Ugly Sweaters

Last weekend we held our annual Ugly Sweater Breakfast, which was actually a dinner, but we still ate breakfast foods. We decorated sugar cookie gingerbread men with ugly sweaters, had a sweater unraveling contest while listening to Weezer's "Sweater Song", and pigged out. It was a blast, but next year I need to find an uglier sweater because comments like "Oh, no fair! Your sweater is cute!",and, "That is so not ugly!" should not be made at such a party.It might not be the sweaters fault, but our choice in friends- who knows. What do you think? Ammon and I still think it's ugly, but I know I can do better next year.
This year we capped off the party with an AWESOME awards ceremony that Ammon planned. The 1st and 2nd runners up were presented with mini- okay itsy bitsy- gold metals and announced with "We are the Champions" playing in the background while the lights were dimmed and then Europe's "Final Countdown" came thundering over the speakers and the winner was announced and presented with the Ugly Sweater Sceptor- a disney princess wand we found in the dumpster and then covered in old sweater and topped with a pom pom. It was pretty amazing.

Adventures...

As you may have noticed, my blogging presence has been abnormally high lately. I used to go months without as new post. There are a lot of contributing factors to this, one being that I am spending more time online promoting my little shop on Etsy ( www.sugarsmitten.etsy.com). As part of this promotion I've decided to take my new-found, but hopefully not short-lived, enthusiasm for blogging and start a blog for Sugar Smitten. I will be posting recipes I've tried, photos and stories about projects I'm working on, and you better beleive that there will be some shameless plugs for new treats in my shop. I might even throw in a little give-away every now and again :)




Come by, take a look. You don't have to come back if you don't want to.

Baby Butternut

Baby Butternut is the newest addition to the Cheney home. She's quiet, sleeps through the night, and most importantly does not require diaper changes. She found her way into our family after a friend offered her to us from her garden. Emmie has been more than helpful and sleeps most everynight with Butternut in her bed. In fact, I do believe that if it were not for Emmie, Butternut may have met an awful fate and wound up on our dinner plates. Nevertheless, we are glad to have her as part of our family. I'm not sure how long her stay with us will be, but I'm sure Emmalyn will be dissapointed to see her leave. Here they are watching a show soon after waking up this morning.

I know Emmie is going to be a good mommy because when I asked her if she could burp Butternut, Emmie placed Butternut in front of her face and proceeded to, yes, burp on her! Ammon and I are still laughing at that one!

By Request...

Since my husband has told everybody he knows and 50% of everybody he doesn't know, I assumed that everybody knew that I placed 2nd!!! Needless to say, not everybody knew.

I'm going on my 3rd post about gingerbread and I feel like it needs to stop, but I've had a few requests for just plain ole pictures- like video isn't good enough? Anyways, here's some more shameless gawking of my little creation.

The front...

The Back

The Mad Hatter



The Caterpillar




The Card Men playing croquet and painting the roses red




the White Rabbit...

It's Done!

Here it is, all done, and off of my dining room table. Maybe we'll start eating as a family again. Pictures don't seem to give it all the glory it deserves ( in my biased opinion) so here's the 360 video Ammon took when we dropped it off this afternoon. Judging is taking place today and we are going to a reception tonight where the winners will be announced. Keep your fingers crossed for me! The bottom picture is what I based mine off of and have placed on the table next to my entry.

Teaser

My house looks like a bomb blew up in it (literally), I am covered in sugar ( you think that sounds like fun, but I assure you it's not), and I need a break. Here's a glimpse of my gingerbread house going to the competition tomorrow. The "Eat Me" sign is not a 5th grade insult to you. Think Alice in Wonderland and you'll get it.

Alright, break is over!

Distubing VeggiTales

Something about being pro-life conflicts with me either eating or destroying this potato.


And I'm not just posting this because I need the Hugh Jackman post to be in the past. -Ammon





I heard Hugh Jackman is a gay terrorist though. I'm glad he came out about his problem with warts.... you have to admit that takes courage that we don't see in most drug pushers.

Totally Crushing...

Not too long ago I had the pleasure to finally watch the movie "Kate and Leopold" with my dear sweet husband whom I love very very much and is the most handsome guy I can imagine...

With that said, since then I totally have (just a small..well kind of) crush on Hugh Jackman. Yes, Ammon knows about this new-found love of mine and doesn't seem to mind. Besides, I put up with the dreamy look in his eye when he tells his stories about how Carmen Electra blew him a kiss when he was 16. Isn't it healthy to realize that you still find those of the opposite sex attractive after 4 years of marriage? Yes.

So... I happened to be on youtube.com watching some music videos with Emmalyn after dinner tonight and as I was thinking of another video to search for I just so happened to think about my Hugh. Yes, I do claim him. Anywho, for those who are interested here's three and half pure minutes of Mr. Jackman put to music. Lame? Yes, but you know you want to watch it. Besides, who doesn't like Wolverine?

As a footnote...

