the adventures of little e

cora's new room

2009-02-11T17:24:00.000-08:00

For Cora's birthday her Beemaw got her a new bedroom floor! So, we got the paint and got busy. She loves her room so much, but probably not as much as I do!

The BEFORE pictures. All in all not a bad room (we have others that are in worse need!) But we needed to make it "Cora's Room"!

Jay and Cora had fun pitching in to help paint. The Kilz took FOREVER to wear off of Cora's little legs. I don't know how she got so much on her!

This is the green color i picked out...actually I showed the choices to Cora and she made the final decision. "Cactus Green" is the color. And at this point I am kicking myself..I am not so great at picking out colors. And with the black and white floor..it looked pretty bad.

But once we started putting the new floor down it started to look better. Jay really is a good helper when it comes to home repairs! I wonder if I was so functional @ age 5?? Probably not.

The end result is such a precious site! Cora was sleeping on a toddler bed in Jay's room-then in our room 1/2 of the night! But this is her big girl bed (a beautiful iron day bed we are borrowing from breanna..thank you, breanna!!) These sheets were mine when I was a kid..Strawberry Shortcake! And the quilt came from a super great sale at Pottery Barn. But seeing her sleep in her big girl bed is wonderful! It's been a couple of weeks, and she is doing really well. Better than I would have guessed. She goes to sleep in there no problem, but usually tries to come to our room between 2 and 4am. We've started the "no Max and Ruby" for the whole next day if she comes in and stays. Sometimes she goes back, and other times she says "I don't want to watch Max & Ruby". Then other nights she stays in her bed until morning..so..it's getting better. She's also done a pretty good job of keeping it clean. I don't have an AFTER picture of the whole room yet...i will try to remember to post one later. sweet dreams!

valentine mailboxes

2009-02-10T19:17:00.001-08:00

So, being the procrastinator I am...Jay, Cora and I made their Valentine Boxes tonight...due tomorrow! Well, Jay's is, Cora was just along for the ride..but she doesn't know the difference. It all started off very rocky. I could feel my anxiety reaching it's blowing point as the chaos began. Since it was their first experience in making mailboxes they just had no idea what was going on, and didn't really want to listen to direction...just wanted complain and fight over who gets what. but as things progressed everything started to settle down. We just spray painted the boxes silver (just the first can of paint my hand touched) and they got to dig through and awesome bucket of chip board letters and shapes my friend, Bridget got for me. Then they looked through my ginormous book of stickers and such...and they directed and created and I operated the hot glue gun. I think they turned out quite nicely! bring it on, cupid!

Happy Birthday, Cora!

2009-02-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

What better way to jump back into the blogging world than with pictures of Cora's 3rd birthday?! As you can see, we went with the Care Bear theme. She loved it. Of course we had the party at home (despite Jay's best efforts) I am just not ready to handle the "invite every kid you've ever known to some party place where the kids run completely wild for 2 hours and then you go home" type of party. I like our homemade parties, and as long as I am the boss...this is the way we will "roll". HA! Okay, on to the pictures!

This is cora with her cake and the Care Bear backdrop is Josh's handy work!

The sweetest picture of the day!

The birthday girl's shirt-a pink version of Birthday Bear

The Care Bears on a cloud covering the mantle, and the awesome pinata my sister, Erin decorated. I wanted to make a rainbow pinata, but anything that's not round seems to be out of the realm of my pinata making skills..so we had to get creative! In case you can't tell, it's Cheer Bear's belly badge.

Goodie Bags! Hobby Lobby had these their canvas bags 1/2 off, and they came in blue, yellow and green, so we made them into Grumpy, Sunshine and GoodLuck bear bags. There's not much Care Bear stuff out there, so the bags just had some rainbow chip cookies, fruit snacks, playdough, skittles, and a Care Bear cup.

Here's her Care Bear Cake, and some TenderHeart cookies too!

