And, because everyone needs a little more food coloring in their diet...

I saw someone do this online, and I had to give it a try. It seemed like the perfect surprise for the kids to celebrate the start of school. I was actually going to do it as a round layer cake, but the bundt cake turned out soo much cooler.

First, white cake mix. Frosting colors--the paste works great because it makes everything nice and bright. Divide cake mix into 6 portions--#1 1 cup, the rest 3/4 cup. Add coloring following ROY G. BIV. Pour red (1 cup) in the bottom of the pan, then orange, then yellow, etc.

When you frost it and cut it open, it looks like this:

But, this might be my favorite part:

Mercury in Retrograde.

Yeah. Every time we have a weird string of events here, it seems I find out Mercury is in retrograde.

-Mac Crashed (this was actually prior to retrograde, but we just got it back today)

-my phone fell off my bedside table and a hinge broke on one side

-I set my glasses on the kitchen counter because I had just fogged them up pulling something out of the dishwasher, and Reagan picked them up and snapped off the arm.

Past retrograde events have been more impressive, but anyway...

First Day of School

On Tuesday, Killian started sixth grade, Liam, third, and Molly, Kindergarten. I have mixed feelings about school starting. I like having my kids home.

Ben drove Killian to school. The bus arrives at the stop, which happens to be right in front of our house, at 6:50 am. Painful. School doesn't actually start until 7:40, so a ride to school allows a little more time for us in the mornings.

He had a headache when he got home. Apparently, most of the day was spent reviewing the middle school's rules. He was a bit concerned to hear that being late for gym too many times could result in detention. Molly overheard him, and when Grammy asked her on the phone how Killian's day went, she told Grammy, "I think he got detention."

Liam started third grade. This year, there are a couple of girls from the neighborhood in his class. I actually just talked with his teacher on the phone, and she seems very nice. And, apparently, Liam looks just like her nephew. She told me Liam seems to be having a great time.

He, however, didn't share a whole lot of info about his day (which seems to be the way it is with my boys). What was your favorite thing about your day? "I dunno." What was your least favorite thing? "I dunno." It was the first day of school. We don't really do anything the first day of school. So you can't have a favorite thing about your day?

And, Miss Molly. Molly was counting the days to school. She asked me to write up a countdown calendar for her, so she could cross the days off.

She came home telling me every detail about her day. She made a few new friends. And a bully. Her exact words were, "Mom, I have a bully!" Apparently, a girl was not speaking very nicely to them on the playground, but the playground teacher "took care of her." Molly is concerned that she might continue to be a bully. Sadly, she came down with a cold Tuesday night, and was sounding worse this morning and so she had to miss her second day of kindergarten. She was very unhappy about that. This is definitely a change for us.

And, I'm really glad to say Reagan won't be going anywhere for a little while longer.

Another babe!

Promptly on her due date! Bailey Meadow Dill, 7 lbs. 7 oz. , 21 inches.

Welcome to the world, Bailey!

Congratulations, Jeremy and Marlene!

We have a new baby!

Well, no not "us," per se, but my youngest sister and her hubby had a little boy around 10:00pm on Thursday night after a crazy 44 hours of labor. No drugs. I think they are home now. He is 8lbs. 12 oz. When I talked to Jen, they hadn't measured him yet.

His name is Willis Henry Brown. I am thinking he is the 6th Willis in the Brown family? They will call him Henry. He will be welcomed home by big sister (all of 20 months!) Nora (short for Honora), doggy Hobbes, and kitty Hank. I guess we'll be brainstorming "H" names for their next 8 kids. ;)

We are so anxious to meet the little guy! And, we've got more lined up! Marlene and Jeremy are expecting this week, four of my cousins are expecting babies in the coming months, and Molly and Craig announced they are expecting a new baby in April! Gotta love big families!

Fall Cleaning

The fall cleaning has commenced. I don't know if I've talked about it here or not, but I like to follow The Holiday Grand Plan and Organized Christmas, both found here.
This week is light, Planning Week, but the Holiday Grand Plan calls for cleaning the entryway. As this is not an area that is too difficult, only a few things in the entryway which belong other places, a bit of mail to be sorted, and, well, dirt. So, I started that today, not spending too much time, but doing some dusting, glass-cleaning, and wall washing. I will have to go in again to wash floors and crayon off the walls.

I am now quite certain that there must be some kind of formulaic equation that factors in the ages and number of children to determine the amount of mess made in a given amount of time. I am also sure that, somehow, the ratio of filth per child exponentially increases with each additional child. Nearly positive of it.

Just maybe, once school is underway, I can make some headway.

Waiting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhrCCpGQYyc

For Jenny and Willis
~and~
For Jeremy and Marlene

:)