Legends of the Phog

It's no secret that this family {hearts} KU basketball.  A few weeks ago we took Everett to the Field House for the first time.  What's more was that it was the Legends of the Phog game.  We're talking Paul Pierce, Scott Pollard, Ryan Robertson (hey good looking.  nice to see you again), Cole Aldrich, Super Mario, you get the point.  It was awesome to see all my old faves again and it was even more awesome to see Everett pointing at all the Jayhawks, enjoying the crowd and actually watching the game.  I tell you what, E has experienced more in his short little life than I had by the time I was in my 20's!  Even though it was about 500 degrees in there, we enjoyed loved every minute!  Everett even got a few high fives from players as they came out of the locker room after halftime.  Sweet!

Mom vs. the {Half} Marathon

So last week I completed my first half marathon and as I told my running buddies, and by running buddies I mean my buddies who are much better runners than I am, I'm hooked!  I had an absolute blast!  Trust me, I never would have thought I would ever have actual fun while running.  I am not one of those people who run for fun, run to think, run to get away.  Point blank, I run because I eat a lot and I like my current clothes.  I don't want to buy a whole new wardrobe.  I mean, it's nice to get outside in warm weather, but the moment I get about a mile from home I am pretty much ready to go back.
Another part of the back story is that last spring when I decided to sign up, I looked at the dates for the Rock and Roll Marathon series and tried to find a location where 1) Does Southwest would fly there and 2) Is it pretty? I settled on Denver.  I have ran in Colorado and Wyoming and didn't think the altitude would affect me that much.  However, many, many, many, many people told me how crazy I was for running in Denver.  It may have affected my time, but honestly, I didn't feel it at all.  It could have been the adrenaline, but I never had trouble breathing or felt like I was over fatigued.
Now, being that this was my first "big" race, I told Grant that I learned so much that I just had to do another one.  Let's be honest.  I had no freaking clue what the heck I was doing.  I chalk this trip up to a learning experience.  What did I learn?  Please read on.

When flying with a one year old, make sure your portable DVD player is charged.  It really sucks when the batteries run out 20 minutes into the flight.

Speaking of which, make sure the charger you have been using and the one your brought on your trip is not the Swiffer Sweeper charger.

Remember to bring your camera.  Buying a disposable at the hotel gift shop makes you look like tourist from 1995.

Watch the forecast.  Even if your friend who lives in Fort Collins says it is 85 degrees, it probably means that it will be 35 with freezing rain when you get there. 

Bring an umbrella.  See above.

Bring warm clothes.  See above.

Bring gloves to run in and a hat and cloves for your baby.  See above.

After you pick up your race packet, read ALL the directions for how to check your clothes when you get there.  That little blue zip tie does not belong in the trash can and that bag they give you is not just for fun.  It's for all your crap.

Don't lie down for a nap with your baby and expect the fire alarm not to go off an hour into your restful slumber.

Speaking of which, don't go to bed at night and not expect that the fire alarm to go off at 11:00 at night.

When you leave your hotel room in the morning without your key, make sure you have everything including your bagel.

When you leave your hotel room for the second time without your key, make sure you have your zip tie and bag for the equipment check.

Don't stay in hotels that require you to have your room key when you go up on the elevator.  You will be extremely winded and think, "What the (beep) was I thinking running in Colorado," as you make 4 trips up and down the stairs.

Know where the start of the race is.  Even if you think you can follow someone there, it doesn't mean that those people know where they are going.

When you get to the equipment check, make sure you take your jacket off.

After you cut in line at the equipment check, make people mad, give them your forgotten jacket and then turn around to warm up, make sure you don't drop one of your $30 gloves you just bought at the Expo.

Make sure you don't leave your knee braces in the bag that you checked.  You'll look really dumb if you go back twice because you forgot something.  I didn't go back by the way.

When you sign up for the race and you put your predicted finishing time, don't underestimate yourself. You will be stuck in the LAST CORRAL with the walkers and the coffee carriers.  Yes, you read that right.

