Ladies...start your engines.

"Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are the only real sports...all others are games." Ernest Hemingway

The girls enterered the Awana Grand Prix at our church again this year.  It was actually the first year for PK2...she was too young last year.  Last year PK1 won first place for speed.  You can win for design or speed.  This year they both wanted to try to win for design.  PK1 designed her car as a polka dot dress and PK2 designed hers as a snowman.  Here are all the cars in their division.  They are #4 and #5.

PD did such a good job letting them design the car and choose everything when they made it.  But on race day we had to drive separately and PD only stayed for a few minutes to make sure the cars passed the inspections...then he had to go downtown for the day.  Something about Ohio having an 8 billion dollar budget shortfall...blah blah blah. Here they are at the top of the track.

Here they are at the finish line watching to see who wins:

There were two sets of eight heats and I am not going to lie...PK2 did not lose a single race! We had warned the girls that it was the exception that PK1 won last year and just building the car and racing it is the fun part.  Also, once you cut the car for the design contest, you lose aerodynamics and it might be slow.  But sure enough...PK2 won SECOND PLACE for design:

Then she won FIRST PLACE for Speed:

Celebration:

PK2 was a wonderful big sister and was very happy for her little sister to win.  It was very sweet:

Anyway, its all about the hot dog lunch:

It was actually a little embarrassing to win last year and this year.  PD says we might have to be like Oprah with the Emmys and take ourselves out of the competition next year..just to give other a chance.

Mom Translator

So you remember college sister right...

She likes these slippers....

Like Snooki from Jersey Shore:

She has a lot of them:

So I was talking to my mom after Christmas and I asked her what College Sister got for Christmas.  And she said, "Oh you know...some of those slippers like Pookie."  It took me a minute to realize that she meant Snooki and then I laughed and thought of this skit from SNL:


And mom...don't feel bad...it would actually be more upsetting if you did know who Snooki was.

College Sister is Getting Married!

We are so happy for her!  Around New Years she got engaged to a great guy who makes her very happy. She even got this bit of jewelry to mark the occasion :)

She has already chosen a venue:

These really cool felt bouquets instead of fresh flowers:

She is doing cupcakes instead of a cake:

These awesome original shoes! They are going to have her name on them!

And she used this Fortune Cookie in a Chinese take out box to ask me to be her Matron of Honor.  Well... Co-Matron of Honor with Chicago Sister!

She also sent the PKs a poem and gift asking them to be flower girls.

Congrats College Sister..we are so happy for you and we can't wait until August!

We had Valentine toast.... and cabbage rolls

On Valentines Day I made this heart shaped jelly toast for the PKs.  I also bought and wrapped a few books and CDs for them.  It was all stuff I probably would have bought anyway, but it was fun to wrap it up and have a little Valentines Day celebration. This is what I look like every morning at 7:30 AM.

PK2 loves Richard Scary right now.

We also went to the Political Grandparents for my family birthday celebration.

 Can I just tell you...they really know how to make a person feel special on their birthday.

They had my favorite cabbage rolls, my favorite wine, my favorite cake, gifts, cards...and Political Gram even made homemade candy mints that said "Happy Birthday". Unbelievable!  It was like it was my wedding shower or something!

It was a really GREAT great night.

We ate cake...again.

Saturday we had our third annual Valentines Day trip to Mozarts.  Or as the girls call it "The Cake Store."

Here are some of our treats:

This picture is a blurry mess and I am sporting my 5 pound winter weight gain (why are two of the pounds in my face!), but PK1 took the picture and it is the only one that proves I was there, so I included it.

PK2 and PD are restaurant buddies.  They always sit together and I always sit with PK1. We are a family of "we always." We love routines and traditions.

In fact, PK2 always gets the Mozart Torte:

The owner gave the PKs a cookie on the way out the door this time.  That was a first. PK1 is wearing my scarf.  It was a balmy 38 degrees so they left their coats in the car.

To see us eating cake in 2009 click here CAKE09   To see us eating cake in 2010 click here CAKE10

Chicago Sister was Here and I turned 36

My sister and her family came to visit for a three day weekend!  It was so fun to see all the cousins playing together.  They played non-stop. There was dress up:

And games:

There was even a jam session in the basement (yes there is video of this, will try to post it sometime):

Then we got all bundled up:

And went to a little water park:

It was my *gasp* 36th birthday! So Chicago-Brother-in-Law bought all the grown ups a GIANT feast of sushi take out! Funny thing that happened with CBIL.  He thought that since it was my birthday, it would be a real "party" atmosphere. We put the kids to bed and we were all getting out plates and wine and stuff and he came down ALL DRESSED UP!  The rest of us were in jeans and sweats, but he dressed up for my birthday.  DARLING!  LOVE HIM!

Of course, we also cuddled a lot with this little chubby chub (the baby, not PD):

What a fun weekend.  One morning the guys even took over with the kids and let the two homeschool moms relax and drink coffee and talk. I really needed it too. Whew.. with homeschooling and all this snow and absolutely no back up help with the kids when PD is at work all the time, I really needed some fun.  And some grown up time. Next up...we will have to go see them in Chicago.