Cupcakes, cupcakes and more cupcakes!!!!!!

We had Bruce and Erica’s reception down here this past Sunday..and of course once again I volunteered for something that I thought twice about once when I actually started thinking about it..I volunteered to make cupcakes..I thought well that cant be that bad and it would be kind of fun..huh??  Well then Loretta said that we should plan for about 150 people..I'm still thinking well that aint to bad..50 of three different kinds..how hard can that be???  hmmm!!!  Well then I called the cupcake experts..Holly and Michelle (they live in WA so they couldn't see them all finished so that is why I have a post all about cupcakes..hehe) to get there thoughts and there HELP!!!:))   and they pulled through for me:)) Thanks guys!!  LOVE YA!!!! 
So Friday I whipped up some vanilla cupcakes..thinking Ill freeze them and then Ill only have to make 100..So then Saturday came and my SIL Bethany helped me too!!  But everything was going smooth sailing beside my fondant cake which ended up in the garbage  and then around 4:00 Jared comes home and tells me that there is no way that there is going to be enough cupcakes if you are planning for 150 you need to at least make double..So we go into PANIC mode!!! So needless to say we ended up making over 300 cupcakes and we ended up cooking from 9:30am-9:00pm!! I was beat!!   We made three different kinds. Between the three of us I think we have three heavenly cupcakes!!  Holly and Michelle came up with most of the recipes but  I did change a few things too..
Here are the vanilla cupcakes..They have vanilla beans in the frosting and cupcake…and I ended up putting a Italian Meringue in the inside of these cupcakes..They also have a oatmeal crust!!  The Italian Meringue recipe I got from this website!! Very yummy!!  I also have to tell you guys not sure if all of you do this but wow is this a helpful tip I think!!  All of these cupcakes are cake boxes but twitched a little and some have more ingredients added..On the white cake mix you know there are always two different recipes..one with whole eggs and one with egg whites..Well I put them to the test. I made a batch using just the egg whites and I made a batch using the whole eggs.. and the one with egg whites was way..I mean WAY better!!!!!  Way more fluffier and lighter..I also always add 1/2c oil instead of 1/3 cup of oil and I think that also makes a difference in the cupcakes!!!  I do it with cakes too!!  But anyways..for the vanilla frosting and strawberry frosting I also got the recipe from here.  It is soooooo goooooooood!!!!  I did tweak it a little but for the base it is really good…I just wanted the vanilla frosting to be vanilla and the strawberry one to be strawberry!!  Try it out for yourselves and let me know:)

Here are the strawberry ones..The crust is a graham cracker crust..and a strawberry filling…Jared thinks these ones are the best!! I think its a toss up between them all!! haha!!

Here the Chocolate ones!! With a chocolate crust and a peanut butter filling with a very yummy chocolate frosting!!

Do you like my cupcake trees???  We Jared made them mostly!!!





Oh ya the reason why we used pink, brown, and cream is bc them were her colors for there wedding!!!

Here are a few pictures of my kitchen in a complete mess..I guess when you make this many cupcakes you will end up wiht a mess..lol!!

I really wish I would of taken some pictures of the middle of the cupcakes..sorry!!!:(

Seven Months

I know I am super late on this post…but just to be honest I kind of forgot..I should be doing the eight month post..well not quite but next week you can look for that one:)) So I guess better late then never right:)
Someone told me that they are starting to look different..so what do you think??? Can you tell which one is which??:) I will give you a hint..the one on the left has the pointed ear..hehe:P 

