We all have blonde moments....

....mine happened on Jared's birthday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14QDKi1q9ME&feature=youtu.be

I'm ok. Just a few red spots that went away before the next day.

Rambles

Just love it when Internet is knocked out for a long time. But not really. Not that I had anything to blog about anyways. I haven't really taken very many pictures lately. I did a cake here and some cookies there, but nothing worth immortallizing with blogger.

Tidbits...I guess I could report that Mykael and Jaden went to go live with their mom. It was a mutual agreement between all parents and the two kids. I miss them terribly!!! In just the few short weeks that they've been gone, I feel like I've lost the connection I had with them through the 9 years they've been in my life. I dont doubt B's ability to raise them into great people, but as a parent, it's hard to let a child go even knowing it was for the best. Everything changed SO FAST! But they're happy and so I'm happy for them!

My 9 yr wedding anniversary came and went. We didn't really do anything. No presents. No date night. Just the same daily/nightly routine with the boys. Which is how I wanted it. 9 years. Seems like a long time. But hindsight, it flew.

Which reminds me that I'm "flying by" too. I used to be so young. How did I get so old. 32. 32. 32. 32. 32.32. maybe if I say it enough, I'll accept it. And yet I find myself drawn to the commercials and ads for "age defying" products. "Reverse the signs of aging". Good grief. I think now would be a good time to rid my home of mirrors because I would be perfectly content to just throw my hair up in a pony.
I was walking through the store, looking for a good multivitamin. (next I'll be buying a pill box for a week.) and meandered through hair care and stopped at the hair color. I gazed at all the different colors and thought, "What the heck? Why not"? SO I grabbed two boxes and went home. I really didn't think it through and messing with hair color wasn't wise. I attempted to go lighter/blonder. But it turned out more, yellow. It looks ok, but walking past a mirror, I find my self hesitate, sigh, and then keep walking. Oh well. It is what it is.

I'm on a quest. A quiet and personal one. Seeking truth and finding happiness. What IS truth? What IS happiness? Why is it so important for me right now in my life? Where is it going to take me? I haven't really come up with anything satisifying but if I don't question it, how will I know for sure. *This doesn't mean I'm going to jump off a cliff. Incase any of you think that.*

Well I'm going to try to sleep. Although that has become as illusive as being 21 again.
nighty night!

...and since we're on the topic of hair...

I hate sleeping with wet hair because of how it looks in the morning after sleeping on it all night, so I thought I'd try and "curl" it for the morning. I've seen this done before and wanted to try it for myself. I took small sections of hair and just twisted them till they twisted right up to my scalp, then bobbi pinned it.

 It looked kind of cool like that but I'd never be brave enough to wear it out like that.

 Back

 Top

 Next morning after taking the pins out.

Cute, wild, weird, messy,.....So I wore a headband that day. It eventually relaxed enough that I wasn't sporting an afro. I'll have to work on it a little more. So the curls are more uniform.

Becoming who you want others to be...

It's easy to point the finger and say, "I wish that person was more understanding." "I wish that person wouldn't talk like that." "I wish that person would just listen to what I have to say." or "I wish that person would see their potential". But looking behind that finger, just isn't possible because it doesn't "bend" that way.

I was talking to someone very dear who is a huge supporter, somewhat of a life coach. In turn I try and do the same for her. We were talking one afternoon, discussing the goals we had in our life. And in particular, we were talking about putting ourselves out there for advertising. She was telling me about people who write on their websites "about them". And some of the stuff they came up with was so far out there it was almost ridiculous. We laughed a little about it and then I had remembered something I had read along the lines of, act the way you want others to act. And the idea was that your example would rub off onto them and they would begin to act in that manner. (I may be slaughtering that concept but hopefully you understand what I'm trying to say.) I asked her, "Why not be "Extrordinary" or "Unique" or "Amazing" or "Gifted" and even "Successful". As fantastical they seem. Why not?"  You can still have all these things and yet be grounded, accepting, selfless as well. Or at least that's the goal.

