Some call me Cake Lady

So What! Wednesday

2011-07-06T12:56:00.003-05:00

It's So What! Wednesday from Life After I Dew.

So What! if....

~~ It's X amount of days till my big trip and I haven't done a single thing to prepare for it....not a thing!

~~ I have an insane amount of laundry to fold and put away.

~~ I'm slightly jealous that some of my friends have their husbands home on RnR already...even though I'm so glad we are waiting till later in the deployment.

~~ If I used the Casey Anthony trial to show my son what a bad mother truly is and told him to stop treating me like I am one. Hey it shut him up really quick.

~~ I get annoyed when people tell me "Oh you're such a strong person" blah blah blah...not strong just have to do what I have to do to get through another day.

~~ I'm ready to cut family out of my life and before anyone gets upset, I don't mean all my family, just some. My Army family is better anyway.

~~ I sometimes wish we didn't have a dog. It would make my life a bit easier but hey I love her so guess I'm stuck.

~~ I don't really care anymore.

Ok I realize my So What! seems like a lot of complaining but sometimes it's nice to just put some things out there.

Now what are you saying So What! to?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T16:11:00.002-05:00

I'm still on a high from my retreat so instead of So What Wednesday I decided to do Wordless Wednesday.

So What Wednesday

2011-06-22T11:54:00.004-05:00

This week I'm saying SO What! if...

I put on sweats in the middle of the day just because I can.

I've completely slacked on house work this week. I spent the week focusing on having lots of fun with my kids instead.

I bought a ton of sweet baked goods at the farmers market even though I'm trying to lose weight. I did buy spinach, does that make you happy?

I enjoy looking at the eye candy at the gym. I'm sexually deprived for your freedom, I can look. Get over it.

I have given my kids more hotdogs since the Mister left than I think I have their entire life. They don't complain, why should anyone else?

What are you saying "SO WHAT!" to?

Deployment Check-in

2011-06-12T17:30:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of the year instead of New Year Resolutions I posted Deployment Goals. We are now almost 3 months into the deployment and I thought it was time to check in to see how I'm doing on these goals.

Let's take a look....

** Focus on and survive my first year of school. ~~~~ I did great on my first 2 8 week blocks and I'm now enjoying summer break. Love it so far.

** Finally get around to decorating my house after 6 months of living here. ~~~~ I'm actually making progress with this one! I've redone my bathroom, finally added pictures to the walls in 2 rooms, and my mantle finally looks finished! I still have more to do but I'm doing it.

** Paint kitchen cabinets and walls finally! ~~~~ Yeah I haven't done this one yet. Sorry. If anyone in the area wants to come help that would be fantastic!

** Become a real runner again. ~~~~ I finally started running....2 days ago...hey at least I started. This week I'm registering for the Lake Placid Turkey Trot (5K)so I will be forced to train. Go me!

** Grow closer to God. ~~~~ I realize this one is a personal one but yes I'm learning to draw closer to God during all of this.

** Strengthen my friendship and marriage with my husband. ~~~~ Hmm well this one I'm not sure about yet. We rarely get to talk because the phones are always down. But when we do talk it's like we haven't skipped a beat so that's a good thing.

** Take several road trips. ~~~~ I have my road trip all planned...it's scheduled for next month. I'm not revealing the dates yet. Sorry. But we are hitting up DC, SC, FL, and KY. maybe a few other places in there too.

** Make everyday the best I can for my children. ~~~~ I'm definitely trying.

** Take on new projects and adventures. ~~~~ I've done a little bit of both but I can't wait to do more in the remaining months of this deployment.

Ok so there's my updates. Anyone else have updates they'd like to share????

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In!

2011-05-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

Hosted by Wife of a Sailor

I decided to join in on the fun! Click on the link above if you want to join in as well!

1.What is one of the things you always do special when your husband returns from a deployment?

Well we've only completed one so far but we took a vacation sans kids. It was the honeymoon we never had! After this deployment we want to take another vacation just the two of us. It's great to be able to enjoy the "honeymoon" phase again.

2.What do you do to help your spouse and/or yourself re-adjust after a deployment or long separation?

I try to include him in everything. Many women go into the "I can do it by myself" mode after their husband comes home because let's face it, we do it all by ourselves when they are gone. However I go back to letting him do all the normal things he would do. Let him rearrange a room, or reorganize a closet or something that is only his. I want him to feel that even after a year away, this is still his home and that he still belongs here. Also let him make new rules with the kids. For him that's the hardest part because he remembers the rules from a year ago. Seeing his face when his son says "No Daddy, that's not how we do it anymore" is just heartbreaking. Make sure and leave room for them to come back into your life.

3.Are you a crazy coupon clipper (I’m becoming one, so share your secrets with me)?

Heck no. Although I do have my moments where it intrigues me. I just don't have the patience or time for it.

4.What’s your most treasured memory of you and your spouse (not counting your wedding – that’s a given)?

I would have to say our 2 week trip to England after his first deployment. Since we got pregnant so quickly into our relationship {don't judge :P}, we've not had the chance to travel together alone or just be adventurous. We missed out on a lot of the fun stuff together. Those 2 weeks were amazing and we got to see each other in a new way and fall in love all over again. It was a magical trip and I'd take it again in a heartbeat.

5.If you could live anywhere overseas, what would you pick and why?

Oh gosh! I'd gladly live anywhere overseas! Send me to Germany please!

Special

2011-02-07T15:07:00.003-06:00

My maternal grandmother was always so special to me. I like to think we had a special relationship. We have a large family with lots of grand kids but she always made sure to take time for each and every one of us. She was loved for her cooking as well. Especially her banana pudding (which she showed me how to make one day! I will take her secrets to the grave with me. :)) and her chicken and dumplings. When I had my son (8 years ago...eeekk!!) she brought me a huge pot of her famous Chicken and Dumplings. They were amazing. For some reason though I never returned her pot to her. I always felt bad for never giving it back but in my defense we moved to 700 miles away just 18 months later. She died 4 years ago. Now I'm glad I never gave it back to her. I know it's just a silly pot but to me it's so much more than that. Tonight I'm making homemade chicken noodle soup and of course will be using that pot. I always use it whenever I make any type of chicken dish. When I do, I like to think my grandmother is there, making the food extra special.

Do you have something "special" from a lost loved one that makes you smile inside?

Snow days

2011-02-02T18:47:00.006-06:00

Snow days rock!! The kids and the mister were off today due to the snow "storm". I say storm loosely because we've certainly seen worse here in the North Country. Here are a few pictures. A lot of the snow we've actually had for about a month now.

Before mister started shoveling. I am looking out my front door when I took this picture. (the white house is not mine)

The mister exhausted after shoveling all sidewalks and driveway.

Then there's me.....I just wanted one in the snow. :)

So how did everyone else make out in this winter storm??

Oh and did you hear........the groundhog didn't see his shadow! Here's hoping he's right and we have the early Spring! That would be lovely.

Tick Tock

2011-02-01T10:38:00.004-06:00

After talking about it several times last year, I officially started school yesterday. I'm doing online classes so we all know that means "first day of school" is a little different than physical college classes. Still, I was nervous and anxious and wanted to make sure I did my assignments perfectly. haha....yeah not so much.

I've been out of school for almost 11 years. And even when I was in school, I did the bare minimum to get by. I forgot how to take notes and how to stay focused. Then add in the fact you have no teacher telling you when to read, when to take notes, what is important and what isn't. I thought I would like online classes. 1 day into and I'm already thinking "What the heck did I get myself into?". Don't get me wrong so far it's easy reading. But still I lack self discipline. And time management. Take into count that I have 3 kids, one of which is a 18 month old very time consuming, temper tantrum throwing, always hungry for food and attention, loving little girl. Let's not forget that yesterday was my husband's birthday and between making his cake, him getting home 2 hours later than planned, going out to a late dinner with all 3 kids, presents, XGames, etc. Yeah I didn't get finished with my assignments for the day. Bright side ~ There's always today! Well...if I work on my time management. :)

For those of you who have kids, and other responsibilities that make your schedule completely full, how do you fit in school work, or even bible studies, or heck reading for pleasure even?

With my Mister Man deploying soon I realize if I already have a full plate, how am I going to manage it all and then some once he's gone. I'm already praying over my responsibilities and priorities. There will be some things that I will just have to give up. After all there is a season for everything. And right now this is my season for school. Only time will tell what else is supposed to be there.

One last note ~ I hope all my East Coast girls are staying warm during this winter storm. I know we will be getting 8-18 inches of snow tomorrow. Add that on top of the wonderful foot or more we have had for...oh... a month now. I love it though. It's a great excuse to sit and bury your face in cake!

Paint

2011-01-25T19:09:00.003-06:00

It's amazing what a little paint can do.

Here's what our dining room looked like when we first moved in. Oh and don't worry those vertical blinds are gone.

We removed the wallpaper (yes that yellow is wallpaper) and painted the top half of the wall. At first we didn't think the tan wainscoting was that bad. Ok maybe it was but we were kind of lazy about painting it. So this is what we looked at for the past couple of months. (Don't mind the mess)

Well I got bored the other night and finally painted the wainscoting white. So glad I did! It makes the room so bright. I need to take a better picture. Maybe one day my kids will keep their stuff off my table long enough for me to take a decent picture.

Do you notice the set of ugly oak cabinets that are in the mirror? Those particular cabinets are over our sink/breakfast bar. They are coming down. And soon the rest of the cabinets will be painted white. Although this is a project I will have to tackle after my husband deploys. I'm so ready to get it done.

Speaking of paint doing amazing things, back in November while my husband was away for some training, I got bored and painted some cubbies. These cubbies are in the wall that goes downstairs to the basement. Does that make sense? Here's how the previous owners left the cubbies.

