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A bit of baking

So we have been doing quite a bit of baking lately. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I somehow stumbled into the world of baking blogs and I am totally addicted. There are so many cool things you can make! I love it. I have never been one to want to spend any amount of time in the kitchen (Elliot is the cook in our family) but these blogs I have been reading make it all look so easy and fun that I couldn't help but want to attempt a few of the recipes. So on fat Tuesday me and my cooking buddy made a loaf (not quite sure if loaf is the correct term?) of king bread.The only picture I took of the bread was mid preparation. Unfortunately I forgot to take one after it came out of the oven. After it was frosted it was supposed to look like this but let's just say mine didn't even closely resemble that picture. Too bad because they made it look so cute. But it still tasted good so no big deal.

Then today Megan, Debbie and I had to frost and decorate 100 cupcakes for a church dinner that Debbie and Bill are in charge of for the singles branch. It was really fun at first and we came up with some cute creative decorations but towards the end our energy started to die out a bit and some of the cupcakes turned out.....pretty ugly. Everyone agreed that I had a hand in making most of the really hideous ones. I got tired, what can I say?Here are some of my favorites:(We rolled out airheads and cut those heart shapes out of it. Super cute but soooo not worth the effort of doing it. That one cupcake took about 1/2 hour. I could have watched an entire episode of the Office. Gotta have your priorities.)

Both babies were strapped in their highchairs most of the day while we worked on the cupcakes. Poor guys. They were pretty good sports about the whole thing. As a reward, I let Graham try his first taste of peas. It seemed to go over well.
These pictures have nothing to do with the rest of the post, but I wanted to put them up anyway. Elliot put a burp cloth on his head and I thought he looked so funny. Doesn't it look like he is giving a peace sign? Thuggin it out. This is Graham watching The Bachelor with me. He is hoping Melissa wins. I am undecided.

It's a birthday miracle

My nap time woes are over! I can't remember if I have mentioned it before or not, but Graham insists on me holding him through all of his naps. I know that sounds crazy and I'm sure you are all thinking, just lay him in his crib, but seriously he will scream in there for as long as it takes until I come back to get him. The longest I let him go was for an hour and he was still going strong when I finally pulled him out. This has been a cause of much distress in the Wallace household because I have gotten really tired of sitting on the couch all day long holding him through every one of his naps. And for sure by the time bedtime comes around I am just tired of having someone on me all day and I feel like I need some time by myself already! So it is really in the best interest of both Graham and I to have him nap on his own so we can enjoy each other the rest of the day.
Well, that day has finally arrived! And it started on my birthday so I feel that Graham was trying to give me a gift. What a sweet boy. The night of my birthday Graham was still awake at 9:00 and I had been trying to put him to sleep for awhile and I was getting frustrated because I wanted a turn on the Wii Fit and I couldn't do that with Graham in my arms! So I just decided I had had enough and I put him in his crib to see what he would do, thinking he might cry for awhile and then I would get him again (after my Wii turn was over of course) and go back to trying to get him to sleep. Well, he went in his crib without a sound and then talked to himself in there for about 15 minutes and then it was silent!! I couldn't believe it, he was asleep!!!!!!!!!! And he had put himself to sleep. Oh my goodness. What have I been thinking?? Why didn't I do this a million years ago. We weren't sure if it was a fluke or not so we tried it again the next day for all of his naps and it worked. So now he officially puts himself to sleep for every nap and at bedtimes. This has only been going on for a few days so I hate to jinx it but I think this is the real deal. This is the greatest thing that could have happened to me. Yesterday during his nap I was able to get so much done. It was wonderful!
These pictures have nothing to do with naps but I thought they were funny. Yesterday morning when I went to get Graham out of his crib, I found him like this. It really surprised me that he could even do that in his crib. I have no idea how long he was like that for. All night?

I'm having the best birthday ever!

And it isn't even my birthday until tomorrow! I prefer to celebrate birthday weeks instead of just the one day. I feel that you should really milk it for all it's worth. And this week has been so great already. Debbie got me these great glasses as a gift:

