Windy Cupcake Weekend

I arrived home from work on Friday to Goose sitting next to a dead mouse in the garage, a dried-out  turd behind the mule and a gnawed-on deer shin/ankle/hoof in the front yard.  I thanked my lucky stars there were no chicken carcasses in the yard and carried on with my afternoon. 

I forgot to mention Maisie's been obsessed with online families.  Kacy and Jacy (or is it Lacy?), Our Family Nest, My Cupcake Addiction (which is actually a baking blog with hundreds of videos of out-of-this-world cakes).  I chalk it up to the fact that our lives are so uneventful, she's living vicariously through others. 

Aunt Heather and I grew up in the 80's and lived vicariously through the JC Penney Catalog as we manufactured fake lives through careful selection of which model was us, our spouse, children, babysitter, clothes, neighbors, wedding bands, rugs and bedspreads.  Aside from the internet, times haven't changed much.

Maisie begged me to let her bake the Nestle Chocolate Heart Bundt which was featured on mycupcakeaddiction.com in February.  I promised her we'd do it Saturday.  By mid-afternoon, she 'remembered' my promise. 

So the cake baking began. 

By the way, the cupcake-obsessed baker is apparently French, or Australian, or European... I don't know for sure but her recipes call for ingredients in 'grams'. 

That should have been my first clue.

We wound up weighing every ingredient with my Ben Franklin $5 scale.  Granulated sugar dumped over the floor, the vanilla bottle dropped into the batter (open), I couldn't reach the food coloring because my sciatica won't let me lift my arms above my head and my hormones were looking for a fight.  Let's just say my patience level had grown thinner than Nancy (for my 'For the Love of Nancy' fans) just as Mike walked in the house to me yelling about food colors, using the vacuum on the countertop and the a garbage disposal choking on egg shells. 

But look what we made! 

Thanks to a psycho cupcake lady, we'd completed step-1 of a 2-step cake process!

Sunday morning we began Step 2. 

Making a chocolate cake and pouring it around the hearts in the bundt. 

'It's a bundt' 

Name that movie.

Somehow, these excited smiles made the blood, sweat and tears worth it. 

One of these days I'll realize my kids aren't getting any younger. 

I want to be present.

The clock keeps ticking...

Sister Cousins

There's cousins.... and then there's sister-cousins. 

I apologize for the blurriness of my photos. 

But when my girls get together with their Laura, there's no slowing them down. 

Reminds me of Laura's mom and I at this age.  But they have guitars instead of foil wrapped wooden spoons, high heels and boots instead of bare feet, headbands instead of feathered mullets and sparkly dresses instead of mom and Aunt Judy's old prom dresses.

I wasn't going to include this photo due to the horribleness of it, but I liked that Sam was in it.  Can you find him?

The bond these girls share goes much further than just cousins. 

How lucky are they?

Cousin Wrastlin'

Is it me, or do all boys spend a little time wraslin' on a living room floor at some point in their lives.  Perhaps it's the boy version of the girls' living room dance routine.  I think it's a right of passage.

We didn't realize we were making memories... we only knew we were having fun.

cousins

Snow Day in February

I recently read a quote along the lines of  "Being a Mom means wishing for a moment to yourself, then once you get it, all you can think about is getting your kids back."

Snow days at home with 3 restless kids make me respond to that quote with ...

"Bologna".

The snow day goes somewhat like this...

You wake-up to 2 automated phone calls (one from each school), 2 text messages and 2 emails notifying you of the 2-hour late start. That's not including the messages Mike is simutaniously receiving on his phone.

The excitement of telling the kids they get a late start is overpowered by the thought of, 'Lets just turn off their alarms and let the sleep a little longer.  There's no doubt they need it.  It could be a long morning'.

The earning morning darkness turns to light and you see the beauty of the snow falling on the tree branches like icing on a cake. 

There's a reason I craved a life in the country.

But living in the country comes with gravel roads which don't get plowed.  All this rural-ness equals schools getting cancelled for the day.

Once the word's out, everyone immediately removes their clothes and winds up back in underwear.  That's just the way we roll.  Discussions of couch cushion tents, pancakes, snowmen, skateboarding in the basement and helping mom with chores are quickly replaced with arguments, screaming, and demands.  My sciatic nerve is shooting lightning bolt pain down my calf and I suck down 4 more Ibuprofen with a 5th cup of coffee.

Ross occupied himself by shopping for a I-pod case on Amazon which he's been obsessing over for 36 hours and counting.

The girls fought over the vacuum.

Each time the cats 'wrestle', we end up with a vat of cat-wool on the living room rug. 

