White Chocolate Marshmallow Cake Bar

You should make these.

Like right now.

They were eat-the-whole-pan delicious.

And I know, coming from me, that doesn't mean a lot.

What with the dessert-whore situation I have going on.

BUT, in all seriousness these were amazing.

And disturbingly easy to make.

And you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry! Bonus!

Here's the link to the recipe.

Just a few notes on how I operate in the kitchen:

I made them with the graham crackers (highly recommend).

I baked them in an 8x8 pan, as the original recipe suggests.

Of course, I used more marshmallows than the recipe called for...because I could...and when have you ever said, "I wish this had less marshmallow."?

I hope those words have never come out of your mouth - for then we shall not be friends.

Ah, but we are friends. And that is why I share this recipe with you.

Because you know you want some!

So, now you have to go make them.

Because you can't have any of mine.

There aren't any left.

I don't apologize.

Happy Baking!

Yep, Yep, Yep

Let's just get it out of the way and move on.

I haven't blogged in a very long time.

Look back at the last blog and the whole explanation is there.

Mom stuff...yadda, yadda, yadda.

Done.

Moving on.

Halloween!!

Ok, we're not big celebrators of Halloween in our house.

We're more fans of Jesus. You know how it goes.

But we have a little one. And what is cuter than dressing your child up in a ridiculously embarrassing costume and parading him out in front of strangers?

I submit there's nothing cuter.

Except maybe kittens in teacups. That's pretty cute.

But I digress. Halloween.

We took Pookie to the MOA for the...*insert dramatic music here*..."World's Largest Indoor Trick-or-Treat Event"!!

Ta da!

Not because he needed candy, or because we were particularly excited about trick-or-treating.

More because we didn't want to deal with the thugs in our neighborhood who don't understand that no lights on at our house means don't knock repeatedly on the door until our dog is about to have a heart attack and our baby is awakened from his early, but necessary 7 pm bedtime.

Yep, yep, yep.

So, we dressed the little one up like a monkey (VERY last minute CLEARANCE costume scored at Menard's on Sunday night!) and headed out to the Mall for some family fun and some dinner.

And we found both. And then some.

We also found lots of mom dressed in inappropriate costumes, toting around their inappropriately dressed children.

Awesome.

In all my stay-at-home-mom, turtle-neck wearing naivety I forgot that SOME women use this holiday to dress like...well...like ladies of the night...eh-hem!

Yep, yep, yep.

I have a few things to say about that ladies.

1. You are someone's mom. I'm not saying you have to pull out the chest-high jeans, but we don't all need to see HOW you made those babies you're carting around!

2. Lingerie is NOT a Halloween costume. It's not, I promise.

3. The only goodies I want my husband and son seeing have the names Milky Way and Snickers printed on them. So unless your backside and chest-ular area are stamped with these logos - put 'em away!
*And side note: Even if they ARE stamped with these logos - WEIRD - I still don't want to see them - and neither do my boys. Wear a coat. And some long pants. And maybe a scarf.

There, I think I've adequately outlined my thoughts on that.

Until next year. :)

Have a great Tuesday everyone. I'll try to get pictures up soon!

Pictures, Costumes, and More

"Somewhere, someone who is busier than you is running."

That's probably true. And, likewise, somewhere (all over) someone who is busier than me is blogging.

But I can't seem to get it done.

Ugh.

Most days I just feel like my day-to-day is just not interesting enough to post about.

Making meals, cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry...endless games of peek-a-boo.

These are things only a mom cares about.

And without beautiful pictures to document each process of my life - it's just words. And even though I love words, sometimes they are just not enough.

Words cannot adequately portray our life - in all it's messy glory.

So, here are just a few images of our life over the past few weeks.







We've been to the zoo, we've celebrated special events with family, took our first family trip to the park, and, as I mentioned before, had many days of "normal" in between.

And even though I don't have great pictures of much of it, I have great memories...and we've had great time together as family.

So, I'm going to have peace about it.

And then I'm going to take more pictures, darn it!

Get your act together, Katie!

Ok, I'm done yelling now. I think. Yeah, I'm done.

I'm off to print out a pattern for Pookie's Halloween costume and finish invitations for a dear friend's baby shower.

Craftiness will ensue!

Victory

I am sitting in between a laundry basket (that is hiding a wet spot from where I cleaned up cat puke on the couch) and a pile of clean laundry.

Both have been sitting here for more than 24 hours.

Not the cat puke.

That was a new surprise.

There are toys scattered on the floor, cat hair everywhere and dust layers on the bench in front of me.

But the dishes are done.

I'm calling that victory.

Oh, and my babe is sleeping...for the first time since 6 am.

I'm claiming victory for that one too.

The chicken has been removed from the freezer and just may be ready in time for dinner...once I figure out what dinner might be.

Victory.

I'm claiming little victories these days. It's easier than feeling defeated by dirty floors, piles of laundry and pancakes for dinner...again.

I'm trying to learn about letting go and accepting the fact that I cannot do everything.

Shocking, I know.

It's a rough lesson. And it's not my favorite. But I'm learning to embrace the chaos, because as the sign says...

