Confectioner Sugar Snow

I've been "hired" to make a cake this week! I put it in quotes because it's still through friends of the family, and I still feel like they're doing me the favor. Kind of like how Cole "helps" rake the leaves by standing with his 4ft plastic rake and babbling. But in any event, I'm getting $ to make a yummy 2 tiered 21st bday cake, and I'm totally anxious about it. The last tiered cake I made got all squished down and lopsided, so this time I'm going to try to use dowels to support it. Also, the very most recent cake I made started falling apart before it made it to its destination. It's also supposed to be a martini glass theme, and I can't draw a good looking martini glass to save my life. (They all look like something out of a geometry or astrology lesson.)
So, I'm a bit nervous. It's not like if I mess up I can just make another one, because between making my own frosting and baking each cake separately, I have to really budget my time. (Cole doesn't like not being paid attention to, either, so I have to do this between the TV babysitter, nap time, and alone time with hubby.) I'm excited by the picture I have of it in my mind, but I'm curious what the real image will be. Plus, the woman is picking it up and I'm so afraid of getting a call, "The ______ fell off the cake/fell over/smushed!" Maybe I will make 2, just in case, and have the girls over for a martini girl's night in...

 

Broken Dreams

I just wanted to share an awesome project that I am blessed enough to be a part of. It's for work, and I love my job, and that's pretty neat. ;-) South Windsor Youth and Family Services and the South Windsor Alliance for Families puts on this program called Broken Dreams at the high school every 2 years for Juniors and Seniors. (Sorry for the run-on, my grammar senses are tingling!) There's a lot involved in it, including kids being pulled from class by an officer who reads an obituary that their parents wrote for them- they represent the kids around the nation killed in drunk driving crashes. They return to class but can't talk for the rest of the day.
A bigger part of Broken Dreams, though, is a video that a select group of kids write and make. Well, we hire a filmmaker so it rocks, but they write the script, act it and plan most of it out themselves. then the other juniors and seniors watch it in an assembly. Usually it involves some high schoolers making bad decisions and the consequences of those decisions. I got to watch the filming of the crash scene a few weeks ago and my goodness, it was amazing! There were professional make up artists who made the kids look all banged up, with glass shards and bones protruding, black and blue marks, and lots and lots of blood. Then the PD actually found some smashed up cars and shut down an entire road in town to set up the "crash." Finally, 3 ambulances, fire trucks, and more police cars were on the scene to film their response to the crash. Sirens, jaws-of-life, gurneys, the works.
Not only did the kids do an incredible job acting, (I was crying at one point until a cop made a joke next to me and I pulled myself together.) I was amazed by how willing all those departments were to make this happen! If we can save one life, either this year during prom/graduation season, or later down the road with one of the kids who sees the video stopping from making a bad decision, then it's so worth it!

Rationalizations of a superior mind

After a relatively healthy and sparse lunch, I decided to reward myself and save $ by making a simple pasta dinner. Since I was still hungry after my first helping, I had a very teeny tiny second helping, mostly because I still had sauce and didn't want to be wasteful. Feeling quite full I went off to help with a project for work, which inevitably ended with pizza for everyone. I had great plans to avoid the pizza, but it turned out I was the one picking it up. Have you ever had 10 fresh-out-of-the-oven pizzas in your car? The aroma invaded my nostrils! I almost stopped on the side of the road to finish one off on my own! Somehow I made it back with all intact and decided since it had been 4 hours since dinner, my body was ready for a refuel, even if it hadn't realized it was hungry yet. 1 pizza slice. That's it. They're so small, anyway. And delicious and cheesy...
This is the worst part. I was there to help with some debriefing and saw that some of the girls there were pretty upset. I wanted to do my job, but didn't want to make them feel awkward by drawing attention to them. Aha, they're sitting next to the pizza! Clever me, I'll make some casual conversation under the guise of getting another piece! Better make it seem real... what's one more piece...
Today I had turkey and cheese plain on a plate and was so proud of myself for saving 'points' by not using bread, that I went ahead and polished off the bag of chips.
There comes a moment when I plan these things where, I think, I realize what I'm doing.

My secret identity

I've discovered that I, much like most super heroes, have a secret identity. It was so secret, in fact, that I'm only now discovering it. Apparently though I am known throughout the school, passing through the doors and out into 'real life' is the equivalent of putting on thick glasses and combing my hair to the side. At school I am Superman, at the park I am Clark. In my office I am Batman, in A.C. Moore I am Bruce. Or, a slightly less exciting version of both.
Is that the school outreach specialist? No, it can't be. She wears dress shirts and heels. This cheeky impostor is wearing a t-shirt and sneakers.
This is how I discovered my secret:
Me: "Shaheen! Hi! How are you?"
Shaheen: squints and stares at me
Me: "We missed you at tutoring today. How's everything?"
Shaheen: still squinting and staring "Hi... Oh, hi Mrs. Murphy!"

