If you give a mom a muffin.......

At our house we are big fans of Laura Numeroff''s books.  We especially like If you give a Mouse a Cookie, If you take a Mouse to the Movies, and If you give a Moose a Muffin.

My SIL recently sent me this mommified version of If you give a Moose a Muffin and I have to admit it is pretty darn cute.

If You Give A Mom A Muffin

Original Author Unknown

If you give a mom a muffin,
She’ll want a cup of coffee to go with it.
She’ll pour herself some.
Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.
She’ll wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she’ll find dirty socks.
She’ll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry in the washer,
She’ll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan for supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She’ll look for her cookbook (”101 Things To Do With a Pound of Hamburger”).
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The check book is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old.
She’ll smell something funny.
She’ll change the two year old’s diaper.
While she is changing the diaper, the phone will ring.
Her five-year-old will answer and hang up.
She’ll remember she wants to phone a friend for coffee.
Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
And chances are…
If she has a cup of coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

the best strawberry cake. EVER.

The hubby and I both LOVE strawberry cake!  A few weeks ago I tried a new recipe for hubby's birthday cake and it was delicious.  If you love strawberry cake too then you must make this cake.  It's so yummy!!

{Please excuse my cake icing skillz.  Hopefully my SIL isn't too embarrassed by this picture.  She has mad cake skillz and is even friends with Mr. Fondant!! }

Cake:

Boxed white cake mix

3 oz package of strawberry jello

10 oz of frozen strawberries in sugar, thawed

1/2 Cup of vevetable oil

1/4 Cup of water
4 eggs

Icing:
7 Cups of powder sugar
1/4 Cup of butter
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 Cup of frozen strawberries in sugar, thawed

**{I think you might be able to cut the above icing recipe in half.  I had a ton of icing left over so I froze some to use on some cupcakes I'll be making for Valentine's day.}

In a large bowl combine the cake mix, water, oil, jello mix, eggs, and strawberries{with juice}.  Pour into two prepared 9 in. cake pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until done.  Let cakes cool completely before icing.

For the icing mix the powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, and thawed strawberries{with juice} until blended and smooth.


Enjoy!!

{I'm linking up to Jen's Tasty Tuesdays}

some tips. and tricks.

01:  If I find myself at Target with one of the boys {i.e. in a hurry} I will put a shopping basket in the back of my cart.  I mainly do this when I know I am purchasing a lot of smaller items  {toiletries, birthday cards, cleaning supplies, etc}.  That way when I go to check out I can just place my basket with all of the small items in it directly onto the little conveyer belt.  Usually by the time we are ready to check out and leave one of the boys is had enough of Target and one of us is about to have a meltdown {usually me of course!}  Using a shopping basket helps to cut down on the time I spend schelping items from my cart to the check-out counter.

  

02.   For  the last couple of months my hair has been looking pretty blah.  I am pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that I have had two babies within the last 2.5 years.  I think my hormones are still tying to regulate.  

One day I stumbled upon a post over at the PW.  Ree was talking about how her hair had changed and she had been rinsing her hair with a vinegar+water concoction to remedy the situation.  My first thought was," Hmmmm vinegar?  Won't I smell like a pickle?"  And my second thought was, "Well if the PW does it then it must be ok."  So the next time I washed my hair I tried out the vinegar rinse.  In between shampoo and conditioner I rinsed my hair with the vinegar+water mixture.  And you know what?  It left my hair feeling really clean, lighter, and shinier than before.  Since then I have been doing this about 1-2 times per week.  I would recommend using conditioner after the vinegar rinse or mixing a small amount of an essential oil into your vinegar mixture.  Both will help to eliminate the pickle smell.  For my vinegar rinse I use a large nalgene bottle {32 oz} and use one part warm water and one part distilled white vinegar.

03.  I have started keeping a swiffer duster in the glove box of my car.  Whenever I find myself in the car and have a few minutes to spare {the pre-school carpool lane, waiting in the drive-thru at Chick-fil-a, etc.} I bust out my duster and give the interior of my car a quick wipe down.  Of course I can only reach the front seat but still it's nice to have at least that part of my car clean and tidy.  {If you thought my post on bills, mail , and recycling was dorky I am sure you are loving this.  ha!!}

p.s. Apparently my topiary has gone international.  Click here and scroll down a little ways.  I really hope they aren't making fun of me in Italian.   Thanks Katie for the translation!! :)