There's a minion in my office

With his Nanny out of town, Finn is getting passed around this week. This morning he's joining me at work for a couple of hours. We fed the fish, knocked down cobwebs, swept the steps, and now he's eating breakfast while watching Jungle Book and Sheriff Callie's Wild West on YouTube. We've had zero customers so far, which has made this pretty easy. :)

Homemade marshmallows = pure sugary goodness

We tried this little candy-making experiment over the weekend, and I am pleasantly surprised to say it turned out great! I don't really make candy (besides fudge at Christmastime) or cook anything that requires using a thermometer but, these were really easy to make, and they are so good. In true Matt Wade fashion, the husband's reaction was: "Why? Why don't you just buy some?"

Ask him how he feels now that he's had a s'more made with a homemade marshmallow. There is no comparison. They are so ooey-gooey-melty, it's ridiculous. 

Can you believe this ^^

turns into this? (see below)

Here it is basically like marshmallow cream. Once it reaches this stage you pour it into a pan to sit for at least 8 hours, or overnight, uncovered, until it dries out enough to cut.

The only problem I had was getting them out of the pan. You can see the bottom of mine is not very smooth. That's because it stuck to the pan in places. The recipe says to "generously" sprinkle powdered sugar on the bottom of the pan. I thought I used a lot, but apparently I didn't use enough. I will coat the bottom of the pan with a quarter-inch of powdered sugar next time.

Cut them in squares, dust them with MORE powdered sugar, and store them in an airtight plastic bag. I don't know how long they will last, but I'm guessing a few weeks? If we don't eat them all first.

This is the recipe I used. These would be fun to make during the holidays to give to your friends and family... you could dip them in chocolate and coat them with sprinkles, crushed nuts, mini chocolate chips... whatever you like! Or just add them to your hot chocolate or hot toddy of choice.

Deliciousness

Picked this up at the Truck Patch this week in an effort to satisfy my daily chocolate craving in a semi-healthy way. I noticed they also had mint. But this package had me at "dark chocolate almond with sea salt." So. Good.

Happy 5th birthday, Lola!

This picture sums it up.

Happy birthday to you, Lola.

Love,

Mom and Dad

Adventures in Pre-K

Lola is in her third week of pre-K at Gainesville Elementary, and so far she "loves it!" and says her teachers "are awesome!" Whew. Music to this mama and daddy's ears. We have been through other transitions and changes with her that haven't been so easy, like starting daycare shortly after her brother was born - that was difficult. So, let's just say we are very happy that she is happy and content to go there each day.

Since she is now at Gainesville she is officially a Bulldog, just like her mama, Uncle Caldwell, Pop and Gigi, Nana and Papa Dan and lots of other relatives and friends! I went to Gainesville from K-12, and even though she is in the "new" (20-year-old) elementary building (not the same building I was in for elementary) it still felt very familiar and like home when we dropped her off that first day.

I'll admit I had some anxiety about school starting. Not only did it mean my first born is now in real, ACTUAL public school, it also meant a big change in our daily (aka "crazy summer") routine. But, at the end of Day 1, Matt and I both commented that it had been a good day and that the change in our routine wasn't so bad after all. It was actually good.

Now, if we can just get through this last week (and big weekend!) of summer... Wish us luck!

p.s. Bring on fall and football season now, folks. Go Tigers!

This was not an actual school day, but she got dressed and ready for school anyway. :)

Her first project: All About Me.