Girl Camo Hat

I found this hat for Hayden a year or so ago. Layne found it yesterday and randomly turned it backwards to fit "her style". Isn't she the cutest thing EVER?!

Here she is "building" with my piping tips this morning while I finished up the polka dots on a cake.

The other day when I picked the girls up at school this is what Layne had on her head. I laughed out loud when I saw her standing there waiting to be loaded into the car. It's just so cute!

Hayden was pouting in the car yesterday. I can't even remember why.

This was taken last saturday night at Wyatt's spaghetti dinner fund raiser. The one I did the heart strings cake for. The girls LOVE spaghetti!

An update on Wyatt is that he got a heart last Friday. He's doing really well. They did a biopsy the other day and it was grade ZERO rejection!! So, keep praying for the little guy.

This was a picture of all of the 175 cupcakes that were done for Discover Point's 5th birthday!

My new bookshelf for my baking books! An IKEA purchase. The only color that they had was red, so I got it and spray painted it brown to match!

**As you can see, I went through my phone and got some old pictures off. That's why this post is so random towards the end!

School Picture Practice

BIG Bubble Bath Time

More Ballerinas

These are some pictures that Jessica took yesterday at the party. She's such a great photographer and she's wonderful at capturing "moments". Not sure if you noticed in the last post but Hayden was the only girl wearing black, not only that...she was the only girl not wearing pink!

This was just the cutest party ever!!

Hannah's Ballerina Birthday Party!

Yesterday we went to Hannah's 4th birthday party. It was SO cute. The girls got to take a dance lesson from a real ballerina and hear a story about a ballerina and of course eat cute little pink cupcakes! Here are the girls admiring the ballerina.

Notice that Layner is not in the picture. She was all dressed like a little ballerina but she didn't want to participate at all. Oh well!

Thank you hugs!

On the way home from the party Hayden's "neck hurt" which means she's about to throw up! Yep, she got car sick. I'll spare the details, but we had enough warning that it wasn't messy. We gave her GUM afterwards and this is her "I am so exited that I'm chewing gum" face.

Potty Training Update!

Layne doesn't use these during the day anymore....so daddy decided that they'd make good hats!

The kits have been exploring around the house lately. This morning I found them cuddled up on Hayden's bed.

Layner "Reading"

Last Days of Summer

Our little acrobat!

Hayden was helping daddy work on our new TV table that he's building. He went down to the crawlspace (man cave) and told Hayden to wait for him in the house. She could hear him talking on the phone while he was down there so she put her ear to the floor. She just couldn't wait until he came back up so she could help.

Feeding the kitty cats.

One of Those Moments...

Do you ever have those moments in your life where you kind of can't believe that "this is MY life?" Most of the time these moments for me are as a result of some amazing thing that God has done in my life. I just have to stop and wonder....why me God because I certainly don't deserve it? It's such an indescribable feeling.

But this morning when I pulled up the driveway after dropping the girls off and running errands I did not experience an amazing God moment. It was more like a totally shocked and embarrassed "this is MY life!" Below is what I saw as I drove up our driveway....I did find God in the moment though....I said to myself, "Thank you GOD that nobody can see this from the street!"

Then it hit me....."Oh no, Lisa and Rebecca are coming over this afternoon!!" Now, you may be thinking, Ok, so just pick the clothes up and bring them inside. Well, I have lived with this hunter for 7 years now and I have learned not to mess with a hunter's freshly unscented killing attire! So, I prayed that Jerm would get home from work early (before 3:15) so that he could disassemble his......manly clothes line?! Let me stop for a moment so that I can describe a little about what you are seeing in the above picture. He rigged up this solid steal beam and laid it across the porch railing and the garden box. Then he took his freshly washed in unscented detergent killing attire-all the way down to the long johns-and hung them on his "man line". I guess maybe the boots were cleaned too since they are on display as well. The laundry basket-let's just rename it the killing attire cage since that's it's current purpose-is holding some of the smaller items used to camouflage oneself (hat, socks, I think I saw one of those bank robber type ski masks in there). And of course, we cannot leave out the freshly emptied hosed out yet still nasty smelling trash can on the left. I mean, it just completes the...how do I say this nicely...."backwoodsman" picture.

