lady bug cupcakes

i've been wanting to share these cupcakes since the weekend, but my memory card crapped out!  my sister took some great pics, but i had to wait for her to upload them!  (thanks marie!)  so here are emily's 6th birthday cupcakes!  i went with lady bugs!

i used a grass tip on my pastry bag.  a little advice(that i, of course, had to learn the hard way!):  don't try to pack all of your butter cream into the bag and expect it to easily come out of this tip!  i blew out 2 bags before i realized that!(that's what i get for rushing!) work in small batches!!  the holes on this tip are small, and when you're trying to shove 5 lbs of frosting out of holes no bigger than a pencil point...you're going to have some problems! 
i got the lady bug picks, picket fence papers and mini flower sprinkles from shopbakersnook!  this is a fabulous resource for bakers of all levels!  prices are reasonable, selection is huge, and shipping is super fast!  there are so many things out there now for anyone to take a favorite cake recipe or box mix and turn it into something special and unique.
everyone loved them!

and how about a side of goofball?

bad irish girl...BAD!

i should be ashamed of my white irish hiney!  they only thing i'm good at when it comes to st. patrick's day is making a mean batch of corned beef and cabbage. followed up the next day with a nice pan of hash!  i dress the kids in green, but i am just too lazy to decorate!  and honestly, i'd rather spend my money on easter stuff!  

this weekend is daylight savings time!! WOO HOO!  over the last few weeks, i've noticed the days getting longer.  love it.  also love not having to wait in the dark for emily's bus!  it was a little scary...and just weird!  as if the poor thing doesn't have a long enough day, she was climbing the steps to the bus without the sun even being up! 

the girls that hubs works with have been asking for baked goods, and who am i to deny a craving?    i haven't sent them in anything since christmas, so they're due for a fix.  i found caramel cups @ the dollar store today...think i can make them work! 

david will be home soon, i think i should try to be a little productive! 

six.

my beautiful emily marie turned six yesterday!  my oh my!  i can't believe it was six years ago that our world was flipped upside down with this wonderful creature! 

your smile lights up my world, sweet girl! :o*

busy week

did i really get my whole house cleaned before david got home from school?  you bet i did!  not sure how, but i'll take it!  ok, so i dusted everything yesterday, but hey, whatever works!

i don't love busy weeks like this.  i tend to get a little scatter-brained and overwhelmed.  tomorrow i have to
*go to shoprite
* bake a million cupcakes for emily's birthday on thursday
*and i have parent/teacher conferences @ emily's school.
action packed for sure.
 then on thursday i need to
*deliver those cupcakes
*attend the parent group meeting
*emily has therapy after school(we're helping someone earn her master's degree!  exciting for her, but also anything that will benefit emily is a bonus of course!)
*and i have to figure out dinner...i'm thinking pizza at this point.
 really wish i had the patience for meal planning. 

super excited about my secret opportunity that i'm scared to talk about just yet!  the pessimist in me says "keep your mouth shut, or it will blow up in your face!"  the optimist in me says "EFF YOU PESSIMIST, shout your news from the rooftop!"  let's see who wins over the next few days lol

how 'bout some recent pics of the kids.  gosh, they're getting big!

 Emily recently donated another 8 inches of hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths! 

David is just a big old goofball!  His new favorite thing is singing and dancing to New Kids on The Block's "Hangin' Tough".  I kid you not.

phases

every time david goes through a new phase, i want to crawl under a rock.  this latest one is a battle of wills!  i will come out victorious child...you better believe it!  bed time MEANS bed time!!   you already went pee, you had your sip of water, you have your 5 blankets--in the proper order, your fan is on, and lightening mcqueen is ON!  now SLEEP! 
...oops, i think i forgot to turn mcqueen on...oh well...SLEEP ANYWAY!   

its been a while!

wow, i haven't blogged in so long!  i come back, and i have over 11,000 page views?!  nuts i tell you! 
i miss my little 'ol blog.  i'm hoping to start writing again on a regular basis. 

emily is about to turn 6...SIX!  where does the time go?  before i know it she'll be taller than me and want to drive the car!  i can't take it.  she is currently sporting a black eye due to a mishap @ school!  the poor thing!  par for the course!  she has started transitioning into the next class at her school.  i'm sad to have to let her first teacher and new little friends go, but its time for her to move along.  she'll only be across the hall, she'll still see them!  love her school.

david is doing terrific in school!  they moved him up to the inclusion class already!  he is still receiving speech 3 times per week, but he's moving right along!   i am told that all of his peers love him(YAY!) oh--and he's potty-freakin'-trained!  100%!  i didn't think i'd ever see the day.  thought he would be in his LUVS til he was 30 for christ sakes! LOL

hubs is still working his balls off.  its still difficult to only have him home 2 nights a week to help me with the kids, but it has gotten easier over the last year.  he loves his part time job, and thank goodness for that!  if he hated it, we'd probably hate each other too! lol  one day at a time.  luckily the kids have finally adjusted, and its been easier for all of us to get through a night. 

what about me?  i'm not killing myself with baking, and crafting, and sewing and.... 
i was doing much too much, in a small window of time.  i was burnt out.  still am a little.  i'm trying to work on me.  make myself happy, and not do things because i feel like i have to.  part of me wants to get back to that...part of me doesn't.  thanks to pinterest, i have a new interest in this blog, and my creative side.  people are pinning me.  say what?!  it blows my mind, it really does!   i've also started watching my friend's son 2 days a week(soon to be 3).  its nice to have a little one in the house again, but i get to send his cute little tush home at the end of the day! lol  the money is nice too! 

i've also had an opportunity come up that could be pretty cool...thanks to this little blog.  don't want to jinx myself though, so that's all i'll say for now!! :o)

i should be cleaning

i should be cleaning my cold infested house right now, but i'm not quite motivated yet.  we've all had this nasty head cold.  can we say "snot"?  good lord, i've never seen so much!  it knocked me for a loop on Friday...fever and all!  hubs to the rescue!  since his building still didn't have power from the snow storm, he stayed home and took care of everything.  kids, dishes, snotty tissues.  he was an awesome house husband! 
i was feeling much better by yesterday.  since my parent's came over for dinner, i decided we needed dessert!  found THIS recipe for spiced pumpkin cupcakes.  oh, betty crocker, i heart you!  it was super easy and it didn't have an overwhelming pumpkin flavor.  which is nice if you don't have pumpkin lovers in your house(like i do!).  i changed the pecan recipe a tad...i added 2 TBS of butter to the pan, and along with the final sprinkle of sugar, i added a couple pinches of salt!  mmmm  salty goodness!  i made my own cream cheese frosting too.  (2- 8 oz pkgs fat free cream cheese-softened, 1/4 c butter-softened, 5 C powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla...beat 'em all together til ya have frosting!)  num.

as you lick the gooey frosting off of your lips, you get the salt from the pecans!  delish!

on a side note:  LOVING miranda lambert's new album!!