This past week was a bit of a whirlwind, thanks to a business trip to Atlanta that took me away from home on Joe’s birthday (last Monday) and back on Thursday. I’m not a big fan of missing my son’s actual birthday because of work; however, it has only happened once before in 11 years, so we really all got over it and went on with life. I could tell, however, Joe was very glad to see his mama when I got home Thursday evening. 🙂
If you’re interested, you can read a little about the huge poultry show I attended here in my blog post for Agriculture.com.
We rolled right into a busy weekend, which included a piano contest for Joe and a family birthday party at our house today, prior to the Super Bowl. Here are a few photos to share:
Somebody else was pretty happy to see me at home, as well. Earl used to follow our alpha male (i.e. Teacher Man) around when he was younger, but now he just wants to be as close as possible to me at all times.
I was channeling my inner Parisian Saturday morning, making my own very easy version of Pain au Chocolate with my, umm, coffee. (In other words … store-bought croissant, sliced open, sprinkled with some chocolate chips, and microwaved for a few seconds. Perhaps not the same as meandering into a bakery in Paris, but it’s all I’ve got right now!)
And of course, the coffee mug. Perfect.
On Saturday, Joe competed in his first ever piano contest through the Minnesota Music Teachers Association. He has been working on a specific song for the contest for several months and finally performed it – memorized – for a judge. We will await her feedback and whether or not he will advance to the next contest round. However, that doesn’t matter to me – I wanted him to be happy with how he played and realize he can work through the nerves and the anxiety and do well. And he did! He played very well, and regardless of whether or not he advances, I’m so proud of his efforts and hard work.
We hosted a birthday party at our house for Joe, my sister Jodi, my nephew Davis and my Dad – a lot of birthdays going on at the end of January / early February! Along with the prerequisite sinful snacks and chips, we played it very simple by ordering pizza from Norm’s Wayside in Buffalo. If you are in the area and haven’t tried Norm’s Detroit-style pizza, you are completely missing out on life. Seriously.
And here they are, the birthday boys and girl – in front of a fabulous cake my Mom made for the occasion!
And since Joe isn’t a “big cake guy” (his words), I made the most amazing M & M cookies to go along with the cake. (Recipe here from Picky Palate.)
Here’s my gratuitous photo of my niece, Miss Morgan, who is nearly 14 months old now. She was thoroughly enjoying a white cheddar Cheeto Puff before she was off and running again! (That’s her dog, Avery, photo bombing in the background, too.)
And a look at Joe and I tonight, assuming our usual positions on the couch with quilts and devices. While I’m typing this, we’re both a little mesmerized by Katy Perry’s halftime show during the Super Bowl. 🙂
That’s it for now – have a great start to the week!
Lara