Playing Catch Up Again!

So much changes in a short amount of time, I have since my last post started school! I am pretty excited about this new adventure. For one thing, it gets me out of the house for something that is just mine. What am I going to school for you might ask? Cosmetology! Wow, I bet that came of out left field for you all. I know, I know, what happened to the Event Planning, and opening my own bakery. Those goals are not gone, just put to the side to make room for what will add into the bigger picture in the future. I have always dreamed of having an all in one Event Planning, with a lot of things in house. So my thoughts are to have a Salon with a Bakery/Cafe attached. I always get hungry when I have to sit for 1,2 or even 3 hours getting a service done, how great would it be to be able to order a snack or lunch from under the dryer? And Event Planning, well that fits right in.
The boys are thoroughly enjoying school this year, and I am so proud of them. My oldest is reading spectacularly and really doing well in all his subjects, while Middle Boy is having a ton of fun in Kindergarten. He has of course acquired a new girlfriend this year. So fickle that one! But he has declared his undying love for now, and the promise of 100 kittens if she will marry him. She has accepted so I guess we better figure out where we are getting those kittens or work out a payment plan!
The Princess and I are enjoying some Mommy/daughter time. This is new territory for us, since one of her brothers has always been around. Its an adjustment to say the least! All in all though, I do enjoy her. She is super funny and full of personality. And nothing makes her happier then prancing around in a princess dress and bossing me around! She is a hard one to put in her place. How on earth do they learn to talk back at the tender age of 3?!?
So I believe I promised some pics from the Dragon Bash of 2010, and while I am a few months behind, late is better then never!

She's a Man-Eater...

We have been a busy bunch around here lately! Birthday parties, baby showers, planning our trip to visit cousins, as well as planning the Princess's 3rd birthday party. It is going to be quite the bash! This year, since she is STILL very much on a dragon kick, we are planning a Princess and Dragon theme, complete with a castle! I plan on having a "Dragon Egg Hunt", as well as a Slay the Dragon (Pinata) game! I will post tons of pics after the grand event!
The boys have been busy bike riding, swimming, and play-dating! Its great having them both home, although I am honestly looking forward to school in the Fall! It will be a whole new world for the Princess and I. I am planning on helping the boys over the summer with bits of school work to keep their minds sharp. TJ has been reading to me lately, and doing an exceptional job, only needing help with the bigger words. Hopefully all this reading aloud with TJ will also help Little Guy get ahead.
The Princess will have to have a different type of lesson this Summer it would seem! Even at the tender age of 2.5 yrs, she knows the kind of guy she likes! And up until the other day, she has chosen those unattached and still in grade school. Saturday, we were having a garage sale and the kiddos were playing outside when some friends of ours dropped by to say hello. Now the Princess is quite familiar with Ms. E, but I don't think she has seen her hubby before. And this time he had come with Ms E for a visit. The Princess came over and sized him up, Hubster and I thought for sure that she was going to play shy and run away, or yell at him. But Nooooo.... She reached up without a word, grabbed his hand and pulled him with her to play. Little Homewrecker! Ha! It was so funny, she saw him and decided he was hers! I guess its time to teach her what a wedding ring is...

Schools out for Summer!

Ok, lets give this whole blogging thing another go. Things have been crazy as usual around here. Although I think that if everything was calm and stress free, I would worry! TJ has graduated from Kindergarten and will be a big 1st grader come Fall. I am so proud of that boy. Super smart, and loves learning. Of course it helped a ton that his teacher LOVED LOVED LOVED him! Our Little Guy will be embarking on the scholastic journey for the first time this Fall as he takes on Kindergarten. That should be interesting to say the least. He is a bundle of energy, just as smart as TJ, but if he is bored or feels like what your saying isn't relevant, he tends to tune you out. Thankfully TJ's Kindergarten Teacher knows him and is actually looking forward to having him in her classroom.
The Princess is about to turn 3 at the end of July. She is such a beautiful baby, this past year she has grown so much, she charms you senseless and in the next instant is going with all the force of a Tornado. I don't know that I have ever seen so much personality in a 2 and a half yr old. I might be a bit biased though....
Summer time should be interesting. We just got used to TJ being in school all day and now he is home again. I think we are out of the rain cloud our little area of the world has been under for the past 2 weeks. Its supposed to be warm and sunny! Although, in the swing of things, I will not complain since we don't live in the Armpit of America anymore. There is next to NO humidity here. I think I can handle a little rain now and then. Plus Hubster and I love laying in bed listening to a good thunderstorm together.
Another fantastic thing I am loving up here is that somehow or another we seem to have more date nights then we have ever had! My next project is to get a Babysitting Co-Op started. I have several families interested, and just need a few more, so the sitting is spread out evenly. I think it would benefit this area so much.
I have also finally joined The Daring Kitchen! I won't be posting each months challenge here though, you will have to head over to http://www.poshbaker.com starting July 14th to check that out! I am excited to learn some new recipes and techniques. We have decided to put the bakery on hold for a couple of years so I can start working and save as much money as possible to have a down payment for a space. And what a great opportunity to build up my skills and conquer once and for all my nemesis, Fondant!
Thats all for now, hopefully I will be posting again soon!

