"How to Get Out of Taking a Nap" by Benson Ryan

He woke up after only sleeping the first hour of his normal two hour nap-- so I told him he could lay in "daddy's spot" until it was time to wake up.

I laid down beside him and closed my eyes, peeking every couple of minutes to see if his were closed...
he was squeezing them tight, trying to fake sleep.

Once, when I peeked open one eye, he was peeking open one of his, and caught mine.

Finding this hilarious, he busts out laughing, picks up his head and kisses me on the cheek.

Then he laid his head back down, touched my noise with his finger and said,

"Mama... I think you're cute! :) "

You can have anything you want, kiddo. And you never have to nap again.

Well, for today anyway.

Boxes Rock.

T minus two days and counting.



Saturday is the BIG MOVING DAY and I've been packing up our life box by box.



I had to wait until he was napping to do the kitchen, because he didn't want me disturbing his "sheds." Excuse me for interrupting...



He's going to have fun in the MONTHS it takes me to unpack each of these!

Has your bathroom trashcan ever made you cry?

Mine did.
And I'm not kidding.

I picked up the bathroom trashcan, took it to the kitchen, emptied it, and got all teary eyed.

I thought to myself, "This will be the last time I empty this trashcan in this house."
Poor Benjamin. Just imagine to yourself what his week's been like!

Now, if that's what happened with the bathroom trashcan, you can only imagine my reaction to having Benson's beloved playset removed from our backyard.


We weren't here when the guys came to move it (we're keeping it at Grandmama and Grandaddy's until we find a house)

And so when we pulled up and saw it loaded on the big truck, I wasn't sure how Benson would react. (I was choking back tears!)

Of course, I was afraid he'd be scarred for life.

I walked him back through the gate into our backyard, which now sits completely empty...praying for the Lord to give me the words to be able to explain this to him...

he takes one look at it and says with excitement in his voice,

"Mama! We got a NEW BACKYARD!!!"

I'd say he's a pretty "glass half full" kinda guy.

Here's some snaps from the last hoorah on the playset...

He loves fishing in his blue kiddie pool. It's like the ultimate.

What is this face? This is a new one...

I know this face... This is the "mama, I'm NOT READY to go in face..."

A special thanks to the Brown Family for the cool "like a tractor" sweatshirt featured in these pics :)

Ohh.. and this pic reminded me of a story... I'll tell you about it tomorrow.. today.. I've got some packin' to do...

The Eating of the Valentines Cupcakes

If you missed it, be sure to check out the first part in the Valentines Cupcakes series

"The Making of the Valentines Cupcakes"

It'll keep you on the edge of your seat.

Before you eat cupcakes, it's a good idea to ice them. I mean, you don't have to, but lets face it, they are much prettier and tastier that way.

And again,
Apparently, some people make their own frosting, but I don't know how to do that...
So I generally stick with Betty. Or Duncan.

but, of course I have another little secret so that I can pretend to be a wonderful cake maker like some people i know...

whip it.
whip it good.

Not only does it make it more appetizing, but beating the heck our of your icing just about doubles the amount of icing you have by adding some air fluff in there.. or some technical something like that...

And another nice little icing tip that I've recently learned, is to spread it around using your finger instead of a spatula or knife. It works like a charm. And can be used on cakes too! It gives you a little more control so can make the icing really pretty.

I can't talk about icing without recommending the best icing in the world. And, as much as I love Publix, the only place I've been able to find this in Lexington, is at Walmart. Ugh. I don't like going there, so this icing must be REALLY GOOD for me to make the trip in to get it.
It is. Trust me.
*note, Rainbow Chip is not to be confused with Funfetti- it's really a travesty to even mention the two in the same sentence*

mmmmm. yes, you will indeed be mine, you little scrumptious goody, you.

As will you...

And you...

You just can't beat a Japanese steakhouse for a fancy, three days after valentines day, Valentines Day celebration.

There's no wait if you wait! :)

I digress...

There's a proper way to eat cupkaes...

And he's really got it down pat...

