Let Them Eat Cake

We had a joint birthday for Clay and Brooklyn tonight. I spent the whole day making cakes.

Clay's cake - Here I have 2 layers. I have just finished trimming and shaping it and am starting to crumb coat it. Can you tell what it is?

Here I've got it shaped the way I want it, I've put a crumb coat over the whole thing and I've got the red icing on and smoothed out.

I've added the white and blue windows.

Here I've got almost all the decorations on.

Ta da! Lightning McQueen. It turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! And yes, I do know that Lightning McQueen is number 95, but I put a 4 on him because Clay is 4 and I'm just so clever that way.

Think Duff would hire me at Charm City Cakes? ;)

Top view

Yes, I know - it's more pink than red. I forgot to make the frosting up ahead of time.

Side view

Back view

After working on Lightning McQueen all day, I realized I only had an hour left to do Brooklyn's Nemo cake! I slapped this thing together and Nemo ended up looking stupid. I've done much better Nemo cakes before. I was disappointed with this one.

My two year old birthday girl on the merry-go-round

My four year old birthday boy on the merry-go-round

My mom with my totally cute nephew, Dominick

Scattered Pictures

You asked if all my kids shared bedrooms. Nope, I just put them on the book and game shelves to sleep.


Ni-night kids


Hibiscus blooming in February! The picture turned out pretty light, but it was absolutely beautiful in real life.

The night I got home from Texas, I tucked Clay into bed and walked out into the family room. Immediately, he started yelling, "There's something outside my window! I'm scared. I don't wanna go to bed." Used to his stalling, I, of course, replied, "There's nothing outside your window, now go to sleep." He seemed pretty freaked out though, so Savannah took pity on him and went into his room to settle him down. A second later, she yelled, "There's something outside his window! There's an animal!" We all rushed back to take a look. This is what we found sitting on the window sill...

An opossum! It's not like we live in the woods or anything. I have no idea where this little guy came from, but he posed nicely for his picture, didn't he?


Last night we had a full lunar eclipse here. Austin and Savannah went out and took pictures as the eclipse progressed. Cool, huh?





OK I'm off to make birthday cakes...

It's A.....

OK, I've had like a thousand people email me asking me if I was ever going to reveal what the gross food was. I guess you missed the part where I wrote, "I'll announce the winner on Friday." You guys pay attention like my kids do! ;) Since I've already gotten a correct guess though, I'll go ahead and tell you the winner tonight. But first.... I was really amazed at the number of comments I deleted from people who wrote, in a really nasty way, that I was a terrible mother who never changed her kids' sheets. They assumed the food had been there without a container for months. Now these comments didn't really bother me because I knew the whole story behind the food whereas they did not. It just surprised me at how many self righteous people out there feel the need to judge someone else. 

I don't share stuff on my blog so that people can rip me apart. My readers don't share their comments to be judged and put down either. I share stuff to let everyone know that they aren't alone. I tell it like it is. I love my family, but I'm not perfect. I don't pretend to be. I like to share the crazy things my family does and I hope it helps you to find the humor in the everyday, crazy things in your life. I just want to tell my readers that it's ok if you have laundry piled to the ceiling. It's ok if you gotten nothing done in your house because you just spent the whole day holding your sick, feverish toddler. And it's ok if you've somehow managed to miss a chunk of lasagna in your child's bed for a couple weeks! ;) LOL Just keep in mind, when you're reading a blog (be it mine or anyone else's) that as a reader, you're only getting a glimpse into the writer's life. The writer doesn't share every detail of every story because, let's face it, that would be extraordinarily boring. Reading blogs is fun. It isn't necessarily a study in nonfiction. Stories are not necessarily the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. They are a mere glimpse into the writer's life and nothing more. So, come on everyone. Let's play nice and support each other . . . Or you'll be grounded until next month! Because I said so! 