The Birthday Gang! (Lauren, Jay, Chyan, Cora, Kennedy & Clara)

Marley

2008-10-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

We have a new dog. I know, it seems like the day before yesterday I was blogging about Bonnie, and all the reasons the Beras are not ready for a dog...but those dang Beras don't learn lessons every well. So, meet Marley. He's a chocolate lab who had too much energy for his previous owners. He's 8 months old and is excited about life! He's a really good dog, but has lots to learn. At first the kids were not too excited (did I mention he has alot of energy?) but they are getting use to him, and he is learinging to live with kids (ie...when pounced on cora crumples to the ground, and her mom doesn't like that...things like that!) He is learning to fetch really well, but our old Iris could have shown this young pup up in that department! So, here's a few pictures of him...he is as easy to photograph as cora...they are moving too fast for the camera! But you get the idea...happy monday!

absent blogger

2008-10-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

where in the world have i been? it's been over 2 months since i've blogged?! where has the time gone? i just don't know. time just goes by too fast. i haven't cared to sit at the computer much lately. i don't have much time now...but i was downloading LOTS of pictures (my camera was full) and i thought i might post a quick blog about a cute stool i made...well, not made..just spruced up a bit. i found this at a garage sale for $2, and have had it over a year. breanna sent me this blog, and i thought...i can do that. so, here's the pictures to document my project. i am pretty happy with the final product, but i did get some lumps on top. i didn't put enough modge podge under the paper..lumps were the result. oh well...still better than rusty and nasty! i will do better at blogging..i have lots of pictures downloaded...so i will try to catch up now!

my kindergartener

2008-08-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

jay is offically a big kid. today we went to meet his kindergarten teacher. her name is mrs. ellerbe, and she seems really nice. i've heard lots of good things about her around town. jay was worried about school last night, but today he saw his friend dylan there, so he was pretty happy. wednesday will be his first full day of school. wow. time flies by so fast. it seems like yesterday he was a tiny baby! i can't believe we are already to this stage of his life! not that i am having trouble letting go, but i signed up for everything a mom can sign up for today..class parties, reading to the class, treats, field trips, pto..the works. i think we will all have fun with jay in kindergarten!

sad day.

2008-08-05T05:12:00.000-07:00

my friend has moved away. i've known this day would come since we became friends less than a year ago. her husband got into law school in new orleans, and *poof*, they were gone! yesterday we went over to help them pack up the vehicles (well, josh did..once i got there everything was pretty much done)

but here i sit @ 7 am the next day..missing my friend. it's movie day...so i want to text her and say...'we're going, but running late!'..and then have her reply...'we just woke up, but we'll be there....after a bk breakfast run of course!'

then tonight is bunco...i'm getting all choked up now! i won't get to call and say 'what are you taking to bunco?'

and no more scrapbook fridays!

and who will i talk to in primary now?!

and who would i be able to drop my kids off at a minute's notice, and know they will be okay?

and who will i plan parties with?

and who will email me cute craft ideas...and say 'we have to do these!'...although we never get around to all of them.

well, at least new orleans is only 4 hours away. i'm done with my pity blog. i wish the youngs lots of luck and happiness in their new adventure! here's the only pictures i got yesterday before my dumb camera batteries died...with NO warning. grr.

cow appreciation day

2008-07-15T05:37:00.000-07:00

nothin' much has been happening around here lately, so i thought i'd catch up on some stuff from last week...it was more fun! friday we went to chickfila for cow appreciation day. it was fun! (hot and crowded, but fun nonetheless) they had games, a balloon lady, face painting, the fire truck, and a boucer out there for the kids. we won coupons for free breakfast foods and a couple of "eat more chicken" cows. and if you dressed up like a cow you got a free combo! we didn't do that..we weren't prepared, but of course we ate!! and i learned that you can get a wheat bun (don't know why i didn't know that before)..but i was happy about it! spinning the wheel..everyone's a winner!

bean bag toss

balloon lady!

face painting..jay didn't want to do it

he wanted a tattoo instead

showing off their decorations

cora's pink balloon elephant & jay's sword

car full of little cows

the girl cow! we've never seen her before, only the boy one..cora wasn't interested in taking a picture with her...but this little girl was!

last day of dance for the summer

2008-07-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

well, cora's 6 weeks of dance are up. after their class was over we went in to the studio and took some pictures. cora doesn't cooperate with the camera very well, but i got some decent shots. she will start fall dance the week of labor day..not too far away. and jay will be in school by then..how crazy is that?! wow. cora with her teacher, ms linda lou

"grace" on the bar

in the mirror

sassy pose

silly goose

cora and renee

something fun and new!

