Cupcake!

A few weeks ago, we stopped by a friends house to see their son who had just had a major surgery.  We came with toys and a card and ended up leaving with a plate full of mini chocolate cupcakes...talk about walking in at the perfect moment!!

And these cupcakes were SO delicious.  Thankfully, I didn't have to beg for the recipe and Jenny freely shared it.  Many, many thanks!!!!!

We made the full sized cupcake version today and they did not disappoint (however, I did enjoy more the small pops of flavor of the mini cupcakes).  The kids and I agreed, though that the frosting was our favorite part of this treat!

It was a happy Monday evening at our home because of them!

Cream Cheese Frosting

By Baker’s

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1 cup Cool Whip, thawed

Beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl with mixer until well blended.  Gradually beat in sugar.  Whisk in Cool Whip.   Keep refrigerated.

Best Ever Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake

By Kraft

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix

1 pkg. (4 serving size) Jell-O chocolate instant pudding

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

½ cup vegetable oil

½ cup water

1 pkg. (8 squares) Baker’s Semi-Sweet baking chocolate, divided

8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans.  Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil and water in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened, scraping sides frequently.  Beat on medium speed 2 minutes or until well blended.  Stir in 2 squares of the chocolate, chopped (or I just used Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips).  Spoon into prepared pans.

Bake 30-35 min. or until toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean.  Cool in pans 10 min. on wire rack.  Gently remove pans.  Cool completely on wire racks.

Place remaining 6 squares chocolate and whipped topping in medium microwaveable bowl.  Microwave on HIGH 1 ½ to 2 min.  Stir until well blended and shiny.  Cool 5 min.  Place 1 cake layer on serving plate; spread ¼ of the chocolate mixture over cake.  Place second cake layer on top; spread remaining chocolate mixture over top and sides of cake.  Garnish with sprinkles or almonds. 

*For mini cupcakes- bake at 325 degrees for 11-13 minutes.

A Hobby.

I love digital scrapbooking.

I wish I had more time to spend creating my book of family memories.
And I love getting recognized for the scrapping that I do find time to do!!

I think all digital scrapbookers are familiar with MSA--My Scrapbook Art.
I'm the Featured Scrapper in their May newsletter, Flourish!!  

If you want to check it out, you can find the newsletter HERE.
(Scroll over the button next to "full screen" and click on "paper view".  I'm on page 9 and 10).

And in other scrapbooking news, my great friend Denise is the "Treat of the Month" over at The Sweet Shoppe.
At the Sweet Shoppe, you can purchase some "Inspired by Denise" templates by Darcy Baldwin.

Here's what I made with one of them...

 

Family created with Darcy Baldwins templates "Inspired by Denise" and Plum Dumpling Designs iNSD Grab Bag

And a layout created with one of Denise's own templates...

Cherry Blossom, created with Erica Zane and Denise Beatty Originals 2010 iNSD Grab Bag

Sonic and Mario at the Olympic Games

10 great friends +
10 gold metals +
An Olympic obstacle course +
Pin the Mustache on Mario +

A trophy pinata filled with treats+
Chili dogs for lunch+
Some awesome birthday presents from friends and family =
------------------------------------------------------
The most grateful and ecstatic 5 year old ever!

3 LOOOOONG years

I've often said about my boys, "[ __ amount of years] has flown by!" when they hit their birthday.

I can't say that for Anna.

It really has felt like 3 years.  Honestly, it's felt longer.

She's a constant chatterbox,
non-napper,
hot or cold (rarely in between),
into everything,
always primping,
often screeching,
(or is that singing)
kind of girl.

And at the end of the day, I am beyond exhausted.
And at the end of 3 years, I have more gray hairs then I should.

But...you know me...I wouldn't trade it.  For anything.