So, back to my story. I waited and waited for Jeremy to get home but I knew it wasn't going to happen. So, I went to the shower and cleaned myself with his special Hunter's No Scent Shampoo-hair and all. Then I washed the clothing that I was planning on wearing in order to move his killing attire in the hunter's no scent detergent. I had to hang them on the "man line" to dry so that they remained scent free. Once they were dry I put them on and then oh so gingerly placed each item into the laundry cage and carried it into the garage. I then moved the solid steal beam man line out of the way so that my friends didn't have to do the limbo in order to get to the front door. Yep, I even moved the freshly emptied hosed out yet still nasty smelling trash can! Which I feel like I must take a moment to say how much I appreciate my wonderful husband taking the trash to the recycling center each time it gets full! That is definitely not something that I would want to do. Love ya my manly backwoodsman hunter :)

Oh and by the way I was totally kidding about the whole "de-scenting process" that I went through before I moved his clothes....I just took my chances that I may make them smell a little.

Boat Ride.

The girls sailed the high seas in their "boat" this evening after dinner. They had quite an adventure!!

About 2 mornings a week this is what we wake up to. Layne come into our room between 4:00 and 6:00 (at least that's what Jerm tells me because I rarely hear her!). She doesn't try to wake me up or anything. She just comes in, walks to my side of the bed, and sleeps on all of the decorative pillows that are piled on the floor!! And she never forgets blankie and bear!

Out to Dinner

They had some bean bag game at Chick-fil-A tonight. Both girls won a brand new pair of Cinderella sunglasses!

My new magnet thanks to VistaPrint

That's where I get all of my printing for S and S Sweets done. They are super cheap, always have amazing deals, and I am very happy with the quality. This magnet was F-R-E-E...free!

Cookin' Dinner

The girls helped me put the biscuits on the cookie sheet the other night. We were having chicken ala king! Love it!

Then they helped me make the sauce too!

We must have been too loud for Kit!

Who wants to go for a ride?!

One of Layne's MANY kitty scratches.

Best Buds

The kittens are getting used to the "love" that Layne likes to show them daily. They'll meow when they are really unhappy about the "love" but for the most part they purr!

Today the girls are both staying for lunch bunch!! We packed their backpacks and lunch bags this morning. They were so excited! Yes, Layne is sporting a feminine mo-hawk today.

Caramel Apple Spice

Apple spice cupcake with delce de leche filling topped with a very light butterscotch buttercream!

Maple Bacon Bliss

So, my weekend is bake free-as far as customers go-so I am experimenting with new cupcake flavor combinations. First up is this maple bacon spice cupcake with a maple syrup glaze iced with cinnamon maple buttercream. We're going over to some friend's house tonight and to Matt and Jamie's tomorrow....so, we'll see what the judges have to say!

Oik Oik Here and a Meow Meow There

I went to a consignment sale last week looking for Halloween costumes. Most of them were priced pretty high, so I looked on the clothes racks. I found a black leotard for Hayden and a pink one for Layne. So, yesterday I made little pig ear and cat ear headbands and tails and there you have it! Semi-homemade Halloween!

Last night we took the kitties outside for a little while. They loved it!

They explored all around and climbed on everything!

Newest Contest on my Sugar & Spice Sweets Blog!

**Click on the S&S Sweets Button in the right to go there and get more details!**

Blue Eyes

I am so glad that we got two little kitties. They are such great friends and they LOVE playing around with one another. They are so fun to watch.

Kit was seriously dead to the world during one of her cat naps yesterday!

Every year Angie orders a cake from me for Kenneth. He's one of the football coaches for the Davis Middle School Eagles. She get a cake for his first game of the season. She always says she doesn't care that it looks like-so I get to be creative! Here's what I came up with him for this season. It's chocolate chocolate chip cake with cookies and cream filling. Good Luck Kenneth!!

My sister is not tying knots like crazy and she's opened up an Etsy store to start selling her good! She made me one of these bracelets and I LOVE it! Read the "interview" below to find out all about her products and go to her Etsy store to order some for yourself or someone else!

Company Name: Top Knotch Gear

Website: www.topknotch.etsy.com or search Top Knotch Gear on Facebook
Owners: September Howat and Morgan Wujkowski

What products do you offer?

