Too Much Chocolate Cake

Well, the title of this post has a double meaning. I did indeed eat too much chocolate cake tonight. But the actual name of the cake that I ate was "Too Much Chocolate Cake." It was to die for. I made it today for my sister's birthday. If you are in need of a chocolate cake recipe, this is it. Look no further. Here's the recipe:

Too Much Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate. If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar or glaze.

Satiny Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
2. Spread warm glaze over top of cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.

I think Aaron put it best, "This is the best chocolate cake I've ever had." And it was so easy to make!

Mmmm.... DELISH!!!

Luke, I am your fatha.... er, I mean, TOUCHDOWN!!!

Happy Halloween!

The Good, The Bad, and The UGLY

I've been realizing that this blog pretty much focuses on all the GOOD memories in our life and leaves much to the imagination regarding the BAD. I might mention some struggles here or there, but when I look back on these posts in years to come, I want them to match up with my mental memories. And as much as I will remember the good times, I know there will be some bad times that will stick with me as well. So, here's some UGLY for you...

I could have died this week. It came quickly and unexpectedly. And it was scary. How's that for ugly? I will put this experience at the top of the list of worst times, right along with my labor and delivery of Levi.

What started out as your average run-of-the-mill sinus infection ended with me in sheer agony, being in 2 hospitals, 2 clinics and seen by a total of 8 doctors. I now know that I have a SEVERE allergy to the sulfa family of drugs. I have learned that many people experience some sort of adverse reaction to these medications, but my reaction was so severe that it was life-threatening. The official diagnosis was Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Type that in to Google Images if you're interested, but I'll warn you, it's not for the faint of heart. My body was covered in painful swollen hives/welts. They were in my scalp, on my eyelids, in my ears, armpits, palms of my hands, between my fingers and toes, are you getting the picture here? Here is a glimpse of what my ENTIRE body looked like.

These are my swollen legs.

This is my left side and left arm. As the spots on my arm, chest and shoulders spread, it ended up looking like I had a bad sunburn. But this made a sunburn seem like nothing.

Here is my stomach and right arm.

The doctors say that the very next step in my progression (which was happening quickly) was for blisters to form all over my body, followed by my skin literally falling off. Blisters would form over my eyes, causing me to go blind. I would have to be treated like a burn patient and could easily die. But they had a strong medication to try that would hopefully reverse the process. I'm now on a drug that suppresses my immune system (oh goody!... swine flu anyone?) in order to stop the reaction and the hives. I'm told that it may take anywhere from 1-2 weeks or 1-2 months for the red spots to go away. I also started peeling on my face today and am told my whole body may peel. So if you see me, I really don't have dandruff! Yet, today is my best day yet. I actually drove myself to the drug store to get some prescribed anti-itch lotion which is now my new best friend. I must say, it was a good little dose of humility for me, walking into that drug store with splotchy red marks covering my face, neck, hands (the only skin I left exposed!) , or sitting in one of the many waiting areas in doctor's offices where people stare and slowly move to the farthest away seat. It really has made me see other people in a different light and has encouraged me to have more compassion. Hmmm.. is there a lesson in all this???

Today, I'm thanking God for a husband who stood by my hospital bed in the middle of the night, who set his alarm regularly through the night to wake me for my meds, who took care of the kids and got them off to school (OK, so maybe I was yelling from the bedroom, "THE BUS IS COMING IN 2 MINUTES! YOU BETTER RUN!), who prepared meals, AND kept the house clean! Today, I'm hugging my kids a little more and thanking God for them and for my ability to care for them. And today, I'm thanking God for my life. The Good. The Bad. And the Ugly.

A Match Made in Heaven?

In honor of the recent theme over at the Edwards Everyday Moments blog, here is my Hailey post! Landon and Hailey have become pretty good buds over the last year or so. They play together a lot and get along really well. Besides the fact that they have regular "play dates"at various places their mothers drag them to (the park, the mall play area, the beach, the church and maybe an occasional Old Navy dressing room) , they now attend preschool together as well. Since some might say that their mothers are at times a bit photo crazy, there are a myriad of photos of the two of them that I think would make an amazing slide show at their wedding... I mean seriously, how awesome and how stinkin' cute would these pics be if these two got hitched???









Yeah, I know, it's a big shot in the dark. They're only four and five. I'm just sayin...

Feelin' crafty

A couple weeks ago I was thinking of what to get my friend for her birthday. I just wanted to bring something small since it was a "no gifts please" party. So, I thought it best if I made something. I decided to copy my friend Andrea and make this set of cute little magnets. Andrea had made a set for me and included them on a cute magnetic framed board. (Did I mention that it's all really CUTE?)

Here's a better look at how they each turned out.