34 Things.

He's a daddy.
A son.
A husband.
A cub scout leader.
An engineer.
A geocacher.
A mountain biker.
A substitute teacher.
A computer nerd.
A best friend.
A skier.
A dishwasher.
A home teacher.
A handyman.
A candy addict.
A brother.
A baseball coach.
A silly guy.
A painter.
A lawn mower.
A good example.
A supervisor.
A hard worker.
A sushi lover.
A handsome fellow.
A financial planner.
A toilet plunger.
A camper.
An outdoors man.
An basketball player.
A biography reader.
A leader.
A traveler.
A grown up child.


And on and on and on...

But since he's only 34, that's all he gets today!



Happy Birthday, babe!

5

Five funny things that Evan has recently said...

1.  Mom said, "Evan, you need to clean up outside.  We're leaving soon."
Evan replied, "Mom, you're not the boss of me!  Jesus is!"

2.  Evan asks, "After Tom Monson dies can he come back to earth and be a baby in our family?"

Mom says back, "Who is Tom Monson?"

Evan replies, "The prophet, duh!"

I'm 100% sure that Mormons don't believe in reincarnation.  Sorry, hun!

3.  "Tomorrow I'm going to be 5.  And after that I'll be 6.  And after that I'll be 7.  And after that I'll be 9.  I'm not going to be 8 because that's boring."

4.  "Mom, why did  you have to marry Dad?  I wanted to marry you first."

5.  "Never mind.  8 is okay now.  Because I want to be in the big kid swim lessons."


Evan cracks us up on a daily basis!  We're so happy that his spunky personality is part of our family.  We look forward to this exciting year for Evan.  He is starting baseball.  He'll be starting Kindergarten.  He's losing teeth.  He asks so many questions and wants to know, know, know everything.

Happy Birthday to my Silly Boy!!

We love you!

Easter Time

I love that General Conference weekend has fallen on Easter.  I can't think of a more perfect way to spend Easter this season then focusing on the Savior and spending time with family.

He Lives

Speaking of family, what an awesome responsibility we have as parents to  teach our children.  Thanks for all of your comments on the previous  post.  Elder Perry and Elder Bednar's talks during conference have  reminded me that this parenting job is never ending, but ever so  important.  Be diligent.  Your children need you!

Hard Things

Sometimes being a parent is just plain hard. Like break your heart hard. Like you hate seeing your kids sad and struggling hard.

And sometimes I worry about my kids having to be raised in this crazy messed up world.

Sometimes I just want to make sure my kids are living in the world but not of the world.  That they're aware of the things going on around them but realize that they are not the best things for them.

Really, I just want my kids to be kids.

I want them to be sad because they messed up their toe while kicking a soccer ball with their barefoot and now it hurts to walk and ride their scooter.

Not because they're getting a new teacher because their teacher had an inappropriate relationship with an adolescent girl.

Ten year olds shouldn't have to worry about that kind of stuff.

They also shouldn't hear about this kind of stuff from their peers.

So gulp...we're going to have to suck it up and do the hard job of parenting.




Any suggestions?

Who's Got Talent?

Last weekend our ward had a talent show.  I'd suggested to the boys several weeks ago that they should practice a song for it.

There didn't seem to be too much interest.  I wasn't surprised.

A few hours before we left for the show, Jared says,

"You wanna hear my song for the talent show?"

Me, "You're playing something for the talent show?"

If I wasn't such a slacker Mom, I probably would have put two and two together that his piano playing had improved over the past week and he was actually practicing.

Oops, I guess I should have signed him up for the show!

Never fear, he was a last minute talent and showed much bravery, no jitters, no hesitation.  (I say bravery because I'm a chicken and the two piano recitals that I played in I started, messed up and quietly asked to start over.  Stage fright.  Eeek!)

So, so proud of you, Jared!

Play ball

Nothing says spring weather like...

Baseball.

And a muddy yard.

70 degree temperatures.

With lots of kiddos running around.

Welcome back Spring.