2008-07-12T07:29:00.000-07:00

yesterday i got the chance to make something new! i have fallen in love with this blog...bakerella. she is so creative! i had forgotten all about these cute cupcake pops until my friend breanna asked me to make some. they are pretty fun to make. i want to make more soon and use all of the lessons i learned! thanks, bakerella, for your great tutorial, and for sharing your creativity with us! oops #1--fell right off it's stick oops #2--damaged during packaging--taken care of by josh finished product

fireworks!

2008-07-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

we had a belated 4th celebration at my mom's house on saturday. we ate the best grilled burgers..and deviled eggs (or "doubled eggs" as jay calls them)...and mushrooms..and fruit pizza..and lemon square..yummm. erin and thad brought some awesome fireworks, and thad put on quite the show for us! the kids loved it...however, gertie, my mom's dog was not loving it. she ran away. the whole neighborhood was out searching for her. man, we were worried, but finally my mom and ray found her..scared to death.(people were shooting fireworks all over the neighboorhood). so, all is well! my mom's boyfriend, ray, and his son, lewis, and his daughter, cheyanne came too..it was fun. here's some pictures to prove it!who knew "at home" fireworks could be so pretty!

cora likes sparklers

ruth & ray

ray & cheyanne

jay being silly

thad making a run for it

the crazy beras (cora didn't like the loud stuff)

did i mention....

2008-07-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

cora is taking dance? tomorrow is her last class..sniff sniff...for the summer. it was only a 6week long class for the summer, but i thought it might be a good time to "test the waters". but she seems to love it. and those of you who know cora, also know how bullheaded she can be. she doesn't follow directions very well, but maybe this will help. it's been nice to have something that is just for her. jay had tee ball earlier this summer, and everything else we do is all together. we don't get to stay in the room and watch, but there is a tv in the waiting room (which is always packed) so we can watch our little prima ballerinas. renee is in her class, which helps. she is alittle older than cora, and has taken dance before, so she is the "helper" in charge of wild little cora. i am not the best "mom of a dancer" it seems i am always forgetting something..and i've even lost a tap shoe! i really hate being so scatterbrained all of the time..something needs to change! ha! well, i will leave you with some pictures of cora's first day of dance class.

here she comes out the studio door with her tounge hanging out!

renee, cora, & ginger (she and cora were immediate best friends)

the dynamic duo

brodie's baptism

2008-07-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

today my best friend, crystal's older boy, brodie, was baptized. i cannot believe he is 8 already! i think he had a great day today. here are a few pictures from the day.

left to right: earl (pawpaw), brodie, gloria (mawmaw), tristan (brother), crystal(mom), donavan (crystal's boyfriend)

josh & brodie

brodie with his cake

congratulations, brodie! i am so proud of you and your decision to be baptized. i know our Heavenly Father is very pleased with you too.

happy fourth of july!