Speaking of corrals, if you are in the last one, you may want to get to the starting line a little early or you will literally be stuck in a mob and since you've never done this before you will start freaking out.

Don't plan on seeing your family at any point along the way.  A one year old is too unpredictable.

Don't give your family all your Gu to give you at mile 4 and 8.  Again, they won't be there.

Don't eat the Gu they give you at mile 10.  It is supposed to taste like "Blackberry", but you will end up literally gagging it down. 

Don't believe that your husband who is supposedly really good with directions will not get you lost and keep you walking around for 45 minutes after you have just ran for 13 miles.  Don't even bother getting a hotel a half a mile from the finish line.  It won't matter.

Don't expect to see mountains in Colorado.  Apparently on this course, there was only one lonely mountain at the end of one lonely street.  Not the view I was planning for.

Don't trust the airport shuttle.  There are several reasons why.  1) They will break down on the way to the airport. 2) They will act like it is no big deal that you are about to miss your plane. 3) The new driver will ask if he can stop for gas. 4) The new driver will ask if you have your paid ticket...no we just saw this shuttle and decided to get on.  Uh, pretty sure you just saw us get off the other shuttle.

Make sure your one year old has a drink when you are deciding on an airplane.  He won't take a binky when he is too busy crying and putting his fingers in his ears.

Overall, I learned a lot.  As Grant says, "I had a lot of fun, but this was the worst trip ever".  See you next fall Rock and Roll Marathon Series.  Can't wait to choose a new race!

Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

We are loving everything APPLE in our house this month!  Everett can recite that "A is for Apple", we have colored apples, made homemade applesauce, eaten apples for snack a little more than usual and this week we are trying an apple upside down cake!  Let's just say that the recipe starts with melting butter in a cake pan and then pouring the batter on top of the melted butter.  Uh, that has to be delish right?  In honor of October being apple month for us, I present to you

Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp apple pie spice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar, packed
4  large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups applesauce, unsweetened

Preheat oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, apple pie spice, nutmeg, and cloves.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low, add applesauce and then the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarter full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in an airtight container.

Frosting:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 ½ vanilla extract
¼ to ½ tsp cinnamon

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, and confectioners’ sugar until smooth; beat in vanilla and cinnamon. Top each cupcake with 2 tbsp of frosting and spread to cover. You can also pipe the frosting onto the tops of the cupcakes.

Frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated up to 3 days in airtight container; bring to room temperature before serving.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Bars

I have decided to enter one of my favorite recipes into the KC Star cookie contest.  I don't expect to win, but I thought it was a fun idea.  The best thing about these bars is that they taste better the longer they are stored airtight on your counter!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Bars

Ingredients

Bars:

1 1/2 cups flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

¼ cup butter, softened

2 tablespoons milk

½ cup milk chocolate chips

10 mini peanut butter cups, cut in half

Topping:

1 ½ cups sifted confectioners' sugar

¼ cup milk

¼ cup creamy peanut butter

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

10 mini peanut butter cups, cut in half

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, stirring well with a whisk.

3. Combine vanilla, eggs, butter and milk, stirring well. Add peanut butter.

4. Stir in chocolate chips then fold in peanut butter cups.

5. Pour batter into an 8 inch metal baking pan that is lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

6. Arrange peanut butter cups on top.

7. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging.

Once bars are baked, begin preparing the glaze.

8. Place confectioners' sugar, milk, 1/4 cup peanut butter, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in medium bowl; whisk together until creamy.

9. Drizzle glaze over cooled bars.

A Very Sad Goodbye

Disclaimer: I actually started this post several weeks ago, but I was waiting for the pictures.  I didn't want to post without them...

Last Friday I received a text from my dad to "Please call" him. Of course I was super busy with Invention Presentations and talking about 9/11 with all my classes that I wouldn't be able to call him until my plan time at 12:50. Around 12:45 I received an email that my Great Uncle Don was in the hospital due to a ruptured aneurysm and that my sister and I needed to pray because he wasn't expected to live. I immediately went into shock and then after the kids left my room I burst into tears.

