Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Now I am married to an old fart

Today is Ian's 28 birthday. Can I just tell you how hard it is to be married to an artist? Creative things just seem to ooze out of him where as for me they are a struggle and something I stress over for as long as I know about them. And of course, what does Ian want for his birthday? A cake that requires me to be creative.

For Mother's Day, Ian bought me a quilt for Niev's big-girl bed. It has an alien theme which you might be thinking, "Okay, that is really bizarre and next you will be dressing up Niev as a gothic maiden", but seriously it is really cute. Ian and I both thought this could make a really fun kid's room.Back to Ian's birthday...he wanted one of the aliens on his cake. Now you have to understand for most moms who quilt, cook, sew and can get any stain out of clothes, this would be...a piece of cake. I am not one of those moms. When I was teaching, Ian had to come to my classroom and do my bulletin boards so that they looked good (and of course I left them the same all year long!). I am not one for presentation. Who cares what dinner looks like as long as it tastes good! (Please forgive me, Melinda, I know this goes against everything you stand for!) I stressed about what to do with his cake from the moment I was told about it until I got it done this morning. I had never done a REAL birthday cake. Remember Niev's???
And I was pretty excited about her cake and how well it turned out (for me and my skills!). Anyway, I knew Melissa (my sister) would understand my conundrum and would empathize with me and the demands of my husband. Her words--"Does he understand what a tall order this is?" Exactly the right thing to say! As soon as Niev was down for her morning nap, I set to work. Voila!
I do have to say, I am pretty proud of myself!!! I was almost in tears when I saw the finished product because I knew Ian would be so proud of me.

For the record, he did tell me last night that I didn't HAVE to make a "special" cake for his birthday. But how could I disappoint a man on his birthday! And I knew it would make him super proud and very happy.

Enough about me. Ian is a fantastic father. He plays with Niev so well and has so much more energy (and patience) with her than I do. I feel so blessed to have him as my husband, best buddy and greatest love. He truly has made me so happy being married to him these two and half years. He is a hard worker, a great provider and a fabulous confidant. My greatest times are spent talking to him and making each other laugh until tears are running down our faces. I look forward to many more birthdays together. I hope you always know how much I love you and adore you, Ian!

12 comments:

THE CHASE FAMILY said...

Happy Birthday Ian! You make me feel old now. I can only enjoy 28 for a week longer. The cake looks great Lora. Very creative.

I love hearing little kids count. It's almost more amazing to me than the alphabet for some reason. She's adorable.

The Despain Gang said...

WOW! Lora you out did yourself. That cake was impressive. It really does look exactly like one of the aliens on the quilt. Well done! Ian, Happy Birthday!:) Hope it's a great day!

Lisa Christine said...

Wow....Lora, you have got Martha skills! Adorable alien!

Happy Birthday Ian! Have fun with your sweet family and enjoy that cake!

Stacey said...

I love the cake! very creative and happy birthday ian! thanks so much for offering to help out- we'll have to work out a swap :)

Lisa said...

And so was he so proud of you?

Great job!

Love Sweet Love said...

Happy Birthday Ian! That was an AWESOME cake, how very creative of you! That picture of Ian and Niev at the top is so adorable! I can't believe how long her hair is getting, she is just gorgeous!

I'm pretty sure Niev is the smartest baby I know. Counting to 5 already, what?! Tyler won't even count to 1 he just holds up 1 finger. What kind of brain food are you feeding her?! I loved that video!

Jared & Larisa said...

Amen, sister. I am the worst at sewing, quilting and baking cute cakes. But I'm great at giving lots of kisses and playing kickball :) Anwyay, your cake turned out beautifully. I'm so proud of you! -larisa

Mel said...

happy happy birthday! Lora the cake was so alien! AND creative I am so impressed! Did you get my message?

Mel said...

happy happy birthday! Lora the cake was so alien! AND creative I am so impressed! Did you get my message?

Aileena said...

congrats on the cake! Its cute. And Neve is getting so pretty. I like her counting. Very cute. Good luck with pregnancy. How is it the second time around?

The Despain Gang said...

I ditto your comment on my blog! :)
I made a new post; you're turn!
-Melissa

Crystal said...

happy birthday old fart! (it doesn't matter that i'm older than you, just that you are older than lora!) Mike turned 34 this year, but i'm only 29! so he's the real old fart! i love the cake.