After a little paint.

I have a feeling paint and I will be best friends.

Deployment Goals

2011-01-13T20:09:00.005-06:00

This time last year I posted goals or resolutions for 2010. Yes I will admit I don't think I ever went back to that post.

This year is different. This year will be spent without my husband. So instead of doing New Year Resolutions, which I know I won't keep up with, I am doing Deployment Goals. I did this last time he deployed. Only difference is I didn't write the goals down. I got the idea to blog them from Julie. You may ask, "What's the difference?" Well any military wife can tell you that one of the ways to survive a deployment is to have goals, projects, a million things to keep you busy and help time fly, things to look forward to, to laugh about, smile about, cry about, etc. Deployments are a time for growth as individuals and as a couple. So we take deployment goals seriously.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Focus on and survive my first year of school. {I start on the 31st..so scared!}

** Finally get around to decorating my house after 6 months of living here.

** Paint kitchen cabinets and walls finally!

** Become a real runner again.

** Grow closer to God.

** Strengthen my friendship and marriage with my husband.

** Take several road trips.

** Make everyday the best I can for my children.

** Take on new projects and adventures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There they are. I could come up with more of a list but I figured let's start this off simple. Day by day.

I will miss my husband, sure, but this year is my year. I'm ready to own it.... live it.... and get through it with as much laughter, joy, and happy tears (little sad ones please) as I can muster.

Bring it on!

Looks like Christmas

2010-12-07T11:46:00.006-06:00

The Big Tree

Our family tree in the basement family room.

Winter Wonderland.....we've received a lot more snow since I took this picture. :)

Happy Halloween

2010-11-06T19:40:00.002-05:00

Wish you were here

2010-08-31T22:23:00.007-05:00

I've officially seen the negative side of being a homeowner. When we bought this house we didn't know about a not so little plumbing problem. Well this week it's finally getting fixed. Pipes in my foundation will be torn out and replaced. Since my husband isn't here to be apart of this wonderful experience for a homeowner, I thought I would document this "repair" for him to see.

Let's see a few snapshots of my basement from before. Please don't mind how bare it is, we knew this major repair would have to be done so I didn't see the point in doing much with the space till it was finished.

All in one corner and carpet pulled up.

Darn I just realized I didn't take a picture of all the furniture, etc covered in plastic! Anyway that is where we are as of right now. The plumbers and contractors will be here at 8am tomorrow to jackhammer up my foundation to find the old deteriorating pipes. I'll be posting updates as we get through this week.

I got this! I have God on my side, beer in my fridge and my daddy!

Now if only my husband were here.

Falling for Apples

2010-08-27T15:00:00.003-05:00

I love apples. I especially love that they remind me of fall. I realize in most places around the US there is no sign of fall. But here in Northern NY it's been very fall like with temps ranging between mid 60's to mid 70's. Don't worry we still see 80 on a good day but it's been great having the windows open 24/7. Waking up to the cool crisp air. I love it.

I'm anxiously waiting for the Burrville Cider Mill to open for the season. Fresh warm Apple Cider, Apple Cider Doughnuts, and let's not forget cheese curds. I'm ready to take the kids to an orchard to pick up sweet juicy apples.

Then we'll use those apples to make more of these yummy recipes.

Easy Apple Cobbler

3 large granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg
1/2 cup butter, melted

Put apples in the bottom of a lightly greased 8x8 inch baking dish.
Mix flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon. Take a couple of teaspoons (your preference) of dry mix and toss with the apples.
Add egg to the remaining dry mix and blend till it looks like cornmeal.
Sprinkle topping over the apples.
Pour melted butter over the entire dish.
Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

This is yummy!

Next up....

Apple, Cheddar, Turkey Meatballs

--1 1/2 pound extra lean ground turkey
--1 egg
--1 tsp kosher salt
--1 tsp ground black pepper
--1 tsp onion powder
--1 green apple, peeled and shredded
--1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
--1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries

The Directions.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground turkey with the ingredients. I used my hands.

Make golf-ball sized meatballs, and drop them into your crockpot.

Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 5-9---the cooking time will depend on how many meatballs are in the crock, and the size of your machine. The more full it is, the longer it will take to cook.

Recipe from
Crockpot 365
Now I didn't cook them in the crockpot because I forgot about them haha. So I baked them in my oven @ 350 for 30 minutes and they were so perfectly brown and just simply amazing. These little gems are a must try!

I also love the smell of apple candles in the fall. My good friend makes the best Soy Melts (like Yankee candle tarts, Scentsy blocks, etc). I love her Cranberry Muffin scent, it's the best! But in the fall time she also has the yummiest smelling Apple Cider melts. She doesn't have her fall scent list posted on her page yet but feel free to contact her for more info about her new fall line! Wright Melts

Now I'm going to go enjoy my sunny 70 degree *almost* fall day!

Curtains

2010-08-27T09:31:00.004-05:00

Awhile back I got some new curtains from Ikea. Now if you've ever purchased curtains from Ikea then you know they only come in one length and you must cut and hem to your desired length. No problem. Well the thing is I can't for the life of me decide what length I want them. I don't know what look to go for. What length do you love?

Photo via Dummies.com

Wordless

2010-08-11T14:06:00.001-05:00

Make me smile Monday

2010-08-02T10:35:00.002-05:00

Start the week off right.

In with the new

2010-07-21T21:46:00.008-05:00

As you can see by the lack of posts, I've been busy. We've been doing a ton of painting around the house as well as other things. Some things still need to get done. But I wanted to share a sneak peak of the room I'm most proud of so far.

Formal {and I say that loosely} Living Room before:

Hello yucky country! {sorry it's a little blurry}

After:

{In case the color looks funny in the picture ~ the walls are a light grey}

It's still not complete. I have some things to hang on the walls, picture frames to be changed out, fireplace face to be changed out {bye bye gold} and I'm not sold on the placement of items on the built-ins yet. I literally just threw it all on there to take the picture. Sorry for the crappy camera phone pictures. When all is done I will share "real" pictures. I promise. For now these will have to do. I hope you love it as much as we do so far!

Adapt and Adjust

2010-07-09T12:14:00.002-05:00

After 4 military moves {from Kentucky to New York to Texas, back to Kentucky, back to New York} I'm starting to realize that one of the hardest parts of moving to a new state is grocery shopping. Sure leaving your friends or family and starting all over can be a challenge. But IMO grocery shopping in a new store is harder. Especially since each place is known for different types of food. Here in New York it's all about Italian. Love it! I don't love it however when I'm looking for say Mexican food in the "international" aisle. I'm sorry but Ole El Paso doesn't compare to the authentic Mexican products that I could find in grocery stores in Texas.

It's not just the different products that make grocery shopping in a new place different. It's learning the layout of the store. Walking around endlessly trying not to look like a total idiot while trying to find the ketchup. Sure we lived here before but last time I only shopped at the commissary because we lived on post. Now that we live in town I get to shop at a new store. One that was a rare treat the last time we lived here.

I did my second grocery shopping trip this morning since moving here. I must say it was still overwhelming. Although not nearly as bad as my first. I cried. Seriously. Who does that?!? Well besides me. Really though I was so overwhelmed and lost. It had hit me right in the middle of the store that I wasn't in ~~Kansas~~ Kentucky anymore.

New

2010-06-29T20:27:00.006-05:00

Hello from New York!

The big move is over with...thank goodness! It certainly wasn't an easy one that's for sure. We hit many bumps along the way. As if doing a DITY move was hard enough {Do it yourself move in the military} we somehow managed to have too much stuff for one truck.

We got the largest truck available from Penske. We were living in a 3 bedroom duplex no bigger then maybe 1200sqft. We didn't have a garage or a storage shed. So can someone please tell me why on earth we couldn't fit our stuff in a 26ft truck?! Beats the crap out of me. But of course we didn't find out that we couldn't fit till the truck was loaded to the brim and we still had half of our furniture in the house. We left ourselves absolutely no wiggle room on time so we thought our only solution would be to get rid of furniture. After we parted with as much furniture as we could {including living room furniture and my dining room set}, we realized we had no choice but to rent a second truck at the last minute. My dad is a God send because he offered to drive one of the trucks up to NY with us. But the damage was already done. I had lost a ton of furniture. Bummer.

Since we've been in our new house we've had to have pest control come out because we were invaded with carpenter ants. We've had to call out 2 seperate plumbers for 2 seperate problems. And have had one heck of a time with border/wallpaper removal. All the joys of being homeowners! I know, I know! Despite all of the little bumps we've been settling and adjusting pretty well. So far only the 3 rooms have been painted but we are gearing up for a much deserved family vacation to Burlington, Vermont this weekend to celebrate our baby girl's first birthday. Hopefully we'll get the rest of the painting, etc finished after our trip. Kell leaves in a couple of weeks for Texas for 2 months so we're wanting to get as much done before he leaves as possible. Wish us luck!

A sneak peak of our house. I'll post more pictures at a later date. I don't want to overwhelm the blog with house pictures. Hopefully after our trip I can back to some baking posts. Have a safe and Happy 4th!

Fireplace Color

2010-06-08T09:59:00.003-05:00

This is the current color of the fireplace {one of 2} in the living room {one of 2}. Now don't get me wrong I love our new house but the previous owners {notice decor in the picture} taste is a little too country for my taste. The maroon-ish color has got to go...among other things.

My couch and chair are red and coffee table/end table will be white. A light grey color will be on the wall. So here's what I was thinking.

I'm new at this polyvore thing so I couldn't figure out how to add a rug of hardwood floors haha. oops. So anyway the fireplace and shelves would be all white. Or maybe paint the brick a lighter shade of grey then what will be on the wall? hmmmm decisions decisions.