Top Knotch Gear offers hot new accessories perfect for the everyday adventurer. Whether you're exploring the ruins of Machu Picchu or those in your own garage, delving into the Mammoth Caves or the depths of your purse, searching for a new species or the remote control, Top Knotch Gear has something for you.

We create custom survival bracelets and keychains from military parachute cord (paracord) as well as ultra-durable and slim Tyvek wallets. The bracelets and keychains come in TONS of color combinations and look great on both kids and adults. They're called "survival bracelets" because I knot the paracord in a way that can be unraveled if you find yourself in need of rope. An 8" bracelet is made of about 8 feet of paracord! Survalists love this gear because it's an easy way to take extra cord on trips, but it turns out everyday adventurers like the cool look and the handy cord which is a perfect fix for a snapped shoelace or tying down the load in your truck!

The wallet is actually made of a Tyvek mailing envelope! It's trimmed and folded to form a super thin, ultra-strong wallet that's tear- and water-resistant. They come in clean white making them the perfect blank canvas for lists, important dates, or your own doodles! Whether you're a fan of a durable wallet, or kayaker who wants to keep your cash dry, I have just the thing!

And coming soon: Pet collars and leashes, lanyards, luggage tags and NEW bracelet and keychain styles and colors...

How did you learn how to make your product?

Although I've never been particularly crafty (not in the Bedazzler sense, anyway), when my girlfriend Morgan saw a survival bracelet and LOVED it I thought, "I wonder if I could make that..." My first bracelets were made with cat collar buckles from the clearance rack and rope that my Czech friend found in a drawer. They weren't perfect, but I was hooked. Fast forward to today: I tie and Morgan does all the photography. For years we've dreamed of taking a trip around the world and the paracord gear is going to help the dream become a reality. If the gear takes off like we think it will, in 2013 Morgan and I will take off too!

What is the difference between paracord and utility cord?

The biggest difference is in the strength of the cord. They're about the same diameter, both come in great colors and both look cool as bracelets and keychains. The paracord I use is military spec 550# which means it's rated to hold 550 pounds. This could come in handy if you were, say hoping to snare a bear ala Elmer Fudd, but most of us would be pleased with either paracord or utility cord as a drawstring substitute in a pinch. The utility cord comes in a lot of bright varieties with color flecks and reflective bits while the paracord has both bright and muted colors. I also have hemp cord in several colors, which makes a thinner bracelet for those who desire a slightly more "sophisticated" look.

What is your top seller?

The top seller has to be the U Call It bracelets, although the Steeler Special is getting a ton of hits too! With the U Call Its, you get to choose your favorite color(s), so you can support your high school or professional team, or get a keychain to complement your eyes, it's all up to you!

What made you decide to start a business?

Friends and family snatched items up left and right and convinced me to open a shop on Etsy.com... so here I am! Because Morgan and I like to move a lot (Philly, Grand Rapids, Detroit) and do a lot of traveling, the online format is as convenient for us as it is for our customers.

What occasions could people order for?

Oh, you don't need an excuse to order gear from Top Knotch, but here are some common reasons people order:

for the kid's sports team, parents of kid's on sports team, groomsmen or bridesmaids, hiker/backpacker, someone going through tough times, teacher thank you, outdoor adventurer, teen trend-setter, book club, college student, nature enthusiast, teambuilding groups, fan of a pro football/baseball/hockey/basketball team, cancer survivor, babysitter, stocking stuffer, bowling team, holidays and so many more!

Do you do custom orders?

Absolutely. Top Knotch Gear lists some popular color combos, but you can also customize to get the gear in any color you'd like!

Do you have a storefront?

The storefront for Top Knotch Gear is purely virtual at this point. I'm always looking to explore partnerships with brick and mortar retailers though. The gear is perfect for retail locations, marinas, dealerships, college/university centers, high school offices and there are discounts for orders of 10 or more!

How do people contact you?

Well, the best way is to visit Top Knotch Gear on Etsy at www.TopKnotch.etsy.com. There you'll find pictures, sizes and ordering information. You could also contact me by email at TopKnotchGear@gmail.com.

Do you ship?

I certainly do. Shipping information is included on the Top Knotch Gear esty page.