My Martha Table

Before we moved into our new home, I scored a sweet deal on a Martha Stewart farmhouse table.  It had one small knick in it, so for $50 I knew this floor model would fit perfectly in our home.  With the discounted floor model chairs and an e-bay bench, we had ourselves a grown-up table set.

Today my Martha Stewart newsletter showed up in my inbox.  And low and behold, my table and chairs were on the front page.

A table on casters?  Really?

I wonder what Martha would think if she saw my version of her table.  It's a pretty sad representation of Martha Stewart and her brand.  (Although, I did by the table at KMart and I don't know if there could be a worse representation of Martha then KMart.)

As much as I would love to have her version of this table, I have a sneaking suspicion that Martha Stewart doesn't have much fun.

I'd much rather have my melamine dishes and chewed up cups, mustard and marker smeared table top, sticky underneath all of the edges and stable on the ground table.

blog design

I'm trying to re-do my blog all by myself (meaning no help from my husband or Denise!!). I can do it.  I know I can.

I'm not getting this whole coding stuff, and I'm trying to follow the directions from sites such as Cutest Blog on the Block, but it's just not going my way.

User error.

I'm 100% sure.

Where do you go to get your instructions on blog design?

I need some tips.

Fill me in, please.

Dear Tooth Fairy,

Can you give me lots of monies, please?

From,

Evan (1 month shy of 5  years old)

 

  

It's a "count your blessings" kind of day

I love my calling at church. I'm over the childrens organization...or in Mormon terminology, the Primary. I love that I get to spend 2 hours every Sunday with 50 plus children and their teachers. I love all of the crazy things that they do and say. I love hearing them sing songs about the Savior and His love for them. I learn so much from them each week and my own testimony of Christ's love for all of us has grown just from being around these children.

But...

Maybe I'll get a blacklash for saying this, but I'm not loving the room that we have to meet in. When there isn't room for a teacher to sit next to a child that needs a little extra attention or a parent has to hurdle a chair just so she can get up and help her child give a talk...a talk that wasn't even able to be heard because she's a sweet quiet 5 year old talking into a microphone that doesn't work...makes me secretly want to call in the fire marshals so they'll ban us from the room.  I know it's not like this every week.  Sometimes we have less kids, but sometimes we have more.  And when it is like this, that sweet spirit isn't there as strong and the children feel it.  I feel it.

And so I come home and cry my eyes out.  Which then in turn leaves me with a massive headache.  So, I'm left to think about all of the good things that have been going on.

Tyler's Olympic Halfpipe Dream...He made this for the cake contest at the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet.  It was all his idea and he really did do most of the work.

Evan will be 5 in a little more than a month and we just discovered that he has 2 loose teeth!!  So I guess we're going to enter the Little Person, Big Teeth phase which will hold a whole new meaning for us!!

I love Jared's drawing of JFK here!!  He did this for a character can project at school.

And since the Olympics have been going, on our home has turned into a speed skating rink and halfpipe.  My kids have gotten very creative with their Olympic venues.  Here we have Anna "snowboarding".  Our future Torah Bright!

Unfortunately, Anna will be left behind on our ski/snowboard adventure tomorrow.  The boys, of course, are more than thrilled.  I'm a little leery.  Evan and I will be learning how to ski.  The big boys will snowboard. Wish us luck!

I'm feeling better already.

Just thought we'd share...

Top TEN

I'm not sure how this happened, but ten years flew right by.  How blessed am I (are we) to have Tyler as our son.

 

Tyler's Top 10 from Feb 15, 2009-Feb 15, 2010

1. Our trip to Florida, especially Sea World and Kennedy Space Center

2. Harry Potter obsession, reading all 7 books in just a few months. 

3. Cub Scouts, having his dad as his den leader, 2 pinewood derbys and cub day camp. 

4. Baseball, playing on a team and going to see games.

5.  The trip to Utah, Zions and Bryce Canyon, Snowbird, lots of family fun.

6.  Camping, with the Zamoras, with friends, lots of camping trips over a year.

7.  Hershey Park x2, during the summer and in the winter.

8. Winning the schools Geography Bee.

9. Chicago and Massanutten, two separate trips, equally as fun in his eyes.

10.  Snow!  There could never be enough.  Missing so much school, sledding and learning to snowboard. 

HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY, TYLER!