Perhaps the real reason is that kids are incredibly self concerned to the point of not paying much attention to anyone 3 or 4 years outside of their age? I like to think it's my stealth. Pow! Zap! Who is that sunglassed woman??

God, grant me patience...

Adam thinks it's the time change, and I'm hoping it's not a sign of a sickness coming, but Lord give me the patience with this little temper tantrum waiting to happen. Cole has not been himself these last couple days, to put it nicely. He's always been frustrated easily, but he's taken to letting out this awful, 20 second yell when, say, his train comes off the track, or Mommy doesn't get his lunch quickly enough. It doesn't help that he doesn't understand logic yet. This morning he was adamant about going to the mall and I couldn't quite convince him that we needed to eat breakfast and get dressed first.

My family is awesome

1.) Adam took such good care of me and Cole last night, and was so loving and thoughtful!
2.) Cole is at such a fun age- he has a great sense of humor and is so much fun to be around! I was laying down watching him play and he came over to me and said, "All done, Mom," and tried to pick me up.
3.) My mom just happened to stop by in the morning, and was a gift from God- she changed a poopy diaper, got Cole all dressed and ready for school, and even cleaned up my kitchen.
4.) My dad left work early to get Cole from daycare, took him shopping, then made me homemade chicken soup, which was about the only thing I was able to eat yesterday.
5.) My in-laws, after hearing that we couldn't afford to go in on a vacation rental this summer, are renting it anyway and inviting us as guests.

Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window:
I can hear traffic faintly. I heard birds today while we briefly had it open, though, which was so refreshing!
I am thinking:
about how much I love my house, and the cake I need to make this weekend, and how much I love a good black and white Cary Grant movie.
I am thankful for:
that little boy sleeping safely in his crib, my husband having some fun with his friends after working so hard today, the way God provides for us in every way... I could keep going of course but those are the first to come to mind!
From the kitchen:
pumpkin muffins this morning, reheated homemade pizza tonight, hot cocoa before bed. Mmm!
I am wearing:
pajama time!
I am creating:
a teddy bear cake for a baby shower on Tuesday. I also have a request for a 2 tiered 21st bday cake which I'm a bit nervous about.
I am going:
to bed very soon.
I am hoping:
that my hubby makes it home safe, and is able to get our new door installed tomorrow. (Because right now it's kind of propped up downstairs with big gaping holes around it.)
I am reading:
Quiet Moments with the Savior (I think? I'm too lazy to go read the actual title but I'm pretty sure.) I'm hoping to borrow some Beth Moore books from my grammy next!
Around the house:
Pictures, toys, little boy shoes, Demdaco angels, matchbox cars, baseball hats
A few plans for the rest of the week:
Church tomorrow, visit from the in-laws, a baby shower at Mom to Mom on Tuesday, and another week of taking care of my beautiful family!

Summoned to court?! Please pray!

Well, I've really made it in this world. I've received my first subpoena. Yes, I have been summoned to the Willimantic Superior Court this Friday to testify in a case involving a woman I did supervised visits and parent aide with over a year ago. This is the first time I've seen the consequence of being arrested directed toward me, and let me say that it was a bit intimidating! Not to mention going to court for the first time and all that.
The thing that makes this really interesting is that I prayed for this client quite a bit during and right after our work together. Everything I witnessed and all our talks were positive, and she genuinely seemed like a good mother and a young girl who was getting her life together. The social worker seemed to be against her from the start- who can blame her with the state she found the kids in. This girl was getting her GED, applying for community colleges, had broken up with her boyfriend, and displayed excellent parenting in session. It sounds like I might be the the only one in her corner, so to speak. No pressure, right?? Please pray for me on Friday to say the right things, and for God's will to be done!

Ack! I'm turning into a girl!

I'm still trying to figure out what is happening to me at my old age of 27... just today I suggested seeing Valentine's Day for our girl's night out. That's the kind of movie I roll my eyes at and refuse payment to see! Granted, the really good ones like Shutter Island, Book of Eli, and Wolfman are ones I want to see with Adam, but secretly I'm actually looking forward to watching Bradley Cooper and Topher Grace for 2 hours. Is that wrong? I'm also getting more into window treatments and bought a floor scrub brush the other week. Yikes!

Spring cleaning

I know it's crazy, but I'm just going to pretend like spring is here and hope for the best. I did a little (tiny bit) of spring cleaning last weekend, and I put away most of our winter hats and scarves, and Cole's boots. Denial? Wishful thinking? Perfect timing? :-) I even went coatless today, though Cole was bundled up from head to toe.

Paint on my socks

The bonus room is almost done! Well, the first coat of yellow is up. Now we just have to cut and roll the 2nd coat, do the trim, put in the new door, put in the new doorknobs, paint the new door, then get new carpeting in there. *sigh.* It will be so worth it, though, because now we'll actually want to spend time down there. Both our parents offered to help in huge and wonderful ways, which is awesome too! (The new door and carpet, kinda big ticket items.)