Car Wreck

So I have posted before how much Branson loves his Hotwheels cars. I have also mentioned how those Hotwheels cars end up all over the entire house. Well yesterday those cars got the best of him when he stepped on a car on the wood floor with his left foot. His left leg went one way and his body went another. After a trip to the ER we discovered that Branson has broken his Tibia (the large bone between the knee and the ankle.) The copy of the X-Ray that we were given wasn't all that clear and trying to scan it into my computer made it even less clear so I have gone over the break with red so that you can see it more clearly.Before the Pain Meds kicked in... After the Pain meds kicked in...No hard feelings towards his precious Hotwheels cars...
In fact...the splint makes great racing lanes for the cars.

Mom can't wait for the leg to be in an actual cast on Monday. Toddlers might have a little more difficulty removing that. Until then we will watch lots of Elmo, race Hotwheels cars, keep up on pain medication and play in the beans.And maybe open up a few Birthday presents a week early.

Why I am a Lucky Woman

So Monday found me once again in the dentist chair. I don't know why my teeth are so sensitive but they always have to numb me up more than normal and when I have work done like a crown or a root canal I am always in pain for days after. Monday was no different, but when I woke up from a wonderful drug induced stupor I saw Branson holding two beautiful red roses and a bottle of Lavender Spa Bubbles. So for the last two days I have enjoyed having fresh flowers in my kitchen....and last night after everyone else was in bed I soaked in a hot bubble bath and read my new Peg Kehret book for several hours. Have I mentioned that I love my husband?

A Ghostly Presence

Is it a creepy ghost from the hauntings of Halloween's past? Nope...it's just the Flour Game
(As a side note: This game was first introduced to my family when I was 17 and I had a bunch of friends over for a big party. Several of my friends wanted me to invite this one guy who was a total Jock. So for their sake I invited him and that night he showed us all how to play the "flour game" and...lets just say that the jock captured my heart that night and the rest is history.)

John's FHE Snack...er BLOB

John's Most Dangerous Cake Recipe!
And why is it so dangerous? According to John it is because it is soooo easy you'll make too much and get fat.

STEP 1: Cram the whole dang family into the kitchen to share the little counter space that you have to bake on.
STEP 2: Take up some of that counter space with your toddler by simply plopping him on the counter so he can make his own cake too.

STEP 3: Add all your dry ingredients to a big mug...

4 TBS flour---(Anderson don't worry if it's not level, rock solid cakes taste good too)

4 TBS sugar----(No Sydney, it DOES NOT say "heaping" TBS of sugar)

2 TBS cocoa----(Uhhh Branson I don't think you want to try licking this chocolate off the spoon)

STEP 4: Mix it well with a fork until it is really sticky gooey thick and gross looking
STEP 5: Add 1 egg and mix it again thoroughly
STEP 6: (Branson's recipe) Add the egg shells as well STEP 7: Pour in 3 TBS Milk, 3 TBS Oil and 1 splash of vanilla extract. Stir it up and then smell it to see if it's going to be any good. STEP 8: Put in a handful of chocolate chips and stir it again.

STEP 9: Cook the mug of sludge in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. Watch the ooze grow! (And remind me never to buy a black microwave again...I seriously have to wipe the front of that thing down several times a day!)

STEP 10: Ohhhhh and Ahhhhhh over what you have created.

STEP 11: Make lots of jokes about what your cake really looks like.

STEP 12: Drizzle caramel, chocolate, whipped cream or just pour in some milk.
STEP 13: Then faint away from the sheer goodness of it all.

DISCLAIMER: (I didn't really think it tasted all that good...but the kids (and John) loved it.)

Learning

So I have never missed attending school. I don't miss the textbooks, the lectures or the tests. I am grateful that I earned my degree but I have not looked back since. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy learning and I love that at this time in my life I can actually learn about the things that I want to. I am anxiously waiting to get into Jessica Sprague's Photography class, but until then I am getting a lot of information on the computer. Every day I discover talented people who are willing to share what they know. One scrapbooker encouraged us to find a photo that didn't turn out so great. She said to mess with it and alter it until you get it to look not just good, but amazing. I found a blurry photo of Branson and his cousin Audrey. Not only is it not very clear, but their faces are blotchy and they look like they have ginormous foreheads. After tweaking it for over an hour...I think I can live with the results. It's like Photo Rescue 911!

Before PhotoAfter

A Challenge

I took on my very first digital scrapbooking challenge! As I have mentioned before there are awesome designers on line that offer tons of great freebies. Many of them encourage scrapbookers to use their products to create a layout and then enter a challenge. I am so new at this digital thing that I have never taken the opportunity and accepted a challenge. At Three Paper Peonies the colors and designs are always gorgeous and after taking a peak at the newest papers I just had to give it a shot. It was so much fun! I usually start with a template and go from there but this time I relied on the beautiful papers to guide me. I started from scratch and created it all on my own. We were encouraged to go with the theme of focus by designing a page that shows evidence of something we have been focusing on in our life lately. As I have mentioned before, with taking a parenting course I have really been focused on my children and what kind of mom I am each and every day. This really was fun but I am also nervous knowing that someone else will be looking at my page and seeing what I have done with their materials.

Cayden's Digi Pages

For Home Economics Cayden was given the assignment to create a 10 page 8 1/2 x 11 scrapbook about himself. He had to spend at least 8 hours with family members on the project and include things like journaling and titles. After I mentioned to him that he could design the pages on the computer he was all for it. So with my guidance Cayden produced 10 pages that are all him from start to finish. It was interesting to see how particular he was about choosing his template, photos, papers and fonts. He loved learning how to use Adobe and he was pretty proud of the results. I loved the hours we spent working together on the computer and I thought he did a great job on his pages.