so after nearly 4 years...

i'm moving the blog to wordpress. i've been using it for a couple of months, and i'm much happier with the user interface, as well as the ease of uploading pictures and the less complex template stuff. i will keep this blog active, but i won't be updating anymore. so go ahead, and set this address as the new one:

http://thecakewife.wordpress.com

i've already moved the post archives over there, and i'm working on a good way to archive the pictures i post there. if you go through the archives, you have to click on the post you want, to actually see the pictures. that's been the only real difference i've noticed. i do post what i'm baking and cooking, so expect to see recipes and things like that as well.

so come on over, the water's fine!

she's a princess... mostly.

grammie sent a princess outfit for zoë earlier this week, and i thought i had lost the pictures. when posting to my cooking blog (thecakewife.wordpress.com) i found them. we're still trying to unpack the storage unit, so the backgrounds aren't exactly princess-y. :) she decided princesses like to dance, and so she has. a lot.

untitled, because i can't think of a good one

so i am most definitely in school now. i didn't realize how different taking senior level english classes were from taking studio art classes, but believe me, they are very. this is a different kind of difficult, i don't have to be creative and artistic 24/7, but i have to slow down my readings, read pages and pages of dusty literary theory, hope that i can explain myself with some sense, oh, and learn some basic old english. yeah. it's kicking my tail right now. which is why i haven't posted.

zoë is having a blast at school, and she is definitely learning social protocols for a learning environment (in other words, how to behave at school.) she keeps getting her "bee" taken down for misbehaving, most of it involving either talking when she's not supposed to, or not napping when she's supposed to. both of these were issues already, so i'm not very concerned. she's trying, since today was the first day in a week she came home and said she didn't get her bee taken down from the door.

i promised in the earlier post for a list of some of the silly things zoë has been saying. these were lifted straight from my facebook statuses:

tonight at amanda's - zoë asked the cat if he was a hot dog

part eleventy five, of miss silly beans: 'i tooted, i need some tootin' spray." speaking of febreze.

zoë is a silly girl, part eleventy four. "i see lots of flashlights in the sky!" and...' "lets get poppa old pepper body wash" 'you mean old spice?' "oh. right." '

that's all i can think of at present, but she's also learning bible verses (tonight she was quoting genesis 1:1) which is just as cool as her saying silly things. she did comment on the economy having problems, but pronounced it economorney. typical 3 year old stuff.

first day of school... oh yes.

so, in light of the fact that zoë started her pre-k classes today, i have some first day of school pictures. she's going to a small christian daycare/pre-k program. i initially was hesitant about putting her anywhere associated with "daycare" because i don't think it's completely what she needed. but the school starts the kids with abeka when they turn 3, and that was what mom used when she was homeschooling us.

i knew she would have fun, but i didn't expect her to be so independent of me so immediately. once we knew she got into the program, we started telling her about getting to go to school like a big girl. so for 3 weeks, she's talked of nothing but going to school.

this morning, about 20 minutes before she was actually supposed to get up, she woke up cranky and sweaty. she's much like spencer, and very hot natured. so when i went in to check on her, she said "it's not morning time, i'm going back to sleep." 20 minutes later, when i went to get her up for school, she stumbled out of bed, croaking "it's morning time, and i'm going to school!" we took the requisite pictures, and then i dropped her off. she ran right in, said "bye mom, i love you!" and was happily playing with the other kids in a minute. i was surprised, but not really. i knew she loved being around kids her age, but i expected a little more than a quick goodbye.

after dropping her off, i didn't know what to do with my afternoon, because school doesn't start for me for another week. after goofing off and taking a nap, i picked her up at 3. she told me that the teacher had to tell her to sit down, and not play with the princess phone when they were learning. and that she couldn't talk during story time. and with that revelation, i knew. she's truly my mini-me. all through school, i got in trouble for talking, and not staying on task. i think that we'll probably seriously look at homeschooling, once she gets to kindergarten age, only because i don't want her wonderful playful imagination too squished by having to color within the lines. not that public and private schools aren't a good option, i just don't know if they're the right one. so in that respect, her going to pre-k, and learning to stand in line, and raise her hand, and all those wonderful classroom disciplines is really a wonderful thing, but it's also been a revealing one. we'll see as the year goes on... i might just be having first day blues. :)

we're in university housing now, in the family and graduate housing. we were living in the other buildings, but something in there was making me react pretty strongly and thus, we moved. we're in a newly renovated apartment, but it's cinderblock walls, and there's a lot of things still in storage. so know that things will look more homey as time goes on, but i've been sick for 2 weeks, and we've only been here for one.

last week, in the interest of getting to know the busline i'll be taking to class, zoë and i rode the bus all over campus. she had so much fun, and could be seen waving at passersby at every stop. that kid is going to be so much fun.

i'll try to put together a post of all the sweet silly things zoë has been saying lately. they're really funny.

the promised pictures, as promised. we had a pretty busy week last week, as there was the 4th, michelle had her baby, and susanna's sweet little piper celebrated her first birthday. if you go to susanna's blog, you'll see why this is such a big deal. however, for all of the business, i took pretty poor pictures. so, the few that were worth sharing are here. we're going to visit friends for the week, so my posting will be a little spotty in light of their internet being spotty as well.

spencer ended up taking a more local job, as the over the road driving job was asking him to break D.O.T. laws. not a good idea, regardless of the paycheck. in other news, i return to school in a month, as an english major. although i love studio art, the cost of time and energy, and cost for zoë was not worth it. i can finish my degree in a shorter amount of time, and still earn an additional certificate in british and irish studies. we'll be enjoying the benefits of family housing on campus, with all the pleasures of on site playgrounds, free laundry and fast internet. oh yeah, and free cable. susanna and her family live there already, and all it took was one visit to her apartment to realize it was a great deal. we move into the new apartment in 10 days, and thankfully we don't have a lot of packing left to do.

also, i wasn't sure if i posted this earlier, but i've got a cooking blog back up. i know i've expressed some displeasure with blogger in the past, so i've got the cooking blog on wordpress. at some point, this may migrate, but like i've reiterated in the past, you'll have lots and lots of warning before this blog changes addresses. however, those of you interested in what we eat and cook, check out: thecakewife.wordpress.com. zoë and i have been doing some cooking together in the last month, and there's some cute pics of my little helper.

more photos, coming soon!

i am still editing the photos from the 4th, and in the mean time have taken more that need editing. so bear with me a little longer, and you'll get to see zoë very soon, i promise.

pool day

so we had a pool day at grandma and grandpa's house yesterday... sloppy joes, tater tots, and an 85 degree pool. i don't think summer gets better than that. zoë had a blast, and really enjoyed being in the water, a marked difference from last year.

zoë did her hair this morning...