Everywhere I look

2010-06-07T21:26:00.003-05:00

I see boxes. Ft. Knox is so overbooked with people moving this month that we are having to pack and move ourselves. No big deal really....we are actually excited to finally have control over our stuff and the move. But man am I ready to be done packing.
I'm ready to be here......

{not our vehicle}

That's right I'm finally sharing a picture of our {not so} little Cape Cod because we closed on our first house! Less then 2 weeks and we'll finally be unpacking in our new home. Can't wait! My blog posts will probably be sporadic the next few weeks though.

Time for bed. Goodnight!

I'm in love...

2010-05-28T14:12:00.003-05:00

Don't judge my love of a mini van. :P

Congrats Mister

2010-05-18T13:57:00.008-05:00

I'm sure you can tell by the lack of posts that it's been a pretty busy couple of weeks. May 3rd my husband's family started coming into town for the festivities. May 7th my husband graduated from the Physician Assistant's program for the military. He earned his Masters and was commissioned as an officer. We had family here till the 14th. I'm slowly getting back to normal, or what normal is for having 3 kids. Here are a few pictures from graduation. I'll post most pictures from the family visit later.

Brogan thought he was taking the same oath as his daddy.

Finally getting to pin my LT.

Our family picture - although I think it's a bad one of me

Kell and our big kids

Simplicity

2010-05-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is going to seem silly. But one of my favorite things about cooking is separating egg yolks from the whites. To me it's just simple fun!

I shake my head every time I see one of these.

Available via Amazon

Don't worry I won't hate you if you prefer to separate your egg whites with that handy little tool. But for me that tool takes the fun out of things. IMO there are too many gadgets and tools out there that take the fun out of cooking and baking.

One line of products that really irk me is Pampered Chef. Now please no throwing stones at me for saying that. I do love some of their products but recently I went to a Pampered Chef party and the biggest attractions was the stoneware line that you can cook and bake in the microwave. We even sampled a chicken/pasta dish and a cake cooked in the {gasp!} microwave! The microwave! Really?! Everyone was oohhing and ahhing over it. I'm sorry but baking a cake in the microwave should be a sin! What happened to good ole' fashioned cooking and baking.

I did decide to finally try out the Pampered Chef food chopper that most people rave about. Biggest waste of $30 in my opinion. You can only fit a tiny amount of food into the chopper and still I ended up having the beat the damn thing 30 times to get it to slightly chop the food.

So people, this girl will be sticking with some of the good ole' fashion ways of preparing food.

My Old Kentucky Home

2010-05-01T17:17:00.016-05:00

The sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home.........

The first Saturday in May. The Kentucky Derby. It's an event full of horses, hats, and celebrities. Ask anyone from Louisville and they will tell you it's so much more then that. It is one of the many events that makes us {The 'Villians} swell with pride for this place we love so much.

First let's discuss all the ways people pronounce Louisville.

To see how us 'Villians pronounce Louisville check out this clip from Southern Belles

Now enjoy a few pictures of what this area has to offer.

Belle Of Louisville

Fourth Street Live ~ The BEST place to party!

Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts

Thunder over Louisville ~ The kickoff of the Derby festivities.

The Muhammad Ali Center.

The Great Balloon Race!

Louisville Slugger Field

Louisville Slugger Museum

And of course Churchill Downs.

I could go on and on about my hometown but I won't bore you any further. I am deeply saddened to be moving away from this great place once again.

If you watched the Kentucky Derby this evening, I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into this beautiful place and tradition.

Congrats to Super Saver and Calvin Borel the winner of the 136th Kentucky Derby!

Images via Wikipedia and yahoo

Moving Season

2010-04-30T11:45:00.005-05:00

It's moving season in the Army world right now. As I drive though my neighborhood {we live on post in Army housing} I see moving truck after moving truck. People coming and going. People packing and unpacking. It's pretty much constant in this life. But it really picks up during the summer months.

This week I'm watching 2 friends pack up their homes. Saying goodbye ~ It's one of the hardest parts of the military world. You become practically family in such a short amount of time. It's usually quite simple. You meet someone {who's normal} and there's an unspoken "Will you be my friend?" thing that happens almost overnight. And then bam you have a new best friend.

You spend holidays together. Watch each other's kids anytime, no questions asked. You are there to hold their hand when they deliver a baby without their husband because he's deployed. They become your shopping buddy, your lunch buddy, your coffee buddy, your movie buddy, your...well I think you get the picture. But all of that also makes it one of the best parts of the military world. I've been blessed to have some of the best girl friends I could ever ask for.

It's almost time for a new round of goodbyes. Almost time to start move #4 as a military family in the past 6 years. After all, it is moving season.

Image via We Heart It

Strawberries & Cream

2010-04-28T08:28:00.004-05:00

Last night around 10pm I had the urge to bake some bread. Next week for the mister's graduation, I have to make breakfast bread for 75-100 people. Yes I'm insane. So I thought I would try out a new recipe.

Strawberries & Cream bread

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar (use if you want a sweeter bread)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups strawberries, fresh & coarsely chopped (do NOT use frozen) or fresh blueberries
3/4 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions

1 Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

2 In small bowl, beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beat 1 minute or until light and airy. Add brown sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in sour cream and vanilla.

3 Stir into flour mixture only until dry ingredients are moistened.

4 Fold in strawberries and nuts.

5 Pour into a greased 8 x 4 inch loaf pan.

6 Bake at 350°F for 60 to 65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

7 Let stand 10 minutes in pan.

8 Turn out on rack to cool.

**I forgot to add the brown sugar {it was late cut me some slack} but since it was listed as optional I wasn't too worried. After tasting it this morning, I'm glad I forgot the brown sugar. It was perfectly sweet enough without it. Only thing I will do differently is add more strawberries. Not enough strawberry taste IMO. I'm also going to try it out with blueberries. As well as my low fat banana apple raisin bread. Hopefully they will all be crowd pleasers.

Now where's the caffeine?!

Accomplished something

2010-04-21T08:00:00.003-05:00

Finally! We finally got around to redoing this beauty! I love it and so does Caitlyn. I still need to take a picture of it in the girls room but here it is anyway.

Part of me was really sad to see the pretty flowers go but it goes perfectly with the girls furniture. For now I kept the original hardware on it but painted them pink and purple {Caitlyn's favorite colors}. I hope you like it as much as we do! This project makes me very anxious to get my hands on our new house.

Shrinky Dinks

2010-04-20T20:28:00.003-05:00

Who doesn't love Shrinky Dinks?!?

Oak Overload

2010-04-08T20:12:00.005-05:00

At first glance of our {soon to be} new home, the current decor is on the verge of being too country. Thank goodness for paint and our own personal style. Here's a sneak peek of the kitchen at the moment {Current owners stuff}.

Eventually we want to completely redo the kitchen. But until then paint will be our best friend in this kitchen. We want to knock down the two cabinets over the breakfast bar to open up the space. Paint the cabinets white and add new hardware. We aren't 100% sure what color to paint the walls but I'm thinking a subtle light grey color. And finally painting the wood ceiling white. As much as the oak wood on the ceiling is gorgeous, it's just not for me.
Some pictures for inspiration.

Photo via here

Photo via Completely Coastal

Photo via My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Something like this...maybe even slightly lighter?

I can't wait to get my hands on this kitchen!

Spring is here!

2010-04-05T07:38:00.004-05:00

{photos via me}

Spring break was actually last week here for my kids. The weather couldn't have been more perfect all week. Sunny and 70's. We spent everyday outside playing at parks and the zoo. It's amazing how a little Vitamin D from the sun can really perk you up.

Here are a couple pictures of the kids being, well, kids.

The kids are back at school today so that means I must get myself back on some sort of schedule. My weeks are filling up quickly. Kell graduates in 4 weeks! Which means in 4 weeks I will have a house full of out of town family. That also means it's getting closer to our next move and so much that needs to be done around the house. I hope to be back to regular blog posts soon. Wish me luck on that one haha!

The wait is over...

2010-03-31T09:37:00.003-05:00

It seems I've been absent from my blog for a few weeks. Oops..sorry. But alas I am back and have some news to share. We finally found out where we are moving to in June. We are headed back to Ft. Drum, NY. It was our first duty station many years ago and it holds a very special place in our hearts. We are beyond thrilled to be going back to where our Army life all started. The icing on the cake is that we decided it's the perfect place to buy our first home!

So last weekend Kell and I made a very quick last minute trip up to NY {12 hours BTW} to look at some houses. We were thrilled that 3 hours and 7 houses, we had found our house! We put an offer on it right away. They countered. We excepted the counter! The home inspection is scheduled for tomorrow and the appraisal will be done within the next week as well. Once everything is good with those 2 things, I will be sharing pictures of the house. I promise I won't overload the blog too much with house things over the next few months. :)

Fabric love.

2010-02-25T14:59:00.004-06:00

Happy Friday everyone! What are your plans for the day? I have a playgroup to go to in the next hour. Then I need to fold laundry. I've been putting it off the past day or two. I know bad bad housewife. Until playgroup though, here I sit looking at fabrics online. I have some projects lined up and need fabric ideas. I love Amy Butler fabrics. The colors and patterns are all amazing. Who wouldn't want their home decorated with all her lovely fabrics?

Heart. Love.

Morning Mist.

Sun Glow.

Tea Box. perfect name.

Full Bloom.

You can also get lots of her older fabrics on Etsy of course!

All photos via: Amy Butler

My Student of the Month

2010-02-25T12:30:00.003-06:00

Brogan was picked as February's Student of the Month for his class. Today was a fun little lunch to honor him and the other students of the month. It was so nice eating lunch with him and seeing him be honored. Here's a picture of my boy proudly displaying his award. I took other pictures but because there are other people's children in them, I don't feel comfortable posting them on an open blog. :)

hehe don't mind the food on his face from lunch.

