Why Lucie's the Best Around (in the Karate Kid way)

I kept trying to put my finger on Why Lucie was so amazing . . . I mean there are a million reasons but there had to be ONE big one, right?

And I think this cake explains it:
Lucie's friend was having a birthday so she made a beautiful cake - mixing William Sonoma's Almond Cake mix and a Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake mix. She planned on doing 3 layers with homemade frosting (more on that later). She made the cake & set it on a cake stand & then out of nowhere without being provoked the cake fell apart.

Instead of being mad or frustrated - she thought, 'That cake looks like Cookie Monster & put paper eyes on it



Then went on with the best birthday ever.



Lucie gets A Lot done & yet is so calm about things that if they don't turn out perfect she'll turn it around to make it even better.

Advice about 3-year olds

I once babysat a 3-year-old child (you don't know him) & was floored at how horrible it was. Oh come on! Don't judge me - it's a tough age & I'm not around kids that often.

The first thing I did was go to Lucie & ask her advice.

She told me that 3 yr. olds were like 17 yr. olds (AKA difficult teenage years) & you kind of lose them for a while -- they're frustrated because they can't communicate. She assured me after about a year they come back to you.
She said that it's not the 'terrible 2's' it's the 'terrible 3's'.

Alas, she didn't have 1 easy solution for me but her words of wisdom helped me when I was with a Different 3 yr old & reminded myself that this child was frustrated & I should be EXTRA patient.

Or you could just cook the delicious child in the oven(this one's too young though)

Valentine's Day with Lucie

Lucie + her family have the best traditions [more on that as the year progresses]. They're original & creative but not so structured that they lose the 'fun' part for parents + kids.

Here are her 6 kiddies. I can't seem to get all 6 together - but I'm working on it.

She told me for Valentine's in the past she likes to write each child a special Valentine telling them the things she loved about them that year.





This year she said she ran out of time so instead
she gave the family a Valentine's Basket filled
with games they can all play together.
Like THIS GAME (I played it with them & LOVED it)






But why did she run out of time?
Maybe b/c she made all the primary kids at church these:





They are paper heart baskets that she weaved together. She taught me how & I can email you directions if you like - they're so easy I could do them. She printed out the 'Friend Chip' message & taped it on each one.
Then she put a mini-chips bag in 'em.












Oh & she made 100 homemade sugar cookies. . .

I stopped by her house en route to a Valentine's Day Party & told her I was supposed to bring cookies & I showed her my lazy version . . . cookies in a bag from Trader Joe's. She didn't say a word but whipped out a tray, sprinkled red hot hearts on it & then began frosting fresh cookies for me to take, wrapped it up & told me to keep the platter.



Everyone needs a friends like Lucie.