saving something...

after our electric bill was yet again $150 - high by our standards since it is winter and we arent using the a/c and we live in a 2 bedroom apartment- we decided to try the whole unplug the tv, computer etc when not in use. we are hoping to lower our electric bill with the added side effect of helping not pollute the earth. oh wait- we already switched to wind power insead of coal power. thanks green mountain energy. it is generally more expensive but not so much more that it isn't worth it. so we are trying-and mostly succeeding in unplugging at least before bed if not when we leave the house and when we aren't using it. i will keep you updated to see if it works. we started just after we recieved our last power bill so we should see by the next bill. we actually just have powerstrips thet we turn off which is supposed to be the same as unplugging. so we will see...

kids

i like to see julian play with other kids. he seems to have a hard time approaching other kids but once he does, look out! he had to kiss his new friend goodbye today. it was cute but then i had to explain not everyone likes a goodbye kiss.
i love fridays. julian and my night. hanging out, eating popcorn, snuggling and watching movies. tonight we forgot the popcorn. he will remember tomorrow and ask for it or be mad that we forgot.
bedime
'night

it was.....
a psychic reading. and interesting, too. thats all i have to say until i have further digested the info. luckily it is on cd so i can listen again and again

what will happen...

tomorrow i am going for my birthday present from j. i am excited yet a bit tenative. what will happen? what will he say? what will i find out? will i be dissapointed? sad? freaked out? i will let you know...this is something i have wanted to do for a while and j was kind enough to do it for my birthday. thanks

forgotten

i forgot to mention that despite all issues, my cakes turned out great. i refrosted the chocolate to cover upp all the cake bits that were mixed into the frosting and the banana cake frosted like a dream. yummy. i never heard how t liked hers but i hope it was as good as mine. :)

ugh

ugh. work. need i say more?

this that and the other thing

so after arguing with a cake this morning i finally got it frosted but again, it isnt pretty. i gotta work on that.
i am now baking a banana cake. i had some leftover bananas and i just happened to bump into this recipe while searching for the cream cheese icing recipe. it seemed fated since the recipe calls for buttermilk. i never have buttermilk except to make the chocolate cakes that i made this weekend. so i had it in the fridge just waiting to be used.
i took ms m to her first day of school. she had a sick tummy this morning but after getting to school, she seemed better. she got to choose the "wheel" elective which switches her electives every 6 weeks. so now she has dance, then robotics then theater. she seemed pretty excited about that. i hope she likes this school and does well in it. i get to go pick her up at 330 so i can see how her 1st day was.
it being my birthday and all, i am going to treat my self to a no guilt lazy day with a side of afternoon nap. and the weather is perfectly crappy for it. thanks, god. i couldnt have asked for better weather to do exactly nothing.
on another subject- i bough julian some "sight word" cards. basically, they are cards with simple words on them and he memorizes them. he already knew I, yes, no and a. those are pretty easy any way. the box says ages 5 and up. but here is my theory. and tomk can let me know if these thoeries are accurate or not. words are symbols for real things (objects, movements, etc) just as a picture is a symbol for a real object. julian-and i am sure other kids- can already recognize more symbols than i even know. for example- he wanted to go to burger king for the mario toys they had there. so we are driving and he says "HEY!! theres burger king right by lowes!!!" i know he cant read but he recognizes the signs as symbols for those places. so why does he (or any kid) need to be 5 to start recognizing words as symbols? just like i wondered when he was younger, why can he recognize animal shapes and pictures more readily than just shapes like triangles and such. is it because of the more abstract nature of shapes or just that animals are more ineresting? because shapes can change size and color and dont really stand for anything other than what they are? or maybe kids are ready to start learning and recognizing these things before we think they are. or maybe not. i always wonder how his brain works. not just his but kids in general.
julian is lucky. he learns very easily. what he wants to learn, that is.
my banana cake is done. beautiful. smells yummy...
nap time...