I'm pretty sure I was hysterical and that is why my administrator and good friend Rachelle told me she would take care of everything and that I needed to go get my son and be with my mom at the hospital. I also have told him this, but I have to say that I was so grateful to my co-worker and friend Blake for immediately coming to tell me that he would help cover my club (Nail Painting) so that I could go home. Blake seems like a guys guy, but he's a softie. I've seen him with his baby girl. What a push over:)
I went over to my parent's house to pick up Everett. My mom walked in a couple minutes later to tell us that his condition was inoperable and that it may be hours, days or weeks left until we had to say goodbye. She said he looked great. He was talking and laughing and it just looked like he was resting in bed. We made a plan to go visit him when Everett got up from his nap. Around 5:00 I checked my phone and saw that my mom had called. When I called her back she told me that Uncle Don had died a few hours earlier.
The rest of my weekend was basically waves of tears, memories and worst...regrets. I kept thinking about how I should have called my dad back between classes. I should have just taken Everett up to the hospital and put him down for his nap later. I should have taken Everett over to his house like I had been planning. The regrets go on and on. I know what is meant to be will be and it happened this way for a reason. I know that this is perhaps a lesson for me to not waste time and to visit with my family more often. Even though Everett and my Uncle Don had just seen eachother for a lunch date a few weeks earlier, I should have done more.
My situations with grandpas as been a double edged sword. I haven't had to work through the death of a grandpa because one died before I was born and the other when I was very little. The other side of that is that I never was able to enjoy having a grandfather in my life. This is part of the reason Grant and I decided to have Everett when we did. We wanted him to grow up with all his grandparents. Since neither Grant or myself had that in our lives, Uncle Don was like our stand-in grandpa. His loss has hit me harder than I ever thought it would. I have had a very difficult time these last couple days. Last night I wrote Uncle Don and letter since I was unable to say goodbye in person. I gave it to my Aunt Peggy today so that she could leave it in a special place for him. Although I won't go into a lot of detail since I want that letter to be between him and I, I will share a few of my favorite memories of my uncle.
He had a parakeet named Polly who would sit on your finger. I was always afraid to put my hand in his cage and get him out, but Uncle Don was always so sweet and patient when I would ask him repeatedly to get the bird out so I could play with him. He never said no. He never was annoyed with the little girl asking him to get the bird in and out. He just obliged with a smile.
When I got my Jeep Wrangler at 17, he was thrilled. He would always talk about wanting to take a ride. One Easter asked me to take him and my cousin Lane off roading on a piece of land he owned. I still remember this tall skinny guy holding onto the roll bar and my small cousin in the backseat with a smile.
My favorite memories are hands down the time Uncle Don spent with Everett, or as he called him, his "Little Evie". I can remember the first time they met on Easter and my Uncle saying how good it felt to hold a baby again. I remember going down to my parent's basement and seeing Everett climb up into Uncle Don's lap to watch a KU game. I can remember him calling me to tell me that he wouldn't be able to make it to Everett's first birthday party but that we would get together soon because he "couldn’t wait to see that kid grow up". Then later he surprised us by driving over in the freezing cold so that he could join the party. My favorite part was when he asked if he could have a beer. That was Uncle Donald. He was the best.
There was not a dry eye in the house today during the celebration of life. However there was lots of great stories and laughter. My Aunt Peggy talked about how Uncle Don was a true gentleman. He really was. He was so friendly and kind and lived his life to the very fullest right up until the day he went up to heaven to be with his wife. My cousin Richard said that he always met people with a firm handshake, hug and a smile. I hope I never ever forget his smile.
I think one of the most moving parts of the service was when this poem was read (below). It really made me rethink a lot about my own life. After hearing stories about how my uncle worked as a teacher plus other side jobs so that his wife could stay home with their 5 kids so that they could have everything they needed she added they weren't rich, but they were rich with love, I decided to think a little more about the way I look at material things. After hearing about my uncle's family not being able to choose a charity for donations because he gave to so many, I decided to think about how much I was really giving back. Uncle Don was such a man of integrity and love. You would have never guessed he was going to celebrate his 90th birthday this year. He was young at heart and always a teacher. Even though he's not here anymore, I still learned from his life today. He lived a good "dash".