OK, the gross food was a turkey and cheese sandwich on wheat bread. Joe and I believe it was only setting out for four days. The reason it got so nasty so quickly is because of the diet we have Jackson on - no artificial additives or preservatives. Have you ever made fresh bread? You know how fast it goes bad, as opposed to the store bought varieties made with more chemicals than flour. Jackson brought his uneaten lunch home from school and carried the sandwich, which was sealed in Tupperware, to his room so he could have a snack after school. Knowing Jackson, he got side tracked, forgot about his sandwich and left it there for a few days. Here's the whole picture of the "sandwich" in the container...  

 Congratulations to morninglight mama who was the first person to guess turkey and cheese on wheat. She'll be getting some new Tupperware containers courtesy of Barb at Tupperware! Thank you Barb! Check out her website to order your own containers or to book a party so you can get some free Tuppergoodies! Oh yeah, if you like giveaways, check out the contest Angie's got up on Mamaslike right now. Thank you to all the people who voted for my blog in the Blogger's Choice Awards. My blog is currently in first place for Best Humor Blog and Best Parenting Blog It's in third place for Best Blog of all Time and Hottest Mommy Blogger. Thank you!!! I'm so flattered! Oh yeah! I cannot believe the amount of folks who googled the terms I wrote about today!

How Did You Get Here???

I like to check my stat counter now and then. It's fun to see what keywords people use in their Google searches that bring them to my blog. Here are a few from this week...

playland pee pants
It's the new Chuck E. Cheese.

my kids are so bad

Join the club.

gaterdad
Upon waking and seeing his reflection in the mirror,

Mark googled this.

dime a dozen for big butt

Twelve big butts for 10 cents! Get 'em while they're fresh!

if you never wanted to talk you should have said so

Wouldn't you have to talk to do that?

hamper wet clothes odor urine

the answer is - your kid peed in his pants and threw them in the hamper.

do you work at a grocery store? no. then why are you checking me out?

Lame pick-up lines for $400, Alex.

my son had a diaper full of clear gel like pellets

You might want to stop feeding him clear gel like pellets.

best way to clean in butt

For real? Someone had to google this?

ok so who has the best mom site

I do, of course. ;)

(The next three must have been done by the same person!)
if i touch the plastic covering right above the styrofoam piece, the styrofoam piece falls and may dance some more

why did you go you could have let me no so now im all along what will it take to make you come back home

you know who i said i do she said you do i said do but i really don't because it's you that i really want.

Friends don't let friends google drunk.

how to cram feet into shoes

Are there really websites out there devoted to this?

popsicle stick hamster coffin

Yes, I think Martha Stewart had a special on popsicle stick furniture recently.

the song that gets on your nerves

I bet this is what came up...http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/2007/11/ultimate-diet.html

spaz purse

Forget Coach, Fendi, Vuitton, and Prada. The Spaz purse is all the rage this season.

hair in your butt crack

Naturally my blog came up on this search - probably because of all the time I devote to talking about the topic of hair in your butt crack.

eat butt paste

I frequently post recipes for this ingredient.

photos of horses butt hole

I don't know why, but I feel a little sorry for the person who googled this.

my mom said to pick the very best one and this is it

Interesting way to pick a website. I wonder if she "eeny meeny miny mo"ed her husband.

can blogger see who has looked at blog

Yes. We can see who typed in stupid search phrases on Google too.

i wish there a way to go into the world of pokemon

You know, he needs something to do now that he's reached the highest level in Dungeons and Dragons.

stomach srapels

I've heard that these are even safer than staples.

my cat is dragging his butt hold across the carpet

Is anyone else noticing a disturbing amount of butt references?

i put honey on my infants pacifier continuously 10 days, and just read that honey is not good for them, what can I do?

First off, you can type 90% less words in your search.

inconce

My blog came up in this search??? What the crap is an inconce???

look what i can do blogspot



how do you decide to have 6 kids
Not by reading my blog, that's for sure!

why does cheese ruin your voice
If the person who googled this saw my pictures from last night and thought they were of cheese, I can understand their belief that cheese could indeed ruin one's voice.

lightbulb shaped bottles
Now there's a bright idea.

i resign
Me too!