I'm so proud of him!

Craft of the Week

2010-02-24T18:52:00.002-06:00

Another week of not knowing where we are moving to. So another week of a craft project to keep me busy!
Once again a craft from Tatertots and Jello! I seriously love her blog. For step by step instructions {as well as other fun goodies} please check her out!
Now I'm not going to say this project was easy. This was my first time doing *anything* like this at all. I really struggled with getting paper straight, bubbles, and the corners. I have no problem showing you my little "flaws" either. Even with my bumps though, I really enjoyed this project and can't wait to do more things like this.

First problem for me *because I'm completely anal about order and balance* is the way I patterned the paper. I should have started and ended with the blue paper.

You can see here that the paper is not exactly in the corners. That was rough! Especially since the light paper showed ever wrinkle.

See how shiny the tray becomes after sprayed with enamel (she used polyurethane). Also noticed the bumps and creases in my paper. Told you it wasn't perfect.

But even with the little flaws, I still love it. I love the antique-ish feel.

I already have next week's craft figured out so stay tuned. I hope it turns out great.

Cupcake Wrapper Wreath

2010-02-18T19:53:00.003-06:00

This week I fell in love with this Cupcake Wrapper Wreath over at Tatertots and Jello . Seriously how cute is that! So I decided to make one myself. Obviously not a Valentine's Day one. I was going for a fun spring theme but ended up loving the colors for my girls' room. I have a ton of wrappers left over so I plan on making matching "kissing" balls to hang around their room. I can't wait to make another one!

The Mountain

2010-02-08T09:43:00.004-06:00

Facebook is full of really annoying applications. I ignore, hide, and block most of them. But one that I personally like is "God wants you to know". I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but for me it's something that help give me faith during the week. Even though I know it's random and cheesy it's scary that sometimes they are exactly what I need to hear at that moment.

Here's mine from yesterday.

"On this day, God wants you to know...
... that recession is also a time of great opportunity. Time and time again success has its roots in failure, because failure knocks you down from top of the hill so you can then climb a mountain. Yes it's unsettling, yes it's scary. But this can be your greatest opportunity in life, - if you choose it. The recession has cleared the space of clutter, - think what have you always wanted to do but brushed aside from the top of your hill? Now is the time..."

I have been feeling like a huge failure recently. I blame it on my lack of involvement in things outside of the home. Or maybe it's because I'm slightly envious of all the things my husband has accomplished and will be accomplishing over the next few months. Either way I've decided it's time to do something for myself. To do something and actually stick with it. To not give up. To not feel like a failure anymore. When we move in a few months I will be going back to school. I don't want it to take away from my kids so I'll probably stick with online classes for now. Part of me feels like it's pointless to be doing this because I want to be a SAHM. I don't want to go back to work, they are my "job". But I need to do this for me. For me to feel like I accomplished something other then being a mommy and wife.

So this cheesy aaplication is like a little push or sign to go forward with my decision. Now to only figure out what I want to go back to school for. I am praying about it. I've given it to God and I know he will help me climb the mountain.

Not so much

2010-02-05T08:51:00.004-06:00

I've been contemplating this post for couple of weeks now. I even have several drafts saved. But thanks to Cookie and Cups post about Mommy Guilt I can say I fully agree with her. She said it all better then I ever could. I mean honestly, how many times has someone said to you, "You're Supermom!" I know I hear it quite often and everytime it makes me feel more of the opposite. Because I never feel like I do enough.

There's always something to do, some errand to run, some nose to wipe, some homework that needs help, some snack or meal to prepare, some clothes to wash,some chore to do, some....well you get the point. There's always something. And everyday I get more and more overwhelmed. More and more tired, weak, and closer to feeling like throwing in the towel and just giving up. Most days I can't juggle it all and feel like I'm barely floating above water.

But this is just me. I know I could give it more effort. Not sit as long on the computer reading blogs (thanks to all those that have me addicted :P ). There are women out there that truly give their all in being a mom, wife, and everything else that comes along.

Where do they get there motivation from?

photo via photobucket

What do you think makes a Supermom?

Are you a Supermom?

Me? not so much.

Finally

2010-02-01T05:12:00.003-06:00

Yes! Finally I baked something. One of my goals was to bake more and it only took till the end of January for me to bake my first tasty treat. Go me! ok, ok maybe not go me but I'm allowed to laugh at myself.

Alright so about what I baked. Yesterday was my husband's 32nd birthday and he wanted chocolate and chocolate. So I gave him lots of chocolate.

*Disclaimer: It would be wise if you didn't lick your computer screen.

Whipping up some chocolate buttercream.

Leveling the cake.

Creaming the ganache filling.

Making fun textures in the buttercream....with a spoon ;P

I wanted to bury my face in it.

Making the man light his own candles.

That's a lot of candles. And a lot of wax dripping on my perfect buttercream. Thanks old man!

I hope my readers enjoyed my first tasty treat of the year. Now off to accomplish more goals. Happy Monday!

Brown Eyed Girl

2010-01-28T09:20:00.002-06:00

I'm a brown eyed girl. Yup! Kell has blue eyes. So we were always curious to see what color eyes our kids would have. I'd say it turned out to be pretty cool!

Ryleigh ~ hers will be Brown.

Caitlyn ~ Green

Brogan ~ Blue

Sorry I can't seem to find any close up pictures of the kids eyes. I'll take some later and update the post.

But seriously how cool is it that all 3 of my kids have different color eyes!

What color are yours? Your kids?

Leap Year

2010-01-18T08:43:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I went to the movies with a new friend. We saw Leap Year with Amy Adams. Love her! I've loved her since the movie Wedding Date. She's so fun and adorable! Anyway back to Leap Year. It was a fantastic movie. I am such a sucker for romantic comedies so this movie was right up my alley. Not only was the movie great but her wardrobe in the movie makes me want to do some serious shopping.

photo via here

via here
The scenery in the movie also rocked! Thanks to the gorgeous cliffs of Ireland throughout the movie, the hubby and I are looking into a vacation to Ireland. We think it's time to venture to his homeland. It's just difficult trying to figure out a time to go. We move in June, location unknown still, he still has training to do, and we have know idea when his next deployment will be. So right now all we can do is save up money and look for the right opportunity to leap over the pond.

via travel site

30 day shred

2010-01-14T21:51:00.002-06:00

Most of us made "get healthy and exercise more" one of our goals for the year. If you are looking for something to kick start a new you, then head over to Kara's blog and join in on an awesome challenge! I personally am so excited to be doing this with a great group of girls supporting each other. Heck I'm so excited I even talked my husband into doing it with me! So are you in??

My 10 in 10

2010-01-13T10:20:00.002-06:00

Here I am jumping on the bandwagon, even if it's a little late!

My 10 goals in 2010:

1. Grow closer to GOD.

2. Be more hands on with my kids. I know I'm pretty hands on with them already but I'd love to kick it up a notch. After all they are my ultimate priority.

3. Learn to take better quality pictures. Also learn how to use the photoshop that I got for Christmas.

4. Become more organized. I'm getting better but still have a lot to work on.

5. Bake more. I really slacked last year on cakes, baking, etc. I really need to work on this!

6. Sew more. This is another "craft" I've let slide away. I have so many projects that I pushed away in a closet last year. Not this year! I will tackle them!

7. Better time management. Limiting the amount of time spent on the computer needs to tie into this one. I need to get housework done before turning on the computer. Oy!

8. Eat healthier. For the most part we've already been eating pretty healthy. But this year we have been trying to make it even better. We are determined. Also exercise more.

9. Simplify. everything.

10. Focus more on myself. I love that my kids are my main focus in life. But I need to realize that it's ok to spend a little time and money on myself as well.

Cute as a Button

2010-01-07T09:02:00.002-06:00

I love, love, love these cute little rings!

This morning we got a small dusting of snow. There's something so serene and quiet about snow. It makes me want to snuggle up next to a fire.

via photobucket
Don't forget a cup of tea.

via weheartit

Gosh I feel old..

2010-01-06T08:30:00.002-06:00

My oldest is 7 today. 7! I never feel older on MY birthday. It's my children's birthdays that make me feel old. Sorry to use the typical annoying cliche` but "Where did the time go?!?".

Happy Birthday Brogan!

antique beauty

2010-01-03T07:53:00.002-06:00

I've been to my fair share of antique stores in my life. But up until recently I never appreciated it. One small little purchase and now I'm hooked! Would you like to see my small purchase?

Here she is!

I instantly fell in love with her and had to have her for my girls' room. It definitely needs some work though. Can't wait to refinish it!

Now can you see why I have a new love for antiquing?

dreaming of a craft room

2010-01-02T11:47:00.003-06:00

One of my must haves for this year is a craft room. When we move this summer I plan on getting a house big enough for one. Finally! I would love to do the room similar to this one. Drool!

via WeHeartIt

My Year in Review

2009-12-31T19:44:00.001-06:00

I meant to post this last night but due to a fussy and sick baby, I completely forgot. I know 2009 was a horrible year for many people in my life. But I must say 2009 was really good to my family and I.

~My husband graduated phase 1 of the PA program gaining his 2ND bachelors.
~We moved from San Antonio, Texas to Ft. Knox, Kentucky allowing us to be close to family for a year.
~I got the chance to meet up with my 3 best friends. Lou and Paul who were visiting from the UK, Stephanie whom I visited in FL, and lastly Roxanne and Josh.
~We took the kids to Disney and had an amazing time!
~Ryleigh joined our family in July!
~Enjoyed a wonderful visit from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Also meeting my nephew finally!
~Got the chance to meet my biological grandmother, aunt, uncles, cousins, etc!
~Had a fabulous vacation in Pittsburgh for Roxanne and Josh's wedding. Which I was maid of honor and made her gorgeous cake! :P
~Saw my little sister not once but twice this year!
~Made new friends!
~Lastly and most importantly, I spent the year loving God, my husband, and children every single day.