SO we challenged each other to sit down and write a list. Of all the ridiculous things we wanted to be. I went home and started writing my list of things. I guess you could call them goals, that I wanted to eventually become and/or work towards. I categorized them into three different....uh...categories? Personal, business, and relationships. To be successful in my life, I needed to write down exactly what it was I wanted to strive for. I love making cakes and eventually I want to have a thriving cake business. In the meantime....it will take babysteps to achieve that. Personally...I want to try to be someone that has more positive than negative in my life. In this day and age, there is A LOT of hard things happening to people. I being one of millions, I'm sure. And it's REALLY easy to allow those things to bring you down. Depress you. And make you feel helpless and discouraged. That alone gets really old. Really fast. So I'm going to try and be more positive. Or at least focus on the positive while I ride the negative out. Things will happen in my life that I will have no control over. But it's up to me how I will react to it. Easier said than done.

As far as relationships...I've  focused on things that I wanted to improve on to have relationships that were remembered fondly rather than with resentment or regret.

After I wrote this big list down. It was almost like it became a living thing. That life had been blown into it and it started happening. As odd as that sounds, just hear me out. All these things were always swimming around in my mind wishing for the day that it would just come out and manifest itself and I'd be changed. Just like that. It wasn't until they were written on paper that it became more real. I was more aware of what I was doing or how I was reacting. I was actually accomplishing what I have wanted to do without having to motivate myself. I've had setbacks and days of laziness. But having the list to read, re-energizes it all over again and I can slowly and eventually mark off everything on my list.

I just wanted to share that with you. And maybe you'll sit down and write a list of who you want to become. Why not?

I miss blogging

After going through some old posts, I realized that my blogging has kind of taken a slumpy turn. I feel like I haven't really had anything to blog about so I just haven't. Jared started Barber school last fall and with him being gone, I've been a little more busy than normal. He's got about 7 weeks left, and my life may return to a more less stressed pace.

I've got some big cakes coming up and could not be anymore excited. It's hard to not want to just start on them now, but I do believe in freshness. They are on a more difficult level but I'm ready for the challenge! Google "topsy turvy cakes" and you'll see what I get to do!

Update of my monkeys...cause we all know they grow so fast.
Mykael never ceases to amaze me! This chicks' heart is solid gold! Unfortunately I can't necessarily take credit for that in the genetics department, but I hope that some of our talks have contributed to who she is becoming! Without going into too much detail she basically has kept a neutral ground when it comes to friends and the nasty whisperings that so often occur at that age. She has been able to look at situations with a non-judgemental perspective and been patient with the outcome. Even when she was the "butt of the joke". She has the amazing ability to squash any gossip or rumors that come her way, stopping any further hurt to her or anyone else. I just love her for that! She will definitely be an amazing friend to whomever she meets.

When you find a nitch that just works in your life you go with it. And that's how Jaden is with his karate. It's his and his thing alone. I'm excited to see him continue to earn his belts again and compete in competitions. He'll be awesome!

Ashton's "love" has moved away. (or rather my choice of love for him.) Lilli moved 7 hours away and my only hope is the story of the Swan Princess. Before she had left, I took him to the store to buy her a locket. Her mother and I have high hopes that distance will make the hearts grow fonder and just like in the movie...they'll live happily ever after. I know he's only 6, but a mom can only hope!

Eli...........is still Eli. Still constructing things with the junk he finds around here but these things are becoming more functional. I think there's more of my grandpa W in him than I thought. He's ALWAYS making things or wanting to buy things for his friends. LOVES wrapping them up and giving them as gifts. He's just going all the time. But at night, he's ready to lay down and cuddle with Jared or I. He's so soft and so warm all the time! And his hugs are TIGHT!

Dylan is SOOOO friendly! Says Hi to EVERYONE! To the point that it's distracting. He talks loud (poor thing gets that from me) and asks a LOT of questions. He's definitely the star of his own movie/life. And people love him. We can't go anywhere without him having struck up a conversation with at least 3 complete strangers. And they walk away smiling. His faith is definitely sprouting. And I love talking to him about that. With the sweetness, there's an equal amount of red-head temper. And we'll just leave it at that.

I'm anxious for warmer weather. I'm itching to get out in the dirt again. I've got flowers to plant! For now, I'm just doing what I always do.

