Blue and Gold Cake

Well, it's tradition, and once again we have another boy in cub scouts making a cake for the cake auction with his Dad. Carter is a whiz at the computer and for weeks has been using Google to find pictures of thousands of cake ideas! This was the one he decided on! There were so many different variations of how you could make this cake, but I like how his turned out.

On the day of, he got ready for school early, so he had enough time to help mix and bake the cake. It required 1 cake pan and 1 loaf pan. There was also enough batter left over that we also made cupcakes for our kiddos at home. The cake cooled while he was at school. When he got home everything he and Rick needed to make it was out and waiting! Carter enjoyed cutting the "tracks" for the tank. Rick liked making the opening at the top with the soldier inside. They both worked well together, and I cleaned up behind them.

The Blue and Gold Banquet was fun! We have a lot of great leaders and families in our area! I am just happy the cake turned out great and it was what Carter wanted and planned out!

Side note: Rick is such a hottie! After 15 years, I never get tired of looking at him!

Happy Birthday, to Me!

I turned 34 this year and it was great! Rick said it was a week long birthday celebration, but that is highly exaggerated! It did feel good to have people send greetings throughout the week!

Rick asked what I wanted for my birthday and I said nothing. #1,we are trying to save $ to take our family to Orlando in June, and #2 I really didn't need anything! And then IT happened! I gave in to my weakness for blog surfing and while Rick and the kids were gone to rollerblade I came across a photo of a kids room redo, and I got excited! When Rick came home I told him that I wanted him to pay for the supplies to redo the little boys room, and "willingly" move the furniture and help when needed!

That next morning, on my birthday we were picking out paint, primer, trim, etc. I knew the hours of errands to get everything was killing Rick but he NEVER showed it or complained (that was the best gift of all!)! After getting everything he took me to Red Robin for lunch!

It took 2 gallons of primer to cover the ugly mess of "burnt pea soup", "sludge", I have many nicknames for the color I mistakenly painted the boys room 2 yrs ago! (on a side note, I think the US Army needs to ditch their green attire, that's all I think of when I look at that color...it's DEPRESSING!)



I trimmed, and masked and then after 1.5 days I was ready to paint!!!! I took Friday night off, and bought Megamind and pizza for the kids. They had friends over and we enjoyed a nice family night! It took all day Saturday to finish, and I couldn't have done it without the kids helping pick up the slack, Rick for doing all the stuff I couldn't and Kirk for delivering his dewalt precision mitre saw!









It makes the room seem to have twice as much light, and it just feels cheerful! The boys love it, and of course, that meant I had to redo the toy bucket labels in a better color, and they love their wacky alphabet wall! The old room had a border of the alphabet and numbers along the top! I paid a lot for that vinyl and so I did NOT want to throw it out! So, I carefully took it down and stored it on wax paper! It worked perfectly! Yah for recycling!

Anyway, it was a great birthday and I feel so blessed to have a husband who loves me enough to make all my dreams, wishes and honey-do's come true!

Dental Drama

A few months ago I noticed 3 distinct specks on Hunter's back molars! I brushed and brushed and hoped and prayed that they would magically disappear! However, I KNEW they weren't going anywhere! I took him to our amazing dentist who confirmed that visually she could see 3 teeth that needed work!

My earliest memories are going to an army dentist who was NOT nice, was mean and had an angry tone. I remember their rule about no parents allowed during treatment, and also remembered how much fear I had and that my Dad made them change their rule for me. I also was terrified of needles! I wouldn't let them numb me. I remember how they would work on my teeth until I couldn't handle the pain anymore and then take a break and then start again. Had I known then what I know now, I wish I would have gotten numb!

I don't want my children to fear our dentist! She is wonderful and gentle and patient and kind, and they never even realize they are getting numb or extractions or fillings! So, when we were presented with Hunter's teeth problems I knew we needed to have his dental work done in the hospital under general anesthesia. It was an emotional decision for me, but I'm grateful for Rix job at UPS that did not make this a financial decision! Everything that he had done was covered 100%!