"Snoverkill"

I can't take credit for this perfectly descriptive word, but it's my word of the day, month, year...And I think Websters should jump on it.

 

02.10.2010 Blizzard

We took the kids sledding Monday night.  

Guess who will officially be learning how to snowboard tonight?

(Tyler and Jared)

And if things clear up...

We'll be heading to PA 

and Rob will be taking the boys snowboarding in lieu of Tyler's birthday party.

"Seurat! Seurat!"

That's what Anna has been cheering around the house.

Today we had school (and cub scouts) at home since the school parking lot still has not been plowed.

And if I'm teacher, I get to pick the subject.

So art it is.  With a little mix of science and French.

George Seurat and Pointillism.

 When two colors are right next to each other your eye mixes them in a process called, "optical mixing." Using optical mixing rather than physical mixing can create a brighter picture. Painting a pointillist piece is a slow and painstaking process. Seurat's famous "A Sunday in the Park on the Island of La Grande Jatte" (more commonly known as "Sunday in the Park"), which covered a wall (81 inches by 120 inches), took him two years to complete. He was known for amazing devotion and concentration. The dots in a pointillist painting can be as small as 1/16 of an inch in diameter! Based on these measurements, "Sunday in the Park" has approximately 3,456,000 dots!

 Now we have something more to see next time we go to Chicago!

The boys worked for 3 hours on their art projects, dotting away with their pencil erasers.

I think they turned out great and I can't wait to frame them and show them off.

No End in Sight

Local Weather > LOCAL WEATHER ALERT for Manassas, VA (20112)   

Winter Storm Warning for Prince William/manassas/manassas Park, VA

from 12 pm EST, Tue., Feb. 9, 2010 until 7 pm EST, Wed., Feb. 10, 2010

* ACCUMULATIONS... 7 TO 14 INCHES.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...
I drove by the school today because we wanted to go sledding (no where safe to park).  It hasn't even been plowed yet.  The street in front of it hasn't been touched (driven on, but not plowed...we almost got stuck...three times).  Add another 7-14" on top of that.  Sigh. 

Good news, though.  The storm has convinced me that we should have a generator (Rob jumps up and down, thrilled that I have finally conceded).  And Rob is almost convinced that an SUV would be more reliable than a new minivan (I shout with glee, although this is several months down the road).

We have been enjoying our beautiful surroundings...

Should we play a game of  "I Spy"?

• Before and after the snow
• Our new kitty (she's cute as can be)
• Friendly Neighborhood Snowball Battle
• The most sinful dessert in the world.  I've never tasted a carrot cake better than this one.
• The most "Saint"ly pudding pie with peanut crust (sugar-free and yummy).
• Our mailbox
• A carrot nose
• the BBQ grill.
• chocolate truffle footballs
• a displaced minivan in the dark
• The Kunz family taking residence with the Beatty family
• More awesome Superbowl food...seven layer dip.  GO SAINTS!
• Rob's windshield wipers.

(click on photo to enlarge)

As you can see, we've been busy.  However, we're going to have to get creative inorder to stay busy.

Done! Done! Done!

Well, we happily survived.  

Our power went out.  And then on.  And then out.  And then on.

And then out...for hours.

Once night fell, we packed up the family and drove to our great friend's house for the night.

Our power came on three hours later.

Then we played games.

And Anna threw up.

All over their daughter's bed.

 We're so glad that we consider them family.

Makes me feel less bad for their daughter.

I need to get her an apology treat.

Maybe a nice air freshener.

What do you think?

I'm thinking our snow fall totals were between 25" and 30".

Or 3 inches above my knees.