The vacuum gets a workout.

Unless lunch turns out like this.

I hate you Lunchables.

Some of my favorites quotes from Tuesday's snow day follow...

Mom, what time is it?

It's 9:17.

So it's kinda lunchtime?

I just had a really bad poop.  The top's like an anaconda.  You gotta see this!

Mom, it's fine if we go on the front porch naked because we live in the country.

Kuda just licked Kratts balls.

It's past mid-February and the forecast is looking springish.  Snow days could be done for the school year.

Despite the 'moments' that make me question this motherhood business, I find everlasting Grace.

Grace I didn't have to find a back-up sitter for my kids during snow days, because I get to be a teacher now.

Grace my kids wouldn't be home alone if I did have to work, because Grandma and Grandpa are next door.

Grace my kids are healthy, fed, smart and mine.

Grace the snow will soon melt, summer break is just around the corner, our floors are vinyl, our furniture is crap and I've accepted boxed wine.

God is Good.

Peek Back

As nice as it is to see my kids becoming more and more independent...

One year ago

Two Years Ago...

Three Years Ago

Slowly but surely...

time will work me out of a job.

Valentines Day and Pork

Who'd have thought Valentines Day wasn't until Sunday of this week?  With the excitement of classroom parties on Friday, I actually walked through Fareway Saturday morning and wondered why Valentines Day candy wasn't 75% off yet. 

The girls each made their boxes into owls.  I didn't realize they were owl fans, but apparently Owl Valentines Day boxes is where it's at.  We used cut-up gift bags to cover the owls as our only wrapping paper had Santa Claus and Gingerbread men on it.  I only had one pink gift bag, so we were forced to use cut-up Victoria Secret bags as wings and feathers. 

Molly was uber-pumped for her party at Preschool.  Not only would she be getting festive treats, Valentines cards and playing games with her class, but I was planning to be at the party too. 

However, sometimes we have a way of building something up in our heads so big...

we end up disappointed.

That's exactly what happened Friday. 

The only treat she liked was the juice box.  She ate the strawberries, as long as I pulled the chocolate coating off them.  The game was making a heart-shaped bird feeder out of Fruit Loops and pipe cleaners.  There was ALOT of extra time, so her teacher read several round of Pete The Cat to kill the remaining 25 minutes of the afternoon.

As far as I was concerned, the party was a success and the kids had fun.

Molly will tell you otherwise.

Molly didn't ride the bus home on Friday because I was there to drive her home.

This is a peek into our ride home...

Thank God it's only a 10 minute drive.

 

Apparently, she expected more out of her preschool Valentines Party than what was offered.

It was the beginning of many school party let-downs and my heart went out to her between photos.

Meanwhile, Maisie seems to be a fan of pork.  This is a glimpse of the breakfast she requests each morning.

Hard salami with a side of syrup-covered sausage.

Yep, I'm the nutrition teacher.

Safety Tip

Just incase you were thinking about it...

Friend for the Afternoon

Remember the days when your mom would let you have a friend over for the afternoon?  Oh the anticipation of it all...

What would you play first?  Will they think your rooms is cool?  What should you wear?  How long can they stay?  You wonder if they can spend the night?  Maybe you'll invent or discover something.  It was like having the whole world open up for an entire afternoon.

The days the kids convince me to let them have playdates...  all THREE of them,  oh the anticipation I have for it to end...

Saturday was that day.

To kids it becomes a countdown for the arrival of their bff.  To the parent, it's like hosting a birthday party without a birthday.

As Ross and Maisie have gotten older, playdates are easier.  The kids are more mature, reasonable and self conscience.  That's a good thing. 

But if two of your kids have a friend over to play, odds are the third will experience psychological damage from being left out.

Therefore, you cross your fingers, say a prayer and go with it.

When a playdate starts at 1:00, (aka naptime) things can get hairy.  Within 20 minutes of Molly's friends' arrival Molly, decided against sharing her Power Wheels  and was sobbing at the bottom of the steps in the fetal position with snot rolling out her nose.  We still had 2 hours and 40 minutes left.

Intervention time.

I alternate Barbies and Oreida French-fries over the next hour to keep them from crying or screaming at the other. 

The next thing I know, Mike is disciplining the girls (kindly of course) in the basement for pulling handfuls of spray foam insulation out of the wall. 

One hour to go. 

I insisted the girls test a recipe for Microwave Mug Brownies, which my students are making this week for their microwave unit.  I was glad I did, because I learned the flour needs to be completely stirred into the wet ingredients or the brownies will look like they have worms. 

Food Science.  It's a curious thing.

