whatever

lots of projects i am feeling determined to get finished this week.
and to be honest…this list has been up for 2 weeks
and 2 things are crossed off now.

and by tonight…2 more at least will be crossed off.
i will show you all the goodies when they are all done.

last weekend…
craig’s dad came with a trailer full of toys for craig to play with.

they got the yard re-seeded
and whatever else they did.
craig was loving it.
he was drooling over that mower.
silly boys.

gerald showed scott how to use the leaf blower.
he and my nephew took turns with it.
he felt pretty grown up.

now we wait for the green to come back.

and did you know….
that we are the meanest parents in the world?
apparently we are.
according to this pretty girl.

this picture was just before her first dance on friday.
she had a wonderful time.
and i am happy about that.
i told my sister “this is a good week for her.”
that was last week.
nothing major…just us doing our job…
setting boundaries and rules that are for her best.
and her doing her job of not liking discipline and change…
and making sure we know it.
our line almost everyday around here “she’s sooo 12”
gotta love it.

i let this entire day go by without even noticing the date.
that is sad.
i wanted to share this video…
my mom sent it to me this summer.
it’s beautiful.
if you are anything like me you’ll need a bunch of kleenex.
(or your sleeve)

i just remember how scared i felt on september 11, 2001.
i was on my way to a doctor’s appointment when i heard it on the car radio.
it was regular radio that had become all news that morning.
they screamed live on air when the second plane hit.
my kids were at school…sean at a sitter.
i sat in the office waiting area all alone…very pregnant
listening on the secretary’s radio.
i started crying.
i called craig and told him i thought he should come home.
i felt afraid and alone.
i picked up my kids from school.
i thought “if they hit Chicago…or something close…how could i find my kids…i am so pregnant…i couldn’t get there…they’d be so scared”
it was the only thing i felt i had control over.
i watched the coverage until my heart was too sad to take any more.
so sad…
so wrong…

after our late walk the other night
my neighbor and i stood outside talking for a while
like we always do…
(that’s why i like walking with you girls-all the talking)
a frog hopped across the driveway.
the two of us were being so girly trying to catch it…
squealing and jumping.
well we got it.
it entertained annie the next afternoon.

she put it in her bike back pack.
then she took him for a ride.

he wasn’t interested in a free ride.
after a little more play we let him go back in the garden.
i am sure he had never been so relieved.

when i opened iPhoto this morning
i found this.

i believe this is Nick Jonas from “the jonas brothers” (a band)
based on the 2 minute research i just did through google.
lauren downloaded their their album 2 weeks ago.
i am guessing he is the new heart throb for tween girls.
and of the 3 jonas brothers i would agree that he is the cutest…
least product in his hair and least girly looking clothes.
i saw a picture of one brother kicking his leg way up high.
i am glad she isn’t in love with that one…
it looked a little feminine.
i don’t know their music but it just can’t be as good as my tween love…

the new kids.
it was real love.
(i either sound very young right now or very old depending on who’s reading this)
i went to their concert in kansas city.
i think i was in 7th grade?
we were in the very very back of the concert stadium.
we had binoculars we were so far back.
they came out in sequined blazers each in a different color…like a rainbow
wow…it rocked.
we screamed like crazy.
it really was so cool for a 12 year old.
we were always wishing we could be the girl in the video they sang to.
i dreamt of becoming mrs. jordan knight.
he’s the one bending over in the white jeans…
and nothing is hotter than a pair of white jeans – am i right ladies?
ha ha ha

if you notice…nick jonas looks almost like one of the new kids.
just like everything we wore is coming back in fashion again…
leggings under our skirts, side pony tails, leg warmers…
maybe the new kids are coming back.
a girl can dream right?

enjoy.

oh poor baby.
she is not in any pain but she is terrified.
annie had her cardiologist appointment today.
she was born with a heart murmur.
it is not life threatening and does not affect her at all really.
except when we go to these appointments and she has a panic attack.

all he is doing is listening with a stethoscope.
that’s all.
no one has hurt her in any way.
it looks like she is being tortured.

it is always dramatic with annie.
i took my camera because i wanted a picture of her getting her EKG.
they put 10 of these little snap stickers on her chest
and then hook up little cables to the snaps.
she seriously looks like a science project or that she is about to be jump started.
it doesn’t hurt at all and it’s fast.
but it invades her personal space and that’s bad.
so i didn’t get pictures…because we had to all work to get her to lay still & be calm.
i was sweating like crazy.
i have talked with her about going to the heart doctor for a week.
i thought if i prepped her enough she wouldn’t be scared.
it didn’t work.

her heart is the same…no change.
she is healthy though and that’s what matters.
it’s a common defect to have.
i was very worried when she was born but now i am ok…99% of the time.

we went to starbucks afterwards…for my nerves.
i was ordering my pumpkin spice latte
and annie interupts loudly to tell the coffee girl “I GO-ED TO DA HEART DOCTOR!!”
stranger anxiety apparently gone now. ???

then we stopped by and surprised my grandma.

