Shannon turned 8 today.

I always had to wait till after dinner to get presents. Those are the rules. You must wait all the live long day suffering from self-induced torturous glee thinking about what was waiting at home, ready to be unwrapped and loved.
But because Shannon was about to explode with excitement, (and daddy works nights) we let her open her gift in the morning.


I had to make up for the impending withdrawal I knew she would feel once she got home and realized her present was done and her fun day at school was over.
So I made special cupcakes.
No, I did not put anything funny in them, I just spent more time on them.

They'll do for now, but I'm planning a 3 tiered masterpiece for the real party next week.


I couldn't be more thrilled that what she got crazy over cost no more than $1.79. She liked the locket too but she has been wanting these "gushies" forever and I never got around to getting them. (they are just rubbery tubes put over pencils to save your fingers)
So the lesson here is that if you withhold something simple that you would normally buy any time you were out, (like underwear, socks, food...) give it as a gift on the next holiday and you'll be a celebrity.
Cruel to be kind eh?