Isolde & Newton

This is a funny little video of Isolde trying to play ball with Newton. She is trying really hard to keep up with him.

The Green Pumpkin

After walking Madi to school this morning, I noticed the blossoms on the pumpkin plant were wide open and begging for attention so I took this picture.

The pumpkin is getting greener. I dont think its going to turn orange...I think it is going to stay green. I did have a little green pumpkin in my fall display last year. This one is nice...and is still the only one we have.

My cats are funny...they caught me taking pictures of the pumpkin and decided it was a great time to beg for breakfast. Here they are begging.... Isabella is the white cat and Jillyan is the darker cat.

Ellen before & after

I had said I would post pictures of Ellen before and after she had her gap filled in and I am finally getting around to that.

She does look much better with the gap gone.....

...and I think she feels much better about herself too.

7 Minute Icing

Yesterday I was planning to take the girls to World's of Fun but ended up not feeling well, so we stayed home and rented movies instead. The girls were very nice about me cancelling at the last minute. As a small treat, after dinner, I made chocolate cupcakes (from scratch) and 7 minute icing. This icing was my all time favorite as a child. My mom only made it a few times but I have never forgotten it. It is so sweet, and soft....like eating a sugary cloud. I have never made this icing for my girls before so I was slightly excited because I knew how much they would like it. The cupcakes turned out very nice, fluffy and moist, and the icing was just finished when I called the girls in to help ice the cupcakes. I like to dip the cupcake into the icing and swirl it, like a DQ ice cream cone. This soft icing is perfect for that. Ellen was too busy with her laundry to want to come help so Meg and Madi enjoyed icing them. Madi really liked the icing, but she loves eating anything sweet...while Meg wished I had added some peppermint to it, she thought it could have used more flavor (how do you type rolling your eyes?). I had to beg Ellen to eat a cupcake ... she doesn't really like chocolate cake that much and after she made me tell her what was in the icing, she advised me that it sounded way to fattening for her. I did force her to eat the cupcake and made her tell me how good it was. She then over dramatized and said "this is sooo good, its the best cupcake Ive ever eaten"..then shoved the entire thing in her mouth and said "happy?". I should have made this special treat for themwhen they were younger.....they grow up so fast.

You know you grew up in the 80's if.....

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE."

2. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and can dothe "Carlton."

3. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishlysexy.

4. Two words: Hammer Pants.

5. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.

6. You wore stone washed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.

7. L.A.Gear....need I say more?

8. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF."

9. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (Some of us...head-to-toe,not to mention matching!!)

10. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before hisnose fell off and his cheeks lifted.

11. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.

12. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.

13. After you saw "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" you kept saying "I knowyou are, but what am I?

14. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up."

15. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inlineskates.

16. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.

17. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.

18. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.

19. "Don't worry, be happy."

20. You wore, like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high topReeboks.

21. You wore socks scrunched down and sometimes still do.

22. You remember boom boxes.

23. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool.

24. You know all the words to Bon Jovi's "YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME."

25. You just sang those words to yourself.

26. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird. Oh yeah............it willnever be that good again.

27. Homemade Levi shorts... (The shorter the better.)

28. You remember when mullets were cool!

29. You had a mullet!

30. You still sing "We are the World."

31. You tight rolled your jeans.

32. You owned a banana clip.

33. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' 'boutWillis?"

34. You had big hair and you knew how to use it.

35. You know what Coke clothing is.

36. You had a Swatch watch and a crystal protector.

Busy busy day

I don't think I could have fit another thing in today....Meg and Elle had their dentist appt this morning. Ellen's gap is gone (she is so very excited). Ill post the pics tomorrow. Isolde got her shots...she is approximately 10 weeks old and weighs 3 pounds (aahhhhh). Dr. Blumhorst said she is doing well and that we are doing the right thing by letting her cry in her little kennel because she needs to get used to it. I needed that confirmation, it breaks my heart to hear her cry.
After dropping Isolde back off at home I went to Sedalia. I stopped in at Kay's Crafts and bought some fabric. I am toying with the idea of making a quilt. Since Carl inherited his late father's enormous tie collection, I thought it would be nice to make a quilt or wall hanging or something out of them. Before I attempt that feat, I should have some practice with a normal quilt. I found some really nice patterns on the http://amybutlerdesign.com/ site. I love Amy Butler fabrics and patterns ... her quilt patterns are gorgeous.
Once I was finished shopping I headed to Bodyworks Day Spa for a full body massage. Ive been there several times before and usually get the same lady each time, who is wonderful! Today I had a new girl...I think maybe she thought she knew me and was seeking revenge for something. This girl tore me up! She was ROUGH! It was all I could do not to cry out in pain. I think I may bruise. I will definitely be sore tomorrow.
I left Bodyworks and went to the salon for a haircut then off to Lowe's. Anyone that knows me well knows that I cant go to Sedalia without at least stopping in to Lowe's to check the clearance racks. :) I was actually going to buy some wood so that I can build a shelf for Madi's room, but thank goodness I checked the clearance rack; I found a really nice light fixture, regularly priced $40 on clearance for $2.90!!!! Can you believe that?! The cashier thought it was a typo but had to give it to me at that price! I don't even have any place to put this light fixture, but I couldn't pass it up. Ill find somewhere for Carl to put it. I just love a good bargain!!
I made it back to Marshall in time to pick Elle up from practice then after dinner we all (minus Meg) went to the gym to watch some of Carl's team + Madi wrestle. Today was a good long day...now everyone is ready for a good nights sleep. Goodnight.

