Family Photos

It's been a very long time since we've had professional pictures taken of our family . I believe Hannah was only 2 and the twins were just starting to "bake in the oven." So, I guess we're looking at a good 5 years. Yikes. Way overdue.

Last month we finally got the chance to have them taken. We wanted to get them done sooner, but we had to wait for Emily's black eye to go away. That's another story, though. Anywho, I had all 4 girls in their outfits, hair done, and practiced smiles in place. We were ready. The photo studio is close to the church my husband works at, so he just met us there.

To make a long, drawn out story somewhat shorter, we finally got them all taken. Grace and Emily were all smiles the whole time and Hannah Boo was such a ham....sometimes smiling a little too much :) Lyndsey, our oldest, shed some tears before our family shots were taken, so we didn't have too many to choose from where she was smiling and didn't have red, swollen eyes. Oh well. Eventually she warmed up and we got some awesome shots of the 4 girls.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorites.

Stylin'

I wanted to post this last week. Guess I forgot. Better late than never.

Sometime last week, I told the twins to go upstairs and get dressed after breakfast. They usually ask what they should wear, but this day they didn't, and I didn't offer any suggestions. I thought they could handle this decision on their own. Gracie did pretty well picking out her attire for the day. The colors probably weren't the combination mommy would've picked, but some battles just aren't worth fighting, ya know? ;) I waited for Emily to come downstairs so I could see her outfit of choice. Emily has a style all her own. Exhibits A and B....

Man, I love that girl of mine! She's got spunk!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

I found this recipe for coffee cake a few years ago, and it's become a staple in our house. It's not really made "from scratch," but does taste like it. I always have the ingredients on hand, so it's super easy to throw together. Hope you like it!

Ingredients:

1 (18.25 oz) package yellow cake mix

1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix

1 (3.4oz) package instant butterscotch pudding mix

4 eggs

1 cup water

1 cup vegetable oil (I always use 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce to cut down on the oil)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts (pecans are yummy too)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease either a 9x13 inch baking pan, or a 10 inch bunt pan.

In a bowl stir together the cake mix and pudding mixes. Add the eggs, oil (or half oil and half applesauce) and water, and mix until blended. In another bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Pour half the batter into pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with half the nut mixture. Cover with the rest of the batter, and sprinkle with the rest of the nut mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes. Let sit for about 10 minutes after baking.

Enjoy!

My Name Should Be Forgetful Fran

Okay, it's been one of those days. And as you can see by the time this was posted, it's not even close to being lunch time yet. I can only hope this day goes uphill from here. Sigh.

I have forgotten (or nearly forgotten) all of these things today. Hang in there, it's a long list!

• I forgot to set my alarm last night. My hubby gets up early for elder meetings on Friday, so he wasn't around to wake me up either. Needless to say, I woke up about 15 minutes late and therefor set the stage for the rest of my blunder-filled morning. Read on if you dare...


• I forgot to put coffee beans in the coffee maker before turning it on. I noticed the grinder sounded weird when running, but didn't really notice it until my brewed coffee looked strangely like water.


• I forgot today was hat day for Lyndsey and Hannah at school. Fortunately my girls reminded me before we left.


• I forgot to grab Hannah's weather box (a project she's been working on for school that's due today) before heading out the door this morning. (I did remember it before we left our subdivision though)


• I forgot to make Lyndsey a ham, cheese and mustard sandwich instead of the peanut butter and jelly that was already packed in her lunch bag. After some tears (Lyndsey's, not mine) I made a second sandwich. Good news? I now have a PB&J sandwich made for one of the twins' lunches :)


• I forgot to grab my purse before driving the girls to school. Yes, I drove about 5 miles without my license. So sue me.


• I forgot to put on some "essential clothing" before taking the girls to school. I was scared to death I'd get in an accident and be taken to the hospital without this "essential" item. Way too personal? Sorry.


• I forgot to grab Hannah's spelling words before we left for school. It's a Friday morning ritual to do a quick review of her words during our commute, before her big spelling test. I forgot the list of words, and Hannah could only remember 3 of them. I am prepared to take full responsibility if she does poorly on her spelling test today.


• I forgot to go out early and scrape the frost off the van windows. Almost every morning I scrape the windows and have the van toasty warm for the 5 minute drive to the school. Taking the time to clear the windows only made us later than we already were! Aaarrgghh.


• Lastly (I think), I almost forgot the twins. Yes, it's true. I had Lyndsey, Hannah, lunch bags, backpacks, the weather box, my coffee (the real kind) and myself in the van. The twins had been upstairs playing dress up while I was flying around like a crazy person. I did remember to put them in the van before leaving the driveway. At least I wasn't halfway to school when I remembered. Oy.

So, that's my day so far. Do you think I'm totally losing it? Oh, it's very possible, I assure you! I really need to get the twins dressed in something other than dress-up, take a shower, and head to the library and the store for some stuff I've been meaning to pick up all week. Oh, and I need to get the mail too. I've forgotten to check my box for the last two days now. Yikes! I really hope this is a phase... I'm too young for senility, aren't I?

Have a happy Friday, all!

*UPDATE*

It is now about 12:45 in the afternoon and I can truly say, this day hasn't changed course much. I'm at the point where I need to laugh about the events of my day, or otherwise risk losing my mind. A few minutes ago I said to Emily "Em, Mommy has lost her marbles! What should I do about that?" Emmy's reply: "Find them." I think this pic sums up how I've felt since waking up this morning. It's good to laugh :)