We received our first shipment of the girl's school stuff yesterday! So, now we have one computer that needs to be stored somewhere for a month. Oh well. I am starting to feel a little more relaxed about the whole school thing. I'm really anxious to get the rest of their supplies though, to get an idea of how the first couple of weeks will look, and hopefully the girls will be so excited about it that maybe they'll want to work ahead and put some hours on reserve for when the house stuff takes over for a couple days/weeks. I have to say though, that after helping Jessi set up her school area the other day, I'm really looking forward to creating our own school room in a few weeks too!

Happy Birthday to me!

So we FINALLY got a set date for the house - September 11th, my birthday! Though it's about 2 weeks later than we had expected, at least we finally have a definite date. So, the girls should be able to get in a good 2 weeks of regular schoolwork, and get a good feel for the system, before things will get totally crazy with the house. So, September will end up being our wild month, but at least it will be a little cooler while the work is getting done. And, let's face it - bottom line - I'M GETTING A BRAND NEW HOUSE FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I am definitely seeing the silver lining here....

Busy Busy!

I didn't fall off the edge of the world - just got a little overwhelmed with life last week. But, here's some of what we were doing:
Radiant heat is down and ready for the concrete to finish the basement floor.

(Yeah - I think he's hot stuff)

We also threw a baby shower for my sister in law yesterday, which went really well. I had a great time putting together the game and decorations; and my mother in law took care of all the food - so it was a win/win situation! We decided on a candy theme - "Welcoming our September Sweetie". Here's the centerpieces:




And here's the silly fill in the blank game that I made:
Once upon a time, Cammi met a Big Hunk and fell in love. He promised to cherish her, both Now & Later, and when he leaned in to give her a Kiss, Cammi was sure that she heard a Symphony play and saw Starbursts in the sky. When they wed, kisses and Hugs were Good & Plenty in their home.
After a while, Cammi began to suspect that Steve was going to be a Sugar Daddy. Not sure if Steve would be a Jolly Rancher or if he’d go Nutrageous, she prepared to give him the news. “Honey, how do you feel about adding some Sugar Babies to our family?”
Happily, Steve took the news in Stride. “Cammi, if we were computer Nerds and lived on 5th Avenue, we could afford to go on shopping Sprees for the baby, but we’re not, so we’ll just have to watch our budget on PayDay and get the necessities for our little Sweet-tart.”
When they started discussing baby names, Cammi quickly vetoed Steve’s suggestion of Whatchamacallit and they agreed on Baby Ruth for a girl and Oh Henry for a boy. If they were to be blessed with twins, they chose Mike & Ike, but if triplets surprised them, they would require some Extra time to name the 3 Musketeers.
Friends and family enjoyed watching the Mound of Cammi’s tummy growing, and their predictions of baby’s gender and size often brought Chuckles and Snickers. They also offered the parents-to-be much advice; like “Epidurals are Lifesavers”, and laundry secrets for all the MilkDuds that she’d be dealing with.
The summer heat is always hard on pregnant women and Cammi’s feet swelled until her once feminine piggies looked like big Mentos. But Steve always knew he could Skor some points by offering a foot rub.
With only a few weeks left till delivery, Steve knew it was Crunch time and was a little nervous that he’d be a Butterfingers when handling the baby. But we all know that Steve and Cammi are both Smarties and they’ll figure out their parenting style without a problem. The years will pass quickly, and soon their little Kissable bundle will be able to declare what a cool mom he (or she) has and that his (or her) “Pop Rocks”!

I am freaking out....

I thought I'd sit down and try to get a handle on how this school thing was gonna play out. Uhh - who said this was no problem?! Good glory, I am feeling totally overwhelmed, and really rather stupid! I am so confused by the set up, and it's totally flipping me out. Jess, Kristine - am I completely simple-minded?! Do you get this stuff?!

Joelle came across one of my wedding photos today and we had this conversation:

J: "Mama, when did you get married?"
M: "A long time ago."
J: "Was I there?"
M: "No."
J: "Aw, man, I missed it...."

Smore cupcakes

I found this recipe for yummy smore cupcakes and tried it yesterday for our fellowship picnic. They were super easy, and mine looked just like the picture when I was done! But then I had to transport them to Jessi's house in my van with no air conditioning, and they ended up looking a bit more like a melted marshmallow with a smear of chocolate on top, and I nearly cried. BUT, they were a hit none-the-less. They are truly yummy - but would definitely not fit into a "healthy" category! Here's the recipe: You can use any chocolate cake recipe for the cupcake part - I used a Devil's Food Cake mix.
For the icing:
1/2-3/4 lb. (2 or 3 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 lb. (2 cups) confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
16 oz. tub of marshmallow cream (I recommend Fluff)

Cream the butter on high until it's light and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until fluffy each time. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated. Then dump in the Fluff and mix it up 'til it's all creamy. Transfer to pastry bag (if desired) and pipe onto cupcakes! (I cut the corner off a Ziploc bag and used that instead.) Dust with crushed graham cracker crumbs and top with a square of chocolate.

Dentist

Part of the girl's enrollment for school requires that they have a dental exam. I have not been to the dentist in about 10 years, and so my kids have never been either. I've been dreading this part; mostly because we don't have dental insurance and I was afraid to find out how much it would cost us. But, I could avoid it no longer. So, this morning I found a dentist that I am really pleased with. We do have a sort of savings plan thing, so I was looking through their participating dentists and chose a couple to call. The first one I called, I got the machine. The second one I called because it was a woman and I thought that might make the girls more comfortable. I was able to talk to a very friendly woman on the phone, who went over the cost involved with their check-ups, and was able to get them an appointment in 10 days! I was really put at ease by her, and feel a huge relief to have this done. AND the cost involved is not nearly what I'd expected! Praise the Lord! If it goes well with Anna and Lily, then I'll also plan to take Joelle and myself back too. This is really something I've been stressing about for a long time and now I'm rather excited to get it taken care of!