The Latest Wedding Cake

So I did this cake for a co-worker of Jeff's who got married yesterday. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of it. I think it's because the colors they wanted were all beige-y, and they all just kind of blend into one beige-y blah. If the colors were different, I think I'd like it a lot. Also, they just wanted frosting and not fondant. And icing is impossible to get completely smooth, so it isn't as pretty as I'd like. There, I'll stop pointing out faults now and let you see for yourself.

It's been almost two weeks since my last post - get on the ball, already, Cami!! Here are a few photos of Faith from the last couple of weeks:

In the high chair at Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's house.

Posing for a photo.

Riding the gator in Delta.

And finally, after church on Sunday, I put Faith down for a nap. A few minutes later, she was jabbering, and Jeff opened the door to find.....

She had finally pulled herself up to standing. Now she pulls herself up everywhere she can.

Some Randomness

Nikki had her baby today! Yeah! She ended up having a C-section because try as she might, Nikki could not get that little girl to behave as she ought to. You're in for a spitfire, Nikki!! Anyway, they are both doing well. Keely has more hair than Faith does (I'm jealous). I'm hoping to see her in the next couple of days, whenever the kids and I go down to Delta. Jeff is leaving for Washington DC tomorrow morning for work, so the rest of us are going to visit my parents for a few days.

Can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE Comet cleanser? Anyone who knows me well knows that my least favorite chores are dusting and cleaning the bathtub. For as long as we've lived in this house, with this old scratched up bathtub, it has been impossible to get clean. I have tried every type of cleaner from CLR to Lime-Away to generic cleansers to bleach to Soft Scrub to OxiClean to Scrubbing Bubbles. And my bathtub never looks clean. Then I bought some Comet. And TA-DA!!!! A sparkling white bathtub!!! Why did I never try it sooner? Well, I did try generic brands of cleansers, but apparently they're just not the same.

And on a cleaning-related note - does anyone know how to get formula stains out of clothing? Jeff's sister gave us a bag of clothes her kids had outgrown, and while I was going through it I found a dress that Jeff's grandmother knitted. I think it was Kari's blessing dress, to be honest. But she apparently doesn't want it. Anyway, it's a darling little dress, but it was badly stained. I sprayed it with a ton of Shout and then I soaked it in Tide with Bleach overnight and then washed it. And it looks a ton better. It's almost white, but there are still a few visible spots. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Laundry is not my forte. I don't mind doing it, but I'm not very good at it. Jeff's brother-in-law once asked Jeff where he got his nice, cream-colored dress shirt. It was a white shirt that I had washed a few times. Yeah, I'm not that good at laundry.

Is that how it happens?

Part One (a Raffi song):

Robin in the rain, what a saucy fellow.
Robin in the rain, mind your socks of yellow.
Running in the garden on your nimble feet,
Digging for your dinner with your long, strong beak.

Robin in the rain, you don't mind the weather.
Showers always make you gay.
But the worms are wishing you would stay at home,
Robin on a rainy day.

Part Two (Michael and me):

Michael: I sit down in the bathtub.
Me: Yes, you do.
Michael: Do you sit in the bathtub?
Me: Sometimes. I like to take showers, so usually I stand up. Someday, you'll take showers.
Michael: Showers will make me gay.

Part Three (just me):

Let's hope not.

Update

Yes, I'm still alive. Were you starting to wonder? I've been busy - Christmas, trip to Delta, trip to Arizona, New Year's, working, having family over, joy school, website. Phew!

Christmas was nice. We did our own thing at home. When I went to wake up Michael on Christmas morning (at 7:30 or so), he said, "I'm still tired" and refused to get out of bed. Then I reminded him that he had presents to open, and he got up and asked, "Did Santa bring a train?" He didn't. But Michael doesn't seem to mind. He got plenty of other stuff. Jeff's parents came over to watch the kids open presents, and they took lots of photos. But I haven't gotten them yet....

The day after Christmas we went to Delta to spend time with my family. We met Mandi and Burke's baby, Abigail, for the first time (she's four months old now), and got reacquainted with Matthew. And they got to meet Faith. They are so fun. We can't wait until they move back to Utah, or Grand Junction, or wherever they end up, as long as it's closer than Texas.

Jeff came home from Delta because he had to go back to work, but the kids and I went with Mom and Dad down to Arizona to visit my grandparents. It was a nice trip. The kids did so well in the car. Faith had a couple of meltdowns, but honestly, if I was a kid and allowed to have meltdowns, I probably would have, too. But it was great to see Grandma and Grandpa, even though it was only for a little over a day.

I've been working a lot on getting photos and things listed on my other site. I changed the name of it to sugaredjalapeno.blogspot.com If anyone is interested, check it out. I still have more to add, but it's coming along. I also have a site at csabin.etsy.com They both have pretty much the same stuff, although I'm going to add wedding cakes to the sugared jalapeno site. Soon, hopefully.

Speaking of wedding cakes, I'll probably be doing another one in a couple of weeks. One of Jeff's co-workers is getting married very suddenly, and they're coming over to my house tomorrow night to go over photos, ideas, pricing, etc. So still no rest. But that's okay. Wedding cakes don't take any more time than most of my crochet projects, but they pay a whole lot more.

A Rose by Any Other Name....

Michael has decided that he is only Michael sometimes. Sometimes he is Nuto. Or Coppy. Depends on the day. And on some days, I can call him Bud, but on other days I have to call him Sweetie. And Bud likes football, but Sweetie doesn't. It's bad news for Jeff when Sweetie is around on Sunday.

This has been the case for a few weeks. But now he has decided that Faith isn't Faith anymore either. Her name is Doop. I don't know where he came up with that one (I don't know where he came up with Nuto or Coppy, either). The other day while I was at work, he started calling her Doop. Jeff calls her Doop now, too. I think it's going to be one of those nicknames that sticks forever, and when she's 14 she'll ask why we call her Doop.

Last night was the ward Christmas party. Jeff was recently release from the Young Men presidency and called to Activities Committee (which is now comprised of three men). Last night was their first activity. It turned out really well (which, I'm sorry to say Jeff, is due in large part to the hard work of the women you guys enlisted to help). The decor was beautiful, and the food was good (funeral potatoes and cookies and ice cream are always good). The entertainment was a little strange, but better than I expected (they had a guy playing guitar to background music). Santa Claus was great. I would never have guessed it was Bruce Payne if I hadn't already known. The treat bags he gave the kids were fantastic (courtesy of the Primary, of course). But the best part of all (to me, at least) was that Michael, for the first time ever, was not afraid to sit on Santa's lap. He climbed up there and told him that he wanted presents for Christmas - trains, specifically. He even smiled at the camera while I took photos.

Michael was a little disappointed that there were no trains in his treat bag. But Santa (and the Primary) can't do everything. Faith had a turn, too, and she didn't mind sitting on Santa's lap (of course, I knew she wouldn't).

And here is Coppy (that's what he told Santa his name was) on the rocking horse by the Christmas tree.

Baby News

Ha, had you going there, didn't I? This post is a brief baby announcement, but not mine. Melissa is pregnant!!! Okay, so most of you probably already knew that. But I, who see her more than most of you, did not. So on the off-chance that you didn't know, now you do.

She's due May 28, which means she's about four months along right now. She'll find out what she's having the first part of January.

I'm excited for her. She really wanted to try for a girl, and Terrance said he was done after the two boys they already have. But then when they were buying a house, he changed his mind. So they were trying to get pregnant. Then their house fell through, and they quit trying. But what do you know, it only takes a month for some people.

Please, somebody tell me that you didn't already know this.