2008-07-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

today was a great holiday! so relaxing, and low stress. well, i did buy a swimsuit @ old navy, and that always comes with a certain level of stress. we started early with a ward breakfast at the church. it was fun, but awfully early. then the shopping spree (lol...just old navy, and target, but with cora that can be an all day affair) then swimming at the golf course. then we had plans to go to a riverfront festival and to the fireworks tonight. but we got word the festival was lame-o. so, instead we ate at our local yummy bbq joint, rented a movie and came on home! the no-napping kids were asleep by 7:30, and now a storm is rolling in. so, good thing we didn't plan for the fireworks. here is a silly picture of us in our traditional 4th tee shirts. josh and i are about to bust out laughing because it took us about 7 tries..and this is the best we could do with our timer as the photographer! happy 4th!

happy belated birthday, erin

2008-06-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

my sister's birthday was earlier this month, and i've been meaning to sit and blog about it, but just haven't made the time. she is 24! ah, to be young again..haha. we had a little get together for her the day after her birthday @ my mom's house. we had grilled bratworsts (aka.."sausage on a bun") that seems to be our family meal.

erin had a few friends make it to the party. that was fun. losing touch with friends is one of the worst parts of life! so, they had fun catching up.

i made the cake. i used the opportunity to try out something new. i made a "topsy-turvy" cake. it looks like it's off balance. it was fun to make. but i learned alot during the process. it was also my first time to make/use fondant. it's not so hard to work with, but it just doesn't taste good. and the texture just doesnt' go with the cake! oh well. erin liked it and that's all that matters! happy late birthday, erin! love you

mooo..

2008-06-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

here's the other cake i made this weekend (it was a baking marathon at my house!) it was for a friend's little girl's 2nd birthday. she loves cows, so her mom wanted to have a cow birthday. it's kind of simple. i love using the grass tip (the border) it's so fast and easy, and doesn't have to be perfect. i'm enjoying using fondant..i'm new to it. the black cow spots and pink #2 are fondant, and the rest is buttercream. i don't love the way fondant tastes. i've been using a marshmellow fondant which of course tastes better than wilton's premade fondant (but that's not saying much!) so, this weekend i am getting the chance to use fondant again, and want to try out a new recipe..so we will see.

how fun twins must be!

2008-06-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

i got the opportunity to make cakes for a cute little set of twins' birthday this weekend. they were turning 5, and it makes me smile to think of how different they are. obviously one is a boy and the other is a girl, but can you imagine the day to day things this mom goes through? haha! bless her heart.

but the cakes were fun to make. i was given a picture for both to go by, so i cannot take credit for the creativity, but i am rather pleased with the outcome.

whale of a time!

2008-06-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

I just realized I forgot to blog on the cute whale themed baby shower we did for my friend, Leslie. She is using this bedding for her little boy, Grayson. Who, by the way joined us a couple of weeks ago..weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs 3 oz! The bedding is so cute, we decided to use it for the theme. Here's the invitations. They are inspired by Elsie Flanagan. (if you are saying to yourself "who's that" take a peek at the left and click on her blog...she's fun) also, here's the complimentary thank you notes.

We also made matching invitations for a "big sister" shower for Leslie's daughter, Kennedy. I don't have a picture of those. But we had a cute little table set up just for the kids to have their own little party. Here's the cake. It's rather simple, and not what I planned to make, but the day of the shower, this is the creation that emerged from the kitchen! If you look closely you can see evidence of little-people fingers that were too excited to wait. He patched up well though!

And these cute little burp rags are one of the hostess gifts we made. Breanna and I tag teamed them, and I think they turned out so great. I can't wait to make more. The little whale is aplique, and the same material is used to line the back (and cover up the ugly back of the whale)

I made these little whale bean bags for the kids' favors. This one is red, and was kind of the prototype, but the final products were blue for boys and pink for girls. Jay couldn't wrap his mind around a pink whale, but then i remembered seeing this article, and it made me feel better! And the adults' favors were these cute candy filled cones topped with what else? a little polka dot whale!