Fruits of My Laziness

Here are a few pictures of the fruits of my laziness! I had a beautiful fall display last year...gourds, white and green pumpkins, knobby squash looking things.....anyway...it snowed and got really crappy outside and I, out of pure laziness, didnt pick any of it up. The veggies got all squishy and gross and after all the ice and snow melted they were pretty much ground into the yard. Well, this May/June I was mowing the yard and attempted to mow this area of the yard down when Carl kind of flipped out and told me that I had just mowed down a fruit bearing plant of some kind. He nursed it back to health, babied it, watered it and watched it and tonight brought me outside to show me this little jewel. I dont know what it is....but its ours.....and its beautiful!

Tomorrow's Appointments

Ive just made an appointment for Isolde to get her shots. She has to go at 9:30 tomorrow morning for her first set. Im sure she will not enjoy this trip whatsoever. While Im there I am going to get some eye drops for Atticus. I think he has pink eye...the poor dear. I have been holding a warm washcloth on his eyes in the mornings and wiping away the goobies but it hasnt gotten any better....his eyes have been running for a good 3 days so its obviously not going to go away without medication. Meg and Elle have dentists appts. at 8am tomorrow so I hope they are all done by the time Isolde has to go to the vet. Meg has a filling and Elle has chosen to have her tiny gap (which I dont even notice) filled in. I tried to advise against it, but the decision is ultimately up to her...and she wants it filled so it will be filled. I will try to remember to take a before and after picture for the post tomorrow.

Banana Pudding

Ellen has been begging for banana pudding for weeks now and I just haven't really had the time. So this should be a nice surprise for her when she gets home from volleyball practice today. I cheated and used instant vanilla pudding but it still tastes really yummy. Here is what I did:

I ground up some graham crackers and mixed with a little bit of sugar and melted butter and pressed into the bottom of the glass bowl. Mixed together 2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding with 2 cups cold milk and one can of sweetened condensed milk and beat for about 2 minutes. I then mixed up some whipping cream and sugar until firm and folded in half of the whipped topping with the pudding. Now its time for the fun part.....layer the pudding mixture, sliced bananas and vanilla wafers on top of the graham cracker "crust" until you run out of pudding...then top with remaining whipped topping and sprinkle some graham crackers over the top. This dessert tastes better if it sits in the refrigerator for a couple of hours (at least) before serving.

I'm sorry that I don't have better measurements but I generally just throw things in without measuring much. This makes it really hard when teaching the kids how to cook. Ellen always asks "how much of that do you put it?" and I never know....I just say "oh, just a little bit, enough to make it work". I'm sure its quite confusing to her. She is really a great cook though. She cooks for us quite a bit and can really follow a recipe good. When we went camping this last time, she cooked one of our meals for us over the campfire all by herself and did a great job!
I am experimenting with a recipe for an Eye of Round roast that I found online recently. I made a rub out of coffee grounds, cumin, cayenne pepper, minced garlic, salt & pepper and I'm supposed to put it in the oven on 475 for 7 min. per pound,then turn off the oven and leave it in for 2 to 2 1/2 hours without opening the oven. Its supposed to make the roast super tender. We'll see.....we're having that tonight...Ill let you know.

Long night

The girls are getting ready to leave for school...I barely got up this morning. Isolde kept me up late last night. I could tell that she needed to potty so I took her outside about 11pm and the grass was damp so she cried and ran to the driveway as fast as she could....she hates to potty on a puppy pad, she hates wet grass....what am I supposed to do? We spent about an hour outside last night coaxing her to potty. She needs little rain boots to keep her feet dry. Atticus came out to see what was going on and looked quite perturbed, of course he doesn't really like Isolde anyway. She thinks she is a pit bull by the way she growls and snaps at him, with the hair all raised up on her tiny little back. She bites his tail and paws (since its the only thing she can reach) and poor Atticus just looks at me hoping I will save him, which I always do. Anyway, I have a long day ahead of me today and I'm exhausted and sweet little Isolde is sleeping like a baby.

First Day of School

My babies are off to another year of school. Megan is a Junior this year...which is completely crazy! She shouldnt be 16 years old already. It's hard for me to believe sometimes, I feel like she is still my little girl....until she rolls her eyes when I speak and stomps away from me , slamming her bedroom door in my face...that always seems to snap me back into reality. Ellen is in 8th grade...her last year of middle school. She is quite popular and always dresses so cute. She can throw the oddest combinations of clothes together and somehow always pull it off. Elle is trying out for volleyball today. She hasnt practiced much (at all) but is very athletic in general so hopefully she will do well. I will be praying for her. Madison is going to 5th grade at Bueker (middle school) this year. Even though she isnt technically a middle schooler, just dropping her off at that enormous building was scary. She was sooo excited!! They have a malt machine in the lunch room at Bueker. Madi may never miss a day of school now because of that. I hope all goes well for my girls today! I cant wait until they get home this afternoon and can tell me all about it!

My online classes start today as well. This semester I am taking Business Ethics, US History post 1677 and Lifetime Wellness. I hope I can manage okay, I logged on this morning to check the assignments list and it seemed to be neverending....and its only the first day!

I am planning to take Atticus and Newton to the park to play tennis ball when I get the house cleaned...and maybe stop by the animal shelter and clean up the cat room. I always have big plans for the day and never enough time.