Desperate Times

At 3pm the other day I was desperate for a little me time....
So I went in here
And got this out
And thisI spent the next half hour blowing it up

Time for some water, and some alone time!

It only took 45 minutes...
Just in time for....
Hey what are you doing in here? Argh....I guess it's time for some of thisThat's better. Now back to my show.


Oh well.

Train Cake

Ok, so a lot of you liked the train cake, and well, there are some things you should know about the train cake.

You will need:
Something to put the train on (I used Foam Board)
A cake mix
Vanilla Frosting x2
Chocolate Frosting
Candy
Food coloring

First, I got the idea from Kraft... Train Cake

Second, I just made a cake in a 9x13 pan and cut it into squares. The Kraft instructions say to use frozen Sara Lee pound cakes. I just couldn't make my sons birthday cake out of pound cakes. But it would have been MUCH easier to frost.

Third, I made the tracks out of Kit Kats and choc frosting on a foam board (I don't have a big tray). I don't have any fancy decorating tools, I just spoon some frosting into a plastic bag and nip the tiniest bit off the corner of the bag. Ok, the hardest part was frosting a cut up cake. At first the frosting was not spreading at all! It was just collecting crumbs and rolling up in balls and making the cake disintegrate! Aaaak. I almost gave up. Then I had the idea to melt some of the frosting in the microwave and pour it onto the crumb sides of the cake and over the top, everywhere but the bottom. Then I let that dry on a drying rack sitting in a cookie sheet pan. After that frosting it was no problem. By the way the first layer of frosting is called a crumb layer. All the pros do it! (I'm such a pro). I added food coloring to the vanilla and frosted the cakes in different colors and placed them on the Kit Kat train tracks.

Last, the fun part, decorating! Just walk down the cookie and candy aisle and imagine the possibilities! You know, Teddy Grahams for little people on your train, Licorice for the tracks, Fruit roll ups for the windows.... the possibilities are endless. I also used more plastic bags with the corners cut off to add detail frosting.

I think that's everything. The only hard part was figuring out how to get the cake frosted, once I figured that out, it was so much fun. If you use pound cakes, you won't have to worry about the frosting getting all messed up. Oh, I almost forgot... Some women made the cakes in multiply bread pans so they were about the size of pound cakes and didn't have crumbly sides, just another idea.

New quilts

I've made two new quilts. One for Nora's 2nd birthday and the other for my nephew Grayden who is about to make his appearance in this world any day now.

I realized I don't really have any pictures of this quilt, so this will have to do. I only take good pictures of the quilts I'm giving away... I'll have to fix that.

Here is Grayden's quilt. It matches his nursery. My mother-in-law put in a lot of hours making the bumpers and bed skirt, and Emily made the cover for the glider and ottoman. Curtains are in the works. It is a beautiful nursery.

Update: Graydon (correct spelling!) was born 5/30/08! Healthy, happy and handsome as can be. Emily is doing great as well. Congratulations!

Ethan's Big Day

Here are some pictures from Ethan's birthday.

Ethan and Nora thought they had died and gone to heaven when Chuck stopped to say hello to them. Going to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch is a birthday tradition at our house (for the kids). I know it is a bit high brow, but what can I say, we are classy people.

Ethan loves trains, so a train cake was an obvious choice. I made it during his nap, and when he woke up he came out and saw the cake on the table and said, "Mom, you're the BEST!" What made that special is that I wasn't even in the room (I heard it, because I was spying on him to see what he thought about his cake).

He got some fun gifts, and had a great day. I hope 4 is going to be an awesome year for Ethan.


PS Janette, the paintings are now hung straight. Two nails per painting did the trick, that and having my perfectionist husband do the hanging. They look beautiful.