Okay. That's all I have for now. It was a fun shower. There was not a great turn out, but it was the last of a string of baby showers, bridal showers, and weddings in our ward. But we played a couple of games, ate, visited, and it was a good time. Oh, and the "we" I speak of is composed of myself and good friends, Breanna and Annie.

cute smilebox program

2008-06-10T22:56:00.000-07:00

so, now it's 1am, and i am kicking myself because i planned to go to bed early tonight since the past 2 nights have contained little sleep. well, i decided to change my blog look, then i found this little smilebox thing. i didn't feel like downloading any new pictures, and i made this little slideshow thinking i could put in on my page, but i doesn't fit, and i'm too tired to think about it. so i am just posting it.

it's a fun little program..go check it out. these are just some pictures from earlier this year: easter, and jay and cora's birthdays.

i've been slacking at the blog thing. i got a new camera, so i was excited to blog some new pictures, then the camera broke..and so did my excitment over blogging! haha. okay, going to bed now.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

the story of bonnie

2008-05-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

in my efforts to catch up on my blog, i wanted to tell the story of "bonnie".

but first, alittle backtracking...we lost our "iris" easter week. she died after being ill for awhile. so, the beras decided no more canine family members for awhile. but i think everyone who knows us knew we wouldn't last long. that is probably why my mom said "you don't need another dog" nearly everytime i spoke to her!

but as things go, i meet "bonnie". the kids and i went to the golf course to take josh some clubs that the ups man brought. and up walks this cute little bassett hound. josh explains she's a stray and she's been hanging around the course for about a month! well, of course i want to take her home, and of course...josh says "absolutely not, we do not need a dog!"

well, come to find out there is a male that roams the course too! so, of course i want BOTH! they are a pair, obviously! josh just laughs, and says no. so, i take the kids home, and about the time josh is finishing up at the golf course i texted him and said i could get "bonnie and clyde's" room ready before he got home. he writes back that he and bonnie were looking for clyde, and would be home shortly! we were so excited!

well, we never found clyde. we looked for days, and the employees at the course were watching for him too. bonnie went through a series of flea baths and treatments..what a job! she wasn't so fond of the bathroom. she was "reasonably" house trained. she would go out if we were here to let her out, but didn't mind going inside either. but the worst part was...she would run away! 10x a day i'm chasing her down the road because the kids would let her out or drop her leash. it as madding!

so, after 2 weeks of having our sweet little bonnie the beras (especially mama bera) accepted what everyone else already knew...we aren't ready for a dog. it's sad, but true. i just don't have the time (or want to exert the effort) to have a new dog right now.

so what did i do? well, i posted her on freecycle. she was spoken for in a matter of an hour! she was picked up by a couple from ruston who immediately fell in love with her. her new mom emailed me and said her new name is "snickers" (remember she was only bonnie for a couple of weeks!) because that was the first thing she ate at her new house. and her new dad shared a plate of ribs with her the first night she was there. ha! so, bonnie is living the life! she would have never had that here! we are pretty strict with the no human food for dogs thing. and, having been a stray...she thought dog food was gross.

so, that's the story of bonnie. bonnie got a new life, and the beras learned a lesson! (well, i did anyway, everyone else seemed to have already learned it!)

my little tee baller

2008-04-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

jay had his first tee ball game this weekend. he plays for a team called kel-tech. i don't even know what business it is, but they have a teal green shirt. jay picked number 15. i'm not sure what significance the number 15 has, but he picked it in soccer too. i tried in vain for him to be 8 like me..sniff, sniff.

he played outfield for his first game, and didn't get much action out there. he did get one ball, and threw it to the pitcher! yay, jay! i think he had more fun playing with his shadow in the outfield than anything else. haha. here's some pictures: down & ready, playing with his shadow, and being silly.

so, i never knew this, but in tee ball they get 3 pitches from the coach before actually hitting off of the tee. that was interesting to me. anyway, he hit it once, and used the tee once. (they only got through 2 innings in an hour+) here's jay up to bat.

and of course cora had fun at the game! she was a handful though. running around being a little social butterfly, she was hard to keep up with. she wants to play too.and she'd probably make a good little ball player! we are going to put her in dancing this summer, and i hope she likes it. right now she wants to do everything her brother does.

and i got to do snacks for the first game! so, of course i took a picture of the cute cookies i made. they are just the cookies i always make (we call them neiman marcus cookies) with my buttercream icing on top..move over great american cookie company! they were yummy & cute, but got alittle smashed during packaging. so, that's the story of jay's first tee ball game. all in all it was good. i was alittle worried about jay not liking it. but he told me later it was fun, so that made me feel better. i missed his second game yesterday for a baby shower i was helping to host :( but he did great...didn't need the tee even once! my mom took more pictures, so i'll probably post more later!

