I know you wonder what I do all day...

Well today was much like any other day. Owen woke up at 7 am to the deafening sound of the lawn mower guys. Liam slept through the whole thing until 9, and I drug myself out of bed to get O some breakfast.

I have a meeting tonight and have to take a dessert, I scanned through some of my Moms favorite dishes and decided on Rocky Road Brownies.

I made it all from scratch. And I hope it tastes as good as it looks. They have to be with how much butter is in the recipe.


If you want to eat some too, here is the recipe:

Brownie mixture:

1/2 C Butter
1 oz. Square unsweetened chocolate
1 C sugar
1 C flour
1/2-1 C chopped nuts (optional)
1 t Baking powder
1 t vanilla
2 eggs


Topping mixture:

6 oz. pkg cream cheese softened (You'll need the other 2 oz. for the frosting part)
1/2 C sugar
2 T flour
1/4 C butter softened
1 Egg
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 C chopped nuts (Optional)
1 C semi sweet chocolate chips

Frosting Mixture:

2 C miniature Marshmallows
1/4 C butter
1/2 C semi sweet chocolate chips
Remaining 2 oz. Cream cheese
1/4 C milk
3 C powdered Sugar
1 t Vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and Flour a 9x13 baking pan

In a bowl mix together:
1 C sugar
1 C flour
1/2-1 C chopped nuts
1 t Baking Powder
1 t Vanilla
2 eggs

In a microwave safe dish, melt 1/2 C butter and 1 oz. square chocolate in microwave in 30 sec intervals until melted. Then add to brownie mixture. Mix well and pour into the baking pan. (The mixture will be really thick.)

In a small bowl combine the 6 oz. cream cheese with next 5 filling ingredients blend until smooth and fluffy with a hand mixer. Stir in nuts and spread over UNBAKED brownie mixture.
Sprinkle with 1 C semi sweet chocolate chips and bake for 25-30 minutes or until brownies and topping are just set.

While brownies are baking, combine 1/4 C butter, 1/4 C milk, 1/2 C chocolate chips, and 2 oz. of the reserved cream cheese in a large sauce pan. Cook and stir over low heat until smooth and blended (The cream cheese won't melt completely and will look a little curdled looking.)

When brownies are done, pull from oven and sprinkle Marshmallows and return to oven for 2-3 minutes (You just want the Mallows to puff, don't let them to brown of they'll be dry and chewy.)
As soon as you return bars back to oven, add powdered sugar and 1 t. vanilla to cream cheese frosting mixture and beat well with a wire whisk.

When Marshmallows have puffed, remove bars from oven and immediately pour frosting mixture over the marshmallows. With the tip of a knife, gently swirl the frosting and marshmallows together. Cool completely on wire rack, then chill until firm. Store bars in refrigerator. Make 36 bars.

But what was Owen doing while I was baking these beauties?

THIS:
You'd think by now I'd be smart enough not to leave a bag of flour within reach of ole sticky fingers, but NO I'm not. Luckily I had just filled my empty flour canister back up so it wasn't the whole bag, but enough to make a good mess and a trip in the shower for Owen.



















What have I done to deserve such a mischievous, curious, destructive child? If anyone should have one it should be my brother Chris. He's the one who would do stuff like this when he was little, NOT me! Maybe they messed up and I was supposed to get Graham-Bam???
But I doubt it since Graham is the spitting image of Buddy and Owen, Nate. All I can say is Sara: keep your fingers crossed!

And that is what I do on a typical day...

WIOV contest

THIS POST IS ONLY FOR MY FRIENDS HERE IN DUTCH COUNTRY PA! (But you are welcome to read it even if you are not!)

First off, I have a confession to make: I listen to country music regularly. Now that that's off my chest,

Last week I heard a commercial for a "babies firsts" picture contest on WIOV.

The grand prize is 4 tickets to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster that we haven't been to yet. And 2 tickets to the Brad Paisley concert. (Which I'll be taking a friend to, since Nate would rather pour lemon juice in a paper cut than go to a country music concert.)

I figured I'd put in an entry and had the perfect picture of a Liam first when he was 14 months. It was the first time we let him have mashed potatoes and feed himself.



