WHAT is the DEAL? (Seriously....)

I swear my kids are waking up earlier and earlier. This morning I heard the first stirrings of life in the girls' room at 5:45. NO JOKE. This is how the morning went after that: 5:45 - I go in the girls room and QUIETLY tell them it is not even 6 yet, and that they need to get back in their beds and go back to sleep. I wander groggily back to my bed. around 5:55 the dog starts yowling to be let out. On my way downstairs I hear the girls getting up to let him out. Um, NO. I open their door and tell them I will handle it and to get back in bed. "But we want to get dressed!!!" "You can get dressed later! Get back in bed." I let the dog out, wander groggily back to bed. Around 6:10 I hear the girls being loud in their room. I fling their door open and they are dressed (of course). I tell them they will be on my floor if they can't keep it quiet. On my way back to my room I hear Spencer start babbling. I ignore it and wander angrily (no longer groggily) back to my bed. I try to tune out Spencer's increasingly irritated jabber, and then I decide what's the point? I get up and now I am blogging at eight o'clock in the morning. My kids are marching around singing at the top of their lungs, playing with each other, playing with the dog. Hello? Did you ever hear of QUIET IN THE MORNING? Amy, this is what your wedded bliss will eventually bring you! I will end on a positive note. Yesterday the kids and I went to the mall and I let them play at the playground. When we got there, there were several girls around Emma's age playing, and, of course, not a parent in sight besides me. Anyway, One of the moms had apparently left her teenage daughter in charge or something and said teenager had gone into some of the stores around the playground. So mom came back and the younger daughter was nowhere to be found. They had all the mall security up and running and everyone was flying around in a flurry of activity, trying to find her. I asked the mom what she had been wearing, b/c all the girls that were there parentless had left, so I thought I could help. The poor mom was trying to describe her through her sobs and I remembered with stunning clarity the day we lost Kenna at Walmart, and how the last thing any mother wants to do is describe what her missing child was wearing when they last saw her. Anyway, they found her after about 20 minutes. It did make me grateful for my little bratties.

Shame on Cheesecake Factory

So, we went to my favorite restaraunt of all time last night to celebrate my birthday and my friend Sarah's birthday next Saturday. We got a babysitter and drove 40 minutes to Cheesecake Factory (in the Fashion Place Mall in Murray). We put our name in around 6:45 and we waited 40 minutes to be seated (this was a weeknight, mind you). My friend Dionne and her hubby showed up after he rescued her from the side of the road and a gasless car. Then we waited over an hour for our food. The waitress kept coming out saying 'just a few more minutes'. When they finally did bring our food they forgot Dionne's food. What is this, pick on the pregnant lady? The waitress gave up after that and we had to go and track her down to ask where her food was. They brought it out like 20 minutes later and we said never mind. I had already shared some of mine with Dionne by that time. To make a long story a little less long, we all got free cheesecake (though that turned out to be frustrating too, as they didn't even have my favorite flavor). How can Cheesecake Factory RUN OUT of White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle? It's a travesty. We got home at 10:15, and I'm sure I'll laugh about it later. At least we got to dress up and go out without the kids! Here are some pics.

Dave and Sean:


The girls:


Our shoes!

Away From the Sun

You know that song by 3 Doors Down? That is how I feel today. I know it is 90% PMS (get ready, Sean), but I still feel so crappy. And sad. And angry. I know I don't have the spirit with me and it's going to take a major turn-around to get back in the right place. Not that I'm DOING anything - just NOT doing a lot of things I need to be - not faithfully anyway. I just feel like I need to 'have my cry out and be done' (Mrs. Jennings, Sense & Sensibility). Anyway, tonight was my Fondant and Gum Paste finale class. You are supposed to do a cake and display all the techniques you learned (well, not all of them, or it ends up looking like my hunter orange-and-white Dr. Seuss cake from a few posts ago). I took pics of all the cakes in my class, because all of them looked pretty good!Here is Dodger's new favorite nap spot:

Begging

So, Spencer has taken to wandering into the pantry and bringing my food, begging for it. First it is always a juice box (pictured here):


Then when I say no he goes for the fruit snacks. Poor little guy; He couldn't get the box open so he just hefted the whole thing.


