Tires, Treats, and Tantrums

Well, I went to post a status on Facebook saying something like: *Mmmm... Pumpkin pie with the Christmas lights on. Much better than the screaming that was going on earlier.* Then Lucas started screaming. I had put him down for bed, and he seemed to go down just fine - it's after 9 pm and he didn't get a nap today - but after a few minutes there was more screaming. There was screaming when we got home, screaming during dinner, and Via screamed almost the whole time I was trying to change the tire. Yep. I got a flat on the way home. Good times. Lucas actually slept through that, surprisingly.

The car started driving/sounding funny after I got off the highway on our way home from work/daycare. Oh, boy. Thank goodness it was only a flat! Luckily I was close to a parking lot, so I made it to there and dug out the donut and jack. I got the car jacked up and two of the four bolts off before a man stopped to help me. I was grateful for the help, but it was nice to know that I could have done it by myself if I had to! Next time... :/

I definitely think it's bed time. It was a long day. Kind of. Now, it seems like it went by fast, but it felt long during the day and was a little taxing. And yesterday was very taxing. So, I think it's time to take the contacts out, turn my heat blanket on, and climb into my very comfy bed. I think it's been missing me. We have trouble parting in the mornings lately.

I figured I should at least blog a little since it's been a few weeks... again. I was feelin' pretty good about starting that tire by myself, so I figured that was sufficient blog material. Hopefully I can get some more blogging done this weekend in between Christmas shopping, house cleaning, and studying for my certification exam on Monday. Ahhh!! I'm so scared. More on that later... Goodnight, all!

Cake-tastrope at Midnight

Holy moly, it has been 11 days since I last blogged. Where did the time go?? I know I've been meaning to blog Via's birthday for a few days, but man! I must be super busy or something ;)

Anyway... I came home Monday night from work - the day before V's first birthday - and started making her cake. I only bought one 8" round from the dollar store because I was too cheap to buy 3, so I spend the whole night baking three separate pieces for her cake. I also baked a carrot cake to make cake pops. Well, I figured out how to get cakes to bake evenly. I tried three different things that I found on Pinterest (of course): 1. When the cake is done baking, if it has that mound in the middle - or in our case just on one side because I discovered either our oven or floor is slanted - cover it with a kitchen towel and gently try to smash it back down and make it even. or 2. Only fill the cake pan about 1/2 full so it all stays "in" the pan, not raising over the rim. or 3. Cut a cloth to the height of the pan and long enough to wrap around it, soak it in cool water, wring out so that it's not dripping but not enough that it will dry out too quickly, then wrap and pin it around the outside of the pan.

The first tip worked okay. I got a little more evenness out of them after smushing; the second tip didn't really work for me, but my oven is jacked, so it could just be that, but... the third tip worked like magic!! Who knew?? Not me. If you know me, though, I cook. I don't bake. (I really don't even cook much right now, but that's a different story.) I'm not a cupcake, brownie, dessert kind of baker. I like pasta and chicken and soups. Anyway... super cool tip! Try it out sometime :)

Well, once I had all three layers *evenly placed one another, I started to frost. And it was a disaster. I don't frost, either. I smother... in gravy and cranberry sauce (can you tell I'm excited for Thanksgiving?) I started frosting with some of the Wilton's tube stuff. Definitely not what I was going for. Wrong frosting/icing/whatever, wrong tip, wrong color. Blah. So, it's about 11:30 pm on Monday night when I decide to go to Wal-Mart to figure out this cake-tastrophe. So glad we live in Pocatello now where things are open all night :) I got different frosting, found the right tip, felt good about it, and took a huge leap in planning to do it right before the party after work the next day. It worked!! Turned out as well as I had expected. I was expecting magical perfection because I'm well aware of my confectionary skills, but it turned out! See???

That's the crappy side. Don't know why I didn't get a better pic of the top... The color was a lot cuter and brighter in real life, too. The picture greyed it a bit.

Looks better from this side... not a complete Pinstrosity! 

Overall, I loved it; Via, not so much. She wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Lucas was like that as well. Apparently my kids just don't like being messy. At least when they realize they're messy, because, let's face it... my kids are messy a lot. Via was also tired, too, so about halfway through the party she decided she could cry if she wanted to!

My grandma sent some frosted animal cookies as part of Via's birthday gift. She liked the cookies much better than the cake. Did it bother me? Surprisingly, no. I was a big girl and realized the cake was really mostly for me and my pictures ;) And she loved those animal cookies so much I just couldn't be upset... they also made for great pictures... 

Yeah, that's a cookie stuck to her shoulder... 

Despite being tired, I think Via had a lot of fun :) She played with Grandma Dawn and Grandpa Terry, Daddy, Lucas, and I even got a quick picture with her when I wasn't behind the camera!

I just love that face :)

"What are you doing eating my cake?"

It was an emotional day ;)

All in all it was a great first birthday for Little Miss! Family, friends, food, and a tutu!!

"Oh, I knocked it over?"

New boots from Gma and Gpa

Cleaning Day!!!

My friend posted this e.card the other day... I related very well! Except I didn't dust. I'm not a big duster... whoops. 

I busted out the Christmas music yesterday after nap time and got to work on my house - finally!! (I went to a Holiday Super Saturday in the morning so I was in the mood!) I spent 9 hours cleaning, organizing, washing laundry - my sweet mother-in-law came over to play with the kids but also ended up helping me fold the laundry :) - and I was exhausted when I went to bed! (But could I get to sleep? Of course not. Meh. Different story.) Anyway, it got to about 9:30 pm and each time I looked at the clock I kept thinking, "It's really only like 8:30, though. Thank you, daylight savings!" I finally quit around 12:30 (non-daylight savings time), and I got a back rub from my hubby for all my hard work ;) He did help by taking Lucas to his mom's so they could watch the Boise game. That meant I got Lucas's room cleaned, organized, his sheets changed and his clothes put away. It's messy again already, but whatever. At least it's not trashed with a ladder in the middle of his room anymore.

Today, after nap time, of course, I got around to making more laundry detergent. I am trying out a new "recipe"where I didn't have to sit there and grate soap :) And it's liquid. I tend to like liquid more. Seems to disperse better. Hopefully it works, because I made three bottles of it. Best part, though - even if it doesn't work - is it's cheap! Not sure exactly how it compares to the powder kind I was using... I use less of the powder, but each Fels Naptha bar is about $1 and usually use 3-4 to make a big batch. This recipe uses Dawn dish soap (weird!) and I made my three bottles for about $0.30 worth of Dawn. With the Dawn, it's just Borax and washing soda (and water) for pennies! I'm a little excited about it! But, now I have no laundry to wash because I washed it all yesterday!! Don't worry. I will find some. There's always laundry. Always. I do have a few things to stain-treat still. That'll work :)

Anyway, that was my SUPER Super Saturday. Because we are literally considering hiring someone to clean during the week. Because I don't clean much during the week. And the mess makes me sad. But not sad enough to clean it during the week haha! Once again, this working mom thing is kinda hard! I'll get used to it someday :)