Hit Me!

Blogging is really hit or miss for me. I get going and post semi-continually for a while and then forget, or get super busy, or feel like I don't have a lot to say. And then when I do come back, this is what I talk about!
To catch you all up, things are moving along so fast here. I can't believe its already April! Which means TJ has about 5-6 weeks of school left. I can't believe he is going to be done with Kindergarten soon. He brought home a flier in his folder the other day from school that was talking about Kindergarten GRADUATION! And the whole cap and tassel deal. I have to admit I teared up a little bit. But he has been doing so well! I am certainly proud of my big guy, who is growing up entirely too fast sometimes. He has learned quite a bit in school this year. Which surprised me seeing as its only Kindergarten, and the most I remember doing is lots of coloring and playing at different stations. TJ on the other hand is writing, doing some reading, and working on simple addition! Some of that we had worked on at home though. Together we have done some multiplication, and a little subtraction. I introduced him last night to word problems, he got it FIRST try!
And with TJ heading into First Grade in the Fall, that means that Little Guy will be joining the ranks of the gainfully schooled. Yep, come August, I will have 2 kiddos in school! Kindergarten and First Grade. Leaving The Princess at home with me! Although I would love to get her into a Preschool program 2-3 mornings a week.
Little Guy is super excited to start school, I am SO nervous he is really going to give the teacher a run for her money though. He is a smart one, just like his brother, and has such a loving and sweet heart, UNTIL he decides he doesn't like whats on the agenda for the day and goes rogue...
The Princess has morphed into a full blown Alpha Female! She takes nothing from no one! Don't get on her bad side either, she will tell you EXACTLY what is on her 2 yr old mind! Of course it doesn't help that she looks like a 4 yr old. I sense trouble in the future. She is going to be the girl in school that if you don't do what she wants, she will not be your friend. No one puts Baby in the corner... hee hee! At least I won't have to worry about her being bullied, just about her bullying others. Friends, I believe we have a Queen Bee in the making!
Our other big news for the moment is the Hubster will be making his way back home in about a week or so! Originally he wasn't supposed to be headed this direction until sometime in July. Thankfully he is no longer needed, a lot of military are coming home. Its a HUGE blessing. I honestly don't know that I could have made it much longer. Keeping a house clean, which has never been my forte, staying on top of 3 kiddos, grocery shopping, and what not, on my own, with very little in the way of breaks, has WORN ME OUT!! Seriously.
Something else I want to share real quick, and while I still think I should be getting commission for how many people I have gotten to start doing it, is the 30 Day Shred! (Shameless weight loss gloating to follow...) I LOVE THIS DVD!!! When I started, I was only doing it 2-3 times a week. Ok, so I didn't , and still haven't done 30 days in a row, BUT just doing that, I have gone from a size 32 pants to a 29! And on my way into a 27 soon. I have lost inches. I honestly cannot believe how well it works. I also decided to pick up Yoga Meltdown, another workout featuring Jillian Micheals. It is super fantastic! It left me feeling relaxed, stretched and worked out all at the same time. So I have been doing the Shred in the morning, and in the afternoon the Yoga. I am going to be shorts and possibly even swim suit ready in no time!! My goal is to be between a 2 and a 4 come September because I get to go on a cruise with one of my best friends.
Anyway, things are pretty good at the moment, and definitely looking up. I can't wait for my hubster to be home, this has been super hard and makes me appreciate so much. We truly are blessed!

Sophisticated Tastes

Little Guy is quickly approaching the big 5! And while he is still my littlest in size, his taste is growing up quite nicely. He loves Transformers so that became the obvious theme. Then came choosing a cake. Little Guy is much more sure of my talents in the decorating area then I am. Some of the cake designs he was looking at were so over the top, they made me want to curl up in the corner and cry just thinking about how to get a cake to look like that. We finally agreed on an Optimus Prime cake, and thankfully its not one of him standing up! The colors are fairly basic, blue and red, and some silver and black detailing. We went and picked up all the needed fondant, and accessories, ok, I admit I probably went overboard in that area! So last night I was looking at the photo again and realized we had never decided on what the cake flavor would be! It used to be that when I would ask Little Guy a specific question, I would get a very random answer. "Little Guy, what would you like to eat?" and his answer would be "TOASTER!" No, he didn't want toast, he just loved to say random silly things. So yesterday when I asked him what kind of cake did he want, as in taste, I was very surprised when he thought for a minute and then said Chocolate Peanut Butter!
Then came a much harder question, what did he want for his birthday dinner? Of course I eliminated the obvious choice of pizza because it feels like we have eaten that quite a bit lately. I was waiting for Peanut Butter and Jelly because thats what he wants to eat all day long! Instead he shouted MEAT! Ok, well that encompasses a lot of territory. What KIND of MEAT?! Roast. Little Guy wants a Roast, with baby carrots and potatoes, corn on the cob, rolls, and a Chocolate Peanut Butter cake.
Ah, almost 5, and my Little Guy is becoming a Gourmand!

