whatever

oh poor baby.
she is not in any pain but she is terrified.
annie had her cardiologist appointment today.
she was born with a heart murmur.
it is not life threatening and does not affect her at all really.
except when we go to these appointments and she has a panic attack.

all he is doing is listening with a stethoscope.
that’s all.
no one has hurt her in any way.
it looks like she is being tortured.

it is always dramatic with annie.
i took my camera because i wanted a picture of her getting her EKG.
they put 10 of these little snap stickers on her chest
and then hook up little cables to the snaps.
she seriously looks like a science project or that she is about to be jump started.
it doesn’t hurt at all and it’s fast.
but it invades her personal space and that’s bad.
so i didn’t get pictures…because we had to all work to get her to lay still & be calm.
i was sweating like crazy.
i have talked with her about going to the heart doctor for a week.
i thought if i prepped her enough she wouldn’t be scared.
it didn’t work.

her heart is the same…no change.
she is healthy though and that’s what matters.
it’s a common defect to have.
i was very worried when she was born but now i am ok…99% of the time.

we went to starbucks afterwards…for my nerves.
i was ordering my pumpkin spice latte
and annie interupts loudly to tell the coffee girl “I GO-ED TO DA HEART DOCTOR!!”
stranger anxiety apparently gone now. ???

then we stopped by and surprised my grandma.

this is my 89 year old grandma’s exercise ball.
she uses it.
she is amazing.
she takes exercises classes!
she volunteers…she gardens….she goes to the theater…she is so busy.
today she was telling me how she wishes she ate healthier foods.
she showed me her new healhty juice she saw on a “get healthy” Oprah.
it was yummy…blueberry pomagranite.

i just love her so much.
she is so kind and generous.
she is happy and content.
she is smart.
i love spending time with her.
she reads my blog.
oh yeah…she emails and is online…how cool is that?
she printed out my pumpkin cake recipe.
but it’s not healthy.

and on a completely unrelated subject…
i cleaned the fish tank 2 days ago
as of today…all 6 fish are dead.
gee – do you think i had something to do with that?
whoops.
i think my sponge had anti-bacterial stuff in it.

i was having such fun making this page for scott.
i was hunting through his room looking for something with the logo on it.
i found an empty lego box that just happen to be about 12 x 12.
hmmmm……
i cut the top off and that became my page!
the page is a piece of carboard…
i know it’s not acid free…i am okay with that.
i painted over the big lego symbol because it was distracting…
and i painted over the numbers in the bottom corner for a journaling space.
then i made the little booklet of his pictures of the collection.
it’s glued together (E6000) and then i put brads through it when it was dry.
each page a little tab for turning.
lots of fun for me….

as promised…
Pumpkin Spice Cake

for the recipe…click on the recipe photo album to the left…
then on the picture of what looks like words.
(i was so confused on how to do this…
is there a better way?)

since i don’t know Ree the pioneer woman…i will post my own recipe.
not to steal from her…just show admiration.
i adore her blogs.

gather your ingredients and get them all pretty like a magazine photo shoot.
pretend like better homes & gardens may be stopping by.
make sure they look pleasing arranged by proper height…showing their good sides.
please ignore that my flour jar has no lid because i dropped it and it shattered on my floor.
i kept it for 12 years though…that’s not bad.
and make sure your nutmeg shows and isn’t hiding in the back like mine.
this is the mother-of-five cooking not martha.
i laughed thinking how she always has fancy brands and hard to find ingredients.
everything in my cupboard is generic brand.
go great value!
i love kroger!

Ree the pioneer woman also taught me about this amazing product.
i had never heard of it…cooking spray with flour already in it.
it saves time and mess…i love this stuff.
spray your 3 cake pans with it and set them aside.
(doesn’t it look like a gigantic can? it isn’t..it’s a normal size can)

cream the butter until smooth…then add sugars.
you can hang your recipe above your mixer too…without a picture.
you could draw one.
or if you happen to have the country living from october 2002 you can rip out the picture from that.
i bet someone reading this has it…don’t you?

add the eggs one at a time…beating until smooth.

combine the pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla in a separate bowl.
i have made this cake maybe 10 times and i have always used milk…never buttermilk.
if you have it or make it you can use it but if you don’t then just use milk.
then set it aside.

combine the flour, powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and soda in another bowl
yes…you will have alot of dirty dishes from this recipe.
it’s worth it.

alternate adding the flour and the pumpkin to the butter mixture in the mixing bowl.
beat this until it’s all smooth.
it will look fluffy and be kind of thick.
not like regular cake batter at all…because this is no regular cake.

fill up those 3 pans that were sitting and waiting so patiently on the side.
fill them evenly of course…you don’t want a funny looking cake later.
and it’s okay if your 3 pans are 3 different colors like mine…
or if they are the same that’s okay too.
it just shows you care about that kind of stuff and you have nicer pans than me.

put them in your hot oven.
set your timer for 20 minutes.
then sit back and wait to have your house smelling like pumpkin and fall.
your family will begin to wander in saying “what are you making?”
or “how long till it’s done?”
and “it smells so good!”
for 20 minutes you can decorate your home with fall decorations…
to make this cake feel at home when it’s finished.
it is a fall dessert.
you wouldn’t want it coming out of the oven and seeing your 4th of july decorations still out.
how embarrassing that would be.
let them cool in the pan when they are done (toothpick test them)
after 30 minutes pop them out of the pans onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

now you can make your frosting.
mmmmm…..

combine all the ingredients but the powdered sugar.

beat it really fast to get it very smooth…that cream cheese wants to keep some lumps.

add the powdered sugar…4 cups but i have added more the past 2 times??
i am not sure why.
it needs to be thick enough to ooze over the sides but not drip off the side of your cake.

you can begin assembling your cake when the cakes are cool.
you don’t want to get too anxious because the frosting gets melty and then it won’t look nearly so pretty.
you can put it on any kind of plate you want.
i usually use my cake stand because it has the big glass lid and when i walk by it i can see how pretty it is and see how much there is left and how many more fork-fulls i can sneak.

isn’t she beautiful?!
don’t you wish you were here?
i wish i could share it with you…and a cup a coffee.
i just happen to have pumpkin spice coffee in my hand right now.
it would be perfect.
but unfortunately…there is only one slice left.
it will be gone before you could get here.

so go make one for your family…
but just get enough ingredients for 2 because as soon as it’s gone they will ask for another.
kind of like those “give a mouse a cookie” books.

