Sweet Apple Caramel Cupcakes

Today we hosted a group of people at our new Willow house for the first time! We had some of the people from our ABS (Adult Bible Study) over, as part of the "Grace Gatherings" the church has every month or so. It was really fun actually make a meal for a bunch of people, and entertain in a comfortable space (loving that screened in porch!) Anyway, since it's started getting chilly here, in the evenings, I wanted a recipe that would scream "fall"...my make it up as you go creation!!

I used a Duncan Hines Caramel cake mix, I made my regular buttercream (1/2 C butter, 4 C icing sugar, 1 t vanilla, 3-4T milk)...only I did about 1 1/2 t vanilla, for a little stronger flavor there. Then I sprinkled Pampered Chefs Sweet Apple Sprinkle over all, and topped it off with a "fall themed" Sixlet (small chocolate crunchy candy).

It was all stuff I has in my cupboards, but it did have a delicious, sweet, fall-time feel to it. Yummy success!

Problem, Solved!

We have mental problems. To which most of you likely say, what else is new? Haha. Both Brian and I are seriously challenged in the "where did I put that" category. I've lost Christmas presents "hiding" them. He's lost his keys (or locked them in his truck), daily, since 1997, or thereabouts. We can't even blame the kids...and unfortunately they suffer from the poor genetics of their parents:-)

Remotes. We lose them. Usually it's the kids that do, but sometimes its the grownups too. Then we got a Roku device. A charming little thing with NO buttons or manual operation options. A teeny little remote is needed, and is the only thing that can work - no universal thingy ma bob.

We've lost and found that little remote so many times, I finally devised a way to keep it from happening anymore.

I tied it to the remote basket, with enough "cord" to be able to still operate the remote

I also made it super easy to un-tether, so grownups can still use it normally from across the room, but kids can't drag it off or lose it between couch cushions

How to:

Open up the battery compartment, and lay a flat piece of ribbon across the opening. Then shut the battery closer thingy. Using a flat thin piece of ribbon should allow this to close easily, and not impede normal function at all (don't want the thing to pop loose)

Tie it in a knot, to create a circle

Attach whatever you have. I've used a variety of things I had around the house. This is a binder ring. A key ring would work, or a carabineer (sp?) works.

Attach one to the other, I use a carabineer to tethered to the "remote basket" (where they all belong and *should* always be located when not in use), and can easily unclip the remote(s) as needed.

Guess what? I haven't a missing remote since doing this about 5 months ago. I promise! The younger kids are not able to un-attach them, and the older kids are not allowed to, so no one wanders off with a remote for any reason!

So, there is my creative tip of the day to help you re-gain a piece of your lost sanity. If missing remotes contributes to that, anyway:-)

Pictures

They made their own pizzas and declared they tasted better than the ones I make:-)

We have triplets!! Brian's phone, his work phone, and my phone, are all identical!! Kinda funny:-)

Playing soccer on the porch

My fave

Grey made a bird feeder

Don't step on one of these gumballs in bare feet!

Thorny bush

Upgrade #1

We've officially made our first improvement to the Willow house...it's not a very exciting one, but...it was a 20 minute project that actually took 20 minutes! So not used to that! When we went to replace a light fixture in Hugo...we discovered the house was not grounded etc. Every project seems to turn into something bigger than expected. So it was just nice to have something quick and easy actually be quick and easy:-)

Problem: Master bedroom had a fan, with no over head lighting. We like overhead lighting! Who doesn't? Lamps are soooo lame. We replaced the fan with a new one...

The old bedroom fan...

We will install the old bedroom fan in the screened in porch area...because that fan is looking pretty sad:-) We'll have to invest in an outdoor fan that won't be affected by moisture in the air, but until then, the old bedroom will work well as a "new" replacement out there.

The pro, always hard at work

New fan, installed...and lights! yay!! We choose this fan for a variety of factors - it will be the one we choose to replace all the indoor fans in the house, eventually. There is pretty much one in every room, and they are all very old/dated.

Next up?...after a really steamy shower we tested the wall paper in the bathroom. Seems like it will come down pretty easily. No more wallpaper in the bathrooms!!

Fall is Coming

"Especially when the fall comes to Burlington" - Have you ever heard our not-love story? It's actually far more interesting than our true-love story. Maybe we'll have to write it sometime. It's about like we are - awesome, funny, dramatic and perhaps slightly misunderstood. Or maybe that's how we used to be back then. Now that we'd shed our youthful ways, we're just awesome and funny:-D

Well, fall is coming - and this song is just so fitting. It was Brian's song, back in the "not" days. I had never even heard the song, until the "true" days and he let me in on the secret. Just in case its not obvious *I* am the Canadian Rose...and I try to keep cinnamon gum on hand, just in case - ha ha;-*

Soccer Practice

It's Grey's first year to play! He is on a team with lots of his friends, including Sonny!

He sorta likes it, sorta doesn't

The 3's & 4's - it's such an adorable age to start playing!

Brooks. Of course, he's all over soccer season!

Kenna and Brooks are on the same team again, I held Kenna back with the 5 & 6 year olds, so I wouldn't have 3 kids on 3 teams - my dedication as a Mom is a little suspect, perhaps. And given how crazy our fall has ended up being with the move, I think it was the right decision. She is not an enthusiastic soccer player, so I felt she could gain some skills by still being on the "younger" team.

Ardyn, distracting Kenna from playing with her cuteness:-) The kids really miss having her everyday, and I think she misses us too!

Weekend Update!

We moved! We are now officially out of Hugo house, and into Willow - although certain things remain at Hugo - we're still working on getting it all taken care of - like our big tv still hangs on the wall at Hugo:-) And a few bedframes need to be taken apart so they can meet up with their partnered mattress on the floor:-) But it's coming along famously.

Phone - my 2 year old phone would no longer accept a charge. Thankfully, it's free upgrade time, and I got a great new phone for a penny! Yay! My number did not change.

Address - If you want our new home address, let me know! I'll send out an email to family, and probably put it on facebook too.

Instagram - Up to the minute updates about our days! If you've missed a bunch, click on the pics to see them all/ones you've missed. They are captioned too, so you get an idea of what is going on. No worries, I'll still be posting "real pics" here too.

The wildlife that made me move: Here is a funny story for you. Last week, I was HARASSED by wild creatures. I have never seen a snake here (alive) in 9 years, and last week, there was one on my PORCH twice in ONE DAY. It was a "harmless" one, which is to say it was not poisonous, but it's existence harms me very much. On the inside. Ever since the snake scare, I've been a little jumpy to sudden movements and such...

On Friday, we had the garage door open, and the front door open, loading boxes into the van. Well, a squirrel walked right inside the house, like he owned the place. Brian tried to get him out, and he would not budge. He was terrified. So we left, and left all the doors open, thinking he'd find his way out.

No.

Check out the instagram pics on the side bar for proof. Lord, have mercy. My nerves are shot at this point, and it was at that moment that "that's it, we're moving" entered my vocabulary. Never before have I been more excited to vacant any premises. We set live traps, and he actually ate all the bait and didn't get trapped!!

He finally got caught trying to get more food out of the trap on Saturday. But basically, I was mentally resigned to the fact that everything still left in Hugo house belonged to the squirrel now. I was determined to start over from scratch if need be. Wild woodland creatures, LEAVE ME ALONE!

I am pretty darn sure these things only ever happen to me....WHHHHHYYYYYY?

So the squirrel saga is over, thankfully. I'm keeping all the doors shut now, for sure!

That was our weekend, in a nutshell...no pun intended:-)