She's Baaaaaaaaack....
So, MARISSA wanted me to share another little story with you. Do you remember Marissa? If not, you must go read about her here. Laugh like a maniac and then come back. Don't worry. We'll wait for you.
Anyway, Marissa has learned another great life lesson and thought she'd share it with you all. As you remember, the last lesson was "Go to the bathroom before you leave the house... no matter what." Today's lesson is "Don't ever, ever, ever, ever try to quadruple a recipe when you are...
a. really tired
b. in a big hurry
c. your children are awake
d. you're just not good at math
e. all of the above"
Unfortunately, Marissa falls into the "e" category.
She was up late last night and then didn't sleep well (stupid neighbor dogs).
She hadn't left herself enough time to really undertake a baking project this morning.
Her children kept running in and asking life or death questions such as "Can we watch the Gummi Bears?" (do you remember that show?) or "Do I have to shower today?".
And let's face it - Marissa is really bad at math. Basic addition still stumps her.
All of these factors should have been clues for Marissa to forget the whole idea, but she REALLY wanted zucchini bread. So, she ignored all the warning signs and went blazing ahead.
She was supposed to add 2 cups of the following ingredients: sugar, brown sugar, and oil. In her hurried state she added 4 cups of each of those ingredients. ACK! On top of that, she didn't add enough baking soda or flour.
Do you know what happens when you do such a thing? Neither do I. But MARISSA DOES! You end up with bricks. Sugary, nasty, burnt on the outside, gooey and gloppy on the inside, bricks.
And the extra batter that was thrown in the freezer? Well it won't freeze. Why? BECAUSE IT'S GOT TOO MUCH DARN OIL IN IT!!
Marissa is a tad frustrated and really annoyed that she didn't get any zucchini bread today. But I told her she probably wasn't alone in her baking mishap. I'm sure there are others out there who have had troubles of their own... right? Um... anyone? Please... feel free to share...

STRETCH
First off, I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day.
Second, I decided that Mother's DAY just isn't long enough. Which is why I insisted that we have Mother's Day Weekend in our home this year.
It started Saturday morning. Hubby took the kids out shopping - I stayed home and sewed on a new skirt. Something that I just can't seem to do when the kids need my attention. They brought home a gorgeous bouquet of flowers for me. Then we went to Subway for lunch because there was NO WAY I was cooking on MY weekend. After that we needed to do grocery shopping... but I bailed out and sent the kids and Hubby packing. I had two BLISSFUL hours of UNINTERRUPTED reading time! It was like heaven had opened its pearly gates and let me enter for a moment. Ahhh... After that, Hubby fed the kids and got them in bed while I continued reading. Then I picked a movie for us to watch... it was stupid. But it didn't matter - it was my choice. After the movie was over, I finished reading my book (it was the 5th book in the Percy Jackson series and it was so good!).
Today I got to sleep in. Baby Girl snuck into my room and whispered "Happy Mother's Day. I love you momma." I love it when she calls me "momma". Hubby made me breakfast and got the kids ready for church. I opened some fun gifts and then got myself ready for the day. At church I got to hear some fantastic talks - especially the first speaker. It was a young woman from our ward and she spoke about how it takes courage to raise a family. It was a fantastic and left me feeling so uplifted. The men and all the children sang in a special choir for the moms. It was fabulous! Then, all the women were given brownies as a gift. You can never go wrong with chocolate. After church I relaxed and talked to my parents on the phone. Hubby and the kids made dinner (rib-eye steak and garlic Parmesan potato wedges) and dessert (no idea what it's called, but it involves a peanut butter mixture, cocoa krispies and vanilla ice cream). Then Hubby put the kids to bed AGAIN while I played the piano! Now I'm eating my second helping of dessert and blogging.
I feel rested and relaxed and loved. Does it get any better than that?
I hereby declare Mother's Day Weekend a success and proclaim that it will be carried out every year from now through eternity. Actually... can I proclaim a Mother's Day Weekend once a month? I like that idea... I like it a lot!