updating

I just downloaded some pictures onto the computer so now I can visually update you with what I've been up to.

First there was my birthday. Mom stayed to have cake after my husband and I went sledding at the golf course.Eight days later, the little one had her first birthday. She got a 2 balls and a car. "Ball," was her first word.

Then we had a birthday party for the little one and my oldest sister's little one. The cousins posed for a picture after lunch.

After Arkansas, we stopped at our friends' house for a day. They're our only friends that are not related to us by blood. This is our big one and thier big one with souvenirs from the south.
The shirts are the souvenirs.

big sister's clothes

As a little sister I know that there is a great exhilaration when you get to wear your big sister's clothes. There was nothing like sneaking into my older sister's closet, finding a coveted piece, sneaking out, and getting away with wearing it in public. Oh, I can feel the adrenaline rush still.
My little one is following in my footsteps already. She loves clothes. During her birthday party in Arkansas my sister-in-law said "I have never seen a baby like getting clothes more than they liked toys." It's true. The little one would wrap each piece of clothing around her shoulders and say, "oh," and, "wow." This is an example of her trying on clothes after a shopping trip.

Today I found her trying to put her sister's hoodie over her head. I assumed she wanted to wear it, which she obviously did.

Becuase after an hour, she was still wearing it despite the fact that she had to compromise the use of her hands.

mommy...?

I forgot to write about my second to last day of marathon single parenting. It was terrible. My husband came home and I had to confess that "the girls got to see their mom act like a 2 year old tonight." I don't really remember how it all went down but it resulted in a) me throwing down a plastic coffee pot toy that made too much noise and breaking it into many pieces b) me repeatedly picking up and throwing down an alligator xylophone trying to break it into many pieces and c) me picking up an oppossom toy by the tail and beating it against the stairs. It was not very cool. The children were safely in another room, but I'm pretty sure that the big one got a little scared. When I was done I apologized and offered to buy a new coffee pot like the one that I broke. There's a sizeable knick in the floor from the xylophone. The opposum faired well, no visible signs of the event. I think it was a good indication that I needed some mental space.

rewards for a job well done

Yes, there was candy in the bathroom. There were two dishes, one containing Skittles, the other had M&M's. Granted, it was used as a reward for my neice who is potty training, but that didn't stop most of the adults from helping ourselves when we felt like we had accomplished great things.
Aside from the oddities of Arkansas life it was nice to be away for awhile. Really, it's just nice to come home after being away. You realize that home is not so bad. The same boring routine feels refreshingly familiar. You relish the predictability and the sense of (minor) control over your day. My mom always reminds me that it is important to get away, and every time I do I'm thankful that I did. There's nothing like the stress of traveling to make you praise the mundane life at home.

it's just been so long...

I know. This is why I thought I may be terrible at blogging.
Right now I'm in Arkansas, home of my inlaws. We left on Sunday after the birthday party for the little one and my oldest sister's little one. Shortly after leaving we encountered a snow storm that made the first 2 hours of driving slow and tense. Luckily, I was driving. Had I not been in the driver's seat I would have been barking directions from the passenger's seat. My husband has a little more self control than I so he managed to stifle his concerns for the most part. After we got through that we were about an hour behind and we had 8 more hours to go at 6:30pm. If you do the math, that would put us at our destination about 2:30am. If you know either of us you know that we are usually fast asleep by 9:30. Needless to say we chickened out and got a hotel room at 11. I'm glad we did, there was pretty bad fog in central Arkansas and it's a lot harder to drive in fog when you're asleep. We took it easy the next day and arrived here around noon. We have managed to sit around and eat for roughly 85% of the time (the other 15% is baby wrestling and sleeping.) There are always plentiful goodies around here, there's even candy in the bathroom. There are also roaving eyes, so I've gotta go.

bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy fun fun fun fun fun

For my birthday my mom got me a mini-trampoline also known as a rebounder. It's a lot like the little ones that we had as kids except it's made for adults so you don't have to fear breaking through it with every bounce. I asked for one because a) my older sister had one b) I want what my sisters have c) I needed some outlet for stress because I can't run right now.
The thing is awesome. The mat is tight enough that you can get some pretty good air. It brings back that little kid glee you felt as you jumped up and down for fun, an activity that would normally bring pain and suffering these days. It's a flashback to the excitement and fear of flying as a kid, even if its about 11 inches off the mat. The only down side that I don't remember as a kid is that it has a profound effect on my internal organs, specifically the end of my digestive tract. I have to pee every few minutes and I can't seem to shake the general feeling of having to poo. Hopefully as I use it more these sensations will subside, but even if they don't, I will gladly bounce my way to high spirits.

Birthday Cake

I made a really really really good cake for my birthday. It's called a "Better Than Sex Cake." I have made a different version of this involving yellow cake, sour cream, lots of butter, chocolate, nuts, and cream cheese frosting. It is a favorite around here and I may post that recipe later. But I was perusing online recipes and this one came up and it was indeed fantastic.
It calls for a Devil's Food cake and you can use a mix, but I used a recipe from online that turned out well. You need a can of sweetened condensed milk, a jar of caramel ice cream topping, a bag of toffee bits, and a container of whipping cream. In a saucepan combine the milk and caramel (leave about 1/4 the jar of caramel to decorate with) and let it warm up and mix together. After you bake the cake as directed, you let it cool for 5 minutes then poke holes all over it with a wooden spoon handle. Pour the caramel mixture all over the cake and let it soak in. Then sprinkle the toffee bits on top while it's still warm. Refrigerate it for a few hours or a day or however long. The longer it sits, the more the cake soaks up the liquid. Whip the cream up with a little sugar and vanilla, but don't make it too sweet because the cake is super sweet. Top the cake with the whipped cream, drizzle on the rest of the caramel, sprinkle on some toffee (if you saved some.) It's delicious, like a giant candy bar. Rissy would call it rich.