It is so great to be able to slide a pair of glasses on in the morning instead of forcing a pair of contacts into tired eyes and then having to wait for an hour while the burning subsides (does that happen to anyone else? Or could it be that I am wearing my two week contacts well over 2 months to make them last longer?)
My next surprise was a pair of roller blades that my sister Steph sent me!!! I've been wanting roller blades for a long time and am so happy that I finally have my own pair. I have a big plan of going out everyday to get some exercise in them, but any of you that know me know that I talk a lot about the different exciting ways I'm going to exercise but when it comes down to it I have too many other things to do/my leg hurts/I'm a little tired today, maybe tomorrow/Graham is too fussy/there is a marathon of "The Hills" on/(insert any other excuse you can think of because I'm sure I've used it) so hopefully I really do use these roller blades. Elliot played roller hockey in high school so we could start doing it together which would be fun. Either way, it was so cool of her to send them.
And while we are on the topic of exercise, I also got a Wii fit from wonderful Nancy!!! I was so excited when I got it!! We have been Wii fitting it up since we got it and I totally love it. Graham doesn't let me do it for too long because it takes attention away from him (heaven forbid) but I have been doing it in little bursts throughout the day. I was a little wounded by it the first day I stepped on and it burst out laughing and called me obese and then changed my mii character to short and fat (I can't even be tall and skinny in my wii fantasy world. That does not seem fair). Ok, so it didn't actually laugh, but everything else I said is true. Obese. That is not good. I've been doing weight watchers since November and have lost 15 lbs (nevermind how much of that was baby weight. I'm still happy to see the scale go down) and was feeling pretty good and leave it to the Wii to bring me down. Darn him. Or her. I don't think it actually told me it's gender. Anyways, I am now working on not being obese. Seems like a simple enough goal. We shall see. I've also gotten to hang out with these two guys quite a bit during my birthday week. I don't know if it gets much better then that.

V-day exclusive

This year valentines day was pretty fun. Since we've been married, we haven't ever really done much to celebrate it. My birthday is just a week later so we usually put our money and efforts into celebrating that holiday (yes, it is an official holiday. What? yours isn't? That's too bad) I'm a big fan of birthday's and am ok with foregoing valentines day in order to make the birthday festivities that much bigger.
Anyways, this year was really fun. In the morning Megan and I went to a library book sale that is the second Saturday of every month. We hadn't been before and didn't know what to expect and it turned out to be so great! They had kid's books for 25 cents and regular books from 25 cents to 1.00 depending on if they were hardback or not! So I got 7 books for 5 dollars!! I would highly recommend taking a trip out to Conyers for this if you are a big reader. They had a lot of books that I have heard about or been wanting to read. I got "The book seller of Kabul" for 1.00!! I was really excited because that is one of my all time favorite books.

After we got back, Debbie, Megan and I all went to the mall to shop a little and for me to get an eye exam. They mostly did the shopping while I got the exam, but I felt like I had shopped through them a little.
When I got home from the mall, Elliot had a surprise for me. He had written 10 little love notes and hidden them throughout the house and I had to go on a scavenger hunt for all of them. (that is what the previous post is all about.) It was so unlike him to do that which made it all the more fun. I loved it!
Here are the two cute boys in my life. I have no idea why Elliot can't ever make a normal face in pictures.
Debbie made a delicious dinner to celebrate and for dessert we had chocolate fondue!!
Graham just wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole day.

Reason #2

You have the best sense of humor. You are unmatched in your quick wit and joke telling abilities. Heck, you are even funny in your sleep.

Clue for reason #3 take me home country road

The ear picture

For some reason the ear picture didn't come out in the last post so here it is in all it's glory.

what we've been up to (not much)

I haven't blogged in awhile because absolutely nothing has been going on here lately. The regular laundry, naps, and the cleaning up the continuous flow of puke coming out of Graham. Seriously, I have no idea how he keeps gaining weight when most of his meals end up all over me post-ingestion.
Elliot has been studying all the time and Graham and I can't wait for this semester to be over and for Graduation to happen!! And with the way the economy is going, we just might have a lot more time then expected with Elliot after graduation. Graham spends most of his time with Elliot helping him finish up projects for school. Who knew how helpful a 5 month old could be?
A few days ago Debbie and I tried making this valentines treat that I found linked over from this great craft blog that I love. You should really check it out. They have a lot of good idea's if you like making things. I am slightly craft disabled and have hardly ever made something that I saw in a magazine or online that actually ended up looking the way it was supposed to. Surprisingly, these chocolate treats turned out exactly they way they looked online! I was really excited. I was trying them out to see if it was something we could do for mutual and I think it will work great as long as the prep work is all done before mutual and the girls just do the dipping. I would definitely recommend this if activity if you need an idea for mutual.
Not only do they look good, they tasted delicious too!! (not to toot my own horn or anything).Our professional food critic certainly enjoyed one (or three). Here are some random pictures I have taken lately. This is Graham helping me hang up the clothes. I have no idea what I would do without him to carry some of the load of household chores.
The other day after Graham woke up from a nap he was making some hilarious faces and I caught some of them on camera. He cracks me up sometimes. And the one with his ear folded over is one we took after I was feeding him one day. I pulled him up to burp him and his ear was stuck folded. I thought it looked pretty funny and wanted to share it with you all. Enjoy!