Severe was an understatment

I have been SO extremely out of it. SUPER sick, if you want definitions. It all started last week. A little congestion that manifested itself into a full on flu-cold monstrosity by sunday. It was so bad that I insisted on going to an urgent care even though my insurance wasn't accepted. Didn't care. Wanted drugs. BAD! My chest was so tight with congestion that I had a really hard time breathing. But then was told by the doctor that it was a severe case of the flu. Waisted money. No drugs for me. Although... they did give me a breathing treatment that made me dribble all over myself with nothing to clean it up. Sound attractive? Oh, I was! camo jammies, ski coat, big clunky shoes, and a hat to hide my pathetically greasy, unruly hair. And yes, I would lay in fetal postition everytime they left the room. All the while shaking from the cold (or rather being cold) If I had been talking jibberish, I would've been admitted to a white padded room. Fast forward through 3 completely unbarable sleepless days to now and I can say that the headache, chest congestion, fever, ear aches and shakes are gone. BUT....the sinus congestion is still very much alive and well. Coughing up....uh....let's call it, gunk, has been my new flattering bodily movement. Good news.. I do have at least one working nostril at any given time. (Depends on which side I lay.) Bad news....Dylan and Eli have fevers.  Dylan HATES taking medicine. Today when I told Dylan he needed medicine he took off into his room. By they time I got there, he had grabbed a box, toys, and clothes and shoved them in front of the door to block my entrance. Smart little turd! Have NO IDEA where he learned that one! Luckily this super strong sick mother was not detered. Just annoyed. Eli's a little better about taking it. So much so, he was urging Dylan to comply as well. SO....that's what's been/is going on around here. You might want to stay back. This thing is nasty! I got to thinking of all the germs that were floating/resting/putting up residence around me and my children I was pretty liberal with the clorox today. Drug my weakend body out of bed long enough to do so. Even though we're not through this yet, I'm not going to let one single sick cell (say that 10 times fast) multiply for another round. I'm non-confrontational like that.

To celebrate the fact that I'm done being sick (even though I'm not. Far from it.), my aunt had this on her facebook. I loved it and had to immortalize it here as well. (more so that I can come back to it later when I want.)

"Honesty in the absence of compassion becomes cruelty. Tenacity unmediated by flexibility congeals into rigidity. Confidence untempered by humility is arrogance. Courage without prudence is recklessness. Because all virtues are entailed, any strength overused ultimately becomes a liability. Breathing in is relaxing, but only if we’re equally capable of exhaling." ~Tony Schwartz

Happy wednesday.
*snort snort* *cough cough* ...............  *spit*                     *sanitize*

Words will have to do for now.

I'm so bugged with blogger right now because I can't post pictures or anything of the likes unless I buy more storage. I had wanted to share what happened to me.

For my birthday the other day:
 *I spent 5 hours with a childhood friend. Just the two of us.
*Mykael made me a cake.
*Jaden comandeered the 3 little boys and cleaned the 'whole' house;
*While my hub took me to be pampered with a facial, pedicure, and make-up done.
*Ashton even made up a song on the piano and when I asked him to play it again to record....Eli and then Dylan decided, quite instantly, that they made up a song as well and played them for me. OH how I wished I could post them!!!!
*I recieved a loaf of homemade delectable bread.
*Had an "edible basket" delivered with the most amazing chocolate covered/dipped fresh fruit!
*And phone calls spread throughout the whole day from people who love me. (or had been threatened by my mother to "don't forget to call Audrey"!)
*The gifts from the kids came from the dollar store with trinkets that ranged from a glass rooster to cookies to a porcelin horse box and CANDY!
*And had good company over for dinner and cake.
*as well as stuff that will happen this coming week.

It was such an awesome day. Now I'm going to go tell everyone that my birthday is really next weekend. And the weekend after that, then after that, and so on. :o)

And the cake Mykael made for me.......SO EXTREMELY proud!

ps....looks like only two people are going to get a free something something from me. I'll give you till wednesday at 3:36pm whatever time zone you're in. To tell me what you do with your socks. So, get on it, will ya?

Labels

I FINALLY finished labeling ALL the posts in this blog. For easier recalling, I suppose. It was fun to go back and skim through a few years of memories. Some I remembered. Some I didn't. And Some day...I'll turn this into a book for my grandkids.

Dylan's birthday

*Note: I'm going through Labeling all my posts. And I came across this post that never got posted....over TWO YEARS ago when I typed it. So I'm posting it now. It's got stuff I wanted to remember.*


I haven't really had any "creative juices" flowing lately and I was at a loss for what to do with his cake. I wanted to do a super cute one like the one found on this post....BUT...I didn't.  Simple, obvious, and kind of a perfect canidate for cake wrecks. (and to think i want to try and make a wedding cake.)

Anyways, it still turned out and tasted good. *That's all that matters anyways.

