Into my stirfry......

Since carrot seeds are so small, and I sewed them so thick, I've been thinning them out. These will go into my stir-fry tonight!

Food Photo Friday--Honeybun Cake

This cake is pretty easy, made from ingredients you likely already have, and sure to satisfy a craving for something sweet!

List of ingredients:

1 box yellow cake mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon


Mix first five ingredients and pour into a 9X13 Pyrex pan. In a separate bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over cake.



That's not enough. More.



C'mon.....what are you afraid of? Get serious!!! I don't want to see ANY batter!!



OK. That's better.

Now, take a fork or knife or something and swirl the brown sugar mixture through the cake batter. Like this:



Then, bake it at 325 for 40-45 minutes. Don't over bake it though...

You'll need some icing to put on the cake when it comes out. So, mix 2 cups powdered sugar, 4 Tbsp. milk, and 1 tsp vanilla. Take the cake out and let it cool 2.7 minutes. Drizzle icing over cake like so:




It seeps down in, and that's a beautiful thing, believe me!

It all seems like a lot of sugar. That's because it is. So make it for a gathering so you can share it with others and you won't feel so guilty. Oh...It's meant to be eaten warm, which is delicious, but I love it the next day equally as much. Whichever way you want is fine with me.

Enjoy!!

The Best Gift

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

OUR BABY'S A...........

HE!!!!

That's RIGHT!!!  I now get to think of another boy name of English/Scottish/Irish origin.  I will now have THREE boys aged FOUR and under!!!  (credit to Kellie for pointing that out...)  That makes FOUR boys in a row!  (egad.)  It also proves that I have no intuition whatsoever when it comes to predicting what a baby will be as I made the early call that he was a she.  ( Based mostly on odds....)  I also am apparently getting quite good at reading an ultrasound since I saw within five seconds with not even a clear shot that this baby was um, shall we say......equipped!  

So girls, (Sidney & Shelby)  we are officially outnumbered by 200%.  It's three to six. But c'mon....you have to admit, our boys are seriously adorable!  And hilarious!  After Nicholas got over his short-lived sadness at finding out we were not having a girl, he asked eight times if we could name the new baby 'Little Man'.  I can't wait to hear his other 'suggestions' for names.  Cameron immediately asked us to consider 'Jack-Jack'  (the only reference of a baby boy in his DVD based world....)  It really seems that after seeing the ultrasound (we took everyone this time!)  Cameron just 'got it' that there was a baby inside me.  They all sat and watched the screen.  I was really glad we brought them. 

 I just keep looking at the pictures and wondering about this little man's Jack-Jack's personality and spirit.  I'm  not going to lie.  I feel very spoiled.  And overwhelmed.  In a good way.  

What would you do?

This is the baby quilt I made for Cameron.
 
It was during my green & blue stage.  I was so drawn to chartreuse when I was pregnant with him.  I found the pattern at an adorable quilt shop in Brigham City.  I was in love as soon as I saw it.  I didn't know what I was having yet, but I knew I would be using this pattern for sure.
 After I had an ultrasound and learned we were having a boy, I began to collect fabric.  I was very particular while choosing and I remember putting so much thought into every piece.  I added the sashing and corner squares, they weren't part of the original pattern.  And speaking of the pattern, I clearly remember cursing the ultra-lame instructions that weren't very good.  This was definitely NOT a beginner quilt.  I had to totally modify the yellow starburst pieces to make the block work.  No offense to the pattern creator, but this was truly one of the WORST  patterns I had ever tried to work with.  And when it was all said and done, probably the second-most difficult and time consuming quilt I have ever made. Sixty degree angles are a you-know-what!  I finished the top before Cameron was born and began to hand quilt it.  

Stupidest decision ever.

 After quilting about a third of the quilt, (which took me over a year....)  I finally came to my senses, took out the hand quilting and begged Kellie (actually, she had been offering all along....I was just reluctant to tear out all my hard work!) to machine quilt it for me so I could actually finish it before Cameron's high school graduation.  Within just days, the quilting was done, and the quilt was bound and finished.  Cameron was about two years old.   I was expecting Connor within just a couple months and was determined  to not have a baby quilt back log.  I can't honestly say it is Cameron's favorite quilt and he drags it around everywhere, but he does use it and even now, I just love looking at it and feel a sense of real accomplishment at having persevered until it was completed.  So. I ask you now.  Was I justified in screaming obscenities and having a crying fit that almost mad me puke when i saw...............




THIS:

I went downstairs to switch over laundry and smelled something horribly wrong. 

Bleach.

 I don't even use chlorine bleach in my regular laundry. I had pulled it out to make a sanitizing solution to combat the blight on my brand-new Mother's Day tree (that's another story....) and asked one of the kids to put the bottle back downstairs under the folding table. 

I have NO IDEA how the bleach leaked onto the floor. 

I have NO IDEA how the quilt made it's way 15 feet from the laundry pile to it's fateful spot behind the chair that sits next to the folding table. 

I have NO IDEA WHY of all the laundry down in the pile the ONE THING that would make me the most ILL at having been RUINED is the ONLY THING that soaked up two cups of STRAIGHT BLEACH!!!!!!! 

I was devastated. My kids were utterly shocked and confused at my reaction. I won't even blame it on my hormonal state. My mourning was legit. It didn't help that Jason treated me like I was crying over burnt cookies, but that is neither here nor there. My kids did spend the rest of the night trying to console me as best they could.  

So. Now I am left with a decision:  

Do I leave the quilt as is and hope that my pain will fade over time (it won't....) so that every time I look at it I don't relive the horrible moment when reality sunk in?
 

OR:

Do I pack the quilt away so my devastation is not relived on a daily basis?  Only to come across it at a later date and begin my mourning anew?

OR:

Do I painstakingly pick apart the beautiful quilting and relive the frustration of piecing a nightmare to replace the two and a half ruined blocks, along with the sashing, two borders and binding, then prevail upon my friend to re-quilt just so I can have peace of mind?

What say you? 

Nick's Six!

Nick's birthday this year fell on Memorial Day.  I love killing two birds with one stone.  Well, not literally, 'cause I have a problem with killing anything, but, you know.....having a big BBQ for Memorial Day and re-naming it "Nick's Birthday".....worked out really well!!

Food is always the first order of business. I won't go into detail about what we ate. It would make you cry. Just know that it was enjoyed by all.

We celebrated with the Mellotts. Sammie had some big plans for the food.

Jason couldn't keep up with demand.

Cam is just cute.

I'm pretty sure I used to be able to do this......a really, really long time ago......


Nick was pretty excited about his gifts. He's such a total boy.......

Especially excited about getting the Nerf gun he really wanted. The Longshot:This was his reaction.....More than one red-blooded male present felt the same way......


Hmmm....sharing his birthday candle wish with Gabby?

Hope your wish came true....Happy Birthday Nicholas!!!