so i have to say- all in all, the cake was good. i helped my self to a piece for breakfast today. and althought i still dont think the frosting was right and it was really ugly. it was good. no, it was actually really good. thanks to t for all the help with the cake and julian. j- you better come help me eat this!!

somewhere in heaven...

somewhere in heaven, my uncle jim is having himself a good laugh. my cakes, all things considered, turned out ok. i sent 1 home with t since she helped and for mr smith so he could enjoy some. so i had 2 rounds, a 9x13 and a pie plate cake left. we ran out of pans and had to use something for all the batter. after a minor over flow in the oven (we all enjoyed the cake boogers from the overflow) i tossed the cakes in the fridge and went to bed. today, i tried to make buttercream frosting and i am not sure what happened but it just was not at all how i expected. so i frosted the 2 rounds in to 1 cake and i am going to make cream cheese icing and frost the other cakes with that. it is all good, though, considering a) this was only the second time i made this cake and b) the first time i ever tried buttercream frosting. i think it may not get eaten but hey- at least i tried. next time, i am going to try a different recipe. i am not going to give up on this one until i beat it. so my cake is in the fridge, waiting to be eaten. it is UGLY. i am not a good cake froster and this cake was extra moist and fragile. but the cake tastes good. i think i will invest in some decorating lessons sometime soon...i dont care about the hearts and flowers and all that jazz but i just want to frost a cake without it breaking apart. if you live near me, i hope you are ready to eat more cakes while i master the mighty buttercream.

best laid plans

tomorrow i am going to create a birthday cake. or at least try. work, shop, hopefully nap then bake. but my life rarely goes as scheduled. i predict having to veer off this course at least once to do something more pressing. such is life. i will try to post pics of this work in progress. i have been looking forward to this project for about 3 weeks now so i hope it turns out as beautifully as i hope. wish me luck

mouths of babes...

today julian said to me "mama, i have another word for shit."
and i said "shit? thats a grown up word not a big guy word" (i can't refer to him in any way that means small or little with out him being deeply offended)
"but mama, i am just talking, listen. i have another word for shit."
"ok, what is your other word for shit" i am expecting something not good here,
" OOOHHH MAAANNN!!!!"
i guess that is another word for shit....

well, so i admit that no one probably really wants to read this but i am thinking of it as more like therapy or venting or a creative outlet. first i need to explain i dont use proper typing such as capital letters or punctuations (sorry to tomk- you know who you are) and my L doesnt awalys work and i dont always notice. this is a recent phenomenon. i will try to keep my posts positive since i try-not always sucessfully- to be positive. this blog is inspired by my sisters and friends so we can keep in touch with each others lives even if we don't always keep in contact. having said that, i want to say that i made some awesome lemon bars- thanks kraft food and family. baking is my past time/hobby/ what i do when i feel creative. coming soon- birthday cake. uncle jims recipe, i hope i can do it and him justice. this is all new to me but i am going to try to post photos. wish me luck!


so on another topic- how come no one ever told me cleaning is so much easier after a couple beers? i am not talking drunk but more like pleasantly relaxed and motivated. craziness.

next topic... i like big words and i am trying to teach julian big words. so the words for this post are "glorious" and "recalcitrant" which is to say: marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority or guidance. ( ok, i found that somewhere) julian just says "really really sassy"

be ready to read lots of "in the words of julian" since i spend 100% of my time not at work with him. he is a genius in the making. it is amazing to see a mind so open and ready and wanting to learn. i try not to mold it too much to what i want but let it mold its self and i just give it some suggestions and guidance. i strive to raise a child who is capable of using his own creativity and his own mind but is also open to others and their ideas. i try not to pass on my prejudices to him. i hope he can grow up and be his own person and not be a carbon copy of what we expect a child to be. it is really amazing to see how he affects other people and he doesnt even realize it- he is too young and innocent to realize it. i am sure most other parents feel this way about their kids but i am really in awe of him sometimes.

now i have to try to remember the url for this post so i can send it to the 4 people who may be interested in it. thanks for humoring me.