This is just a simple cupcake recipe, I used strawberry, with cream cheese frosting (from a can!) that I added some red food coloring to. The decorations are simply red cookie icing in a tube and red and white sprinkles. I just thought they turned out beautifully on my cookie platter!

Ready to bake!

Porter says, "Yum!"

Gracie and I were playing Gassy Gus this morning and I stepped away to get myself some more coffee and with a quick adjustment by her, Gassy Gus became Perv Merv. I now know why they state so adamantly to “TUCK IN GUS’ SHIRT BEFORE PLAYING!”

So… I preemptively started getting the kids ready for bed at 7 tonight instead of 8. I was super impressed with myself because I realized at around 6:30 that my kids were exhausted and that they couldn’t tell time. Therefore I could technically put them to bed whenever I wanted and they were stuck with it. I was Super Sneaky Mom and proud of it!

Putting them to bed wasn’t just selfish, it was three fold. 1) Porter’s been getting a lot of sweets at school lately due to the last week of school before Christmas and is getting worn out from all that sugar. I can tell because this kid usually gets up at 7:30am every morning but now I feel like I’m dragging him out of bed each morning and yelling for about thirty minutes straight to “GET DRESSED… WE HAVE TO GO… STOP PLAYING… DON’T EVEN LOOK AT THOSE LEGOS!” 2) Gracie has missed her nap for TWO days in a row because of life/errands/issues so I wanted her to get a good night’s sleep since she’s had a slight cough and some sneezing. Seems like it was just a few days ago that she FINALLY got rid of the cold she has had since before Thanksgiving. It “seems” that way because it’s TRUE. 3) I wanted some time to myself. Eric has been doing some traveling but I always get wrapped up in the What Can I Get Done Right Now? instead of Why Don’t I Just Enjoy The All By Myself Time!

So I sat on the couch, turned on CSI and poured a glass of Champagne feeling all awesome and junk. I drank 1/2 a glass, got tired and went upstairs to take a bath. I get out of the bath around 10:30, get into bed, turn on my iPod to check email and here comes Porter…

Porter – Hi Mom!

Me – What are you doing up?

P – I was just wanting to see if you liked your shows you watched tonight…

M- Yes Porter they were fine…

P – Well good, here’s a Christmas story I wanted to tell you…

M- It’s a little late for that.

P – Well you are up, so it isn’t that late and it’s really short (HA HA HA – if you’ve ever heard one of Porter’s “short stories” you get that joke.

M – Can’t this wait until tomorrow?

P – Not likely.

M – Okay, whatever, I’m up anyways.

So he begins the Christmas story that involves lasers, gooey monsters, killer robots, Super Hero Porter and I believe a Christmas tree thrown in to make it actually a Christmas story.

Then he goes I think I hear Gracie on the monitor (we’re in my room) and I’m tell him in my best I-Know-More-Then-You-Because-I-AM-The- Grownup voice, “Porter, I just went over there like five minutes ago to turn it up b/c Gracie was coughing, I’m sure I could…..”

Gracie (on the monitor) – MOMMY!!! MOMMY!!! MOMMY!!!

Me – Dammit, you’re right….

I go in there and she’s not upset but it reeks of vomit and realizing this simultaneously as I walk across the room, I step into the pile next to the bed… then I have to do the half step hop on one foot over to the light to see what’s going on.

Lights up…

PUKE-TOWN!  YIPPEE!

So she goes, “Can I take a bath?”

Most assuredly.

Into the bath she goes, here comes Porter, “I WANNA TAKE A BATH!!!”

Me – NO – SHE JUST THREW UP, GO TO BED!!!

So into the bath with her, then I strip off the sheets I had just put on the bed, throw the pillow, I had just bought today from Costco and placed on her bed a few hours before, into the trash and remake the bed.

Back to the bathroom, get her washed, rinsed, dried, re-lotioned and downstairs for Nasal irrigation and some medicine to dry her up.

Is she traumatized? Not even slightly. She’s watching Dinosaur Train and giggling at every little thing while Porter shouts down from his bedroom “THIS ISN’T FAIR!”

Awesome.

I heard about these books from one of Porter’s preschool classmate’s mother. She raved about them and how well they eased the child into reading with excellent results. At around $11.00 per set of 12 books on Amazon.com: Bob Books, Set 1: Beginning Readers I was sold. They came in tonight and although Porter’s had a bit of reading in school and at home, I was so surprised to hear him read the first three books with almost no help at all!! I had no idea how well he was doing… I had been going to the store and getting a slew of books and expecting him to read them all. I think because I was mixing up the books so much, he was having a hard time staying on task. Regardless, he read tonight beautifully and was so excited that he cartwheeled off the bed and did a happy dance.  Not only that, he asked to borrow a flash light and I can hear him upstairs as I type this sounding out the words in the next several books! We are so proud of him and know that this was a great investment. Especially since we can start reading them with Gracie, who is 3, as well! If you’re interested, the link to the website is here: The Bob Books

Porter was a little under the weather last week from preschool and so we decided to lay low and not infect the other classmates. Because of this, we missed the awesome turkey project that the room moms graciously put together for each child. When I received my “bag of turkey parts” from my room mom I immediately took a look at the items, sighed -rolled my eyes, and sent her a prompt email! Taken in pieces, it made no sense but all together, it was perfect! Here are the list of items and then some pics of how we put it all together.

Needed:

1 large cardboard plate

1 small cardboard plate

several different colored feathers

2 popsicle sticks – I don’t know how they cut those notches in the sticks – but they are not necessary.

1 small triangle for the nose (can be wooden or construction paper)

1 wooden small ice cream spoon (see turkey pics – it’s the wattle)

2 goggly eyes

brown, orange paint

Circle of beige construction paper for turkey’s face

black construction paper top hat for turkey’s head.

First we painted the paper plates, the triangle nose, the wattle and the legs. After that dried over night we used glue all the pieces together and then inserted the legs and feather. Pretty simple but pretty cute!

Turkey Parts (already painted the plates, wattle and legs)

All Done! GOBBLE GOBBLE

Before we go to gymnastics we sometimes hit the playground if we have some extra time.

Playing with the Trio’s from Michael and Dotty from the kid’s birthday parties back in July.