Brain Damage

           Mother's Day...we did all that we could to make Kim feel special...she liked to keep things simple, but we would try, anyway, as she always did for us...I feel that yesterday was a nice tribute to all that Kim stood for and we remembered her in so many ways...

          Today, we prepared for Autumn's birthday - we had fun picking out presents for her...but, now the pressure was on - to live up to all of the special things that Kimmy would do for each birthday...the decorations...Cody took care of that for me - he did pink streamers, balloons and a special, girls version, happy birthday banner...Autumn requested pasta, wedding soup and a red velvet cake for her birthday.  Marinara sauce?  No problem, I can make that in my sleep...and I must have, because it was already made and in the fridge!  Wedding soup?  I can do that too, but to find the time...Red velvet cake?  Never made one.  In fact, I've never made a cake from scratch...and if I've ever made on from a box mix, I don't remember...Why would I even try to do all of this?  Cooking, baking, cleaning, wrapping, decorating...Ahhhh.  Brain damage!  Of course, the real answer is Autumn - and it is how Kim would have wanted it done.
          After slinging books all day, and resisting Jaimelyn's urging me to have a second Americano (doesn't she know the caffiene will kill me?? Wait a minute...) I gathered up the scattered bambini (who did a great job this morning, getting themselves ready, as I left for work at 6:20 and our friend, Monique, took them to school!) - Cody, done with track, was at school - and Autumn and Tonio were at Lupe and Manny's, playing with Monsi.  Took Autumn to swim lessons - she is really getting some great technique!  Tonio's lungs still sound lousy, so he stayed home with Cody.  Then, we met Janene for her son, Brendon's, baseball game (they won 11-5 and Brendon was the closer, getting the save!) - I told her that I needed to go home and try to make a cake.  She pulled up recipes on her phone and gave me cake baking lessons while we watched the game...I felt confident...maybe...
             My neighbor, Betsey, offered to bail me out and bake a cake - but, I told her, this was for my little princess - I had to try.  If I failed, she could bake one tomorrow...as I was ready to pour the batter into the cake pans, I was on the phone with my other neighbor (yes, we have two), Tom and asked him 'hey, do I have to grease these pans or anything?'.  Tom did not know, so he put Amy on, who advised me to Crisco them and lightly flour them.  Nice save Amy!!  They seemed to have come out fine...I'll ice them tomorrow.
             Once that was done, I whipped out the wedding soup and began wrapping Autumn's presents...Almost done...although I could never match Kimmy's presentation, I caught Autumn watching me work several times, with bright, shining, eyes, full of appreciation - I was built for this - and that was enough energy to get me through...
              Autumn had my phone and was taking random shots...here's a few:

           Here's one I missed from Viro's yesterday that was on my phone somehow, instead of my camera...Mariah, Lexy, Autumn, Hadley, Breanna and Tonio (his little harem...).
            You know how they say couples begin to look alike after so many years of being together?  That's how Kim and I were - here's an example:

           Seriously, I didn't even know my phone could do this - that Autumn is techno-savvy!!!

             My camera on my phone does not do the sunset justice - the peaches and pinks were beautiful...

                 And my zoom on my phone is nothing special, but this is Brendon getting ready to unleash some pain on the opposing team!

                I think we are all ready for Autumn's special day - and, thanks to Kimmy, I know what that looks like.  11 years old.  She has such an amazing personality, like her Mama. Where has the time gone??

                    Love,
                        Dave