Here is a recipe I thought some of you might like! It is Chinese Lemon Chicken and I got it off the internet. You are supposed to batter and deep-fry the chicken, but I had horrible allergies that day, and something had to give. So I just cut it up on fried it in a frying pan. I also added sliced almonds in with the chicken.


Chinese Lemon Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
Olive oil
Diced green onions
Slivered almonds

*Fry chicken in olive oil until completely cooked. Remove from heat, add green onions and almonds. Cover and set aside.

Lemon Sauce:

1 1/2 c. water
1/2 c. lemon juice
3 1/2 T. brown sugar
3 T. cornstarch
3 T. honey
2 chicken boullion cubes
1/4 t. powdered ginger.

*Combine all sauce ingredients in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Pour over chicken/onions/almonds. Serve over chow mein noodles or steamed white rice.

Here is an Asian salad I made to go with it - it was just romaine lettuce w/matchbox carrots, mandarin oranges, frozen peas (thawed), sliced almonds, chow mein noodles, and Kraft Asian Sesame Dressing.

Polka Dots Make Me Happy

So, my dress finally came! Here it is:




And here is the fabric I found today to make a cute shrug to go with it. I spent 20 minutes looking at different white fabric - satin, silky stuff, etc. Then I went over to the quilter's section and found the white polka dot stuff. Now it is all perfect and I just need to learn to walk in the heels!


Here is the pattern I got for the shrug (I hope you can see it, it may be tiny):


Last night's Wilton class was gum paste flowers. We did carnations, daisies, fantasy flowers, and leaves.






Not much else to say - only that my day started WAY TOO EARLY today. All you moms out there who have kids that sleep until you wake them.....I HATE YOU! Everyone of my proteges was awake at 6 a.m. - Emma, Kenna, Spencer, Dodger, and Patches. All whining/meowing/jabbering for food and water. HELP ME!

Buyer's Remorse

Well, I finally saw the movie 'The Other Boleyn Girl'. I think I mentioned on here a while back how the book was pretty explicit in parts. I don't know why I thought the movie would be any different. Actually, i didn't - but I visited probably 20 Red Boxes in 5 days, and I was starting to get frantic. So I bought the 2-pack at Walmart with this movie and 'Little Women' (I have the VHS, but I have been wanting the DVD for a while). Anyway, I skipped at least 3 parts of the movie where there was a little too much skin.

On top of that (no punn intended) I bought the book 'Jumper' to read since the wait for it at the library is like 45 days - yeah, same thing. It is full of bad language and scenes I don't want replaying in my head. Oy!





















Let me just say, I have arrived! I never thought I would see the day when my girls would agree to clean an entire bathroom and DO A GOOD JOB. This is the girls helping me clean bathrooms before Dionne came:

My best friend Dionne visited last Thursday & Friday. We had fun on Thursday - we got a babysitter and went to Applebee's. Then poor Dionne got sick after we got back (she is prego) and she was sick until she left the next day. She left here and went straight to the hospital for IV hydration. Anyway, here are a couple pics of the kids:



Spencer and Dawson (2 1/2 months apart):

































The girls and Livvy:
























My sister BryAnne is a phenomenal artist. Here is a drawing she did of Emma from one of her pictures:















Here is Sean in his Father's Day surprise. And, by the way, it is the first time in our married life that I think I have truly surprised him with a gift. He has been wanting a new camp chair and I got him one on the sly this week. His whole face lit up. Geez, I guess I should spend $15 on my hubby more often.






