Here is the picture


I got an email today that his picture is one of the top 20 finalists and now it's up to public voting for the winner. WE NEED YOUR VOTE! ( The contest is open to all WIOV-FM listeners who are legal United States citizens 18 years of age or older and who reside in Lancaster, Berks, York, Dauphin and Lebanon Counties in the State of Pennsylvania.)

Here are the ways to vote!

You can do it by going online to WIOV in the what's happening box, click on the "vote for your favorite first box" and vote for Liam online, or via text message by sending a text message with the keyword “DW5” to 62582 – By submitting a text message vote, voters will be automatically enrolled in the Station text club; listeners may opt out of the text club at any time by sending a text message with the word “Stop” to 62582. On June 4, 2009 at 4pm, the eligible entry with the most combined text messages and online votes will be crowned The Big I 105’s Favorite First and win a prize pack from Dutch Wonderland. The five (5) runners up with the most combined text message and online votes received will win the qualifying prize pack. Listeners may vote any time between 12:01pm on May 27^th, 2009 and 4:00pm on June 5^th, 2009.

You are only allowed to Vote ONCE online but as many times as you like by text. If you have an unlimited text plan you can put in as many as you like:)


If you have the time, and wouldn't mind voting I'd really appreciate it! And so would Liam!

Cry me a Mani

I truly have some of the best friends a girl could have. Knowing that today would mark the 7 year anniversary of my mom and sisters (And her friend Jera) death, Many of my friends have called or emailed me to tell me they were thinking of me. (I even got the cutest fleur de Lis bag full of goodies from Molly. See not everything is bad about the 24th!) I REALLY appreciate it! It does make such a difficult day easier to bear.

You'd think that after 7 years that time would have healed my wounds, and that life would have gone on without them, but truth be told, there is still not a single day that I don't miss them, or want to call my Mom and tell her about some funny thing that Liam said, or the mischievous thing that Owen did and see how she dealt with things like chocolate drool that won't come out of my favorite white shirt that I have now washed 15 times and nothing seems to want to get that brown hue out...

I've been having a bunch of dreams lately with one or both of them in, (But this always happens in May since there is some constant reminder that they are gone.)

I like these dreams. Even if they make no sense, or that they aren't real, it makes me feel like I've actually talked to them or seen them, but it also makes me realize how much I have forgotten about them.


I'll NEVER forget Mom had a scratchy voice and the most contagious laugh, but I forget some day's what it truly sounded like. (But lucky for me my sis-in-law is a close second and every once in awhile I hear a glimmer of it come out of myself. I've even turned around before, sure that it was Val and realized that it was me who had made that scratchy noise.) Maybe next year I will try to find a clip for you all to hear!

Ali, my beautiful little sister who looked like she was 25 at 17. Some people say we looked alike. (But she got the good genes.) I see some similarities, but I know we talked the same. We'd actually fool people all the time. Even our boyfriends fell for it a few times. And she would have been such a good aunt and mother. I've watched our cousins who were all the same age and went to high school together, grow up, serve missions, get married and I'm sure will shortly have babies, and that is the hardest part. She was so good with kids and would have been a really good Mom. She definitely got
screwed out of that part of life.
(this is a picture of her and her best friend Erin.)


Anyways, it has become a tradition that I go get a pedicure (or manicure now) on the anniversary each year,
1-because I need to do something fun
2- I know it is something that I would be doing with my Mom trying to cheer her up since her own mother passed away and there is nothing like a good pedi or mani to make those blues disappear.

My darling friend Kristen called and said this year she wanted to take me to the Hotel Hershey Spa for a real treat.

We had a fantastic lunch, and got the perfect French tipped maniucres. But best of all I was able to spend a few hours with a person I'd love to have as a sister and enjoy those few hours just talking and getting pampered.

Nate is always so sweet to me around this time of year. He knows I'm walking a fine line and could fall at any moment and supports this tradition by watching the kids so I can get out. I came home to some beautiful flowers and the boys fed and ready for bed.

I just want to put it out in cyber space, (Who knows, maybe they have internet in heaven?)