Gross Food Find Contest

Inspired by my friend, Michelle over at My Semblance of Sanity, I'm doing a Gross Food Find Contest. You know, since I can't manage to go a week without finding some disgusting food item left somewhere in my house.
Joe found this in Jackson's bed while helping him look for his tin whistle. Leave me a comment with your guess as to what on earth it is and the first person with the most correct answer will win. I'll annouce the winner on Friday. The prize will be a set of new Tupperware containers to help keep your food fresh even when it's been in a backpack for a month. :)




Mmmmmm, now that's good eats!

Sunday Sound Out

Home sweet home. Thank you Kelli and Dennis for your awesome hospitality! I had a wonderful time in Texas, but it's nice to be home. Savannah and Lexi got sick while I was gone and they have fevers. :( Although I was only gone 2 1/2 days, and Joe was perfectly willing and capable of caring for our kids, I felt guilty about leaving. I honestly think it's a good idea to get away for a little bit now and then whether it's to a movie with your girlfriends, or dinner with your sister, an overnight retreat, or a short weekend away. If you can swing it (and believe me I know it's not always possible to find the time, money, or child care to do this) I really recommend it. There's just something about escaping for a little bit that can clear your mind, refresh and renew your spirit, and make you really appreciate what you have. That said, I have to admit that I felt guilty leaving. Why is that? Why do moms feel so bad if we take a little time for ourselves?

Anyway, I got to the tiny airport in Corpus Christi about 45 minutes before my flight. No problem because the airport is small and there were only 4 other people in the whole place. So, I go through security where the guy tells me that my driver's license is going to expire in a couple weeks. Yes, I'm aware of that, thank you. As my belongings are going through the xray machine, the TSA guy asks me, "Do you have any liquids with you?"
I answered, "Yes, right here in my quart size, zippered bag, duh." He didn't buy it and made me open my suitcase so he could rummage through it. I was a little put out, thinking that the guy was wasting my time and I needed to get to my gate. I know the drill. I had my little baggie of 3 ounce bottles separated from the rest of my belongings.

He looked through my clothes. That's fun - having a stranger look at your underwear in the middle of the airport. He pulled out a gallon size ziplock bag holding my Sonic cup filled with sand and seashells. He gave it a strange disgusted look and put it back. And then he pulled out the little bottles of hot sauce. Oops. I had totally forgotten that I'd bought them! I felt like an idiot. Everyone behind me in line pointed at me and implied I was a terrorist for trying to smuggle hot sauce into Illinois. Ugh.

The TSA guy escorted me out of the security area so I could go check my bag where the lady at the counter helpfully informed me that my driver's license was going to expire soon. Then I got to walk through the whole security process again. I walked through sheepishly, head hung low, for forgetting about the hot sauce and the TSA guy reminded once again (in case I'd forgotten in the last 5 minutes) to take care of my driver's license when I got home.

On the second leg of my trip, from Houston to Chicago, I got to sit next to Coughy McCougherton. Oh man, did that gross me out! Want to take bets on how many days until I get sick?

Oh yeah! I joked that I'd probably have sand and hot sauce all over my luggage when I got home. Well, the hot sauce was ok, but the sand....notsomuch.

OK, here are this week's questions...

Dawn, I just LOVE that you do this. Are you always this quick on your toes? - BoufMom9
Oh yes, I'm especially quick on my toes trying to catch up to my friend Gin when we go "walking".

When you were pregnant with your kids did you ever have morning sickness? We want to have more kids but I had morning sickness so bad when I was pregnant with my first that im not sure how it will affect how I take care of my son. Any tricks you had? - Angela
I had morning sickness to some degree with all six of mine. Things that helped me were eating sour candies, drinking ginger tea, and eating almost constantly (which may have had something to do with now lovely physique.)

Seriously - how did you plan the kids that way? I've seen you post it twice already, the first time I thought it was a joke, then you said it again and I am now guessing you are serious. - Anonymous
Well, if you eat red M&Ms while you're pregnant, it will be a girl and if you eat blue ones, it will be a boy. (I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist.)