Here is a cute pic I took of Mackenna Jane in her 'not modest' housewear:















Spencer is almost 18 months and i am almost ready to get rid of all our baby stuff. the other day he was crying in his crib and then i heard a huge bang and when i went in he was sitting on the floor outside his crib. so sean lowered it as far as it would go. we have a toddler bed for spencer but i REALLY don't want to get him into it until i absolutely have to. anyway, he has really been talking a ton. he tries a new word about every day. he has perfected "no" now. and every time the phone rings he yells out "how-oh". he is a joy but he is soooooo stubborn and high-maintenance. he is into everything! he climbs on everything and i can't turn my back without him getting into the dog food/water, climbing up on the table and spilling drinks left out, getting into the closet and feeding our dog crayons, getting into the pantry and throwing my diet pepsi all over the floor, or (WORST OF ALL) playing in the toilet after someone forgets to close the lid/bathroom door. ADIE MOI!

Click Clack

So, my shoes came today. I feel really funny wearing them. Would it be bad to wear army boots to the wedding instead??? I know, I know. I think they are really cute, I'm just not used to my feet in something like this. But at least the heels are pretty short, so I won't fall on my face. Hopefully.


Here is the cake I made last night. I think it kind of looks like it came out of a Dr. Seuss book. We learned several different fondant techniques, and just piled all of them on the same cake. Not to mention the hideous orange fondant. What was I thinking when I bought the neon pack? Anyway, this is the hankercheif technique:


Here is the drape technique and the ribbon border, which I would really love if it wasn't orange:


Here is the garland technique:


Here is another one of Spencer's cheesy smiles. He has started talking the last two weeks and has mastered the following, which he will only say if he feels like performing: wow, baby, dodger, emma, mommy, daddy, ball, and of course, uh-uh, uh-huh, & uh-oh.


In other news, we are all sick. I am having a super bad allergy attack as of yesterday, where my eyes were all but swollen shut, not to mention my total inability to breathe. Mackenna's nose is bleeding from being wiped so much, Spencer is at the tail end of his cold, and Emma's just started today. WONDERFUL!

Lady in Red

I have just experienced for the first time ever the total exhilaration that goes along with finding the perfect shoes to go with an outfit. My sister-in-law is getting married in August, which means a new dress for me! Thanks, Amy! Anyway, her colors are red and white, so I have been looking for a cute dress. I ordered one online from Sears. I can't figure out how to get the picture on here, but here is the link for anyone who cares:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_031A0880000P?vName=Clothing&cName=Women%27s&sName=Dresses+%26+Social+Occasion


I have been to about five shoe stores today looking for the perfect shoes: red (obviously), shiny, strappy, open/square toe, & chunky heel. I haven't worn high heels probably since I was 14 or something, I wouldn't even have a clue how to walk in them. I usually wear chunky-heel boots to church or sandals, and I wear crocks for every day. I am like shoe-challenged. Anyway, I finally ordered these ones online:
http://www.dsw.com/dsw_shoes/catalog/product.jsp?index=47&category=cat20034&prodId=158839&brand=


I just hope when I get the dress and shoes together that the reds aren't too different! I know this is kind of a lame post, but it was truly the highlight of my day. Shoe shopping without the kids tonight as compared to shoe shopping with ALL 3 OF THEM earlier. What a contrast.

Book Reviews and Bacon

Well, I just finished The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I started it like 2 days ago I think, and it only took me this long to finish. It was definitely a book you couldn't put down once you got into the story. A little confusing to me at first, and a little more at the end, but it ends well. I won't say anymore so that those of you who want to read it don't get mad at me!

Here are a couple of silly pictures. This is Dodger the other morning after the girls 'decorated' him. Poor thing.


Last Saturday I gave the girls pedicures while Spencer took his nap. It was funner than I thought it would be.


Last but not least, my Grandma Snedeger in Richfield gave me one of the coolest tips ever. It is a relatively mess-free way to get crisp bacon. You line a lipped cookie sheet w/parchment paper and put your bacon on. Cook it in the oven for about 20 minutes on 375. (15 if you like it soft, 25 if you like it super crispy). You don't have to turn it or anything. It is wonderful!