Everyone who helped us that day was wonderful and kind. His procedure took just over an hour. The Dr. said he woke up "angry"! 40#'s of angry 3 yr old is not always fun! We went home about an hour later, and he just watched his cartoons and ate lots of popsicles. By the afternoon he was back to himself!

The Dr. did all the x-rays, teeth cleaning, and ended up having to do small fillings in every molar and one in between his front teeth! They sealed all his molars and so hopefully they will be healthier! I hope that we will not have to have any treatments for another 3-4 yrs when he is old enough to have it done in a regular office setting!

I'm so thankful we caught it and the decay was not deeper, and worse! I am thankful he did well with the anesthesia! I am thankful for our amazing insurance, even if it does come at the cost of Rix strength and energy!

Hunter now shows everyone his shiny "new" teeth that he got at the Doctor's!

Kid Couch Redo!

I should never look at blogs! I see other people do amazing things and then think....I could do that! Then I naively attempt to do something close to what they did and it NEVER turns out right....

Anyway, I have been looking for a child size couch at garage sales in hopes of having the foam for a foundation to remake for our piano room. I found one a few weeks ago for $1! The foam was heavy duty and in great shape, but the cover was a cheap fabric with thomas the train.



I came home and soaked the foam in a mixture of hot water, bleach and soap. I let it soak for hours, and then let the foam dry for days!

Rick went with me to JoAnn's and we picked out some fabric that would go well in the room. My mom is the queen of upholstery redo's and sewing. I asked her for tips on how to do it! I gently cut apart all the pieces off the old cover and used them as a pattern.

Last week I finally found time to make it and I did SO good by myself piecing it altogether and getting nice clean seam lines...UNTIL I got to the arms! That is when I lost my patience, ambition and vision! Fortunately for me Rick is amazing when it comes to everything and swooped in and helped me mentally and physically finish it!

(side note: he did say he was impressed with how much better my sewing skills have become and that if I keep it up he will get me a BERNINA!)

So we shoved and squeezed the cover onto the foam pieces to finish the last stitch only to turn it over and find that all that shoving had busted my gorgeous perfect arm seams!!! Agh!!!!! I was so bummed...they looked professional....thus the ugly hand stitching. And why is it not in a beautiful perfect line? That is because when I handstitched the first arm and went onto the 2nd arm, THAT stitching tore! So I had to get really creative and you can see my ugly stitching to repair the damage!

Anyway! I am happy it is done! I am happy I finished it, I couldn't have done it without Rick! I love how it looks, and most importantly Hunter loves it!!!!!!!

My Baby is 3!!!!!

Three years ago, my kids were snowed in at school, and I went into labor! I remember looking out the window, thinking, "of course, I go into labor with all my kids locked into 2 schools, 4 miles away!" Thanks to a few hefty 4 wheel drives and some neighbors, they were able to get our kids from school, and my grandparents came to stay with them until the baby came! Everything went great, best doctor, hospital, delivery, experience of all my children. Oh, yah, except for the nurse that said, "It's a girl,with all that hair, I'm sure of it"...only to have a boy make his entrance! Can't believe this little baby, is no longer a baby!



Hunter celebrated his 3rd birthday over the weekend! We enjoyed having homemade tacos and angel food cake with strawberries for dessert! He was so excited to open so many bday cards from all his family, and many of his grandparents send him $5! Thanks to my awesome discount shopping, we turned is collection of $5 into $100 worth of toys! Here are the things he got!







It took us over 2 years to get pregnant. I thought maybe God thought our family was complete. Truthfully, I think I will always want more babies! I am so thankful he sent us another special little person from Heaven! I feel so blessed to have been given this little guy to love and raise! Happy Birthday, Hunter!

Holding it all in

So today I had a glimpse of myself in my 10 yr old. I think I am a good communicator. For better or worse, I say what I think and how I feel most of the time. But, there are times when I now if I "let it all out" it makes it harder on others and hurts feelings. After awhile holding it all in a little at a time, my vessel overflows and I can't hide it anymore.

Tonight the older boys had some friends over and they made a plan for the games they were playing " to be fair". I noticed Carter left the "fun" and went to his room. When I called to him, he said "I'm fine". Mothers intuition is a great thing. I went to him and after MUCH prodding the tears just fell. He was so upset but didn't want Ashton to get in trouble or the friends to go home. He had justifiable reasons for his heartache.