Dylan loved being sung to all day! When grandma and grandpa Lewis called to sing he would light right up. He'd look at me with the "I can't believe they're singing the same song as you mom." And then join in and sing along. He and 'Eli-stomach' (that's his name as of right thissecond) were in the tub. I was washing them and singin' to Dylan. After I finished Eli kept singin' to him. "Happy to you, happy to you...Dylan".

Later that night we went fishing at an (empty) fishing hole with Uncle Coley. It was still fun and seeing the ducks were the highlight.

Dylan got a singing flash light, blocks, and a hunting video game (NOT my idea!!!)

The next morning he asked me, "Haaah day?" And I sung to him again. Same results as were expressed above.

Some things shouldn't come to an end, but they do.

Before and After

I have been thinking about want to cut my hair for a while now and wanted to do something drastic. Like clipper short on the sides and longer on the top and back. Picture a fauxhawk.  Or even a pixie. Then dye'd DARK! But Jared wasn't feeling it and the nice woman who cut it suggested a compromise. I was totally fine with that and this is what we came up with. 

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! The little ones like it but not on their mom. Dylan kept saying he likes it, then says he doesn't. Eli asked why my hair was "hittle"? And all  that came out of Ash's mouth was "it's weird" over and over. Jaden was there with me while I had it and said he liked it a lot. Mykael kept staring at me and smiling. She says that she was just too tired to be really excited about it. So her reaction will come later after school. I guess. Jared likes it too. He said it almost looks like his favorite cut.

It's always fun to try new stuff like this. It makes life exciting. Plus...I can always grow it out.

I'm the Lucky One

I don't know when the appreciation embedded it'self into my mind, but it's scenes like these that I really get excited about. Both of them were taken not 20 ft from my front door.

This one is NOT altered in ANY way. It was straight out of the camera or point and shoot. The colors are SO rich!

I just want to go swim in it.

I get my camera back any day and I now feel like I can blog again. I've been busy and wanted to share but it's just boring without pictures.
A few things to look forward to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
...............................Uhhhhhhh.............................

Ok, well. I guess I haven't been as busy as I thought. Guess I better go find something to do. :o)
Happy Halloween BTW!

Just venting....

I was reading a friend's post with pics of her little one at the dentist...and instead of writing a post on her comments page, I figured I'd just come here and share with all of you Ash's nightmare of an experience. He had been complaining about a tooth hurting so we took him in. He had been in a few months back for a checkup and I knew there were a few "problem" areas. (Yes it took me that long to get him in, just list it under the other terrible parenting things I've done in the past and will do in the future...) So we got him an apt with a dentist. I guess when the dentist people come to the school every year they don't explain what could happen when you go to the dentist because once the dentist laid him back and started shoving tools in his mouth, Ashton freaked!! But held it together...for a minute. He wasn't "introduced" to the tools that would be used. He was told to raise a hand if it started to hurt. He held up the wrong hand and the dentist rudely corrected him.

I'm totally jumping ahead....So I'll back up. We are taken back and the assistant tries to confirm with me that  I wanted silver. NO! I want the white! NO SILVER! I thought I made that clear, and apparently didn't. You'll see why later. The dentist comes in and says he'd need a root canal. UGH! the bottom of my stomach gave way after that. And the feeling of a nonqualified parent instantly replaced that. I will take FULL credit for not being harder on my sugar addicted child about brushing regularly, but that doesn't justify a dentist to get all jerk like on my SON! I assure you now, he brushes twice a day and even encourages his siblings to do likewise. But then who wouldn't after a visit like this.

As we're sitting, I hear the dentist on a patient next to us. An older man, and he is asking him something. The man doesn't respond and the dentist keeps asking, insisting on an answer. Finally the man answers and the dentist then goes off about wanting to know why the man didn't answer. Totally lecturing this poor man. He seriously wouldn't let it go. I felt embarrassed for the man and the way he was being treated.

It was then our turn and the assistant came back in with a box full of silver crowns. (I didn't know that's what they were for, so i didn't question it.) And she drops them, scattering them EVERYWHERE! Mistakes happen so I start to pick them up, she said not to. Ash then got the dreaded shots and was left to get all numb like. It was funny watching him make fish lips and smacking them together and poking his cheeks. Hard!