Mother's Day

I just wanted to give a shout out to my little ones. We have had some rough times lately, and I'm afraid that there are a few more ahead. But these kiddos of mine still stick with me and love me through it all. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Train Ride

Ethan loves trains. May 10th was train appreciation day, or something like that, national train day, oh I don't know. Something about trains day. May is also Ethan's birthday month, so we went on a train ride! We were going to go on the Grapevine Railway, but after further consideration (it costs a lot, we have a 2 year old and a 3 year old, it takes almost 6 hours from the time you leave Grapevine until the time you get back to Grapevine) we decided to ride the DART. We had a ton of fun, and Ethan was heard saying, "this is my best birthday EVER!".

The kids were so excited about riding on the train.

Here we go!

This is awesome!

Family photo

Trinity Railway Express, the best part of the train ride.

Mostly true, you be the judge

What Kendra Means

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

House for sale!

Well, it is official. We are moving. Brian, the kids, and I are packing up and moving to Utah this summer. Just in time for gas prices to get a little higher! Sorry for that sarcastic comment, I'm just very disturbed/perturbed/annoyed/disgruntled about the gas prices.

So if anyone knows of someone looking for an awesome starter home, send them our way. In fact I'll give you the details right here! Asking Price $144,900 !!!

3 Bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 car garage

Tile entry, Formal dining, Large kitchen

Beautiful gas or wood burning fireplace, Amazing Natural Light, Open floor plan

Nice backyard (hand weeded!)

You can check out the virtual tour: VIRTUAL TOUR

It's a great house. I'm gonna miss it here.

I'm a brownie!

You Are a Brownie

Decadent and intense, you aren't for the weakhearted. Those who can deal with your strong flavor find out how sweet you really are.

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

The Scriptures are for our day

Setup: At night after family prayer we have the kids go sit in their bed and play with a toy or read a book while Brian and I sit in the hall outside their rooms and read the scriptures to them. This is the best way we've found to get them to "listen" to the scriptures.

Scenario: Ethan was in trouble for messing around during family prayer. He was in his room pouting because he wasn't going to get a story after scripture time. Brian was already reading the scriptures, but becoming increasingly annoyed with Ethan's disobedience.

Brian: (pausing from reading the scriptures) Ethan, get in your bed now! And stop making all that noise and listen to the scriptures! (we know how to invite the spirit into our home)

Ethan: I'm not gonna. I get a story! (continues to make every noise he can possibly think of)

Brian: Get in bed. (at this point Brian goes back to reading the scriptures, Alma 54)

12 And behold, if ye do not this, I will come against you with my armies;

Ethan: You're just kidding, right dad (in a kinda worried voice)

Brian:
...yea, even I will arm my women and my children, and I will come against you, and I will follow you even into your own land,

Ethan: Dad you're just a joker, right!? (at which point I begin to snicker)

Brian:
...yea, and it shall be blood for blood, yea, life for life; and I will give you battle even until you are destroyed from off the face of the earth. (My body is shaking up and down because I'm trying to hold in the laughter, and Nora has begun to laugh)

Ethan: I know you are just joking, dad. (he begins to laugh, timidly)

Brian: (still reading)
....Behold, I am in my anger (I loose it here, and laugh so hard tears are coming out of my eyes)

Ethan: Are you really mad?

Then we all have a good laugh, and magically the spirit really is there. The scripture couldn't have been more appropriate. Ethan stayed reverent until we finished the chapter. And no, he still didn't get a story.

Warning: This post will give you the heeby-jeebies

The following are 4 different emails I received from my mother in law:

Dad and I just came home to thousands and thousands of BEES going into our roof by the laundry room! There were so many flying around, so I opend the blinds behind my desk and this is what I saw! We just freaked! Tara, you would have died right then and there. Big D Pest Control is on their way. The creepy thing is that now, they have all gone in to the roof! That mass of bees is now gone! AUGH!
MOM


Well, the bees are dead. Now, what are we going to do with all the dead bee bodies that are laying inside the roof? Are they going to stink when the weather gets hot? I'm hoping they didn't have time to set up shop and start making their honey. If they did, we're in a real sticky mess. Because now it's mixed in with pesticides and dead bee bodies.
MOM

