mmmmm....cake!

We did a lot of slothing today (well I did anyhow) and that meant a lot of TV (not really that much, just an hour or so). It was pretty dreamy actually to just lie in bed and watch some mindless TV. I love watching cooking shows...like this and this and this. The problem with watching them, is it makes me REALLY hungry for food I cannot access and food I do not make.

I also look at a lot of cooking and baking blogs/websites. Ones like this and this and this. And that is only a handful of the blogs I visit on a regular basis. I could easily be 400 lbs.

The girls and the boy joined me in my slothing and TV watching and we watched TLC's Fabulous Cakes. But then guess what happened? We were all craving cake! Gabrielle asked if we could bake a cake and how could I say no to that??? So we made...

Wacky Bake Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3 tbsp. cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.Grease a 9x9 or 8x8 cake pan.
Mix all ingredients together. Make 3 holes in mixture. Mix together 1 tsp. vanilla,
1tbsp. vinegar and 5 tbps. melted butter. Pour into holes. Add 1 c. lukewarm water and mix until smooth. Bake for 30 minutes.

I make this icing I found here...

And then you get this...




Yummmy!

And then when your kids go to bed and your husband is out you get this...

Embrace the Camera

Their silly faces meant grabbing their noses!


Love these kids....

Whatever on Wednesday

I missed doing "Ten on Tuesday" (see this if you are wondering what the?") so I thought I'd make my own. I couldn't think of a number that went w/ Wednesday though...but do you see how clever I am?

1. My DH and I had a date night tonight. It was delightful. The kids are at the inlaws so we took full advantage and went for dinner. Earls. Hadn't been in forever so it was a nice treat.

2. We did talk about other things, but of course we talked about the kids a fair amount. I laugh at how just one day without them makes you appreciate them that much more.

3. It was warm like a spring day around here today. Deeeeee-lightful indeed!

4. My toe nails need to be painted desperately. Like I can't stand to look at them.

5. I had my first meeting w/ my client today for the new design job he wants me to do. Its going to be a ton of work!

6. Tomorrow I am going for a one hour Indian head massage! Oh my goodness, I cannot wait!!!

7. I'm enjoying this years bible study (the book of Isaiah) immensely.

8. Maxy-Max got a much needed hair cut yesterday. Cuter than before if that is at all possible.


9. Gabrielle had another hip-hip class last night. I am amazed at how much she LOVES it. Maybe we've found her "thing"?

10. This girl is just getting prettier and prettier as the days go by. She's getting less cute and more pretty.


11. It is rare for me to get pictures of Miss G. these days seeing as she's at school all day...

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yup. We better start saving for braces now. Those are some nasty chompers!

12. Did I mention how gross my toe nails are right now????

Anything new?

My Mom asks me this everytime I talk to her. She's off galavanting (hee hee) in Washington State with my Dad. Working they tell me. It sucks on my end, but yes, I understand.

Anyhoooo...she asks me everytime we talk on the phone if anything is new. No, I tell her, we just spoke 2 days ago and nothing is new since then.

I'm thinking she doesn't remember the mundaneness of life when you have young kids. It is pretty routine and some days, BORING, when you have little ones because you do the same stuff over and over.

Today was somewhat out of the ordinary however. Gabrielle woke us up at 5 am to tell us she had a belly ache. Before she couldn't even form the words with her mouth, however, she started to vomit. Luckily (thank you Lord!) she made it to the bathroom sink and then over to the toilet, before the puke came out full force. She puked violently for about 5 minutes. Super fun! Fortunately, that's all there was to it. One puke. And she was pretty much fine all day.

The noise woke Max up and he begged to come into bed w/ me. I held my ground be/c experience has shown me that the kid will NOT fall asleep in my bed...he'll chit-chat and fart around until you give up all hope of sleeping again and just get him out of bed. So I cuddled him and rocked him and again - THANK YOU LORD - he went back to sleep until 6:30 am.

We got up then and I did Level 3 of my workout DVD. Killer. Like sweat dripping into my eyes kind of killer. I should be Shredded in no time. If only I could get my eating under control. Problem is...I like food sugary-bad-for-your-abs-and-butt food.

I got breakfast for everyone, got showered, got Lily and Max dressed, hair done, teeth brusehd. All that morning kind of stuff. Then we took Lily to pre-school and I put a movie in the car DVD player so the kids could come down to the far South w/ me to get samples of melamine for a client.

Came home, did some design work on the computer and went to get Lily and her 2 friends (5 year old twins, Paige and Liam) and brought them here for a play-date. Chaos begins! Quickly finished up the work I had to get sent off while they all jumped on the trampoline and then made lunch (Kraft Dinner...again).

Then I got a surprise call from a past client who has some work for me (first some renovations on his office that got damaged by the city doing sewer work near his building...then he wants me to design/build a house for his grand-daughter! Eek! I'm super excited about this...).

