Baking and Basketball

I have assumed my nightly position in the rocker with my soon-to-be-too-big-to-fit-in-my-lap toddler (I can still refer to her as a toddler, right?  Or have we passed that point?).  And so it seems a fine time to update based on whatever random sampling of photos I might have in my iphone from the weekend. This is a perfect time to do it because I need a good reason to stop looking at Pinterest. If I had to keep count of the calories I have pinned in the past 24 hours, I believe we would be approaching the amount of the national deficit. And it would be one thing if I didn't actually formulate plans in my mind to make the recipes i have pinned--- but I have every intention of baking/making/AND eating every last one of them. And that, my friends, is why i will likely always have a weight problem. It is all Pinterest's fault. And has not a single thing to do with some faulty will power on my part. No siree. 

We had a great weekend this past week.  Jason and I got to go out for our Valentine's Day date on Friday evening to the Turkey Hill Brewery in Bloomsburg. It ended up being a triple date plus one adorable three month old...which was awesome. I had a chance to put my baby holding, baby swaying and bottom patting skills to good use and snuggled sweet baby Lincoln to sleep while his mama and daddy got to eat a hot meal, and after everyone else had had their turn. After swaying, walking and bottom patting all three of ours, it was like riding a bike. And I adored having a little one snuggled in my arms for just a little while. After a nice supper, we returned home to the house being a complete wreck, and three children who we assumed at least two of which would be asleep, but found none dreaming away in sweet slumber. Instead, Mara was in a meltdown and the others were overtired and over sugared and let's just suffice it to say the effect of our night out was essentially undone before we hung up out coats. Reality is cruel sometimes. 

Saturday morning was a baking morning-- which turned into a baking day. One of the firefighters in Jason's department lost a baby several months ago, and the house decided to do a spaghetti dinner for the charity Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep in the family's honor. And Jason volunteered me to make some desserts for them to serve.  I had decided on carrot cake cupcakes and individual pineapple upside down cakes, so I got to work early Saturday morning.  The picture below was just some of them. By all accounts they were a hit, so I was glad to have helped a little bit. 

 I feel like I should mention that I am uncomfortable with the snowman on the table in this picture. I am not completely certain about appropriate decor for the end of February. I am so entirely over snow and snowmen that I feel as though that's not the right option, but yet the white ground outside makes me feel like it isn't quite time for bunnies and chicks. If anyone knows the rules on this I would love to hear them. 

At some point during the afternoon the girls got onto a hair salon kick and set up their own hair washing stations a la salon in the dining room. I was actually pretty impressed with their creativity. Mara did my hair for no less than 3 hours on Saturday and Sunday. And I believe it looked just as good as when I do it. Which is precisely why the dear ladies at Advanced Skincare will never be out of work. God bless them and their knowledge of what to do with hair that is exceptionally gray for a 36 year old, and that is on the head of the biggest chicken on the planet Earth when it comes to making decisions or having ideas on what to do with my mop. 

Somewhere among all of this we went to Joshua's basketball game and even managed to catch some of Cooper's. Joshua had a pretty decent game, even though his team lost. But I am still loving watching his progress as the season goes on. (I must be truthful and tell you that this picture was from the week prior because all I managed to get this past weekend was a blur that could be any child, male or female, in a reddish blackish basketball uniform.)

Sunday was church and then THON watching as previously reported. And then we spent some time cleaning the playroom and doing laundry (you knew a post wouldn't go by without me mentioning laundry). I had planned for meatloaf and homemade macaroni and cheese for supper (aka my death row last meal request if ever I find myself in need of one), but Jason suggested that we take the kids out to Red Robin instead. And since I am not one to turn down a meal that someone else is going to cook and clean up for me, off we went. Turned into a nice night for us. 

So...now that Mara is asleep, and I have shared every mundane detail of the weekend, I am sure that you are also drifting off just out of the bore of it all. Sweet dreams.