I read of a man who stood to speakat the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on his tombstone

from the beginning to the end He noted that first came his date of her birth

and spoke the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

was the dash between those years For that dash represents all the time

that he spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved him

Know what that little line is worth. For it matters not how much we own;

the cars, the house, the cash,

what matters is how we live and love

and how we spend our dash. So think about this long and hard.

Are there things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left,

that can still be rearranged. If we could just slow down enough

to consider what’s true and real

and always try to understand

the way other people feel. And be less quick to anger,

and show appreciation more

and love the people in our lives

like we’ve never loved before. If we treat each other with respect,

and more often wear a smile

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while. So, when your eulogy is being read

with your life’s actions to rehash

would you be proud of the things they say

about how you spent your dash?

Last, this song was played at the end of his celebration of life. For some reason, it really reminds me of him and it probably always will.

 

The Lion King

When I was little, I always looked forward to the month of July.  I not only looked forward to my birthday, but I loved not having to go to daycare and being able to stay home with my mom.  Since she was an administrator, she worked all year round except a few weeks in July. 
I always loved our time together going to the pool, shopping and especially MOVIES!  My mom was never a mom who said you couldn't drink Coke with lunch or that you couldn't have dessert.  I'll get into what I used to pack in my own lunch at a later time.  Let's just say Jamie Oliver would not be happy with my food choices.  She let me eat mozzarella sticks for dinner.  She was (and still is) awesome!  When we would go to the movies, we would eat "movie lunch".  Movie lunches consisted of hot dogs, nachos, Starburst, Twizzlers and Diet Coke! A-maze!
When I found out I was preggers, I just couldn't wait to take my child with me to the movies in the summer.  Now that I am fortunate enough to stay home with my little buddy, we were able to go to a movie at noon in the middle of the week! 
There are several reasons I was teary eyed and felt like a dream had come true-

1. We saw the Lion King!  Hello?  One of my all-time faves!  Holding your baby during "The Circle of Life"???  You may think it's double cheese-wiz, but it is a pretty outstanding moment.

2. We were one of 7 people in one of the giant AMC Studio 30 theaters.

3. Everett sat (well, and crawled around on the empty seats around us) through the entire thing!

4. We enjoyed a "movie lunch"!  Everett had a hotdog and M&Ms.  Mom had cheese, crackers and popcorn! 

 We sat in the handicapped seats in the very back as to make a swift exit upon meltdown.

 Holding his toy "elfant" a.k.a. elephant.

 All those empty seats...

I told him how he made one of my dreams come true and that I looked forward to many, many more movie dates with my buddy.  Of course I brought my camera!

Mission: Organization

So what have we covered under the things I love?  Smores, cupcakes, pumpkin, well, food basically.  Another thing I love to do is ORGANIZE!  It makes me happy when my house is clean and everything is in its designated spot.  Call me OCD if you will, but I love bins, labels and all that is organization.  Just this morning I thought, "I need to get a bin for all the chip bags in my pantry".  I ran across these ideas at the Crafting Chicks and my wheels started turning!



I could probably do without the little flags on the top, but you get the idea.  You can click on their link for directions.

Taking a picture at the end of each month?  I don't think so.  I can't even keep track of the thousands of pictures I take, but I'm sure there is some craft and organized person out there who would like this idea.  I just like the calendar and think it is really cool that it is made of magnets.

Happy organizing my friends!