I know 2010 will be an even better year for us. My husband will finally graduate the PA program in May with his Masters. Also we will make yet another move to a location unknown at the moment. We are ready for a new adventure in our life.

Happy New Year everyone! Many blessings to you and your families!

cake stand love

2009-10-28T21:08:00.002-05:00

How adorable are these birds!!! I also love that the plate can be personalized. Serious love right there.

Now in my experience with cakes, I prefer cake stand that have flat "plates". How much fun would this be with a festive and bright cake?

Now if you're looking for something a little more glam and sophisticated, I'm in love with this one!

Fall Friday

2009-10-23T13:35:00.002-05:00

The flower of Fall. I love mums! The colors make me feel all warm inside.

photo via photobucket

I want to do this to my pumpkins!! Metallic Glazed Pumpkins
Ok I've been trying to upload the picture into photobucket for 5 minutes now and it won't work. Sorry no picture but make sure and check out the link. It's still pretty cool!

This is going on my wishlist

2009-10-23T13:26:00.003-05:00

I still have a few months before I start giving Ryleigh solids but I'm officially putting the Beaba Babycook on my wishlist. Anyone have this?

Talking my husband into buying it might be a hurdle but hey I'm saving him tons of money by breastfeeding and cloth diapering. So he can bite the bullet and buy this for me.

Tea for One

2009-10-22T10:10:00.002-05:00

How cute is this!

It can be yours here for just $9.95! It's going on my Christmas list this year. Sure I know I can purchase it myself but I have to come up with some things for people to buy me. hehe..Now if only I can decide which color to get.

It's a winner ~ Puppy Chow!

2009-10-19T21:15:00.004-05:00

I officially started my running schedule today. I look up to my husband when it comes to running. He's simply amazing. Check out a few highlights of his track career. As of March 2009, he's still the best! and of course the infamous under 4 run. (btw my husband's name is Kell.)

He started me out with 1 mile walk at a 3.0 pace. Then 1 mile run with 1st half at 4.0. Then 2nd half at 4.5. Once I finished that second mile I walked for a few minutes to cool down. Here's my proof.

I celebrated with Puppy Chow AKA Texas Snow.

My best friend Stephanie used to send us Texas Snow all the time and I figured it's about time I make some of my own. I enlisted the help of two of my sweeties.

Gathered our ingredients.

10 cups of Chex, either corn or rice
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of peanut butter
2 cups of semi sweet chips
4 cups of powdered sugar
1-2 cups of peanut M&M's (optional)

Combine butter, peanut butter, and chocolate in a saucepan.

Cook until completely melted and smooth.

Measure out your Chex.

Add chocolate mixture to Chex.

Combine well and add M&M's.

Next add powdered sugar. (I started with 2 cups but realized I really needed the full 4 cups)

Put a lid on your bowl and shake shake shake...shake your booty! hehe sorry

When well coated, chill for 1-2 hours. Then serve up with a ice cold glass of milk and enjoy!!

Oven is out

2009-10-19T08:05:00.002-05:00

That's right my oven doesn't work. Yesterday morning I was going to bake some cinnamon rolls for breakfast before church and the stinking oven wouldn't heat up. Hopefully housing can get out here and fix it soon because I have lots of baked goodies planned for the next two weeks! So stay tuned. Today's goody however is something that doesn't reguire baking. Puppy Chow! I'll share pictures and recipe later on in the day.

Also thanks to the girls that shared their feedback last week. I've decided to keep the name the same. :)

new title...maybe

2009-10-14T09:07:00.004-05:00

I'm thinking of changing the blog up a little bit. I rarely post about cakes anymore so now my blog title seems kind of pointless. I'd rather not start a new blog. I'm taking suggestions on blog titles. Anyone care to help me?

Whatever floats your boat...

2009-09-30T18:52:00.004-05:00

I've had this recipe saved in my "to try" box for quite some time. I finally decided to give it a go. I'm so glad I did.

Whatever Floats Your Boat Brownies (credit Karen from recipezaar.com)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT
1-2 cup chocolate chips (semisweet, white, butterscotch, peanut butter) or raisins or chopped maraschino cherry or chopped nuts or M&M' or Reese's pieces or miniature marshmallow

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease an 8 inch square pan or line with foil.

In a medium bowl combine melted butter and cocoa and stir until cocoa is dissolved.

Add sugar and mix well.

Add eggs one at a time and stir until well combined.

Stir in vanilla, flour and salt until you no longer see any flour (do not overmix).

Fold in "WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT"!

Spread in pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes.

DO NOT OVER-BAKE -- your brownies will come out dry. Adjust time/temp accordingly for your oven. If you do the knife/toothpick test, it should come out with moist crumbs, not clean.

Cool completely before cutting into squares.

My "Whatever Floats Your Boat" was 1 1/2 cups of milk chocolate chips. I then decided to add a "cheesecake topping".

8ozs of softened cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 cup of sugar

Beat the 3 ingredients together until smooth. It will be kind of runny. After you've put the brownie batter in the pan, top with the cheesecake mixture. Swirl cheesecake around in the brownie batter to create a marbeled look. I had to bake the brownies a lot longer then the recommended 25 minutes noted above because of the cheesecake mixture. I didn't time them but they definitely cooked for atleast 40 minutes. Just keep an eye on them and check with a tooth pick.

Marbeling

They were very moist and chewy and thick. Great flavors.

Here's a piece just for you....

So What Floats Your Boat???

Fall Fridays

2009-09-18T20:03:00.006-05:00

In honor of my favorite season I'm going to start doing "Fall Fridays". I'll be writing about anything that reminds me of fall. Crafts with the kids, fall decor, fall inspired food, including desserts and cake, and well whatever else comes to mind.

My first fall item is farm fresh Apple Butter. I had this yummy goodness on toasted wheat bread this morning!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm loving the color gray for fall! I have not one, but 2 new purses that are gray! I'm also currently wearing a new fingernail polish that I bought at Target the other day.
Sally Hanson Xtreme in Gunmetal
It's a cool gray that has a blue tint to it. I love it!

5 stars

2009-09-17T20:34:00.006-05:00

Lemon Brown Sugar Chicken

Super easy to follow. I baked the sweet potatoes with a little butter and brown sugar. Then roasted the asparagus with some olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper with a couple of sprinkles of mozzarella cheese. Delish!

1,2,3,4

2009-09-16T11:50:00.003-05:00

Recently I discovered a new radio channel, well it's not exactly new but new to me! 100.5 GenX..it plays old school songs from the late 80's and 90's. This morning I was driving to get a yummy Iced Mocha with the windows down on this gorgeous day while jamming out to old school TLC and some Coolio! Great way to start the day if you ask me.
After a pitstop to the hospital to visit my gorgeous husband in his white "dr" coat. I made this beautiful lunch!

It's a simple Salmon Salad that I made. I kind of stole the idea from Eat, Live, Run (love that blog!). I took left over salmon from last night's dinner (baked with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, basil, and garlic) and flaked it with a touch of olive oil, half a lemon and it's juice, and an avacado. I put the salad on top of some lettuce with sugar snap peas, tomatoes, and cucumber. Lovely! This eating clean stuff is great!

Now if I can get started on running. Our treadmill should be arriving sometime this week. I can't wait for it to get here! Kell came up with a great running program for me to start with. So pumped!

I'll end today's post with a picture my mom took at Brogan's soccer game.

Is it me, or does she look like she's watching the game, smiling?

weekend goodies

2009-09-14T09:04:00.004-05:00

This week I went to my local Dollar Tree and found some really cute placemats that I just couldn't pass up! Check them out!

Don't they look like something from Pottery Barn. Love them. :)

I also wanted to share this cute picture of my little bohemian baby. Caitlyn wanted to put on her necklaces on Ryleigh's head. It was cute.

Yesterday was Brogan's first soccer game..well actually the first game was last weekend but we were in Pittsburgh. It's so great living back with family because my mom, step dad, dad, grandma and grandpa, and my uncle all came to his game. It was so nice having everyone there and seeing them all cheer him on. It was a gorgeous day and perfect for a little soccer game. Here are some action shots.
Kell's the assistant coach this year.

#8

Caitlyn cheered him on the entire game.

I really need to play with my camera so the action shots don't come out blurry...any tips on that? camera is a Canon Rebel Xsi

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

*sisterly love*

Redecorating..in every sense

2009-09-08T18:42:00.002-05:00

It's time to redo some things in my life. Recently I've fallen in love with the Eat, Live, Run blog that lots of people I know read..yes I realize I'm late to the bandwagon. But Jenna's blog is helping me realize I want to change some of my habits. Starting tomorrow, hubby and I will be changing the way we eat. While we have mostly cut out white flour, I plan to become a little more strict about this. Eat more fruits and veggies, snack on healthy fats and proteins, try and eat as "clean" as we can. Absolutely no more fast food or processed foods, we are also giving up our beloved soft drinks. I'm am personally "redecorating" the food I eat.

It's also time I get back into running. I haven't ran in almost 10 years. Not since running track in high school. So Kell has put together a running schedule/plan for me to follow to build myself back up. He, himself, has been trying to train for a couple of upcoming races. I'd love to one day join him in one. So I'm "redecorating" my health.