Let's Start at the Very Beginning

See you in 24 hours.

Stain Glassed Memories

Memories arrived at our home today, courtesy of USPS and my Mom.

As a child, I remember visiting my Mom during the summer and watching her make "stained glass candy".  I would lick off the powdered sugar and hold the candy up to the window.  It was so pretty.  And it tasted even better.  Spearamint, cinnamon, apple, cherry.  So many beautiful colors.  So many incredible tastes.

I'd forgotten about these sweet little treats until they surprised me on the doorstep today.

I'm still giddy thinking about discovering the bag of them tucked away in the box.  A very cherished surprise.

I told my kids all about my memories of making and eating them as a child (and how much Grani Jani loves them).  And then I watched them enjoy them just as I remembered doing.

Now all I need is the recipe so we can re-create!

Dear Dad,

We would like snowboarding lessons. Can you, PLEASE, teach us?

Love,

Evan, Jared and Tyler


(The kids are home once again. Today for a teacher work day, but I'm sure school would have been cancelled. Gearing up for this weekends predicted snow. President's day off. Are my kids really even in school this year?)

It only takes 1

1 little girl +
1 hour of "quiet time" +
1 tired mommy =

1 big job ahead of us

You can't have it all

We're here today to discuss Cub Scouts. Pinewood Derby. Speed vs. Style. And Science Fairs.

The important things.


Really. This is more about the perfectionism that my son has inherited from his mama.

He loves his car.
But he loves winning more.
And his car was not fast.
Cool, but not fast.
He held it together.
But he was disappointed.
Understandable, yes?


Turning disappointment into a learning experience, Tyler now knows what he wants to do for his science fair project.

My Car Is Cool, But Why Isn't It Fast? The Science Behind Pinewood Derby Speed.

No matter what...
We are proud of him.

Now I Get It!!

Because if it's written with lipstick, it all makes sense.(Thanks, Rob for the little lesson)

Between my little stint of trying to play basketball yesterday and my morning of yoga, I've decided that I do not recognize my own body. Who knew I had all of these hidden muscles!

And who knew I would ever "play" basketball again...not my kids, for sure.

As I walked outside to leave, my boys asked, "Where are you going, Mom?" (Obviously, curious because it's not too often that they see there mom leaving in the evening in her exercise clothes.)

"I'm going to play basketball at the church." (Something they hear often,...but from their Dad.)

Strange stares and little smirks came from the peanut gallery and then a series of chuckles.

The neighbor boy pipes up and speaks what all of the other boys are thinking, "YOU play basketball?"

I try, my dears. I try.



And thanks for the vote of confidence.

It's official...

January is my least favorite month of the year. After all of the Christmas joy and winter break fun, I'm finding it hard to get motivated.

A few things to look forward to...

Planning Tyler's birthday party. It's already been decided. The movie comes out right before his birthday, but he wants to wait to see it at the movie cafe. I need to hurry and read the book beforehand.
I stocked up on clearanced candy canes after Christmas. I think my kids will "love" them. Who says candy canes are only for Christmas.

Never enjoyed the movie, but loved reading the book (from the 30th anniversary intro, all the way to the end of Buttercup's Baby). Goldman is so clever and I am so gullible. Book club is next week.

This looks too yummy. And would be perfect for a Valentine's Day Sunday brunch. Is January too soon to enjoy it?

I need this. So I'm going to make one. With the highest hopes and purest intentions that the mac and cheese will last longer in our pantry. Doubt it, though.

My favorite show will be back on next week. I think owning one of these shirts would cheer me right up.

Making some of these crayons with the kiddos. Finally, something to do with all of those broken crayon pieces.

I guess I'd better get to work.

For my friend Lindsay...

We are the Crapo Family:

Trevor, Lindsay, Gabrielle, Gavin and Gage...this is only half of our family......Five children, that we have been trying to adopt for the last three and half years, Madalyn, Sophie,Gracie, Sawyer and Kenyon ...are right now in the mist of the Haiti earthquake in an Orphanage.