Just an update on our bees. Obviously, we didn't commit bee-ocide like I thought. A few of them were dead, but not very many. Our friend is a bee-keeper and he is helping us take care of them. When he opened the roof, this is what we found. They are alive and well, setting up shop and making a hive and honey. He is going to take all of them away. Can you believe this? Just some info on bees that I read on the internet--when they are busy making honey like this and full of pollen, they have little interest in stinging you. You could pick them up and they won't hurt you. That why you see beekeepers make those "beards of bees" on TV and stuff like that. But our friend is wearing a net over his head "just in case". Smart.
MOM

I'm sorry to keep sending you guys pictures, but this is the last one. This was so interesting, I had to share it. THIS is the waxy honeycomb that the bees were making! Look how white and new and fresh it looks, not old and yellow like we usually see them. I guess that's because they didn't have time to put honey in it. Earl got the queen out and the remaining bees are losing interest in the hang out. Hopefully, by morning, they will almost be gone. Now we have to figure out how to rebuild the little roof! Chris? Wanna help?
MOM

Baby Stories Part 1

I have a friend who asked for my baby stories. So without further ado, here is Ethan's story...

We had been trying to have a baby for about 3 years, and with the help of clomid, we were able to get pregnant. I just knew it was a boy. I started bleeding early on, and on many occasions I was absolutely sure I had miscarried. I had what the doctor called "Venus blood pools"....Uhh...Basically I had pools of blood around the embryonic sac that would leak. That is the name the doctors came up with, I think they made it up right there in the office at my visit. Anyway, despite my crazy body, the baby grew perfectly. We were able to tell it was a boy by week 12. We had a heck of a time coming up with a name. I was put on partial bed rest (decreased activity) for the last three months because of the bleeding and also because of all the contractions. So leading up to the end of the pregnancy, I was already dilating two months before the due date. My friend Jen and I 3 weeks before we had our babies (same day, she was 2 weeks late, I was 2 weeks early)

Two weeks before our son was due I had my regular doctors appointment. I had already decided I'd had enough, so that morning, I cleaned the house, did the dishes and laundry, and put my hospital bag and pillow into the car. I told the doctor I was going to have the baby that day. She seemed to believe me. I was dilated to almost a 4. She broke my membranes (eeewww) and then the contractions started coming! After a non-stress test, a nice woman walked me over to the hospital, hooked me up to an IV and broke my water. I called Brian and told him it was time to get his tookus to the hospital. About 5 hours later we had our son, and two days later we finally picked a name. Ethan Blaine.

I speak midlandish

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
The South
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Ok, this is freakishly accurate for 13 questions. In my life I've lived all over the stinkin place and I haven't picked up too much of an accent from anywhere. The two places I've lived the longest in my life would have to be Illinois and Dallas. Take this quiz, it's fun!

PS Every once in a while I say something with a Chicago accent, like backpack or basketball. And I get in trouble for the way I say warm and root....

U of U or BYU

Soooooooo.....
My amazing hubby has been accepted to all the Business Schools he applied to. Hooray!

Here comes the hard part. While we were waiting to hear back from BYU, U of U became very tempting. In fact they offered him a job, a scholarship, and in-state tuition! Which made them cost about the same as BYU. So the cost argument is out the window.

We think we know which school we are going to say yes to, but I'd like to hear your opinion.

My sweet girl

Nora turned two recently. She is doing pretty well with not acting two, for the most part.
Here are some highlights from her long and prosperous life...

Starting life supremely angelic and quiet. Such a beauty from the start.

She had to learn quickly that she was born into hostile territory and to keep her guard up at all times! (Hostiles=older brother)

Her eyes always twinkle when she smiles. It melts my heart.

Oh those cheeks! And her hair, love it!

And the chub. She never says no to a good steak.

She even liked Santa from the start. She knows which side her toast is buttered on.

She became more adventurous as time went on. She likes her feet to touch the sky.

Always the fashionista, she takes fashion advice from her older brother who has impeccable taste.

This is back when she used to smile for the camera.

Princess Leia. She loves Halloween, just like her daddy. And she loves her daddy.

Happy Birthday Nora.