7 YEARS?!

2008-04-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

so, josh and i celebrated our 7 year anniversary this weekend. can it be possible that 7 whole years have passed? wow. we've been through alot, and have made alot of memories in the past 84 months. like most marriages we've had our ups and downs. our 3rd year was probably the roughest. but since then we've joined the same team, and things have been good. isn't it funny how much time we spend butting heads and wanting our own way? in the past decade-3 josh and i have grown up and learned alot. we have gotten pretty good at compromising and wanting one another to be happy, and not being as selfish. we argue alot less, but of course we disagree still! how can men and women see things so differently? that is where compromising comes in! haha.

what did we do to celebrate? dinner and a movie. sounds like a common date, huh? well, when you have 2 kids and 100 different things going on you don't go on dates too often! so, we saw 21..thanks russell for the tickets! it was a good movie. i like kate bosworth. it was about some MIT students who beat the black jack system. and we ate at the waterfront grill. i won a gift certificate back in january on what's cookin'?, and we have never used it. so, thanks to russell and stacy thorton..we had a free anniversary date! wow, huh? and being the penny pincher/deal hunter i am...it made it even better!

well, i'll leave you with a couple of pictures. that might make you laugh, have we changed much?

scrapbook fridays

2008-04-04T20:26:00.000-07:00

so, today i spent nearly 9 hours at my friend, breanna's, house. she, annie and i have been getting together to "scrapbook" on fridays for the past few months. however, we have actaully scrapbooked probably twice. over the past few months there have been so many birthday parties, baby showers, bridal showers, and weddings we have been planning we've done just about everything but scrapbook! so, we've decided that scrapbook friday needs a new name.

but one of the things i love about the days formerly known as scrapbook fridays is the friendships i've made. i tend to want to be a homebody these days. i so enjoy my pjs, and just hanging in my house all day. but getting together with friends, and having actual adult conversation has done me a world of good! and spending the day crafting in one way or another and chatting with girls that share the same intrests and goals and standards makes for good times! so, thanks breanna and annie for "scrapbook fridays"!

ps...pictures of our WHALE of a masterpiece coming soon. hehehe.

give big or go home

2008-04-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

i am so in love with this show. i thought it was going to be so cheesy, but i watched the first one, and i was hooked. i cry at least 5 times during each episode. there are so many ways to help people, and there are so many people in need...in one way or another. it's touching to see how creative they get in creating ways to serve others. does anyone else watch? if you feel like you are missing out, don't worry, you can watch them all on abc.com. just click on full episodes. it comes on sunday nights after home edition. here's a preview if you have no idea what i'm talking about.

so, i have a presidency meeting at my house in a couple of hours, and my house is a disaster. and what am i doing? blogging.

my newest hobby

2008-04-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

so, i've not blogged in quite some time. and i struggled with how to start blogging again. so much time has pasted, and so many things have happened...i just don't know where to start. so, i've decided to just start with a random blog, and i'll do my best to just start fresh, and blog more often.

so, i've developed yet another hobby. back in january i took a cake decorating class with my sister @ michael's. it was alot of fun, and we learned lots, so i decided i can be a 'cake lady' too! so, get ready....

first was cora's birthday cake. as you can see it's a duck! i was pretty happy with the way "walter" turned out, but not the way he tasted. i was told you should use pound cake when making a 3D cake such as this. no big deal since i love pound cake. problem is...pound cake don't rise, man! and a no rising cake results in 1/2 of a duck. so, i tried martha's recipe, and then some random recipe i found that contained baking powder...neither of which worked. so. i took one of my half baked ducks to my cake lady (at michaels) and she says there is a great pound cake MIX..as in a box cake mix. well, i don't do box mixes so often, so it was news to me. well, anyway, the mix rose and filled out the duck (not 100%, but good enough..as i was not willing to make a 4th duck. good thing i tried a practice duck earlier in the week. normally i would have waited until friday night to bake it...then there would have been no "walter" for cora. thanks, breanna, for the pan!