They were pretty easy to make and I liked how the packaging turned out. Ahhh... I wish I had more time to spend creating fun things!

The lamest blogger ever

I am a total slacker. I admit it. I'm going to work on this. The End.

beauty amidst the storm

Last weekend we had some CRAZY weather. It rained ridiculously hard, like sheets of water pouring off the roof hard. Then it thundered. And there was lightening. And then the sun would come out. And then the cycle would repeat. This was pretty much all day! During one of the sunbreaks, I was looking out the front window and caught this beautiful sight! Isn't God amazing?!!!

Of course, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this is my POTD! (That's Picture Of The Day for you non-Project 365ers.)

Expedition to Lost Lake

Lost Lake
by Aaron JonesI had been planning and looking forward to taking my boys out on their first hiking trip for quite some time. So after checking the Boyd's blog and their adventure I decided that their destination would be ideal for Levi and Landon. Promptly I sought master woodsman, Chad Boyd, for some directions and needed advice. Like every expedition, there is a mixed bag of feelings, excitement for the upcoming adventures, and sadness for loved ones that will be missed. In this case, it was just excitement for the boys' new adventure and excitement for mommy, for more uninterrupted sleep.

We arrived in the morning after a long and dusty road. With all the supplies we needed, we venture, hearts racing for what lie ahead. It starts out with a steep decline to the riverbed below. With their trusty tennis shoes, they made quick work of it sliding and skidding down to the bottom.
The first of many water barriers to traverse. Not one shoe got wet, tempting as it was.
Along the way there were many obstacles, but their resolve could not be hampered.
A quick break, water in, water out. Watering the plants was a new experience and enjoyed thoroughly.
Behind the boys lives a few Rodents Of Unusual Size. (marmots) We observed, took a few mental notes, then moved on.
Those before had built this handy bridge to cross this canyon of death. It looked like Boyd's handy work to us.
Levi and Landon wanted to stop and investigate these rocks. They were intrigued about the giant holes which could be used as some sort of cave dwelling if you were in need of some shelter in a pinch.
At last... Lost Lake! Victory was the cheer! Our hard work had payed off.
We searched for a proper sight for camp and set it up right near the lake.
After some lunch and gathering of some wood, we decided to slay some fish. Landon's first cast caught a little trout.
Levi's first cast... and he also caught a little trout. It seems as though my boys got the knack.
After fishing the boys practiced their wrist rocket skills so they can get a clean kill.
We found this stream while hunting around the lake.
The boys liked the tent, though next time we will remember to bring some pads to sleep on.
With our conquered destination behind us and two eventful days it was time to head back home. Their missed mommy was heavy on their hearts and the last hill climb just about broke their spirits.
It actually broke Landon down. Those are not tears of joy. Emotions were high so Daddy turned those frowns upside down with promised sweet nourishment to come.
The end in site, we express some of our Jones masculinity. Till next time... when the wild woods call our name... we'll come running.

My Boy on the Bus

Well, here's my baby boy getting on the school bus for the first time and he's actually SMILING! This is a huge thing, people. Of course, I'm sure it helps that he has his trusty, fully-zipped sweatshirt on! Man, I love that thing... But seriously, there have been tears leading up to this day (and they weren't all from me!) Levi has always been a stand-offish, reserved, timid sort of boy. I can remember when we was just crawling that if a ball rolled under the end table he was too afraid to crawl under and get it. So I can see that facing his fears is going to be a highlight of this little boy's many lessons to be learned. After trying to take the bus yesterday and having a mix-up on what time it came, we tried again for today. Unfortunately I had to be at work at my new preschool job right at the same time the bus came. So Grandma Jones came over and helped Levi get onto the bus. I think this may have actually turned out better than me being the one to do it... it seems he might be a smidge Mama's boy. Everything went smoothly and we even found out that there is another little boy who is in first grade and lives on our street! Sounds like a play date is in order! Hopefully, he ends up liking to ride the bus and wants to do it everyday!

First Day of School

Last Wednesday was Levi's first day of the 1st grade. I cannot believe how fast this has come. I was pretty much in denial that he was going to be away all day every day until it actually happened. After having him at my side all day, everyday for 6 years, it is harder than I thought to let him go. In anticipation of the big day, I was thinking that it would be pretty hard for him and not too hard for me. Wow, was I wrong! It was quite the opposite. He did pretty good, didn't even cry and it was ME who was sobbing, walking away from the classroom. What a mess I was!

Here he is in front of his classroom. He INSISTS on wearing his jacket zipped all the way up! He says it's not "comfy" otherwise...

This is his desk. He is liking school for the most part and is excited to be going back on Tuesday. Stay tuned to see how his first bus ride goes this week!