I just ate a huge-normous fried zucchini stick. I stuffed the entire banana-sized wedge in my mouth a moment after loudly exclaiming: “If I eat this, my heart will explode!” Unable to chew properly, my mouth agape, Emmalyn ran at me crying “No! Daddy, Nooo!” Then she head-butt me, right in my wiener. It was the most loving intervention I can imagine. I am on the path to recovery, because I know that someone loves me enough to hurt me when I act out self-destructive behavior.

-- Ammon

Ladybugs, Pumpkins, Gingerbread, and The Gilmores

Halloween is over and we had a blast!- Okay, so I wrote this entry last Saturday and am finally getting it posted!- Emmalyn was cute as could be as a ladybug this year. I found her "shell" for $2 at goodwill a month back and she has been wearing it ever since. After the night was over she didn't even want to change into her pajamas. If I were her, I don't I would have either since they seemed to be pretty good luck with all the candy she was getting:) The trend followed to the next day as well until potty-training took its' toll on her pants which are now in the wash. After a few nervous moments that were definitely trumped by her bag full of candy, Emmalyn is now one of the biggest Halloween fans there could be.

Not too much new around here. Ammon is back in full swing at school, I am busily working away at creating sweets and all manner of confectionery, including my entry into the local Gingerbread Jubilee that is due in a couple of weeks. My title this year is "Santa In Wonderland". Here's the work in progress.

So, about a month ago, I purchased the seventh season of Gilmore Girls on DVD. It's the final season and much to my disliking, I only was able to see the first 2 or 3 episodes when they aired. So when I saw the season on sale at Circuit City, I couldn't pass up my chance to 1.) feel complete and satisfied that I've finished and 2.) totally and completely annoy my husband while I watch it. He tends to think that there is absolutely NOBODY that talks as fast as they do on the show. I do admit that the pace is more upbeat than conventional conversation but that's part of the charm of the show. But anyways... back to what I want to rant about- The FINALE! What the heck was that? Do they really think it's okay for Logan to just be gone? They can't break up and then just be over can they? AHHH, it's killing me. I am glad that Lorelai and Luke finished on a happy note, but overall I feel they left too much hanging and I do not feel complete. I WANT MORE!
Any other frustrated Gilmore Girls fans out there? I know I know, this is old news for most of you, but I need closure!

Glamour Girl and Update

Here are the results of our quasi photo shoot this afternoon. Emmie isn't a big fan of sitting still for long, so most of our attempts are more than blurred.But a few turned out cute. I know you haven't heard from us in a while. Here's a quick update:

1. Ammon and I celebrated our 4th anniversary August 7th. Yes, I do still love him. Very much.

2. Emmie is now 2 years old and has the mentality of a 15 yr old. She's talking like crazy and is so much more than cute.

3. I've been craving Pad Thai for the past week and I think I am finally going to make some for dinner tonight.

4. I've been making cakes like crazy the past month. I didn't have a weekend in August without a wedding cake. Last weekend I had two weddings to deliver. Whew! I'm happy to be able to breathe for at least a little while now.

5. Ammon starts school up again in 2 weeks. I don't know what it's going to be like to not have him around all the time. Sad!

6. I've started attending what we so appropriately have named "bootcamp". A girl in our stake leads workouts at 5:30am for any women that want to attend. Everyday we work on a different part of the body (shoulders, legs, abs, arms, etc.) It's killing me, but I'm going to keep with it. I still need to get back to my pre-Emmie physique. I'd love to be better than that, but I'll take what I can get :)

7. Peach Fresca is my new -non-water- drink of choice.

8. Emmalyn just called me from across the house to tell me that Daddy is on the phone and brought her play phone to me and insisted that I talk to him. I then sat for 5 mins as she held the phone to my head and didn't let me budge as she said "more,more" of my ramblings to an imaginary Daddy.

9. I want to have a tamale making party and stock my freezer full of mexican goodness. Anybody interested?

10. Ammon made me Carribean Chicken with Black Bean and Pineapple Sauce for dinner a few nights ago- Pretty cool huh? I am currently enjoying the left-overs for lunch. Oooh, it's so good.

11. Life is good. Being a one-woman-show business owner and a having a student husband, things are going to get stressful, but we are happy and chugging along.
That's us.

Happy 4th Anniversary

I have been married to the best girl in the world a whole four years!!

While I like to write poems, I can't force 'em. They come when they come. . .
. . . However, I love her too much to not even try to tell her how I feel. I just wish I could give back to her. She has given me so much. She is my dream girl, and if there were things I dream of giving her, I think the following sums it up.

Bubbles!

This morning Emmalyn and I had a blast with bubbles! A little dish soap and a straw and you have a party for at least 15 minutes! Just don't let the kids use the straw unless they know to just blow. Emmie took a turn, and to her surprise, got a big ol' gulp of soap water- yuck!

"Roll Over!"