and then here's the cupcakes. i looked all over for tiny little ducks to put on top, but couldn't find any...so, i made my own little icing ducks. they don't have eyes...i couldn't get them to look right, and decided ducks don't need eyes anyway!

next up was jay's spiderman birthday. i found this awesome blog with the instructions. i found the beauty of cake mixes. but so far i only like the butter recipe ones. and i found a new buttercream recipe i love. lesson learned: red and black icing...it's hard to make. but the cake was pretty easy..and jay and his friends loved it.

then there is the candyland castle! it was made for my friend, breanna's little girl, renee. it was in the wilton 2008 yearbook, and i think we matched it pretty good. it had some transportation problems, but was able to be fixed...somewhat.

and here's the candyland express that was renee's brother, elijah's cake it was more of a group effort, so i'm not taking credit for it, but isn't it cute?

and most recently we have a wedding cake! i know, you are asking yourself, what crazy person was willing to let a beginner make her wedding cake? well, it was a very laid back, and trusting bride! it was quite a learning experience. and all in all i'm thrilled with the way it turned out. it's just buttercream icing with brown ribbon, and truffles on top. thanks to bridget for her help and guidance, and to marissa for her pans! and to breanna..the wedding planner with all the faith in my ability. and of course amy, the bride who was willing to let a newbie do her cake!

so, that's all i have for now. i'm off to get my warm sheets out of the dryer and then crawl between them! happy wednesday!

slacking blogger

2007-12-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

hello! it's me, the absent blogger. I can't believe it's been over 2 months since I've posted a blog. It just hasn't been a priority I guess. We have been super busy lately. I just wanted to post a blog saying I know I'm a slacker, and I will do better. Also, here is a link to our "elfin' family"..it's a hoot, so check it out.
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1362067322

Happy Birthday, Beemaw!

2007-09-27T23:19:00.001-07:00

so, today is my mom's birthday. yep, she turned 29. no, wait..that's me that will be 29. lol! anyway. we had surprise birthday party for her at kiroli park last saturday. her boyfriend, ray, had a blast cooking that up for her. i didn't get a picture of her cake. it was too cute. if i find someone who did, i'll post it. it had a harley davison on it...too cute. jay and cora had so much fun at the park, and jay always has fun playing with his new friend, ray.then today my mom and ray brought their new four wheelers, and we wrote those for awhile. it was fun. i had forgotten how much fun it was. when i was younger we use to go mud digging all the time, but in my old age..i don't do so may footloose and fancy free type things. cora was not interested in riding. that surprised me because she loves riding on the mower, but jay LOVED it. here are some pictures:

you go huckabee

2007-09-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

now, i'm not saying i'm supporting this guy, i really have not been keeping up with the primaries much...west monroe ward's primary is enough for me to keep up with! haha....but i thought this was an awesome response by govenor huckabee on the discussion of evolution. enjoy!

men and women

2007-09-26T05:28:00.000-07:00

this made me laugh. as most of you know i stuggle with my weight..and the fact that i can't loose any, so this picture was pretty funny to me. i go to the gym everyday, and you can totally see this in men and women. even the flabbiest man will walk around like the king of fittness, but even the perfect bodied women seem unsatisfied. life is funny, eh?

my little brownie cook

2007-09-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

it's been awhile since i've posted a blog. i've just been too lazy to sit at the computer long enough to write something about myself! i can't believe it is thursday again already. where'd the week go? seriously. loosing monday to a holiday just throws my whole week off.

well i wanted to blog about the awesome swing set we got. it's little tykes. we found it at a garage sale and my mom got it for her grandbabies...and they love it. the people we got if from kept it under a pecan tree, which we all know is a no no. it was pretty filthy. but alittle bleach, comet, and elbow grease got it good as new!

