Oh me, oh my!

Do you remember these guys??

Now they look like this.

I am a long-time Warrant fan. I still have the first album they ever put out, on tape!! I have one of their later albums in my cd player in the kitchen right now.

I recently went to South Carolina to see Def Leppard, Styx, and REO Speedwagon with my friend Tracey. We were talking on the drive up there about bands, and who we would like to see in concert. I mentioned that I would like to see Warrant perform, with Jani Lane.

Tracey called me this afternoon with some news she heard. Warrant is playing at the Wildhorse Saloon in May!! And guess who will be singing lead?? You got it, Jani Lane.

Guess who got online and bought tickets right then??

Redneck birthday

Hello, is this the Sheriff's Office?



"Yes, What can I do for you?"



"I'm calling to report 'bout my neighbor Virgil Smith...He's hidin' marijuana inside his firewood! Don't quite know how he gets it inside them logs, but he's hidin' it there."



"Thank you very much for the call, sir."



The next day, the Sheriff's Deputies descend on Virgil's house. They search the shed where the firewood is kept. Using axes, they bust open every piece of wood, but find no marijuana. They sneer at Virgil and leave.



Shortly, the phone rings at Virgil's house.



"Hey Virgil! This here's Floyd...Did the Sheriff come?"



"Yeah!"



"Did they chop your firewood?"



"Yep!"



"Happy Birthday, buddy!"



Rednecks know how to git-r-done!!

Ape for Bananas

We have been eating an unusually large amount of bananas in our house lately. Logan and Abby usually share a banana at least once a day. Abby gets both ends and Logan gets the middle. Why?? It's simple. Logan won't eat the ends and Abby could care less.

So here are a few pictures I took this morning of Abby eating her banana.

She is learning so much so quickly! For instance, she knows that bananas are slippery once they get slobbered on. She has also taught me a good beauty tip-Out of hair gel?? Run your banana-covered hands through your hair. Your style would last for days!!

Little girls are great!!

I've been bad!!

This weekend hasn't been the best weekend I've ever had. Logan got sick Friday night. Braden got sick Saturday night. Abby is sick today. I am tired!! Sick kids can do that to ya!! Since I have had a rough time, I decided to do something really bad.

I made this cake for FHE. Actually if you want to get technical, it's more like family home afternoon!! :) It's the first time I have made it and it is wonderful. Just make sure you have milk to drink with it!!

Buttermilk Brownie Cake

for the cake:

2 cups sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. baking soda

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

~Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 15x10 in baking pan.

~Combine sugar, flour, and cocoa in a bowl. Mix well.

~Combine 1 cup water with oil and butter in a med saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add to the flour mixture and mix well. Add buttermilk, baking soda, eggs and vanilla. Beat well by hand and pour into the pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out almost clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

for the frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup buttermilk

1-1 lb. box powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

~Combine butter, cocoa, and buttermilk in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Gradually beat in powdered sugar and vanilla with a mixer at low speed. Spread evenly over the cooled cake.

I got this recipe out of our local newspaper on Sunday. There is an insert in there that usually has good recipes. Don't let the title fool you, it says 'brownie' but its not. I wasn't actually sure what to expect, a brownie or a cake. It seems more like a cake to me. On the recipe it also says, "serves 48". YEAH RIGHT!! Maybe 4 to 8!! Ha.

This is the first recipe I have posted. I may post more, I may not. I certainly don't want to compete with the likes of Cynthia, or the Pioneer Woman [even though I don't personally like her new site.] But, I hope that if you try it you will like it!!

I got a happy!!

I was so surprised this morning. I was loading the kids up into both cars because on Fridays I go one way with Logan and Trad goes the other with Braden. I had Logan in the car and came out to put Abby in the car. Who was in my driveway but my sweet friend Tabetha. She had brought me a happy for no reason at all!! I have the bestest friends!!

April is...

AUTISM AWARENESS MONTH

Chevrolet is partnering with Autism Speaks to help raise money for autism.

All you have to do is click HERE and watch a short clip.

That's it! It just takes a minute of your time!

[Or 30 minutes if you watch it 30 times. (Like Me.)]

Chevrolet then donates money to Autism Speaks.

You Make My Day!!

My sweet little friend, Rachel, has given me an award!! ME!!! Wow, this is great. Before I accept it I have a couple things I have to do first.


Acknowledge the post of the award giver, that would be ME! because I am all about attention.Write a post with links to five blogs that make your day. Display the “You Make My Day Award” logo. Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs or emailing them the news.

Here are the 5 that make my day...

Manda

Tabetha

Rennie

Kim

Joy

Spread the love!!

Taking the Plunge

Braden loving the penguins

"Petting" the penguins

Looking at the stingrays

There's some big fish in there!!

Logan making friends with the turtle

Logan and Daddy

What's down there??

Normally, as a family, we don't go very many places together. It's not that we don't want to. It is just difficult to deviate from Braden and Logan's schedules. They thrive on their schedules. It is comforting for them to know what is next in their daily routines. When we go somewhere "special" they tend to be upset, so in order to keep them "happy" we just stay home.





I am trying to get out of this "they are just as happy to stay home" frame of mind. I want my children to experience lots of things. I feel that I am being selfish by keeping them cooped up because I don't want to deal with the social aspect of going somewhere. I worry too much about what people think of me and especially my children. The boys meltdown in new surroundings and in places where there is "sensory overload". To the "normal" person, these meltdowns just seem like tantrums. To a parent of an autistic child, they are not. This is my problem. People don't stare much when a 2 year old throws a tantrum, but if a 5 or 3 1/2 year old does, that is a different story. This is my demon. I worry too much about what others think.





Well, I put all of this aside Saturday. We decided we were going to take the boys to the aquarium in Chattanooga. We left Abby with a friend, and set out for the unknown. I decided that I was going to completely ignore everyone else and just focus on my 2 sweet little boys. If someone said something to me about their behavior, I was going to quietly explain that they were autistic and then trudge on. It didn't happen. Don't get me wrong, there were some looks, but I didn't care.





Braden and Logan loved the aquarium. [It's a good thing too. We got the family pass!] We went in the new building first. One of the first things we saw were the penguins. They were so awesome!! This was Bradens favorite exhibit. Unfortunately, he didn't want to proceed on. That was meltdown number 1. Logan was scared to be by the glass for most of the time, but some reassurance from Mommy helped him really like the fish in the end. They both liked the places where you could pet the fish. Neither one of them actually petted one, but they played in the water.





We ended up staying about two hours. That is like an eternity with two auties!! I was very proud of them and how well they handled their new environment. I think that this is just the beginning of a wonderful summer of new experiences for my boys. I am also proud of myself. I am not ashamed of my children and I should not care what others think. It was a wonderful day.

World Autism Awareness Day

Today is the first ever World Autism Awareness Day!!

April is also Autism Awareness Month.

Autism affects 1 in 150 children.

It is more common in boys, more severe in girls.

No two autistic children are alike.

This year more children will be diagnosed with autism than AIDS, diabetes and cancer. COMBINED!!!

There is no cure.

If you think you don't know anyone with autism you are probably mistaken.

For more information about autism you can go:

Here

Here

Here