Strawberries and Cream Cake

1 box white cake mix

(I used strawberry with added pudding...)

1 c whole milk

8 Tbsp butter, melted

3 large eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp milk

2 c heavy (whipping) cream 

(DO NOT SUBSTITUTE ANYTHING for the cream!)

2/3 sifted powdered sugar

strawberries, sliced

(fresh or thawed & drained frozen)

1.Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 9" round cake pans with shortening, then dust with flour.  Shake out excess flour.

2. Place cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl.  Blend with an electric mixer on low for 1 minute.  Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula.  Turn mixer to medium and mix 2 minutes, scraping sides down again if needed.  Divide the batter evenly into the pans and smooth out the batter.

3. Bake cakes side by side for 27-29 minutes until light brown and when lightly touched with your finger, they spring back.  Place them on wire racks to cool 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges of the cakes and invert onto another wire rack.  Invert them again onto a wire rack so they are right side up.  Cool completely; about 30 minutes.

4. Beat cream cheese and milk in a chilled bowl on low speed until smooth; beat in whipping cream and sugar.  Turn mixer on high, scraping bowl occasionally, until stiff peaks form. ( I made the frosting while the cakes were cooking...had to put it in the refrigerator until I was ready to use it so it wouldn't turn to mush.)

5. Cut cakes in half and layer cake, frosting and strawberries until top layer.  Use remaining frosting to frost top and sides of cake.  Decorate with strawberries if desired.  Store in refrigerator until gone!!

Kendall Leigh's 22 week Sonogram Photos!

What an amazing experience for Sean and I today...I will never forget this day as long as I live! Today is my 32nd birthday and I couldn't ask for a better gift.

Little Mini Who is Little Miss Kendall Leigh!!

Almost everyone thought Mini Who would be a boy...wrong!! :) You have no idea how excited I am to start my baby registry...Target and Toys'r'us, here I come!!

My day with Sean was awesome...we were gone for 11 hours together...had the sono, went to breakfast, Supercuts for my haircut, visited my dad, went to Carousel, had lunch, then Cold Stone Creamery ice cream (raspberry sorbet mixed with cheesecake ice cream topped w/ white chocolate chips!!!!!), then a little browsing/shopping(new maternity outfit!), then to see the new Star Trek movie...which was AWESOME by the way!! THEN we went to dinner at Pier 57 in Liverpool...had gift certificates from our anniversary last October...best restaurant experience ever. The waitresses were awesome and our waitress' birthday was today too!!!! Made her day...and I showed her the sono photos...just so great! Then we went to Lowe's to pick up mulch for my garden, then home...our kids were so happy to see us. Caitlin knew about Kendall, but she didn't spill the beans to Cara and Brendan! I ended up picking up a pink paint swatch and showing that to them to tell them...their faces both lit up. I think Brendan was a little disappointed at first that it's a girl, but he got over it very quickly!!!! He's very excited that he'll have 3 sisters!! :) I'm sure that's all he'll be talking about tomorrow in school!!

This is my favorite pic of Kendall....I think she was trying to suck on her thumb. She was active the entire time...the technician we had was great and she kept laughing at Kendall. For those who know Caitlin...can you see that same little button nose??

Kendall doesn't have a lot of fat on her yet, so try to imagine her face filled out a little. The tech said she weighs about a pound already!! I sure hope she's not another 9-pounder like Caitlin!!

A great 2-D side pic...I LOVE that little nose!

There's one of her hands...waving at us!

And of course, here's my belly...taken this morning at 22 weeks. The top of my belly button is starting to stick out...just so cute!

My ever-growing pregnant belly at 19 weeks!  Mini Who is quite the kicker now...very active!  I believe he/she can hear now and I've noticed movement when there's a loud noise.

My 19 week appointment went very well.  Mini Who's heartbeart is strong and everything looks good.  I lost 2 more pounds, but now that my morning sickness is completely gone, I'll be leveling off and starting to gain a little.  

My 2nd trimester sonogram is scheduled for May 19th at 8:30 AM...and it should be a 3-D!!!  The 19th is my birthday...you have NO idea how excited I am about this!!  Sean is also taking vacation that week, which makes it even better.  :)  Pam will be taking Caitlin for the day for us so we can celebrate my birthday together.  We'll be using our Pier 57 gift certificates finally and probably going to see a movie...it's been SO long since we've been on a date of any kind.  

I would love to surprise the kids with the sex of the baby in a special way...any ideas???  Maybe get a bunch of balloons in either pink or blue so they see them outside when they get off the bus?? 

Once we know if Mini Who is a boy or girl, I'll be starting to put together my baby registries at Target and Toys'R'US.  Pam will be throwing a baby shower for me in July...since I have nothing left from Caitlin!  We've been given a swing, a boppy pillow, a wipes warmer and a changing table so far.  We still need a crib and I would LOVE a glider rocker with stool.  I've always wanted one for the other kids, but could never afford one. 

Progress on the room has come to a halt for the time being.  Drywall is all up and mudding done...just a little more sanding to do.   The window will be replaced soon.  While Sean is on vacation, I believe he wants to get the room primered and possibly start painting!!  

Sonny is growing up....

Isn't he handsome??!! He's 7 weeks, 1 day today and he'll be going to his new home at our neighbor's next week. I will miss him a lot, but I know he will be very loved and he will be close by if we want to visit him! His new home has 6 children...so he will have a blast!

New Closet!

The closet and linen closet drywalled before framing...that window will not be there when it's all done.