That I love and miss my two best friends more than anything. That each May I feel this black cloud come rolling in and know that I will have to reflect on the fact that another year has come and gone, as well as another memory of them.
But that I know I will get to see them again someday. I've decided I will punch them really hard first for leaving me like they did, but lucky for me I have the most wonderful Dad and three brothers a sister could ask for. I am so blessed to have them, (Oh and their wives who are more than just Sister-in-laws, a wonderful family of in-laws, a new step family, Friends, Aunts, Cousins, A Husband and two little boys that help fill a big part of that void.)

Here is to all of you for being a part of my life. I love you all!

Only Owen

This kid: I took him to his well baby check up and he is OFF the charts for his height, and is doing better than average for the other skills a 16 month old can do. The Doctor told me that with "this type of child," it's the parent who has to keep up, not the child. I totally agree!

He is a climber! I find him all the time destroying the only plant I've been able to keep alive for longer than a month (Almost a year now:) But this plant sits atop my glass kitchen table top.

He also has an OBSESSION with the toilet. I wish I could say that he wanted to learn to use it, but it's not that kind of a relationship! It's a relationship of: lets see what I can put in the toilet today obsession.

Currently for some reason he loves putting Liam's Madagascar toys in the bowl. He hasn't tried to flush them (YET!) I want to toss the toys, but Liam freaks out, so it's a soak in bleach and a quick air dry, and then we start the cycle all over again.



Anyone have tips on how to control a mischievous child who thinks the words: Don't, stop, & NO mean do whatever you are doing, faster, harder or longer!

Oh and I am here to tell you from experience, Cheeto dust does NOT come out of the carpet easily!

Nothin a little Diego can't fix

The other day I had a really bad headache and was worried that it was going to turn into migraine, so I went to lay down for a bit. Liam got really concerned and was in my bed stroking my arm and telling me, "Oh Mama, you going to be OK." I told him thanks and then all of a sudden he dashes out of the room and comes back running with a Diego band aid in hand.

He says, "Mama, I know how to fix your head! We forgot to put on a band aid." He then puts it on, gives me a kiss and says, "see, all better!."

And you know, I did feel better!

Another funny Liam story:

While Bryn was here, we explained to him that she had a baby growing in her tummy and he even got to feel him kick. I showed him some pictures in one of my maternity books of how a baby grows and fits inside a moms tummy.

A few days later, we went into a maternity store. They had one of those belly pillows that make you look a few more months pregnant. (But they need butt and arm pillows too, maybe it's just me, but those seem to grow along with the belly.)

Anyways, I tied the pillow onto Liam and pulled his shirt down. He thought it was really funny and was prancing around the store.

A little while later he is in the dressing room with Bryn and starts to cry. I pull back the curtain to see what's the matter, he looks up with big tears in his eyes and says: I don't want a baby in my tummy!!" Sob, sob, sob. He grabs onto his tummy and says it hurts. I then notice that there is an unpleasant smell and ask him if he needs to go "stinkies" and he says, "Yeah, I do." I take him and it turns out his tummy was a little sick, and that it was gas pain, not baby kicks that he was feeling. I explained to him that he will NEVER have to have a baby in his tummy and that only girls can have babies. He was really relieved and couldn't get out of the store fast enough!

Poulson Parlor part deux

My dear pregnant, and oh so talented friend Bryn came for a visit to the land of Chocolate. While she was here, we did the Poulson Parlor again. She did hair for three days. With a total of 14 Cut/Colors and 5 haircuts. Seriously amazing!

I think we had over 20 kids at my house during the week, and Thanks to my sweet hubby, the house looked clean and kid less after each night.

The week went by all too quickly and I'm not sure if she will make it back for another go around after Baby boy Allred has come. But it was so good to see her, and my hair is eternally grateful to her!







I am still finding hair every time I sweep, but it's a small price to be paid for beauty.

It wasn't all work while she was here. We did a little site seeing around Harrisburg one day, and then we went down to D.C. for a quick day of touring there.


The boys loved the metro ride, Bryn and I had to see the dresses of the first ladies, and I've decided that I don't have to have the hope diamond, this other perfect 14 carat one will be just fine.

















But by far my two favorite pictures are these two:



I told Liam to give Owen a big squeeze. I guess next time I'll phrase it differently.


And to keep the beast at bay, we bought a chocolate chip cookie to make him happy and forget that he was riding in a stroller. We gave it to him and continued on our way until a few passerby's started laughing and making comments. This is what I found.



















A real Life Cookie Monster!