They come in and instantly shoved a drill, mirror, water, and suction in his mouth. OH and a wedge to keep his mouth open. He freaked a little and started shaking. Mr. Dentist sternly told Ash he "can't do that" and if it hurt, to raise his hand. SO, he raised his hand. But it was the wrong hand. Apparently the dentist didn't like that hand and corrected Ashton's mistake. SO, he raised the other hand. "Does that hurt?" he asked Ash and he shakes his head yes. He continues to drill and asks Ashton if it hurts. And Ashton continues to raise his hand. Dentist man was getting annoyed with how much Ash was raising his hands and even tested it. He would, without touching the tooth, turn the drill on and ask if it hurt. When Ash raised his hand, he and Miss Assistant would laugh. He took the drill out of the mouth and did it again. Ash said yes, then shook it, no. Again, the two nut heads thought that was funny and stuck all those tools in again and started drilling.

Ashton was crying, shaking, and clenching. Totally scared to death! ANYBODY could see that. Unless of course you were the dentist and his assistant. When it came time for putting a crown on, they pulled the silver things out and stuck it in his mouth, DROPPED it, then panicked a little, telling Ashton not to swallow, "don't move", and trying to snatch it out with tweezers. (Ashton has a terrible gag reflex, just like me! And I was waiting for it and everything else from the day to come up.) Finally they sat him up and told him to spit it out. After choking on it, he spat it out and was allowed to take a break. He saw the blood  on his bib and got worried. The doctor did nothing to sooth his worries or explain to him what was going on. Just another shot, and another filling to torture through.

This continued on until he recieved two SILVER filings, leaving behind a tear streaked face, and a stupid cheap toy that broke an hour after we got home. Didn't even get a toothbrush. (Not that he needed one. I just thought that was part of the deal.)

The last thing the dentist said to me was, "he probably needed nitrus, so when you bring him in next make sure you mention that." YA THINK!????
And the last thing the assistang said/asked me, "do you want me to go ahead and schedule apts for the rest of his work"?

Uhhh...."NO, I'll just call you later." (or not.)

I don't know why I didn't stand up for my son and explain to the Dentist that this was his first cavity visit, or tell the Dentist to explain to Ashton what he was doing or putting in his mouth, or insist on the white fillings like I had wanted in the first place, or to talk nicer to my son, or even request a little compassion for Ashton's sake....But I'm still angry now and HOPE I get a "survey call' asking me how my/our visit went. It was such a bad experience but wonder if I was being overly observant/sensitive with it being my child. Although that dentist definitely proved to this child that going to the dentist is a very bad thing. I'm gonna need a saint to rectify this one.

How I made a Lego Batman Cake......

I started with the people. Because of the thickness, the more days they had to dry, the better.

 Robbin

 Joker

 Batman

 Batgirl's head

 Ta-da

 Lemon juice and food coloring

 Painting the windows

 We're going for the "building-looks-on-fire" image....It'll come together later.

 One of my favorites, the gutter!

 My all time favorite...trash bag!

 Gluing a thingys that hold the gutter to the wall.

 Tiny details....or big fingers. (like the color on my fingers from coloring fondant?)

 Trash can

 Trash can lid! Hee hee

 :o)

 Most (not all) the embellishments for the cake.

 Ok, so I was messing around with the royal icing and I had seen this done once (on a much more professional and perfect level) and wanted to try it myself. You drape the frosting from an edge and the let it dry. Then do the next layer and so on. Once it drys, you're good but if bumped it shatters!

 The hard part!

 The yummy part

 Squaring it all up.

 Cheeser. Gotta have proof I DID in fact spend this ridiculous amount of time making the preps.

 I was having to freeze and refreeze this cake. It just kept thawing out too fast! So much so that by the time I got the fondant on it, it started drooping and sagging and looking distorted. BUT...it's Gotham..nothing's perfect in Gotham. Right?

 Rice Crispies weren't a problem at all!

 So I bought this "impression mat" for brick pattern. L.O.V.E IT!!!! Totally made the whole cake!

 When I first cooked the cake and "assembled" it, it was WAY too small, so I rushed to the store for rice crispy stuff. Bottom level is just that, while the top (and soon to be shown second layer) was the cake.

 Angelle came over today to see me mess with fondant and try it out for herself. I totally took advantage of her artist abilities and steady hands and had her paint the cracks! PERFECT-O!

 Loving it even more now! Even the droppiness!

 Close-up of Catwoman and my awesome kicked in trash can!

 Batgirl

 Perfect imperfections!

The End!