The Law Of Murphy

Why is it that smoke detectors never go off in the middle of the day (unless there really is a fire)?

At approximately 4:19 AM the alarm went off and I flew out of bed. Had Michael been home I'm sure I would have rolled over to let him deal with the situation. Immediately I think that the gas has been left on and I'll need to belly crawl down the stairs to check the stove. Speed won out and I run down the stairs to check the appliances and smell for smoke/gas. Nope nothing.

(A friend recently has a house fire and I'm a bit paranoid about it happening. I do not want to spend three weeks in a hotel with three kids. Shudder.)

As suddenly as the alarm goes on, it goes off. Well, I'm walking around checking the detectors and finally decide to go back to bed. No sooner has my head hit the pillow then the blasted alarm goes off again. I swear that I had check Jack's room alarm, apparently the battery was bad and causing all the alarms to go off.

Getting a chair and ripping the detector off the ceiling was a little more than stressful and I'm been up since hopped up on adrenaline.

Again, why is it that detectors go off in the middle of the night?!

Old Barn

We went to a park/ranch last night to scope out the area for a photo shoot. We'd been to the playground area of this place, but I never knew this area existed. It's just over the hill from the playground. Apparently Jack had been there on a Scout field trip. He kept pointing out snake holes, or as I like to think, gopher holes. Here's a couple of the outtakes.

Gently Wake Them

Sleeping in doesn't occur a lot in our house. The kids used to wake up at the crack of down, but times have changed. I think getting to stay up later, the benefit is sleeping in later. Yesterday we woke up before dawn to drop Michael off at the airport. He'll be in Pennsylvania this ENTIRE week for a training session.

This morning, the kids are still asleep as I type. Yes, I'm typing softly as not to wake them prematurely. Opps, Emma woke up.

Rough and Ready Park

Yes, that's really the name of the park. Emma loves the water and can't stay away from it.Jack humors me as I take his picture.

Proof of Life

They're still alive.

We've been running around going to the library, swimming, canoeing, free movies, bike rides, playdates, and other awesome things I think of. In between all the activities we drive each other crazy. It's starting to settle down, but it's always an adjustment switching into "Summer" mode.

Last Day of School

When I picture the last day of school, it would be me sitting on the couch enjoying the last sounds of quietness. With Lily already done with school, it's not exactly quiet all the time.

Somehow on the last day of school, I got sucked into staying the entire day. The Fourth grade put on their Medieval Times extravaganza. Jack did his oral presentation for his report on Medieval Tournaments. I asked what he needed for this and he said a sword. Easy Peasy mac n' cheesy. Some of the other presentation were miniature replicas of castles, playing an instrument, displaying fashion of the day, how to bake bread, and information on the Black Plague. Jack totally lucked out and got to "demonstrate" how to joust/fight. What better project for a 10 year old?!

Emma's class had a party at the end of the day and I promised to bring ice cream for the Rootbeer floats. Since it's always a little tricky transporting and delivering cold items, I just waited until the last minute to run to the store and get popsicles. I made an executive decision to get popsicles since I knew there'd be kids that wouldn't want rootbeer floats. Turned out to be a good choice.

As if that wasn't enough, the Scouts also held a fundraiser at Wendy's. In a way it was nice to not have to make dinner.

Whew. Exhausted before Summer even begins.

Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

For Emma's teacher gift, all the kids in the class put together a scrapbook/recipe book. We had to "research" and decide what recipe to include. Luckily the high altitude wasn't too much of an issue with this and they turned out marvelously. Yes, this is in our family cook book, but here it is again.
Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

Bowl #1:
1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz. chocolate chips (regular or mini)

Cream first four ingredients, then
add chips. Set aside.

Bowl #2:
1 1/2 cup flour (+1 tbsp for high alt.)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Bowl #3:
1 cup water
1 Tbsp vinegar
1/3 cup oil
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine bowls #2 &#3. Grease tins
very well or use papers. Fill cupcake
tins 1/2 full with batter, then lump in
a spoonful of cream cheese mixture.
Bake @ 350’ for 25-30 minutes.
For mini cupcakes decrease cooking
time to 8-10 minutes.

Review: Emma loved them, Lily didn't, and Jack was diplomatic. The mini ones are better than the full size.