If I were a TV...

... I would get this much focused attention.

But I'm not. I was sitting next to/below the television, taking this picture, and they did not even register my existence.

Girls, girls, GIRLS!.. huh? what? yes! ... for some reason they always go with "yes" to whatever comment they imagine I have made. (I'm going to start using that to my benefit.)

This is why they have limited television... and wii... and computer... all zombie inducing products.

Are you wondering what does NOT induce such focused attention? Why, that would be Mommy...

I've got an idea for a hat that looks like a television, I can stick my head into it and the girlies will pay rapt attention because they think it is a TV instead of just boring ol' Mommy talking.

Cricket

Too pretty out to stay inside, even for a self proclaimed hermit like me. So I took the girlies to the park. A little windy but bright and "warm"... normally I would consider today a bit chilly but after this week...

Hubby stayed home to take a nap so that he can enjoy the Superbowl... meh.

I stopped the girlies to pose for this picture. Shows their personalities really well, Honey is upstanding and Caitlin is a little crazy :)

Then they went back to playing. Relay games and some others that they made up as they went. But there was one that is apparently standard at both their schools... I think I have a vague memory of it from my childhood. My girlies call it Cricket. It's not THE cricket that is the second most popular game in the world... but a game made up by school children.

Two people play at a time, one on either end of the bars. At go each player must launch themselves over the right bar and run to the other end. The game continues until one player has caught up to the other and tags them.

I joined in a round. But we were laughing so hard (at me) that it got harder and harder for either of us to get over the bar.

Caitlin did take a picture of me playing the game... but as the owner of this blog I will save you all from that image.

Sunshine and Sweat

All us girlies were excited to leave the house (hubby has gone to work everyday... the airport does not close.) But hubby was happy to take the girlies to the movies so that I could run errands.

They left about 30 minutes before I did. When I tried to start the car it didn't cooperate. Michael had started it yesterday and it worked... I guess it needs a jump.

As I was trying to start the car I could hear SCRAAAPE, SCRAPE, SCRAAAAPE... but could not figure out where it was coming from. After a little investigation, because it was broad daylight and there was no possibility of it being the killer from the urban legend The Hook, I discovered it was one of our neighbors shoveling ice from his drive.

Hmmm, I wonder if we have a shovel?

Turns out we do. So I looked at the 2-3 inches of ice on our walkway and hi-ho-hi-ho off to shovel I go.

It was really satisfying when I could get a big chunk free. I hope no one was watching because I had a bit of fun with the shovel. You can throw the ice over your shoulder, under your leg, with a right twist swing, or even with a little shuffle.

Thanks to Texas weather, the only bit of white left on my front yard is the bit I just tossed there. Here's on of the big satisfying chunks (not the one in the foreground but the one in the middle):

And here is a red-faced picture of me with my hi-ho gems in the back. They are kinda sparkly.

Franken Baker

4th day in the snow... enough said.

I made cupcakes for the girlies last night, so they were much happier with me today. "Can I have a cupcake?" YES! "Can I have another cupcake?" YES!

I'm giving permission like a cupcake enabler! Although there were some... issues... making these HotPink Love cupcakes last night...

The "franken" part of the cupcakes are explained after the jump.

But wait, there's MORE franken bake'n going on in the Medina kitchen. The cold weather has put hubby in the mood for pumpkin pie. He found some canned pumpkin in the pantry... which is supposed to be for pumpkin cake... but I wanted to make him happy.

I've never made pumpkin pie before. I've purchased it many times... but never made it. My plan was to play it safe and just follow Libby's directions on the pumpkin can.

Except I didn't have ground ginger or ground cloves... so here's my franken baker modified ingredients.

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger (franken removed)

1/4 tsp ground cloves (franken removed)

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (franken added)

1 tsp coco (franken added)

2 eggs

1 can pumpkin

1 can evaporated milk

pie crust (franken wrong - should be deep dish but I only had shallow)

Coconut (franken added)

I got really confused about the pie crust. defrost? don't defrost? bake first?... I ended up defrosting and baking with the filling.

As I've said, I've never made pumpkin pie before and the mixture was much... soupier than I thought it would be. But I poured as much in as I could and then sprinkled coconut around the rim of the pie.

Cooked on 425 for 15min and then on 350 for 35min (franken guessed on cooking time because I didn't use a deep dish crust as called for.)

I must say, it's rather tasty.

So, when I was looking around for substitute flavors for the 2 ingredients I didn't have I thought seriously about peanut butter. Hubby said NO, even frankenstein wouldn't put PB in his pumpkin pie.

But then I found a TON of peanut butter pumpkin pie recipes online while the pie was baking... so maybe franken baker has good instincts?

People who dress their dogs...

I'm not one of them. 1st, I'm cheap and those doggie cloths are expensive. 2nd, I'm cheap and those doggie cloths are expensive. And 3rd, I don't have a toy dog I have a real one.

But it is so cold outside I wish I had purchased him a coat. In fact, I am going to get him a coat... but not right now because I'm sure that they have been marked up because of the ice age that Texas is experiencing right now... and did I mention I'm cheap?

So, my girlies are 7 and 11... yet somehow I still have a 2T Lands End coat in my closet. (Note to self, clean out the closet.)

It's not a great fit, but it works. I also found a random coat hat... with no matching coat for him to wear.

Hubby said when he took him on a walk he received snickers from other dogs and chuckles from the neighbors.

Which is probably why he wouldn't look at me when he got home:

But he wasn't shivering and that's all I care about.

* * * *

On to my girlies. Apparently being stuck in the house with Mommy for 3 solid days is too long... and school was cancelled again for tomorrow. My only child still willing to cuddle with me is the one with 4 legs.

I may have pushed it too far with him today too. My dog has a blog and is not afraid to use it.

* * * *

The last few days have starred Spartacus, I'll try to move on to another subject tomorrow but he is the only being stuck in the house that isn't purposely bombing pictures.

What bone?

And everyone said I humiliated my handsome boy by making him do the hula. Well, I just spotted him cuddling up to his hula skirt.

And then I realized he was using it to hide his bone.

It's snow day two of no work/no school... except that we are OVER the snow. Girlies are playing the Wii and we'll probably watch a movie... but no one wants to go play in it, one afternoon was enough.

Snow Snow

Go away

come back another day

Not any time soon

it might be interesting in June

I don't mean to be a jerk

but I've got an overwhelming amount of work

And one day of missing school

my girlies think is really cool

But more than that is a bummer

because it takes away from their summer

So here I have knelt

BEGGING you to melt

Next years Christmas card?...

From hula dancing to winter wonderland... That's Texas weather for you. All school and work activities cancelled for the Medina clan today.

Girlies played in the snow for quite a while... I could only stand it long enough to get photos for the scrapbook.

I nominate this picture for our holiday card next year... actually, it would be our first ever Christmas card because I never have my stuff together in time to send them out... they would be more like St. Patrick's day cards.

Siobain created this video of my handsome boy enjoying the snow.

Winter Wonderland