L-Jayla, R-Jianna..where you right????!! 
Anyways just some things my babies are doing.. They are both sitting up really good..Jianna can get herself up to sitting from just laying on the ground but not Jayla yet.. Jianna started crawling two weeks ago..and Jayla just started creeping yesterday..Oh how the fun begins now!!:D  My poor,poor, plant is once again been tipped over a few times already..I have faith in it though bc it has survived many tip over from Avery when she started crawling too..I'm not one to completely go head over heels and totally baby proof my house my kids have all learned to just not touch or they experience with it a few times and move onto something else.Like my plant!!:D  Have I lost some things along the way…Sure but Im not sad over them so I guess it’s ok!!
They are both eating solids ALOT! Which helps cut down on the formula a little..which is a nice pocket saver too..I really can not wait until they are done with bottles..I m so sick of washing bottles and worrying if I have enough water on hand or formula..Whew I am going to scream YippEeee when the time comes!!!  They both hate peaches…Yes they both do..Its kind of weird but anyways they both get the willies from them..every bite pretty funny!!!
I am just at awe sometimes..Boy am I lucky to have twins..I love watching them cuddle all up to go to sleep..but Im wondering when will I separate them or will I separate them???  They really love sleeping together so much not sure..but there are times when I wonder is it safe..like Jayla was already sleeping and I put Jianna in the crib to go to sleep and obviously she didn't just go to sleep right away..she was playing around in there and all of a sudden I hear this screech and I knew it was Jayla and thought what in the world is going on..so i decided to go have a peeky…and Jianna was on top of Jayla and Jianna looked up at me and just started to giggle..little stinker!!!  So I removed her and Jayla went right back to sleep..she kind of just cried in her sleep..
School is in full swing now..We are over the first week..It is usually so tough to get back into the full swing of things..I'm not sure who its worse on the parents or the kids..(I think the parents..hehe) But Avery is enjoying the quietness I think and just playing with her babies!!!  She loves it when they come home from school though so she does miss them a lot too!! 
Jianna is in the pink(left.) and Jayla in on the right(dark pink)


Hmm..what does she have..haha!! They are so in tune to what the other has..

Then we see some of this..Yes they are fighting over toys already..and Jianna usually always win and Jayla usually ends up screaming..


Jayla
 
Jianna..stop taking pictures mom..haha!!!

My messy girls..and I wanted to post a picture of my high chair so my mom could see it..The high chair on the left is one of them really old ones that your mom probably used anyways I had been wanting one and anyways I had got it with Avery but it really didn't work with her…so anyways I kept it and now it comes in handy bc I needed another high chair..so anyways I knew I needed to recover this and it was so easy it took maybe a half an hour..I wish i would of took a before picture but I didn't..just imagine the ugliest print from the seventy’s that you can imagine:))  and now you have a before picture in your head..right!!! I bought a vinyl tablecloth at Wal-Mart to put over the top of the fabric so I could easily just wipe it down.And let me tell you this they are so easy to clean..no crevices to try to clean in and so on..or having to worry about cleaning up under the high chair pad..They just dont make them like they used to...So there ya go a a stylish looking high chair…So what do you think do you like???  I LOVE it..cute and SUPER easy to clean and the best part too..it folds right up and takes up no room to store!!

I decided you needed a clearer picture of the high chair..

Picnic in the Enchanted Forest!!

I surprised the girls with a picnic in our backyard last month (I know I'm a little behind since I’m just getting to putting it on here now but hey with vacation and getting ready for school I guess we have been pretty busy!!) They LOVED it!!!
Welcome to my Enchanted Forest!!!

Them walking into the forest and seeing it for the first time..Didn't really get the expressions in the pictures I was a little late:( but there faces lit up like the fourth of July!!!



The girls checking out all the goodies…What did I surprise them with???  Well we had heart shaped sandwiches..blueberries..mixed nuts..and a mixture of animal crackers, cheerios, and pretzels..and then Mountain Dew..Just to balance it out a little..haha!!!



Then on our way into the house Destiny asks me If she can plan the next one???? Hmmm..wouldn't that be fun having everyone take turns and plan the picnic..I think  I started something fun!!!  WOOOOHOOOOO!!!
(Flash forward a month and Destiny and Brielle both planned a picnic ) Here a few pictures from there’s!!!
This time Jaya and Jianna got to enjoy the picnic..Last time they were taking naps!!
 
A close up to see what they packed..( I had to make my own sandwich they said they would of made me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich but they didnt know if I would of ate it) I told them that would of been fine but instead I made myself a sandwich..apple slices..raisins..fishes..and the same kind of cracker mix..They did a GREAT JOB!!

