Best. Monday. Ever.

Today was a girls' day with two of the sweetest girls I know! First stop, DONUTS! On the way there Maya told me, "This isn't the way to donuts." I asked her what she meant...apparently to Maya the only place that sells donuts is Casey's. :) Well, she was right we were going to wrong way for Casey's, but that was because we were on our way to KRISPY KREME! Once we were there they girls watch the donut holes and chocolate donuts being made...Maya stood there watching forever, which was a little weird for me because I don't know that I've ever seen Maya stand still that long. :) Then we each picked out a donut...and then had some of the fresh donut holes. Can you say sugar high? But being the responsible babysitter I am, they each got a juice...see FRUIT, responsible.

Then it was time to make CUPCAKES! Not just any cupcakes...bright colored cupcakes in a jar! There are a lot of ideas online for these, but I ended up opting to make them in small jars (purchased the jars at Wal-Mart). The girls loved coloring the cake batter...I let them add as much or as little gel coloring as they wanted (obviously we added plenty based on the colors!) and they cared for about 4 jars each before the dog was much more interesting to them.

We worked up quite an appetite after cupcake making (which is hard to believe considering the amount of cupcake tops eaten. Did I say sugar high? I meant sugar coma.), so it was off to INCREDIBLE PIZZA MACHINE! The girls were GREAT about getting food first (probably because it was a late lunch), so we grabbed our plates and found our seats in the "drive-in"...featured film Finding Nemo. We played a bunch of games, a little mini-golf, then redeemed some of the tickets. Luckily we saved some of the tickets so mom and dad could take them back some day (along with the coupons they'll receive via email since I signed them up for VIP Club...aren't I thoughtful?!?).

You would think our day was over, but NO WAY! Us girls can P-A-R-T-Y...time to walk the dog and run off some of that sugar energy at the park! The girls were great about taking turns walking the dog, no fighting at all and I was a little worried we'd have a melt down (starting to rethink the donuts and cupcakes at this point). Once we left the park it was off to see Joey and Mad Dog to drop off some cupcakes. Grace made one especially for Aunt Holly (how sweet)...since we don't know if she's having a boy or a girl she decided that her cupcake should be half blue and half pink. I asked the girls if they wanted Holly to have a boy or a girl, but they had great reasons for both. I couldn't agree more, I hope she has a healthy baby...boy or girl, doesn't matter, that baby will be the perfect fit for their family either way! We were running a bit late, so we didn't stay at Aunt Holly's long before I had to take the girls home.

They were so much fun to hang out with all day and soooo good considering their sugar intake for the day (well, they were good for me...hopefully they didn't crash from their sugar high, but I guess that's the risk you take when you hire this babysitter!). I hope their mom and dad will hire me again some day soon!!!

BTW, my own child headed to Adventureland with 3 of his friends (nice that they can drive themselves!) and today is my mom's birthday! See what I mean, BEST. MONDAY. EVER.

Stuffed Pasta Goodness

It's been a while since I've tried a new recipe, so I finally searched for something I thought my family would agree on last night (you know, while I should have been cleaning).

I found this Garlic Bread recipe (thank you cooking on clover lane) and my family LOVED it! And then I found Stuffed Shells on the same website, drool (however, I didn't use that much mozzarella cheese). I've never made stuffed pasta shells, but this couldn't have been easier. If I had to do it again, I think I would have stuffed a little less filling in the shells. And I think they needed some other spices or something...not sure what that would be though. I used Prego Chunky Garden spaghetti sauce, yum, but imagine how delicious this would be with homemade (in my dreams). It could have used a touch more sauce, maybe add some fresh veggies to the sauce, but it was really good for my first attempt!

We had plenty of leftovers (they are surprisingly filling), so we'll see how they taste for lunch tomorrow.

Terry loved it, Damon thought it was ok, I liked it and would definitely make it again.

Sweet 16

Holy cow! We have a 16 year old! He had a pretty rock star sixteenth birthday -- not MTV, super sweet 16 style, but still pretty great! We went to Chicago with his Grandma and Grandpa S and one of his friends. We went to D's first ever Cubs game on his actual birthday and then to the Field Museum, Gino's (where you can write on everything!) and Dave & Buster's the next day.

Once we were home from our trip, D took everyone for a cruise in his sweet, new ride. We have one SPOILED kid!

Finally, on Friday we took D to get his license. I don't know what I was expecting, but it was really a non-event: take the eye test again, take your picture again, get a little piece of paper for a temporary license. I guess your "real" license comes in the mail a few weeks later. That didn't stop me from taking D's pic outside the DOT (he was SUPER happy with me). Words cannot express the anxiety you have as a parent as you watch your child pull out of the driveway by themselves. You want to protect your child always...and now, as they drive away...alone...it's a scary feeling.

I am so proud of the young man he is becoming. Here are a few things that stand out for me:

1. He has a big heart
2. He is hilarious
3. He is kind to everyone
4. He is respectful (most of the time and when he isn't I am quick to remind him that I brought him in to this world and I can take him out)
5. He mows the grass for gas money
6. He won't tell me if he has a gf or if he thinks a particular girl is cute
7. He thinks it's annoying that one of his friends hangs all over his gf and doesn't hang with the guys any more
8. I can't keep up with the "cool" sayings as they change daily
9. He texts...a lot
10. He struggles with Spanish and missing assignments, but is a smart kid when he applies himself
11. He eats and eats and eats and eats
12. He likes G's smoked pork, Grandma's monster cookies, F&O's, Smashburger, Subway/Quiznos, Dairy Queen and red velvet cupcakes from The Bake Shoppe
13. He orders a sandwich at "McKum&Go" called the McNasty
14. His dad is jealous of his "new" truck
15. His grandpa texts every day to get an update on the new, licensed driver and his truck
16. He loves baseball and rap music
17. He is amazing, wonderful, and awesome...I love him with all my heart

Fun Find.

Just found this blog and I love it.

Might try and start blogging again, don't get too excited...it hasn't actually happened yet.

I am a part of transformation training (I don't think that's what it's really called) with OneBody3. It's amazing. Better than what I had expected. I think every company should give their employees the opportunity...in fact, I think it would be money well spent if it came out of your own pocket. It would be amazing to do something like this with your spouse, your children, your friends, your family. We have 2 more sessions and I can't wait.

Most. Boring. Post. Ever. I'll try to do better next time and hopefully it will be sometime this month. :)

Look who's 40!

Terry's oldest brother turned FORTY at the end of July so my creative, designer-type sister-in-law had a 70's Birthday Party for him...oooohhhh so much fun! Everyone dressed up (I have pics on FB) and we had a great time eating fondue (of course!) and a tie-dye colored cake! We don't exchange birthday gifts, but I couldn't let the day go by gift-less...so I searched online and found this! L-O-V-E it. So I copied it (thank you). I like how it turned out, but I think I like Poca Cosas' black and white polka dot ribbon better. Oh well, still cute.

Linen Closet Before and After

I swear a year ago I organized my linen closet (and the year before that, and the year before that)...some how it always gets cluttered!

I finally splurged and bought containers for the closet and now it looks like this... (let's hope it stays that way!!)

Beautiful Weekend