The Battle of the Cupcakes!!

Its been an insane summer so far and its almost to an end.  I'm going to miss the girls being home all day.  Ainsley will begin her first year as a kindergartner.  Lord please bless her teacher. 

Today I competed in a cupcake contest.  For those who arent aware, I am the Cupcake Lady around here.  I love to bake. A friend told me about the Vanderburgh County Fair having a Battle of the Cupcakes...this was like discovering chocolate for the first time, that happy did it make me. 

So after much discussion we decided to go with the apple pie cupcakes I love.  Its a vanilla and apple sauce flavored cupcake, cored with apple pie filling inside, and topped with a buttercream icing, and a caramel drizzle.  Yeah its awesome lol. 

Then came the display.  Now I wanted this to look awesome..but I did not and could not spend a fortune on these cupcakes and their display.  In my time of need I went to the wise and all knowing Jane.  My neighbor, Jane-Jane as my girls call her.  Her home is a testament that with several years, an eye for what will work, and yard sale and Good Will shopping your home can be beautiful.  I love going into her house, every trip theres something different to see than the last time I was there. 

I had aleady decided that with the apple pie cupcakes I wanted a country look, and I wanted a shelf, like a curio shelf open backed and was going to buy one and maybe some boxes to stagger and have cupcakes on them...well that wasnt working so I went to Jane and came home with.....see the great Washboard shelf?  That's Janes and the shadow box that I soooo want to steal? That is Janes.

My display at the Battle.

The cupcake holders, are small jelly mason jars, not sure on the size that I e600 to candle holders from Good Will ages ago and have used for everything from penny holders, hair do dad holders to potpouri holders.  The cupcake stand I made 2 hours before the competition.  Nothing like waiting till the last minute.  I used a small jelly jar/mason jar upside down, glued a cake board to it..then glued a Ball Canning jar to it, and inserted some Gerber red daisies from Walmart.  I then glued a slightly smaller cake board on top and another smaller jar on top and filled with daisys....now I will turn you where I screwed up.  Glue the Gingham ribbon on around your cake stand...before gluing the boards to the jars..otherwise its like wrestling a wet angry chicken...moves around everywhere.  I put a gingham fabric piece I already had here down on the table first, and added some left over ribbon to sit on top....not a very expensive display but it worked great! 

The judges lovooeedddd my cupcakes.  And they loved my display :)  I received First Place in the individual division.  I so wished Hadley, my 10 year old could have competed but unfortunately she was at camp this week and couldnt be there.  It was a lot of fun, we had 1 hour to decorate our cupcakes and set up our display.  I managed it with minutes to spare!  And thankfully my husband took care of the girls while I did the cupcakes..for the most part.  Ainsley stood at the table a long time eating my cupcake centers as I cored the cupcakes lol.  She took advantage of unlimited cake! 

It was a great time and I hope I get to do another one some time....and I met a lot of really nice people there too.  Except for the one, but then there's always one? lol.

If your going to threaten it....you better be ready to do it..

So today I was enjoying some me time...while walking around the Princeton, Indiana Walgreens...hey a girls gotta get her me time where ever she can!  So Im enjoying the quiet....QUIET mind you in a store..when my quiet contemplative yoga like moment walking through the feminine hygiene aisle (kotex on sale, just a heads up) when I hear the screeching.  The screeching of the children.  My children you ask?  No mine were locked in their cages at home..okay really they were running wild terrorizing the neighborhood while their father was supposed to be watching them..but anyway...A lady and three kids--yeah a know  a woman with three loud children, who do I think I am to be judging?  I'm actually not judging, but the screeching continued.  My yoga like moment was sooo gone.  So mom, their mom, not mine, begins this interchange:
Mom:  If you dont stop screeching I'm going to pop that mouth.
Kid:  screeching continues
they contine to walk through the aisles...my yoga like contemplative moment is soooo gone and I'm wondering what was on tv at home.

Kids:  screech screeecccchhhhh
Mom:  If you dont shut up Im going to pop that mouth...