Since returning from Pittsburgh...which I fell in love with...I've decided to try and simplify things. I've been slowly going through things the past couple of months but have decided it's time to kick it up a notch and really go back to the basics. Meaning, do I really need full drawers and closets of clothes when I really only wear the same 10-15 items over and over? Do I really need the 10 purses that are in my closet, even though I haven't used them in years? do I need half of the things in my junk drawer, or night stand drawer? No, No and No. It's time to clean it all out. "redecorate"

Last but not least..actual redecorating. Not every room since my living room, bedroom, and kids room did just get a facelift. But thanks to Roxanne and her wonderful decorating for her wedding, I've got this big urge to redo the color scheme of my kitchen. My kitchen has always been a mish mosh of "chef's" and "wine" stuff, with rich colors. It's time to lighten the mood a bit. Here's the photo for my inspiration.

I'm loving the blue tinted mason jar..with some creams and white.....

Time to Redecorate!

Coming to you from Pittsburgh

2009-09-05T11:57:00.002-05:00

Oh boy it's been a busy couple of days. As my title says, I'm blogging this morning from our sweet suite hotel room in Pittsburgh. One of my very best friends got married last night. I was her matron of honor and also had the pleasure of making her wedding cake. The day was perfect! The weather was amazing. She has some of the most awesome friends and family and I was so honored to be surrounded by such wonderful people yesterday. Every single detail of her wedding, down to the tiniest details were simply stunning and a complete reflection of the bride's personality and love for nature. I can't wait to see pictures from the photographer. I was so busy running around doing matron of honor stuff that I didn't have a chance to take any pictures! Although I do have pictures of the cake. Of course!

Here's a little explanation about the toppers. Her husband is in EOD school right now, for those that don't know what that is, he learns about bombs all day. Roxanne love knitting. It's her life, it's in her blood. So their toppers are unique and orginal but a complete reflection of them. I hope you love this cake as much as I do. It's by far my favorite cake I've done. Oh and when you see the picture, don't pay attention to what the cake is sitting on. The caterer was the one to put the cake on the log and she put the turntable (which is only used in the decorating process in order to spin the cake around) on the log as well. Which she wasn't supposed to do but I didn't even notice she did it, until after the cake was cut! oh well. I loved the caterer so I'll forgive her. :)

We head back home tomorrow (we've been here since Tuesday). I'll be sad to leave but it will be nice to relax at home. I can't wait to catch up on blogs when I return home.

Peanut Butter Jelly time!

2009-08-31T08:38:00.002-05:00

I desperately need to make a grocery trip run but since we head out tomorrow morning for Pittsburgh, I'm holding off on the grocery till we return. So I'm all out of breakfast food for myself. What's a girl to do when they have no more Kashi cereal? Why eat the kids Eggo Waffles of course! I thought I would be a fun and tasty twist on just plain boring waffles. Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jelly! Yummo such a yummy way to start the day.

Ooo I hear baby squealing and laughing from her bassinet....off to play with her before I need to do more cake stuff. Oh crap I have to pack today too! Oy!

Active

2009-08-30T18:58:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend, we purchased the Wii Active package! I'm so pumped to try it out! I plan on doing the 30 day challenge. But we head out to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for the BIG wedding! I can't wait to start it up when we get back on Saturday though. :)

Speaking of the BIG wedding..I've been working on the cake toppers this weekend...will take pictures for a sneak peek at part of the "wicked cool" topper. ;P

Thankful Thursday

2009-08-27T08:06:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine lost her 6 year old daughter on Tuesday after getting her tonsils removed. I couldn't imagine waking up one day and not having my kids be there. So as cliche as this sounds, today I'm very thankful for my children. Thankful for every second I have with them.

I'm also thankful for:

My sister in law Erin....
My nephew Nils and his "Auntie Jess my chair!" and "Uncie Kell Do it!"...
Caramel Apple Nut Bread from Huber's farm smothered in their homemade apple butter...
The leaves that have started to fall....
E.L.F makeup that is so wonderfully cheap and pretty
Better on a Bagel...yummm....

Nephew

2009-08-21T08:29:00.003-05:00

I loved meeting my nephew last night finally! He's a sweet doll with an amazing vocabulary! I just love him to pieces and want to eat him up! I'll be posting pictures of this family vacation over the next couple of days. We have lots of things planned....sight seeing around Ft. Knox..Louisville Stoneware...the Zoo...The KY state fair...bourbon trail...Huber's Farm for berry picking...and all with 4 adults and 4 children. Action packed for sure!

Meeting the family

2009-08-20T12:33:00.002-05:00

My mother in law, sister in law, and nephew come into town today. We're quite excited since this will be their first time meeting Ryleigh and will be our first time meeting our nephew.
BTW not everyone here in blogger world knows that I had my baby. Ryleigh will be 7 weeks on Sunday. She was born July 5th @ 7:17 am weighing in at 8lbs 12ozs. It was a very quick labor and delivery. Seriously if I had waited at home 20 more minutes, she would have been a home birth. The nurses delivered her because she came out before the doctor could get there from the oncall room. She's been such a joy to us. We are so in love with her. The kids especially. They can make her smile and giggle like no other. it's wonderful watching them all interact together.

Monday I'll be making some yummy cupcakes for my mother in law's birthday. So stay tuned...

The things that make me happy today

2009-08-15T20:10:00.003-05:00

*Great haircut and color.

*Hanging out with my bestie having quality girl time.

*Strawberry Limeaides.

*Good convos with my mom and realizing she is like my best friend.

*Smiley happy beautiful baby.

*Kids who miss me when they are gone.

*Movie night and yummy candy with my love.

*Feeling like my old self again.

All I need is a beach...

2009-08-13T08:54:00.002-05:00

..to go along with this tropical yumminess of cake.

Coconut Pineapple cake with pineapple filling

I have a wedding cake to do in a couple of weeks and this is one of the flavors for the 3 tiered cake. I needed to try out the new recipe to make sure it is good enough for the lovely bride. Which is why it has no frosting and the filling isn't actually in the cake since I was just messing around with flavors. This recipe gets 5 stars from me... definite keeper! I can't wait for this wedding cake!

Handbook for 2009

2009-06-22T11:19:00.002-05:00

This was posted on a message board I belong too. Great words to live by!

Handbook for 2009

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E’s—Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time for prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2008.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment....
13. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip...
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not the least:
40. Give a copy of this to everyone you care about.

B's graduation

2009-06-05T19:29:00.003-05:00

It's been a week since Brogan graduated Kindergarten. He was so excited and proud of himself. I can't believe he's about to be a first grader. :( Where does the time go? Even my baby baby, Caitlyn, will be in Pre-K this fall. Kids grow up way too fast.

no news really

2009-06-04T13:13:00.002-05:00

In Sept, a "bff" of mine is getting married. Not only am I her Matron of Honor, but I'm making her cake as well! I must admit I'm super stoked about it. Kell and the kids will be going with me to Pittsburgh for the wedding. It will be a fun vacation.

Other than this upcoming cake, I have no other cake news to report. I've taken a short hiatis from the cake making. I got so busy with the move. Now that that's over with, I'm just uncomfy and too close to the end of my pregnancy to even be thinking about cakes. Afterall I'm busy baking my own little cupcake to think about other forms of cake. unless I'm eating it of course haha....

Speaking of my little cupcake...I now have 4 weeks left....30 days until the due date. which means crunch time. I have 3 nursing covers I need to make for myself. Yes technically I only need one but I fell in love with fabric..sue me. I better get on that because she'll be here before I know it.

updates

2009-03-01T21:23:00.003-06:00

So many people are asking for updates. I'm assuming on the belly but I'm going to update all around. :)

Our movers will be here in 4 1/2 weeks. Ahh! I have so much to do before that happens. Once our stuff is gone we'll be staying in an extended stay hotel for 2 weeks. Hubby graduates April 17th and we say goodbye to Texas the next day. I can't believe how time has been flying. I'm excited to be near family again but so sad to leave my friends here. I am looking forward to being able to spend time with my husband again. :)

We have been going to church together as a family on Sundays and it's been wonderful. After church today the kids and I had fun doing things around the house while Kell went to the library to study.

Oh and what I'm sure most people want...22 week belly picture! Yes it's 22 weeks already! ahh.... Oh we do know what we are having, but we are keeping it a secret from family so I won't be posting it on my blog, but contact me if you want to know. :)

I think the shirt makes me look bigger lol. So here's a bare belly shot.

I want to share a couple of pictures. We have this weird bush/tree thing in our front yard that has these weird nut looking things hanging from it almost year round. Well once a year only for a week, the tree/bush blooms. And it's gorgeous! It has a strong very sweet smell that comes from it. While in bloom it is covered in butterflies, bees and ladybugs. I love it.

Happy Friday!

2009-01-16T08:51:00.002-06:00

I really didn't want this blog to turn into a pregnancy blog. So I'll try and keep the preggo/belly updates to a minimum. But before I do that, here are my belly shots for 16 weeks.

2 seconds after this picture, Caitlyn put a necklace on my head. I purposely put on the jeans I wore in my last set of pictures in order to see my belly better.

after I changed back into my maternity jeans, which are still big but I'm wearing them today to be comfy. Here's a *gasp* bare belly picture. brace yourselves.

I feel so huge at 16 weeks, I don't remember being this big so soon with my last two. Trust me I know I'm not huge but it's still strange for me.

Ok now on to more interesting topics. I'm finally getting back into our routine after a nice long holiday break. PWOC started back up, which will keep me busy, playdates started back up, and yup it's time to spring soccer signups! Brogan's very excited to go back to his team although we are bummed he won't be able to finish out the season due to us moving. I do promise to take more pictures and do more blogs of his soccer this time.

Today is Friday so that means...Family night! The most treasured night for our family since time with Kell is precious. He has a half day today so we plan on soaking him up as much as we can.