Oh, and a SSO question for next week, how long do you actually follow through with grounding your kids? You say your oldest is grounded until the second coming. My mom could efficiently ground me for a whole month before it wore off (gradually), but I have a hard time grounding my kids for more than a week. (Is it just circumstances or am I really that weak? LOL!) - Anonymous
Good question. It's really important to say what you mean and mean what you say. Although on my blog I said that Austin was grounded until the second coming, I actually told him that he was grounded from TV and going out and doing anything fun until he was caught up with all his missing assignments. I stuck to that one. He's just now gotten his TV privileges back. I also told him that he was grounded from video games until March. I've stuck to that one also. I know it can be hard sometimes, but I think it's very important to follow through with what you say, not only when you dish out a punishment, but if you make a promise to do something also. Your kids won't respect you or trust you if you aren't true to your word. Like I said, it's easier said than done... This is why it's imperative that you think first before laying down the law. For example, it may not be a the best idea to tell your 3 year old that he can't watch tv for the next year. Really, who is that punishing? You obviously won't be able to stick to that without landing in a nut house. Try to make the punishment fit the crime, and make it age appropriate. Yes, I took video games away for a long time, but I give my 2 oldest kids a fair amount of freedom when it comes to school work. They've always brought home As, with the occasional B. They've always completed their assignments, therefore, I don't hound them about homework. Austin slipped up and blew it. He showed me that he'd made poor decisions with his time management and chose TV, video games, and goofing off instead of completing his work. Because of this, I limited his options, so he would have no choice but to do his work if he wanted the freedom to play games. When he proves that his brain is functioning once more, I'll give him more freedom to make his own choices with his time again.

Are you kidding me? You were able to answer all those without thinking? I hurt my brain on the first one! (Thinking, "Back seat? The one directly behind the driver? Or the one all the way in the back? Good lord, I haven't climbed back there since the fam came back from their Thanksgiving exile -- er, trip! I wonder if that's where that haunting smell is coming from. Or -- wait, this couldn't be asking about all four rows of back seats, could it?")Thanks for the invite to take the night off from thinking, Dawn. Yeah, thanks a lot. - Kalynne
You think too much, Kalynne! :)

Your blog has become daily humor therapy for me! Just wondering - do you receive more or less e-mail now then you did during the Pokemon auction? - Janelle
I get less now than during the auction, but I get more insane ones now.

okay, so aquamarine *reminds me of a movie my daughter watched on Disney...I think* is your birthstone...which means March...when is your birthday and what do you want? - Bre's Mama
You are right! And I'd like a house someplace that doesn't get snow. :D

Question: Do the normal folks in your life know of your online success? (Such as your pastor, doctor, grocery store check out girl) Or, is is still safe for you to go outside the house without paparazzi following you? - Angela
LOL! My pastor, the pediatricians, and a couple check out girls do actually know about my blog, but it's no big deal. I'm just a regular ole mom who goes to the grocery store in jeans, and t-shirts smeared with peanut butter, her hair stuck up in a ponytail, a bunch of kids hanging on me.

Have fun! Of course you found the glasses! Are you going to see Mimi? - Grandmother Goddess of the Garden
I would LOVE to see Mimi in person, but no I didn't get to her neck of the woods while I was in Texas. I think we may be meeting up soon though... :)

Do you think you can get that recipe for the curry dish? I love Thai and curry and it sounds wonderful. - Deb in OPKS
LOL! I told Kelli that I had readers who wanted her recipe and she said, "I think of recipes as more of guides. This dish is kind of an amalgam of a couple different recipes." She promised to try to remember how she made it and post it on her blog though.

You flew into Houston and drove to Corpus? - rusrhi
I flew into Houston and then walked 8 and a half miles, took a bus, a tram, and a helicopter to get to the other side of the airport so I could change planes just for fun and fly on to Corpus Christi.

Actually Joey got stage fright, you needed Chandler to step up and do the job. Because, yeah, He stepped up! But really, we should never, ever talk about it. - Julie Oh my gosh! My face is red! I can't believe I messed up my Friends trivia! You're right! I kept picturing Joey saying, "That's right! I stepped up to the plate!" but I forgot that he got stage fright! LOL!!!

