Spring break for the record books

So spring break was fun! Sort of! Ok not!! Started ok and ended really really bad. Went to the Texas museum in Austin, the kids really liked it. The kids were so off there sleeping schedule from the time change that everyone was messed up and staying up way to late, which equals cranky wild children.
On sat. we were working on the garden and then I went to start a fire in the chiminea to do hot dogs a marshmallows like we did on Monday, but this time I don't know what happened and the fire blow up my hand, I got second degree burns all over my fingers and a little on my hand and then just some first up my arm, I came inside and put a bag of ice on it, I felt like it singed my eyebrows so I went to the mirror and saw that my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes had all been singed!!! That's when I lost it and started to cry, my poor kids were all trying to comfort me it was really sweet. My hand was really hurting and started to blister on my fingers so I knew I needed to go to the hospital. So I called Justin's parents and they rushed over, Justin's dad took me to the urgent care while his mom stayed with the kids. There wasn't anybody at the urgent care, thank goodness cause my ice was melting and it was hurting! It started hurting so bad and then while they cleaned it and smeared cream all over I was shaking so bad I couldn't stop, it felt like it was still on fire. They give me some hydrocodine and that started to calm my nerves. Wrapped me up and sent me home. I only had to take the hydrocodine one more time and then just Morton. It still hurts but not a constant pain, once I went back and they drained the blisters the pressure was lessoned and it felt even better, I have to clean it and re wrap it ever day for 2 weeks, I don't like it it's disgusting. But there is a bright side there always is, it was 2nd degree, which is painful but will heal and its just one hand, could have been both or my face or something, it wasn't any of my kids, I would have just died if it happened to them, and I can still do things, I just have to work on making my left as strong as my right! I don't think I'll get my handwriting clear but thats what texting and typing are good for! And to top off the week our dog that we have had since he was 8 weeks old took off, I thought to die, he's 13 years old, but we found him a few days latter, thank goodness, I had to tell Justin and that was hard. Now back to school and hopefully a routine and healing and waiting for Justin to get home, forget about all the organizing I was trying to do!

How many more days???

Let's see, two and half down two and a half to go, he gets to come home 4 days earlier then planed, hopping to not go to Tokyo and getting stuck there, they better re route his trip or I'll be calling his work!!
So the run down for the last couple weeks goes a little like this- madden trying to change him self after he poops in his pull up, "mommy! My poop fell out!" on to the carpet not the concert that we have everywhere, me gaging while cleaning and bleaching it up, Zander spending the night at a friends house for the first time, Annalyse making everything out of duct tape, mommy cleaning bits of duct tape up from everywhere including the truck, rodeo day at school for Zander looking oh so cute in his duds, Annalyse with a more social life then me, mom cleaning glitter off the floor, mom cleaning poop again off the floor, mom wishing madden could just put poop in toilet, mom offering to pay madden a dollar if he does and yes he knows what a dollar is, baking like crazy cause I didn't here from Justin in 24 hours, went to the zoo, tried to clean house, stayed up all weekend with Maddens fever and Zanders cough, trip to he dr.-again, took a trip to Austin with five kids and grandma and grandpa, went the biggest whole foods in Austin it was like Christmas morning for me, had to rush through it cause we had kids not feeling so well, planted a few plants, tried not to kill the dog for eating my plant, tried even harder not to kill said dog for eating my Toms, almost got some ducks, still want a goat, brother had his second baby boy, still trying to get laundry done it's like a good nights sleep-never going to happen, still haven't got to organizing the office, roasted marshmallows with the kids, hate taking the garbage out to the street(our drive way is 250feet long), hoping the lawnmower starts so I can mow our grass that is growing, put some chicken poop around the strawberry plants hoping to get a good crop, feeling bad I used the word poop so many times in this post but that's what my life is about these days, haven't worked out in a week, wanting to make chocolate stuffed French toast and or donuts with peanut better filling and chocolate icing, despretly missing Justin, wishing there were a lot more good shows on tv, thank goodness for Netflix, woundering if Justin will get me the iPad 2 that just came out, thinking we probably have enough computers-pads-pods ect. That's what I get for marring an IT guy, loving it though, waiting to jump in the pool, waiting to burn that huge pile of brush in the back, not liking the fact that I can't find any cute clothes, probably should be going to sleep so I can keep up with the little monkeys tomorrow, thinking how funny that an Indian guy thought Justin was a giant and wanted his picture taken with him, bought 2 more cookbooks, woops you didn't see that Justin, one is a donut book might be trubble I have a weakness for them, wow that was long, good night.

