Potpourri

You know how in Jeopardy, they have the category called "Potpourri" where it's basically the dumping ground for any leftover questions from any number of random categories in games past?  Well, consider tonight's post, the potpourri smorgasbord of random facts and photos from my phone.  :)

• First off, earlier in the summer, Ethan took it upon himself to learn how to shoot manually on my Canon Rebel.  It inspired SEVERAL photo shoots amongst the children -- with full-on props, backgrounds, costuming, wind machines (fans), and accessories in an actual "studio" they created in the guest room -- before it all came tumbling down with fighting and creative differences within the ranks.  Grace and Sophie broke off and formed their own competing studio and that was pretty much the end of that.  For one of my "Flashback Friday" posts, I'll have to showcase some of those masterpieces.  For now, here's a sneak peak of a Pinterest inspired photo shoot with Sophie blowing "confetti" out towards the camera.  Hahahahahahaha.

• I can't NOT document the most hilarious (and accurate) chat night conversation from our resident psychoanalysts, Grace and Sophie, regarding the kids' current phases of life that they're in, captured by Scott in a text exchange with his sister, Kristin...

{"....Last night's topic of conversation was our kids and what phases of life they are in.  They agreed on the following: Alex is feisty.  Jane is attention seeker.  Sophie is emotional.  Grace is sassy.  Ethan is lonely/excluded.  Ummm.  So I guess they are paying attention at life.  So there's that."}

• Sophie has some fantastically entertaining skills at making up believable (?) sounding definitions when we play the dictionary game.  As in, I can spot her definitions from a mile away (because they're such a string of nonsensical -- if not impressive sounding -- sets of words), but Ethan and Grace fall for them a LOT more than they'd like to admit.  Hahaha.  

 "DOLEFUL: Doleing the new nations in full formation!"

• Alex is the most chart-oriented kid I've ever met.  Unfortunately, we've been having (every night) middle of the night wake up calls for the Kindergarten boy, and it just needs to stop!  Thankfully, he is highly motivated by the promise of a new toy, and has slept in his bed every night since I drew up a new Sleep Chart earlier this week.  Apparently, he thinks things are going so well that he deserves a bonus.  Hahahaha.  When he woke up this morning, I said "Good job!!  You stayed in your bed all night long!"  His reply was, "I get two bonus smiley faces on my chart."  Hahahahahaha.  Okay, buddy.  Do what you gotta do!  And apparently, what he needed to do was give himself FOUR bonus smiley faces instead.  

• Possibly the most random tidbit on the list, but this Betty Crocker cookbook has been with me since my freshman year of college.  I don't make a TON of things from it, but I have to say -- everything I ever HAVE tried to make from it has been pretty good!  And as I was making Jane's birthday cake a few weeks ago, I realized it would be good to document my go-to recipes for "creamy cocoa buttercream frosting" and "cream cheese frosting," that I use from this trusty old Betty Crocker book in case I ever lose it.

 CREAMY COCOA FROSTING

1/3 c. butter

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 c. cocoa powder

2-3 T milk (I feel like I usually have to add a bit more to thin it out)

3 c. powdered sugar

 CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1/4 c. stick butter

2 tsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

4 c. powdered sugar

• And finally, I am 4 weeks away from running another half marathon!  I've been lucky enough to recruit a friend from church to run with me this time around, and I'm sure glad to have the extra motivation.  :)  I've been having so many issues with shin splint pains and plantar fasciitis, that I probably would have thrown in the towel on my whole training schedule and dropped out completely, if it weren't for the fact that I've already registered {and paid} for the race.  Thankfully, I've got a friend to keep me going and help the running still be fun -- even if there's NO WAY I'll get the PR I was hoping to get this time around.  Oh well!  That's life.  And there's always next time... ;)

SeQuoia and me after a 10 mile run a couple of weeks ago.

And that's a wrap.  Happy Friday everyone!!