Sean's dad helped with the closet framing. The house is almost 100 years old, so not square at all...have to fudge things a little to make it all work! The open space in the wall is the back of the bathtub...Sean has to install a removable access panel in case of clogs or leaks! The linen closet will be almost 2 feet wide...bigger than we originally planned, but it will allow me to store quite a bit more.

And here it is all drywalled, ready for spackle! Sean won't be doing that until ALL the drywall is up in the room. Then it's on to painting and installing the cherry Pergo floor!

The Chimney is Gone!!

Sean took sort of a half day this morning to finish the chimney and clean out the room. WHAT A MESS!! It was full of old soot...some had even hardened...nasty. The bricks came apart so easily because of the old mortar...which was all over the floor. We've been using the Hefty Force Flex to get rid of all the mortar, drywall and plaster...they are really very strong bags! I highly recommend them!

Instead of dragging all the bricks down the stairs and outside, we piled them on the sunporch roof just outside the window, then threw them on the ground out back. We will be using the good bricks for a small pathway between Pam's and our house...probably through the little garden that will be there.

The next thing to happen is the door on the left has to be taken off and the trim and remainder of the lathe removed. THEN, Sean will be putting up drywall where the girl's closet will be and then framing the closet and linen closet as well as running more wiring!

Now that the chimney is out, it seems that everything will be moving along much faster! Sean's dad is coming out in the morning to install new heating ducts and vents for both bedrooms...this winter they will be warm!

Week 14 - Starting the 2nd Trimester!

I'm popping right out!! Today I'm 14 weeks 2 days..into my 2nd trimester already! The nausea is finally subsiding...which I am more than ecstatic about! I was taking anti-nausea meds for a little while, which did help, but then they started giving me awful headaches, so I stopped taking them. I have to make very sure I drink enough fluids and eat enough protein along with lots of fruits and veggies...that makes a huge difference with my headaches and tiredness.

I haven't felt Mini Who move yet...but that should be soon. I think I felt the other three move in the fourth month! My next appointment is Monday the 30th...I'll update again!

Change in Nursery Plans!!

Sean diligently working on insulation where the girl's closet will be built. We decided to move the girls into this room instead. It will be just about the same size as their old room. Having a bunk bed helps with this tremendously...it will fit nicely into the corner next to the other window.

We will also be extending the bathroom out about a foot or so and building a new linen closet behind the bathtub, which is to the far left of where Sean is in the photo. This means we'll be putting in new flooring, which will be tile, and ripping out the old linen closet. We'll also be replacing the old medicine cabinet...THAT I'm very much looking forward to! It will also get a new coat of paint...very unsure on the color still.

This is the old chimney that was hiding in that small closet we ripped out. Tonight, Sean will be starting the process of tearing that out! He has to empty it first...it is FULL of soot, etc. At least it's all dry and we can use the shop vac! Then he has to go up in the attic and chip the bricks apart, layer by layer. The mortar is old and falls apart quite easily, so hopefully this job will go quickly! Sean's been putting it off...it will be a mess!

This is the far wall on the north side of our house. The first layer of insulation board and foam to fill in the cracks and holes is done. Next comes the wiring and installing outlet, switch and light boxes. Then the pink insulation can go in...then...the drywall!

Sean and I will be making a trip to Lowe's maybe this weekend to start picking out flooring, drywall, paint, lights, etc...for this room. Pretty sure we'll be putting in wood flooring over the old pine planks. There are so many choices and colors... I'm thinking of a lighter wood for the girl's room. They've talked about having each wall painted a different pastel color...so a light wood floor would be beautiful!

For the nursery, the walls will be painted a very light yellow. I'm thinking a dark wood would look awesome...but then, I don't know what color crib we'll have....hmmm. I know I don't want a white one. I do want a transitional crib...so the color of the crib and floor really need to look nice together!

Sonogram and due date!!

Finally...my first sonogram photo!! I went in on Thursday for my monthly OB visit, very much looking forward to this next sonogram. Mini Who is VERY active!! Dr. P(not my regular dr) had a difficult time getting measurements! :)
Mini Who measures just about 4 cm from head to rump.
I measured at 10 weeks 4 days on Thursday and my official due date is September 21st! Just 4 days after Sean's birthday!

I think the sex of Mini Who can be found out around week 20. I don't want to be surprised...never have. Since I have two very different decorating ideas this time, plus people who have many things gender specific to pass on to me, I need to know. It will makes things go so much smoother.

Sean was not able to go with my to this appointment due to taking over as boss for the week, so my best friend and neighbor, Pam, HAPPILY went with me. I almost think she was more excited than I!! She cannot have any more biological children(she has 3), so she told me she's going to live vicariously through this pregnancy!! LOL!! I, of course, don't mind at all!

Dr P prescribed me anti-nausea meds...thank goodness!! I have to take one every 8 hours...it just dissolves on my tongue. They are really working! Yesterday I was able to eat cereal with milk(dairy has not been agreeing with me) and a good-sized salad for lunch!!! I'm actually looking forward to making dinner tonight without gagging the entire time! The only side effects I'm noticing are a slight headache which I'm trying to counter with more water intake and a slight extra tiredness.

Stop back again soon...I plan to post a new belly pic!!

More Nursery Demolition!!

The third or fourth bin full of old plaster...this stuff is SO heavy!

Lots of lathe to be burned!

All of this lathe has to come down! There is blown-in insulation behind it...most has settled...that's why this room is so cold!

That used to be the girl's closet on the other side of that open wall. I had the idea to use this space to add a little extra square footage to the nursery. We'll have to build a new, smaller closet inside the girl's room on the other side of the white wall.

I'm so very excited about this...I can just picture it all finished!! And I look forward to when I can share those photos with you!