The little girls go outside while the big girls smear another layer of eyeshadow and blush over their faces.

After being outside less than 5 minutes, the guests' dad arrived to pick them up.  Molly runs inside bawling she wont have anyone to play with now. 

I check the clock and consider taking a shot of something strong and hot.  But it's only 3:15, one of my girls is bawling, the other is trying to hide in the basement with her friend, Mike is attempting to explain the thermal heat regulating system to me as I wonder if Molly peed in her pants of if the wet spot it just snow or Kool-aid and my boy left for Des Moines with his friend. 

But when it's over you feel you've scaled a mountain.  And in a small way, you have.

Pose 1

Pose 2 (where the three on the left decided to raise a shoulder)

Pose 3 (where the older 2 are doing a chin pose, our young guest is doing a double shoulder pose and Molly still has no clue what's going on)

A crazy pose (Molly's still unaware).  And yes, my kids are the ones without socks.

you might be wondering where the girls are sitting?

They're on a rug, on a mattress, leaning against the insulation in the basement. 

BFF's

Also, if you'd like to check out this lovely ladys' blog, please visit

http://maisieingrid.blogspot.com/

Snow Day 2

Were nearing the end of the second snow day in a row. 

My box of wine is drained, the couch has been peed on to the tune of "A River Runs Through It" the girls are currently sliding down the steps in a sleeping bag,  I succeeded in making a grilled cheese sandwich using frozen dinner rolls strategically shaped into bread slices  (we're out of bread)  We have anatomically correct/yet inappropriate snowman in the front yard complete with celery-leaf pubes and cherry valentines candy heart nipples, we spent our lunch hour scrolling through KCCI's 'Most Recently Arrested' slideshow while I begin analyze the statement,

"The days are long but the years are short".  Im confident the creator of that phrase had experience with snow days.

Yes, that's a carrot chode.

There isn't any snow or ice predicted for Thursday.  I think that's a good thing for everyone.

Like a Small Boat

2 weeks ago the Winterset Stage announced "Open-Mic Night" would take place on January 30th.  I asked Maisie if she wanted to give it a shot, but she quickly shook her head, 'no'.

After a few days of pondering, she considered doing gymnastics routine with Maddie (neighbor girl), but quickly decided she'd rather focus on her 'true-talent' for the talent show.
  She wanted to sing.

Matty B Raps is her favorite music artist, (You should u-tube him if your unfamiliar, he's something else) but memorizing rap songs can be tricky.   Luckily, she's also a fan of Rachel Platten who sings 'Fight Song' and already knew the song by heart. 

I kept getting Rachel Platten confused with Megan Trainor to which Maisie would constantly remind me, "It's NOT Megan Trainor Mom, jeez, she's terrible!"

Unfortunately, I've become that mom.

In the days leading up to the performance, I gave Maisie plenty of chances to change her mind about the whole gig.  I couldn't help but wonder if she knew what she was getting herself into.  This certainly wasn't going to be like the school music program where students stand on bleachers singing "Proud to be an American" while being blinded by the lights.  Would she finish singing before the background music was over and be left standing there all alone?  Would she sing at all once she got on stage and saw the crowd staring at her... would she have the nerve to even get on stage? 

She assured me over and over that yes, she was singing the song on stage and she wasn't nervous. 

On the night of the 30th, she was given a 5-minute sound check prior to the show.

Her background music started, she sang quietly, but made it through the song. 

Again, she insisted she was ready for the real deal.

Once the show started she chose not to sit with us. 

Instead she sat with her friend Ava and her family.

I asked her if she wanted me to sit by the stage so I could help her if she forgot any words, to which she replied, 'No Mom, stay away'.

Youch!

To say the least, she was making some deep slashes to the cord Saturday night.

I was surprised, yet swelling with pride at her confidence.

Before long, 'Maisie Boyd' was called onto the stage and it was her big moment. 

The background music started and when she didn't begin singing after the first 6 seconds as we'd practiced, I got a little nervous.

Then suddenly, her tiny voice began,

'Like a Small Boat, On the Ocean... '

And on that big open stage, she was like a Small Boat on the Ocean. 

Sweet little Maisie. 

"Fight Song". 
A song about believing in oneself. 

It couldn't have been more ironic.

At the end of the night, she didn't win the $50 prize.  She'll be the first to tell you it wasn't about talent anyway, just about how many friends you had in the audience to vote for you ;)
She gets that perspective from her brother ;)

Mike and I went home in awe. 

She really did it.

We learned something surprising about our Sweet Little Maisie Saturday night.

That girls' got balls.

I have a no dought her small boat will become a yacht in no time.