…but, as I have told my whole family, I will not celebrate any more birthdays. I will celebrate anniversaries of my birthday! Next year will be the 1^st anniversary of my 39^th year of birth – hahaha!

In all seriousness I do not have a huge hang up about my age. I have always felt older than I am, maybe that is because I had kiddos younger than most people my age. Maybe, it is because I have had health issues. Maybe I just am one of those people that feel OLD.

That being said, I am not stodgy or prudish…I just feel old.

My wonderful hubby went all out and put together a gift for me, yes – I asked specifically for this gift – but, he made it happen. Ordered pieces from 3 different companies, shopped at a couple of different stores, found something SUPER cool that was delicious.

What did I ask for, a necklace and on this necklace I asked for, a disk that says Live, Laugh, Love, a key and a fortune cookie charm. I really did not think it was going to be as hard as what it turned out to be! Three different internet companies had a piece each, a separate store for the chain. A couple of false starts with 2 other internet companies…I have 3 really cool keys that I can wear separately and a TINY fortune cookie charm that is so incredibly delicate that I have not decided what to do with it yet.

But – CHECK this out!!

The fortune cookie even has a little fortune in it – it says “Like You” too cute!!

The other really cool thing he found for me and TOTALLY surprised me with was a GIANT – and I DO mean GIANT Fortune Cookie from Sumo Cookie. Yes, it is in a PIE PLATE and 8 INCH PIE PLATE! All I can say to it is YUMMY!!! It did not last the evening, we ate it and ate it and ate it.

Yes, it is covered in CHOCOLATE and BUTTERFINGER!!

Wonderful hubby got to make up a fortune to put in the cookie –

“Ancient Chinese Secret: The key to the Fountain of Youth is to Live, Laugh, Love.”

I always say Ancient Chinese Secret (from a commercial back years ago…bonus points for anyone else besides me that remembers it!), the key (like I asked for in my necklace) is a symbol of all the sayings for key (key to happiness, key to success, etc…), Fountain of Youth – well, that one is obvious (also refers to Pirates of the Caribbean latest movie), and of COURSE my personal mantra. There was also I bottle of Sea Glass wine, chocolate thins (YUM), sea glass beads and larger sea glass pieces and a BAG of Fortune Cookies.

Went to Mom and Dad's for dinner the night before, I got to sleep until 11:30am the next day, did not have to cook, went to dinner at Rainforest Café, had a lot of Fillings over with Pop and Tart (Frosting is too little for Fillings to stay the night)…in fact 4 of my favorite fillings!  

Anyway…I also have a TON of new fortunes to write about as well and some of them are silly as all get out! Can’t wait.

Long post, can you tell it’s been a good week!

Live, Laugh, Love~

Vanilla Mama

PS – No lucky numbers…but, you should take your birthday and your loved ones birthdays and come up with your own.

Life with My Dudes - Pop, Tart and Frosting

Kiddo Post for Dudes –



Old pic - Pop, blue; Tart, brown;
Wonderful Hubby, Maroon;
Vanilla Mama (80lbs ago!) purple,
 Frosting, Stroller; FAV filling - Pink!

  One of my favorite blogs put out a challenge today to write a post about living with Dudes for kiddos. Well, I have Pop, Tart and Frosting – my three Dudes! Life with these three Dudes is never boring!

From being scared into screaming like a girl (oh, wait – I am a girl!) when Pop and Tart conspire against me to scare the ever living beejeezes out of me just the other day to getting sweaty boy hugs from all three of them – there is always something going on that makes me glad to have my Dudes.

When Pop and Tart were little, they had in their little kiddo minds that Mom would like a swimming pool….their solution – DIG, DIG, DIG! And dig they did…in my backyard, by the time I figured out what was going on I had a two feet deep hole about 3 feet across. I was livid, until they told me why – then I just laughed and explained there was a little more involved to getting a swimming pool than just digging a hole. I ended up planting a tree in that hole, because no matter how much sand and dirt I put back in the hole,  it was on a slope the rain would wash it all away. To this day when I drive by my old house, I laugh when I see that tree!

There is quite an age difference between my Pop and Tart and my little Frosting – 14 years for Pop and 10 years for Tart…it has been challenging, the blending of ages. Pop is getting ready to graduate and go to college, Tart is a freshman in high school and Frosting is just 4 and thinks he should be able to do everything his older brothers do.

Pancake Mask - HAHA!
Love the BUTTER!

We have Hot Wheels, Legos, Xboxs, computers, strong deodorant, dirty clothes on the floor that are scary to pick up, pee on the seat,  potty humor galore and I can’t imagine life any other way. We have promised to burn a shirt after family portraits to get Tart to wear it and followed through with it, gone to midnight showings of Harry Potter movies, stayed up late in the night talking about girl issues and gotten up bleary eyed the next morning for donuts before school.  We have dumped an entire box of cheerios on the floor and tried to get the dogs help clean it up. We take pictures of motorcycles, drool over old cars and make pancake Halloween masks. That’s life with my Kiddos, my dudes, My Pop, Tart and Frosting – that’s life with our Filling.

Who are the Filling? All the Buddies of the Kiddos that call me Mom, too! Dude or Dudette – they are the Filling, and no life is ever complete without Filling. As with any type of Filling there are some flavors that you like better than others…but this Filling I have been able to adjust, sometimes just by how I react to it. And while there is certainly some Filling I really wish would come around more often….I know that Pop, Tart and Frosting are not the same without their Filling.

Raising Dudes for Kiddos is certainly different than raising girls, there are not hormones or arguments that their skirts are too short….they are simple in jeans and t-shirts. (Most of the time!) Now, I will say, Dudes have HORMONES…different hormones, but hormones nonetheless –but usually I can tell them to go run it off or work out and we are good again. Sweaty testosterone can be scary, stinky and overwhelming, but I love every scary, stinky and overwhelming minutes with my Dudes.

One thing this little challenge has made me realize, is I don’t have very many good pictures of me and the Pop, Tart and Frosting together and I am going to have to fix that SOON!!!  When I do – I’ll have to share! The picture I am posting is from 2009 and it has Pop, Tart, Frosting, Vanilla Mama (A LOT HEAVIER THAN SHE IS NOW – 80lbs heavier!), my wonderful hubby and one of my favorite Fillings!

Live, Laugh, Love~

Vanilla Mama