Bless you!

This photo was a complete accident, but I find it...

HILARIOUS!!!!!

This is what a child in the middle of sneezing looks like!

Oh so funny! (Or is it just me?)

Who did it?

About a week ago, I made a cake. We had already cut into it and had been eating it and it was starting to look a little -- ragged.

I came into the kitchen to notice it was a little more.....ragged.

Someone had gotten into the cake and somewhat demolished it.

No one fessed up.

There was a trail of crumbs on the counter.

I had my suspicions, but I really wasn't sure and I just let it go.

Today, while taking the pictures off of my camera, I came across a few random photos.

I think the culprit wanted to be caught because the crime was documented.

I am STILL laughing my head off!!!!!!!

It was a big weekend...

Two major changes in our household this weekend.

One was planned.

One was not.

First.....

We got a new black and white kitchen floor.

Here is the before...

Here we've prepped it.

Daddy getting lots of help.

He loved the floor too.

Second...

To go with our new black and white floor...

a new black and white puppy.

Her name is Molly.

{That's right -- Molly. For those of you that thought we had named her Fritz --we did. Until upon further inspection we realized Fritz was indeed Molly. We only looked quickly before and thought we had a Fritz. Woops! When we looked again,...hmmmm???? The hubs said "I don't think Fritz is a Fritz." He was right. She's a Molly.}

He has wanted a dog for a very long time.

Here's her cute little face with freckles and all.

She is part border collie and part labrador.

As you can see, she has been well-loved already.

If you ever saw Tiny Toons the movie you'll remember the girl that loved animals...

a little too much. She used to say "I'll hold you, and love you, and squeeze you..."

She lives in our house.

So far she has been a good dog. We are trying to learn as much as we can about having a puppy, but we are thrilled to have her join our family.

Recipe for Vanilla Buttercream

Here is the recipe for the Vanilla Buttercream that I love!

4 oz. unsalted butter, soft(but not melted) -- (if using salted butter reduce the salt a bit)

2 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt (but you could use table salt if you need to)

1 Tbs. + 1 tsp. whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon juice (fresh is best -- if using bottled reduce the amount a bit)

Cream butter and salt for 30 seconds.

Add half of the powdered sugar and all of the milk.

Beat well.

Add the remaining sugar, vanilla, and lemon.

Beat on high 5-6 min.

It makes a small batch -- you may want to double for a full batch of cupcakes or a whole cake -- depending on how much frosting you like to use.

This is a really tasty buttercream, but not the greatest if you are looking for professional cake decorating results -- it isn't very smooth looking, but oh so yummy!

**I corrected this recipe. It previously read 1 tsp. vanilla twice. It should have been 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. lemon juice. I have now fixed it.

Anders had a big week!

A few weeks ago,....

Anders had a very big week.

It started off with the 3rd Grade Spelling Bee.

He made top 6 in his class and then moved onto the 3rd grade Bee.

Woot! Woot!

I think he was slightly nervous, but he seemed to handle the nerves okay.

Waiting for his word....

He didn't win, but he did a great job!!!

He's so excited for the big spelling bee next year (4th - 6th grade) that he wants to start studying right away!

Next up, he had Pack Meeting/Blue and Gold Banquet.

They asked that each of the scouts help to decorate a cake with the theme of 100 years BSA.

We did a chocolate cake with Vanilla Buttercream -- delicious!

I decided a stacked round would be the easiest and then I asked him what he wanted it to look like.

He sketched out the design and then we decided on the colors.

I thought piping the stars would be the easiest for covering the cake, but his hand started cramping so I helped him out. (It was a LOT of stars -- my hand cramped too!)

He practiced a few times on a plate and then started in on the cake.

He helped mix the colors and pipe the letters and numbers on top and around the cake.

{I piped the first of the letters and then he re-traced them and filled in the 0's.}

It was a little tricky, but he did a great job!

He even took first place that night at the banquet!

Way to go Anders! I'm so proud of you!

Maybe you'll take after your auntie!!!

He finished off the week with a school talent show where he and his three friends decided they would......

wait for it...

wait for it...

beat box.

Oh how I chuckled when he told me, but they actually did a really great job!

I was quite impressed.

More on that later -- when I can get my hands on the video.

Anders, we're so proud of you -- you are a great kid!

We love you!

Thanks for giving us so many great things about you to enjoy!

Another Sesame Funny

While I'm at it....

here is another funny video from Sesame Street.

Right now Liam is obsessed with Elmo. He LOVES him. So, one day we sat down to watch a few videos and found this one.

My kids howled!

Quite frankly, so did I.

We watched it over and over and over.

Yet another reason to love Sesame Street!

They are so very clever!

Here is Pre-School Musical....

so funny!

{We aren't very High School Musical literate yet, but I imagine someday we might be. Until then, this is definitely for us.}

The singing cracks me up!

Ohhh....I'm still laughing.

Somebody likes to have his picture taken!

If you click on the collage, you'll see it full size -- you can better appreciate some of the expressions.

He kept begging for "cheese!"

He grabbed my camera, handed it to me, and started saying "Cheese!"

He would look at the camera with his eyebrows raised and as soon as he heard the click go off, he would laugh and be so pleased with himself.

This is such a great age!!!

{Disclaimer: Please excuse the food and other...bits on his face and clothes. Yes. He is a dirty child. Yes. I did eventually clean him.}