Update Shmupdate

OK, I had this post for last week, and somehow never posted it! I am putting it up anyways because I spent cherished time on it. :)

I have been buuuussssyyy! Doing what you ask? At the beginning of the week I had a visit from one of my cousins from Michigan, which is always nice. Thanks Court! I have been doing hair a little more. Everyone seems to want to lighten up there hair which is always fun! I feel like I am channeling spring when I lighten them up. Which I wish would get here, since it SNOWED AGAIN! Damn you mother nature! We better have the most kick ass summer! I also have really been trying to keep up with the laundry which is my most hated task to do, doing dishes (even though I have a dish washer) is right behind it.

I have gotten my dresses for the dress a girl around the world project all cut out and they are just ready to by sewn and jazzed up. My printer ran out of ink when I was going to print up the pattern, so instead I just got a king size pillowcase and a regular sized pillowcase to use as my patterns. I folded them in half and followed the directions and they turned out really good! I knew I wouldn't be able to sew a dress a day, but I am hoping to jam them out and post them on the Little Big Girl flickr site as soon as I can! Or as soon as I get some extra time!

B has a color show today. Which means there is going to be a bunch of cute 3 and 4 year old kids trying to sing songs about color all together. He is really excited! I am trying to get him to let me give him a haircut since he has a bit of a chia pet on his head right now, but that looks like that isn't going to happen! My dad is also coming to see his "performance" so we are excited about that!

I got my first pen pal letter earlier this week! That was really exciting. I am not going to share a ton about who my pen pal are, because to me it defeats the excitement of having that pen pal connection. I will share with you that she is from California and I will share where more of them are from, if I get anymore. It is still exciting all the same!

So, I am a bit discouraged with my dreads. I get like this every couple of months. Everyone says just be patient, which is super hard for me. I am surprised I have lasted this long! I am not going to cut them out or anything, but they just aren't what I thought they would be. I am going to continue what I am doing because I figure if I am not brushing my hair they are going to turn into better dreads sooner or later, right? I know this goes against most dread head philosophy, but I am desperately looking for someone who can tighten them up! The only places that I can find are in Chicago, which I really don't want to do because that can get expensive. But I want someone who just knows what they are doing in the dread tightening up department who can do it once and then they can be nice and tight and I will be happy. I have been putting it out there and I am going to call a place today, but if anyone out there knows someone who can help me I will love you forever!

One reason I have been busy lately too is because we got a puppy! His name is Ziggy and he is and 8 week old lab and husky (we think) mix. He is definantly lab, but the husky part is a maybe. He is a really pretty chocolate color with hazely purpely eyes and he loves to chew! He has only chewed one of my shoes and they weren't very expensive so that is ok. Besides, if he chews something I leave out then it's my fault for leaving it out (at least that is what I am trying to teach my kids). He likes to nip right now and we are working on that, but overall he is a very good dog. The boys love him, yet they are learning the hard way that puppy teeth are sharp! So that makes the Hauser pet count up to 3- 1 guinea pig, 1 dog, and 1 beta fish...even though that is a lame pet. And the female to male ratio just got bigger. The only other gal I have is the guniea pig and she runs around in her own poop!

I am just trying to catch up on all of the projects that I have been wanting to do and just haven't done. L doesn't have school friday so maybe I can do some catching up then. The rest of the weekend is pretty busy. L's school is having there fun fair and I ordered 50 tickets for each kid, hopefully we won't be there for 6 hours! My husband just wants to do the cake walk! We also have my Grandma's birthday in Michigan on sunday. My cousin who lives in Arizona will be there also, so it will be nice to see her! It's been awhile!

Well, that is my update shmupdate. I will end with a tasty Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcake recipe I made yesterday! I did not use the frosting recipe, instead I took the easy way out and bought buttercream frosting in a jar. They are al sorts of yummy! I am bringing some to B's school for the after show snacks. I put rainbow sprinkles on top in support of the color show!

Yummy chocolate cupcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups of buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla
(optional- a bag of Ghirardelli MILK chocolate chips) directions.
preheat oven to 350 degrees .

in mixer, on low speed, mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

add oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.

increase speed and beat for 2 minutes, until well combined (will be a little thinner than a box cake)

spoon into  paper-lined muffin cups, filling halfway (makes around 24-30).

(optional: add 3-4 choc. chips and top with a bit more batter to cover- the Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips are a little big so tend to sink to the bottom, still taste delicious- I've toyed with cutting them in a few pieces, but have not yet- try it an report back :)

bake for about 25 minutes or until tops are firm and tester comes out clean.  transfer to rack and cool completely.