yesterday the missionaries came over to eat. and i have a new brownie recipe, so cora and i made brownies. i didn't think she'd be a good helper in the kitchen, but she was underfoot and driving me crazy. so, i put her little butt on the countertop, and let her help. she loved it. you should have seen her unwrapping the chocolate squares and putting them in the bowl then wadding up the papers, then she helped me dump all the measuring cups and spoons. we had a bit of a mess to clean up afterwards, but it was worth it to keep her happy for a few minutes. and jay, of course, enjoyed the beaters.

well, today is a blah day. the kids are napping...well, almost, and i've got some house work to catch up on. fun stuff. i'll try to get better at this blog thing. happy thursday!

rough day

2007-08-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

man, today has been rough! my kids have been horrid! i wanted to put them to bed at like 4 o'clock...seriously. i just don't understand why some days they act like i am speaking in tounges. it took jay 3 hours to clean his room today. it was just picking up a few toys! he was being so defiant! but he started speaking my language really fast when i started putting everything on the floor in a trash bag. he freaked. but i had to do it. i threated to do it like 5 times, so i had to follow through. so, needless to say. the room is "clean"....by a 4 year old's standard.

but i do feel somewhat accomplished. i got the better part of my yard mowed. cora's too little clothes packed away, and her fall/winter 2t stuff out and washed and put away. i'm caught up on laundry, and i even got my bedroom/bathroom cleaned. so, i did get some things done. now it's almost 9...josh just got home from working, and we are just going to vegggggg. happy friday!

southern living at home

2007-08-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

I went to a southern living at home party with my friend, kim, tonight. It was alot of fun. I didn't know a soul there (except for her). I didn't buy anything. I kind of felt like a heel, but there were enough people there, no one even noticed I ooohed and aaahed, and made a mental wish list...as in I must be mental to think we'd be able to afford that stuff right now. but man, I really did see some things I'd like to have. I don't love alll of their stuff, but they do have some collections that are really...me. this is the gallery collection. it's all white stuff that i really really like. i have a couple of the big plates (i use them as serving platters), the pitcher, compote, and big bowl.

the newest collection i have my eye on is the the christmas stuff....i think it's so cute. here's a picture of it too. they have a whole entire collection of this, but the picture only shows part of it.

anyway, the food was really great. and I ate up! i've been trying to watch what I've been eating, but tonight I felt no guilt. She had lots of appitizer type foods...my favorite. the party was about an hour away, so kim and I got the chance to chat and laugh on the way there and back. she is my workout partner, so I see her nearly everyday, but we usually have other pressing matters to tend to...like our super hot bodies! lol!! anyway, thought of the day.....southern living at home....cool stuff for rich people! haha. i have a friend that sells it. if anyone is interested i can get you her name and number. having a party is really worth the great hostess specials they have. that's how i got my cute gallery stuff!

the long awaited baptism

2007-08-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we attended the baptism of Randy and Dalton, a father and son. Randy was good friends with my dad when they were young. And he's known my family forever. Dalton just turned the magical age of 8. I teach him in primary, and he is such a delight! He is always so eager to participate, and a little sponge soaking up the gospel. It was truely a special day. You could feel the excitement and joy of everyone there. A couple of sister missionaries even came down from Utah to be here for the baptism. How neat is that?

Mr. & Mrs. Noland

2007-08-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

Monday was my little sister, Erin's first wedding anniversary. I can't believe she has already been married for one whole year. It's so strange to think of myself all grown up...much less my little sister! We all went over to my mom's house where she and her hubby, Thad, cut the saved top tier of their wedding cake. His grandmother (the neatest 80-something year old lady you will ever meet) had wrapped it perfectly and froze it for them. It tasted as good as it did 1 year ago. I remember mine was kinda gross. We tried to bring it to Louisiana with us on our move from Utah, and I guess the thaw and refreeze was not so good for it. haha! Anyway, Erin & Thad are the cutest couple, and we are glad to have him as a part of our family.