State Baby!

Drove a couple of hours away to watch DHS play for a spot at state. And a lay up with 2 seconds left made it happen. Which caused me to need age spot removal from all of the stress that last second 2 pointer gave me. Talk about a game. My family is ecstatic. To see the looks on my babies faces was priceless. Guess who is cancelling all of her appointments this week? Regardless of how they do I am so happy for these kids. Wow.

Missing someone(s)

I told Kelly that I was apprehensive about the trip to TX because after that weekend, I'd be more apt to acutely miss her, Natalie and other things that I could only experience in TX. (I miss you too Mel, but you are only an hour or so away if I need a hug) :)

Here are some things I miss about our visit. (Besides the company)

• Original recipe Dr. Pepper. I did not think that there would be a difference. But there is! Yes sir, there is.


• BBQ ribs. The ribs here are saucy. The ribs there were rubbed. And OMG sooo good. I have wanted those ribs every single day since we left.


• Joel's sweet potato "chips". Amazing. I have yet to try to make them myself, but I'm a bit scared to.


• Deep fried pickles. I have considered buying a deep fryer to make these. I really don't like french fries. But if I could, I'd eat these pickles every time I had a burger. Women that givetips on budgeting would probably tell me to get the fryer as it is much cheaper than flying back to TX!


• Tequila rose. Yes, I can buy this here. But it's not a lot of fun doing shots by myself and laughing at my own jokes.

But, I'd rather be missing all of this now, than never experienced them at all.

Away games

Although we lost last night, I'm loving going to away games. Total road trip. Last night my brother's tahoe was packed. I'm lucky that I got a seat.

Chris kept the kids and I went to a city about 2.5 hours away. What a nice break from it all. I had a peanut butter twix from the minimart on the way down, a chili dog from A&W on the way back. Watched my nephew try his darndest to make something happen, to no avail with the score. Anyway, I was so proud of him and his passion. That kid doesn't need to eat foods that burn fat because he would waste away with all of his energy. Just really happy to be there. Especially since the boy is a junior and there are only a finite amount of high school games left!

Surprise Coupons

I went to the grocery store today, and some sweet soul left a coupon right next to the product I needed. Yay! A dollar off! It was enough to make me smile. :)

Happiness is...

A completed home study that is signed, sealed, and delivered BABY!!!

Bloggin' Babe Quotes

I was told what happens in Texas, stays in Texas. So this is password protected.
http://showmemore.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/bloggin-babe-quotes/

Password: Texas2010

Dark Chocolate Soufflés

Natalie and I made this little dessert during the weekend, and I was asked to share. Chocolate always makes me happy!

Nonstick cooking spray
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp of instant coffee powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1. Lightly coat eight 4- to 6-ounce ramekins with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl stir together the 2 tsp granulated sugar and the instant coffee. Sprinkle on the side and bottom of each dish. Place in a shallow baking pan; set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan stir together 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar, the cocoa powder, flour, and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Slightly beat egg yolks. Slowly add chocolate mixture to egg yolks, stirring constantly.

3. In a large mixing bowl combine egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form (tips curl). Gradually add remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, beating on high speed until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight). Gently fold chocolate mixture into egg whites. Spoon into prepared dishes.

4. Set baking pan in oven with the 8 ramekins inside. Pour water in pan about 1/4 inch deep. Bake in a 350° oven about 25 minutes. (Suggestion: don't open the oven.) If desired, sprinkle remaining sugar/coffee mixture over the top. Serve immediately.

I made a huge decision today. One that has been on my mind for literally months. I've waffled back and forth both ways constantly. Today, I finally made my decision. I don't know if it's going to be the best one but it was pointing in the direction my heart was leading me. Either way, I feel SO relieved and uplifted to be free of the burden of decision making that I just had to post...

Carrie

The Best News EVER!!!!!!

Today was a very difficult day and I knew that it would be. My mom and I got in the biggest fight that we have had in the last 7 years. I spent the afternoon in tears.

Coming home after picking up the kids, there was a card stuck in my door. The card said, "A Marquis-Dumas Production" on the front. And on the inside was an ultrasound photo!!!! Yes girls, my beloved sister Landi is PREGNANT!! I'm going to be an Auntie again. Jackson and Julius will be big brothers.

I am over the moon. This is so much better than even being pregnant myself.

My life is great!

I'm gonna use her belly button as a doorbell button to speak to this new baby! The ultrasound is not enough! I can't wait to hear the heartbeat!