Cupcake of the Month- Pumpkin!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE fall!  Although it is now September 2nd and 100 degrees outside, I can feel fall coming, or maybe I just am wishing it would be here a little sooner.  One of the reasons I love fall so much is that I {heart} pumpkin!  I know this blog makes it look like I LOVE all foods.  This is probably a true statement.  When I was in college I noticed that IHop had the pumpkin pancake and Dairy Queen had the pumpkin Blizzard.  It was my mission in life to eat as much pumpkin flavored confections as I possibly could.  They are usually only around for a few months a year after all. 
I got pretty excited when I saw September coming up and thought about how I could finally post a pumpkin post.  At first I wanted to post about my pumpkin spice sheet cake that I used to make for Thanksgiving because it brings back memories of spending Thanksgiving at my grandma's house and being in the kitchen with my grandma, mom, sister, aunt and cousin.  Because my grandma is no longer with us, Thanksgiving doesn't quite have the same feeling it used to so I decided to hold onto that one for a little longer and possibly add a couple memorable stories.  I'll probably bring it out in November...stay tuned. 

I found this pumpkin cupcake recipe on Pioneer Woman (thanks Bethany...another hook up from you.  Remember when we were both preggers and eating every party mix in sight!?).  You all should make sure you catch the new PW show on the Food Network.  Happy Fall Y'all (here's hoping)!

 

Ingredients

■Muffin Ingredients:

■1 cup All-purpose Flour

■1/2 cup Sugar

■2 teaspoons Baking Powder

■1-1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

■1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger

■1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

■1/2 teaspoon Salt

■4 Tablespoons Butter, cut into pieces

■1 cup (heaping) Pumpkin Puree

■1/2 cup Evaporated Milk

■1 whole Egg

■1-1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

■1/2 cup Golden Raisins (optional!)


Topping

■2 Tablespoons Sugar

■1 teaspoon Cinnamon

■1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg


FOR FROSTING:

■1/4 cup Softened Butter

■4 ounces, weight Cream Cheese

■1/2 pound Powdered Sugar

■1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously grease 12 muffin tins.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Cut in butter with two knives or a pastry blender until it is fully incorporated. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Add raisins. Fold gently until mixture is just combined.

Pour into a greased muffin pan—batter hardly ever fills all twelve unless you keep it down to 1/2 full. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar-nutmeg mixture over the top of each unbaked muffin.

Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool. Ice with cream cheese frosting.

To make the frosting, mix all ingredients on high until soft and whipped. Spread onto completely cooled muffins, or place into a large pastry bag with a large star tip and go crazy! Store in the fridge, as icing will soften at room temperature.

Grilled Chicken and Corn Salad With Avocado and Parmesan

This could quite possibly be the best salad I have ever made!  I am a pretty big fan of salads, but this one is over the top yum!  It is a perfect way to round up some summer grilling (sniff) and bring in the fall.  I found this in my Real Simple Magazine, but you can also find the recipe online.  Click the link.  This baby is also pretty low in calories and I am guessing if you take the avocado off {if you're crazy!} it would be even lower.  I got a new calorie counter app on my phone so I'm into that these days.

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil

kosher salt and black pepper

2 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 ears corn, shucked

5 ounces baby spinach (about 5 cups)

1 avocado, cut into bite-size pieces

2 ounces Parmesan, shaved

Directions:

1.Heat grill to medium-high. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, rosemary, garlic, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Transfer half the dressing to a small bowl; set aside. Add the chicken to the remaining dressing and turn to coat.

2.Rub the corn with the remaining tablespoon of oil and season with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Grill the corn and chicken, covered, turning occasionally, until the corn is tender and lightly charred, 4 to 6 minutes, and the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Cut the kernels off the cobs and slice the chicken.

3.Toss the spinach, chicken, corn, and avocado with the reserved dressing and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Here are some time saving tips-

 I actually figured this out on accident, but you can grill chicken tenderloins (I buy Smart Chicken Tenderloins) and cut the cooking time in half, plus you can just throw them on the salad rather than cutting them up!

