owies

Ater swimming for hours it was time to get out of the pool. We all had a great time, we were changing when Brennen announced.

"Uh oh mom, My hand has lots of owies on it. We better find some bandaides."

"Oh no buddy let me see"

This is what I saw--->
His sweet little hands were all prunny. I told him not to worry about it they would go back to normal in a little bit. His little face scrunched up in concern. Obviously he didn't believe me.

Bake you Happy

After a long day of swimming and sunshine I told my kids I was going to take them out for cupcakes. These were not just any cupcakes these were the winners of cupcake wars. (a show we religiously watch). That lit the fire. William was sooooo excited, he couldn't wait to judge them. . . .
me- Hold on buddy, we aren't judging them we are just going to a store that won.
William - So, we aren't going to see the wars??
That explains why he was so excited. He thought we were going to the actual cupcakes wars. Nevertheless he was happy to get a cupcake. He acted all official when we entered the store asking all kinds of questions.
What one did you win with?
What's your favorite?
whats your best seller?
If you could only choose one chocolate one which would it be? etc.
He chose the raspberry heavenly and it was heavenly. A dark chocolate cake with a whipped raspberry filling, topped with a chocolate ganach.
Ellie got the same. The little boys chose a carmel apple. I chose "the King" a banana cake with peanut butter frosting and topped with a banana chip. Very delish.

Bake You Happy did just that.

Surprises

One of the great things about having kids is all the surprises that come with them.
Some are stressful, like the book report you just found out about is due tomorrow, or they tried to make cookies all by themselves and broke eggs all over the kitchen floor (yes I am speaking of my own personal experiences) Or the 3yr old who tries to make popcorn in the microwave. (it took weeks and 2 gallons of vinegar to get the burnt popcorn smell out.)
Sometimes they are inevitable like the constant Lego pieces, army men, and most often in my house ROCKS I find in the wash.
Sometimes they are good. Like a clean house or a special drawing.
And sometimes they are funny.
I went to get the bread out of the bread box and found it heavily guarded by this Lego ship. It took me by surprise so much it startled me and I just had to have a good laugh. Its a good thing I am well equipped with security. I wouldn't want anyone stealing my bread.

Teacher gifts

Two days before school was out I realized that I didn't get the teacher gifts yet. This last month has been so hectic but what month isn't hectic. I have just been so overwhelmed with the move to Utah that it seems to be all consuming. Thank goodness for family fun magazine. As I was sifting through I came across these little beauties. Of course I can't do anything without altering it for my own style but I think they still turned out cute. They were so easy. I used scrapbook paper and crayons. For the writing paper I printed it off from the internet on cardstock. Glued it all together and put them in shadow boxes. The teachers absolutely loved them. Ms. Howell said it was the best gift a 1st grader ever gave her. So I guess it was worth staying up until 1 in the morning to finish them. It just happened to be one of those days where I was going going going. At 10pm Scott said "sit down woman and take a break! You are so tightly wound your hair is all frizzy."
(In my defense my hair was frizzy because it has been super humid) But he was right. I feel like I am wind up toy that keeps getting their key turned. I have so much to do that I can't rest. even though I know if I did rest I would be more efficient. Its an awful cycle. I go to bed in the wee hours of the morning, I don't sleep well because I'm stressed and then I wake up at 6am. Isn't this supposed to be summer break where you sleep in and enjoy the sunshine? Oh right that's just for kids.

Boxes

One thing that goes hand in hand with moving is boxes. I find myself consumed with finding boxes. Always having my eye out for the free cardboard as I drive by places of business and their dumpsters. Asking every sales clerk if they have any extra boxes. I refuse to pay for something that I can get for free. Can you believe they sell for $2 a box?
(Luckily here in California they are big on recycling and have dumpsters specifically for recyclables.)
In my quest to gather these paper masterpieces I hit the jackpot at a local shopping center. No sooner had I pulled up my car and started breaking down and loading boxes than another gentleman pulls up along side me and starts to gather boxes as fast as humanly possible. I felt like saying "Are you serious? I found these you go find your own." But being the bigger person I let him have the rest of the hoard and headed onto the next dumpster almost equally rewarding. When 1 min later guess who's back intruding on my find? You guessed it the same guy. Come on man get your own I was here first. This time I didn't back down but raced him to the bottom of the dumpster.
In the meantime I seemed to catch the eye of a security guy who thought I might be up to something so he decided to tail me.
Too much heat for me I decided to head to another shopping center and who should follow me? The security guard. It's not like I'm a criminal is it?
Realizing this neighborhood is too much work I drove across the street but apparently those dumpsters were already taken. (What is it with everyone looking for boxes) Sooo I drove quite a ways down the street passing up 3 shopping centers before I turned onto another road and found my next little gem. Lots of good sized clean boxes. I start breaking down and loading boxes when I get yet another visitor.
Who knew boxes were such a hot commodity?
Now that my garage is full of brown containers I think my dumpster diving days are over. But I'm sure my eyes will stray every time I pass a dumpster.