I've also started a decluttering process of my home. Since we're moving in April, I'm on a time crunch cause I don't like to rush. So every weekend I work on decluttering one room. I will post before and after photos as I go along. I did however forget to take pictures from last weekend's success. Sorry!

Oh and I will report back on that dreamsicle cake! Have a great weekend!

dreamsicles

2009-01-13T07:47:00.002-06:00

So far this pregnancy I can't seem to get enough of orange flavored stuff. I've been eating lots of oranges, orange sherbet, could easily have a sunkist a day (don't worry sunkist has way little caffeine in it, way under the amount I'm allowed to have daily, so don't get your panties in a wad over that one. and honestly I don't drink soda every day, only like once a week as a treat). I can't get enough of sour patch kids, especially the orange ones. I dream about orange dreamsicles. So I got to thinking, what would be more perfect then an orange dreamsicle cake! heck yeah cake! I went searching and found a couple of awesome recipes. I think I'm going to try this one first.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Orange-Dreamsicle-Cake-248487

Ingredients
3/4 cup Miracle Whip
18 1/2 ounces yellow cake mix
1 1/3 ounces Dream Whip topping mix (1 packet of Dream Whip)
3/4 cup orange juice
3 eggs
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon multicolored candy sprinkles
Directions
1Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2Beat salad dressing, cake mix, whipped topping mix, juice, eggs and grated orange peel at medium speed with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 10-inch bundt pan.

3Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool.

4Stir together powdered sugar and mil until smooth. Drizzle over cake, Decorate with sprinkles.

I think I'm going to try it this weekend. Although I'm not a fan that it starts from a box, I'll give it a chance. I'm still going to be on the search for a good moist dreamsicle cake completely from scratch. I do have some good yellow cake recipes from scratch so I'm sure I could work something out if I can't find something else.

Anyway I hope it's good cause my tongue needs to recover from all the orange sherbet I've been eating...I've frozen my tastebuds haha.

24

2009-01-12T19:23:00.002-06:00

Today is my brother's birthday. He would have been 24. For those that don't know, my brother was born with Trisomy 18 and died at just 3 months old. I'm always sad on this day. To add to it, pregnancy hormones, and many online friends that have lost loved ones today and yesterday. I'm ready for this day to be over with. Or atleast till the kids go to bed so I can have a huge bowl of orange sherbet. Anyway remember to hug your family and friends today and everyday. always tell them you love them. Life is too short.

15 weeks

2009-01-10T15:00:00.003-06:00

Only 25 more weeks to go! yay. I think I'm bigger then the picture I posted on monday, or was it Tuesday? crap oh well you know when it was.

15 weeks and 1 day with #3

different view..this one looks bigger lol..oh and please excuse the no makeup face, Ipromise I'm not a grouch.

Well shoot I must clean that mirror, it looks so dirty. Sorry!

orange wedding

2009-01-07T08:43:00.002-06:00

My little sister has surprised us all with becoming engaged. I won't go into details, but I've come to realize this is a good thing for her and I'm happy for her. Even more happy that she has asked me to make her wedding cake. Oh and to be a bridesmaid and for Caitlyn to be the flowergirl. I'm very excited about it considering how our relationship has been the past few years.

So she has decided that her colors would be Orange and white. Orange has always been her favorite color and at first I was thinking...um orange? really? But after looking on Knot.com, I actually found lots of great pictures of Orange weddings. I'd love it i I could talk her into adding some pinks and yellows and possibly greens into but I'm not pushing it. anyway here's a link to a slideshow of all the pictures I found.
http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/jessgiffin/ashley%20wedding/?albumview=slideshow

If done right I think it will actually be really pretty. she hasn't really given me any ideas on cakes yet, just that she wants orange and white lol. I do love these cakes though. I got almost all of them from Knot.com and one from Cakecentral.com. They are NOT my cakes. Just getting ideas for her wedding cake.

There are more I found but you can view those in the slideshow. If anyone finds any more orange ad white cakes, please share!

a little of this and a little of that

2009-01-06T10:51:00.002-06:00

First off I want to say Happy Birthday to Brogan! My boy is 6 today! Gosh where has the time gone.

With proud daddy a few minutes after being born.

Now with his birthday sundae from Red Robin.

I really can't believe he's 6 already. 7 years ago I never would have imagined my life would turn out this way. Kell and I met and started dating in Feb 7 years ago. A few short months later we had an unexpected surprise of being pregnant. I remember thinking how on earth will I get through this. I experienced many emotions and fears. But Kell and I got through it all together and when this little boy was born, my life changed in so many ways. He truly is a blessing to Kell and I. I can't imagine my life without him. So Brogan, thank you for being born!

Speaking of Kell and I, we had our 5th Wedding Anniversary this past Friday. For once we were able to spend the entire day together. Did we do anything special or out of the ordinary, not quite. But that's ok because the day turned out great.

Actually we spent quite a bit of time together the past 3 weeks. He had a much needed break from school. We just hung out with the kids, went to lots of parks and just spent quality time together as a family.

Now he's back at school and we are so anxious to get the next 3 1/2 months over with. if he continues to do well in school, he'll graduate in April. then we'll be moving back home to Ft. knox. I'm excited to be near my family especially when I have this baby. Oh yeah that's right I haven't announced on the blog yet. I'm pregnant. hehe I think pretty much everyone knows by now though so no big news there. I've had lots of friends constantly ask me if I'm showing yet or want to see my baby belly. So I took a picture yesterday, although not much to see yet. Still bloated, can't wait for that to go away. So here I am at 14 1/2 weeks with baby #3.
(please excuse the dirty mirror)

Ok so now I think I've caught up on a few little things. I hope to get back to regular blogging soon. I promise.

I must be crazy

2008-12-27T13:44:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Kell and I went and saw Marley and Me. Absolutely wonderful movie. I have added it to my top 5 favorite movies. Yes it was that good. One thing that Kell and I agreed on was that it made us want to move back to Ft. Drum more than ever. Obviously almost all of our friends are gone from Ft. Drum, which sucks. But I miss everything about the place. the gorgeous summers, gorgeous winters, even if they are a little too long. We want a quaint little house with a couple of acres, away from lots of neighbors. A place where our kids and dogs can run free in the yard without worrying about crime, etc. Upstate Ny is perfect for that. I'm sure most people think we are crazy for wanting to go back, but we are some of the few people out there who find that it feels like home. It's not for everyone, but it's for us.

picasso pumpkins

2008-10-30T18:08:00.004-05:00

Here in the Texas heat, it's not smart to carve pumpkins. They will rot quickly. So we decided to paint pumpkins instead. The kids had a blast.

bouncing pies

2008-10-14T22:12:00.003-05:00

No not really bouncing pies. But today did have both bouncing and pies. :P

Bouncing....

and pies.......

Suncatcher

2008-09-30T10:46:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I took Miss Caitlyn to a beautiful park to collect some leaves. We needed some fresh air. Today we decided to make something with the leaves.

Leaf Suncatcher

You need:
Wax Paper
Fall Leaves
Crayon Shavings
Adult with Iron
Newspaper

Instructions:
Cover work surface with newspapers. Sprinkle a small amount of crayon shavings on a piece of wax paper. Arrange leaves on top. Sprinkle more crayon shavings and cover with another piece of wax paper.
Place a piece of newspaper on top and iron with a warm iron until crayon shavings melt. Trim and hang in the window.

http://www.makingfriends.com/fallcrafts/leafsuncatcher.htm

I think we added too much crayon shavings but it still turned out nice, and Caitlyn enjoyed doing it.

I truly love Fall! If only Texas would cool down and allow me to enjoy my most favorite season. Anyone else doing any fun fall crafts??

chai love

2008-09-28T15:25:00.002-05:00

I had the best chocolate yesterday. I'm attracted to packaging. I saw this packaging and was instantly drawn to it. After seeing that it was Organic and Fair Trade and made with real chai, I HAD to have it. Delish. Yes I realize that plenty of other people probably already know all about Theo chocolate but I'm raving about them anyway. hehe :)

They also had Hazelnut crunch (made with crushed hazelnuts), Coconut curry, and Bread (made with french bread and butter)..and some other yumminess. I must go back and buy more, the Chai would be perfect melted and added into truffles, or mix with cream and fruit dipped into it, etc. Think of all the possibilities. It's perfectly spicy to add the perfect amount of flavor to any dessert.

This reminds me that I need to go back to World Market because I need to buy this delish Chocolate Chai Tea that they have on sale this week. I had company this week so I've been slacking on things around here. I need to do some baking this week so I'll be reporting back with some more yumminess.

cake and soccer

2008-09-16T19:54:00.003-05:00

Goodness things have been busy around here. I thought I'd finally post pictures of the cake from Saturday. My neighbor wanted the sesame street cake I had previously done so it will look familiar. I did try and change up the colors and the borders a bit. Plus it's smaller.

Now on to the soccer part. Yesterday was Brogan's first practice. He had so much fun and Caitlyn and I really enjoyed watching him. I did however forget to bring chairs. So Caitlyn and I sat on the ground the entire hour. Needless to say, I got bit by a lot of fire ants. Not cool.
Here's a few pictures from the practice.

It's in!!

I took videos of the practice for K to see since he had to study...stupid pa school. haha But for some reason I can't get videos to post on here. Will have to figure out at a later date.

Alright ladies, I'm off to finish readng my chapter for PWOC tomorrow.

Melt in your mouth, not in your hand

2008-09-12T23:06:00.003-05:00

I'm making a birthday cake for my neighbor's daughter who's turning 1. She's doing a sesame street theme so I will be making my sesame street cake again, will be posting about that tomorrow. She also wanted half chocolate and half white. I had batter leftover. And what do you do when you have batter left over. Well you make cupcakes of course! Again I am out of cupcake liners, I keep forgetting to buy some. Sometimes cupcakes are better without icing.

chop chop

2008-09-06T10:31:00.002-05:00

I needed a change in my life. So I decided to get rid of my highlights, went back to all brown, and then last night I chopped my hair off again. At first I hated it, but after playing with it a bit, I realized I think I actually like it. :) I feel sassy.