I also just drizzled the dressing over the top and it worked the same as tossing it with the lettuce.

When we were finished with this meal, my husband said, "I wish we had more!"  In return I told him I would give him the leftovers for his lunch.  I kid you not, he JUST emailed me as I am typing this and said, "That salad is awesome!"  It's super easy (took about 15 minutes start to finish) and super good.  Bible.

Part-Time-Stay-At-Home Mama

First, I'll start with an apology for not posting basically all summer.  Second, I tip my hat to those mommies out there who blog their hearts out, make home cooked meals every night, have a clean house and run a small business out of their homes.  You are the reasons I thought I could do it all.  Turns out I can't.  The blog took a backseat to all the summer and new school year activities.  However, I think I am back.

I'll start with a few highlights this of the summer.  Everett and I had an absolute blast!  Our days pretty much went as follows:
Mommy would get up super early for a run or to go to the gym.  The half marathon I am running is in 6 short weeks...AAAAAHHHHH!
E would wake up and we would eat breakfast.
I usually had a few errands to run so we would do that before lunch and nap.
While Everett would nap, I would do a few sewing projects.  I never like to sew when he is awake.  I don't want the time I could be spending with him to be used on my little hobby.
After nap we would go to Blackbob Bay.  Turns out this is pretty much a toddler's paradise.  From the fountains to the lazy river, we spent almost every afternoon soaking up the sun and having snacks by the kiddie pool.  Awesome.
We would usually head home around dinner time to eat with Daddy and then head outside to play t-ball.  Yes, we played t-ball {and still do} just about every single night.  The kid loves it.
Bath, Books, Bed.  Repeat.

Highlights of our summer.  In pictures.

Open gym at Matt Ross.  All he really did was try to play basketball.  We probably could have done that at home. 

Great Wolf Lodge.  This sweet picture is from story time at the clock tower. 

 At the lake with Nana and Grampie.

He LOVED the jet ski.  He actually rode it so much he fell asleep on it.  This is the kids who never falls asleep in the car.  I have a picture of it, but I will spare you the photo of my big white thigh.  Trust me, you're welcome.

This brings us up to the beginning of the school year.  Oh boy, where to begin?  Many of you know that my family had planned on me working a job share this school year.  What that looks like is I work Mondays, Wednesdays and every other Friday.  It is perfect because I like to work both because I love where I work and I like to feel like I am contributing financially to my family.  This also allows me to be home with Everett two or three days a week.  Super.  Great.  Plan approved.  Looks like everything is going to work out.  Yeah, not so much.  It is not something I will go into on a blog.  Just know that the beginning of this school year did not turn out the way it was supposed to and I literally started losing my hair and crying quite a bit.  There are many reasons for this, but just know that once again my family had to make a huge decision and think about my going back to full time teaching again.
Enter a lot of people who did a lot of work for me.  Most importantly my new job share partner and frankly my life savor Whitney!  I will be forever grateful to those people who pulled me out of a really crappy situation and quite frankly put me in a much better position than I would have been.  Whitney, if you're reading this you're a freaking rockstar and I love working with you.  You're the bomb girl.  To those of you that sent or said encouraging words through the mess that was the beginning of the year, thank you thank you thank you.  You're awesome and so sweet and put things in perspective for me and my family.  You're very good friends.

Whew, now that the school year is in full swing, things you can look forward to reading about are:

More cupcakes of the month!

More recipes!  I've been making a lot of fun stuff and depriving you of all its yumminess.

Fluffy Cakes!  Did you know this little bus-i-nass has been around for almost a year?  Look for a birthday giveaway!

My first FC's show!  I actually had a dry-run this summer, but this show is the real deal baby!  Stay tuned.

Last, but not least, HASH HOUSE UPDATES:)  This family is so ready for fall!  It's the best time in Kansas City!  Can't wait for the Plaza Art Fair, Helen Gold 10K, Holiday Mart, Halloween, soups, jeans, chili, comfort food, ahhhhhh.  I can see it now....

