adios, summer!

adios, summer! i won't miss ya! will might. but not me.

another rainy day

but a very fun one. today was such a fun morning! turns out the frowny cake was actually kind of delicious. so that's good. mom came over and brought abby her present, some new clothes and ***5*** new pairs of shoes. 4 for dress up and 1 for real. she LOVES them all. then mom proceeded to paint my hallway (thanks mom!). then destiny and baby christian came over bearing gifts for me for no good reason (thanks des!). and the kids played in the rain. and will went home with nana. and the new tv shows start tonight. isn't that all fun?! it's a good day. i'm about to bake some sugar cookies. me and jorja have a cookie painting play date tomorrow. oh, yeah.... and on the baking front, the pie contest got moved back a few weeks. now it's in mid october. yay! so that changes the game. i was going for an icebox cake, but i specialize in fall-ness. so that's why i'm going to win with a fall pie. first up, apple cranberry pie with an oatmeal struedel topping. yum.

september is officially bad baking month

my kitchen looks like this. my cake looks like this. my face even looks like this. not really. i'm actually kind of laughing my butt off at my own misfortune. this month has brought on a round of wild baking. i love baking in the fall. but this just isn't it. i've got a few more adventures in baking in the next week, and after that.... more pumpkin creme pies. i'm a one trick pony.

but just to recap said misfortunes, the month started off with the announcement of the annual pie baking contest. this is the one time all year that i make a pie. that pie clearly should not go in a competition. but alas, i have spent hours scouring the net for innovative recipes. thus far i've tried a coffee and peanut butter craziness, a regular peanut butter mediocrity, a strawberry lemonade pie, a buttermilk pie, and a peach cream pie. some of them more than once. i just want a ribbon. if i had a ribbon i would frame it or wear it or something! but that's not going to happen this year.

today i thought i'd make my mama a birthday cake. this is the result. it was supposed to be a red velvet cake. but did you know that there is all kinds of insanity involved in those. there's actual chemistry. you have to bubble vinegar and baking soda. and you have to make this whacked out paste of cocoa and red coloring. and apparently the only reason red velvet cake is red is because someone just decided it should be that way. next time mine is going to be a blue suede cake. anyhoo, the frosting was weird. and i'm just not liking it. so the frowny face. it made me smile. :)

abby is 2!

can you believe it?! now i'm one of those annoying people that says, "it goes by so fast". well, it does. i can't believe it's been 2 years since i met this child! she's been around for a while now. so here's how her birthday morning went down. she woke up to find her big toy, a cozy coupe, and loved it! unfortunately so did will. then she opens her gift from will, a little puppy with a wiggly tail. she loved it. unfortunately so did will. then they watched a new movie. nobody liked it. bummer. but cake time.... that was a hit. she's been wanting this barbie cake forever. let me explain a few things:

1. abby doesn't want much
2. this cake is on display at target so she sees it almost daily
3. abby doesn't talk much
4. she still manages to get all excited and point and get all animated when she sees it yelling "wook! wook, mama! wook!"

so we got it. and they called yesterday to say they only had a mexican barbie. sure, i say. well, abby was so excited. it seems that quincenera barbie is clothed modestly until you take her out of her cake and she's wearing this trashy get-up. it's hilarious! anyway, happy birthday abby!!!!

stuff this week.

the kids are just doing their kid thing this week. naps are getting fewer and further between. i've retreated to the kitchen to test out one million pies to find one suitable for a contest entry in two weeks. so far i've made 4 completely mediocre pies that don't really warrant a second slice. will ate a whole slice of peanut butter pie today and then announced (as he headed to the fridge to drink a gallon of milk straight from the carton) that it "taste-es a little bit disgusting". and my ever supportive husband is doing his best choking them down. and now for this week in pictures.

pico is getting some true real flight feathers. see those blue ones? that means he can fly! but he doesn't really know that yet.

mr. man playing on the tire swing (undies, of course). our fantastic neighbors, the serokas, have once again blessed us with their boys wonderful hand-me-downs. will thinks they are so cool and he always loves having something that belonged to adam and austin.

this one represents abby turning into a female. she's dressing up a bit now. i'm not going to lie. it's fun. i was never really all that big on playing with dolls, but i could get into playing dress up with my girl.