Why is it parents find such great joy in showing off what their kids can do? Have you ever watched one of those home movies where the child's name is repeated in the same high pitched voice over and over until the child actually rolls over, picks their nose, or signs the entire declaration of independence in ASL? "Emmie, Emmie, oh Emmalyn! Come on sweetie, Emmie, Emmie, Emmie." Well I have, and I am guilty of producing such home movies myself. It's just a parents right I guess. This video, if you can even watch it (I'm no so good at this video thing for some reason) is not that bad. Actually, in my biased opinion, it's very cute. Indulge if you wish!

Lazy Sunday, Saturday too.

Not to be confused with the popular SNL Digital Short, "Lazy Sunday"
our Saturday and Sunday were were spent enjoying each other's company. Ammon actually spent a lot of time doing homework on Saturday but we were able to end it with a walk through the local Pear Blossom Fair street vendors, a Papa Murphy's Pizza, and a couple of fruit smoothies from the Human Bean.

Let's talk about the girls that work in coffee booths for a moment... Here in Oregon, our streets are practically paved with coffee stands. They are on every corner, in every shopping center, and there is basically one within walking distance no matter where you are. That said, the people that run these stands are a little crazy. The only explanation that Ammon and I have come up with is that they are just so hopped up on caffeine that they have no other option- here's the proof. On Saturday we decided to splurge on two, not one to share like usual, but a fruit smoothie for each of us from our favorite stand, The Human Bean. When pulling up to the window, the cute girl in the stand enthusiastically greeted us and took our order and proceeded to say "Ooh that sounds good" and "Yum!" after each one of our selections. She was very sincere. So thirty seconds later (no joke) she comes to the window and apologizes that it's taking so long and hops back into the kitchen. Ammon and I looked at each other in such confusion. We knew that two smoothies took much longer than the 30 seconds we had been waiting to make. So literally, 30 more seconds passed and she hops back up to the window to tell us that the smoothie machine is broke and she's just going to give them to us for free. By now we could tell that her clock was ticking a bit faster than ours was- caffeine induced or not, this girl was crazy. We did indeed drive away 2 minutes after pulling up to the stand happy and contented with our free smoothies. Here is Emmie enjoying the remnants of peach and sporting her very first skinned knee.


The next day, Sunday, we spent some time in our back yard. Actually it's more like a strip of poorly seeded grass and weeds that connects to our neighbors back porches as well, hmmm..oh well. Regardless of where we were, we had some fun with our little one in the new sunshine.

Gorgeous?...yeah!


As soon as the camera comes out Emmie is all smiles.



.... Ammon hams it up a bit too!



Ammon has been trying to teach her to blow dandelions but they always end up in her mouth, yuck!


Mommy butts aren't quite made for little tykes slides





Can I have some eggs with that ham??

Grateful for Greens

I just sat down for lunch and was enjoying my green salad and grapes so much, that I thought I'd share with you. The Lord definitely gets my approval for the creation of such lovely consumables! Now I want to go eat the rest...

I love the sun!

There's something so motivating about a bright sunny day. Even if it's cold, the light that comes into the house warms everything up and makes me want to be productive- so productive I have thousands of thoughts swarming my brain and I don't know what to do with all of them.

The sun has been out for a couple of weeks here in Medford and it has been so nice. We spent most of last week and part of the week before sick with the flu. This was a total bummer because it was finally warm enough to do something outside and we were stuck inside-miserable! At first, I was the only sickly family member, but it soon found it's way to the other two. We still have coughs but things are looking good.

The house is finally getting back to some kind of order after being neglected for the past few weeks. It's a very exciting feeling to be able to walk barefoot across your kitchen floor. It's paradise really. Maybe I'm just a bit O.C.D. about clean floors and I hate stepping on once soggy, now dried-up cheerios. Yuck! Now if only I could get my carpets cleaned...

As some of you may know, Ammon and I tried our luck at a wedding show at the end of January. It went really well, and we got a great response. This was our booth- very humble compared to some, but it did it's job. We've gotten quite a few calls from it so far and hope to get more.

Emmie is quite the handful and is such a girly-girl. At one point a few months back I thought it would be fun to paint her fingernails. As we sat down for our post shower ritual (smelly lotions, brushing hair, and teeth brushing) she blew me away when she very patiently stuck out her pointer finger on one hand and pointed to the bottle of light pink polish I had sitting on the counter with her other. What 16 mo. old lets you paint their nails? After many instances like this, I've learned to hide the polish as she likes it a bit too much. Oh and as for her hair, she doesn't have much, but every morning I tell her it's time to put her "prettys" in ( barrettes, ponytails, and the like), I swear she could implode. I realize that it is my example she is following and she knows nothing different, but really, patiently sitting as she points each individual finger for me to paint? Come on.

Daddy's Post

Here are a couple recent pictures of my beautiful girls. What more could daddy ask for?


The best Birthday cake I ever ate, I think the flavor was chocolaty-choco-choclate fest 2008!