Cupcake of the Month

Yes, yes, I know.  You haven't heard from me in a while.  However, I am back on the blogging in a big way.  I have decided to pay homage to my love of cupcakes by starting a "Cupcake of the Month" post each month.  I'm going to finish up August with what else?  Smores cupcakes!  Did you know that August is the home of National Smores Day?  It's only fitting that I post a recipe for these little gems-





Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham crackers (approx. 1 pkg out of the Honeymaid box)

1/4 cup sugar

5 T unsalted butter, melted

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces

Marshmallows (you'll need about 100 mini marshmallows)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. In food processor, pulse graham crackers until they are fine crumbs. Add sugar and melted butter and mix until well combined. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of crumbs to the bottom of each liner. Use a small circle object (I used a shot glass) to press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of each liner. Bake for 5 minutes and remove from the oven. Divide the chopped chocolate evenly among the cupcakes. Add approximately 4 marshmallows to each tin.


Cake:

2 cups plus 2 T sugar

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt in your mixing bowl. In a small bowl, add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and whisk together. Add to dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add boiling water and beat on low until just combined.

Spoon batter evenly into cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 of the way full. The marshmallows will float to the top but that's okay. Bake approximately 18 - 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center cupcake comes out clean. Cool for about 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

8 egg whites, room temperature

2 cups sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large Hershey bar

In a clean stainless steel mixing bowl or double boiler, combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Whisk frequently, heating the mixture over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 160 degrees. Transfer egg mixture to stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Begin mixing at low speed, gradually increasing to medium-high speed as the mixture becomes thicker. Beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. Add in the vanilla and mix until just combined. Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and frost as desired.

Using a kitchen torch held about 6 inches away from the cupcakes on a non-flammable surface, brown the cupcakes lightly as desired. Keep the torch moving so you don't catch any spot on fire. Just like toasting marshmallows by a campfire, slow and steady is a better approach than sticking the marshmallow to close to the fire, you're going for lightly toasted frosting not black and bubbly marshmallow. Garnish with chocolate bar segments.





I found this recipe at homemade by holman

Don't worry, there will be more posts about my new stay-at-home-part-time-mom status soon!

We landed on the moon!

A few weeks ago my little family packed up the car and headed for the Rockies.  When I say packed up the car, I mean stroller, booster, 3 suitcases, 2 coolers, a baby, a Samsonite briefcase, a bird named Petey and the kitchen sink.  If you travel with kids, you know what I mean.  However, I still lurch at the idea of buying a minivan so we will just settle for not being able to see out the back window of the ole' CRV.

We stayed in Estes Park which is home to the Stanley Hotel.  I have to tell you that going to the hotel was what I most looked forward to as well as my favorite part of the trip.  Grant and I had so much fun taking a Haunted History Ghost Tour.  Our tour guide explained how the hotel {which is still serving guests} is haunted and was the inspiration for a little movie called The Shining!  If you haven't seen it, get it immediately.  It is one of my favorites and as my childhood friend Emily and my adulthood friend Ann can attest to, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE scary movies!  I was disappointed to learn that the major motion picture was not actually filmed at the hotel, however it was the inspiration for the movie Stephen King's version was filmed at the SH. 



Ah, just looking at this makes me want to rent it right now!  If you have seen it, you may be interested to know that this little number was a picture I took with the flash on at the end of a dark staircase leading up to the hotel's bell tower.  Read it carefully.  Freaky huh?

Also, I did have a ghostly experience in what used to be the children's wing of the hotel.  I won't go into it now, but I'd love to tell you about it over some cosmo's.  Call me.

Another unknown fact to me until I got there was that Dumb and Dumber was filmed at the Stanley Hotel as well.  Please enjoy clips from the movie and how they are oddly similar to the places we hung before the tour began.

