I'm Done

I'm done......

that's what i said over my shoulder  to my husband (and family)as I walked up the stairs....

I was done with sassy teenagers, a weekend cluttered house, walking puppies that I was guaranteed would never be my responsibility (um, yeah, the dogs have been here a week), making dinner only to hear "did you think  would like that?", potty training twins, housebreaking puppies, picking up socks, sorting laundry, waiting for poop to happen, stretching the budget, find healthy snacks, clean windows, get dressed,  live in a warm and comfortable but oh so small house...and on and on


...and I was done....at least for a few minutes....

baby and I took a breather....actually I breathed while she gobbled and gnawed her way through her fifth helpings of milk in a two hour span. and then my hubs came up...and long story short, eventually he made me laugh and all was alright with the world in our warm and comfortable but oh so small house.

 Do you ever have those moments when you ell like you have given it your all...and now you just a nap because nothing else has worked out?  No, just me?  Well good......but if you have, I hope you have a someone that knows how to make you laugh at the world and know that it isn't the end.....yet.


{pause while I go help a twin that just did the deed in her big girl panties.....eeeeewwwwww}
But I do know....that something had to change...whether it was just my attitude or my expectations, which are are way too high (ask anyone that knows me well.) So after some thought and most likely inspiration, I decided that I need to get dinner ready/prepared/completed before the kiddos come home at 3.....after that all he.....well you know...breaks loose.

This is when I am in the car the most, when the mickiddos need to be somewhere or picked up from somewhere, when I am shouting orders for chores, homework, music practice and generally referring....it aint pretty sometimes, I admit it. It's a roller coaster that can sometimes have you holding your guts from laughing so hard or pulling out your hair with frustration....and sometimes, like I said, your done and you need to get off.

{pause...I have to take "it won't ever be your responsibility" puppies out for a potty break }

{Sigh}So that's my goal for this week...and we'll see after the next if I can get dinner ready for the most part before the bulk of my clan comes home. Hopefully it will make for a smoother transition into evening and a quieter dinner because everyone is not on edge because their madre (me) isn't yelling, biting her tongue or banging pans in frustration.

{pause...have to peel an orange for mctwin #!}

So in between typing this, asking if two two year olds need to go potty, tell a puppy no and keep an ear trained to hear the baby cry (all while I forgot my kindergartner was getting out of school and needed to be met at the bus...another sigh) I am getting dinner ready.....stuffed green peppers. Which was requested by mcpunk #4...I don't even know if she likes them?!  But we shall see, and I should be calmer when she tells me that she doesn't like them....because I prepared them hours ago!

wold love, love, love to hear from y'all on how you make life less hectic and smoother around those bumpy corners!!

And because you know that I have to, have to, have to include a recipe here.....(afterall...the kitchen is the heart of the home/farm)

{long interruption while I took a picture of the twins doing this......

.....And a really long pause to make lunch, nurse my little barnacle, finish dinner, talk on the phone, laugh with  friend...and start a batch of french bread.....which is an experiment on making a light but hearty multiple grain bread...we will see how it turns out...

We return you back to our previously recorded program....

For that recipe.....I will leave you with a scrumpitalious pumpkin cupcake with cheese cream frosting...and it has whole wheat flour in it!!  Go figure...but then I love what bread, but the real kicker was that the kids loved them and they were an excellent hurry up and go breakfast in the morning!! Even the hubs liked them...I think...he was probably starving, so he had to like them!

Cupcakes:
1-1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter,
softened
3 large eggs
1 can (15 ounces) or 1-3/4 cups
pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter,
softened
3 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 muffin
pans with paper baking cups and set aside.
Place the sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Add
the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. On low speed, add the
pumpkin purée and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, salt,
allspice, and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the batter on low speed, alternating
with the buttermilk; blend completely.
Fill each muffin cup with about 1/3 cup of batter, or about three-quarters full. (You may
end up with a little extra batter.) Bake until the cupcakes are set in the middle, and a
skewer inserted into the center of the cupcakes comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove the muffin pans from the oven and let the cupcakes cool for 15 minutes, then
turn them out of the pan to finish cooling on a wire rack.
To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium-size bowl and
beat until smooth. Gradually add the confectioner’s sugar, beating until smooth and
creamy. Stir in the cinnamon and vanilla.
When the cupcakes are completely cool, decorate them with the cinnamon frosting.
Sprinkle with sanding sugar or decorate if you are bored. HA!. The cupcakes can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days.