My 100th Blog!!!

I noticed that one of my blogging friends just celebrated her 100th blog not too long ago, so I had to check out where I was at . . . 98

I should have reached 100 a while ago, but life just isn't normal. (Update at the end of this blog)

Happy, fun stuff first!!!

The boys and I have been enjoying the fall weather ... I'm just hoping that it sticks around for a while  :)

Walks are getting a lot easier. I really don't make him, he insists!

It takes a lot longer to get there, not because Emmitt walks slowly. It's because he has to stop and talk about everything he sees.

On this trip he was interested in the dry leaves falling to the ground, the ants walking across the sidewalk, the mulch around the base of the tree, the geese flying through the sky . . . . and the dog poop.

I love it, but also try to keep him moving along, because his big brother is on the bike way ahead.

He is getting pretty brave. I'm thinking it's time to try without training wheels ... maybe we'll give it a try before the snow starts falling.

The girls wanted to do some baking this weekend. We started off making pear bread. May sound like a strange choice, but when given nearly 100 pears that are all ripening at the same time ... now it's just the matter of using them before they go bad.

I made one loaf this week to try out the recipe and everyone devoured it.

So we made 6 more loaves this weekend. Here's the recipe if you are interested. (Pear bread link)

Notice ..... they were done before the Packer game started .....  yes, that was planned  :)

Zoe has been begging to make Cake Pops for months.

Today was the day!!! I don't have a recipe, it's so easy  :)

First make any kind of cake you want. (If you make fancy shaped cakes for your kids birthday parties, this is what you can do with all the extra pieces)

I don't have a picture of the crumbing part ... but you crumble the entire cake into crumbs.

Then add frosting until it's the consistency of play dough.

Roll it up into balls (make sure that they are compact so they don't fall apart, some of ours did)

Place in freezer for 15 minutes, but you don't want them to freeze ... if you need more time you can put them in the fridge.

 Dip lollipop stick into melted Candy Melts about a half inch and push into cake ball half way, don't push all the way through.

Dip and rock the cake pop in Candy Melts. Spin and tap slightly to remove extra chocolate. DO NOT SPIN OR STIR WHILE IN THE MELTS! The Cake pop will come right off the stick. (We lost a few ..... not to worry, they were eaten, still taste good minus the stick) Also, notice that we have chocolate, we like the baking chocolate chips, not fans of the Candy Melts, but the Candy Melts harden fast and come in lots of pretty colors.

 Yes, I see those fingers in her mouth. She washed her hands at least 10 times during this process. I think it's instinct for a child to lick chocolate off their fingers ..... really, can you blame her  :)

Then pass the coated pop off you your pushy assistant!

 And she will add the sprinkles  :)

And then admire them while they harden.

The best part, they are old enough to clean up after themselves after the fun is done. And I wasn't willing to help, the Packer game had already started......

 It'll take us a little bit of practice to make them look like the ones in the magazines. But trust me .... they taste just as good  :)

All in all . . . . great weekend.

GO BREWERS, GO BADGERS, GO PACKERS AND GO BREWERS AGAIN!!! 

What a great weekend to be a fan  :)

Now the depressing update. We are trying to buy a short sale house. We are 3 months into the process. The house we are trying to buy is owned by a couple that are going through a divorce. One of them has just filed bankruptcy. So now the house may have to go through bankruptcy courts before it can be sold. We are waiting to hear. But we are actively looking for a different property again. Thinking our best option now is to rent and maybe wait out the process on this house . . . or a different one.

I'm still hoping, but I want to be home for the holidays. Just have to find a home . . . . .

Zoe's Gotta Go Back To School Before She Makes Me Fat!

Weather hasn't been the nicest for our Spring Break . . . but not horrible either.

The kids have definitely spent their share of time running around outside . . . but not in the 60 degree weather that I had hoped for.

We knew that the weather wasn't going to be ideal, so Zoe's plan was always to cook and bake a lot. And that's exactly what she did.

Julie, she lived in this apron all week . . . seriously!

First, Whoopie Cookies . . . from scratch!

All I helped her with was thinning the batter and pulling the hot pans out of the oven. Other then that . . . I walked away and let her do her thing. She is my little Ms. Independent.

Look at all those ingredients, I found a recipe that used Devil's Food cake mix, but she preferred the list of ingredients, exactly the opposite of how I cook :)

I also told her that she'd be in charge of clean up this time. I have always let her bake and walk away, but she always makes such a HUGE mess. I thought if I gave her the responsibility, somehow she wouldn't make as big of a mess . . . but she did.

She didn't like it, but she did it :)

And if you aren't familiar with Whoopie Pies . . . they are basically giant Oreo cookies . . . but again, my brilliant little 10 year old's mind at work decided there would be twice as many if she made them iced cookies.

She named them "Whoopie Cookies", which she was very proud of and they were delicious!!!

And Zoe continued all week . . . very happily :) Monkey Bread, yummy!!!

Deviled Eggs, that Audrey turned her nose up at, but then realized she loved them :)

This doesn't include pictures of the carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Yes, she made those too :) My favorite!!!

She had more on her list: Fat Bars and Rice Krispie Treats and Apple Pie . . . but I had to say "enough"

Yesterday morning she made a pile of French Toast, seriously, she's so happy in the kitchen. But I think I gained five pounds this week!

So guess what this week has inspired?!?!?!?

P90X TIME!

If I'm not complaining about my entire body aching on Monday evening, I want everyone to yell at me to get my butt moving . . . please . . . I may need some yelling . . . I mean encouragement :)

Also, I have to get down on my hands and knees and scrub the kitchen floor, between Zoe's baking and the Aqua Sand, it needs it.

I better do that before the P90X :) Otherwise, I may not be able to.

Today's their last day off and I have approved handmade ice cream (in the ball . . . gift from Tracy and Mike) and personal sized pizzas . . . each kids gonna make their own for dinner :)

This week has definitely not felt like a vacation to me . . . but it never does with 5 kids :)