Halloween treats!

Lauren and I made cupcakes today for a Halloween shindig we're attending tomorrow. The plan was to make enough cupcakes for the party, as well as some for the Hubsters work. In total, we made 70 cupcakes and by the 50th cupcake, I was praying I'd never have to see another baked good as long as I live. What began as the sweet smell of baking cupcakes turned into a nauseating aroma that infiltrated the house. It was sugar overload. Add to that the frosting and the decorating, and I was officially over cupcake making.


They're not nearly as spooky and ghoulish as I intended them to be, but with a two year old helping, happy faces kind of go with the territory :)

But on top of being cute, they tasted pretty good, as you can tell below:

Tomorrow will be a fun day! I'll post pics of our lil' goblins in costumes!

First and Second survey

I got this survey from a blogger pal. It's specifically aimed for your "firstborn", but I don't think that's fair so I'll do 'em for both Brownies :)


1. Were you married at the time? Yes, although not even married a full year yet. She was conceived on our honeymoon.
2. What were your reactions? Excited but surprised it happened so soon!
3. How old were you? 25
4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I took a bunch of EPT's. Nine to be exact. Ya know, just in case the first eight were lying.
5. Who did you tell first? The Hubster.
6. Did you want to find out the sex? Yes, and we did. But I knew all along she was a girl. I was 100% positive, I just felt it.
7. Did you deliver early or late? I was induced 2 days early due to High Blood Pressure.
8. Did you have morning sickness? Yes, more like all day sickness though. It was HORRIBLE.
9. What did you crave? Tomatoes and steak.
10. Who irritated you the most? People who kept asking me if I was having twins.
11. What was your first child's sex? Girl.
12. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? I stopped counting after I hit 35 pounds.
13. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Um, HBP and low fluid near the end.
14. Where did you give birth? St. Mary Medical Center.
15. How many hours were you in labor? Approx. 28 hours. It was rough.
16. Who drove you to the hospital? Actually, a friend from work. The hospital was right across the street so Justin met me there and I was induced shortly afterwards.
17. Who watched? The Hubster, nurses, midwife.
18. Was it natural or c-section? Natural.
19. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Ohhh yes. Although it took 10 (yes 10!) attempts to get the epidural in. That's a horror story for another time.
20. How much did your child weigh? 7 lbs. even.
21. Did your child have any complications? She didn't urinate overnight so we had to stay an extra day but all was well.
22. What did you name him/her? Lauren Anne.
23. How old is your first born today? Two years! Where did my baby go? ::sniff sniff::



1. Were you married at the time? Yes, although we were certainly not trying to get pregnant. So blessed we did though :)
2. What were your reactions? Terrified. Scared to death about how I would manage 2 babies 15 months apart. And how I would get through Morning Sickness as it was debilitating with Lauren's pregnancy.
3. How old were you? 26 years
4. How did you find out you were pregnant? I was 4 weeks late but I assumed that because I had only had one period since giving birth to Lauren that I was just "off". But I took the test just to prove I wasn't and a plus sign showed up within seconds.
5. Who did you tell first? The Hubster, then Sarah shortly afterwards. She calmed me down as I was about to have a heart attack.
6. Did you want to find out the sex? No, we didn't want to know but I caved at the Ultrasound. I was 99% sure he was a boy but after looking at the screen, there was no denying he was all boy. Ha!
7. Did you deliver early or late? He was born 3 weeks early. I was 4 cm at my 37 week appt. and went into labor that night.
8. Did you have morning sickness? Yes, but nothing like my first pregnancy, thank God. Seriously, I don't know how I would have coped if it had been as bad. Morning sickness is bad enough but add in a 6 month old baby, and it would have been awful.
9. What did you crave? Coke Slurpees. Had to have one nightly.
10. Who irritated you the most? No one really. I was easier going this time around.
11. What was your second child's sex? Boy
12. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? Not as much as last time, but probably like 30 lbs.
13. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Had PICA at the end.
14. Where did you give birth? St. Mary Medical Center
15. How many hours were you in labor? Approx. 14 hours. But only 3 pushes!
16. Who drove you to the hospital? Myself, the hospital was right across the street from the Doctors office so Justin met me there.
17. Who watched? The Hubster, coach aunt Judith, nurses, midwife
18. Was it natural or c-section? Natural.
19. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? Ohhh yes. Although it only took 1 attempt this time!
20. How much did your child weigh? 7 lbs. 14 oz.
21. Did your child have any complications? Nope, thank goodness!
22. What did you name him/her? Jacob Justin
23. How old is your first born today? Ten months! Wow...

Being silly

I really dislike a messy, cluttered house. Actually, I should rephrase that. I don't care if everyone else have messy, cluttered homes, I just don't like mine to be. It makes me feel really outta control and unorganized.

My daughter, however, likes messes. She likes to open the pots and pans cabinets and empty 'em out, usually waking Jacob up from his nap in the process. She enjoys opening up Jacob's drawers and "folding" his laundry, leaving onesies, singleton socks and burp cloths strewn about. And lets not forget our Fisher Price store playroom. The toys are usually neatly lining the walls so that there's plenty of room to play on the rug. But Lauren is against playing neatly in a room designed to play in it. Nah, she'd rather pull each and every toy outta the room and into the front room, where everyone and their brother can see it. She's considerate like that.

Anyways, we were having so much fun yesterday that I took some pics to document the destruction. We even pulled out some Valentine stickers and went to town "decorating" ourselves and poor Jacob. And in true Lauren style, she toddler-tornadoed the heck outta this place. The mess made me nutso squirm a bit, but honestly, both Brownies were having fun and I soon forgot about the the heaping piles of toys. Or I tried at least ;)


I'll take two happy Brownies and a toy-cluttered home over grumpy Brownies and spotless home any day. It's just too bad I can't have 100% happy Brownies and a spotless home at the same time :)