Thomas is home! Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder and Cake Class Completion

Thomas is home!  We went to the airport on Saturday afternoon to pick him up.  We made a sign and gave him a heroes greeting (talk about garnering attention!).  The picture is of the kids with his actual airplane in the background.  Let me just say that his two-a-day workouts really paid off!  Unfortunately, I left the camera at home, and only had my cell phone to rely on.  And, I was too busy being part of the homecoming to take pictures of it.  Anyway,  it is wonderful to have my husband back.  And, the kids want him to do everything for them, especially Jack and Anna (also wonderful).  It was 4 days before Anna would even let me buckle her in her carseat.  Anna kept asking when he had to go back and is thrilled when he says he is staying home now.  Five days in, it is almost like he never left.  I missed him so much and hope we never go through a long separation again.  Hats off to the military families who do repeated and lengthy deployments!  Unfortunately for him, there were lots of projects around the house waiting;  in his week "off" (before returning to his regular job), he has painted a room, put together a massive bunkbed, and as I type this is out buying a chair rail that he will be putting up in the next day or two. 

Like most mothers, I think my kids are cute (what 2 and 3 year old isn't?).  Kara still garners a lot of attention when we are out in public.  People like to say hello to her, they ask her how old she is, make faces at her, tell me how adorable she is etc.  We rarely go anywhere without at least one person talking to her and multiple people smiling and/or waving.  (On a sidenote, Jack and Anna received the same attention when they were younger, but not as much now, I guess people are just drawn to babies/toddlers). 

Recently, Kara got a rash on her face.  We believe it was poison ivy.  And, I noticed something.  When we were out, people weren't talking to her and almost no one even smiled in her direction.  Most people actually avoided eye contact.  It was sad for me.  I realized that because she didn't appear as cute, most people didn't notice her adorable, happy personality.  I am glad the rash has faded and she is back to strangers playing peek-a-boo with her (last night at Lowe's), but I wish that as a society we didn't put so much emphasis on what someone looks like.  She didn't notice the rash, she didn't act any differently, but people around us did.  I am also confident people weren't conscious of what they were doing.  It was strange to observe. 

I had my last basic cake decorating class last night.  The pictures show from week 1 to week 4.  I am signed up to take the second class and I think that will be plenty for me.  Cake decorating is definitely not my life's calling, not that I ever thought it was.  I enjoyed the class, but it was a lot of work prepping for each week and I am not so sure the "reward" was worth the effort.  I let Jack and Anna each choose a cake from the beginners book, which I told them I will make for their birthday.  Jack chose a hamburger cake and Anna wanted the "flowering mums" cake.  So, those were my two practice cakes.  Those who attend the kid's birthday party next week will be able to see, and taste, the fruits of my labor. 

I am so glad that this long summer is over and life is returning to normal!