"Please excuse the mess...we LIVE here."

And we do.

And we like it that way.

But, even with my new-found calm over the chaos I still wouldn't be heartbroken if our pets showed up bald one day.

I'm just saying.

MN State Fair on a stick!

Yesterday we went to the State Fair.

It was a perfect day of cool weather, delicious food and family fun!

And even though we walked through every building, toured the barns and watched a police dog demonstration, my day can be summed up in one word.

Food.

Oh, glorious MN State Fair food...on a stick.

Let's talk about it.

I enjoyed, shared or partook in each of the following wonders. I'm smiling just thinking about it.

The day started with cheesecurds (at 9 am). It's the right thing to do!

Followed closely by a pronto pup, Sweet Martha's Cookies, a Dino's gyro, deep fried pickles, a chocolate cream puff, and Australian potatoes.

Now, it really did take 4 people and six hours to eat that much food but we did it!

And then I had cereal for dinner...because by that point in the night my stomach had called "Uncle" long ago.

But it was totally worth it and I'd do it again...next year.

Right now I need to go do about 1,000 squats.

Or maybe I'll go make an egg and cheese mcmuffin for breakfast.

Yeah, that's probably what's going to happen.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

It's double coupon day and since Pookie is refusing to take a nap we're headed to the grocery store before 9 am.

Look out Rainbow, here comes the crazy coupon lady!

Extra Wide

I have a bone to pick with a few people.

Well, really just one person.

Or one GROUP of people, really.

Don't worry, it's probably not you.

Unless you work for Gabrielle Rocha shoes or the 6pm.com website.

Disclaimer: I LOVE the 6pm.com website AND

I love my Gabrielle Rocha boots.

HOWEVER...

I was sorely misled and appropriately disappointed the other day with both.

Let's have a story...

Once upon a time there was a princess with tiny feet, a slender waist and less than slender calves...and hips and thighs...but they're not part of the story, so we'll move on.

I have big calves. It's not a secret. It runs in the family. It's irritating but it's true.

Skinny jeans are out of the question, as are most knee high boots.

Those calves of mine will just refuse to be forced into anything smaller than say...a...tube slide sized cylinder.

It's rough.

But I thought I'd found the solution to my problem.

Wide-shaft boots!

Ahhhhhh...the sound of angels singing...

I even chose the EXTRA wide width hoping to be able to wear them over jeans...

And the dream would be realized...

But alas, this was not to be.

When I opened my package and pulled out the boots my heart sank.

I stuck my arm down into the boot and it was barely wide enough for my arm...which, people, let me tell you, is CONSIDERABLY smaller than my leg. Thank goodness!

Hoping against all odds I pulled on the boots anyway.

And miraculously they glided on.

Ok, there wasn't so much gliding as there was tugging, but they were on.

Oh, but there was no room for jeans.

There was barely room for sheer panty hose ladies!

For reals!

So I'm disappointed and still on the hunt for truly WIDE shafted boots.

I will not be thwarted. I will prevail.

You WILL see me in boot over jeans...maybe even with knee socks underneath just for spite!

But until that time, I'll wear my skinny boots with very skinny tights and vow to claim victory over my calves.

I don't make such promises about my thighs...but that's a whole other post.

Lesson Learned

I've picked up a few things over the weekend.

Just a smattering of moments for which I am wiser...or something.

I thought I'd share them with you so you don't have to learn them all on your own.

I'm nice like that.

Let's break it down, list-style.

1. Making spinach dip (from a vegetable packet mix) WITHOUT spinach will create something inedible.

*You may be asking, "Why would I try to do this?" Oh, well, YOU wouldn't. But I did because I accidentally left the spinach out overnight on the counter after washing it. And then, I tried to put it in the fridge, but it was uncovered and I shoved it way in the back...where it froze! And even after it thawed out it was so sad looking I couldn't bring myself to use it. So I improvised. And you know how that goes sometimes. Duh, duh, dun!

Needless to say, we did not have spinach dip with our appetizer night. I threw out the icky dip, sliced up the delicious artisian bread I was going to serve with it and made mini french bread pizzas instead.

Crisis averted.

2. It is impossible to know when to stop eating Sour Patch Kids. Somehow you always go 1, or 2, or 12 too far. And before you know it your tongue is sore, your stomach hurts and the bag is empty.

Just don't turn the bag over and look at the calorie count. You don't want to know.

By the way, the same is true for Doritos - but I learned that lesson years ago! Ha!

3. People who think it's OK to walk their dogs around North Minneapolis without a leash are irritating. Oh, and they just so happen to be breaking the law.

I'm just saying.

3. $3.99 Gladiolas from Cub don't last more than 4 days in my house. Tear.

4. If set near a pile of rocks, a 9 month old will two-fist them into his mouth at a rate of speed which seems impossible for his tiny arms.

It will happen.

5. A mini DQ Nutter Butter Blizzard from DQ and a trip to Michael's ALL BY MYSELF will restore my faith in humanity...and my sanity.

There, now you're informed. I'd say, go ahead and write a few of these down, and keep 'em on the fridge. You know, for reference.

Especially that one about Sour Patch Kids. No foolin'!