Do you find yourself saying dumb stuff, out of habit, as if the kids were there? "Oh, look, an airplane!" "See the horsie?" - Suburban Correspondent
I totally do that! This weekend, I also grabbed for a diaper wipe in my camera case and it took me a second to realize that I didn't have the diaper bag with me!

Pardon my ignorance (I've never been to a beach and apparently skipped biology class), but what happens when you touch a jellyfish? And are those jellyfish alive or not so much alive? - Raising Country Kids
According to Kelli, they were still alive, waiting for the tide to carry them back out to sea, but I believe you can still get stung if you touch them even when they're dead.

Check back here tomorrow for my great contest!

The Prairie Sky is Wide and High

Kelli and I are so brave, so confident and secure about ourselves that we can show you these pictures. Now brace yourselves. They aren't pretty. You've been warned.

Before Texas humidity...

After Texas humidity!!!

Note the Texas oil well look on our faces. So pretty and shiny!

So, that's why the folks from Dallas looked like this!

Kelli and her husband Dennis, drove me to Padre Island where we walked along the beach and collected shells. I kept seeing these strange blue balloon-like things all over the beach and had no idea what they were. They were odd looking. I bent down to pick one up when Kelli told me, "Ummm, you might not want to do that. Those are jellyfish." Duh! The beach was covered with jellyfish! It was really neat. The only jellyfish I've seen have been on SpongeBob and they're always pink. How should I know those blue balloons were jellyfish? Amazingly I didn't step on any (because of course, I was barefoot). It's a good thing too because Joey Tribiani wasn't around to pee on my foot.

A gift shop that looks like a cool sand castle


Another gift shop - you walk through the mouth to get inside. I guess you get vomited out when you leave.

the beach

jellyfish

bird

a little crab

Remember the black hole at my house? The one where all my lost items go? Well, I today I learned where the black hole empties out! At the beach on Padre Island!

a lightbulb covered in barnacles

looks like another jellyfish, but it's a balloon


a big drum of something or other

motor oil

Now I'm told that the beach is lovely during the summer and it isn't littered with garbage that's washed ashore. It's really sad to see all the junk that ends up in the ocean.


Check out the road! It looks like it goes up and then just drops off the face of the earth!

Check it out! They have Jack in the Box too! We don't have those anymore. Oh and I apologize to the many angry readers who pointed out my horrible, grievous error. I'm sorry for saying we don't have Sonics in IL. Apparently southern IL does. Who knew?

Oh yeah - note the wind in the palm tree!

The Stars at Night - Are Big and Bright...

So, I'm here in Corpus Christi. I didn't even come close to missing my flight this time. I'm getting good at this travel stuff. ;)

When flying into Houston, I saw out the window what looked like my backyard. It looked like mounds of snow. Everywhere for as far as you could see - snow. However, it wasn't snow. It was clouds. Lots and lots of clouds. As Murphy would have it, I left a very bright sunshiny Chicago this morning to travel to the land of cloud-cover. Oh well, at least it's warm. Humid actually. My hair has grown to four times its regular size. I'm going to need a cowboy hat to contain it soon.

Actually I don't think we flew into Houston at all. I'm pretty sure we landed in Oklahoma and then we taxied to Dallas and then I walked through corridors until I got to Houston. Man, that airport is spread out!

Kelli met me at the airport and took me on a tour of Corpus Christi and drove me to the ocean!


a seagull


a pelican


the USS Lexington in the OCEAN!!!


A huge array of goodies from my most gracious hostess, Kelli


Just like in the fancy hotels!


OK, maybe it doesn't look so wonderful in this picture, but this was the fabulous dinner Kelli made. Mmmm thai stir fry with coconut milk, curry, pineapple, chicken, broccoli, peanuts...yum!


Cheesecake. Me likes Texas!

Oh yeah! I even got to stop at Sonic! I always see commercials for Sonic at home and it sounds so good. We don't have any in IL. Strawberry limeade! De-Lish!

Dawn