Life as a Yowler

Brandon mentioned to me yesterday “you should probably blog or you’re going to lose all the fans.” 🤣 He is hilarious. Fans?    I should also mention he hates when I blog and asks the entire time(like the 5th child) “Are you done yet?” I have figured out he loves reading these things. He wants me to continue. He just wants me to write when he’s not around, so I am not neglectful or distracted in his presence. This makes things difficult since I homeschool during the younger two kids nap time. Currently Joah is at work with Brandon(he took school along and he’s doing it there). Brielle is water painting and playing with sticker books. The younger two are napping. I drank some caffeine, so I have the energy to not die without a nap. Here’s my opportunity.

We went bowling last week with some friends.

Then we started some birthday party preparations. The first batch of cupcakes ran over. I’m glad we made them early enough to re-do them.

Brielle’s birthday party went incredibly smooth. So many of the moms stayed and helped. We had a baking and craft party.

We got the idea a long time ago. We were at the Mall of America. Side note Caed keeps asking each day if we can go back to the Mall of America after breakfast. Anyways, we were at the mall in the Build a Bear bakery. The kids were each given an apron and chef hat to decorate. They decorated cupcakes and cookies. We bought these blooming flower pots from the bakery and saved them for Brielle’s birthday. She loves baking. Five is also a big number. So we had a big party. As much as I tried to procrastinate and back out, Brandon forced me to follow through. They only turn five once right? I am thankful I followed through. She, along with all her friends, had tons of fun.

Grandma Yowler makes all my kids birthday cakes. She always does amazing. It sure beats the store bought cakes, which is what I would provide. Brielle really wanted a Shrek cake this year. She has seen the movie two times in her life. It must have really made an impression on her. We talked her into Shrek figurines on top of a flower cake.

We first decorated the chef hats, then the flower pot cupcakes. Then each girl got two cookies to decorate. After that, I had 10 crafts planned. I ended up cutting two of them out, because of time. Joah was the only boy at the party. Caed chose to stay with Brandon until the very end. Brandon came with the younger two for food. This was a hard decision to not include boys, but we decided we would just make it special for little girls. Plus let’s be real, boys would rather run around or wrestle, then sit and craft. Brielle asked several  times if we could just make two exceptions. She wanted to invite her boyfriend, Boaz, and her good friend, Carson. We have to keep our eye on that one. She already has a couple crushes.

 After crafts, we ate dinner and had cake.

After we ate, we did the piñata. Caed loves these things. He keeps asking if it’s June 5th yet, because he really wants a piñata party.

The cutest and most hilarious thing happened during the piñata. Brandon grabbed spindles(for our playhouse porch that he still hasn’t completed due to weather) to use to hit the piñata. Layla hit the piñata and the spindle cracked in half. She looked like she was about to cry, so I made sure to grab her and tell her no one was mad it was just really cute and funny. A bunch more kids took their turns. Then it was Luella’s turn. She did the exact same thing. The spindle cracked in half. A bunch more kids went and Selah went last. She did the exact same thing. Once again, it cracked in half. All three Shupe girls broke a spindle. Everyone died laughing. I told them it must be all that milk they have been drinking. Sealah said “that can’t be true. I actually hate milk.”

It was a very fun day. So many moms stayed and helped clean up. They were just amazing. My mom and Brandon’s mom were so helpful. The party was done at 5pm. We were leaving the shop by 6:15. I came home and bathed my kids and put them to bed. I had all the extra craft supplies and food and everything put away by 8:30. Brandon said “see, all that worrying for nothing.” He is right. I always stress about these things, then I’m so thankful for the memories after. I made sure to have Brielle acknowledge and understand how blessed she is. She is very loved and she has a strong community of friends and family who love her. She went to bed clutching this picture, which we printed off for each girl who came. They each decorated a picture frame and put the picture inside.

The very next day was Sunday, and Brandon preached that Sunday. Soon after he preached, he had to fly to Massachusetts for a business meeting. His trip ended up getting cut a day short because of a huge ice storm coming.

He came back with salt water taffy from Boston. Don’t mind Caed. He just thinks he’s Willy Wonka every time he wears these glasses and cheeses it up.

Do any other parents go wake up your sleeping kids after they are sound asleep at night? Or is that just us? We miss them more than ever when they are sweetly sleeping. I don’t know what’s so hilarious about seeing them so sleepy. Last night was Caed’s night. He was not amused. We told him we really missed him and wanted some snuggles. He said “oh my word. Wait until I get bigger.” The best is discussing it with the kids the next day. Caed said “I was trying to sleep on my dad, but dad was way too loud and way too rowdy and I didn’t like that.”