A "DOODLE-ICIOUS" Birthday!

Hey Y'all,

My name is Maui and .........

Today is my Birthday!!

Woof, Woof, WOOF!

How old am I?

Well, I am 6 years old.

And everyone says I am just as SWEET 

as I ever was.

Here is what a day is like for me.

First, I wake my Mommy up.

I don't bark or anything.

That would be rude.

I just sit and stare at her.
Sometimes I give her a little tap with my paw.
Sometimes I sit and stare.
Cause I love my Mommy.
And she says I'm such a good boy:) 

I want her to play with me but she usually just takes me

for a walk first thing in the morning.

But I take my ball with me, just in case I get lucky:)

When we get back home,
I get my treat and then I usually just hang out with my
best buddy and brudder, Freddy.
Isn't he little?
And he's WAY older than me.
So sometimes he bosses me around.
But that's okay, cause he's my brudder and I love him

My Mommy usually has stuff to do for a little bit,
and then she goes to take a shower.
I DO NOT like to have her out of my sight,
so I beg to go in with her and just lay down......or sometimes I stare at her,
cause she's my mommy and cause I always want her to know
 I would like to go play with my ball
 and maybe swim a little bit.

Sometimes it works right away,
but sometimes I have to hang out with Freddy for awhile longer.
We like to lay on the balcony and look for squirrels.
Or sometimes the cat that lives behind us.

Sometimes we get tired of waiting so we go lay on the couch.

After we play,  it's my nap time.
Sometimes I take a nap by myself and sometimes my Mommy takes one with me.
She says I'm the best nap taker she ever knew.

 My Mommy says I am so stinkin cute,
especially when I take a nap.
That's because I know how to use a pillow
just like humans do.
And she thinks it's very cute:)

 After that, it's game time with my brudder.
I like to spend time with him,
cause he's getting old and has a really bad heart.
And I don't know how long I will have him to hang out with.
If anything happens to him,
that will make me a very sad boy.

Then I crawl in my favorite leather chair and watch some tv.
Or I watch my mommy in the kitchen.
I need her to know how much I LOVE her.

Or I go back outside and look for squirrels.......and cats........and birdies.

 Then we go for another walk and then my daddy gets home.
Before I know it, it's time for bed.
Can you believe my mommy and daddy let me sleep on their bed?
I know I'm kinda big,
and they say I weigh 80 lbs.
But I don't hog the covers or anything so they don't mind.
Today I hope to get a special treat for my birthday.
I heard my mommy say she might take me for a ride in my new jeep.
I hope so.
 Now THAT would be a treat:)
My name is Maui the Goldendoodle, 
and today I am 6 years old.
XOXOXOXO
Maui

"who can turn the world on with her smile????"

"who can take a nothing day,
and suddenly make it all seem worth while?
well it's you girl, and you should know it,
with each glance and every little movement you show it. . . ."

i know what you're thinking.
you're thinking that song is from the Mary Tyler Moore Show,
and this post must be about her.

well, you're partially right.
it IS from the MTM show. . . . .
but this isn't about her.

it's about another beautiful girl,
 who lights up a room with her smile and laughter.
who makes people happy everywhere she goes.

who loves children and old people and animals,
who sings while she works. . . . .and when she rides her bike.
who skips and twirls through the house. . . .and through life.

this beautiful girl is my daughter, Taylor.
and this past week, she turned 18 years old.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!!!!!

i literally don't have it in me to write a sweet, tender,
emotional blog post.
i will be a big fat crying MESS if i do.
that's how it goes around here.
because just yesterday you were about this big. . . . . .

yes, we watch the Mary Tyler Moore Show,
and YES. . . . .i often cry during the theme song.
because that is my Taylor they are talking about.
and soon, i know, she will leave home and try to
"make it on her own" like Mary Tyler Moore.

and you know what?
she WILL make it.

and i WILL write her a long letter for her to keep always,
like the one you might think I would put on my blog.
but that will be for me and Taylor alone.
as it should be.
(you see Taylor, i don't ALWAYS blab my big mouth on my blog.)
hahaha

you'll have to take it from me when i say she is an
AMAZING young lady.
she is KIND, thoughtful, fun, smart, carefree, responsible, easy going,
talented, friendly, moral and a lovely Daughter of the King.

she is a throwback to another time.
a time when girls grew up to be ladies and expected to be treated like one.
she is a mix of Mary Tyler Moore,