More Then Meets The Eye....

So far, I have spent this morning cleaning. And you would think that as much time as I spend picking up, and cleaning, this house would be spotless! But I guess when you have 3 kiddos who are still learning the fine art of cleaning up after themselves, thats not going to happen anytime soon!
This week I have been pretty busy, and its only Tuesday. Posh is finally starting to get noticed again. Its hard work getting it back on its feet. I have had a few emails of people looking for quotes as well as my first international intern applicant! This sweet girl from France wants to intern with Posh Celebrations and learn how to be a Wedding Planner. Which I have to say kind of cracks me up. From the very beginning, I have always seemed to attract a wealth of job applicants! Or girls calling to be my intern. When we lived in Jacksonville, it was a weekly thing. Resumes coming in the mail, big thick ones that these girls had put time and effort and money into. Now if only I had that many clients pounding down my door! I just have to find the trick to flip that.
My Little Guys birthday party is Saturday, he has requested a Transformers one. A few weeks ago him and I sat down and looked up cakes online. I tried to only show him ones I thought I could manage. And yet I am STILL scared! Hopefully it will at least look passably like the picture! I wasn't planning on doing much decoration wise, a big helium Transformer Balloon, maybe a few streamers, and if we came across one, a Pinata. But when I was looking the other day around online, I came across this site that went into great detail of this Transformers Party a girl had thrown for her boyfriend (I bet he was VERY grateful!) It had some great ideas! So now, there will be red and blue balloons all over the basement floor, a pinata, streamers, and I think I might make a collage on one of the walls of lots of pictures of Transformers. Now if I can only find someone to take the kiddos out of the house so all that can happen....

The Best Thing I Ever Ate

Which is saying quite a bit, because I eat a lot! If I was going to be on Food Network, and someday I will be! I would be talking about this dish....

Smoked Mozzerella and Sundried Tomato Risotto, with Panseared Flank Steak. This was AMAZING! Seriously. The flavor was right on. I didn't have any shallots on hand, so I used red onion. It was still delicious but I think next time I will use shallots and caramelize them. Make sure that you also get a good quality smoked mozzerella, it really rounds out the risotto. Is it wrong I want to warm up my leftovers already and eat them now?

For the steak, I heated up about 2 tblsp of butter on high heat, so that it bubbled up and started to brown a bit before I tossed the Flank Steak on the pan. And seared it quick! And then let it rest for like 10 minutes. Oh it was SO good!! Definitely will be making this again in the very near future...

Why do I feel like I suddenly have nothing good to say?! This morning, I randomly went to my email because I need to get in contact with someone about an image for my new business cards. And saw to my great surprise that I had 2 NEW comments!! Woo hoo! There are new (are you new?) readers!
I was so excited to come and post something for you all to read! So far, I have written and deleted 2 times. Oh the pressure....
This week I put all my effort into working on new plans for the Bakery, which of course made everything else I do fall to the wayside. The house managed to remain standing inspite of my best efforts to ignore the mess. Truly, I can't let it go, I have a supergirl complex. I SHOULD be able to clean, do laundry, take care of my kiddos, cook delicious meals and desserts, and fullfill every other obligation I may have for that week. As well as find time to workout, find better ways to market both my businesses, network, and meet with clients! Doesn't mean it all happens though....
Right now I am super blessed because a good friend of mine, who is in school at the moment for a business degree is helping me with marketing ideas, and has really given me some FANTASTIC! stuff. Honestly, I can't wait to see how it all plays out, get some new clients and finally be able to offer my workshops I have planned.
Cooking wise, I jumped in feet first and made Bouef Bourguinon. What a process that was! Really, if you should decide to make this dish, its super time consuming. Since the Pearl Onions (I used shallots!) and mushrooms can be made ahead of time, I started those around lunchtime. The entire dish wasn't ready to eat until about 8pm! Of course, by that time, I was so hungry, I decided to eat a piece of leftover pizza beforehand. Along with it, you can prepare potatoes or buttered noodles. The whole process was so exhausting it just didn't happen that night. I did try a little of it, but wasn't too terribly impressed. It was pretty good, but not spectacular. The next night I decided to try it again, this time with the noodles. OH I am SO glad I did! I guess letting it sit overnight in the fridge let all the flavors really come together. It was SO YUMMY!! And the shallots I used in place of the Pearl Onions were amazing. I had cooked them in some butter very quickly over high heat, then braised them in some white wine. So worth it!! If any of you are interested in the recipe, I would be happy to put it in another post.
Oh,I believe I promised you all a link to my baking with Pillsbury adventure! Its called Little Miss Bakes A Lot! I think today I am going to make something out of the Chocolate one. Purely for testing purposes of course...
The other place I blog is here Look out for a name change there though. The name Little Miss Bakes A Lot has recieved a ton of good comments, so I am going to change the name of the Bakery to it!
I can't wait to hear what you all think!