Okay so basically what we have is a kid who has mom's number.  And in a big way.  Here's an idea though. If you've threatened it four times...and interupted my Zen like enjoyment of Walgreens, pop your kid in the mouth and be done.  I know, I know, I'm not sugguesting that you start beating your kid. But if your going to threaten if FOUR times, LOUDLY and nothings happening maybe its time to do something other than threaten?  I'm not suggesting we all participate in a National Pop Your Kid in the Mouth Day at Walgreens...wonder if they'd give out free hotdogs that day?.....okay but really, if your not willing to actually do it, then why are you threatening it in the first place?

Now I will admit I have threatened my children.  I threatened to sell Sami, age 4 to Gypsies yesterday....and I even dialed 1800gypsy....admittedly it was to freak her out to get her to stop aggravating her sister but I'd like to think that IF an actual GYPSY had answered the phone I would have been willing to begin negotiations...she should be at least worth the cost of a new pair of shoes for mom...or that nice 31 bag I saw...hmmmmm......

Busssyyyyy week.

We've had a busy week here at the Sheffer's.  Brents been working over at work a lot.  Ainsley started private dance lessons.  I know...seems crazy for a 5 year old but she seems to really enjoy dance, and her teacher said for her to join the dance team she needs technique..so she is taking a half hour of technique class every Monday this summer.  Her sister takes 2 hours on Tuesdays, so I'll be at different dance studios two days in a row all summer...but I love watching them dance so its worth it. 

Softball is going strong, Ainsley my middle child is in t-ball and she doesn't seem to love it as much as she does dance, at least not  yet.  Hadley's team has had a rough time this year.  I think they might be 2 for 7 so far this season.  Poor girls :) 

I'm still couponing, Lord Save me!  I just got back from Wallgreens and CVS. 

I had a HAUL today, and this isnt counting the 3 12 packs of diet dew and 4 2 liters of diet dew I got Brent...yes he has a slight Dew Addiction.  All of this--not counting the cereal, was about $40..I managed to find several make-up items, 2 crackle Sally nailpolishes and other items on 75% clearance AND I had $1 off coupons...so I hit the mother lode there. I am not counting the Cereal in my out of pocket because--we receive some SNAP (aka food stamps) and I used them, and coupons that made each box $2 each.

Happy couponing each and all! Oh, and here's a lovely picuture of Miss Ainsley stylin and profilin lol.

Back on track

Love Coupons By Godek, Gregory J. P.Its been a while since I've posted.  Its been insane around here, we've had a dance competition or two, a dance recital, we started softball season, schools out.....its been nuts.  Thankfully the summer is starting to settle down and maybe I will have a little bit of time to blog....one hopes.

I have started doing something new.  I am becoming a couponer.  I just started.  I started with the basics learning from The Krazy Koupon Lady at www.krazykouponlady.com  Its an awesome site.  Got my binder started and now I'm working on building a stockpile at home.

I have also decided I now love CVS lol.  I went this past week and hit the whole ECB and coupons together scenarios and made out pretty good.

I got this for $40, used $9 in extra care bucks at the time, and about $7 in coupons, and have $10 in ECB for my next trip, added it  up and by CVS prices, which I think are a little high in some cases, it was $90 worth of merchandise.  I also have a rebate coming for $10 too, so that means it cost when all is said and done around $20.

tomorrow I begin unearthing my sewing table...and cleaning my bedroom.  Its insane..it looks like Vikings moved in.

Have a great weekend!

LaLaLoopsy Birthday Spa Party

Today was birthday central here at Casa Sheffer.  We had a party at 2 for my little girls Ainsley turned 5 on April 19, and Sami will turn 4 on May 2.  We added Hadley in to it to, because she wanted a LaLaLoopsy cake...and I live to please so we did all three a small neighborhood party and then later in the day we had 14 girls for a sleepover and "Because I am a Girl" spa party.

Here's our cake table.  I used my daughter's LaLaLoopsy mini dolls to decorate.