We hope your Valentine's Day was a delicious as ours :)

The Making of the Valentines Cupcakes

I had a very willing helper when I was making valentines cupcakes...
although, I think he had ulterior motives...

Apparently some people make cupcakes from scratch.
I don't really know how to do that-- so I generally stick with Betty.

Although, I do have a little secret to add some "umph" to Mrs. Crocker's cupcakes...
instead of water, I add pudding. Already mixed up, Jello instant vanilla pudding.
I use about 1 and 3/4 cups of vanilla pudding instead of the 1 and 1/3 cups of water it calls for...


and I like to put it in a tight sealed Tupperware and shake away instead of stirring.

I'm particular like that.

I also think that cereal should be eaten out of a cup instead of a bowl, but that's another post.

Although, around here, we're not too particular about some things...

I mean, really not particular...

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Has anybody ever used this silicone bakeware stuff?
I was a little skeptical at first...



Fearing my delicious baked goods would turn into unidentifiable blobs...
which they did...



But when I cut the tops off, you could kinda tell a little better what they were supposed to be...



And then I learned my lesson... not to fill the cups so full...



Turns out, it was the Indian, not the arrow :)



But he didn't mind...



Check back tomorrow for the sequel of the valentines cupcake saga,
"The Eating of the Valentines Cupcakes"

To be continued...
:)

Rainy Day Rice Box

I have two sisters. When I found out we were having a boy, my first thought was, "what will we talk about? I don't know anything about what boys like!"

Turns out, it's easier than I thought.

It's amazing how, before he was old enough to say a word, or (I thought) even take notice of the world around him, he knew how to take a little matchbox car, drive it on a make-shift "road" and do the little bhmmm- bhmmm thing with his mouth that little boys (apparently) instinctively know how to do.

The answer to to my question:
Trucks.
Cars.
Anything with wheels.

Add some sand and he's
"Happier 'dan a tor-nado in a tray-lor park"
(to quote one of his very favorite trucks, Tow-Mater)

But rainy days...cold days... they put an end to the bliss that is the sandbox.

Until one day, at Sunday School, we were enlightened about the idea of a rice box. And now, no matter what the weather, he's content- for hours. And I'm not exaggerating. HOURS!

Here's the necessary ingredients:

If this rice looks a little funny to you, it's because it's short grain, brown rice- I had a big bag of it in the pantry that said it was best to be eaten before January, so it was designated as rainy day rice-- but any rice will do. :)




Where's Benson? (I'm in there too, if you squint really hard :) )

click to enlarge the image

It helps to have these on hand as well... for the ones that get away...

And after it was all said and done...
I'm so glad I had a boy-- well, at least this boy--
He brings so much JOY to my heart every single day!
I love being a mama to a boy!

Snephanie Abolis

Stephanie is one of the most thoughtful people I've ever known. She's forever thinking of others and looking for ways to make people feel special and loved. She's great at it!!

We were roommates freshman year at Clemson, and it was during that time that the name "Stephabulous" was coined... which.. I personally think she should legally change her name to, because it's much more descriptive of her actual personality.
Here's maybe my favorite pic ever of us :)


She knows how much Benson loves Curious George, so when she went to a conference a couple of months back and a medical company was advertising with these little monkey-head stress balls that look just like Curious George, she snagged a few for Benson. There's three of them, but the other two are playing hide and this one must be the seek-er.



He loves playing with his "Georges." When he was playing with them last week, I asked him,

"Benson, who gave those to you?"
And he replied,

"Adam and Eve!"
(Stephanie's Husband's name is Adam, so I knew HE knew what he meant!)



Today, before his nap, he wanted to read the "Merry Christmas Curious George" book that Stephanie gave him a few weeks back when we were finally able to sit down and catch up after the Christmas hustle and bustle.

(For some reason we've been on a Christmas book kick lately. Last night it was "A Charlie Brown Christmas"? Who knows...)

Anyway-- when I asked him who gave him the book for Christmas, he got a little closer than "Eve" this time...


We love you Snephanie Abolis!! :)

The last of the snow pics (snif.. snif..)