After that, I sat in front of the computer for way too long while the kids played and then finally got off my butt to clean the lunch mess in the kitchen. Then I made some Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. And ate way too many of them be/c they were super yummy.

Paige and Liam got picked up by 3 pm, then I sat in front of the computer again (wasting time in blog land) and then played w/ my kids. I chased them around the living room coffee table and then we played Polar Bear...where one of us is the polar bear in the water and the others are safe on the iceberg (or couch if you will). The kids LOVE this...and I feel far better for playing with them and making them shriek with excitement, than I do for sitting in front of a computer screen for far too long.

Then we had breakfast for dinner (Greg was out at bible study and didn't come home beforehand). So I made them pancakes and scrambled eggs. Blue pancakes actually. Cleaned THAT mess up while they played then it was time for jammies. But first they jumped on the trampoline be/c it was so warm it nearly felt like a summer night! Gabrielle was the hired babysitter for the evening so she read books and then they all went to bed. Insert excited laugh here.

After doing my phone calls for BSF, I am now on my way to fold 2 huge heaping baskets of laundry before I fall into bed to start it all over again tomorrow. My eyes are burning I'm so tired. But I'm looking forward to coffee with my girlfriends tomorrow. And then on Wednesday, the twins' Mom is taking my kids for the day and my MIL is picking them up so its like I get TWO WHOLE DAYS off! Well to work anyhow, but still a treat to not have the Mum stuff to do on top of it.

There certainly isn't anything NEW. And to be honest, I'm glad about that. I don't think I can fit anything new in right now!

Eeek!!!

Okay...I'm like a giddy school girl right now! I was playing around on my blog 'cuz I was thinking that I'd like to make it look a little different and much more exciting...prettier and cuter, basically.

And I discovered...that...I...have...COMMENTS!!!

Like someone OTHER than my Mum (love you Mum!) has read my blog. And someone other than my friend, who also blogs, has read my blog!

Like SHE left a comment. And that is super exciting be/c I love HER blog and read it daily. So how excited am I that she checked out my blog and left a comment!

And a few other girls left comments, like girls that I don't know!

Eeek!

Seriously, that is really exciting to me.

Thanks! Thank you for leaving comments! It made my day!

Okay, now that I've calmed myself down...I'm going to try to make my blog cuter!

Embrace the Camera

Me and my honey bunches.Photo courtesy of Lily. So rare to get a decent photo of us.

Have to share this one too. Lily and Max were playing so nicely a few days ago and she showed me what they were up to...(**WARNING**nudity!!!)





Poor kid! There is just way too many photos to use against him when he's older. Such a good sport too (mostly anyhow!).

52 things...in 2011 or in my lifetime anyhow

I found this idea here...and wanted to make my own. Hard to write a list that wasn't entirely self-centered. I'm betting it will be modified as time goes on and I'm not necessarily thinking all can or will be accomplished THIS year. But these are some things I think about....

1. Grow my hair. Long. Like as long as hers...


2. Volunteer at the Mustard Seed.
3. Organize bathroom cupboard. Add more shelves too.
4. Buy curtains for Maxwell.
5. Purge/organize back storage room.
6. Learn how to use my camera on manual mode.
7. Take kids on holiday.
8. Do something for someone else. Like something sacrificial.
9. Go on more date nights.
10. 6 AM devotion time.
11. 6:30 AM exercise time.
12. Renovate or accept that it won't happen.
13. Organize a fundraiser for a charity.
14. Dress nicer.
15. Be nicer.
16. Get a shelf for the girls room.
17. Pray more.
18. Stop eating so fast.
19. Cut up fruit and veggies so they're at the ready.
20. Build a playhouse.
21. Try eyelash extensions.
22. Take up running again.
23. Play with kids more often.
24. Organize office.
25. Donate old stamps/craft supplies.
26. Get involved at church.
27. Go on a mission trip (build houses in Mexico or the like).
28. Decorate a room to completion.
29. Wall paper a room.
30. Paint bathroom.
31. Wear more color, less black.
32. Take more naps.
33. Scrapbook randomly.
34. Find a worthy cause to join.
35. Stop swearing.
36. Be less anxious.
37. Be more compassionate.
38. Buy a really nice coat.

39. Purge old shoes.
40. Spend less time playing on the computer.
41. Ski with the kids and as a family.
42. Stretch (my body and myself)
43. Go for family walks and hikes.
44. Go on family picnics.
45. Eat food that fuels my body.
46. Decorate the playroom.
47. Have people over for dinner more often.
48. Get a PVR.
49. Get more sleep.
50. Stop focusing on the things I want to be different.
51. Commit to daily prayer for hubby/kids.
52. Have coffee dates with friends more regularly.