I am on a somewhat strained budget, and I wanted to try decorating...its been a while since I have decorated a cake and obviously I need to work on it lol.  It was a lot of fun though.  My daughter's opened a few presents.

Ainsley 5, Hadley 10 and Sami 4

The girls really liked their cake and party. Sami was a little bit of a fashion disaster. She was deadset she was wearing her cowboy boots with her heart outfit....Mom was not having it!  She loves her cowboy boots, which would be okay but they are actually Ainsley's...so they are two sizes too big, its like she's wearing clown shoes.

But after I recovered from that party I then had the Spa party.  I hung lights on our back patio, hung a good will mirror, I painted white on the fence, and drug Hadleys school desk we had upcycled from GoodWill, and a shelf we upcycled from GoodWill, out for the different make-over and manicure stations.  I put a pink tablecloth over our Little Tykes picnic table and set out a veggie tray, cookies, a fruit basket and glass champagne glasses for our Sprites.  I used two old toddler mattresses on the ground covered in a teal comforter for people to lounge on.

I made chocolate facials from coco and yogurt....and of course we had sliced cucumbers.  Then they went MANICURE crazy for about 2 hours.  We of course had to order pizzas, and a few girls went home but I ended up with 6 girls spending the night plus my own 3....

Brent is about girled out lol. They have chased him around the house, locked him out and threatened him with the chocolate facial mix....he says he wants to trade them all in for boys :)

Teaching Politics and saving the free World

My 10 year old, Hadley, I think is going to be a world changer.  I say that and she'll end up working at Hooters, Karma being what it is and all.  (And no offense to all the lovely women working at Hooters, just saying, your not changing the face of the nation ya know?)  She wants to help people.  Right now she is saving spare change to sponser materials needed for Plan Hope, in their I am a Girl Campaign.  If you do not know what this is, its a charity that helps women, children, girls, etc. in countries where help is needed.  You can sponsor a package for as low as $10, giving baby blankets to mothers who need them, or $15 to give a family 3 baby chicks, and the feed they need to provide for them, so they grow up have eggs, and more chicks thereby feeding and adding income to the family.  I had to go through the whole cause and effect, cause Hadley was thinking you give them 3 chickens and they EAT THEM lol. Nope not that quick Hadley lol. 

But she really thinks about things.  My other two, I'm not seeing much philanthropy in their future at this point.  They will fight to the death over a pair of pink Barbie shoes for their doll, and I mean it won't end until Ainsley actually sits on Sami and makes her give them to her.  And yes I will admit that during this I usually am watching, sometimes with video equipment...ITS FUNNY PEOPLE!! 

But back to my little world changer, she has said  she wants to be an archeologist (yeah I totally was all for that one, since I would have loved to have been one lol)  And then last week it was that she wants to be a missionary.  Again, really cool. 

Here's the issue we have around here.  I'm Liberal...and I do mean Liberal with the big "L".  And along with that of course a Democrat, hello, there is no species called a Liberal Republican, unless you count a Republican who wears khaki shorts...that's as free thinking as some of them can get...(whole group needs sticks removed from a....ahem)  back on track now. When we are discussing world issues I of course have a bent.  And I'm attempting,  ATTEMPTING, to not flavor her thought process, to let her choose her way, let her see both sides. 

Yeah me, the queen, of no your not thinking correctly, I will show you the way to the land of milk and honey where everyone agrees with me, is attempting to raise a child who can think for herself, and will choose her own politcial direction.  Now the big problem I've always had is this.  How can a Liberal, also be a Christian.  Trust me it aint easy, cause I get told I'm wrong and going to Hell about everytime I read a Religious based blog or article, because most don't believe you can compartmentalize it.

So I will just keep on trying, and we'll see how this goes. I just keep telling myself:  I'm not raising children, I'm raising adults who will someday be in charge of where I spend my last days, and where to send the nuclear bombs.  I can't make her believe what I do, all I can do is give her education and share viewpoints and explain both sides of an issue...and yes being a good parent sometimes sucks.  I would like to say sometimes...you will believe this because I tell you to...and then I remember that sooooo didn't work for MY MOM :)

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