mmmm...cupcakes

I've been wanting to try my favorite chocolate cake recipe as cupcakes and finally made them this past Sunday. I must say this recipe is great for cupcakes. I love how the cake is sooo moist and yet not crumbly at all. We topped them off with homemade cream cheese icing that was so creamy. I think it may be my new favorite icing. Chesley took them to her Broadway class to share...and only came back with a few.

Favorite Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 oz) devil's food cake mix
1 (3.9 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
3/4 cup hot water
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour bundt pan or prepare cupcake tins, or cake pans
2. Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth. The batter is pretty thick.
3. Bake according to what size pan you are using. 15-18 minutes for cupcakes, 45 minutes for bundt, or 18-22 minutes for round cake pans.

Cream Cheese Icing

1/2 cup real salted butter, softened

2 packages cream cheese, softened

2 tsp. vanilla

1 bag of powdered sugar

add top three ingredients in mixer and mix until smooth, slowly add powdered sugar until all has been added and icing is nice and creamy.

The Early Days

I never realized just how much footage I have of Chesley singing. She sang all the time and if she wasn't already singing...we asked her to sing and then sing some more. Maybe she'll become famous and then I can package these clips to sell on Ebay!!!! I just know one of my kids is going to make me wealthy someday (LOL) I am already blessed beyond rich because God made me the Mom to some pretty great kids - a little cash would just be the "icing" on the cake.

Here is Chesley (age 3) singing to one of Uncle Kameron's barn kittens. She had to hold every single one of them and sing each of them a song. I am pretty sure this poor kitten upchucked any kitty kibble it had previously eaten after being hauled around by a singing three year old.

I am posting this footage as a preview to next week's performance. She will be performing with her ALT Broadway Camp group at the Amarillo Little Theater -Friday July 31st - 7:00 pm.

They are preparing a program based on famous Broadway movies - I have heard Mama Mia, Chicago, and Grease mentioned so far. I think it is going to be great fun!

Chick-Fil-A

Is it sick that I can totally relate to this song...that almost every word is true for me except I would replace the sweet tea with a Dr. Pepper....that even the line about the kids in the van sounds like my family...that the kids and I ate their today for lunch....mmmmm......I heart chick-fil-a!

***yawn***

I am sure you are wondering what I am doing awake at 1:30 in the morning! Well, Chesley apparently caught me in a moment of weakness and asked to go to the midnight showing of the new Harry Potter movie with a bunch of her friends.

So, I am sitting at the computer drinking one of these:

And in an effort to keep myself "extra" alert, I am currently cruising through all of the blogs on my blog roll and trying desperately to stay away from the food related ones. I have enough trouble with snacking....and those blogs tend to make me hungry!

I have nothing of great importance to blog about - so I thought I would share a few pics of the kids that I took at my parent's house in June. You know you are a "blogger" when you start taking shots of your kids and are already thinking of the header you are going to design with them LOL!

So, I'll be up for another hour if anyone is still awake and wants to visit.....Yawn!

4th of July on the Lake

Chance and Papaw with the Fish Charmer

The Lake House Hosts aka Nana and Papaw

Cambry and I just chillin' in the boat

Cutter and Chance fishing off the dock

Nana and Cutter on a wild tubing ride!

Cambry and Cutter doing tricks (at a very slow speed)

Riding Big Mable (not at a slow speed Ü)

Chesley and Cambry getting ready to take their Big Mable turn

Cutter floating in the lake right before the fireworks

watching the fireworks from a boat = awesome!

Everyone enjoyed the show and the whole lake cheered at the end!

The Hedger bunch minus the camera"mom"

We decided last minute to travel to Granbury to pick up Cambry and Cutter from visiting my parents. They were there for 10 days and had a blast. They went to Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor, numerous fishing trips, boat rides, and endless swims at the lake. We were greeted by two very tanned, tired, and happy kids.

We spent the weekend just hanging out at the lake. It was really relaxing and just what we all needed. The fireworks were unbelievable. We took the boat out and anchored in the middle of the lake with hundreds of other boats. It was really awesome. The fireworks shoot out over the lake and were right above our heads. Let's just say that a regular fireworks show will pale in comparison for us after this unbelievable display. I did not get good pictures...but I got some great video.

I doubt very seriously that we will ever waste money on taking Cutter to Disneyland. I think Mickey would hold a dim candle to fishing with his Dad and his Papaw. It is all he talks about. Obsession is not a strong enough word for how this little guy feels about fishing in general. He is the only 6 year old that I know of that asked for Rowland Martin fishing DVDs for Christmas and has watched all three of them at least 10 times. He has a gigantic tackle box, his own "real" fishing pole, and his own fishing tales too! He loves to talk about how long they were....how much they weighed....how many he caught and...on and on and on! The funny thing is - he does seem to have a knack for fishing and seems to catch them when no one else is. We have nicknamed him the "Fish Charmer".

Cambry had a great time too and did lots of fun girly things with Nana. She went shopping, had a pedicure, baked homemade pies, fished, and helped Nana set up a blog.
The sad truth is that is VERY boring to come home to our regular life after a visit to Granbury.

Thank You again Nana and Papaw for treating us to such a wonderful and unforgettable weekend. We love you both sooooo much!

Sweets for a Sweet Lady

Yesterday, Chance and I paid a visit to his sweet grandmother, Nano. She is just one of the sweetest most precious ladies. She has such a pure and kind heart. She is a godly woman in such a simple and unassuming way. Every time I visit her I think about how I wish I could be more like her. She was especially funny yesterday. I love to hear Chance laugh at the stories that she tells. She told us about how she was the only daughter in a family of boys and her father gathered the boys to tell them they had to take care of their sister. One brother doubled his fist and said that he would be happy to take care of her. She said her Dad started to take off his belt and all of a sudden she became to most treasured and wonderful sister there ever was.

We took her homemade peanut butter cookies and homemade chocolate chip cookies. She ate 3 of them right in a row. She really loves her sweets. She hardly weighs anything so she can afford to indulge. Nano always had yummy homemade treats at her house. She kept bags of her delicious homemade peanut butter cookies in the freezer. They were my favorite cookies. I loved it when we got there just as she put them out and they were still a little cold. YUM!

I know her memory fades in and out - she has good days and bad days, but the same sweet lady that welcomed me into her family 18 and 3/4 years ago is still very much there. She always asks at least 5 times if Michael Chance is behaving himself. I always say yes...and then she says "well he better be because if he doesn't behave - then we'll have to take care of that." She used to always ask me that every time I saw her or talked to her on the phone.

She also tells you how cute you are. Yesterday, Chance was told how handsome he was three different times. Nano still makes you feel good about yourself - just like old times.