this is my 89 year old grandma’s exercise ball.
she uses it.
she is amazing.
she takes exercises classes!
she volunteers…she gardens….she goes to the theater…she is so busy.
today she was telling me how she wishes she ate healthier foods.
she showed me her new healhty juice she saw on a “get healthy” Oprah.
it was yummy…blueberry pomagranite.

i just love her so much.
she is so kind and generous.
she is happy and content.
she is smart.
i love spending time with her.
she reads my blog.
oh yeah…she emails and is online…how cool is that?
she printed out my pumpkin cake recipe.
but it’s not healthy.

and on a completely unrelated subject…
i cleaned the fish tank 2 days ago
as of today…all 6 fish are dead.
gee – do you think i had something to do with that?
whoops.
i think my sponge had anti-bacterial stuff in it.

i was having such fun making this page for scott.
i was hunting through his room looking for something with the logo on it.
i found an empty lego box that just happen to be about 12 x 12.
hmmmm……
i cut the top off and that became my page!
the page is a piece of carboard…
i know it’s not acid free…i am okay with that.
i painted over the big lego symbol because it was distracting…
and i painted over the numbers in the bottom corner for a journaling space.
then i made the little booklet of his pictures of the collection.
it’s glued together (E6000) and then i put brads through it when it was dry.
each page a little tab for turning.
lots of fun for me….

as promised…
Pumpkin Spice Cake

for the recipe…click on the recipe photo album to the left…
then on the picture of what looks like words.
(i was so confused on how to do this…
is there a better way?)

since i don’t know Ree the pioneer woman…i will post my own recipe.
not to steal from her…just show admiration.
i adore her blogs.

gather your ingredients and get them all pretty like a magazine photo shoot.
pretend like better homes & gardens may be stopping by.
make sure they look pleasing arranged by proper height…showing their good sides.
please ignore that my flour jar has no lid because i dropped it and it shattered on my floor.
i kept it for 12 years though…that’s not bad.
and make sure your nutmeg shows and isn’t hiding in the back like mine.
this is the mother-of-five cooking not martha.
i laughed thinking how she always has fancy brands and hard to find ingredients.
everything in my cupboard is generic brand.
go great value!
i love kroger!

Ree the pioneer woman also taught me about this amazing product.
i had never heard of it…cooking spray with flour already in it.
it saves time and mess…i love this stuff.
spray your 3 cake pans with it and set them aside.
(doesn’t it look like a gigantic can? it isn’t..it’s a normal size can)

cream the butter until smooth…then add sugars.
you can hang your recipe above your mixer too…without a picture.
you could draw one.
or if you happen to have the country living from october 2002 you can rip out the picture from that.
i bet someone reading this has it…don’t you?

add the eggs one at a time…beating until smooth.

combine the pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla in a separate bowl.
i have made this cake maybe 10 times and i have always used milk…never buttermilk.
if you have it or make it you can use it but if you don’t then just use milk.
then set it aside.

combine the flour, powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and soda in another bowl
yes…you will have alot of dirty dishes from this recipe.
it’s worth it.

alternate adding the flour and the pumpkin to the butter mixture in the mixing bowl.
beat this until it’s all smooth.
it will look fluffy and be kind of thick.
not like regular cake batter at all…because this is no regular cake.

fill up those 3 pans that were sitting and waiting so patiently on the side.
fill them evenly of course…you don’t want a funny looking cake later.
and it’s okay if your 3 pans are 3 different colors like mine…
or if they are the same that’s okay too.
it just shows you care about that kind of stuff and you have nicer pans than me.

put them in your hot oven.
set your timer for 20 minutes.
then sit back and wait to have your house smelling like pumpkin and fall.
your family will begin to wander in saying “what are you making?”
or “how long till it’s done?”
and “it smells so good!”
for 20 minutes you can decorate your home with fall decorations…
to make this cake feel at home when it’s finished.
it is a fall dessert.
you wouldn’t want it coming out of the oven and seeing your 4th of july decorations still out.
how embarrassing that would be.
let them cool in the pan when they are done (toothpick test them)
after 30 minutes pop them out of the pans onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

now you can make your frosting.
mmmmm…..

combine all the ingredients but the powdered sugar.

beat it really fast to get it very smooth…that cream cheese wants to keep some lumps.

add the powdered sugar…4 cups but i have added more the past 2 times??
i am not sure why.
it needs to be thick enough to ooze over the sides but not drip off the side of your cake.

you can begin assembling your cake when the cakes are cool.
you don’t want to get too anxious because the frosting gets melty and then it won’t look nearly so pretty.
you can put it on any kind of plate you want.
i usually use my cake stand because it has the big glass lid and when i walk by it i can see how pretty it is and see how much there is left and how many more fork-fulls i can sneak.

isn’t she beautiful?!
don’t you wish you were here?
i wish i could share it with you…and a cup a coffee.
i just happen to have pumpkin spice coffee in my hand right now.
it would be perfect.
but unfortunately…there is only one slice left.
it will be gone before you could get here.

so go make one for your family…
but just get enough ingredients for 2 because as soon as it’s gone they will ask for another.
kind of like those “give a mouse a cookie” books.