Movie version:

Our version:

Movie's view:

Our view:

Movie:

Us:

Last, but certainly not least.  We had a chance to meet up with great friends who also happen to be Everett's future in-laws.  My friend Krystl sucked it up through car sickness to drive through the mountains to eat dinner with us.  Please enjoy our baby's first real date and the genius that is the iPad.  Thank you iPad for giving the adults some time to catch up.  Thank you friends for taking the time to visit us.  I am more jealous than you will ever know that you live in Fort Collins {my favorite place on the planet}.  Like your perfect little genius adorable family needed to get anymore perfect!  I still love you guys very much and miss you even more!

Look Who We Met!

Last week the head coach at ONW asked me to come up and pick up our STATE CHAMPION (you know I had to plug it one more time) shirts.  He also said Cole Aldrich was running his summer basketball camp in the gym so I should bring E up to meet him and Tyrel Reed.  Uh, no prob!  So here is basically how my morning went...

8:15- I knew the camp started at 9:00, so I had to be out of the house by 8:35 at the latest in order to possibly catch the guys before camp started.

8:20- Put E in his KU Basketball gear (of course!) and hand him a container of Cheerios for breakfast on the go.  I know, I am such a great mom.  Oops.

8:35- We are out the door and on our way

8:50- I am seriously sweating because of #1 the heat, it is like 1,000 degrees in Kansas City right now and #2 I didn't pay the $150 for this camp.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I don't know if they will let me take pictures of the players let alone the players with my kid!

The rest of the story goes as follows...

I walk into the commons of ONW and see Cole and Tyrel sitting at a table selling camp t-shirts and signing a few things for kids who, you know, actually paid to be there.  I think to myself, "I just can't walk up there.  I will look like such a weirdo.  I will just go back to the weight room, get my t-shirts and be on my merry way.  At least I got to see them up close and personal.  That's good enough".  As I am walking away I hear a lady ask if she can take her son's picture with the boys.  Ok, here's my chance!  I back that train up in reverse and do the same thing.  Who can resist a one year old with a KU t-shirt on?  I mean, please. 

I first ask Tyrel is very nicely agrees and tries to get Everett to smile at him.  No luck.  Everett is hanging onto me like a monkey.  I say, "Don't worry about it, you can hold him," as I seriously pry Everett off my hip and basically throw him at Tyrel.  Then Cole walks up behind him and grabs Everett out of Tyrel's hands.  Now Everett hears all the boys in the gym dribbling so he is screaming, I mean screaming, "B Ball!  B Ball!" and pointing wide eyed at all the kids.  Cole says to him, "You're gonna play basketball!  You're a stud!" OH-EM-GEE, I kid you not.  You can see in the picture that Cole is facing a different direction because Everett was basically trying to claw his way over Cole's shoulder to see the boys playing basketball.  I love it!  Everett is starting a little collection of KU pictures and his parent's could not be prouder.   

Summertime with E

Just to catch you up, E and I have been doing a lot of hanging out now that summer is here and I haven't had a lot of time for blogging.  Between Olathe Northwest going and WINNING state (if you are my facebook friend, you know I am quite proud of my girls!), softball camp, early morning runs, running errands, sewing, Fluffy Cakes photo shoots (oh yes, I said it, more to come later), cooking and baking, whew, you get the point, there hasn't been a whole lot of time to sit down and document Everett's summer as a 1 year old.  Please enjoy a few pictures of our adventures.

 Running with our choo choo outside.  I can get that kid to come running anytime I say, "Want to go outside?"  He'll just run to the door saying, "Outie! Outie!"

 Practicing our driving skills.

 T-Bones!  Mommy's favorite pastime!

Second love of Everett's life...hot dogs.

 Not too sure about Sizzle there.  If you haven't taken your little one to the T-Bones, I HIGHLY recommend it.  It is very family-friendly and who can deny $1 hot dogs and $6.50 tickets.  Also, Thursday night is 1/2 price beer night.  Good stuff.

I give you the evolution of cramming a tiny body under a deck side table

Chucky Cheese

Jiggle Jam

 Hey there little lady.  Check out my ride!