13 years…
“we’ve still got the heat…wooo!” (cheaper by the dozen)
can my husband pick an anniversary gift or what?
taking me to an antique store to buy a chandelier i’d been admiring for months…
be still my heart.
he knows me so well.

he wasn’t thrilled for me to take a picture IN the store..but i had to.
i love it.
soon to be hung in my foyer…painted white first….i think.

look at all that sparkle.
so pretty.

we had so much fun this weekend.
did a whole lot of nothing.
no date is complete without home depot for us.
we went there…went to the mall…pier one..kohl’s…linens & things…world market…the shoe store…Chipotle…the movie theater (but Bourne was sold out! a month old movie and it was sold out 15 minutes before it even started!) and then rented a movie a dillon’s (“stranger than fiction”..will ferrell…good movie).
aren’t we wild?
but you know…just having time together..no rushing back for a sitter…no schedule…no clock…
was awesome.
we got to relax together.
sleep in.
listen to loud music IN THE DAY!

happy anniversary craig.
i love you.
your my BFF…for reals.

i have had some time in my craft room with the kids’ gone.
there was lots of sports on this weekend…thank goodness…
no guilt for wanting to be scrapping.
craig is more than happy to watch sports.

i made a star wars page that i will share soon…it’s still drying.

i was looking through my albums and thought i’d share some of my favorite ones i’ve done this year.
(sorry for the page protector glare)

we obviously love U2.
we have been to 3 concerts.
this was in 2005…
my dad got the tickets at his ticket master then mailed them to us…he put “Bono” on the return address…it was worth saving…my funny dad.
i included the booklet that comes with the CD from the tour (atomic bomb)
on the black star paper i wrote in black pen titles of songs we like.
the journaling is on a tag behind our photo.
i love this page…so many good memories.
and that’s what it’s all about right?

i made this with the scraps from annie’s baby blanket her nana made.
the journaling is on the tag.
i love on annie’s little onsie in the picture it says peek-a-boo.
look at the sweet fat baby….ahhhh.

this picture of talby laying on my gigantic pregnant belly is precious.
she always wanted to cuddle after her nap for a long time…everyday.
we would sit out on the porch swing till daddy would come home from work.
i knew it would change after the baby…

i made the same page for the oldest 4 with all different combos.
talby and scott’s still don’t have the big picture done though.
(because now that i am digital i loathe the thought of going to that walmart photo counter ever again)

this page was lots of work but that’s why i like it.
i picked all the ribbon…lightly glued it down and then sewed it to the page.
sometimes it’s fun to just MAKE something!

like i’ve said before…many of these are “scrap-lifted”
but i use my choices of colors and papers…they aren’t exact copies
some are my own design…some are inspired by others.

click on the scrapbook layouts photo album for a few more too.

happy labor day!
my kids come home in 2 hours…it was too short.

and they are gone.
3 of kids went home with nana last night from burn’s.
the other 2 went home with grandma this morning.

we are all alone until monday afternoon.
no kids.
no fighting or whining or crying or potty training or hannah montana.
wooo-hooooo!
we will enjoy every second.
and they will too.
have fun grandmas.
put them to work or spoil them rotten…i don’t care.
thank you so much for the break.
we love you.

last night we met craig’s mom at burns cafe for dinner.
this is burns, kansas.

did you miss it?
here is a picture facing the other way.

burns, kansas
population: 268
this cafe is only open friday and saturday nights? i think maybe sunday noon too.
whatever it is…it’s very little.
they make a certain amount of food and when it’s gone it’s gone.
it’s just like the sign says “good country cookin'”
there is “country ambiance” too.

usually we are the youngest people there.
last night there were some college students with their parents.
it’s packed everytime.
it’s 25 minutes from our house…in the middle of nowhere.
the prettiest country drive to get there.

(the kids took all the inside pictures…it kept them entertained)
annie was like a monkey during this meal…climbing all over me.
our food was delicious…as always.
all the stuff that takes alot of work to make…done for you.
for $6.25.

i think this is my most favorite meal…not just at burns.
and then the pie….oh my.
if you get there early you get a choice of many many kinds.
again we are the youngest people there and we get there at normal dinner hours…the old folks are eating at 5:00…and they take whole pies home with them too…so our choices are always limited at 6:30.
but my butterscotch meringue was perfect.
annie’s chocolate pie….also perfect.
when it came she said loudly “OHHHHHH PIIIIIIIE!”

the 2 big kids were rebels and ordered floats instead of pie.
how dare they?

there is nothing fancy about burns (obviously)
but when we first moved back to kansas…
it was just everything that we’d missed.
small town (very) with big old homes…
community feel…
friendly…
the countryside…
and very good food…

the locals…we bought cinnamon rolls from their bake sale.

there is a tiny little hair salon next door and once after dinner craig got a haircut while we let the kids play on a dirt pile outside..that doesn’t sound hick does it?
ha ha ha
if you are local…you must go.
and call us to meet you there.