They are rationing what water they have.

We have traveled to Haiti 12 times...living with them in a hotel for 7 to 15 days at a time...we are THEIR Mama and Papa....the people they are expecting to come and rescue them....

We do not have the word ....YET.
We feel so confident that it will happen soon.....
We have very close connections with the Department of State and Joint Council.....we believe the kids WILL be able to come to the US...it is not a matter of if...but when.

We are doing our best not to go crazy with worry....Heavenly Father has preserved their lives, now we have to leave them in his arms for just a little longer.
We CAN prepare for them ...

Please read our blog: http://www.facebook.com/l/eede3;onthewingsofmiracles.blogspot.com

Any little bit helps...

You can also keep tabs on the Joint Council website ....as they quickly rush to come to agreement with the Department of State ...in their effort to get the children of American adoptive couples out of Haiti as soon as possible.

http://www.facebook.com/l/eede3;www.jcics.org/Haiti.htm


Thank you so much,
Lindsay Crapo

Log Your Memory

...to later jog your memory. I don't know why I hadn't seen this site around...maybe it's new. I have taken a bit of a scrapping hiatus. I can't be expected to keep up with all things digi-scrap, now can I?

The reason I found this little blog/site was because one of my layouts was featured on their blog this week! Their Tuesday blog post focused on "inspirational layouts that tell a story that isn’t entirely bright and cheery." But never fear! My layout wasn't depressing either!

Here's the link to the blog post (I'm chia).
http://logyourmemory.com

Here's my layout...

Alllvvvviiiinnnn!!!! We've been RAKed.

Crazy me took my 4 kids tonight to see Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

And it was one of the best random decisions I have ever made.

Because typically, I don't care to take all of my children out in public by myself.

But I wanted them to have a fun night. Sometimes, I do enjoy being the "fun one".

I planned on eating with them at the Movie Cafe, ordering a pizza and chicken fingers, but the time was posted wrong on the website, so we ran over to the Bell quickly before the movie started.

Because out tummies were full from our bean burritos and tacos, we only ordered a popcorn and pitcher of soda to share.

My "cute" kids were being admired by the only other guests in the theater, a mother with three of her four grown children. Any time Evan would laugh out loud and exclaim, "That was SO funny, Mom!", they would laugh along. When Anna got up and busted out her dance moves at the end of the movie, they watched and giggled. I appreciated their patience and understanding.

I love going to the Movie Cafe for the mere fact that my children can be children there. They are free to wiggle (and dance) and laugh out loud without being hushed. And I've never been there when it has been crowded.

At the end of the movie, the waiter told me that the other family in the theater had picked up our bill!! I was so grateful for their kindness. It wasn't that we couldn't afford it, but I didn't feel so alone as a parent who wanted her children to have a fun filled night at the movies.

We thanked the family and ended our family night talking about the kindness of others. I introduced the kids to the phrase "Random Acts of Kindness" (RAK). How they makes us feel. What we could do to show kindness to others, complete strangers.

Perfect ending to a great evening with the kids.

Just pulling in from the CooCoo Train

Chicago was fun. Chicago was cold. Chicago wore us out.

And we can't wait to go back!

But during the summer next time.

Chicago Tour 2009 Top Ten

1. Visiting the Shedd Aquarium
2. Looking over the city from the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears) and the Sky Deck
3. Riding the CooCoo train to the city
4. Shopping at the American Girl Store (for the girls)
5. And shopping at the Lego and Apple store (for the boys)
6. A night without children at Cafe Iberico and touring the underground city
7. Meeting up with Ross and Emily in Evanston
8. Cousinpalooza...play, play, play all all day.
9. Seeing one million dollars at the Federal Reserve
10. Walking...walking... freezing... freezing...eating...eating...

Good times in Chicago. Thanks for having us, Zamoras!