I looked awful due to me crying for an hour over my hair haha so this is all you get for a picture.

Yesterday was a semi rough day but thankfully it was a gorgeous day. I love when there are little cotton puff clouds throughout a perfectly beautiful blue sky. I took a moment to enjoy it.

no bumper stickers allowed

2008-09-03T20:14:00.004-05:00

(photo taken from random search on photobucket..it's not mine)

It's official....I'm a Soccer mom now. I registered Brogan this evening. The season starts on the 15th. Lots of pictures to follow I'm sure. I will admit I have a mini mini van. It's half van. Half car. Don't believe me? Look up Mazda 5 and you'll see....but no worries...there will be NO soccer bumper stickers on my car. I'm not that kind of soccer mom. :P

yumm-o

2008-09-01T19:04:00.003-05:00

I have a new addiction. Klobasnek. Well that's the official term, but here in Central Texas they are mistakenly reffered to as Kolaches. They are everywhere here. Kell and I decided to get brave and try them. Yummmoo.

Orange

2008-08-31T12:10:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I made cupcakes in order to get rid of all my extra filling and icing. I tried a new recipe.

Orange Cupcakes...from cupcakerecipes.com
Ingredients
• 1 3/4 cup cake flour (see tip)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 large eggs, separated and whites beaten until stiff
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 stick of butter, softened

Orange Cupcake Recipe Directions

Combine butter, sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Cream these ingredients together thoroughly.

Mix flour, salt, and baking powder together in a separate mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients to creamed ingredients 1/3 at a time alternating with adding portions of the orange juice to the creamed mixture.

Fold in beaten egg whites. Spoon batter into cupcake liners until 1/2 full.

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool cupcakes completely before frosting with Orange Icing.

Note~~ Do NOT overbake!

I thought they were quite tastee. I would love to make them again but without the vanilla and more orange juice. Plus I didn't get to use the orange icing since I was using my leftover icing. So to sum it up, I'd definitely make these again.

Pictures of the cupcakes. Silly me didn't realize I was out of cupcake liners and I couldn't go to the store because I didn't have the car. So I had to make do without liners, that's why they look funny haha.

Happy Saturday

2008-08-30T10:16:00.002-05:00

It's been a long week. Both of my boys had a great first week back to school. I'm proud to say I survived getting up early everyday haha. I think I actually like it. I get so much more accomplished. One thing is for sure, I'm much more busy during the school year. Which means I should have more things to write about. yippie.

Thursday night was eventful. I had to run to the store after I put the kids to bed (kell was home, don't worry). I get home from the store to see my neighbor and one of his daughters walking in front of my house. Two seconds later two abulances pull onto our street. My neighbor waves them down. His oldest daughter got her finger slammed in the door. It was barely attached. OUCH! I told him to send his other girls to my house so they didn't have to see the medics working on their sister. I insisted the girls stay the night at my house so they didn't have to sit for god knows how long at the ER. The two little girls that stayed with me go to Brogan's school so it was easy Friday morning getting them all off to school. I must say it was fun getting 4 kids up for school, dressed, fed, etc. Seriously. Yes I'm crazy. Anyway the little girl will be ok. They "glued" her finger back on and added stitches around the glue, she also fractured the bone. Poor thing. Atleast she's on vicodin for the pain.

Friday after taking all the kids to school, I proceeded to bake and decorate a cake for my good friend's birthday. I'm happy with the way it turned out considering I had no clue how I was going to decorate it till well I actually started decorating lol.
With flash to show the colors well

without flash

She loved it and keeps saying it tasted Sinful! haha. She requested Chocolate cake, with a raspberry filling, and raspberry buttercream. yummm
I have a ton of the filling and buttercream leftover. I tend to always make too much but I'd rather make extra then not enough. I promised the kids we'd make cupcakes today so we can use up the extra filling and buttercream. They'll love doing that. I'll save a cupcake for everyone! :P

Back to School

2008-08-27T19:08:00.002-05:00

Brogan finally went back to school on Monday. Well actually both my boys went back to school on Monday. Brogan's loving Kindergarten. His teacher has nothing but great things to say about him. What can I say, my boy is smart. Thank goodness he went to PreK first. :) I'm starting to adjust to the new schedule. I'm not going to lie though, it's rough. I have to get up at 5:45 with Kell to get myself and the kids ready, eat breakfast, etc and out the door to take Brogan to school on time. I haven't had to get up this early is years. oy! On the bright side, I'm getting more things done around the house.

Boys on their day back...

Super early!

quick one

2008-08-19T15:54:00.003-05:00

I haven't blogged in awhile..ahhh sorry girls! Things have been hectic around here. Kell's on break right now. He finished his trimester last week and we spent a couple of days trying to get the house ready for his mother. She was here for 4 days and just left this morning. We get 24 hours to ourselves then his dad, stepmom, and grandma will be here tomorrow and be with us for a week. I'm so over having visitors at this point. Kell goes back to school on Monday. So does Brogan. Both boys are excited. I'm ready for Brogan to go back to school but not ready for Kell to go back. Thanks to his family being here the whole time, we have no family time to ourselves. Oh well what can you do. I have to do more some housework and spend some time with my family but I will be back in a couple of days, when I can find time, to post some pictures from our last week or so. I promise to get caught up on everyone else's blogs as well. So don't be surprised when you get a flood of comments from me haha.

Star of the commissary

2008-08-04T22:54:00.004-05:00

Watch out peeps, Diva on the scene......

"Please no pictures" haha

It was 9:30am, walking into the Commissary at Randolph AFB. We were stopped by many fans......mostly grandpas and grandmas.. :P

Oh boy we're in trouble for sure.

Smile..It's Sunday

2008-08-03T18:12:00.001-05:00

Don't mind her super cheesy grin :) Happy Sunday!

chocolate overload

2008-08-02T23:48:00.003-05:00

Since the cupcakes didn't turn out quite like I hoped they would, I had to go an alternate route. Although FYI, the cornbread cupcakes..yes that's what I'm calling..hush....they really are tastey for a oopsie. Kell loved them actually. hmm maybe I'll screw up more often. :P So back to my alternate route. I made a batch of chocolate truffles. I didn't finish making them because I'm just too tired...I'll finish tomorrow. I flavored them with Bailey's and Banana schnapps. Dipped in powdered sugar, cocoa, and drizzled in white chocolate. I then put them in little baggies for Kell to take with him tomorrow. I had a hard time fitting them in there though. Either I needed bigger baggies, or smaller cups. Either way though, Kell had the car today so I had to use what I had on hand. I don't want these in the house though...not Weight Watcher friendly...so I must find a way to get rid of all these...good thing I have a playgroup this week..I'll share the yummyiness with other mommies and will send some to work with Kell on monday too. Ok I'm nodding off. Night ladies!

yeah I had a hard time with this bow..

cupcakes to cornbread?

2008-08-02T15:06:00.002-05:00

Well crappppppppp.....I wanted to make cupcakes for the librarians at the library Kell goes to everyday. They are nice old ladies who adore him. This week they just gave him some awesome books for Caitlyn. How thoughtful! I thank people with baked goods. So I decided to whip up a batch of vanilla cupcakes. I mix all my stuff together and make my batter. Put the batter into the pan. Then I realize that it looks thicker than normal. I'm confused. I taste the batter. Ok not what the batter should taste like. What did I do wrong? I go over the recipe again, ok I did exactly what I was supposed to do. Then it hit me. The flour bag didn't look quite right. Nope it didn't. Why? Because I used self rising flour instead of all purpose.

FYI self rising flour already has the salt, baking powder, etc added to it so you don't have to add the other ingrediants yourself..thus calling it self rising. not a big deal if you have to substitute it for all purpose flour during baking, just omit baking powder, salt, etc from the recipe. It is however a big deal if you don't realize you used self rising and you go ahead and add the baking powder and salt to the recipe. You are basically doubling the baking powder and salt.

The "cupcakes" didn't quite bake the way they should have. They grew to be huge and overflated, then fell flat after they were done. I thought I'd be brave and taste them. They taste exactly like Sweet Cornbread! Oh well atleast they are still edible. But no cupcakes for the librarians. Guess I'm off to make truffles instead.

Sophie

2008-08-01T13:28:00.003-05:00

Next weekend we pick up our newest family member. Meet Sophie!

Isn't she precious! They say she's very shy, timid, sensitive, yet playful like a puppy should be. She's 6 months old, and already housebroken...yay! The lady selling her has medical issues and can't take care of her the way she thought she could.

We have a soft spot for Weimaraners. They are our favorite dog. When Kell and I first got together, he had a Weim. Beautiful great dog! But while Kell was in basic training the Weim got loose (a friend of mine was letting him outside while I was at work and he got away from her). I searched for weeks. I went to every pound, SPCA, humane society, etc looking for him. I put out flyers. I know someone must have found him and kept him. Which makes me sad. Kell was heartbroken. I swore to him one day we'd get another weim but we had kept putting it off. Finally I agreed it was time for a new addition. I figured since we won't be trying for a third baby for a little while, why not get a new dog! Yes I'm crazy..get over it. :P Anyway enough rambling, I'm just so excited to get her. I'm in love already.

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I hope everyone has a great Friday! I did some shopping this morning....used canvas bags for everything ;)......treated the kids to lunch....now I'm about to do some housework. Kell gets off work early today so he's going to play with the kids in the pool when he gets home. Tonight being our traditional family night, we always have pizza..fun!