Recipe Review

Isabella did not like the crock pot cake. This, of course, means that it is really, really good. I have heard of people who don't like chocolate, and actually find some things too rich and chocolaty to eat. I didn't believe they existed until I gave birth to one, but apparently they do!

The rest of us liked the cake. It is very rich. I didn't have an whip cream on hand, but it would taste good with it. I think it would be a great desert to serve to a group of people on a cold winter's night.

Magicians

Last night Isabella managed to scrape the skin just above her bony little ankle. How she did this, I do not know, as Jimmy was at a football game and I was doing the bedtime routine solo. From the volume of her cries, I thought Isabella had severed her leg, but it was just a tiny scrape. Given the extent of her injuries, she couldn't walk and so Emmalena carried her to the bed. She told Isabella to lay down and levitate her leg. I had to walk out of the room so that they didn't hear me laughing!

Snow!!!!

We woke up this morning to snow on the ground, and a tempurature of 23 degrees. The man that helps Jimmy with the lawn, Farmer John, says this is going to be a coooooold winter. He bases this on when the lawn grass starts to slow its growth, which this year occurred three weeks earlier than normal. I don't know if he is right or not, but Aunt Gayle read that our winter is supposed to be a cold one. Farmer John may have 5o years of experience with Colorado winters, but if Aunt Gayle says it, it must be true.

In honor of the first day of snow I am going to make Crock Pot Cake that I found on the blog I am addicted to.

http://blog.cjanerun.com/

I'll let you know how it turns out!

And now I present the Crockpot Cake Recipe. Only, promise me you'll douse it with real cream. Not that fake stuff all whipped up ready for consumption, I mean straight from-the-udder cream.
1 package chocolate cake mix
1 container of sour cream (8 oz)
1 cup chocolate morsels
1 cup water
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix
Spray crock pot with nonstick cooking spray. Mix cake mix, sour cream, chocolate morsels, water, egss, oil and pudding mix in a bowl by hand. Pour into crock pot. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Makes about 12 servings.

Monday, Monday

We had the most wonderful time in Rapid City with my dear friend Kim and her family over the weekend. We left Thursday, and got in late last night. I will put up pictures and fill you in on all the details later. Because........

TODAY

I am trying to unpack from the trip and get ready for a visit from Aunt Gayle, who arrives tomorrow. So, do I work on the 8 loads of laundry, dust, make the lasagna for dinner, put away all the junk that one must take on a road trip to keep three kids occupied, take a shower, file my broken nails, pay bills or mop the kitchen floor first?????

OY!!!!!!!!

You're Not Getting Older....

Happy

Birthday,

Aunt Gayle!!!!!

We love you and can't wait for you to get here!

Three Reasons

I really love Colorado, but there are some things about New England that I will always miss. Here are three of them.

Mankind must remember that peace is not God's gift to his creatures, it is our gift to each other.— Elie Wiesel

A Cautionary Tale...

Say What??

Isabella asked me this today

"Mom, why do they call it Starbooks when there aren't any books in there?"

Never Ignore the Warning Signs

Most disasters are preceded by some kind of sound, some kind of warning. When Ali strikes the warning sound is silence. I know this, and yet I ignored the warning signals. I made it into the bath at 2:30PM today. Ali wouldn't nap, thought I begged her to, I was exhausted and longed for sleep. She wouldn't cooperate, so I decided to get cleaned up before picking the girls up for school. Ali was playing in my room, where I could hear her, and then silence. I would call to her occasionally, and she would answer "I right heeeere!" I figured she was in Isabella's room, where she likes to play. I was so tired and lazy that I didn't check on her. Finally, I called her to come to me, and this is what I saw!

It was better than what I found in Isabella's room. Ali had climbed on her bed and dismantled Isabella's bulletin board, pulling off and then tearing all of Bella's special papers. Isabella isn't in a good place right now, and I'll just say that she didn't deal very well with it when she got home! That was the real disaster!

I was too tired tonight to make a big dinner, so Ali and I walked to the store to get some eggs for scrambled eggs. My little bandit, of course, fell asleep in the middle of Albertson's. Once again, I will be up late tonight, because she'll never go to bed now. But look how cute she is with her sunglasses and my high heels!