I felt hurt for him. I cried for him. I wished I could take his sadness away. The look in his eyes just broke me. And then I saw it, he was growing up. Trying to hold in all the feelings, trying to be " just fine". Trying to be a BIG kid. Ugh, stupid grownups. I learn a lot from watching my children.

So tomorrows a new day, he will play with new friends, be rested and happier and we will start all over again "holding it all in" until the next time...

"I look Sexy"

I cut all my boys hair, the 4 smaller ones and the big one! I have learned through trial and error and have not done too bad. Problem is over the years the older boys want a more stylish, trendy hairstyle! I am NOT good with change and by the time I figure out how to cut it so it is clean enough for the white collar check and for my likings, they will be in their 20's!

Ashton went to a hairstylist the beginning of school and got highlights and a "cool" hairstyle. She does a great job, but I'm frugal, and can't be paying for 1 kid to have the look of his dreams and make the others suffer with cookie cutter hairstyles.

Haircutting time came again (about every 6 weeks) and as I lined them up I decided I would try to give Ashton an out of the box "do" from THIS hairdresser. I spent almost an hour doing his...afterwards he was so thankful and said, "I love it, I look Sexy!"

I knew what he meant, he was happy, felt confident, on a 8th grade level..hip, but that phrase, the word, "sexy" that is said to mean so many different things, bugged me! I explained to him, that isn't a word we should use.

I got thinking of how many ways I used that word as a teen, as a newlywed, sometimes even now...and after much reflection, realized the impact society had on the frequency of that word, and how the meaning morphed and changed over the years...but for me and in this house, I realized that word really was a spicy way of saying "Confident".

As a mom, I don't want to hear my 13 yr old say "I look sexy", but what I DO want is to have a boy who for 1 day, 1 week, even a month, feels confident. Sometimes a fresh look, new outfit, or "change" can give us that confidence.

So, I'm thankful that my hairdo passed the test and that he was happy with it! Here are some pics. For those who know Ashton, he has mousy brown hair. I had a box of haircolor in the cabinet and he was up for change...glad it all worked out.

The simple things

You know the stories you hear about a child getting a big, $$$ gift, only to find them playing with the box it came in more? This photo reminds me of those stories.

I am a bargain shopper and therefore come Christmas and Birthdays, the gifts my kids usually get only cost me $12, but are $50 toys! I have noticed that the one thing I am constantly finding Hunter playing with is the cheapest stocking stuffer he received, that I paid full price for and made sure everyone had a pack. HOT WHEELS TRACKS! Only one store in town carried them, the Big Blue Store! They are the best thing! He can put them together himself and builds the tracks so long!

I was making dinner and looked over to see this~his brothers have helped set up the different hills and vales for him in the past and he has learned to use the table, pillows, couch and his fruit snax bucket to make for a more adventurous ride!

There are many days I think it's great to know he can entertain himself and have fun doing it!

In the "Dog House"

About 2 days a week I work a few hours in our office for Rick. Our office is in the basement and we have a heavy duty baby gate preventing curious hands from entering. On these days I bring Hunter in the office with me where he plays and rides his tricycle.

On one particular day he was being quiet...TOO quiet! I looked over to see this:






Apparently, in our house the figurative term of "being in the dog house" is taken quite literally by our 2 yr old!

For clarification, this is NOT a punishment, he thinks it is fun to climb into our dogs bedtime kennel.

Sunday Mats

Before Christmas I was looking for a cute, easy, cheap craft for the boys to add to their church bags. I came across different ideas that I loved on blogs and in etsy. I decided on chalkboard mats! I do say that if you love these and want to buy instead of sew, I loved everything in this gals shop:

http://www.etsy.com/people/adornwithaandm?ref=ls_profile


I loved the print she used, but I needed 3 and couldn't afford to buy....so here is my version of her cute mats. Joann's had all I needed and I loved the monster print. My boys love them and it only took 30 mins to make 4! I'm getting better at this sewing business! My favorite thing to use on all my projects is extra wide double fold bias tape! It hides most of my flaws and gives it a clean edge!