Random And More Random

I see a recurring theme here. I blog regularly for a while, get busy, forget, feel bad and come back and start the cycle all over again. I can't seem to find a groove. Honestly I don't think I am bumming anyone out by not being here, anymore then someone being elated when I do write!
Why the heck do I keep coming back then? I like to write. Not that I am much good at it. At least not on here. In my head, I have great posts that form. I think, "Hey, that might actually be interesting!" Then busy-ness sets in, I forget, and when I do sit down to write, I draw a blank. Or I ramble around saying a whole lot of nothing. Which is worse? My other problem is I am afraid to get long winded. So I try to shorten it up, and its never quite as good as what my brain is trying to say.
Anyway, what have we been up to since November? I believe that is the last time I actually blogged anything. The kiddos and I went to Arkansas for Thanksgiving. The Hubsters mom (from here on out known as Mamaw) flew up so we wouldn't have to drive by ourselves. Which was great and such a blessing. Its not a trip to be taken lightly, especially with little ones. We had fun seeing the scenery as we drove, joking about road signs and various tourist traps. And of course its always great once the cousins and Aunts and Uncles get together. I discovered one of my favorite Thanksgiving foods is Sweet Potato Casserole. Its basically orange heaven in a dish. There is a veggie (is a sweet potato a veggie?) in it, so it must be healthy. Yep, no guilt here!
In December, we had our first snow storm of the season. I am well aware my intense love of fluffy white stuff falling from the sky and piling up on our walk and around our door makes me weird. Its just so pretty, and yes its cold, but thats what the indoors are for! I can enjoy the silently falling snow while snuggled down on the couch. Of course then we promptly flew to Texas for Christmas break. Let me just help anyone who is contemplating flying alone with 3 or more children aged 6 and under make up their mind. Don't. Do. It. I apparently had a serious lapse in judgement when I thought flying with my kiddos would be easy. Don't get me wrong, we had a fun and very nice Christmas in Texas, it even snowed on Christmas Eve, providing us with the first White Christmas there in over 80 years! It was wonderful being surrounded by family, especially with the Hubster being deployed to a certain sand filled overseas locale. However, while my 2 boys did well for the most part, the Princess showed every ounce of her 2-year-old-ness. Which is to be expected. She didn't want to sit, she was a bit noisy and wanted to see everything. I chased her through airports, occasionally she would let loose one of her ear splitting screams. Trying to keep her occupied was just too much for one person.
We ended up having about 3 Christmas's altogether. One in Texas, the second one when we got back, I didn't give the kiddos their gifts until we got home since I certainly was going to cart them cross country with us. We also had a friend and her son come for Christmas dinner. And then of course once the Hubster came home for his vacation time.
Which is how we wrapped up these past couple of weeks. It was amazing to have him home, even if it was only for a short amount of time. Its never enough. And won't be until he is home for good.
For the weeks to come, I am not going to make any promises on updating here. I have the Bake Shoppe blog I need to catch up on and make that more of a priority. I am also thinking of embarking on a cooking adventure. My mom has collected for years those Pillsbury cookbooks you could pick up at the checkout counter. And once my sister and I got married, she divided them between us. So needless to say, I have a couple of 'em. And I don't think I have ever looked through all of them. My sister simply gave hers back since she doesn't use them. Easy enough for her, she lives in the same state! I have a box full of them and being a clinically diagnosed pack rat, I am loathe to let them go. At least until I can figure out if I would utilize any of the recipes in them.
So heres the plan: I am going to work my way through them, all of them. 2 recipes a week, maybe more if I can get a good groove going. And then blog about them. They have everything from beverages to desserts and everything in between. The only thing is, it will have to be on another blog. Once its up and running, and I have cooked, documented, and posted the first one, I will post a link here! Hopefully you all will follow along!