First Day of School

Today was the first day back to school for us..overall everything went pretty smooth…I was really impressed..Sometimes getting up that early again can be rough..it was probably more rough on me then them..hehe!!! 
Destiny was all excited to go back to school..She will be starting third grade this year..man is it even possible that she is in third grade already..where does the time go???  Time….please stand still for awhile!! thanks..:))   She was so happy she got the teacher that she wanted..and is ready to dig right in to learn about south carolina..that is the focus in third grade!! 
Brielle well she is another story…She is going to be starting first grade. She wasnt so happy about the teacher she got..but you see a friend told her some horror stories about her teacher so she was not ready to go back to school..she was kind of nervous..She knew the first day was going to be fun..but then she said she was not ready to take tests..She tends to be my more nervous girl though..So when we got to school she did shed a few tears once we got to her classroom but i just stayed a little longer and she seemed to warm up a little!!  It helped that they put her desk next so someone that was in her class from last year..I think she will do great..




You can all be done reading now if you would like but I really just need to ramble awhile now..I have been having alot of struggles lately with decisions regarding Avery and if anyone out there is farther along the road and has some insight that they would like to share please feel free..I will take any advice that I can get… What's going on you ask??? Well Avery is three now so alot of people put them in school at three..That is awfully young to me..She is still my baby and I would like her home with me still…but I don't want to hinder her..She would go to a special needs preschool at the elementary school and she would go everyday all morning..I wish it was just like three times a week..but its not ..its everyday and that is where my problem is..i don't want it to be to much for her either!!! She will be going to a classroom with teachers that know how to teach her and she will be learning so much so it would be good for her.She would get her therapies there to along with teaching her self help skills.but is it really necessary right now???!!  That is my question i guess????  Anyone????? Does she need the extra year of school to be ready for kindergarten??  Or would she be just fine going next year only???  I dont know..Why does life have to be so hard..and so many decisions to make!!!  urgh!!!!

Laura Ingles Wilder

I think this is my last post from our vacation to South Dakota. I have been wanting to take the girls to the Laura Ingalles Wilder homesite in DeSmet for a long time..We have been reading the books to our girls and they just love them!!!  So we decided that this trip to SD there were old enough to enjoy it there.. We all had a blast but the kids were having so much fun exploring everything…I was so impressed that everything was so hands on for the kids to just explore. Most of the times you will see signs everywhere that say “Dont touch!!”  but instead of them signs we seen signs that said Parents we encourage your children to touch, and explore everything!!” :)  What parent doesn't like that kind of sign:)) So here a ALOT of pics from our day there…

The girls with their cousins from SD that they loved hanging out with!!!!

Getting a drink the old way:))

They got to wash some clothes the old way too!! So fun!!!

and then hangin out to dry:)) Boy am I glad I live in these times:P I would have alot of clothes to wash that way!!

In there house they had there clothes to try on..and yes Destiny that was there underwear!! haha!! Shes playing the piano the old way that she did not like..You had to pump the pedals..She said she was glad that she didnt have to play back then!!

Brielle sewing on Ma’s sewing machine..I can only imagine how much stuff she made with that!!

Destiny and Breanna cooking everyone some supper…The girls had so much fun in there house playing “house”..they would of stayed there all day if we would of let them!!!

Mmmmm..good corn cobs:)

The homesite!!

We got to go on a ride down to the schoolhouse..It was pretty neat..They let each of the girls drive for a little bit too..but all of the girls thought it went kind of slow!!! I cant imagine trying to drive cross country in one of them..no thank you!!

The girls practicing there roping skills..haha

The schoolhouse!!  That was neat the girls got to dress up in dresses and bonnets and the boys wore cowboy hats…


 
Just going for a little ride!!

Just her size..hehe!!!

Everyone making rope…they got to make a rope and keep it..

All the girls making there corn cob doll..Laura had a corn cob doll..do you remember??