Audrey Hepburn, 

and Doris Day. . . .

with a little bit of Lucille Ball and Mary Poppins thrown in for FUN:)

she believes in wearing ruffled aprons while cooking and taking care of others,
Taylor is one great little hostess.
she loves pearls, lace and charm bracelets.
everything from show tunes to country music.

don't get me wrong. . . .
she does very well in this world, she just prefers vintage.
she can throw on a bathing suit, hop in her mini cooper and head to the beach
to catch a wave with the best of them.

but if she had her way, she'd be at a cozy tearoom instead:)

soon she'll be headed into the world to try and make her mark
as a professional ballerina.

i pray this works for her, because she has dedicated
 her young life to it completely.
happily.
but if it doesn't, if God has other plans for her,
she will be just fine.
she has a good head on her shoulders and is intrigued by many careers.
(if anybody needed 9 lives, it's Taylor.)

my one request, Taylor, is this. . . . .
as you go into this big, bad world,
please remember that with the freedom you now have to make your own decisions,
comes the RESPONSIBILITY to make the right ones.
remember you are never truly alone.
yes, you have me, to be at your side in an instant,
but even better than me, you have God by your side.
He will help you with those decisions, i promise:)
now, more than ever, you have to make good choices,
especially in the friends you choose to be close to.

did you think that lecture was over?
haha. . . .never!

you are a blessing to me every single day.
now i have to think about sharing you with the world.
that smile.  that laugh.  that sunshine.

i suppose i can't be selfish, can i?
Darn!!!:)

i hope you had a WONDERFUL birthday. . . . .

and i know you will have a wonderful year.
don't let ANYBODY try to change you.
ever.

you're perfect just the way you are.
(even if you drive me a little crazy sometimes:) haha. . . .just kidding

from the very first moment, you were my "little girlfriend."
now that you're 18, you're still my "girlfriend."
and i look forward to many special girlfriend moments together.

I LOVE YOU TAYLORINA!!!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
mama

Birthdays and more.....

you know how you do special things for your kids as they grow up,

creating traditions,making memories

never expecting it to come back to you......

but incredibly happy when it does?

that's how it's been with me lately.

you see, birthdays are a BIG deal around here.

HUGE!

always a theme, decorating, favorite foods, fun stuff to do.....

and last week,  my AMAZING girls gave me an

INCREDIBLE birthday!

it all started with the decorations for

an ocean themed party.

(cause we love going to the beach:)

 they gathered shells and other beachy stuff around the house,

bought some cool stuff at the party store,

including these awesome blue glasses.

i wish i had better photos to share because it was 

soooooo BEAUTIFUL!

we always put pics of the birthday girl or boy around as part

of the decorations......

and they did that for me:)

rather than wrapping a black gift box,

Jordan wrote a quote about beach life on the box with a paint pen.

yep, yep, yep.....i have some creative girls

and Taylor gets such JOY out of decorating everything possible.

we went to the beach to look for shells, watched a few movies,

munched on caramel corn, had chili pasta for dinner (YUM)

and even took a whack at Herman, the Turtle Pinata:)

(Taylor busted him open:)

FUN times!!!!!

for the cake, i knew i was in for a treat.

they worked on it alot, so i knew it would be delicious!

and that it would include my FAVORITE Orange Cake.

well.......take a look at my cake.

 no wonder they worked so hard!!!!!

they used my orange cake and then vanilla to use for the 

red, blue and purple layers.

my Rainbow cake.

pretty AMAZING, don't ya think?

and since my iphone is old (an original)

and has about had it,

my husband gave me a gift card to get the new iphone 5 when it comes out.

and oh my gosh,

my girls gave me the most amazing gifts!

(i am so blessed!!!)

it was kinda a Junk Gypsy birthday.

(love everything they sell/show:)

love my new JG bag and crochet shrug.

(sorry the photo is not so clear:)

trust me, it's really pretty.

my girls can SHOP!

now, since i feel kinda silly that this whole blog post has been all about me,

here are a few things for YOU!

what a super cool, easy idea.

tie cinnamoon sticks around a candle.

the scent as the candle warms the cinnamon sticks is SOOOOO wonderful!

and i thought this was cute.....

kinda like a reminder that there are simple, amazing things in the world,

even on our darkest days.

XOXOXOXO

Suzanne