As you can see, the party was a huge success and lots of fun!  Gracie had portraits and The Picture People first, and that was convenient since we were already at the mall.  We got it all done in one night!  Fabulous!

Her friends started showing up around 6:30 and they played in the indoor playground area until about 7:15. Then it was off to the food court where we had friends and family (and a very unhappy Trinity) set up the table and get ready for the cake. When the kids got seated, they sucked down their Strawberry Capri Suns and we sang Happy Birthday to Gracie.  She blew out the candles, with a little help from Holland, and then we all enjoyed yummy and beautiful strawberry cake.  The kids’ favorite?  The fondant strawberries–they were a big hit!  Then we passed out favors: Bags of Hershey Kisses with Strawberry shortcake stickers on them and boxes of sidewalk chalk with a little sticker message from Gracie on them.  This party was (almost) stree-free, it was simple, and everyone had a good time.  We didn’t do gifts, the gift was that all her friends got to come and eat cake and play.  It was by far the best birthday party we have done for her.  Of course, it wouldn’t have happened without the help of Aunt Brooke, Ma and Da, Grandmommy and Grandpa, Miss Robin, Miss Laci and Miss Meagan. Robin, I’m still in shock about how delicious and gorgeous that cake was! So thanks you guys, for making Gracie’s birthday so special.  It means the world to me and to Gracie, too!     

My favorite picture of the night:

You guys, pray for me. Thursday I go in for another chemo and I’m really sick of all this.  Thursday is also Day 14, the magical day all my (newly grown, wonderful, thick) hair, eyelashes, and brows will fall out.  So…(sigh)…pray me through this, okay??? 

Awww! My mom just emailed me this one of me and Trinity last night.  Since she’s not in any of the pics above, I thought I’d edit this post to add her:

 Sometimes it just doesn’t matter how positive of a person you are, or how wonderful your life is, sometimes things are just blah.  And that’s me this evening.  I am naturally the most outgoing and fun person.  I laugh a lot, I enjoy joking around with Chris and playing with my kids.  But tonight I am tired and cranky. 

I had a massage last week to release some tension and hopefully work out some of those muscle strains and aches I got during chemo.  Unfortunately it caused all those toxins from the chemo to be re-released into my blood stream and I got very sick Friday night.  Hmm, a nice relaxing massage on Friday and then up until 3 Saturday morning regretting it.   See?  Blah! Blah, blah, blah!

The end of my cancer treatment cannot come fast enough. 

Trinity had what I thought was another brochitis battle coming on, but the doctor said it looks like she may have asthma.  So we have an Albuterol inhaler and a breathing treatment I’m supposed to give her every morning and evening.  It’s weird, it looks like a bottle with a face mask at the end, and you put the inhaler in the other end.  Most babies cry, the doctor told me, so they get a nice deep breath with each puff.  But not Trinity, she thinks it’s funny and takes shallow laughing breaths through the whole thing.  Funny little baby!   

Tomorrow’s Gracie’s “Friend” birthday party.  Of course, all the grandparents are coming too, and I’m sure they will enjoy being the grandparents and not the parents during the chaos.  I’ll put pictures up when I can. So far everyone who was invited has RSVP’d…so that’s 17 kids and 12 siblings and I don’t know how many parents.  Holy cow.  Maybe I’m crazy…at least it’s not at my house. Hahahaha!

Oh–I had a request to put this up…it’s really bad quality but it’s only like, 5 seconds long.  She’s dancing on the screen at Chuck E Cheese’s.  She’s just not shy at all, that totally comes from me.  Sigh.  I can’t wait till I’m feeling better so I can be right up there with her!

I’d better get to the laundry.  Bye!    

Sigh.  Baby Gracie…

Wednesday I took cupcakes to the school and they sang Happy Birthday to her.  Last night was our “family party”–grandparents and aunts/uncles only–at Chuck E Cheese.  Chuck even came out to give her a big hug! Her BIG birthday party will be on Monday and all her little friends are so excited.  So there will be more pictures then.  We wrote on the friends invites “no gifts” because the family always does so much.  She got sooo many neat things and is playing with them all this morning.  We got her a new leotard for gymnastics (the pink princess one that she refused to take off before going to CEC–so she’s in her gym clothes still LOL) Barbie as Genevive from the 12 Dancing Princesses, the 12 Dancing Princesses DVD, and a fairytopia Barbie.  (Can you tell what she’s into now? Haha! It’s all ballet and Barbie around here)

I can’t believe she’s four years old!  And what a great kid!  I’m so proud of her and I’m so happy that she’s mine.  

Next week we’ll be getting Chris a car! Wooohooooo!  It’s not impossible but it’s very very difficult to share the minivan with the circumstances lately.  It’s a family affair and sometimes an act of Congress to get Chris to work on time in the mornings.  And inevitably, the girls are both asleep when it’s time to go pick him up.  Ahhhh, life will be so much easier with our new (um, well, used) car!

After we dropped Chris off at work, we had to go to Target.  Why, you ask?  Because we needed a box of tattoos, naturally.  The ninja turtle tattoo that Trindon’s valentine had on it was “too scary” for Miss Gracie’s delicate little wrist, and Aunt Brooke brought over a Bratz one that had been stuck to a valentine she’d been given by one of her students.  So…Gracie was very excited until we tried to apply it and only half of it actually stuck to her skin.  Oh, the drama that ensued!  So knowing that Target still had Valentine’s Day things–and on 75% off– we went to Target.  Where Gracie reminded me that she needed a new toy.  And she was right, kind of.  Uncle Bob sent both the girls a $100 gift card and we haven’t had a chance to get something fun for Gracie.  So she spent the entire $100 on clothes (her choice-and she picked out some cute things too!) a Bella Dancerella ballet mat and instructional DVD, and a Ballet puppy in a carrier…why the heck would a puppy need ballet slippers and leg warmers?  I didn’t ask, it was her money.  (And Uncle Bob, thank you very much. Trinity’s going to get a baby swing for the back yard when the weather turns nicer.) 

BTW–you Target mommies, they have a TON of valentines-ey and heart themed clothes left with the valentine candy and cards.  We got solid pink, red, and black scooter skirts for $1.50 each and Gracie picked out a jean skirt with pink embroidered hearts on it for $2.49!   That’s my girl!

Oh they are soooo cheesy!

Tickling her sister…

Okay, then on to gymnastics, where Gracie has now completed “level one” in her division…she got a certificate and we got a decal for the car.  I looked at it and froze. At 23, I would see those white gymnastics/cheer/soccer stickers plastered on the back of some poor weary-eyed mom’s (dirty) minivan and think “oh, that is soooo not going to be me.  I’m going to be so much cooler as a mom” Hahaha! If you see some crazy woman in a red Chrysler minivan weaving in and out of the lines in the road, pacifier clamped in her teeth, wiping something gooey off her hand onto a burp cloth, one hand on the wheel and the other fishing on the floorboard for a thrown bottle, go easy on her. It’s probably me.  Congrats, Gracie…you’ve officially made me a gymnastics mom.  Actually I am very very proud of her.  She’s doing well.  She wants ballet lessons too. Sigh.  One window decal at a time…