Girls' Weekend

Ladies, I can't tell you how much I needed this weekend with the Bloggin' Babes.

1. Hosting
I super love having people in my home. So many people have blessed me in the past by welcoming me into their homes—a few even saving me from some dysfunctional situations. It blesses me to love others in this way.

2. Face to Face
What an amazing gift to have a chance to see people face-to-face who have been such an encouragement to me over the years! In this technological age, who would imagine such deep bonds being created with complete strangers—but it has happened. Each person is so different; yet there is a strong respect and love for the uniqueness that each person brings to the table. I can't get enough of that! Having the opportunity to look these people in the eyes and give hugs to each other has solidified a group friendship that most people would never even imagine could exist.

3. Talking
Since moving to a new town last year, I have missed my girl friendships. It isn't that I don't have friends here in Texas. I do. But with the complications of traffic and time along with a new season of life called marriage, it has put a damper on my close girl friendships. This extended girls' weekend was amazing! It was a solid estrogen fest. :) The topics covered included relationships, periods, politics, religion, kids, funny stories—in essence, everything! I personally don't have a sister, but that's what it felt like to me—a sisters' retreat. I love my blog family!

We are already talking about getting together again next year. I believe Seattle was thrown out as an option, but any other ideas would still be welcome because no decisions have been made for sure. I hope you all consider coming. I promise you won't regret it. :)

READY TO ACCEPT THIS INVITATION...

My friend Karianne has offered me the opportunity to post on this blog and I haven't felt up to doing it until now.  Thank you Karianne for giving me this opportunity.  A Continual Happiness blog is just what I need right now.  Just today my husband and I were approved for our adoption and we can move forth with looking at referrals.  We started this process in August 2008 and today, February 12, 2010 we finally received word from the MN Dept of Human Services that we are ready to move foward. 

So for me today,

Happiness is... the addition to our family that will happen sometime soon. 

Weekend shopping

Chris is the shopper in our family. On Saturday when the kids were with my cousins, we went shopping for new furniture for our living room. The contemporary furniture type is not our favorite, but we did end up with a kind of compromise of our styles.

For the most part, I really don't think too much about what I "like". We have a leather couch set right now and it's fine except for the fact that I find the leather to be cold to sit on. The kids and I are always using blankets to sit on. They were bring alongs from Chris' bachelor apartment. One of the things that made me happy on this visit to the furniture store was that I actually felt like voting "no" on something. And right now I can't remember what it was, but it felt good to have a say. Even though it wasn't in agreement with him, I actually formed an opinion based on how I really felt. I think that chris was even shocked. I think that he was also a little bit happy that he doesn't have to decide all of this on his own.

doing nothing....

I have feared that my home, now that my children's father and I are divorced, would become the "boring" place to be. Some weekends I just want to "be" at home and do laundry and clean up our place and read and play Hello Kitty bingo or Monopoly.

I want the security of the mundane.

Sometimes I get the nagging feeling that his place is the fun house. They always seem to be doing these fantastic things. Sledding, going to the movies, making forts, having parties complete with cupcakes.

Yesterday when I mentioned to my boy that we'd had a fairly boring day, and wondered what he wanted to do, he said, "I just like it when we're here together".

That makes me soooo happy!!

I can see!

Maybe.



If you could see my 3 pairs of glasses that I own, you would crack up. One pair is very ugly and early 90s kind of style. My other two are more in style, but they each only have 1 arm to hook over my ear. The latest adjustment to these glasses were brought on by Becken when he was littler and trying to "help" mommy with putting her glasses on.

Contacts are great but I only use them when I'm going out or want to change the color of my eyes. Otherwise, I stick to not being able to see.
Today I picked up 2 new pairs of glasses that I FINALLY ordered. I'm amazed as always how much better I can see when I put them on. Let's just see how long they last.

Maybe if I ever get around to buying a cell phone signal booster, I"ll be able to hear better as well. That will be pretty far down on the list I think.

Beautiful

Tonight we were at my nephew's game and the cheerleaders had a half time show. After the music and dancing were over, the cheer squad headed across the gym to the student section. Bec was mesmerized. He looked over at me and said, "Mama, they are beautiful." I told him that I knew they were very pretty to look at. He then said, "Mama, and you are beautiful too." Awwww. What a son!! It made my night and then some. My nephews are all teenagers now and I know that my sister would be needing to do her own funeral planning if her boys said that to her. She would have keeled over from shock.