happy birthday, Leah Ann

last week we got together and celebrated dear Leah Ann's birthday. we had such a freakin BLAST! She's such a great sport that she sang karaoke (thanks to Jennifer, who brought her machine over) and wore a party hat (Mia saw the pic and was very delighted)! everyone ate drank and was merry. divided into teams, we battled it out with Catch Phrase and the losers (Courtney, Melissa, Andrea and Anja) were forced to karaoke! Anja was soooo into it...she was the cutest thing. then there were Courtney and Melissa with their rockin air guitars! the whole night, Leah Ann either had a huge smile on her face or was laughing hysterically. good times. happy birthday, my friend!

and the rest of the birthday

let's just wrap it all up and finish with the tales from my birthday. after my lovely birthday brunch with friends, flowers, chocolate and dinner from Daryl, I thought my beautiful birthday was finished. but nooooooo.....

apparently Daryl and Andrea had been in cahoots for weeks...along with everyone that came to my Super Duper Surprise Birthday Bash! while i was innocently drumming with friends, there was a party going down at our house. the problem with it being a surprise was that i didn't know about it. so, if i didn't know about it, how could i be expected to be there on time? i was an hour late! i was so floored when i walked in and saw our entire home filled with family and friends, that i just shut the door until i was composed enough to try again...that happened three times. finally into my party and was just bamboozled by who was there. many who i'd seen that very day! i did underestimate their sneakiness!!! and it was AWESOME!!!!

Bonnie took some super fab shots, and here are some of my faves:

i took these last two shots.

my cake... Mia (2 1/2 yrs old) and Andrea (34 yrs old) couldn't wait till i blew out my candles :)

Mia does love her cake
thank you! it was a birthday to remember!

happy birthday O'Mamas

a year ago, a feisty mama (Andrea H), wasn't satisfied with any mother's groups she'd encountered so far, created her own haven for mothers who don't quite mother like most. The Other Mothers Meetup group was born. i'm so proud to be included in such a warm, crazy ass, loving, silly, supportive, informative, fabulous group of women who call themselves the O'Mamas. they've picked me up when i've been down, shared in my joys and everything in between. i could go on and on and on and on....

monday was the First Annual O'Mamaversary. our magic decor theme was based on Magic Powder...for the inside scoop check out Mel's blog. super designer, and O'Mama, Sharon designed an O'Mama version of the packaging.

ok. this is NOT about MP. back to the celebration. we laughed, we cried (ok, maybe just me), and we DRANK! there were a couple of games...Steph's necklace game (i sucked) & guess who 's who from our baby pics game (i put that game together, therefor ineligible to win...i knew all the answers). there were awards...i actually won a few...

• Most Likely To 'Shout' At Ten Mamas In a Day (giving a shout out is a good thing...i like to show the love)


• Most Likely To Give You A Big Hug At Every Playdate (more showing of the love)


• Most Likely To Post Pictures Of A Playdate (an award i most happily share with Andrea T)


• Most Likely To Let Their Kid Run Free At Playdates (happily share this with Mel, who lets her little G freeball quite often. i dig this award the most...it shows what i strive for as a mama. letting Mia learn about the world through exploration...plus, i'm always taking shots of other kids...see award 3)

our new O'Mama logo was unveiled...designed by super designer Sharon. everyone LOVED it. (this is the part where i cried..oh, i almost cried here)

Photographer extraordinaire, Bonnie, posted 55 shots from the night...here are a few of my faves.

Happy Birthday JW!

One my good pals, JW, had herself a birthday on Friday! JW, Sara and I helped her celebrate at Chuy's last week. All the kiddos helped, too. Especially JW's L & T, who helped her eat up all her bday ice cream.
Happy Birthday, Babe!

*the lighting was weird...so I didn't get any good shots of the birthday girl...but here are some of the celebration

L huggin her mama
T lookin cute
Mia buried her spoon in the beans
cool ceiling at Chuy's
O was ready for a pic

Some of my fav shots of JW: