Not my typical Saturday Night

Usually my husband and I get together with friends for a few drinks on a Saturday night.

Not tonight. Tonight is the night before we send our oldest daughter off to college. Although, she is out with her friends and we could have snuck away ~ I just didn't feel like it.

Oh YES. My daughter and I have had some "rough" teenage years. I thought that might make this moment a bit easier, but guess what? It doesn't. I am so sad that she is leaving tomorrow. I just can't believe that 18 years could have gone by so quickly.

I am both excited and nervous for her. It brings back my own memories of when I went away to college. I remember my parents pulling away and the tears rolling down my face. In one minutes time, they were gone and I was left on my own. My saving grace was that my best friend who I had grown up with my entire life was right there with me - my roommate. I was not really alone.

Unfortunately, my daughter doesn't have that. She is going to meet her roommate tomorrow when they move in together. Complete strangers, from totally different backgrounds. I worry that they may not get along - I worry that she may need me to help get her books, to rearrange her schedule before classes start. What if she needs a notebook, a pencil, a toothbrush? What if she is so scared and lonely? so many What if's..... and so many worries.

On the other hand, I am sure that these will be some of the best times of her life. She has worked very hard to get into the school that she has always wanted to attend. She will grow into an even more beautiful and mature person. I am confident that she will embrace these times and make the best of her education. These are the things that I will focus on. These are the things that make me able to let her go.

Eighteen years of her life sit in a pile in my garage at the moment. I look at this pile, and although it breaks my heart ~ it also warms my heart for the bright future that she has ahead of her. We will pack her life into the car in the morning and embark on the 90 minute drive to East Lansing.....
Part of me thinks my job is done, but I know a parent's job is never done. It is just a new phase ~ an ending and a beginning. One I will face when I wake up tomorrow morning!

Good Luck at Michigan State Brianna We love you and we will always be here whenever you need us!!!

shopping for puppies

i think the day has arrived when we have decided to have a puppy join our family. i have been spending most of my time this week searching the web for the right little guy to come into our life. we have narrowed the search down to the following.

this is a morkie...part maltese part yorkie.........now i think she is adorable. the only ones that i have found are males and we are leaning towards a female at the moment.

this is a malti poo........part maltese part poodle. We had saw one and it was taken by the time I called....so the search contines.

this is a shih poo. part shitzu and part poodle.......only gets about 8 lbs.

and finally..this is little guy is called a "daisy dog". we have a breeder of this unique dog near us. it is a mix of several non shedding dogs.....the breeder keeps her "recipe" for this dog secret. my friend has one and loves it.

so confusing!!! all so cute. the search continues.

if anyone can offer any advice i would LOVE to hear it.

puppies and painting and puking...OH MY.

The day started out at the flea market. Not much luck, however my girls and I fell in total love with a puppy.....(looks just like the one below)



we are working hard on daddy O. we want to name her Lola and get her all kinds of fancy doggie things.

the majority of the afternoon was spent spray painting.. we sprayed doll cases, picture frames and storage shelves.

to end the evening......one of my children (identity withheld) came running down the stairs ......by the time I got to her, she had sprayed the stairs the wall and a little bit of me with tonight's dinner!

i cleaned it up. i cleaned her up. i cleaned me up.

my day in a nutshell ~ OH MY!

youtube star

there's always one in the family and Michael, well he is mine. Always doing something to make us laugh. This was a few years back.




And if that wasn't enough!

The icing on the cup...CAKE

I was inspired in NYC by this cupcake place and this cupcake place. So yesterday me and my three girls hit up the cake shop to buy all the necessary things to make "fancy cupcakes". I decided to dig up this old recipe for the best frosting EVER.

I took a cake decorating class about 10 years ago ~ the best thing about this class was getting this recipe. I haven't made it in years, but I decided to make it last night and let me tell you - it is incredible. You must try!!! A few of the ingredients may be hard to find, but if you have a cake supply store nearby, they should carry the white margarine and the almond emulsion....

Donna's Favorite Frosting Recipe

3/4 cup Powdered Coffee Mate

1/2 cup boiling water

*mix together and chill for at least 4 hours.

1 lb. White (uncolored) margarine (cold)

2 cups of Crisco solid shortening

*cream together at low speed until well blended

ADD: 1/2 tsp. Clear vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. Almond Emulsion

ADD: Chilled coffee mate mixture

ADD: 2 lbs. Confectioners Sugar - slowly until well blended

Cream together and let blend at medium speed for 15 minutes (very important).

summer vacation 2009

Whew. It was a whirlwind of a little trip. Each summer we frantically scramble for a vacation -always in August and no doubt always last minute. I guess you could say we are not the best planners, hence the 6 children, however we thrive under pressure and somehow it always works out.

This year the kids (all six) agreed to trade in their beach flip flops for some city sneakers. We decided on the Big Apple. Eight of us in one car for 11 hours! That was a little too much for the 17 year old son, he begged to go to his friends cabin instead. At first, i resisted the request and then i realized it was between him and my (extra) suitcase - I decided that the suitcase must stay - he could go to the cabin! Despite him not being there.....

we still had a great time

~here are a few of the moments that were captured ~

The streets of NYC are full of honking horns and at most intersections these signs are posted. I am guessing they are not really enforcing this ordinance.

I love this big bustling city.....so much excitement.. all day! all night! We caught a quick glimpse of the Naked Cowboy - however a bit too quick for my camera....

A glimpse of Flo Rida on the Today show.......she hit the flo, next thing ya know....Shawty got low low low low. Love that song.

My very favorite thing to do is people watch (aka creeping....so my kids say). There is no better place to creep (aka people watch) than in Central Park. and as I creeped I shot secret photos ( I apologize if you know the man with the towel on his head). Anyhow, I wonder? do these two men know each other? Could they be undercover for the NYPD? Or are they simply strangers sharing a park bench?

The streets of Harlem. Outside the Apollo Theater a tribute to Michael Jackson.

Of course, the kids had to test out the "Giant Piano" at FAO Schwartz.

Have you ever seen a huge bathtub full of BUBBLE gum? Where else, but NYC. This was one of the kids favorite places.... Dylan's Candy Bar.

A quick trip on Sunday morning to the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market.....

Everyone in NYC has their own style, look at this cutie serving up Mister Softee's

Taking a break after a long day.

Filming a scene of Ugly Betty, we spotted Vanessa Williams.......we screamed her name and she waved, but my camera wasn't quick enough for that shot!

There is seriously no pizza better than NY pie.....our favorite stop for pizza is John's Pizza. so incredibly delicious.
{Oh - don't mind the 8 year old princess who wishes to live in the peaceful mountains of Tennessee and have 8 children....NYC was a bit much for her! It took her a candy store, a doll store and a toy store to start enjoying the trip}

We slept to the sound of sirens and honking horns.

We rode buses, taxi's and subways.

We ate pizza, cupcakes, hot dogs and Mister Softee's.

We walked, we talked, we laughed and (some of us) cried.....(tennessee)

We shopped till we dropped...........but most of all

We loved the city that never sleeps.......the Big Apple and probably my most favorite city ever.

We LOVED New York City!!

I wanna wake up.......

Cutest Party Centerpiece.

Today, (actually tonight late tonight) while reading some of my fave blogs I came across the cutest centerpieces. I have been clipping out and filing ideas for a "candy buffet" and this idea has made its way to the top of my pile. Not only is it incerdibly adorable - I think I can actually pull it off!, pretty easily!

Taffy Skewers - super cute. I found it here. I love this blog and all the creative party ideas that Donna offers.....

Dreaming......

Shabby Chic Double Wide

I know....you have seen it a million times! And so have I, but I just can't get enough of this truly shabby chic double wide.........how darling. Here are some of my favorite photos. This is seriously beyond creative.

all photos courtesy of countryliving.com

AWESOME is truly awesome

Recently, I have heard a lot about a cleaning product called Awesome. With six children I am always looking for the best products to clean my house, and honestly I will pay almost anything to get a product that does the job!

The owner of an antique store near my home told me that Awesome is the best cleaning product she has ever used. She uses it on everything from linens(not on reds) to furniture. A friend also told me she had to clean walls that were built up with years of cigarette smoke and that she used Awesome and it cleaned well and took out most of the odor of the cigarette smoke.

Okay, I needed to try this product ~ and here is the sweetest detail.......Awesome is sold at the dollar store!

This evening I made a quick trip to the Dollar Tree and picked me up a bottle. I used it on some heavily fingerprinted areas in my garage to test it out.........and well, it worked awesome.

I looked it up on the internet and found that it is selling for $6.95 a bottle on Amazon. The consumer reviews are all excellent.......and all this for only $1. So now I am passing on my secret to you. Let me know if you have tried this product and what you think. Now, I am off to attack some nasty fingerprints.