Spring break= roasting marshmallows

Mom and MJ at the Zoo

Sorry about all the pics, daddy wants pictures while he is away.

Spring try outs

Zander Man!

Spring is my favorite

It really is! Time for outdoor play with our favorite friends, mowing the grass, finding beautiful peach blossoms and wandering around the zoo.

Chocolate chip cookie brownie

This didn't last long!! It's a cookie! No it's a brownie! No! It's both!!! And it is truly the best of both worlds, if you can't decide over brownies or chocolate chip cookies, make both!

Ingredients

Brownie layer

3 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
extra cocoa powder and nonstick spray or butter to grease and dust baking pan

Cookie layer

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
2 teaspoons cream or milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray 8 x 8 baking dish. Dust with cocoa powder and set aside. In stand mixer, add butter for brownies and brown and white sugar. Mix until light in color. Add eggs, scrape down sides and mix until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and mix well. Sift together cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and flour. Add to stand mixer and beat until combined. Pour into baking dish.

2. Rinse mixing bowl and beater and start with cookie layer. Add butter, white and brown sugars to stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and cream and mix well. Be sure to scrap down sides. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to stand mixer. Beat until well combined. Add chocolate chips and turn mixer on low until just combined. Spoon cookie batter over brownie batter.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until tooth pick comes out clean. My baking times are always shorter because I use the convection setting on my oven, which I love for baking, helps it brown more evenly and bakes faster.

Tangzhong-milk bread

This bread is AWESOME!!!!! I'm so glad I found this recipe, it is so different then normal recipes I had to give it a try, and they were right the texture is super soft just like the stuff you get at the store, and the flavor is fabulous! You have to try this!!
tangzhong

5 days down

Dreamed about chocolate, stressed about Justin flying so far away, had to dig splinters out of Maddens foot, couldn't get them all cause he was kicking and screaming, Zander tried shaving his legs, Zander cut his knee while shaving, baked a cake and a brownie Cookie cause I bake to relax, slept with a pile of clothes on Justin's side so it would feel like someone was there, tried to work out everyday, took Annalyse to dr. Today cause we thought her sprained wrist was broken, had dr. Dig splinters out of Maddens foot while I held him down, I think everyone in the waiting room heard him scream and cry, passed out this afternoon for almost 2 hours, madden took a long nap, I'm going to be up with him all night so it was a good thing I had a nap, let Madden have Hershey kisses for breakfast cause honestly I was just to tired to get after him for stealing them, so excited it's Friday and I don't have to get up at 6am tomorrow, even more excited that I have the sitter coming tomorrow so I can have a breather, hate the whole time thing trying to skype with Justin, looooove skype and whoever invented it, loooooove technology, really disliking the fact that gas skyrocketed to $3.40 a gallon, trying not to think of all the laundry I need to do, thinking more of what I can bake, so happy I paid someone to put our pool up we did it way wrong the first time, wishing it would rain a ton so it would help fill it up, looking forward to planting the garden, wanting to get a goat, Justin thinks I'm gonna get one while he is gone, my friend thinks I should get a tattoo while he's gone, I don't know which one would be worse for him to come home to, need to get new house phones, gotta wax the floors and shampoo the carpets, love that my kids are so awesome, wondering how many calories were in that giant bowl of comforting pasta I had for lunch, hoping in didn't cancel out my 2 mile walk this morning, I have great friends, I need a bath, also need a new mattress, I hope I can get the office organized, time to go sit in the bubbles and then rent a movie on iTunes.

The end